A train is bombed, by terrorists. The president decides that the nation can no longer afford to participate in suspect military actions, so he orders his nation's troops pulled from the theater of war. An investigation, meanwhile, is begun by law enforcement. The investigation leads to multiple convictions, and, on top of that, the exposure of a previously unknown "terror franchise." There are no more terror attacks. One concludes:
Using the prevailing media-logic applied to Bush's counter-terrorism policies such as torture and Guantanamo (i.e., if a country is attacked by Terrorists, its Government then does X, and there are no Terrorist attacks for some period of time thereafter, then that is "proof" that "X stops Terrorism"), I believe these events in Spain constitute proof that the way to stop Terrorism and to keep the citizenry safe is to stop invading and occupying Muslim countries and take accused Terrorists and put them on trial with full due process rights before putting them in cages for life. After all, that's what Spain did, and there's not been another Terrorist attack for five years. Therefore, those policies have kept the Spanish people safe.
That's Glenn Greenwald, explaining how Spain responded to the deadliest terror attack on their soil. I'm sure he'll get an email soon, explaining that this leaves out the whole part where American exceptionalism allows presidents who aren't Spanish to bypass the usual moral and legal framework that's supposed to govern our daily lives, in the way our mothers and fathers taught us. "It's the message we send, our innocence pays..."
Remember These Names: Haley Barbour, Mark Sanford, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Rick Perry. These are the Republican governors who want no part of the stimulus package, or the monies that might flow to their states if it passes. Hold them to it, America. And, by the way, Sarabeth at 1115.org will tell you that Sarah Palin? She's a flip-flopper.
Anniversaries!: Fox's late night home for stoners, misanthropes, and insomniacs seeking the most cockeyed look at what's going on in the world -- the inimitable Red Eye, has turned two years old. Two! This is the age at which children get cranky!
Steele Cleans House: Michael Steele went to work today at the Republican National Committee, made like he was running Conde Nast, or something, and straight up laid everybody off! Actually, it's probably smarter than Conde Nast, in that he basically got rid of everyone who's been screwing things up for the past four years.
This Looks Pretty Evil, Google: Is Google vaporizing the posts of music bloggers? Because something strange has been happening to users of the Blogger platform.
Remembered: Lux Interior, R.I.P. Via the Village Voice.