New York State Senator Greg Ball (R) took little time after the Boston bombing to call for the torture of 19-year-old Dzokhar Tsarnaev. Ball went to Twitter to call for the teenager to be tortured in the name of all of the values we hold dear as Americans.
Ball sent out a tweet stating “So, scum bag #2 in custody. Who wouldn’t use torture on this punk to save more lives?” It is the new normal in America. Ball feels entirely comfortable in speaking of torture in the most casual terms. It also shows how torture is always the answer since you cannot say for sure that there are not more bombs after an attack.
Later, Ball dismissed notions that torture (which is a federal crime and a violation of international law) is wrong: “If people find that offensive, they’re going to have to check their own conscience,” he reportedly said.
Later his office issued a statement:
“Terrorists play by a different set of rules by manipulating the greatest strengths of our open society against us. One of the questions to be asked is this: is “torture” ever justified in the war against terror, if it can save lives? I am not shy in joining those who say yes, and I believe we must give those tasked with protecting us every constitutional and effective tool to do so.”
“Every constitutional and effective tool” for Ball includes a tool long defined as a war crime. I have previously written about the corruption of American values on torture.
The willingness of politicians like Ball to embrace torture is a product not simply of the Bush Administration’s legitimation of torture but the Obama Administration’s refusal to prosecute anyone for torture. As I have written before (here and here), the Obama Administration has destroyed some of the core Nuremberg principles, particularly in its revisal of the “superior orders defense” to excuse U.S. officials. The failure to prosecute has allowed those who ordered the torture program to continue to speak out in favor of torture. It has destroyed any credibility of the United States in demanding prosecutions in other countries and given support for politicians like Ball to rally supporters behind a banner of torture.
Ball’s bio states that he “grew up on the family estate of Stephen and Jean Kennedy-Smith, sister of President John F. Kennedy, where his parents were both caretakers. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs.” He is a graduate of United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and is currently completing his Thesis for his Master’s of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in International Affairs from Georgetown University.
Source: Raw Story
State Sen. Ball takes pride in being an Air Force veteran, a state senator and a Catholic. He has successfully violated the traditions and obligations of all three through his call for the commission of crimes under domestic and international law.
NICK:
I heard on the TV this morning that the FBI gets something on the order of 50,000 requests per year from other governments to check out people living in the states.
nick,
“From my perspective, what interests me most is the prior contact by the FBI.”
Yes! That is the thing that most interests me. Russians gave the FBI his name sometime in 2011… how did the Russians know about #1 two years before he makes his visit in Jan. 2012?
sonofthunderboanerges,
Never heard of that particular torture prison … I’ll look into it
As to the Foundings and good ol’ Ben’s plots … it doesn’t hurt to remember that the English, as part of their treaty after the French/Indian War were trying to actively discourage settlement of the Ohio territories by Colonists because it upset the Tribes and thus interfered with the fur trade. Now George through his surveyor work, Ben through his partnership with speculators, and Thomas through his father who was a cartographer, were all heavily invested in said Ohio territories and stood to lose substantial sums committed and future profits expected if the Brits shut down the territories to Colonists. Of course much of this was kept from the rabble who were going to do the actual fighting to gain independence from Britain. 😉
AY,
What I meant was that defendants and suspects commonly lie to get out of trouble, or to minimize the consequences. It is common to hear, “I was just walkin’ down the street,mindin’ my own business, and I don’t know nuthin’ about no convenience store.”
It is rather uncommon to hear, “Yeah, I did it. I will tell you all about it.”
Detectives, if they are good, gather evidence and prove the case, rather than waiting on a confession to do it for them. The other side of the same coin is the fact people sometimes make false confessions. There are many reasons for that, but they do. It is the good detective who checks out details to see if the confession is false.
Guess not…
Crime is not as complicated as many people try and make it. Most criminals are not very smart. These two shitbirds were amateurs and not very bright, that is painfully obvious. That is not to say there aren’t surprises and unexpected facts that arise when you conduct an investigation, that’s why you keep an open mind if you’re good. At this juncture I would not rule out some surprises. From my perspective, what interests me most is the prior contact by the FBI. Was this kid a CI that got out of control? The three former buddies of the dead shitbird, who got their throat slit, is also intriquing. However, at this point my take is the older brother was just a sociopath and he had a lot of influence over his impressionable brother.
Dredd:
Actually, no, again.
The affidavit differs from the complaint. The complaint is the charging document. The complaint doesn’t charge a conspiracy. The complaint charges (1) use of a weapon of mass destruction and (2) malicious destruction of property resulting in death. Maybe someone was thinking of a conspiracy charge, which would explain its presence in the affidavit, but it wasn’t put in the complaint.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/137416153/Tsarnaev-Complaint
Let’s agree that we can torture people we really don’t like, but we should never torture people who are just like US. Then we can really get constitutional on them. This also has the virtue of being comprehensible.
OS,
Could you elaborate a little….. If I recall anything said can be used against the defendant or to even impeach prior inconsistent statements…. I’m not following you….
Some commentor above said that Punk Puss wont get punked in prison because they will put him in solitary and keep him away from perps 24/7. That will be worse than the death penalty for Punk Puss.
So kids out there, here is a great person to emulate. Get the ball cap, put it on backwards, put the backpack on and slouch along with girlyboy face and girlyboy locks and walkin slow.
Knick nack paddy wag, give a dog a bone
Girly boy is going home.
Role model for the local yokels who need love too sticker, and its up against the wall Redneck mothers,….
Maybe Punk Puss wants to get punked. Well, solitary stops him getting his wish. Stitch in time saves nine.
New York State Senator Greg Ball (R) is a fraction of a human being who espouses the use of torture when any fool knows the information garnered employing torture will be worthless.
Mr. Ball’s role as a NYS Senator is simply a ceremonial as the true business of the NYS is conducted behind closed doors by the troika of tyrants that go by the names Andrew M. Cuomo, Sheldon Silver and Dean G. Skelos. These three clowns get together and pronounce to the 17 million serfs residing within their fiefdom how the state will be run. So much for the NY state consitituion.
The folks infesting the NY statehouse in Albany have abdicated their authority for so long on issues of consequence that they are now regulated to acting as a rubber-stamp-committee whose priorities are renaming bridges, highways, public parks, taking bribes, cronyism, nepotism and in Senator Balls case demanding we torture people so his pathetic little self spout absurdities from his taxpayer funded soapbox.
Please Mr. Ball take yourself and your senatorial ilk home and shelter in place for all eternity.
Personanongrata,
I see you have an excellent understanding of New York State politics. Of course I say that because it is my understanding as well. 🙂
Mike,
Self-exculpatory statements are not only common, they are expected.
It must be up to the investigators to prove their case and not depend on a confession to make it easy for the prosecutor.
OS,
What you say re: self-exculpatory statements is true. What intrigues me are the possibilities. It might be him protecting his movement, it might be two brothers that got carried away into madness, he might have been manipilated by a sense of loyalty to his big brother, etc. Also in the picture though is that the Intelligence Community might want to let it be the “lone terrorists, or perhaps find a new target to make war on. At this point I have no clue how this will all play out, but I have a hunch the death penalty will be taken off the table in a plea deal.
So what are we to make of this?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/22/boston-suspect-denies-terrorist-groups_n_3135523.html
SOTB,
When Ben been had like squaw he squirm in wigwam….
@Anonymously Yours – Maybe they could have spoke with Moses Harry Horwitz (Moe from 3 Stooges) – I wonder how many squaws Ben had?
@Bron – Then he fooled you too. That’s what the British spies thought too. Ever here the expression: “Giving one (or two) for the team”? Ben did his duty for God and Country and slept with as many French women he could to keep his end up – (LOL)
Letter to Deborah Read (Mrs. Franklin): “Hello my dearest Deborah. I’ve been having a lot of ups and downs here is Paris. However, I’m having a good time wishing you were here…” (not!)
@Blouise – Regarding torture and early Americana… I found a 19th century torture chamber dungeon in Southern NJ. It is called Fort Mott. The Union Army used the chamber(s) to get information out of Confederate captives. It used a crushing wall. It was two masonry slabs. One stationary and the other on sliding rails. It was moved forward by a ratchet device much like the ancient “rack” but in reverse. They would crush the enemy combatant until he would give up the intel… Failing that they didn’t have to make the pine casket too thick… (bad joke).
Come to find out the Fort had many dungeons and lookout towers. All closed now for safety reasons. It’s in Pennsville NJ home of actor Bruce Willis.
Senator Ball would love this place!
AY:
I thought that was Wei, Cheatam and Howe? Different firm?
Do you know Peter Fitznizentite?
SOTB:
I thought Franklin went to France for the women.
SOTB,
How does pale face know Dewey, Cheatem and Howe…..