I should be able to run over as many kids as I want!
-- In court, Mr. Burns justifies his actions, ``Bart Gets Hit by a Car''
I love this episode. Truly great Simpsons. Burns hits Bart with his car, and then the Simpsons attempt to sue Burns for a fortune. Burns utters the above quote in court, claiming that he is such an important person that he is different than others.
Unfortunately, humor aside, this reminds me of the Inhofe response to the prison torture and abuse. We should, in this defense, be able to do whatever we want to Iraqis or other Arabs because we are different than the rest of the world. We invade countries on our say-so, we opt out of global treaties we don't like--in a word, we don't play well with others.
2 comments:
(Sorry this is so long, but I just had to blow off some stream).
On Friday I heard a portion of a story on NPR about MPs forcing detainees to denounce Islam. I thought I'd heard it wrong because I'd only heard a portion of the story. UNFORTUNATELY, per the Washington Post it is true according to the detainees. Here is a clip from the article:
"The statements provide the most detailed picture yet of what took place on the cellblock. Some of the detainees described being abused as punishment or discipline after they were caught fighting or with a prohibited item. Some said they were pressed to denounce Islam or were force-fed pork and liquor. Many provided graphic details of how they were sexually humiliated and assaulted, threatened with rape, and forced to masturbate in front of female soldiers."
Looks like Donald Rumsfeld got one thing right. The worst was yet to come. This is unbelievable!!!!
Also, did you see the 5/22 blog entry from Respectful of Otters. Here is his opening, apparently quoted from another Washington Post article.
"[Darby] said that he asked Graner, a Pennsylvania prison guard in civilian life, about the photographs. Graner replied: "The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the corrections officer in me says, 'I love to make a grown man piss himself.'"
Truly unbelievable and horrifying.
This morning I was reading Jesus’ famous speech to the Pharisees and Teachers of the law where he called them “white-washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but full of dead men's bones and uncleanness” Matthew 23. At one point in the discourse he says:
"You are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. Blind guides!"
I guess I wonder if Americans (especially Christian American’s) ought to take a GOOD HARD look in the mirror to see where we fail in the areas of "justice, mercy and faith". I don’t think we are doing a very good job at living the ideals we speak with our mouths.
As much as I hate to say this, I believe one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith is to remove the plank in your own eye before helping a brother remove a speck in his. I’m not saying the Graner (see above) has a spec because I think he has a whole TREE in his eye, but it does make we want to “search” my self to see where my words aren’t lining up very well with my actions.
My link to the Washington Post article isn't working. Here is the URL.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&e=5&u=/washpost/20040521/ts_washpost/a43783_2004may20
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