17 months until election day, and I"m already ranting
Political links of the day, beginning with the mild and ending with the angry:
Republicans for Obama Hee!
Obama addresses my biggest issue with the immigration bill - sort of. I could go on a longer rant about this bill, in particular the provisions that separate families and the whole guest worker program (been there, done that) Obama, more moderate than I on this issue, proposed what seems to be a workable compromise. I'm not a huge fan of the bill, but something is desperately needed - a situation where millions and millions of residents are permanent second-class citizens with no hope to come out of the shadows leaves them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Of course, now that somebody has made tough talk on this bill a major issue, I'm opposed to it simply on principle. I actually agree with the man on some elements of immigration policy, but he is so generally offensive that hearing something come out of his mouth immediately makes me want to fight against it. Uniter indeed.
And, if you need another reason why I find him so offensive...for unrelated reasons this week I was reading up on Abu Ghraib. I was out of the country when a large chunk of this scandal came to light, and I didn't really seek out more information on it because frankly, torture makes me squeamish. Maybe that's why, despite watching way too much TV, and a junior high crush on a young Kiefer, I've never been able to enjoy 24. Salon.com did an extensive, very detailed report, based on the military's own records of what happened at Abu Ghraib. It made me sick to my stomach, and very, very angry.
Warning - that link is not for the easily disturbed. The main page is mostly text but has small thumbnails of the photos. Graphic violent and sexual images. On the other hand, I want to figure out if there's a way it can be mandatory viewing for anyone who voted for Bush in the last election. As well as anyone planning to vote for a Republican other than McCain or long shot Ron Paul, who to my knowledge were the only ones in the debates who were willing to acknowledge that torture is a bad thing. McCain more than Paul.
My blood pressure is going up just thinking about this, so time for a break.