So I have avoided pointing out the histeria in Dick Durban's speech on the Senate floor, because it was TOO easy. But now, since I am alluding to it in another article, I felt it appropriate to bring any lagarts out there up to speed. Below is Durban's speech with my comments in italics. Durban is quoting from an FBI report that the FBI can find no record of… to point out that our soldiers are treating the terrorists like the Nazis would… …I quote from his report: On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they urinated or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or more. John Stewart answered this one brillantly on the daily show. He pointed out that chaining someone to the floor so that someone had to crap on themselves would have been the nicest thing the Nazi's had ever done. He went on to taunt that Nazi prisonners would have rejoiced at "Shackles Day" On one occasion, the air conditioning ( AC is something our troops do without in the deserts of Iraq ) had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. This happens across America every day… wives made to shiver by their husbands turning the AC down too low… perhaps this is where the military torturers learned this vile technique On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees… Didn't these guys live in the Desert? Temperatures in Iraq reach 120 degrees in the summer while in Afghanistan, where most of the Gitmo detainnees are from, it can reach 124. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor. Oh my goodness, loud rap music! That certainly parrallels the gas chambers and mass graves of the Nazis. — Seriously though, was this like Snoop Dogg or 50 Cents? Because that would make a difference. If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners. — Dick "Tough on Terrorism" Durbin, Patriot UPDATE: The FBI "report" (it is now rumored to be an email) has been discredited… anyone having memogate flashbacks?

• Report Discredits F.B.I. Claims of Abuse at Guantánamo Bay

So I took my lunch break at the Mall today. Taking a break from the string of fast food places near the office. As I walked around the Mall sipping my Iced Mocha Latte (lest any of you think I that I have somehow removed myself from the posh American lifestyle), I marveled at all of the options crammed into the mere 1.3 million sq ft of retail space. As of late, I have noticed that a large portion of the wares offered in our capitalist society can best be summed up as crap. And when I use the word crap, it refers to clutter or junk not so much the other connotation of poo that is oft associated with this word. Now to be fair, much of the crap sold in stores today is merely crap to me. That is to say, it is something that has no use whatsoever to me (or I already own 3).

BUT beyond the differing utilites to different people there is an astounding amount of utter and total crap on the market. Seriously, the next time you are shopping look around and think about how much of the products being offered "matter" in any large view of things — or even how many things will even be used a month after being purchased. It has reached the point that the only novelty in "novelty items" is that anyone would actually buy them. But people do. The market value of any item is defined as a willing buyer and a willing seller — but honestly, the American buyer has become all too willing. Forget the record low interest rates or quick and easy credit terms, the real problem is that we will buy just about anything at any price these days.

As I pondered the meaning of the ever reduced standards placed on products by the adoring public, I realized that the terrorists are PARTIALLy right. The best lies are those that are filled with half-truths — and the Jihading terrorists are supported by lies. But let's look at the underlying half-truths. American's do love stuff and we buy a LOT of it. Capitalism/commercialism have long been a fundamental principal of the "West" and most of that stuff is at best for our amusement/entertainment and at worst merely crap.

WHY? Why do we spend so much time and effort gathering wealth so that we can turn around and spend it on stuff that ultimately doesn't make us happy? Ultimately being the key word. Sure, a lot of stuff is great for a while – a few rare items will even bring you joy for years to come… but ultimately, the fulfillment fades and we search for something else to fill the void. The 2nd half-truth: stuff doesn't make you happy. Doesn't feed the soul. Doesn't fulfill the inherent desires in all of us… What does, well, that's a whole other hour of philosophizing…

But let me be clear here. The terrorists are WRONG. Fiscal fulfillment, while fleeting, is NOT intrinsically evil. Our obsession with stuff, our "decadence", does make it easier to scapegoat America as the cause of all that is bad in the world. We have, they don't — we must have some how taken it away from them… We are powerful, they are not — we either caused their pain or should have prevented it. Ok, ok, end rant.

After attending a reunion last night, I can now say I am officially old or responsible or an adult (bar mitzvah, what?) or something. While it had some serious resemblances to prom (same room, DJ, pictures…), it was actually a blast. A few were noticably absent and several were serving in Iraq, but the rest of us got together and showed we can still party with the young guns. After stories of other reunions, I expected a lot more posturing. But I have to say that I am proud of my old class. Proud that no one – to my knowledge – made a big deal that their car/job/dog was sooo much better than the rest. Proud that, the most oft asked question was "what area do you live?" not "what do you do?". Proud that, as young as we are, many had already left traditional professions and were pursuing something they loved. Life is too short to slave away for just a paycheck. But moving forward, I'd say what I most took away from my reunion was a couple more players for the weekly poker game (suckers!) ;)