Amusing Anomalies

Something rather extraordinary happened yesterday. The Senate, in the face of strident White House opposition, voted 90 to 9 to attach a measure to the $440 billion military expenditure bill, defining limits on the interrogation of persons under detention by the department of defense. This measure which is designed to curtail torture by the military was an effort led by Republican Senators John McCain, John Warner, and Lindsey O. Graham and Democratic Senator Carl Levin. If one thinks about it, it is rather extraordinary that this was an extraordinary event. Ordinarily, being opposed to torture would be thought to be as popular, reasonable and supportable as mom's apple pie. (okay maybe not as popular as mom's apple pie - but you get the point), yet in the days of the Global War on Terror (or whatever the administration has decided to call it at the moment), torture has slithered out of the dark crevices and has become acceptable to many who should know better. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of this policy detour, however, one must wait and see what happens in the House.