The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Andy Vance:

This explains a lot, I think:

The only reason it could be a good thing for terrorist suspects not to know the absolute limit of what the U.S. government can do to extract information from them is that they will be more likely to divulge intelligence if they fear worse treatment.
[...]
[T]he OLC scribes at least kept up the legal pretense that the program wasn't designed to scare the living shit out of these people and make them think that they were going to die slow, painful deaths. Mukasey and Hayden, on the other hand, admit it outright: Without the threat of more, and worse, torture, then yes—the whole program is useless. Which makes it torture.

i.e., exposure of the "techniques" is not the problem to these mofos; it's that it blows the bluff of murder.

I wonder if even the 28% of Americans who remain Bush supporters would still be on board...

Yes, they would. The only way Bush would lose their support is if he demonstrated some sign of capitulation to the pinkos - thus the in-your-face Vietnam rhetoric. John Cole puts it bluntly:

this is not about Iraq or domestic politics anymore. This isn’t about the soldiers and it isn’t about the prospect of Democracy in Iraq. This is about being “right†in the face of evil leftists. This is about “winning.†This is not about what these policies and this vile rhetoric are doing to this nation and our standing- this is about saving face and their own personal stake in what they have attached themselves to in the course of achieving “victory.†My guess is Bush and his speechwriters and Kristol and those mutants at the Weekly Standard and other rags feel comfortable saying this stuff because they know that out there in the blogosphere and the world there are ample knuckledraggers willing and happy to cover for them.

Sadly, they are probably right. It doesn’t matter what type of filth you churn out- The Powerline will have your back. Remember- the Democrats are worse.

Out of all the stupid things

Yes, but he's not trying to win back support from the sane and rational. He's trying to keep the troglodytes on board long enough to run out the clock so he doesn't have to admit defeat.

The only thing American troops are protecting at this point is this SOB's ego.

Maha makes an excellent point. It's useless arguing history with these freaks unless you speak Tamarian.

Lead zeppelin.

Michael: And then they write a letter to the editor about it.

I think the meta-joke is that, contrary to liberals' fondest hopes, this is what drives politics and policy. Never mind that DST was changed by a GOP Congress as part of an egregious energy bill; in the end it's all a pinko commie plot.

Ok, assuming the Meskimen letter is satirical, who is the target? I think it really is a subtle and well-placed dig at liberals (and not just because it's meant to trick them, er, us into thinking it's written by a yokel).

I hope this is satire as well. But sadly I think it's really an example of orc logic as sidelighted by Patrick.

To me it drips with obvious sarcasm, like his other letters.

And yes, there was a response that took him a face value.

Snicker:

I'll go out on a limb and predict that the Bush Library collection will grow to at least 10,000 volumes when you include The Pet Goat, The Plague by Camus, and 9,998 Bibles.

I'm afraid I'm going to miss the sumbitch when he's gone. Agonizing over his abject, brainless nihilism is a sickeningly seductive habit, like smelling one's own armpits.

It's funny 'cause it's twue! Reawwy!

He fell asleep reading Camus, natch.

Also worth reading: Patrick Jackson at Duck of Minerva.

Darius Rejali describes how tortures like forced standing were developed to leave less evidence, not to be less brutal.

This law review article describes how Bush's legal eagles are as dishonest as they are depraved. The author of the infamous Bybee Memo developed a definition of "severe pain" - the "organ failure or death" standard - from statutes regarding health insurance benefits.

I just thought of a new strategy. I'm going to change my name to James K. Glassman and represent myself as the proprietor of TCS (Total Cockamamie Syndicate) and peddle Marxist-tinged think pieces to mid-market metro dailies. Maybe then editors will start checking credentials.

This topic has sparked a memory of one of my favorite Roy Edroso posts evar:

Such people are not total hacks -- that is to say, while they may be Satan's emissaries on earth, they do take professional pride in their own work, and add filigrees and flourishes partly to increase effectiveness but also, I believe, out of pure love of craft. For example, there is some obvious merit to the author's accusations against the sugar barons -- among others, that they had hooked up with pure-food types not out of altruism but as a way to fight Splenda's increasing share of the sweetener market. This is the spoonful of sucralose, so to speak, that helps work down the public's gullet a larger message: that people who oppose synthetic foods on whatever grounds are anti-technology "chemicalphobes."

Organizations such as this are not about arguing a case, but adding strands to a narrative. Facts may be used as part of the grapeshot, but they are by no means the only or even most important part of the armamature. Painting an investigation of questionable scientific assertions as an inquisition on the order of Galileo's, for example, lifts the issue out of the debating chamber and into the realm of dreams. You certainly don't want to side with inquisitors or chemicalphobes. Now eat this chlorinated sugar.

Mmmm mmmm. It's almost worth enduring the agitprop to get to a chewy center of a reaction such as that.

I came across this remarkably unequivocal article this morning. James "journolobby" Glassman is pw3ned. More please.

I love these. Of course, I'm a weirdo; you're mileage may vary. If you've ever wondered what would happen if a buzzcut wingnut tried to write a folk-rock song, check out "Conscientious Objector" by Keith Everett (June 24 - #175).

Also recommended is the project producer's "band," The Bran Flakes.

They used fire to create the Midwestern prairie, perfect for herds of buffalo.

Hmmm. I vaguely recall some sort of kerfuffle on this point.

Give 'em hell, Harry. But for chrissakes, can't you come up with something a bit more pointed and pithy?

The Dems really need a good insult comic on staff.

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