Obama seems to want to know what JC would have done. No, not Jesus Christ, but Jimmy Carter. Their energy policy seems to consist of asking Americans to lower the thermostat and wear sweaters, their foreign policy seems to revolve around Iran and Afghanistan, their Democratic-led Congresses seem to be acting independently of them, and their economic policies seemed to be based on a core belief in Big Government, large federal deficits, and stagflation. Question: how long do you think it will take for the 2012 GOP Presidential contenders to reprise Reagan's effective campaign use of the "misery index"?
Serena Williams' Outburst
Defending US Women's Singles Champion Serena William foot-faulted to bring her semi-final opponent Kim Clijsters to match point. (From the television replay I saw of the disputed serve, I agree with the line judge's call.) There does appear to be an informal code of sorts in hard-fault professional sports contests (in particular, basketball) not to let the outcome be decided on a technicality. (We often see a similar concept in criminal cases where highly relevant, damning evidence is artificially excluded because of some legal technicality over how the evidence was obtained, that the policeman or detective didn't mind his p's and q's. I personally don't agree that the interests of justice are served by putting society at risk because of a training issue or an error in judgment. The law officer and/or his supervisor should be admonished or sanctioned, not society.)
Serena Williams did not react well and at least twice started moving towards the diminutive line judge, pointing at her both times, yelling at her in a threatening and abusive manner. This is simply unacceptable behavior. What she shouted at the judge was not audible in the clips I've seen of the incident, but according to news reports, she said, "If I could, I would take this ... ball and shove it down your ... throat and kill you." The match at that point ended, with a match point penalty on the code violation for unsportsmanlike contact. Correct, but not far enough, in my opinion, because her subsequent fine was mere pocket change. Incredibly, she was allowed to compete later in the women's doubles finals with her sister, splitting the $400+K first prize. Personally, I would bar her from participating in next year's tournament.
I'm annoyed by some of the other reactions, including predictable knee-jerk feminist reactions of double standards pointing at prominent examples of male unsportsmanlike conduct. (Most men deplore unsportsmanlike behavior by anyone, and we do not look kindly at muscular athletes, nearly a foot taller, bullying a physically mismatched, defenseless referee over a professional decision.)
As for tennis bad boy turned commentator John McEnroe, and his defense of Serena Williams ("say it ain't so,
Lost in the controversy is the accomplishment of Ms. Kim Clijsters, whom came off a 2-year leave of absence during which she had her first baby to win a major Grand Slam event in one of her first tournaments: congratulations! What a magnificent example to set for her beautiful little daughter and an inspiration to mothers and young women everywhere!
Prosecution of CIA Over Interrogations
Here's an opinion on which I may disagree with other conservatives, and where I seem to agree with former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: on having an open mind in terms of Eric Holder's consideration of prosecution of certain CIA personnel over the enhancement interrogation techniques applied to 3 high-value Al Qaeda suspects.
It all depends on what current Attorney General Eric Holder is doing and how he's doing it. It's one thing to prosecute misconduct one comes across during the normal course of events. It's another thing to prosecute based on a politically-motivated agenda resembling a Banana Republic-style post-election witch hunt. There were some disturbing suggestions that Bush Administration lawyers might be targeted because they issued good faith opinions saying that a limited, supervised version of waterboarding would not have violated more general criteria of torture under our international treaties; differences of legal or political opinion are not criminal acts. You couldn't fault policymakers acting on the professional judgment of Administration lawyers. You couldn't blame CIA management for carrying out policy, or CIA personnel whom carried out authorized interrogation techniques.
On the other hand, I'm concerned about allegations the technique was used on a recurring basis, up to several dozen times. Without knowing details, e.g., the timing and significance of actionable intelligence relative to number of interrogations, it seems difficult to believe an effective interrogation technique would require an indefinite number of failed applications. But that's more of a question of the effective management of interrogations, not a matter of legality, provided interrogations followed established procedures. What would be a question of misconduct or criminal behavior would be behavior contrary to policy (e.g., if interrogations took place without any required witnesses or the procedure was applied longer than allowed during any particular event), if CIA personnel obstructed justice or violated other relevant US laws.
I'm willing to give US Attorney General Eric Holder the benefit of a doubt, because I was not a witness to any relevant events and I do not what is motivating the inquiry. If, however, he is engaging in a witch hunt, if he is applying some sort of white glove test, trying to find some legal technicalities on which to prosecute people involved in politically incorrect interrogation techniques, it would be an unconscionable abuse of power. Obama and Holder are walking a very thin line here; some 7 former CIA directors have written to the Obama Administration, opposing this inquiry, and the inquiry could result in morale issues with CIA personnel. This had better be motivated by more than Obama Administration window-dressing to appease the Angry Left.
