The Malpractice Of Conservative Moral Authority

When conservatives write a book, no matter the subject, rest assured that they are going to attempt to re-write clearly defined segments of American history ( even some of it’s most recent aspects ) in order to prove their point – flaccid though it may be.

Case in point , Mark Theissen attempts to bully Chritiane Amanpour while denying that torture ever existed but then ultimately claiming that it saved American lives.



The “which attack would you have preferred succeeded” meme has been used multiple times by conservatives as a misdirection tool. It’s a clear signifier that conservatives are ultimately willing to use the spectre of torture to validate their own misgivings and moral failures.

It’s not a question that combating terrorism is difficult, but no one party can claim that they hold sway as the dominant force of success. After all, Theissen’s obtuse assurance that torture ( waterboarding, “advanced interrogation” ) offered actionable intel to prevent attacks has been proven false time and again.

In essence, Mark Theissen's thesis in the book is nothing more than an epic poem designed to warm the hearts of torture apologists within the conservative movement.

I am curious, thought, how Theissen would respond to recent disclosures that prisoners at Guantanamo were murdered.

Women Of The Decade

It's been said that behind every great man there is a woman. More often than is given credit for, behind every great action there is a woman as well. And it is for that reason that I have come up with the list of some of the greatest women of the decade. Granted, this is strictly in the realm of music, movies, and pop-culture, so no offense is meant to any women within alternate categories.

1 - Cate Blanchett



From a cold-hearted mother willing to sell her daughter in The Shipping News, to The Queen of the elves in LOTR, to THE Queen Elizabeth, and even Bob Dylan, Cate Blanchett is my pic for actress of the decade.

2 - Kari Byron



No one makes science or myth-busting more entertaining and fun than Kari. She's a nerd icon and can handle her own against any challenge that the boys often aren't up to.

3 - Sarah Silverman



Her absurdist/controversial/existential humor makes stands out as a pioneering force in comedy. What more can be said.

4 - American Ferrera



No longer the Rubenesque girl that she portrayed in her debut film "Real Women Have Curves", she is the "every-girl" icon in Ugly Betty that has shown us that image isn't always everything when it comes to women in the modern age.

5 - Alison Krauss



One of the most overlooked women in modern musical history, Alison Krauss made a name of herself amongst the bluegrass enthusiasts in America as fronting the group Union Station but virtually flew under the radar outside of the Nashville-set. That being said, simply being recognized as a household name doesn't make you a great artist. Her true power shined in 2007 when she joined with Robert Plant to record one of the greatest albums of the decade - Raising Sand

6 - Christiane Amanpour



A titan of a female journalist amongst a gaggle of hacks. Often far more honest and hard-hitting than most, which often ends with her being labeled as controversial. A true voice within the journalism community that shows that women are equally as powerful.

Amanpour At Last

Well, at some point, maybe. At least, that's what "some people" are saying.

From the New York Times:

In her 25 years at CNN, Christiane Amanpour has hopscotched the world, the very model of a foreign correspondent, turning up at seemingly every war, genocide, famine and natural disaster, slipping through previously closed borders and interviewing even the most recalcitrant of foreign leaders.


That will change next year, when she starts a nightly program on CNN International, which is retooling its lineup. An edited version of Ms. Amanpour’s show is expected to be shown on the weekends on CNN’s United States channel.

An "edited version"? Hmmmm.


I've alwasy found Christiane quite intriguing, a bit of a mystery, and exceptionally talented. That opinion was solidified when her "God's Warriors" series premeired. However, several people didn't like it at all.

Here are a few examples.

Maurice Ostroff of the Jerusalem Post offered this:

Sorely missing from the entire series is any mention of the basic motivator of Islamic violence, the incitement to hatred emanating from state media as well as openly from mosques, not only in Arab countries but under the noses of European and British governments. As human beings, can we be unperturbed by the indoctrination of infants to become suicidal Warriors as shown in an interview with a three-and-a-half year old girl broadcast on Iqra?

It is unforgivable that in this documentary which could serve to create a genuine better understanding of the violence generated by religious zealotry, the authoritative voices of many experts in the field were omitted. The program would for example achieve greater credibility had Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz been interviewed as a foil to Mearshheimer.

CAMERA ( Committee For Accurate Middle-East Reporting In America ) called "Warriors" an abomination

CNN's "God's Warriors," hosted by Christiane Amanpour, is a three-part series intended to examine the growing role of religious fundamentalism in today's world. Unfortunately, the first program in the series, "God's Jewish Warriors," is one of the most grossly distorted programs to appear on mainstream American television in many years. It is false in its basic premise, established in the opening scene in which Jewish (and Christian) religious fervency is equated with that of Muslims heard endorsing "martyrdom," or suicide-killing. There is, of course, no counterpart among Jews and Christians to the violent jihadist Muslim campaigns underway across the globe, either in numbers of perpetrators engaged or in the magnitude of death and destruction wrought.

And some even claimed it had an "Islamic Bias"



If you'd like to formulate your own opinion on God's Warriors, check out the website here