Quotes of the Morning: The Same Thing We Do Every Night

“The Army has approved a new, classified set of interrogation methods that may complicate negotiations over legislation proposed by Senator John McCain to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees in American custody, military officials said Tuesday.
The techniques are included in a 10-page classified addendum to a new Army field manual that was forwarded this week to Stephen A. Cambone, the under secretary of defense for intelligence policy, for final approval, they said.
The addendum provides dozens of examples and goes into exacting detail on what procedures may or may not be used, and in what circumstances. Army interrogators have never had a set of such specific guidelines that would help teach them how to walk right up to the line between legal and illegal interrogations.”
-Think Progress, December 14, 2005-12-14

“How could that interfere with what Senator McCain is trying to do to ban torture? Well, the McCain amendment would make the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Information (which strictly prohibits coercive interrogation techniques) the standard for interrogation. So what did the Bush Administration do? They rewrote the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Information to make it easier for interrogators to get around the restriction. Super. I see that we’re teaching the Iraqi troops what it means to live up to America’s high moral standards.”
-Skippy

“Two detainees may have been tortured to death at the hands of Iraqi security forces, the head of a commission investigating allegations of abuse at Iraqi jails said yesterday.
[…]
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters yesterday that at least 120 prisoners have allegedly been abused at the hands of Iraqi security forces, more than previously disclosed by the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. As many as 18 prisoners may have died while in custody at a Baghdad detention center first identified last month in a Los Angeles Times report.”
-Baltimore Sun, December 14, 2005

“Wow.. Apparently the President was off a little while ago when he said this..”
-Skippy

"Iraq is free of rape rooms and torture chambers."
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, October 8, 2003

“Or this..”
-Skippy

"One thing is for certain: There won't be any more mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms."
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, January 12, 2004

“So it is kind of looking like the new boss is the same as the old boss in Iraq. I’m so happy that we’ve brought them Freedom (and at such a low, low price).”
-Skippy

“How many Iraqi citizens have died in this war? I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis. We've lost about 2,140 of our own troops in Iraq.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, December 12, 2005

“Yep, we’ve killed (directly or indirectly) 30,000 innocent people in Iraq according to Dubya. We found no sign of weapons of mass destruction and have put a new government into control that certainly seems as monstrous as the one we took out. And we’ve done all of these good deeds for a mere $226 billion dollars and rising. Sure, we’ve had to sacrifice to do so much good.. The social programs for the poor have had to be cut (though the tax cuts for the wealthy have remained thankfully intact). Our educational system is being under funded, and we’re passing along debt to our great-great grandchildren, but I think that we’ll all agree that it’s worth it to see Freedom take root in the Middle East.”
-Skippy

“We will pass along to our children all the freedoms we enjoy -- and chief among them is freedom from fear. ...The only force powerful enough to stop the rise of tyranny and terror, and replace hatred with hope, is the force of human freedom. ...America will stand with the allies of freedom to support democratic movements in the Middle East and beyond, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world. ...And because democracies respect their own people and their neighbors, the advance of freedom will lead to peace. ... The beginnings of reform and democracy in the Palestinian territories are now showing the power of freedom to break old patterns of violence and failure. ... To promote peace and stability in the broader Middle East, the United States will work with our friends in the region to fight the common threat of terror, while we encourage a higher standard of freedom. ...We expect the Syrian government to end all support for terror and open the door to freedom. Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nukyular weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. ... Our generational commitment to the advance of freedom, especially in the Middle East, is now being tested and honored in Iraq. ...And the victory of freedom in Iraq will strengthen a new ally in the war on terror ... We will succeed in Iraq because Iraqis are determined to fight for their own freedom, and to write their own history. ...We are standing for the freedom of our Iraqi friends, and freedom in Iraq will make America safer for generations to come. ...And we have said farewell to some very good men and women, who died for our freedom, and whose memory this nation will honor forever. ...Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts, we honor freedom's defenders, and our military families. ...The attack on freedom in our world has reaffirmed our confidence in freedom's power to change the world. We are all part of a great venture, to extend the promise of freedom in our country... and to spread the peace that freedom brings. ...The road of Providence is uneven and unpredictable -- yet we know where it leads. It leads to freedom. Thank you, and may God bless America.”
-George ‘Dubya’ Bush, February 2, 2005

“Well, with Freedom on the march, I guess we only have one thing to worry about..”
-Skippy

“Add another creation to the strange scientific menagerie where animal species are being mixed together in ever more exotic combinations.
Scientists announced Monday that they had created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.”
-Associated Press, December 12, 2005

“Pinky: What do you want to do tonight Brain?
Brain: The same thing we do every night Pinky… try to take over the world!”
-Pinky and the Brain