“They seem like more like pranks, hazing pranks from some fraternity than some well-thought-out policy of how do you torture someone and get information from them. […] I will have to tell you, when most people hear the word “torture”, which has been bandied around here, I don’t believe that they think of it as holding a growling dog near somebody but not the growling dog- you know it’s one thing to have the growling dog eating someone’s leg or arm versus- which is absolute torture. It’s another thing to have a growling dog around, or putting panties on someone’s head, or discussing- telling him he had repressed homosexual tendencies in his presence. I’m sorry, these are acts of humiliation.”
Yes, believe it or not, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Nuttiness) actually said that. Thank goodness Think Progress didn’t let him get away with this doozy. Apparently, he forgot what the Geneva Convention defines as “torture”, and what most of us Americans would consider basic humane treatment to be.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, get a load of this! At a Congressional hearing featuring two members of the Iraqi Parliament, Rohrabacher asked point blank if they thought our invasion and occupation of Iraq was the right thing to do. And to his astonishment, both members explained to him that the prolonged US presence in Iraq isn’t helping and the invasion of Iraq probably shouldn’t have happened.
So will Dana finally listen to the experts and bring our brave soldiers home so we can focus on the real threats to our national security? I doubt it. After all, he still doesn’t know what the legal definition of “torture” is!
People, we need to put “Crazy Dana” out of his misery. I hear he likes surfing. Maybe we can all raise some money to give him a new surfboard after we elect Debbie Cook to replace him in Congress? I think that would be a nice gesture to Dana. And more importantly, that would ensure that Future Rep. Debbie Cook (D-Awesome) can quickly get to work on bringing our brave troops home, getting them the support they deserve, and restoring the honor and dignity of this nation by stopping the torture.
Sadly, you can’t even mention The Geneva Conventions with these wingnuts cuz they’ll just turn around and tell you that we are not bound by them. According to them, ultimate authority for detainee and prisoner treatment rests with the President.
Thank you, John Yoo.
We’ll see how much authority these people want resting with the executive when a Democrat is in the White House.
anon-
Nope, but I think the sane majority of people here do believe torture is wrong. I don’t see how any sensible voter in the 46th District appreciates Dana’s comments.
And btw, don’t forget about this…
http://debbiecookforcongress.com/index.php/blue/contribute
This is one of the best ways we can ensure that Crazy Dana can have a happy retirement away from DC. 🙂
What is worst?
Putting panties on someone’s head and calling them a homo while a dog growls.
Or
Cutting someone’s head off with a machete, while yelling insults and filming it and sending a copy to the beheaded relatives?
Cook: what’s worse than EITHER is saying that one justifies the other.
One has to love the perspective that others are worse, so it’s okay.
Thank you cook for giving us your mindset.
Cook, how convenient of you to become a moral relativist when it suits your agenda.
cook-
Actually, what’s worse is seeing terrorist groups like al-Qaeda using videos of men wearing panties on their heads performing degrading sexual acts as tools to recruit angry young men into their groups. Read my lips: TORTURE DOESN’T WORK. Torturing detainees doesn’t save American lives… If anything, the opposite becomes true when terrorist groups use our mistakes as their propaganda.
We can’t let that happen.
RHackett & anon 2:15-
Haha. I guess this just proves the moral relativism of the GOP.
Cook, you should know better than fall for Torture Apologist Dana’s BS – our folks do a LOT more to our prisoners than “put panties on their heads.” I’ll have more details for you in a day or two. You fought in Vietnam, you oughtta appreciate the Geneva Conventions.
Lest it be overlooked, donate here and volunteer here.
Vern-
Good point. We should know better. After all, our troops rely on the Geneve Conventions for protection. By having our government torture, we put our own brave troops in harm’s way. That’s just wrong.
Mr. Bill-
I had already thrown up a donation link upthread, but that’s OK. The more linkys, the better! 🙂
#
cook, on June 5th, 2008 at 1:06 pm Said:
What is worst?
Putting panties on someone’s head and calling them a homo while a dog growls.
Or
Cutting someone’s head off with a machete, while yelling insults and filming it and sending a copy to the beheaded relatives?
#
Gila, on June 5th, 2008 at 1:16 pm Said:
Cook: what’s worse than EITHER is saying that one justifies the other.
One does justify the other. A beheading justifies a beheading. Puting panties on their heads is just kind of silly – like something you’d see on Reno 911.
Dana just earned the bronze for Worst Person in the World on “Countdown” for this performance.
OK guys, I think you need to define what is “tortureâ€Â.
If you want to define everything imaginable as “tortureâ€Â,
then you can’t take prisoners. Now that would be a can of worms.
cook-
Try looking at the Geneva Conventions sometime. The US is a signatory. There are legitimate methods of interrogation, and then there is torture. What was presented to Dana Rohrabacher was evidence of torture. And no, torture doesn’t work. It produces no useful evidence. It’s worthless. And unless you can provide me with a better argument than “I want revenge!”, I don’t why we should put our own brave soldiers in harm’s way just to break the law.
Cook,
Waterboarding is torture.
And we’ve waterboarded.
That puts the onus on YOU to convince us that the fact that we’ve tortured has NO negative ramifications for us and our troops. Good luck with that.
“A homo?” Captain? Are you still in jr. High? We are Americans and we are supposed to set the ideal standard for the rest of the world to follow. If yoy want “eye for an eye” justice, move to the Middle East and pick a theoracy.
COOK. You and I will continue this conversation, in a couple of days.
Kick his ass Seabass!
The big question is whether any single one of the local fishwraps will cover this story.
People in this district are poorly served by the Register, but the Daily Pilot is probably worst of all.
Debbie supporter-
Good point. That’s why we need to communicate with more people in the district and tell them what re corporate media isn’t reporting. Oh yes, and feel free to use any of our content here any time to spread the word! 🙂
“That puts the onus on YOU to convince us that the fact that we’ve tortured has NO negative ramifications for us and our troops. Good luck with that. ”
I need not convince anyone about ramifications of torture.