SmithAntics

BWAHAAAAAAAA!

Bill Clinton via Atrios

Washington's Choice

During the Revolutionary War, between the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which set our founding ideals to paper, and the writing of our Constitution, which fortified those ideals under the rule of law, our values – our beliefs as Americans – were already being tested.

We were at war and victory was hardly assured, in fact the situation was closer to the opposite. New York City and Long Island had been captured. General George Washington and the continental army retreated across New Jersey to Pennsylvania, suffering tremendous casualties and a body blow to the cause of American Independence.

It was at this time, among these soldiers at this moment of defeat and despair, that Thomas Paine would write, "These are the times that try men's souls." Soon afterward, Washington led his soldiers across the Delaware River and onto victory in the Battle of Trenton. There he captured nearly 1000 foreign mercenaries and he faced a crucial choice.

How would General Washington treat these men? The British had already committed atrocities against Americans, including torture. As David Hackett Fischer describes in his Pulitzer Prize winning book, "Washington's Crossing," thousands of American prisoners of war were "treated with extreme cruelty by British captors." There are accounts of injured soldiers who surrendered being murdered instead of quartered. Countless Americans dying in prison hulks in New York harbor. Starvation and other acts of inhumanity perpetrated against Americans confined to churches in New York City.

The light of our ideals shone dimly in those early dark days, years from an end to the conflict, years before our improbable triumph and the birth of our democracy. General Washington wasn't that far from where the Continental Congress had met and signed the Declaration of Independence. But it's easy to imagine how far that must have seemed. General Washington announced a decision unique in human history, sending the following order for handling prisoners: "Treat them with humanity, and let them have no reason to complain of our Copying the brutal example of the British Army in their Treatment of our unfortunate brethren."

Therefore, George Washington, our commander-in-chief before he was our President, laid down the indelible marker of our nation's values even as we were struggling as a nation – and his courageous act reminds us that America was born out of faith in certain basic principles. In fact, it is these principles that made and still make our country exceptional and allow us to serve as an example. We are not bound together as a nation by bloodlines. We are not bound by ancient history; our nation is a new nation. Above all, we are bound by our values.

George Washington understood that how you treat enemy combatants could reverberate around the world. We must convict and punish the guilty in a way that reinforces their guilt before the world and does not undermine our constitutional values.

The Democrats lay supine while the fucking bastards piss on the Constitution.

Have a nice weekend.

Hah, hah….?

Oh, and more of Grand Wizard Macaca.

Ugh...

Where blacks know their place

Brutal.

I sure hope I don’t go postal and ruin Happy Friday

Haven't seen anything postworthy lately. Something should pop up soon.

Oh, for fuck’s sake

Talking about talking about leading. What a joke.

Bang on the money (and thoroughly infuriating) analysis from Fried Wire.

I need a drink.

Gotta love this. My good friends from So Cal, Art, Jodey, and Dave — the real Supernova — have prevailed in their lawsuit against the lame-ass Rock Stars© that tried to steal their name.

Beautiful.

I see that the “sensible Republicans” are opposing BushCo’s torture fetish.

Sorry, but I won’t be getting all giddy about this. Let’s get real. These illusions of dissent within the Rethuglican ranks are a fucking joke. When push comes to shove, these clowns will always get in line behind Bush. How many times have we witnessed this charade?

Oh, and note to Democrats: Grow a fucking pair.

Aw, shit, who am I kidding. The Democrats will never grow a pair.

Never. Ever.

Hammered BushCo last night.

If your not watching Countdown every night, you need to be.

And credit where credit is due, Matt Lauer got right in Bush's face. Good job.

Imagine if the Democrats weren’t shivering in puddles of their own fear-induced urine and actually had the sack to stand up to Bush like these news anchors do.

The cable vultures are replaying the horror. I watched the towers fall again. I'm in a real nasty mood as a result.

Fuck you, BushCo.

Fuck you.

I am so god damn sick of the continuing “conversation” about the state of this country and the “debate” about the incompetent asshole thugs that ruined America.

The debate is over. The verdict is in. BushCo is a fucking catastrophe and needs to be removed from the White House and all other positions of authority.

Why in the fuck has this not been done?

If your house was falling apart, you and your family wouldn’t stand around on the fucking lawn talking about it. You’d fix the god damn house.

This is the undeniable failure of America. The worst disaster the republic has ever faced is sitting in the White House, and the "elite opinion makers" just sit around and talk about it. Are we safer? Is Iraq in a civil war? Was the intelligence manipulated? Who’s to blame for the Katrina fiasco? Do the poll numbers bode ill for the White House?

Six years and counting, and America hasn’t righted the ship.

Cheney was allowed to exist and thrive.

Failure.

Shameful, devastating failure of historic proportions.

And the BushCo thugs will live out their natural lives in luxury from the profits of the hell they have sewn.

And the pundits will just talk about it.

And the sheeple will be content.

Who could’ve imagined America would self-destruct in this way?

Never in my wildest dreams.

God, this pisses me off. It’s the ultimate anti-climax to a giant multi-year case of uncured blue balls.

Fitzmas?

What a giant stinking dud that turned out to be. File that with the Kerry choke job and the other sickening disappointments we’ve endured during this national nightmare.

Sorry, I’ve veered away from the Happy Friday mindset!

Have a good weekend.

The truth-based left blogosphere is smacking the BushCo lie machine in the mouth. This is not exaggeration or wishful thinking. A new and potent form of popular democracy is coming into its own — just when it is needed most.

I’m actually feeling hopeful.

Student Resource Sheet

Oh. My. God.

I’m back. What do you freaks want to talk about?

It looks like ABC will be blaming Clinton for 9-11. Good thing the only effective instrument against right-wing lies — the left blogosphere — is on the case.

Election season begins today. Do you trust the Dem leadership to wage an effective campaign against a party and a president that most Americans hate?

I don’t.

Sorry, but why should I? I believe the Democratic Party is terminal. These people have no nut, no killer instinct. This is the party of Biden.

Joementum 2: Biden Boogaloo.

I’ll be more than happy to eat those words. But I just feel stupid getting hopeful about electoral success for the Democrats. You see, I have this thing called a memory. And despite the abuse I have heaped upon it, it allows me to remember the last three elections.