My essay on “The FBI’s Right to Threaten Torture” has been deftly refuted by Bob Weir, the editor of The News Connection down in Texas.  Here is the response he sent The Future of Freedom Foundation:
“Keep your eyes on this case, because it could help determine how far feds can go to destroy innocent people.” [a quote from my article]
Correction: It could help determine how far feds will go to save innocent people from terrorists who are willing to sacrifice their lives to kill Americans. If one of those murderous cretins had information about a school building, occupied by 500 children, that was about to be blown up, should torture be used to save those kids? Perhaps you think it’s noble to say it’s okay to let those kids die rather than use force on their killer. Most clear thinking Americans would say that’s not nobility; it’s insanity. I suppose
we should consider ourselves fortunate that you are not in charge of our security. We’d all be cinders by now.
Bob Weir
Executive Editor
The News Connection
 *****
 My response:
The fact that the FBI’s threat of torturing family members evoked a false confession from Higazy doesn’t trouble Bob.
Instead, all that matters is that people should blindly trust government and let it seize boundless power to keep us all safe.
If the White House ever needs a new spokesman to take the place of the next person who bails out of that job, Bob should be at the head of the list. He would be a natural for that gig, since he already equates groveling with nobility.
> if one of those murderous cretins had information about a school building, occupied by 500 children, that was about to be blown up,
Apart from stupid Hollywood scenarios – how is it possible to know that THIS person has information about SOME school occupied by 500 children is going to be blown up?
without knowing which school is it? To know WHO knows which school, but not knowing WHICH school?
Oh, I know, if someone else, under torture, tells that THAT person knows that SOME school is going to be blown up with 500 children…
I see… well, I guess with enough torture applied there is no need to search for any particular person, just grab a random person, make sure of course he is not some high ranking official from YOUR party, random alien on H1 visa is a good, safe choice – then torture him till he gives you the name of the person that knows a person that knows a person that knows that SOME school is going to be blown up with 500 children. Another plus of doing this to aliens is that they can be detained indefinately and withoug any factors inhibiting the "war on terror" joy – like a due process. But THAT law has been on books much earlier.
Now, THAT is how it worked in Russia in 1937, now I see that very clearly. Thanks to Bob Weir for making it really clear.
I didn’t realize “the end justifies the means” and “do unto others before they can do it to you” were the new American mottoes. Makes me so proud!
Bob Weir wants who “to be in charge of our security.” Help me out, Bob.
I assume Bob was referring to me.
I haven’t applied for the position of Homeland Security czar, in part because I don’t think I could reconcile the official duties with my obligations as an amateur beer taster.
Not exactly sure how to respond to editor Bob’s sagacious analysis of the situation. Assuming he has no unknown, vested interest in supporting the Bush regime, perhaps we can merely chalk this one up as yet another failure of American schooling (hey, I’m open to other theories). Nevermind the immorality of torture. How about self interest? That a man feels little alarm from allowing executive waterboarding, sensory deprivation, etc.; that he cannot see the thin line between torturing foreign terrorists who fight freedom and torturing domestic (American) dissenters who fight the spreading of freedom via conquest is…astounding. When exactly has such a powermad government ever been so nice, so discriminating? The truly frightening thing is that the land of the free abounds with equally naive prolls.
Jim,
I think Bob Weir won’t be able to work as a spokesman for the White House. I believe he is one of the cretins on the Town Hall blog who is too busy defaming Ron Paul over a cheap Michael Medved smear. He’d fit right in with some of those people.
What Mr. Weir missed in this incident is that the FBI picked up someone they could have tortured all day and all night and not gotten the information necessary to save those 500 schoolkids because THEY GOT THE WRONG GUY. His assumption is that whoever the FBI picks up is a terrorist, that they only pick up actual criminals and never any innocents. He, and his ilk, never acknowledge that. Anyway, I though we had a system that says innocent until proven guilty. Which is why the FBI's statement that a suspect has "surrendered the right to the truth" is so appalling; a suspect is not a criminal, at least not until tried and convicted, so that statement implies that the FBI has the right to lie to anyone at anytime.
Bob’s response reads like someone who has become to believe 24 is real.
Had this weir fellow been around in 1776, he no doubt would have answered Patrick Henry’s question in the affirmative.
There once was a man named Bob
Who everyone knew was a knob.
As part of the Bush institution,
He chewed up the Constitution
Until it was only a gooey blob.
I’ve recently exchanged a number of emails with Bob Weir. He found it tremendously hard to stay on factual subjects. He resorted to hypothetical hysteria, straw men, red herrings, and ad hominem attacks against me (I must be a liberal, I hate our country though I’ve taken and taken and not given) though he knows absolutely nothing about me. Despite the fact that I said very little about my political beliefs, or really, anything outside of specific foreign policy regarding our current wars, he accused me of treason and said,
“You delve into an abundance of articles looking to extract every negative about the US and then you hold it up as evidence to justify your hatred for the hand that feeds you. Perhaps you need to go hungry for awhile. When your stomach swells up and your tongue hangs out, you might be more appreciative of the food you take for granted.”
The irony of this socialist rant from an alleged conservative are lost on him. I’m still waiting from him to see how he’s given to his country in a more “acceptable” way than my active duty military service.
Frankly, I find interesting Mr Weir’s read on Adonis-like handsome men and their political power.\
http://thenewsconnection.com/article.cfm?articleID=2184
all Bob is saying
is give fear a chance
Suppose that a murderous cretins had information about a school building, occupied by 500 children, that was about to be blown up. Now further suppose that YOU, Bob Weir, Executive Editor of The News Connection (bobweir@thenewsconnection.com), were mistakenly identified as one of those “murderous cretins.”
Would YOU, Bob Weir, Executive Editor of The News Connection (bobweir@thenewsconnection.com), support the idea that the FBI should electroshock YOUR nuts off in an effort to find the bomb?
Suppose the bomb went off, and YOU, Bob Weir, Executive Editor of The News Connection (bobweir@thenewsconnection.com), were mistakenly identified as one of those “murderous cretins.”
Would YOU, Bob Weir, Executive Editor of The News Connection (bobweir@thenewsconnection.com), then support the idea that the FBI should shove a cattle prod up your ass in an effort to procure a confession?