Poll: The More Religious Most Likely to Say Torture is Sometimes Justified

CNN reports on a Pew Poll revealing that the more people go to church the more they support torture.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new analysis.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed, according the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified — more than 6 in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only 4 in 10 of them did.

The analysis is based on a Pew Research Center survey of 742 American adults conducted April 14-21. It did not include analysis of groups other than white evangelicals, white non-Hispanic Catholics, white mainline Protestants, and the religiously unaffiliated, because the sample size was too small.

In a way this shouldn’t be surprising. The idea of good versus evil is prevalent in all religions, not just Christianity but in all religions. And by nature if one phalanx of religious worshipers or anybody really firmly believes they are the side of the just, the right, and the proverbial “good guys”, then the opponent must be evil. But especially with Catholics, when the Pope strongly has condemned the practice of torture, this all seems hypocritical. After all, would one not be willing to cede that Jesus Christ himself was not a victim of torture? Crucifixion after all is still torture isn’t it ?

Many of these who are both wedded to religion which typically is a vehicle that preaches love and respect, as well as acknowledging at least some of the most rudimentary human rights; yet simultaneously support such hideous practices as waterboarding see themselves and America as inherently good. Most can agree on that, but those who support torture seem to take it to a point where the core of their argument seems to be that the ends justify the means. As long as we are victorious it doesn’t matter what we do to protect ourselves and fight our enemies as long as in the end we are the last ones standing. That it doesn’t matter what we do to protect ourselves, even ceding our constitutional rights or practice tactics that in the past we had condemned when employed by those such as the Chinese military during the Korean war and the reign of Mao, the Imperial Japanese during World War II. But it does matter. It matters whether we are going to continue to stand as an example of moral dignity and human rights on the world stage or if we will surrender that ground in a bout of hysteria and panic. Rather we will be a land that remains as free and vibrant as the promise etched into our constitution and our spirit, or if we will degenerate into an angry people seeking to fortify ourselves against what is best in us shedding liberties one by one , believing that bombs and threats alone can bring us safety or enrichment.

In the end it is just not enough to say you are the “Good Guy” to be seen as having the moral high ground. It is through your actions, the liberties you grant others, the openness to those caught in the crossfire between we and the real extremists we face, and overall our actions that will determine whether we are the “Good Guy” or just a land so enveloped by fear that we start believing that the American idea is our foe.

And after all, how many of these supporters of such torture techniques are willing to say that some these same tactics that defined the horrible regimes of Mao, Imperial Japan, and others were immoral when they utilized such tactics in the name of preserving their way of life, are now okay merely because we are the ones now using them? If virtuous people such as we in the United States use means employed by despots such as Mao and still retain the reputation of good virtue that we have?

Mein Kampf a Secret to Success in India????

In India it seems that Mein Kampf written of course by former Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler has recently become a best seller according to recent reports in the London Daily Telegraph. Business students seem to be big into it and see it as somewhat of a Horatio Alger type meets Donald Trump story, but of course unlike either of them Hitler oversaw the murder of six million Jews not to mention other groups of people both German and non-German as well as the enslavement of much of the globe.

Booksellers told The Daily Telegraph that while it is regarded in most countries as a ‘Nazi Bible’, in India it is considered a management guide in the mould of Spencer Johnson’s “Who Moved My Cheese”.

Sales of the book over the last six months topped 10,000 in New Delhi alone, according to leading stores, who said it appeared to be becoming more popular with every year.

Several said the surge in sales was due to demand from students who see it as a self-improvement and management strategy guide for aspiring business leaders, and who were happy to cite it as an inspiration.

“Students are increasingly coming in asking for it and we’re happy to sell it to them,” said Sohin Lakhani, owner of Mumbai-based Embassy books who reprints Mein Kampf every quarter and shrugs off any moral issues in publishing the book.

“They see it as a kind of success story where one man can have a vision, work out a plan on how to implement it and then successfully complete it”

Do I still believe in not banning books? Yes, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t disturbing in at least six million different ways.

This Day in History

On April 30, 1975 the then South Vietnamese Capitol of Saigon fell to North Vietnamese Communist forces, uniting the country under the North Vietnamese Communist leadership and causing all U.S Embassy staff to evacuate.

Parts of the coverage are muted and the quality is questionable.

Foxx says Crime Bill Named after Murder Victim is "a hoax"

U.S Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC,5) is facing criticism for remarks she made yesterday regarding legislation passed yesterday that would broaden the definition of hate crimes to include crimes where the victim is targeted because of their sexual orientation.

What is known as the Matthew Sheppard Act, named after a gay college student who in 1998 was picked up by two men who robbed him, before taking him out to a prairie, tying him to a fence and beating him to death; passed the U.S House. In the past it has been proposed by was defeated by conservative Republicans, Christian conservative activists, and clergy who believe that their opposition and denunciation of homosexuality could be interpreted as a hate crime and thereby infringe upon their first amendment rights.

Republicans reacted negatively to the passage of the bill. House Minority leader Rep. John Boenher (R-OH) said in an interview with the Washington Times that the legislation made him “want to throw-up”, though a spokesperson for Boehner later said he was expressing disgust with the broader Democratic legislative priorities. But it is the remarks of Foxx that are receiving the most attention and are the most shocking.

Glenn Thrush:

North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx is questioning whether the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay University of Wyoming student, was a bias attack motivated by his sexual orientation.

Shepard’s mother Judy was in the gallery at the time, according to a senior Democratic aide.

The socially conservative Foxx, arguing against a new Democratic hate crimes bill that includes new protections for gays and lesbians, described the description of Shepard’s murder as a anti-homosexual attack a “hoax” — and questioned whether prior bias crime legislation should have been named after him.

“I also would like to point out that there was a bill — the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay.”

She added: “This — the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.

Disgusting and completely false! A statement by Foxx’s office later claimed that her statement as “a poor choice of words”. But it doesn’t seem by calling the heinous death of someone a”Hoax” to the face of that victim’s mother is beyond heartless. Its not a better choice of words she needs. But a scintilla of humanity and a conscience.

Its sentiment and cruelty like this that has diminished the Republican party to the husk of the organization that it is today. Not just gays, but their families, young voters, and nearly everyone with any type of heart is offended by and rightfully so. If talk like this and others. This rhetoric is a disgusting maneuver either motivated by at best sick political desires to tap the hate of a small minority or worse yet the blind hate of someone who forgets she is a Representative in esteemed elected office. If this keeps up, the Republican Party will be in the wilderness in perpetuity, which if they keep espousing such rhetoric will be the status they deserve.

Influenza Thread

As bad and astounding as the ravages of swine flu may be lets be thankful (and hope) that this is not a repeat of the 1918 Influenza outbreak that killed so many.

Update (4/30/09)- World Health Organization (WHO) raises the threat level to level 5 out of 6.

Update (12pm ET)- Vice President Biden doesn’t seem to be helping matters regarding the swine flu with his latest statements. I can kind of understand the plane part to some degree, but subways? For many public transportation not to mention elevators are the life blood of the U.S economy, and how many get to their jobs. Hopefully his stupid remark won’t induce panic among the broader public.

Update (3:22pm/ET)- Hours ago the Vice President’s office released a statement regarding the question on what advice he would give family on how to avoid the swine flu (which by the way is a term the WHO is no longer using in order to protect pigs). In it, Biden’s spokesperson emphasizes this is advice he has given members of his own family as a family person and not the broader public. The damage seems a bit done, though I don’t think this is a moment where one can say the administration has botched the reaction to this pandemic. Still they have lost today’s news cycle with this remark and maybe tomorrows. Beyond that this comment will likely be lost in the tangled thicket of others that Biden and other politicians amass over the years.

Update (3:55pm/ET)- the W.H.O: Number of Swine Flu Cases Rises to 257 world wide.

Update (7:12pm/ET)- MSNBC: Swine Flu shuts 300 schools across the U.S.

GOP Senator Specter Switches Parties

Following nearly three decades as a Republican U.S Senator from the state of Pennsylvania, has announced that he will run for re-election as a Democrat in 2010. Specter faced an arduous primary challenge from a rival whom he just barely eked out a victory from in the 2004 Republican Primary, former U.S Rep Pat Toomey (R-PA).

Specter sites the fight over the stimulus package earlier this year as the breaking point. No news if Democrats will challenge Specter for their party’s nomination.

Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veteran Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania abruptly switched parties Tuesday, a move intended to boost his re-election chances that also pushed Democrats within one seat of a 60-vote filibuster-resistant majority.

“I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans,” Specter said in a statement posted on a Web site devoted to Pennsylvania politics and confirmed by his office. Several Senate officials said a formal announcement was expected at mid-afternoon.

Specter’s switch of party will give the Democrats a 59 seat majority (59 if one includes Independents Joe Libermann (CT) and Bernie Sanders (VT) who caucus with the Democrats). Also once Minnesota decides to Seat Al Franken in the disputed 2008 Senate election, Democrats would have a 60 seat majority, that in any straight party line vote would invalidate any Republican filibusters.

Despite Specter’s party switch however he has made clear that his votes on issues will likely not. Specter has indicated that he will not switch his vote in opposition to the Employee Free choice Act, will not vote to move forward and support the Obama candidate for White House Office of Legal Council Dawn Johnsen (no I don’t mean that Don Johnson, Sonny Crockett doesn’t have a law degree and I doubt pastel colors would be a good fit for D.C), states he will oppose using a reconciliation process in the Senate to pass legislation with 51 votes, and doesn’t know if he will immediately start caucusing with Democrats. Specter it appears will fit in with the national Democratic party as he did with the Republicans. Only difference is the Republicans at least on the national level seem to be embracing rather then recoiling from thier most ideological supporters.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele says the switch isn’t due in regards to ideology but as a political concern. Steele could be right about Specter’s motivation. His poll numbers do show that he would have an uphill battle. However Specter’s exodus does seem to reflect a broader trend as Republican party identification amongst voters that is at its lowest level in a quarter century. Steele himself even called for punishment of Specter and two other Republican Senators who voted in support of the economic stimulus package.

In short, as Specter indicated at his press conference announcing his party switch, Specter and others have a disagreement with many conservative party activists. After two bruising election losses Specter and moderate Republicans aren’t wedded to ideology and want to win elections. The national party and its most ardent activists however seems more centered on starting an ideological fight. Conservative Republicans it appears, despite the ideological political shift evidence in the last elections, don’t want to win, but want to remain ideologically pure.

Swine Flu

As everyone knows by now there is a large outbreak of swine flu. So far there have been 40 cases reported in the United States and at least one in Spain. But by far from reports in the past few days Mexico by far has the most reported cases with 149 deaths in Mexico attributed to the disease.

U.S Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has declared a health emergency. The WHO threat level to a 4 out of 6. The European Union has issued an advisory discouraging all unnecessary travel to places where the disease has been reported, especially Mexico. There have been no casualties in the U.S reported yet, but if it is as severe as many say it is, it wouldn’t surprise me if we hear about one soon.

This from the CDC:

Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the United States. Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection also have been identified internationally. The current U.S. case count is provided below.

An investigation and response effort surrounding the outbreak of swine flu is ongoing.

CDC is working very closely with officials in states where human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) have been identified, as well as with health officials in Mexico, Canada and the World Health Organization. This includes deploying staff domestically and internationally to provide guidance and technical support.

Instead of posting a large piece of a news report, I will just post sections from the Reuters report that mention small things that all seem to make the larger portrait of what is going on.

In Mexico City, fearful Christians paraded a centuries-old statue of Jesus, believed to protect against disease, through the streets for the first time in more than a century.

The age of those who have died as a result is chilling.

Thirty-three million Mexican schoolchildren will be off school until the middle of next week as authorities seek to contain the outbreak. Schools in the sprawling capital had already been closed but the government ordered classes canceled across the country until May 6.

Most of the those who died were between 20 and 50 years of age, an ominous sign because a hallmark of past pandemics has been the high rate of fatalities among healthy young adults.

The outbreak also appears that it could have an impact on the global economy. In an increasingly globalized world where people, services goods, and yes even diseases constantly cross national boundaries this could help accelerate an already steep worldwide recession, despite there having been no casualties yet in either Europe, the United States, or Canada.

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent to close to $50 a barrel as investors feared a new blow to an already fragile global economy if trade flows are curbed and manufacturing is hit.

The MSCI world equity index fell 0.8 percent and U.S. stocks also slipped.

Flu fears hit U.S. airline stocks hard as investors worried that the travel industry would suffer. Shares prices for UAL Corp, the parent of United Airlines, shed 14 percent, while Continental Airlines Inc lost 16 percent.

Other travel and leisure stocks such as Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways and British Airways fell sharply, whereas makers of drugs and vaccines, such as Roche, were higher.

For more go to the CDC website.

Update (4/28 @ 1:17 PM/ET)- Number of Swine Flu cases in the U.S rises to 68.

Crack Pot Theory of the day

Over at Red state.com Erick Erickson has calculated exactly why Obama released the Bush/Cheney legal memos that encouraged torture. No, not to restore the image of the United states both at home or abroad, nor to end a political culture in the last administration that promoted secrecy and tolerated scandal and sheer incompetence. No, Obama released the memos so that terrorists could attack the continental United States.

So if the working theory is that we’re going to get hit again, what is the best response? After all, the public does credit George Bush with keeping us safe at 9/11.

The best strategy would look something like taking a band-aid off quickly. Get the pain over fast. And if an attack happens quickly enough into the new administration, they can blame Bush.

So the Obama administration is working hard to release all the memos on interrogations, change all the policies Bush implemented, and clear out the old as fast as possible. Never mind that if it were done slowly over time, our terrorist enemies might not be so incited to attack.

If your working premise is that they are going to attack anyway, get them incited quickly, get it over with, and blame Bush.

There is no other justification for so quickly making us less safe.

Well this shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all these are the same people that actually think the Iraq War was the work of a collection of adroit civilian minds in our government. Keep making those tin foil hats, boys.

"Straw Dogs" Re-make?

Remakes of good classic treasures of film often annoy me. There is an argument to be made that these remakes can expose a new generation to a great movie with a little more relevance, but a few tweaks in the script often doom a remake to be drained of much of what made it so entertaining and poignant in the first place. Besides the performances of actors in remakes are rarely as memorable as the originals.

Now according to the Hollywood Reporter, a re-make of the violent, yet powerful and striking 1971 Sam Peckinpah classic Straw Dogs is being considered.

The film itself revolves around David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) a bookish American mathematician and his voluptuous British wife (Susan George) who reside in the English countryside. They think they have escaped all the violence and chaos of society, but when a band of hooligans hector and torment the couple, the mathematician learns that shying away from conflict is not always an option.

James Marsden will star in Screen Gems’ reimagining of the 1971 thriller “Straw Dogs” being written and directed by Rod Lurie.

The new “Straw Dogs” follows Los Angeles screenwriter David Sumner (Marsden), who moves with his wife to her hometown in the deep South. Once there, tensions build in their marriage and old conflicts re-emerge with the locals, leading to a violent confrontation.

The original, co-written and directed by Sam Peckinpah, saw Dustin Hoffman in the role of Sumner, with the story set in rural England.

Both films are based on the book “The Siege at Trencher’s Farm” by Gordon Williams.

Me, I will stay with the Sam Pekinpah original any day over any glossy star studded effort to update it.

Jay Bybees "Legal" Memos Put to Music

H/T- Andrew Sullivan: