What George Will said on "This Week" this morning re: the morality of torture .... ARRRGGGGG!

[housewolf]

During the panel discussion regarding Holder's appointment of a torture investigatigation, he said that the morality of the torture techniques would be judged on their effectiveness. Not an exact quite, but that was basically what he said. The ends justify the means.

Well I gotta tell you, that's the exact opposite of EVERY teaching I ever received about morals and ethics. The exact opposite.

He was a prime example of the moral bankruuptcy of the right wing today.

[kentuck]

1. I heard that.

I thought the same thing as you. If torture works, then it is OK??

[housewolf]

3. I thought my outrage at the Bush administratioin had finally died out

and I was SO relieved to have that burden lifted. George Will's statment brought it all back again.

[ShortnFiery]

2. I hesistate to venture on George Will = the CONTENT of his character.

9/11 justifies every damn thing. Right George Will?!?

Just VILE. :puke:

[TahitiNut]

4. I wonder if he'd say the same thing about spousal abuse.

After all, "if it works" is the refuge of brutish sociopaths.

[housewolf]

9. No only spouusal abuse

A person could justify just about an action based on that kind of thought. Just imagine a society in which that was the operataing principle. After all, rape is "effective" for the rapist. Terrorist acts are "effective" for the terrorists when they produce the results the terrorists want.

[gratuitous]

13. Or about secretly prepping a candidate with a stolen briefing book

Then going on national TV to say that the candidate you had prepared had hit a home run in the debate. I mean, as long as your candidate won, you could say it was perfectly all right. Right, Mr. Will? I hardly think George Will is someone who should be lecturing America on morality and ethics and getting paid for it.

[eleny]

5. In a sane world that statement would sink a public individual like GW

I watched the program and could hardly believe my ears. Between him and Darth Chenette it was quite an hour.

[brewens]

6. I remember him saying that he got started

partly because he was incensed by the movie Billy Jack. Now that should tell you a lot about his character.
It's been a long time since I've seen that movie. The first time was in my uncles theater at Billings Montana.
The way I remember it, Billy Jack defended the peaceful hippies and Native Americans from the redneck townsfolk. Even saved a young girl from being raped at one point.
Yeah George! We can't have heroes going around defending innocent people like that. Next thing you'd have is Americans expecting their government and military to do the same thing.

[housewolf]

14. Billy Jack???

It's been a long time since I've seen that movie, too. But for the life of me I can't remember anything in that could have "started" George Will on the track he's gotten himself to, unless he sees himself as one of the redneck gang who think that they are entitled to run roughshod over everyone unlike themselves.

Thanks for the memory, I was a Billy Jack fan back in the early 70's, and still have the song "One Tin Soldier" in my memory.

[brewens]

20. Precisely!

He was outraged that someone defending a bunch of dope smoking, long hairs would be glorified.

[Bluerthanblue]

7. hell, terrorism works, so does murder and theft- does that make

them ok?

George Will is an ass. Effectiveness isn't the measure, unless you want to live without any morals or ethics.

:shrug:

[housewolf]

10. He must have somehow missed the prime lessons of morality

"The ends do not justify the means."

Also the one that goes something like "Do unto others what you would have them do to you." And "Turn the other cheek."

Rather, he's taken on the hubristic "Vengence is mine."

[asjr]

8. George Will is the most

pompous ass I have ever seen and heard.

[izquierdista]

12. He could use a good vacation

In the Gulag Archipelago. People like him were the reason the Cultural Revolution was invented.

[MajorChode]

11. If you liked that, you should have seen what Liz Cheney had to say

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/30/sam-donaldson-spars-with_n_272257.html

Basically Liz says we should read what the National Review had to say on the subject, as if they are an objective source on the matter. Even McCain says there needs to be an investigation.

Poor Liz has visions of her daddy getting frog marched off to prison. I think the only thing that makes her less evil than her dad is not as much opportunity.

[housewolf]

15. I found her impossible to listen to

It seemed like she spent her time trying to talk over everyone else so that I couldn't hear either what she was trying to say or what the other panelists were trying to say. But you're right, she's Daddy's Girl, alright.

[givemebackmycountry]

18. EXACTLY. I caught that too.

And the DICK-LESS DICK (version 2.0) said that with such assurance and conviction.
Like the freaking NATIONAL REVIEW is the foremost objective source of information in the world, and the doughy pant-load (even though he didn't write this article) is sermon on the mount truthful.
The National Review Online.
Yeah, right.
Maybe I should see what the American Enterprise Institute thinks as well.

Liz Cheney, Republican strategist.
Liz Cheney, douchnozzle extraordinarie.

[Lex]

16. Chopping off people's fingers probably is effective at stopping theft.

Should we do that too?

[unblock]

17. i'd say the right wing jumped the shark when it actually decided to defend torture

but i terms of rhetoric, they jumped the shark quite a long time ago, and in terms of power, they have not yet jumped the shark.


still, i can't believe that some right-wing think tank somewhere actually consciously decided that it would look better for all conservatives to go on record defending torture rather than to have someone take a fall and have everyone else condemn it.

[ThoughtCriminal]

19. So they have completely abandoned "It didn't happen"?

What next?

[Prophet 451]

21. Dimwit

The morality of an action is not dependent on it's effectiveness. What the Black & Tans did in Northern Ireland was highly effective but it was still utterly immoral.