I can no longer watch Rachel Madow.

Why?

Comcast has decided to block MSNBC alone of the cable news channels.  To get it, I now MUST get “digital adapters” for digital TVs or cable boxes so I can get on-demand and PPV.  Since I NEVER want on-demand (isn’t that what recording is for) and have bought PPV twice in the last 20 years, what’s up with that?  There’s no difference in the broadcasts of MSNBC and the others—CNBC, CNN and Fox.  They all have a regular channel and another, HD channel—and I can get both on the newer TVS. 

But Comcast arbitrarily blocked MSNBC and AMC (American Classic Movies) and now is using it to extort more extended service (and fees) from me.

What is up with that?

Paolo: This country has a long history of unsavory treatment of the indigenous people of this country that they stole to the Salem witchcraft trials to the uncivilized behavior seen today. Nothing really new hear but the dates it happened.

Cheney not only seized far more powers than his office permitted- he usurped the powers of the presidency.
His weak claim that W “Basically’ knew what was going on, only reinforces the idea that Cheney was not fully informing the President about all the available information.Isn’t it the VP who should be Relegated to only knowing ‘Basically’ what is going on?
Someone in high rank of theCIA had better step forward and finally reveal the extent by which Cheney had usurped the Power of the Presidency and instigated the misinformation to Congress. Otherwise they too may be facing the High Crime of Treason.
W would be well advised to admit what is already a well known fact, that his Presidency was nothing more than that of a Front man.All those Loyal to W should do the same. It may not save his legacy- but it could save his freedom.W is not only looking at Abuse of Power and Treason for the crimes committed during his tenure- he’s looking at International prosecution for War crimes- torture, Rendition,Black sites and hit squads. Time to fess up and let Cheney,Rummy & Wolfie hang out to dry.

My own thoughts from a libertarian, non-interventionist perspective:

It grieves me that we have to discuss the use of torture in the United States of America, which was once a civilized country.

Even on a practical level, torture is of no value. Intelligence professionals consistently say that information obtained by torture is unreliable.

There are several reasons for this fact. First, a competent opponent will give its soldiers “disinformation” to give the torturers. For example, the detainee might be instructed to tell a story about a planned attack on New York. He might even give the address of an alleged terrorist cell in New York. The terrorists plant information at that address in the form of “disinformation” loaded on a computer. Maybe they toss in a few misleading letters. Leave a few forged passports. Hang portraits of their favorite radical sheikh on the wall.

All very convincing, but completely false.

Secondly, a person being tortured will say almost anything to stop the torture. If the subject is well prepared, he “sings” about his well-constructed disinformation. Or, if he’s not well prepared, he just tells the torturers what he thinks they want to hear. He’ll make stuff up.

This is why intelligence officers don’t put much faith in information obtained under duress.

Torture is, however, a useful POLITICAL tool. Torture does not produce reliable information, but it DOES produce “confessions.” As Maddow points out, this is the real reason the criminal Bush Administration tortured KSM. They wanted to build a POLITICAL case defending their insane, unconstitutional war on Iraq. They needed “confessions” that Iraq was really allied with Al-Qaeda. They wanted “confessions” that Iraq actually had a massive WMD program.

The Soviet Union did the same thing to its dissidents, torturing them so they would “confess” to anti-Soviet activities. The United States government has now reached that same, despicable low.