Comments (27) (Please sign in to comment)

1. 

   margueritem said, almost 4 years ago

   Oops…
2. 

   StrangeTikiGod said, almost 4 years ago

   No great loss. I doubt she’d have anything intelligent to say, anyway.
3. 

   mojitobaby said, almost 4 years ago

   Uh, not QUITE so cut and dried, Mark. We have a long history of justifying things done ‘in our national interest’. We may have prosecuted Japanese waterboarders, but we let a lot of bigger fish go free because they had info we needed to use against Russia. We cut deals with many, including the truly monstrous Shiro Ishii, because we wanted his germ warfare research and expertise. Because of this, there were far few executions in Toyko than in Nuremberg, even though there just as many war criminals.

   We dropped our germ warfare program in the 1970’s during Nixon’s admin because the government realized the public would perceive it as unAmerican and dastardly to drop anthrax and other diseases on our enemies - how sad that we’ve actually lost that attitude when it comes to waterboarding and torture in general.
4. 

   Baslim the begger said, almost 4 years ago

   Interestingly, both democrats and republicans applauded Teddy Roosevelt’s actions. Hell of an indictment, Mark!
5. 

   DesultoryPhillipic said, almost 4 years ago

   Don’t forget psychological torture. Let’s hear it for the internment camps!
6. 

   wizman440 said, almost 4 years ago

   Obama is sinking this nation daily but you keep on focusing on Bush. Two years from now these hacks will keep saying “failed policies of the Bush Administration” and “we inherited from the previous administration”. But to these guys, Obama is infallible. To quote Ralph Peters, “We now have a president with Jimmy Carter’s naivete, Richard Nixon’s distaste for laws, Lyndon Johnson’s commitment to the wrong war, and Bill Clinton’s moral fecklessness.” But they’ll blame Bush for everything anyway.
7. 

   Nick V said, almost 4 years ago

   Well, let’s face it - we’re electing people who have shown in the past that they are not exactly fit to be POTUS. Heck, we’re not choosing people in the PRIMARIES that are fit to be President. Truman and Eisenhower were probably the last people from their respective parties that actually weren’t a detriment to the office in some way, shape, or form. Since then, both sides have made MAJOR mistakes - Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Iranian hostages, Iran-Contra, the 1990 Recession, NAFTA and a laissez-faire second term, Bush Junior in general, and now Obama = Clinton Administration 1.8.5.3.4.

   Still, yeah, way to go there, dude - totally trash the administration of which your guest was a part. That might work on a show like Howard Stern, but he ain’t Howard Stern.
8. 

   mark walton said, almost 4 years ago

   Wizman, I suppose only time will tell as to where Obama ends up taking us, but I think we’re pretty much sunk as it is. If Obama turns out to be just as evil and disastrous as many conservatives fear, then it’s too bad they turned a blind eye, again and again, to the previous administration’s mistakes and crimes, and claim to want an OBVIOUS, unquestioned monster/idiot like Rush Limbaugh to be in control of the party - I mean, the democrats could almost have chosen Jabba the Hutt at this point, and they’d still look good compared to the previous/ current republican leadership! They have handed all moral authority to the liberals on a silver platter, deserved or not. I realize it’s too late to say so now, but people who are disappointed that Obama won and is getting a blank check should have demanded more from their leaders and voted differently for the last 8 years. Only Doonesbury could get away with soapboxing so shamelessly and still manage to seem self-depricating and funny instead of preachy (at least to this reader). Kudos!
9. 

   JonD17 said, almost 4 years ago

   I know torture is ethically wrong. I know that it is below human standards. I also know many readers here served during the Viet Nam era and are aware of many American soldiers being tortured in inconcievable ways. Also Ethical standards are a stand alone body of thoughts when it comes to war. How do we balance it all. THERE SIMPLY HAS TO BE NO MORE WAR!!!
10. 

    mark walton said, almost 4 years ago

    PS Mojitobaby is not wrong about the US (or certain divisions of our government, anyway) authorizing legally/morally questionable (to put it kindly) tactics in the interests of national security BEFORE the last 8 years. That in no way vindicates anyone who justifies torture, or makes anyone who condemns torture any less right. There are precedents for all kinds of abominable behavior - it’s still wrong, no matter how accustomed we become to it.
11. 

    DoctorDan said, almost 4 years ago

    Wizman - Peters recently wrote an essay in the Journal of International Security Affairs suggesting that in the future, the military should attack and kill “the partisan media”. Are you sure he’s someone you want to cite as an authority on the American way?

    And we keep blaming Bush? Oh, please. I clearly recall letters to the editor appearing in our local newspaper in late 2003, blaming Bill Clinton’s reductions in force for the problems we were already having in Iraq. Whatever we liberals know about transferring blame and denying responsibilty we learned at the feet of the neo-con masters, starting with the I-can’t-think-of any-mistakes-I made Idiot Prince.
12. 

    Howard McFann said, almost 4 years ago

    I fin d it significant that there is no comment rebutting this Cartoon. Once again, Trudeau has “hit the nail on the head” and told it like should be told.
13. 

    NotFromIceland said, almost 4 years ago

    If waterboarding is not torture, why do police departments in the United States not use it on ordinary, run-of-the-mill thugs and murderers to obtain information? If waterboarding is not torture, why does John McCain, who was tortured, say that it is? If waterboarding is not torture, why do U.S. Army regulations forbid it as being torture? If waterboarding is not torture, would you mind if it was practiced on you? If waterboarding is not torture, would it be all right if other countries practiced it on American citizens? If “You Don’t Know Dick” Cheney is so passionate about protecting the United States, why did he repeatedly decline opportunities to do so when a war was handy during his youth? But that’s another question.
14. 

    Potrzebie said, almost 4 years ago

    My two cents: may not be logical at times. When is it fair to deviate from our ethical principles?
    Let’s go back to the trail of tears and manifest destiny. Then there was that confederate POW camp that inspired a movie. Well, we firebombed cities in Germany and Japan without remorse of how many civilians suffered. Then we detonated two ultimate fire-bombs to save american lives. Was this ethical? Probably not.

    We love to watch fictionalized anti-hero routines where the torture suspects and save the day. I really doubt that works so well in reality. Can we interrogate suspects humanely? probably so. Now recall that these are suspects not actually convicted terrorists. If you do some research you will find out that some of these guys were picked up by bounty hunters and had trumped up charges.

    Ok the finale. We take pride in being better than others but swear that we will fight like cornered rats. But until that time comes, we should not resort to unethical choices, lest that pave the way for attacks on our civil liberties. Of course you will say: that can never happen here. Wrong. A sheriff and his deputies were convicted in Texas for waterboarding perps. Is it an isolated instance. Hardly. There, rambling at points but it’s just my opinion.
15. 

    longtimecomicsfan said, almost 4 years ago

    Let’s see…

    Stock market is up, housing starting to show signs of recovery, secret CIA prisons in Europe closed, Gitmo on the way to closing, GM go into bankruptcy smoothly (versus shutting down quickly and shedding 2 million jobs), and yet there’s always somebody (led by Gingrich) to say that Obama’s failing. What a hoot!

    P.S. - there haven’t been any dastardly terrorist attacks since Jan 20th, have there?
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