As we’ve gotten further up to our necks in Presidential aspirants (some of whom have dropped like flies; others to follow, no doubt), the Republicans have — for the most part — been a rush to see who can offer the most ways to torture “our enemies” and “keep us safe.” Well, except for John McCain (God love him). Now, there’s a lot that I disagree with McCain on, including his constant assertion that “my friends, we are winning in Iraq.” (Ummm…. winning what? From whom? If we’re fighting Al Qaeda over there, presumably so we don’t have to fight them over here, why is it that we seem to be in the middle of non-Qaeda Iraqis so much of the time? But that’s a topic for another post. McCain has consistently and vocally been totally, completely opposed to torture. He’s a man who should know — and he also is a man who knows how much it demeans the torturers as well as the victims. Continue reading →

You know Rudy Guliani — the former Mayor and Presidential Candidate, quite accurately described by Senator Joe Biden as thinking a sentence consists of three parts:  a noun,  a verb and “9/11.” Leaving aside the myriad reasons that Guliani (and most of the Republicans running for President in general) are bad for most of us, there’s now evidence of effects on health. And we’re not just talking health insurance coverage. Continue reading →