Glenn Greenwald has an important blog post on the latest smear campaign by the terrorist-loving right:
As I noted yesterday, the group run by Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol released what is certainly one of the more repugnant political ads of the last decade, if not the most repugnant. It’s the type of McCarthyite act which would, if we had any minimal standards in our political culture, result in the shunning of Cheney and Kristol by all decent people (instead, it will likely land the Vice President’s daughter on multiple Sunday talk shows where she can pose as an expert on national security).
Some Republicans launched a smear campaign against the lawyers now employed by the Justice Department who once represented detainees at Guantanamo. This is the product of a deep cynicism that compels them to try to gain political power by capitalizing on people’s fear of terrorism.
What they’re really attacking is the Constitution, which guarantees everyone a fair trial. They’re not arguing a principle — they’re just trying to destroy people through insinuation. The bottom line is that this sort of garbage is always going to be persuasive to a certain type of idiot. Don’t be an idiot.
Oh, and the reason I say they love terrorists is that without the terrorists to use as a foil, they would have no path back to the positions of influence they so desperately crave. They want Americans to embrace unlimited Presidential power, expansion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and if they’re really lucky, a new war with Iran. What they need for more people to agree with them is more, increasingly spectacular terrorist attacks. And don’t think that in their black hearts, they don’t wish for that at some level.
Global Ignite Week
It’s Global Ignite Week, with more than 50 Ignite events taking place all over the world. The second Ignite Raleigh was held tonight, and there were lots of entertaining and informative speakers. If you get a chance, you should definitely attend your own local Ignite event if you can.
I was one of the speakers at the previous Ignite Raleigh, last August, and wrote up the experience. If you’re going to be speaking at Ignite, it’s probably worth checking out: