This anecdote on perspective has been bouncing around in my brain the last couple of days, so I'll paraphrase it here the best I can.  It involves Nasrudin , a Muslim cleric, wise man, and philosopher in the Middle Ages who was known for using humorous anecdotes, usually involving himself, to demonstrate a concept or lesson.

One day Nasrudin was walking when he came across an old, poor man sitting at the side of the road moaning.  “What is it that makes you so sad?” asked Nasrudin.

The old man pointed to a small pouch and said, pathetically, “It’s because I am so poor that all I have in this whole world are the few meager items in this little bag.”

Without speaking, Nasrudin grabbed the pouch from the man and ran off with it.  The poor man gave chase, still moaning, but he was old and could not keep up.  Soon Nasrudin had disappeared over a rise in the road.  When the old man finally made it over the rise he saw the bag sitting in the middle of the road.  He picked it up and shouted for joy having recovered it.

At this, Nasrudin, who had been hiding behind a bush beside the road stepped out and asked the old man, “Tell me, how is it that this same little pouch that made you so sad a few minutes ago, now makes you so happy?”

Well, actually, he just realizes now that by allowing the torture of detainees he has shot himself in both feet: not only are their confessions inadmissible in court, but he can actually be charged with war crimes!!!

Bush’s lament: If only we could go back in time and change the Geneva Convention. If only torture was legal! If only our laws permitted “coerced” confessions! Stupid founding fathers! Stupid Supreme Court! Stupid Geneva Convention! Human Rights Schmum Rights! Oh, why can’t I just be a dictator like Sadaam or Edi Amin! Why does everyone keep yammering about “Separation of Powers” and “Checks and Balances”!

Bush’s Light Bulb Moment: Eureka! I’ll propose legislation that RETROACTIVELY makes torture okay, “reinterprets” the Geneva Convention to allow torture, and allows “coerced” confessions to be admissible in court. It’s the next best thing to a time machine!!!

Yes, it sounds insane, but that’s our President for ya! Here’s the CNN story. Essentially, he’s proposing a system of secret military courts to try detainees. These courts would allow heresay as evidence, would allow confessions obtained via “coercion”, and would even deny the defendant the right to know what the evidence against him is!  (Note: if this legislation passes I predict a VERY HIGH conviction rate).

And, oh yeah - the legislation would “change” Article III of the Geneva Convention regarding treatment of prisoners "with no uniform"  - such as the detainees in question - so that what we’ve done to them wouldn’t qualify as torture (and thus wouldn't have been illegal), and those who sanctioned it and carried it out couldn't be charged with war crimes!

Holy Crap! Why not just burn the Bill of Rights while we’re at it!

Fortunately, sanity may prevail. Even GOP leaders are beginning to realize he’s nuts. Colin Powell has broken his vow of silence to voice his objection. John McCain is predictably perturbed. Human Rights groups are going nutso. Even military lawyers and judges are against this.

Perhaps the best quote is this one from GOP Senator Lindsey Graham who is also a judge in the Air Force Reserve: “I’m begging we don’t cross that line…”

Note to Bush: You’ve been hell-bent on eroding civil rights, but when members of your own party are reduced to begging, maybe you’ve gone too far.

Anyway, here’s hoping that the Supreme Court, the Senate, Colin Powell, the media, the ACLU, and all of us lowly “citizens” can join together on this one and “Get Medieval on Bush’s Ass!”.

A year or so after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 I found myself in Manhattan for a few days on business, working directly across the street from Ground Zero.   My first day there, I walked around the site where the twin towers had been and was struck by the sheer size of the hole that was there now.  It must have been four blocks square and it had been excavated to what looked like 50 feet below ground level.

What I found most compelling however, was the church across the street.  It occupied an entire city block and upon its black, iron fence had been hung thousands of makeshift memorials. Cards, posters, pictures, drawings, prayers, banners, flags, yearbook photos, love letters, and various personal items put there by people from all walks of life and from all over the country.   I remember a letter from a woman whose fiancée had been killed.  I remember posters from an elementary school class somewhere in the Midwest.  I remember the pictures and names of those killed and that they were of all ages and races.

This ad-hoc collection of art and grieving conveyed the personal side to this tragedy more powerfully than any news story ever could. The raw emotions practically jumped off of the fence, and the collective sentiments expressed there portrayed the human condition as completely and poignantly as any work of art could; love, devotion, loss, pain, suffering, anger, hate, vengeance, confusion, faith, questioning, pride, sadness and even hope.  I found myself drawn back to that fence each day I was there, and although I am normally objective and unemotional, I found myself emotionally unsettled for my entire time there.

Then on my last day there, I happened across a news story on the web about a nun who had been imprisoned and tortured in South America.  Ordinarily it would have just been another news story, but combined with the hundreds of personal messages I had read on that fence I found myself overcome with despair – not so much for the victims and the survivors of the 9/11 attacks, but for the human race itself.   My normal emotional detachment had been breached, and I felt genuine agony in my heart that we humans (myself included) are so spiritually blinded, and so enslaved by fear in its various disguises that we actually purposely inflict profound suffering on one another, and even count ourselves righteous for doing so.

Nearly 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.  Nearly that many U.S. soldiers have died in the ensuing “war on terror”.  Probably ten times that many innocent civilians have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I imagine that if a similar wrought iron fence existed to display for us the memorials for these victims, and we were made to read the emotional wailings for 50,000 innocent men, women and children killed it would be a gut-wrenching experience.

After finishing my work in New York, I purchased some supplies at a drugstore, and in my hotel room, assembled my own contribution for the fence across from Ground Zero. I don’t remember it exactly, but it included two white angels on red construction paper with a short prayer and a Bible verse; Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”  I walked back to the fence almost at midnight and hung my poster next to another which consisted of an angry and impassioned call for the wholesale slaughter of Muslims in the Middle East.

As the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks draws near, the Bush Administration and the Department of Homeland Insanity wish to remind all Americans that we are still in imminent danger of being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

Now, more than ever, it is important for Americans to join together with the Bush Administration to reign in civil liberties so that we won't again be ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

You have no doubt heard stories about the United States invading sovereign nations, kidnapping their citizens, and imprisoning them in secret CIA prisons. Although these realities are not pleasant, all reasonable Americans will agree that it is better than being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

Additionally, the liberal media has caused people to criticize the Bush Administration for violating the Geneva Convention, torturing detainees or sending them to other countries to be tortured, and denying detainees access to attorneys or any legal process, but it is important to remember that valuable information has been obtained this way that will help us to avoid being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!! (Note, that in order to put to rest these criticisms the Bush Administration is preparing official policies regarding what does and does not constitute torture. So tactics like waterboarding, beatings, stress positions and the like will soon be officially classified as "not torture". Attorney General Gonzales is personally handling the development of these policies so Americans can rest assured that they will be legal).

Other Americans have voiced concerns over the Bush Administration's secret and illegal program of tapping Americans' phones without a warrant. Although the Supreme court has declared these actions illegal, all loyal Americans will admit that this is preferable to being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

Similarly, some liberals have complained about the secret and illegal gathering of all Americans' phone records, but rest assured that these erosions of personal liberties are necessary to protect your freedom, and loyal Americans would certainly prefer this to being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

That said, we would like to take the opportunity to announce that in Phase 2 of the EOCL (Erosion of Civil Liberties) Program we will be gathering and monitoring all library records, emails, internet search records and online purchases. Loyal Americans, who have nothing to hide, will not resist these measures knowing that they are better than being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

Additionally, we would ask that all patriotic Americans please report to us the names of any individuals who disagree with Bush Administration policies on these matters. These individuals, by voicing their dissention at this critical time in American history, are emboldening our enemies and their actions will result in us being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

Laws will soon be passed to allow for these godless, commie, pinko, liberal, ACLU-loving, tree-hugger, hippie, peacemongering, terrorist-sympathizers to be "detained" so that their misguided efforts to preserve "civil liberties" shall not prevail. Accordingly, we are asking for all loyal Americans to report these enemies of freedom who dangerously place civil liberties above national security. If we can detain these people soon enough it will prevent us from being ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

And lastly, we want to ask all "real" Americans to remember the victims of 9/11 and to honor their memory by not politicizing the tragic anniversay of these terrorist attacks. We suggest that the best way for you to do this is to vote Republican in all future elections to send a message to those who hate freedom, because it goes without saying that Democrats could never wage a war on terror the way that we Republicans can, and electing them will only assure that we will again be ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS!!

Happy 9/11 day to all "loyal" Americans!

I'm feeling a bit discouraged today, because despite America’s efforts to bring peace to the world, there seems to be more killing than ever.

I guess no good deed goes unpunished.  We developed atomic bombs and even dropped a couple in order to bring peace to the world, and what thanks do we get?  A nuclear arms race that threatens human existence!  We sold arms to Iran in the 70s and now they have the nerve to threaten us.  We sold arms to Bin Laden and he turns around later and attacks us!  We invade Iraq to liberate them and bring peace and they start a civil war – almost as if to spite us!

And what of the violence in Africa and South America and other parts of the Middle East? 

Well, at least the U.N Security Council is working to resolve all of these armed conflicts.  I just wish they could move a bit faster because these various wars are killing tens of thousands of men, women and children every month.  If only it weren’t so easy for every tyrant, despot and warlord to buy weapons.

Well, anyway, instead of whining about it, let’s thank the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council for their tireless efforts – so here’s a shout-out to the U.S., Russia, France, the U.K and China for working toward world peace!   Go team!!!

Uhhh….wait a minute…what’s THIS?  What the *#&$#!?  This Congressional report can’t be right!!  It says that the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are responsible for about 75% of worldwide arms sales!!  It says the U.S. alone is responsible for 40% of all worldwide arms sales!

And what’s THIS?  It says that arms sales are such big business that these countries actually WANT armed conflicts and that U.S. Corporations lobby the governments to be able to sell more arms to anyone and everyone around the world.

Those things can't be right because that would mean that the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council actually want….oh, oh…good feeling gone…world in big trouble….fox in the henhouse…