I know this is just a weekend reprint that automatically gets put in when office is lightly staffed, but this is ‘article’ is utter shit. The worst kind of AP shit.
“The 33-year CIA employee was backed by many in the CIA rank and file and senior intelligence officials, including former CIA directors and national intelligence directors. Opponents argued it was wrong to reward someone who supervised a covert detention site in Thailand where terror suspects were harshly interrogated.”
That may be the most sickening cherry-picked, euphemism laden paragraph I’ve read in the last 10 years.
And, of course, the AP writer’s name isn’t even included, and the 54-45 confirmation number wasn’t even cited in the article.
Please either pull this down when you get into the office or write a long sidebar analyzing this tripe.
Haspel won Senate confirmation last week after overcoming concerns about her role in the agency’s use of harsh interrogation techniques after 9/11.
no she didn’t, but that’s okie.
Torture. The word is torture.
You want to know why Trump will attend? Read about “malignant narcissism” and the element of sadism involved in the mix of characteristics. You’ll learn more than you want to know.
I’d like to get a sense of how usual/unusual it is for a president to attend such a ceremony. Either way, we can be sure that Trump’s presence is not because he’s respectfully observing some kind of protocol. It’s because he wants Haspel to understand that her oath is connected to serving him above all. My fervent hope is that this career torturer will nonetheless have the strength of character to resist going any farther over to the dark side.
This brings us to the question of the Dems who voted to affirm the nomination. I’m not sure what they were thinking, but I get the feeling that theirs was a tougher call than simply identifying whether or not she is fit to discharge her duties. Clearly Haspel is disqualified. But at least she’s an institutionalist, and the calculation has been made by Ds that any alternative candidate could be a pure Trump loyalist and a much more dangerous proposition. The fact of the matter is that normal considerations of fitness for office do not apply. We have a slow coup going on, and the primary question is how to stop it or to slow it down enough for our democracy to survive until November 2018. The pro-Haspel vote is directed at achieving this aim–at choosing the least bad option.
This consideration also applies to Rosenstein’s decision to refer Trump’s spurious and authoritarian allegations to the IG. It is obviously a reference that would not be made in a sound democracy, and it obviously represents another capitulation to Trump. But again, the fact of the matter is that we do have a proto-dictator in office who is backed by a party essentially dedicated to one-party rule. That’s precisely why so many of us are freaked out. In that context, Rosenstein’s maneuver mitigates a bad situation that has already occurred. We don’t have a functioning democracy. No point pretending we do. The frustrating part, for me, has been the Democratic Congressional failure to articulate this clearly and consistently. It’s one thing approving these fascist nominations. It’s another thing to shroud the process in language that perpetrates the illusion that this is all within constitutional and democratic norms. We have a state of constitutional emergency. Let’s not shirk from that fact or from the fight that it calls for.
Trump To Attend Haspel’s Swearing-In
ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME etc …
Trump To Attend Haspel's Swearing In
Oh come on …
No need to torture the poor woman ! —
Taking a break from tweeting BS?
Perfect opportunity for Trump and John Bolton to announce the resumption of enhanced interrogation methods for all enemy combatants (anyone who opposes Trump’s push for a US dictatorship).
Haspel only told Sen. Warner that if Trump asked her to resume water boarding she’d refuse. But if Trump orders the resumption of water boarding…that’s a different ball game!
The Democrats have been schooled so many times by Republicans that no wonder American’s don’t vote for Dems…they continue to be spineless just like 8 years of Obama.
“They said that after giving that amazing January,2017 speech, I wasn’t coming back to Langley anymore, but here I am and believe me folks,most people agree that it feels great to again see Trump win, without anyone’s help.”
Let me rephrase that … –
“Torture is a beautifol thing folks, believe me.”
" And now that I’m President …
at least half of the US population will know … firsthand " —
Poetry. Sick poetry, but poetry nonetheless.
These solemn and dignified swearing in ceremonies mean a lot to career politicians.
Until they forget the oath they take as public servants.