They Voted for Torture

Regarding the shocking Pro-torture bill just passed
by the senate, here is an overview by Glenn Greenwald:

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/09/legalization-of-torture-an_115945829460324274.html

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/09/george-bushs-vast-new-powers-of.html

Alternet also did article on this bill. And here are my comments:

Public Support for Torture

These senators who voted for this torture bill would not
have done so unless they felt that they could get away
with it. That is, that large portions of the American
electorate either wouldn’t care or would actively support
such a bill.

Why, after over 200 years of supporting the Constitution,
does the American public no longer care?

Could it be that after 30 years of TV (and more and more
children being raised on TV) sending us the message that
torture & breaking the rules is ok as long as it’s the
“good guy” doing so.

“Sadly, for decades the media model for a hero has been
the rogue cop who lies, cheats, steals, bashes heads and
generally trashes the rights and often the bodies of
guilty and innocent alike, to catch some vile thug.
From James Bond, to the Beverly Hills Cop, to the latest
episode of “Law and Order,” media cops have little use
for such archaic concepts as “constitutional rights,”
“your home is your castle,” or “innocent until proven guilty.”

“What’s more, in TV – and movie-land, these brutal tactics
almost always succeed, usually just in the time to prevent
some horrendous atrocity. Increasingly, the only difference
between media cops and the criminals which they pursue, is
that the cops have “good” intentions, while criminals have
“bad” intentions. However, increasingly both use virtually
the exact same tactics and both inflict massive collateral
damage on the innocent.”

From this excellent article:

http://www.isil.org/towards-liberty/legitimizing-torture.html

Now, in addition to countless cop shows showing the advantages
of bashing in some scumbag, we have the show 24, beloved by
liberals and conservatives alike, making the case that torture
is necessary and moral under the correct circumstances.

Even in the movie “V for Vendetta”, the “hero” imprisons and
abuses (you could argue tortures) the heroine for no particular
reason.

For more on how TV is destroying Democracy see:

http://www.tvsmarter.com/documents/democracy.html