To the families of the two soldiers tortured and killed in Iraq, my heart goes out to you.  I wish our country occupied the moral high ground in this case.  It would be much easier to point and declare such action abhorrent and against all humane reason, but sadly we can no longer do that.  We can be repulsed by such treatment, we can be disgusted by the torture and beheading of Americans, and we can be angered by the contradictory treatment of soldiers captured in a time of war, but we have absolutely no right to claim a moral superiority in this case.  After all, what example have we set for the enemy?

We detain captured persons indefinitely without hope for counsel, the opportunity to face accusers, a simple chance to answer to charges levied against them.  For that matter, we don’t even charge them; we just hold them and push them to suicide.

We torture prisoners, force dogs to attack them, smear them with excrement, take horrifyingly degrading photographs of them, strip them down and force them to engage in homosexual acts, and otherwise mistreat and abuse and humiliate them, and all contrary to the international laws and Geneva Conventions we swore to uphold decades ago in response to similar atrocities perpetrated against us by others.

We utilize “extraordinary rendition” to move prisoners and POWs to countries where they will most definitely be tortured and killed, and we do so surreptitiously and underhandedly while claiming we do not torture them ourselves; this is a cheap and transparent deception.

We wrongfully attack civilians, even going so far as to inflict intentional retribution against them for wrongs done by others.  We kill unarmed men, women, and children.

Given the example we’ve set with such actions, how dare we stand up and act insulted and disgusted by the treatment of our own soldiers.  It horrifies me, yes, and it breaks my heart to think anyone could be treated in such a manner.  Yet, what American can stand in good conscience and declare such actions inhumane while we do the same and worse?  What citizen of this once great nation can truly and genuinely disavow the barbaric treatment of our own brethren while we ourselves inflict similar and even more horrendous anguish on others?

Our government kindly placed us in this position.  We can no longer claim a superior moral code by way of the ethical treatment of our enemies.  Given this, how do we demand such treatment from our enemies without breaking into hysterical laughter at our own hypocrisy?  So long as we are being treated in the same manner as we treat others, we are left with no room to complain.  We should never have arrived in this place, lost to our own ideology, betraying all our country once stood for, and acting contrary to what we ourselves are demanding from others.

As Mom taught us so long ago, “Cast your bread upon the water, and after many days it shall return unto you.”  Our chickens are coming home to roost, America.  I hope you’re happy with the new world we’ve created.  Warfare will never be the same.

Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

— Susan Ertz

Are you comfortable with hatred?

There is no evil like hatred,
And no fortitude like patience.
Thus I should strive in various ways
To meditate on patience.

My mind will not experience peace
If it fosters painful thoughts of hatred.
I shall find no joy or happiness;
Unable to sleep, I shall feel unsettled.

Congress and King George recently framed homosexuality as a choice hoping that such a false declaration would muster enough support to pass the discriminatory constitutional amendment regarding marriage.  Despite all the evidence indicating it is not a choice but is instead a genetic trait (just look at the animal kingdom for hundreds of species with the same tendency), ignoring the science for political gain was the mantra du jour.  They failed completely by losing votes since the last time the issue was brought up.

Sadly, no one told the Pentagon it was a choice because they too have declared it something other than genetics, but in their case they’re ignoring more than 30 years of hard science and agreement in the medical and mental health communities.  Discovered recently is a Pentagon document that states homosexuality is a mental disorder.  “The document outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members with physical disabilities, and in a section on defects lists homosexuality alongside mental retardation and personality disorders.”  What is most amazing is that the notion that homosexuality is a mental disorder was completely tossed out the window by science and medicine more than 30 years ago.  To wit:

“Based on scientific and medical evidence the [American Psychiatric Association] declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973 — a position shared by all other major health and mental health organizations based on their own review of the science,” James H. Scully Jr., head of the [APA], said in a letter to the Defense Department’s top doctor earlier this month.

Yes, we all know Dubya and the Republicans ignore science as much as possible (e.g., global warming and medicinal uses for marijuana), so why should this be any different?

I must also point out, however, that the DoD’s statement that homosexuality is a mental disorder would certainly shed a different light on the Republican attempts to discriminate against us via a constitutional amendment (not to mention all of the states which have already passed such laws).  I mean, if we’re sick, all those laws are blatant discrimination based on a medical condition…  I suppose no one on the people’s payroll caught that one.

At this point, the best response I can come up with is simply to point and laugh.  I mean, how do you miss more than 30 years of science that directly contradicts the same tired line you’re trying to sell?

If you were caught in a disaster, would you leave your pet(s) to save your own life?  More importantly, would you leave without your pet(s) even if your life was not in jeopardy?

I’ve already answered that question for myself.  In two words: ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOT!  If they don’t go, I don’t go.  It’s that simple.  If your answer is different, I hate you.  Again, it’s that simple.

In response to the horrendous post-Katrina animal disaster, I say “Never again!”  The Humane Society of the United States says the same thing.

Read the latest at The Humane Society of the United States.  (See more of these eCards here; read all of them.)