Dan

Didn't we all get a check last year - about $1,200? If giving everyone a grand or 2 is such a great idea, why are we still in this mess?

You are correct. Those exact words are not in the Geneva Convention; I mistakenly left the quotation marks (I apologize for my haste). The text is a summary largely taken from Wiki. I used that language because, quite honestly, they summed it up better than I probably would have. The actual text of the 2 Geneva Conventions that I referred to can be viewed on the International Committee of the Red Cross website: Convention III and Convention IV In such, they precisely define a POW in Convention III. In Convention IV, Part II, Art. 13, they provide for the General Protection of Populations. As such, "The provisions of Part II cover the whole of the populations of the countries in conflict, without any adverse distinction based, in particular, on race, nationality, religion or political opinion, and are intended to alleviate the sufferings caused by war." I think it safe to conclude that if you're not a POW as defined in Conv. III, Art. 4, then you'd fall into the broad category of the general population in Conv. IV, Art. 13. Either way, they define the proper way to care for, interrogate, and otherwise handle people and POWs. And this most certainly does not include people that are "foreign agents" are to be interrogated, tortured and shot on the battlefield. This whole notion that the Gitmo detainees are enemy combatants or foreign agents or any other term is (IMO) meant to confuse the situation so the previous administration could contend that they fell outside of international law. Fact of the matter is, there are relatively clear international laws that define how people captured during a military action should have been handled. We discarded those laws for our own purposes - right or wrong. The result is the current mess we have. Did detaining these individuals and torturing them prevent terrorist attacks? I honestly don't know. Hopefully, it did. Regardless, when they got all the information they could from them they should have done something other than hold them indefinitely without trial. How useful could their information have been once you got to 3 or 4 years in captivity? Perhaps they had the stomach to torture them, but not to rig a trial or put a bullet in their head.

Agreed. They need to find some guy that they're about to discharge for some reason.

I thought the Bush Administration did that? And we don't have Universal Healthcare yet. So I'll reserve judgment for the time being.

You do realize that the link you referenced is a joint resolution authorizing the use of military force against Iraq under the War Powers Resolution Act of 1973 and it's not a formal Declaration of War. Right? This resolution provides certain authorities to the President, as well as certain responsibilities. Of course, the President has ignored many of those provisions - just like most every President has that has sent troops into armed conflict for the last 50 years because the constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution Act has been debated since it's passage. Do you really pretend to suggest that the Geneva Convention states that "foreign agents" should be "interrogated, tortured, and shot on the battlefield" as they're captured? Seriously? Pointless I know but still: Actually according to the 3rd Geneva Convention in 1949, "there is no intermediate status; nobody in enemy hands can be outside the law. Every person in enemy hands must have some status under international law." If an individual captured is not classified as a POW, then they must be classified as a Civilian. Either way, they are both entitled to humane treatment in the hands of the enemy. Interestingly, if they're classified as civilians they can be prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state. Also, the country of origin of the combatants has no bearing in the discussion. The primary problem with the detainees in Gitmo is that we've not done anything with them. We didn't classify them as POWs. We didn't prosecute them. We didn't shoot them. We just captured individuals, ignored all facets of international law, tortured them, and thought we could hold them indefinitely. It's a mess any way you slice it. Quite honestly, they should have shot them all years ago. But for some unknown reason they've let the mess just persist. The problem now is what do you do with them. Almost any trial is going to be a mess at best because they've been tortured and held improperly. Most are not welcome back in any country. Maybe they should just transfer them all back to the US to stand trial and have the transport plane crash in a storm at sea.

Have we officially declared war on anyone through an act of Congress? If not, couldn't we argue that anyone captured or run into on the "battlefield" do not have to be treated as a POW? I'm not sure what that means and obviously this is a greatly complex situation. However, that doesn't mean to imply that there is no right answer or that we can/should treat these individuals however we see fit. I would suggest, however, that it means maybe we should have thought all this through before we started taking prisoners. Perhaps the biggest problem with this whole war on terror/war in Iraq thing is that none of these issues were thought out and we seem to be making it all up as we go along. Can you imagine sending troops into battle and not have a very clear and definitive objective and especially a plan as to when they'd be coming home? Apparently, we learned nothing in that whole Vietnam stuff. Or maybe we did and the plan all along was to never bring the boys and girls home?

I don't understand this whole concept that they need someone to appeal to the real conservative base. Is that conservative base going to suddenly vote Democratic? Absolutely not. It seems to me the Republicans would want someone that can appeal to the moderates more, while reassuring the base that they'll not stray too far. I think that is ultimately what hurt McCain. Palin, although she excelled at firing up the base, she completely alienated everyone else. And I don't understand how anyone can blame the media for coming down on her. She agreed to an interview with Couric and bombed. Not because Katie sabotaged her or blindsided her in any way, but because she couldn't answer with any sort of competence standard VP-candidate type questions. Biden got the same type of questions. Although you may not have liked the answers, he answered them with a certain level of competence and confidence. The media jumped on Palin because she let them by not having any sort of grasp of national issues. You can easily draw a comparison to Hillary. When she first began asserting herself (with that health care deal), the media jumped all over her. However, she fought back and stood her ground. Very few liked her positions, but she answered the tough questions and showed a certain level of competence on the issues. For Palin to succeed at the national stage, that's what she's going to have to do - demonstrate a certain level of competence as opposed to just rally support on conservative base issues like gun control and abortion. All this other talk about people looking down on her as a hick or anything is just obscuring the fact that she just wasn't ready to run for national office. She and McCain should have known that, but they didn't. In some respects, I think you could also draw a comparison to this recent Caroline Kennedy situation. She, too, was not ready for a Senate seat - for a variety of reasons perhaps. But, rather than try fight for the fame and glory, she had the good sense to back out. If Palin doesn't actually become knowledgeable on national issues and develop sound ideas/solutions, I would hope she'd do the same in a few years.

I'm fairly certain I've never directly insulted anyone on this board. Typically, I find it counterproductive. And no, I'm not trying to get a rise. I was just curious if you really thought the media "sabotaged" her or that she could osmotically become a the fear of democrats.

Seriously, do you actually think all that or are you just trying to get a rise?

Therein lies the problem. Once the cat's out of the bag, it's hard to put it back in. You give several hundred million to some of the wealthiest individuals and businesses in the country, but you don't give any to low income and small business? Yet we rushed into the first bailout anyway. Talk about a mess.

Problem is 3 of those 4 (banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business) were bailed out before the Big O entered the game. So, how is Obama going to be more socialistic than the previous administration? He may be as socialistic, but do we have to pretend the previous Administration didn't start the ball rolling?

I'm merely pointing out the fact that people have suggested that Bush took all these measures to protect the people and it was worth it because we've not had a terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. Yet, no one gives Clinton credit for there not being any terrorist attacks on American soil from 1993 through the end of his Presidency. If lack of attacks can be used to justify Bush's efforts to protect Americans, why can't the lack of attacks be used to justify Clinton's efforts?

But haven't there been numerous terrorist attacks around the world since 9/11? Do those not count? Furthermore, there have been thousands of Americans killed in Iraq an Afganistan. Perhaps not due to a "traditional" terrorist atack, but those American men and women are still gone. Isn't it possible that AQ is perfectly happy killing Americans there as well as here? That's not how I remember it, but I suppose that doesn't really matter.

I must confess I finally listened to the Rush interview with Hannity (on youtube). Funny stuff. Rush has clearly become a caricature of himself. Normally, I don't listen to any talk radio, especially political talk, so perhaps I'm missing a lot. The problem with Rush that he and so many people that like him don't seem to get is that his views and rants have become so marginalized that they're essentially pointless. Yes, he and I'm sure others will point to his shows ratings (I assume they're really good?) as proof of how influential his views are. But, what's forgotten is that those 10million(?) listeners are not only just a small portion of the people that vote, but they're also probably 99% comprised of people that would vote Republican regardless of who was running. So, yes, his radio show is probably great for ratings and advertising money and pays him a nice salary. But, as far as influencing anyone? I just can't imagine any "moderate" or "on the fence" voter listening to that and being swayed. Perhaps I'm wrong, but man that was some of the best comedy I've heard in a while. I really liked how he said Bush intentionally sacrificed his public approval ratings to do what was right. Just as a slight aside: why do they give Bush credit for preventing terrorist attacks in America since there have been none since 2001; but Clinton doesn't get credit for preventing additional terrorist attacks in America after the 1993 WTC bombing? Entertaining stuff.

Maybe he was invited?

Hamdan Rocks!!

A little anesthesia and it's a simple and quick procedure. Those guys would think it's just some new form of torture or something and just be glad it didn't involve water. Where's the evidence? It's all destroyed when the "bombs" land. Great plausible deniability... I like it. Bush ordered it. But we've decided in the interest of bi-partisanship that we're not investigating or looking into criminal charges. Obama has already said that. So, it all wraps neatly up. Good idea.

Details... details. That article was from 2003. The other was a patent application from 2007. Th technology has progressed. And those aren't even the top secret government developed units. Put it in their face. They never shave; therefore, they'll never see it. Or arm pit - no one's gettin too close to one of those guy's pits. Simple. The only thing I don't understand is why they're not doing this.

linkage 1 linkage 2 Red Dawn was clearly well ahead of its time. If the government doesn't have this stuff perfected by now, they're wasting your tax dollars. The device is painless and under the skin, it can't be seen. So, they don't know they've been lo-jacked. Again, simple... jack 'em, release 'em, track 'em back to the nest, one cellulose bomb from a drone. Clean and easy.

I can put a GPS chip in my dog. What's the difference?

I really don't understand why they don't put GPS implants in each of these guys, release them, and then blow up the training camps that they go back to. It seems so simple.

I always enjoy these Global Warming threads. But, I must say, this may be the best post in any of them. Excellence for you, good sir.

Good to know. My sister, just last winter, had to get Satellite internet. She lived in northern Idaho and no DSL or cable option was available. She almost lost her job because the internet was so much slower. I'm not sure of the details of her connection other than she paid extra for the supreme, best available option. Perhaps, its dependent on the area you're in which is highly likely. But, I'm still cautious over satellite internet due to the numerous friends/family poor experiences.

In many ways I would agree with you. But I have 2 problems. First, it's hard for us to know the overall FA plan this offseason. Perhaps, the Bills are going to really go after Peppers. I highly doubt it, but let's just assume for fun. If that were the case, I could understand trying to get a guy like Wade, but not "breaking the bank" to get him. So, on one hand, it's nice to see the FO trying AND trying in an area of weakness. However, you're right. It'd be nice to see them succeeding. I guess I'll just wait a few months before I give them the final offseason grade. Second, I really don't know that it matters who they bring in. This coaching staff has shown an impressive ability to consistently put players in the wrong place. So, regardless of who they break the bank for, will it really matter next season? I highly doubt it. It'd be nice to see some attitude guys come in in a few key positions. But, I'm confident they'll become content with trying hard by week 6.

It'd be nice to know the details of the Bills' offer before I agree with you and trash Brandon. Plus, you gotta imagine that Wade wants to rush the passer and not run away from the line of scrimmage as fast as he can hoping to tackle a WR.