A Darker Side of Al-Qa'eda
Those of us so deeply affected- where not also emotionally scarred- by the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 might have a lot of trouble contemplating the fact that Al-Qa'eda could, indeed, even BE any darker than they were on that terrible day... but they can be: in this case, on a "micro"- as opposed to the "macro"- level. We all tend to think of the group's "macro" effect- how these terrorists adversely impact upon mass populations (the effect of 9/11 on the Metropolitan NYC and DC areas, on America, on Western Civilization, for example)- as paramount; however, the "micro" effect- that is, how Al-Qa'eda affects the individual- is, perhaps, even more insidious.

Al-Qa'eda preaches an extremist version of Islam- a version of that religion in which, to take just one example, it is perfectly OK for a husband to beat his wife and children for even minor infractions of what can only be described as Extreme Islam. And it matters not one whit whether the infraction be inadvertent: for instance, a wife accidentally brushing up against a stranger who happens to be male on a busy city street necessitates- in Al-Qa'eda's warped and most perverse theological universe- physical discipline on the part of the husband for "illicit" contact with a man to which the wife is not married!

When one says or writes- as I myself have, rather frequently, said and written elsewhere- that Al-Qa'eda is, indeed, a threat to the concept of Freedom and Liberty that is the hallmark of Western Civilization and Democracy in general and the American Culture and Republic in particular (a notion of threat that many, with their proverbial heads in the sand or too addicted to an anti-war political agenda, far too often pooh-pooh), one is also talking about the negative effect on the person- not just the overall effect on a society that another terrorist attack along the lines of 9/11 would bring... but just how many on the anti-terrorism side really and truly think about the "micro" as opposed to the "macro"?

None Dare Call it Torture... but *I* will!
Topic: General
The other day, it was reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross has reported that the United States of America- "my country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty"- has systematically used at least moderate torture during interrogation of "unlawful combatants" captured during the War Against International Terrorism and thereafter held at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba... the ICRC is correct-- what the U.S. is doing in "Get Down G't'mo" IS torture and no sugar-coating can possibly define it otherwise!

The Constitution of the United States, in its 8th Amendment- part of what we Americans call "the Bill of Rights"- specifically forbids "cruel and unusual punishment", yet there are far too many former officers of the American intelligence and military communities who are only too willing to become "torture shills" in their respective capacities as "talking heads" for the various cable news networks and other televised public affairs programs on this side of the Atlantic: these being people who most sorely wish to, in their rather twisted vision of how best to deal with post-9/11 reality, make torture- of however mild a type- that much more palatable, possibly eventually acceptable- heck, even (dare I say it? Dare! Dare!) "sexy"! They attack organizations such as the ICRC and Amnesty International as anti-Law of War, as only interested in taking on Terrorism as a "mere" law enforcement issue...

well, guess what? Terrorism IS a law enforcement issue (and not a "mere" one at that!)-- after all, terrorists are- indeed- criminals, criminals of the worst kind... and the actions of terrorists are, therefore, criminal acts which are, in the main, best handled AS criminal acts, albethey of the most heinous kind imaginable... but, if you are going to take them on as criminal acts, you have to also then follow the rules of Due Process once you have the perpetrators in custody, else it is all abject hypocrisy...

in addition, to do any less only serves to give the terrorist enemy ever more ammunition to be used in more easily recruiting whole new generations of terrorists... if you are going to preach Democracy, Liberty and the Rule of Law, then you yourself have to willingly embrace that same Rule of Law...

and America, right now, seems to be falling well short of doing so!

Welcome to the 'A Republic: If You Can Keep It!' Blog
Topic: General
HAPPY 228TH BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!!

This is the website's general/miscellaneous blog. For the time being, at the time of this first posting, it is open to any topic (although, as time goes on- and, depending on how issues of "traffic management" may later arise, one might begin to see a shift of major topics of interest to this site [such as 'Politics' or 'Society'] or other topics not directly related to the mission of this site [say, 'Sports'] to one or more separate blogs).

Please note that this is a moderated blog: that is, the ordinary web-surfer who might, for whatever rather bizarre reason, might come across (and, further, actually be interested in) this site is certainly welcome to post to this blog, subject to the review of 'The Graying Champion' before anything intended for this blog is thereafter made public on the Internet. Please be patient, too: I have a life and, thus, I won't necessarily be able to take the time to review and post your comments mere minutes after you might have made them!

The rules for posting to this blog? Obviously, the usual ones involving decorum (for example, if a word you are inclined to use is one you wouldn't want a 6-year-old to be repeating to his/her friends, then don't use it!) and sanity (keep it relatively short, make your point reasonably clear) apply. 'The Graying Champion' is a flexible, free-speech loving guy, but not so flexible as to be mere putty! The leash here is rather long... but it does include a choke collar!! ;-)