Cafeteria Catholics

Apparently torture is on the menu over at the National Review...

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Greed and Immorality

There's something pathetically instructive about today's GOP to be gained from reading Marc Thiessen's defenses of the torture policies of his previous employer. Obviously, he's got nothing to work with -- trying to argue that simulated executions aren't torture is a non-starter -- but no matter what he makes sure to repeatedly plug his shitty book defending the grossly immoral polices he also defended as a paid hack for the worst elected administration since the Civil War. And then, upping the ante, he claims that you don't have standing to condemn torture if you haven't carefully studied this alleged masterpiece of western letters. Everybody's got to make a buck, I guess. For those who don't want to get Corner cooties, here's a summary of his arguments:



[HT Joe From Lowell.]

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On the Bedwetter Caucus

I assume that the fact that the latest ad hoc conservative arguments that following the rule of law is a luxury the United States just can't afford are illogical isn't news to most of you, but Lithwick provides an excellent summary:

Opposition to the Obama administration's plan to try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his confederates in a federal court in New York City is hardening into two camps. One is concerned that we may be unwittingly playing into the terrorists' hands. The other is incensed that we already have. What both camps share, besides a kind of unhinged logic and complete disregard for the legal process, is an obsessive fascination with the accused. The result is a broad willingness to sacrifice our commitment to legal principles in favor of the symbolic satisfaction of crushing the hopes and dreams of a motley group of criminals.

Of course, the idea that the alleged desires of terrorists should be of paramount importance to our own decisions is a long-running feature of the perpetual bedwetter set.

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That Was A Horrible Period in American History

The Bush administration's allegedly rational and moderate Attorney General asserts that the country needs more arbitrary indefinite detention and less rule of law. Let's just say that I haven't changed my mind.

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