McCain: Torture is Never Acceptable

While I do not agree with absolutely everything the man says (in fact, I am getting a bit tired of the “I am more conservative than you are!” bit that all Republican candidates go through to get the nomination), I am a supporter of John McCain’s run for the Presidency of the United States. I find that he is the best man for the job running, and he has what limited money and effort I can afford. This blog is even featured on the Blogs_4_McCain Blog.

The most recent Republican debate only reaffirmed my commitment to his campaign. While many of the candidates were willing to pander to the testosterone induced viewers when it came to the torturing of enemy combatants (Mitt Romney: “Some people have said we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo”), McCain stood firm and took what I feel is the unpopular stance in a Republican Primary: that torture is never acceptable under any circumstance.

McCain said:

"We could never gain as much we would gain from that torture as we lose in world opinion. We do not torture people," he said. "It's not about the terrorists, it's about us. It's about what kind of country we are. And a fact: The more physical pain you inflict on someone, the more they're going to tell you what they think you want to know."

It might not jive with every voter, but it is the right and moral position.

2000: The Golden Era of Pop!

I was tagged a few days ago by Jams over at the Poor Mouth.

In this meme you should:-

1. Go to www.popculturemadness.com
2.Pick the year you turned 18 (look to the side bar and there are tabs for Billboard number 1 hits for each decade)
3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs of the year
4. Write something about how the song affected you.

I turned 18 in mid July, 2000. The hit song during that time was Aaliyah’s “Try Again”. I can honestly say that I don’t remember this song whatsoever. This was at the point in my life where anything connected to major radio and MTV was ever so uncool, so I paid very little attention to what was going on in the pop music world. 2000 does bring about fond memories concerning music however.



I had my first taste of left wing radicalism at about this time, so any angry and preachy rock and roll band that espoused similar beliefs was on my turntable. I was at the 2000 Democratic Convention, protesting along with the band. I don’t remember what I was protesting. Something about capitalism or some bullshit like that; it was a fun time none the less.

I also developed a taste for a few indie rock bands like Sunny Day Real Estate. I must have played their last record a thousand times that year. It was the type of whinny music nerds like myself listened to since I was not trying to get with women or drink myself stupid. All of that would come a few years later.



As I look back on 2000, it really feels like it was part of another era. It was the year before 9/11, and the Country had yet to enter the reign of Bush the II. It may have simply been the fact that I was 18 and did not know a damn thing, but it did feel like a simpler time. Hilarious, I know.

But the popular music of the day was pretty terrible. The charts were dominated by the likes of Christina Aguilera and Sisqo; need I say more?

Oh, Beach Impeach!

Here is a sarcastic report by Scottish stand-up comedian Mark Day at one of San Francisco's “Beach Impeach” events. Funny stuff.