Blogging Blue

Thanks to a phone call campaign coordinated by Peace Action Wisconsin, a virtual urban warfare game that allowed Summerfest goers as young as 13 to climb into a Humvee simulator and fire machine guns at life-size people displayed on a computer screenhas been shut down by Summerfest officials. Obviously I’m glad the folks from Summerfest came down on the right side of this situation, because it seems a little odd to allow a 13 year old to be able to jump into a Humvee and simulate shooting a killing people, given the fact that a video game of that nature would surely be restricted to Mature audiences due to the violence, blood, and gore that I’m sure were a part of the simulator.

Putting aside the issue of letting 13 year olds take part in such a violent simulation, I just think it’s hypocritical to attempt to glorify war when war is often far from being glorious. Though I’ve not personally had any experience serving in combat, I’ve read enough accounts to know it doesn’t seem glorious at all. Bert over at folkbum summed it up best when discussing Chuck Sykes’ reaction to the situation:

Shorter Sykes #2: This virtual war game, where kids as young as 13 suit up and ride a humvee to shoot with automatic weapons at images of “the enemy”, is good because it teaches this country the realities of war.
My question #2.a: How would you or I know the reality of war, since we have never come close to experiencing it?
My question #2.b: If it is important that the citizenry know more of the reality of war (I agree, by the way) since we are fighting two at the moment, did you ever criticize the White House policy to forbid images of our dead soldiers’ caskets? Did you ever applaud reporters for showing death on either side during these wars, or did you instead support more news about privates handing out candy to children?

As I said, kudos to Summerfest for doing the right thing.

The folks over at Pundit Nation have more on the situation, and whallah! has more on the all-too-predictable reaction from Chuck Sykes and his band of follo…I mean, listeners.

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Earlier today, it was announced that Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Dave Umhoefer won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for his investigation detailing pension deals for county workers. This is the first Pulitzer ever awarded to a member of the staff of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while its predecessor the Milwaukee Journal won five Pulitzers.

Congratulations to Dave Umhoefer on his win, and hopefully this will put to rest claims by some that the MJS isn’t a quality local paper. Sure, it’s far from perfect in all its reporting, but hopefully this Pulitzer win will serve as a starting point for the paper improving its quality from top to bottom.

And curiously enough, as I browsed the list of Pulitzer winners and finalists, I neglected to see any mention of Charlie Sykes or Jessica McBride.

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As first noted by capper over at whallah!, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is playing the blame game once again, and this time he’s blaming everyone but himself (conveniently enough) for the recent spate of shootings in Milwaukee. In an email to Chuck Sykes, Clarke blames Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Common Council President Willie Hines, Governor Jim Doyle, the Milwaukee County Circuit Court judges, and District Attorney John Chisholm in quick succession for the recent rash of violence in Milwaukee, but as I read Clarke’s missive, I noticed one glaring absence among those named as being responsible: Sheriff David Clarke. As Milwaukee County’s top law enforcement official, shouldn’t Sheriff Clarke share in some of the blame for the problems that plague Milwaukee? After all, as Milwaukee County’s “top cop,” Clarke should be at the forefront of any efforts to make Milwaukee a safer place to live, work, and raise a family.

Then again, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Clarke’s casting blame at everyone but himself, because in doing so he’s shifting attention away from his own failed policies as Milwaukee County Sheriff - policies which include pulling deputies from patrolling Milwaukee County parks, eliminating the drug unit, and stopping support for the DARE program, among other things. Maybe Clarke’s bitter because knows he probably will never advance further than his current position, or maybe he’s just too arrogant to admit to his own shortcomings, but if he’s serious about helping find a solution to violent crime in Milwaukee, I’d like to see a lot less talking and a lot more action.

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At the beginning of January, I asked the question, “What is torture?” in response to Charlie Sykes’ assertion that waterboarding isn’t really torture, or that maybe it is, but he’d support it as long as it worked, and so when I came across this little nugget on YouTube, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Charlie Sykes.

Now if Mike Mukasey would feel that waterboarding were torture if it were done to him, I can’t help but wonder what Charlie Sykes thinks.

Personally, I believe waterboarding is torture, because I believe in the definition of torture provided by the Geneva Convention:

For the purposes of this Convention, torture means 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.

Now I know the United States hasn’t ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, so an argument could be made that our use of waterboarding isn’t anything bad, but what’s truly telling is the list of nations who along with ours have signed - but not yet ratified - the UN Convention Against Torture, including such bastions of civil rights as Cuba, Nigeria, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. We’re in good company right there…

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Well, according to Chuck Sykes, it’s not waterboarding. Here’s Chuck’s take on torture (emphasis mine):

NOTE: I don’t believe I said that waterboarding wasn’t torture… personally, I don’t care what you call it: if it works I’m for it. On Insight, I was contrasting the brutal, savage torture of our enemies with our over-heated chest-thumping about waterboarding… which doesn’t kill anyone.

Now it’s obvious Chuck Sykes isn’t a supporter of the Geneva conventions regarding torture, which clearly define waterboarding as a form of torture, but I can’t help but wonder something:

Would Chuck Sykes and all the folks on the right who support waterboarding as a non-torture interrogation technique support its use on U.S. military forces?

I’d venture to guess Chuck Sykes and his compatriots on the right wing would gnash their teeth at the very mention of waterboarding being used against American troops, which leaves me to wonder why our government shouldn’t be held to the same standards as any other foreign power when it comes to proper interrogation techniques.

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