I Got A Laptop

-I Got A Laptop-

Anybody who knows me knows that I've been frustrated with my desktop computer for some time now. Don't get me wrong - it's a great computer and it has served me very well. Lately, however, it's showing its age. ("It's true - she's aging more noticeably every day.") It's gotten to the point where it's only slightly more effective than two tin cans connected by a string and I only rank my computer above that because you can't watch The Colbert Report on the two can system. Personally though, I felt it was just a fantasy that I would be able to. However, Wal-Mart ("Save Money, Live Better".) certain lived up to its tagline this weekend as it had an exclusive laptop sale where they were selling a laptop for $298. For me, that is a great deal and right in my price range for a laptop.

My dad - a wonderful, benevolent father indeed - sent me an e-mail regarding this sale on Friday and I immediately called my Wal-Mart to verify that they were indeed regarding the sale. The knowledgeable guy in Electronics informed that they were and because they were a 24 hour Wal-Mart here, the sale would begin at midnight. Already, I had the weekend off and now it looks like it was going to shape up to be a pretty eventful weekend indeed. Due to the nature of the sale, he advised me to be there early. Possibly up to an hour early and on the advice of my awesome brother, I did him one better and went two hours early, just to ensure that I wouldn't miss it.

When I arrived though, I learned that the knowledgeable guy I spoke to in Electronics wasn't so knowledgeable after all. Wal-Mart was only selling the laptops at 8 the next morning, which was mentioned pretty clearly in their ad and so, I went home, momentarily defeated. But, I was determined to come home with a laptop this weekend and so I decided I would go back tomorrow morning. But, the idea of me getting there at 6 the next morning wasn't likely. Not a morning person, but I would get there an hour early to discover quite a line had already formed. Some people I talked to had been there since 4:30 in the morning. Now, that's dedication.

I settled back in the line, which stretched all the way back to the HD-TV's in between an elderly couple who were pretty excited about a laptop and who hadn't apparently been in line for a new technological gadget since the Wii came out. They certainly loved their Wii and told me quite a bit about it. Wii Fit was their favorite. How awesome is that? On the other side of me was a family of five who were bitterly disappointed to learn that the laptops had a one-per-family limit. They'd brought their whole family with them, apparently eager to have a laptop for everybody. In their need for a laptop, they went ahead to start calling people to see whether they could recruit them over to purchase a laptop for them and mysteriously they were all called Tammy. (Biker Tammy, Tammy By Riverside, Farmer Tammy, Barbie Tammy etc). However, an hour and many Demi Lovato interviews later, the line started to move.

Cruelly and ironically enough, the Carly Simon classic "Anticipation" blared over the loudspeakers as we waited. The line seemed to move at a glacial pace, taking forever it seemed to get my laptop but once it got going, the glacier thawed out and really moved fast. Eventually, after about a half hour in line, I was able to receive my laptop. Walking out the door with a laptop and a celebratory box of Hot Tamales, I was now the proud owner of a Compaq Presario laptop.

Gone were the days of having to make an Itunes night to add music to my computer, since it locked up my whole computer and hours to add a few cds. Gone were the days of not been able to run more than one or two programs at once. Gone were the days of picking up a book to read a chapter or two to wait for a program or a page to load. Gone were the days of popping in a movie to wait for the computer to restart. (That's a bit of an exaggeration - the last one - but only barely). But now, my computer runs smoothly no matter what and it is Hakuna Matata all the way.

Now, I got a laptop, I got a laptop, I got a laptop - hey, hey, hey!

Ten Against Torture Tuesday

-Ten Against Torture Tuesday-

I'll admit that I love alliteration. I can't help myself. This will not be a regular feature by any means, but it's Tuesday and so I had to use the name. I love alliteration, but on the other hand, there are certainly things that I hate.

One of those things that I hate is torture.

I hate torture in all its forms, wherever and however it is practiced. Specifically, this post is to address the fact that torture has been approved and in fact, committed by the United States Of America. I certainly don't understand that and reading some of the stories from people who were prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and other such facilities makes me very sad. It makes me sick, but perhaps more than anything it makes me upset, because we're America and we're supposed to be better than that. We are better than that.

Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as:

"...any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity."

The Geneva Convention, which the United States has ratified, explicitly condemns torture in no uncertain terms. In fact, it doesn't permit "violence", "cruel treatment", "humiliating and degrading treatment" against a detainee "at any time and in any place whatsoever." In fact, the War Crimes Act of 1996 made any "serious breach of the Geneva Convention" a felony and punishable under U.S. law with serious consequences. There are supposed to be serious consequences anyway, but so far, there have been little to none.

Only those who are either criminally naive or seriously interested in deluding themselves would pretend that the United States didn't torture people in Iraq and throughout the world. There have been enough witness, enough testimonies, enough pictures, enough documentation and hopefully just enough so that this never occurs again.

President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and others have admitted that torture was used, although it is claimed that “The techniques…were necessary and are necessary to be used on a rare occasion to get information to protect the American people,”as Bush said during an interview with Fox News on January 11 of this year. Techniques such as water-boarding and others were defended here, using this and the ever-popular "ticking time bomb" scenario.

As far as I'm aware of, the "ticking time bomb scenario" has never happenned and if so, why haven't they told us when it has?. On the popular show "24", which I love, which also appears on Fox, it frequently happens. For the sake of plot points, keeping up the shows breathtaking pace and indeed to save the world, Jack Bauer frequently employs some methods which are certainly torture. At the beginning of Season 7 (which started off so strongly), Jack Bauer was being tried for his actions and he responded to those who accused him that things aren't always so black and white out in the field where the action happens and that it's a lot easier to judge when you're not part of that situation.

Jack was right. I have never been part of the military and in fact, am unlikely to. I've never been there in a situation where the pressure to save lives is a reality and where you feel that there is legitimately no other recourse than torture. I sympathize with those charged with gathering information, for those tasked with protecting the American people and to those serving in our military both at home and abroad. I can hardly imagine the situations that they were placed in. However, both Jack Bauer and President Bush, are also wrong.

Some things are black and white. I believe torture is one of those things. Torture is never necessary. It's not just a law, but if you're a Christian, it's a Biblical command as well. The Bible says very clearly "to love your enemies." Notice what it says there - to love your enemies. Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say "except if your enemies are Islamic terrorists, then it's okay not to love them". It's pretty clear to love them.

Torture is both illegal and immoral. It violates numerous laws and values of American society that we hold dear. Torture is something that the American people can't tolerate or approve of. So far, President Obama has discussed with various news outlets that he has a desire to "look forward" and not focus on the "mistakes of the past." While I think it's very admirable and commendable to look forward to the future, but we can't compromise ourselves by ignoring the past, which is exactly what we would do there. In doing so, we're implicitly approving of what they did and setting a dangerous precedent for the future.

In the film Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne is put into a similar situation where he is told to perform an act that he finds contrary to his own values. Bruce Wayne is told that by a man named Henri Ducard that "Your compassion is a weakness your enemies will not share."

In response, Bruce Wayne, the man who would later become Batman, states: "That's why it's so important. It separates us from them."

Don't mistake the compassion of the United States for any sort of weakness, but we can't condone torture, especially not on the level that the United States has engaged in the past and can't afford to do so in the future. It has cost us dearly in American lives, our standing in the world and have sacrified many American ideals in the process. Torture is contrary to what America stands for and should not stand for ever again.

America has tortured. In fact, we have stood by and allowed it to happen as OUR government (after all, we are a democracy) has performed in secret detention facilities throughout the world. President Obama has said on one hand very clearly that America does not torture people, while on other hand doesn't want to be caught up in policy differences between the incoming and outgoing adminstrations.

People being murdered, beaten to death, sexually abused, raped, physically humiliated, waterboarded, undergoing sleep deprivation, stripped of their dignity, burned with cigarettes, attacked by dogs and other such indignities is not simply a policy difference. People leaving with scars, both psychologically and physically, that they may never fully heal from is not a policy difference. Torture is not a policy difference.

It is the difference between right and wrong.

Those who committed torture, those who condoned torture, those who approved and indeed ordered torture, should be held accountable. I realize that we're in a war, but we need to keep those standards no matter what, because 'it separates us from them. ' Amnesty International recently began a campaign that is the inspiration for those post which is called Ten Against Torture, which features ten letters, which are thought provoking, moving and in many instances, heart-breaking, that you can send to President Obama to make him think about how important an issue this is. Even if you don't participate in the campaign or whatever your opinion is concerning torture, I would urge you to take some time to read some of these letters. They are powerful words and hopefully they inspire you to participate in the campaign to make the issue of torture one that President Obama can't ignore and to hold those who engaged in torture accountable.

In my opinion, this isn't about revenge, justice or a trial for those responsible for these crimes. It's about sending a very clear signal, setting a precedent for our current and future Presidential adminstrations that torture will not be permitted. If we don't, in the future, we may encounter another situation, another ethical collapse, and they will see an opportunity to do this again. I strongly feel that this is important to regaining the credibility of our country and helping to restore our integrity as a nation. I love America, no question about that, but this is not our proudest moment here and we should deal with it, not simply ignore it and hope it goes away.

More importantly than getting people involved is just making people aware of this issue and I hope that regardless of how you feel, you're now at least a little more aware of the issue. If this is an issue that resonates with you, feel free to let me know and I'd be more than happy to help you get involved or help you to become more informed. Even if you disagree, I'd be more than happy to discuss it with you. I think this is an issue that should be discussed often as possible, as over the 200 plus years since we established our independence (to escape tyranny), people around the world have looked to us for guidance and indeed, looked up to us.

It's up to us - you and I - to help remind them why.