h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"The March memorandum also contains a curious section in which the lawyers argued that any torture committed at Guantánamo would not be a violation of the anti-torture statute because the base was under American legal jurisdiction and the statute concerns only torture committed overseas. That view is in direct conflict with the position the administration has taken in the Supreme Court, where it has argued that prisoners at Guantánamo Bay are not entitled to constitutional protections because the base is outside American jurisdiction."

- Neil A. Lewis and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/politics/08ABUS.html

Now, the piece is full of ironies on its main topic, not least of which that we adhere to treaties except when we don't ('course, any Indian can tell you that) and that we propose regulations only for jurisdictions we don't enforce, but this last paragraph, which ends out the article, is the sweetest of all.

Anyway.

Why are we going on about the good graces of Ronald Reagan? He was a terrible president if you were anywhere near the poorest 80%, succeeding in presiding over a great heaping income and corporate tax cut while STILL making most people end up giving up more of their incomes in payroll taxes, destroying housing initiatives and social programs that hurt New York City and other cities unfairly, and being the man who set the dangerous precedent of federal deficits (not to mention the dangerous precedent of his cabinet) for the elder and younger Bushes to take to heart like the dogmatic devils that they are.

And besides, what did he do in his post-presidency? Why are we suddenly mourning a guy who was nigh-on incapacitated for a decade or more? I mean, here's Carter actually *doing* something for America other than writing best-selling autobiographies...

I've got to say I agree with you completely, but Reagan's Alzheimers was completely out of his control. I have an aunt that recently passed away in the same way. It's really hard...

He did a few good things in office. Remember the Navajo Code Talkers? But his shady math did just about ruin our economy, twice now!

Nixon publicly recognized them fully 10 years before Reagan was on the scene, and Reagan did more to obstruct local governance and stifle Indian control of Indian resources on reservations to make that have any weight.

Sorry... that came from a history project almost five years ago. My brain has leaked since then!

Hi guys,

Just a quick view from someone living in the UK,
Reagans death wasn't even on our news, I was watching Euro News on cable and they paid a sort of tribute to him, so it's not big news over here, it's just like the left arm not knowing what the right arm's doing. Goes to show all the thing's going off all over the world what most countries haven't a clue about including the U.S. & Uk.

Chat soon, Miz xxx

"Why are we mourning" his death?

Because he died, silly.

Not mourning death's about as troubling as resenting life.

Of course, the way the world's going, it's almost become acceptable to resent the life of public figures. So sad.

Not to rain on your parade, comrade, but death isn't something to be feared nor revered, and I'll save my emotions more conducive to "mourning" to somebody I'd actually have respected, appreciated or cared about. To think of how *that man* has brought upon a pall on this whole world, from extending the cold war and funding terrorists to gutting public assistance and health care to signing a death warrant for American cities and letting in the looney Christian right whackos take over the Republican party, I can think of worse things to do than be irreverent at his grave.

I do more than resent the life of some of our public figures. I detest and loathe them.