WHAT RIGHT TO BEAR WHAT ARMS?

Since the Second Amendment to the Constitution was ratified as part of the Constitution on December 15, 1791, a lot of Americans have died by firearms. Just since the September 11, 2001 attacks, about 192,000 folks have died of lead poisoning at the rate of 80 per day. That is also the equivalent of 68 September 11 attacks. Let's end the debate over the right to bear to bear arms once and for all. Honor that right by only allowing every law abiding American the right to own the national firearm of 1791... a musket.

Originally published in Daily Herald, April 25, 2009

THE DOCTOR'S DISCIPLES

Thankfully, the true story of the hideous conspiracy at the highest levels of the Bush administration to legitimize and practice torture and then compound their criminal behavior by throwing five low level soldiers directed to practice that torture in prison as scapegoats, is coming to light.

These folks used terms like "harsh" and "enhanced" as euphemisms for torture, possibly because they realized that writing memos about and then directing low level soldiers to practice TORTURE wouldn't set well with the civilized world.

Just maybe, the revelations cascading out of Congress, the Justice Department and the remaining free press might spur our somnambulant populous, which enabled this criminality to exist, to wake up and demand justice; harsh justice for the perpetrators on top, and mercy for the scapegoats rotting in prison to protect their superiors.

But until then, up in Nazi Heaven, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Reich Minister of Propaganda, is smiling in appreciation that his lessons in devious totalitarian double speak were so aptly learned by the misguided and mendacious leaders who held the reins of power for eight dark years.

MEMO RELEASE GOOD; PROSECUTION PASS BAD

Kudos to President Obama for releasing the Bush administration Justice Department memos condoning and advocating torture, and raspberries to him as well for saying he will not prosecute the torture memo authors who provided bogus legal cover to CIA operatives who acted upon their twisted rationale.

It is ironic that while the president immunizes Justice Department activities that violate every premise of international law and American ideals, that same Justice Department is still expelling feeble octogenarians who may have been pressed into service as concentration camp guards seven decades ago during World War II.

Let us hope that the victims of these traitors, who used the 911 attacks to descend into a madness usually only associated with totalitarian states, don't have to wait seven decades for justice.

Originally published in Chicago Sun Times, April 20, 2009