Richard's Common Sense

Friday, May 6, 2011

OBL and NOT common sense

"Sen. Lindsey Graham calls the president's refusal to release bin Laden's photo a 'mistake.' AP Photo Close President Obama's refusal to show photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse will fuel skeptics around the world who .."
Sarah Palin, on Twitter: @SarahPalinUSA Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it's part of the mission
Rep. Duncan Hunter, member of the House Armed Services Committee, in an interview with CNN: "I want to see them personally...I did three tours. I'm not talking as a Member of the Armed Services Committee – as a Marine who did three tours because of 9/11. As Americans we deserve to see them.
In an exclusive for TIME, former CIA head of counterterrorism Jose Rodriguez tells Massimo Calabresi that black site prison techniques on KSM and others led to OBL intel. (New York, May 4, 2011)-In his first public interview, former CIA head of ...Behind the widespread jubilation upon the news of Osama bin Laden's death rests an important policy question.
Can we now leave Afghanistan? After all, bin Laden is the reason we went there, 10 years ago.

"National polls conducted since President Barack Obama's announcement Sunday night that Osama bin Laden had been killed don't agree on whether the president's poll numbers spiked due to the death of the man behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

So Osama bin Laden is dead. Now it's open season on political posturing for gain. Really, Common Sense wonders what exactly has changed?

Will OBL be less dead if there's no photo of a corpse? Common Sense doesn't think so. Rather common sense dictates that 1) the photo would certainly inflame violent radical, and 2) no matter what is released there will be a wingnut conspiracy theory that he wasn't killed.

Would OBL still be dead without enhanced interrogation techniques? Common Sense doesn't know and neither does anyone else. The facts are that enhanced interrogation techniques were used. That they did yield intelligence. Was that intelligence useful? The people who really know say yes. The people that oppose enhanced interrogation techniques simply don't know. Comments in this space are about political posturing not reality.

Should we leave Afghanistan now? Did we go to Afghanistan just to kill bin Laden? Common Sense thinks not. Bin Laden planned the 9/11 attacks but there was and is a real al Qaeda network that carried them out. They had a protected home in Afghanistan. Now they have semi protected homes in several countries. While one can debate the merits of staying in Afghanistan leaving is almost certain to return the country as an Al Qaeda haven.

President Obama's poll bump. Mr Obama didn't fire the shot that killed bin Laden. He is president as was Mr Bush before him. How good a president he is depends on his policies and actions. His policy with respect to Al Qaeda and bin Laden largely parallel his predecessor Mr Bush. Bin Laden's death doesn't change anything. It doesn't make Mr Obama's policies better or worse. It shouldn't change our opinions about him as a president.

Common Sense thinks that we should all get a grip about is real and what is not. Posturing doesn't change reality. Never has. Never will. That's just common sense.

Wingnuts of the world unite

Osama bin Ladin isn't dead! Really!

He was captured and is currently being interrogated.
He escaped just like last time.
It was a double that was killed and OBL is hiding elsewhere.
He was killed many years ago. It's all a hoax to justify getting out of Afghanistan.
He's been frozen and is in storage. It's all a hoax to give Obama a bump in the polls.
He's really an alien and has returned home.

President Obama wasn't born in the US and his presidency is illegal! Really!

The birth certificate was fake.
He has dual citizenship.
He was really born in Kenya.
He's actually a citizen of Indonesia.

Elvis is still alive and in hiding! Really!

He was an alien and has gone home.
He's working as an agent of the DEA.
Jon Cotner is really Elvis.
Jesse is really Elvis.

Harry Hughes is really the son of Howard Hughes and Katherine Hepburn! Really!

I'm Howard Hughes real son! Really!

Three percent of Americans still believe Obama was not born in the US! Really! This time Common Sense really means it!! Common Sense has way more than 100 friends and really really wants to know which three are wingnuts! Really!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Porn and the law

Court Says Porn on Work Computer Is Grounds for Firing | Threat Level | Wired.com - With that in mind, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the firing of a Wisconsin high school biology teacher and union president for viewing thumbnail images of porn for one minute. Robert Zellner, an 11-year teacher, claimed his 2006 termination for typing “blonde” in the Google search bar was in retaliation for his constitutionally protected criticism of his employer.

Watching Internet Porn at NYC Libraries Protected by First Amendment, Officials Say - FoxNews.com: "New Yorkers can watch internet porn at the city's public libraries thanks to a policy of free speech protected by the First Amendment, the New York Post reported Monday."

OK, at work with adults your employer can fire you. In public with children around it's protected speech. So an employer's property rights trump a parent's rights to protect their child from porn. Employer property rights to a computer terminal also trumps the library's property rights to a state owned computer terminal. Common sense ... not.

When the law as interpreted by courts abridges parental rights and common sense then the law needs to be changed. That's just common sense.

Cantor - no tax hikes

House's Cantor says tax hikes off the table | Reuters:

"(Reuters) - House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said he told bipartisan talks on the U.S. deficit that tax hikes were off the table as far as the Republican-run House of Representatives was concerned."

The foolishness just roles on and on when it comes to the budget and taxes. Some relevant facts:

Clearly in Mr Cantor's mind common sense need not apply to tax breaks, tax rates, or who pays. It's long past time to look at booth sides of the budget, both spending and revenue. That's just common sense.

Where do they come from: Graham worries over lack of proof | POLITICO 44

Graham worries over lack of proof | POLITICO 44:

"President Obama’s refusal to show photos of Osama bin Laden’s corpse will fuel skeptics around the world who think the Al Qaeda leader is still alive, Lindsey Graham says.

“The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound, rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof of bin Laden’s death,” Graham, a Republican national security hawk in the Senate, said in a statement. “I know bin Laden is dead. But the best way to protect and defend our interests overseas is to prove that fact to the rest of the world.”

Graham, who called Obama’s move “a mistake,” added that “the decision made today by President Obama will unnecessarily prolong this debate.”"

Common Sense notes juxtaposed in the news:

(Reuters) - Computer hackers are exploiting the fascination with the death of Osama bin Laden to spread malicious software through scams that promise access to videos of the historic killing.

Fake Bin Laden Photos Fool Some Lawmakers

So what exactly is a photo suppose to prove? Not much it seems. Not even for our clearly above average elected representatives. Really folks, get a grip and a bit of common sense.

Update 5/6/2011

Greenville, South Carolina (CNN) – Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a likely candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, called on President Barack Obama to release photos of Osama bin Laden's body Friday.
Speaking to a group of reporters the morning after his appearance in the first GOP presidential debate, Pawlenty said Al Qaeda's admission that bin Laden is dead does not settle the debate over releasing the photographs.

"Beyond Al Qaeda, there may be others who question the claim that bin laden was killed," he said. "But that's not the only issue relating to the photographs. There is a public interest in the photographs."

"I don't think the president needs to be the censor-in-chief, absent a clear national security need for it to be secret or confidential," Pawlenty added. "He was the one who said he wanted to have the most open and transparent government in the modern history of the country.

Really? Lets try some common sense.

Photos don't prove anything. If you doubt it just consider the fakes currently making the rounds.
Those that believe in conspiracies believe in conspiracies independent of evidence or common sense.
Such photos will doubtless serve as a rallying point for violent radical Muslims. Think not? Consider Che Guevara.
Even Al Qaeda acknowledges his death.

There is no upside and considerable potential downside. Now Mr Pawlenty hopefully knows better or perhaps not. That makes him either yet another hack seeking advantage via distortion and manipulation or a wingnut. Neither is attractive in someone who wants to be president.

MLK quote

The simple truth is that MLK didn't actually say this.

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.

Here are some references:

That said, the quote is interesting. It appeals to the notion of "love thy enemy." It appeals to our better gentler self. It confronts the unseemly demonstrations around OBL's death.

But, how relevant is it in the real world? Should the death of evil not be a cause for joy? Should we turn the other cheek on evil that forfeits the lives of innocents and denies their basic humanity?

Common Sense is glad bin Laden is dead. I hope that the women I know who lost her finance on 9/11 will finally find closure. I'm glad that the families of my dead colleagues have finally received some measure of justice. When evil that has no regard for innocence or humanity is destroyed the world is a better place. That's just common sense.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Celebrating bin Laden's death

Ahmad Fuad Rahmat, "Why Are Americans Celebrating Osama's Death?"
Stop Public Celebrations of Osama's Death

The inevitable backlash over bin Laden's death have arrived. These are two rather thoughtful examples. Common Sense has also received several posts concerning the celebrations, characterizing them negatively.

Common Sense has mixed views in this regard. On one hand there is an essential sameness between the US celebration of bin Laden's death and the celebrations in some radical Muslim societies over the events of 9/11. Common Sense's reaction to one is revulsion but to the other a mixture of fundamental agreement and cautious concern. That's a personal reaction of course, not an objective evaluation of either.

Celebrations of this sort are in many ways simply human. While we are all human, as a species we remain generally tribal. When my tribe triumphs I quite naturally feel pride. Celebration is not far behind. In this way such celebrations are just expressions of humans being human. That makes them understandable.

The two links are interesting but in Common Sense's view fail to grasp the essential issues.

Consider John McWhorter's

I will experience my joy at bin Laden's death as a private sentiment best gotten past as quickly as possible -- and all lusty, communal "Ding dong, the witch is dead" celebrations of his death as unfortunate.

Is bin Laden's death simply "unfortunate." Common Sense wonders when did the death of a mass murderer become unfortunate. Common Sense has seen real evil disguised as a human first hand. Common Sense wonders should such people retain an absolute right to life? Most of the world, including much of the western world, continues to recognize the death penalty in law. Underlying the death penalty is a recognition that some people forfeit their right to life by their actions. Is execution of a murderer "unfortunate?" While Common Sense has reservations about such executions, they are on balance not "unfortunate" but just.

Being part of a civilized just society requires rather more than two arms and two legs. It requires an acceptance and participation in the essential norms of civilized society. Bin Laden rejected those norms and actively participated in the terror death of thousands of innocents. His death is thus just.

Ahmad Fuad Rahmat's remarks

The triumph can only lie in the feeling of redemption: Americans can finally convince themselves that the War on Terror has been, after all, worthwhile. Bin Laden's death lets it all make sense: they can now proclaim that the deaths of millions of Muslims, the sacrifices of thousands of American soldiers, and the depletion of America's own wealth in the process, have not been in vain.

also miss the mark focused as they are on the cost of the War on Terror and the notion of its justification/redemption.

Does the War on Terror make sense? Common Sense thinks that depends on what you think it is. Do the Iraq and Afghanistan wars make sense? That's certainly a valid question given the state of their governments and marginal success the US has had at establishing a civil society in what was previously a largely lawless tribal region. Common Sense notes that there are not many examples of military imposition of a civil society where one did not previously exist.

But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not the only part of the War on Terror. The US intelligence community has been remarkably successful in thwarting terror activity in the US and elsewhere. Surely that part of the War on Terror is just common sense!

As to Mr Rahmat's notion of redemption. Common Sense notes that there is no redemption nor, for that matter, justification necessary when an elected government in a democratic society acts consistent with the wishes of its citizens. Here Rahmat's concern seems to Common Sense rather political. As such they are not so much about celebrating an enemies' death as objecting to a political decision. While questioning that decision is certainly reasonable attaching that question to the celebration of an enemies death is little more than a crude attempt to change the topic.

Just a Common Sense POV.