We live at a time when three candidates for the U.S. Presidency claim not to believe in evolution, an astonishing occurrence displayed at the first GOP debate. This would be laughable as part of a Broadway farce, but is disturbing and frighteningly embarrassing in this context. It brings to mind the pathetic U.S. Senate debate over Einstein's Theory of Relativity in the early 1920s. That was a case of two senators -Boies Penrose (R-PA) and Sharp Williams (D-MS) - opposing something about which they understood nothing except how to exploit it to merchandise fear and ignorance.
We live in a nation where a leading candidate at the second Republican debate, Mitt Romney, refuses to define "torture" in line with his calls to "double Guantanamo" in size and engage in "enhanced interrogation techniques." Does Romney understand what he is saying or is this just craven pandering? Does he understand that Guantanamo violates any fair reading of law, ethics and morality? Does he understand the untold damage Gauntanamo has done to our image overseas? Does he understand the danger Guantanamo presents to our own troops?
This tough-talk too often comes from people who never served in the military, with Romney joining the likes of Cheney and Wolfowitz in this regard. Romney is working the so-called base of his party, but it's called "base" for very good reason, huh? After all, war-hero John McCain said he opposed torture during the debate, not coincidentally being the only one on stage on the receiving end of torture. He received little applause. Romney played out his comic-book swagger and got one of the loudest cheers of the debate. How much trouble are we in as a people?
We live in a nation where a leading candidate at the second Republican debate, Mitt Romney, refuses to define "torture" in line with his calls to "double Guantanamo" in size and engage in "enhanced interrogation techniques." Does Romney understand what he is saying or is this just craven pandering? Does he understand that Guantanamo violates any fair reading of law, ethics and morality? Does he understand the untold damage Gauntanamo has done to our image overseas? Does he understand the danger Guantanamo presents to our own troops?
This tough-talk too often comes from people who never served in the military, with Romney joining the likes of Cheney and Wolfowitz in this regard. Romney is working the so-called base of his party, but it's called "base" for very good reason, huh? After all, war-hero John McCain said he opposed torture during the debate, not coincidentally being the only one on stage on the receiving end of torture. He received little applause. Romney played out his comic-book swagger and got one of the loudest cheers of the debate. How much trouble are we in as a people?