Today I’d like to begin by reiterating my gratitude for those on this thread who have addressed this topic with honor and dignity. Again I will state, for any of you who don’t like talking politics and think this site is being ruined by this thread, you are free not to attend it. This country is about freedom of choice. This is Dotsie’s site. The choice is hers as to whether or not a topic is suited for this site. Dotsie is an honorable woman who provides us, at no cost, a place to meet and discuss things. I believe as long as we treat each other and a topic courteously she has no problem with the things we discuss.

Having a different opinion is welcome here. If your opinion differs please substantiate it. While it is true that just because something is written somewhere doesn’t make it so, when articles are written by the liberal as well as the conservative arms of the news media then we need to take them seriously. That is what is happening now. If you doubt this please thoroughly read the articles provided and the comments submitted by everyone on this thread, “skimming” will not work on a topic so profound as this. Then check out the political bias of those sources. The articles come from all varying sources. And when you do read this thread in it’s entirety, please read it with an open mind, as the rest of us have done.

Bush admits to the topic we are talking about on this thread, and we are discussing that topic. If you’ve been watching tv you’ve heard him admit these things. The issues brought up by the latest negative posts, we have already addressed and resolved. Thank you for your opinion. We are all free to express ourselves here with honor and dignity - free, honor and dignity being the operative words.

As a child I did not understand the meaning or importance of honor. Thanks to Gene Roddenberry and a Klingon named Warf, I learned a lot about it. On a site like this, in fact on a world scale, treating each other with honor, respect and dignity is key to our mutual growth and inner beauty. I thank you all for abiding in this positive realm.


The following is from an article in the New Yorker that was submitted to me by one of the thread participants. The article is not per se about the NSA, but is relevant because it addresses Bush's, Cheney's and Condi's lies - how they swear to one thing while doing just the opposite and how that infringes on innocent people's lives, this time impacting the life of what appears to be a Canadian citizen. The article references, among other things, a point I brought up in my post on the article offered by smilinize - guilt by association without the concept of "innocent until proven guilty". Mostly, however, it addresses how rendition works and how it's been used, on actual terrorists and innocents, alike.

The New Yorker article is rather long, and I reiterate, it explains the facts/atrocities, the evolution of rendition and many actual horrific deeds that have taken place - too many to address them all individually. It is recommended reading for those who can stomach a brutal truth:

OUTSOURCING TORTURE
The secret history of America’s “extraordinary rendition” program.
by JANE MAYER

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050214fa_fact6


An additional news story was from Reuters and was only a reiteration of the article smilinize submitted but without the comments by Bamford.

Secret surveillance up since 9/11
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&u=/nm/20051227/pl_nm/security_eavesdropping_dc_6


In conclusion, for now, I would say we are not at war with another nation. We are at war with a concept, the concept of terrorism, and that battle appears to have put some of us at war with each other - a great pity and a sad day.