In case you missed andy on 60 min.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/20/60minutes/rooney/main618783.shtml
Our Darkest Days Are Here
May 23, 2004
Rooney On POW Abuse
What happened at Abu Ghraib prison is a black mark that will be in the
history books in a hundred languages for as long as there are history
books. (Photo: AP)
The image of one bad young woman with a naked man on a leash did more
to damage America's reputation than all the good things we've done
over the years ever helped our reputation.
(CBS) The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News
Correspondent Andy Rooney. If you were going to make a list of the
great times in American history, you'd start with the day in 1492,
when Columbus got here.
The Revolution when we won our independence would be on the list.
Beating Hitler.
Putting Americans on the moon.
We've had a lot of great days.
Our darkest days up until now have been things like presidential
assassinations, the stock market crash in 1929, Pearl Harbor, and
9-11, of course.
The day the world learned that American soldiers had tortured Iraqi
prisoners belongs high on the list of worst things that ever happened
to our country. It's a black mark that will be in the history books in
a hundred languages for as long as there are history books. I hate to
think of it.
The image of one bad young woman with a naked man on a leash did more
to damage America's reputation than all the good things we've done
over the years ever helped our reputation.
What were the secrets they were trying to get from captured Iraqis?
What important information did that poor devil on the leash have that
he wouldn't have given to anyone in exchange for a crust of bread or a
sip of water?
Where were your officers? If someone told you to do it, tell us who
told you. If your officers were told – we should know who told them.
One general said our guards were "untrained." Well, untrained at what?
Being human beings? Did the man who chopped off Nicholas Berg's head
do it because he was untrained?
The guards who tortured prisoners are faced with a year in prison.
Well, great. A year for destroying our reputation as decent people.
I don't want them in prison, anyway. We shouldn't have to feed them.
Take away their right to call themselves American - that's what I'd
do. You aren't one of us. Get out. We don't want you. Find yourself
another country or a desert island somewhere. If the order came from
someone higher up, take him with you.
In the history of the world, several great civilizations that seemed
immortal have deteriorated and died. I don't want to seem dramatic
tonight, but I've lived a long while, and for the first time in my
life, I have this faint, faraway fear that it could happen to us here
in America as it happened to the Greek and Roman civilizations.
Too many Americans don't understand what we have here, or how to keep
it. I worry for my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. I want them
to have what I've had, and I sense it slipping away.
Have a nice day.
.
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| User: "dreamwalker" |
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| Title: Re: Rooney On POW Abuse |
23 May 2004 11:21:49 PM |
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"jha_amin" <jha_amin@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:33b7880.0405231857.748065c0@posting.google.com...
In case you missed andy on 60 min.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/20/60minutes/rooney/main618783.shtml
Our Darkest Days Are Here
May 23, 2004
Rooney On POW Abuse
What happened at Abu Ghraib prison is a black mark that will be in the
history books in a hundred languages for as long as there are history
books. (Photo: AP)
The image of one bad young woman with a naked man on a leash did more
to damage America's reputation than all the good things we've done
over the years ever helped our reputation.
(CBS) The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News
Correspondent Andy Rooney. If you were going to make a list of the
great times in American history, you'd start with the day in 1492,
when Columbus got here.
The Revolution when we won our independence would be on the list.
Beating Hitler.
Putting Americans on the moon.
We've had a lot of great days.
Our darkest days up until now have been things like presidential
assassinations, the stock market crash in 1929, Pearl Harbor, and
9-11, of course.
The day the world learned that American soldiers had tortured Iraqi
prisoners belongs high on the list of worst things that ever happened
to our country. It's a black mark that will be in the history books in
a hundred languages for as long as there are history books. I hate to
think of it.
The image of one bad young woman with a naked man on a leash did more
to damage America's reputation than all the good things we've done
over the years ever helped our reputation.
What were the secrets they were trying to get from captured Iraqis?
What important information did that poor devil on the leash have that
he wouldn't have given to anyone in exchange for a crust of bread or a
sip of water?
Where were your officers? If someone told you to do it, tell us who
told you. If your officers were told - we should know who told them.
One general said our guards were "untrained." Well, untrained at what?
Being human beings? Did the man who chopped off Nicholas Berg's head
do it because he was untrained?
The guards who tortured prisoners are faced with a year in prison.
Well, great. A year for destroying our reputation as decent people.
I don't want them in prison, anyway. We shouldn't have to feed them.
Take away their right to call themselves American - that's what I'd
do. You aren't one of us. Get out. We don't want you. Find yourself
another country or a desert island somewhere. If the order came from
someone higher up, take him with you.
In the history of the world, several great civilizations that seemed
immortal have deteriorated and died. I don't want to seem dramatic
tonight, but I've lived a long while, and for the first time in my
life, I have this faint, faraway fear that it could happen to us here
in America as it happened to the Greek and Roman civilizations.
Too many Americans don't understand what we have here, or how to keep
it. I worry for my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. I want them
to have what I've had, and I sense it slipping away.
Have a nice day.
When Andy dies, I hope someone has the decency to trim his eyebrows.
.
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| User: "Su Zanne" |
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| Title: Re: Rooney On POW Abuse |
24 May 2004 12:55:02 AM |
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Chilling!
My sentiments exactly.
And now it's time to say goodbye....
YOU-COULD-HEAR-HER....AS SHE CRIED "This will be the day that America
died"
the day.......
the eagle.....fried!
and they were lying:
Bye-bye Miss American Pie.....
Drove my Chevy to the gas pump but the gas pump was dry
Those good ol' boyz drinking tonic and gin
Singing "We're just looking for a few good men................
TO SIN!"
.
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| User: "MaxBlast36" |
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| Title: Re: Rooney On POW Abuse |
23 May 2004 11:25:47 PM |
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Too many Americans don't understand what we have here, or how to keep
it. I worry for my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. I want them
to have what I've had, and I sense it slipping away.
MaxBlast Wrote:
You certainly have expressed views here and that is sorely needed by the
America I remember. We did not accept the views of other's that went directly
against our own and would fight to prove it. Now we are seeing that fighting
to prove it in 2004 is very challenging indeed since there are so many people
interconnected with each other.
The greatest tragedy is unfolding right now, in my view. We have no identity
to uphold anylonger. Liberty was used to fight the war and now it's being used
as a scapegoat by incompatent leaders who don't value those same principals our
forefather's did. Look they have sued us over everything that can be sued for
and we are seeing every knook and cranny of our system being scrutinized by
some hot shot lawyer or political thug who wants to make a buck.
We can't even get our family's safe security from our livelihoods and unless we
have a way of creating some more jobs we are going to find this huge debt of
ours completely out of reach to pay for the next 10, 20, 30, or more years,
this only means one thing, the system will have collapsed on us because we
won't be able to doing anything with it.
Our Great Nation has truly been wrecked by the Bush Administration and it
wasn't because of the attacks on us, it was because of arrogant, irresponsible
leadership from our government. Look at how much money and lives have been
spent here and for what? Saddam Hussein? Osama Bin Laden? These 2 people
found a way of bringing a Powerful Nation to Shame.
We were all supposed to be able to get some jobs because this war was going to
provide us with rebuilding contracts when all it brought us was death,
destruction, disgrace, dishonor, and a divided country, not to mention the
damage it has done to our credibility with the rest of the world. Take another
look at where your future is, what do you see? Most would say I don't even see
a future!
Truth is unless the people change themselves and the way our personal matters
of taking care of ourselves are resolved we are not going to have a viable
future for a very long time. Do you remember why we put "In God We Trust" on
our currency? It was because we were growing into a young and energetically
charged society that was firm in our convictions and beliefs, now we have so
many perspectives of faiths it literally surprised me to see that in the Cities
we have somewhere around 100 - 200 different religious sects.
This is clearly a sign of diversity within the American culture itself. Now we
have to consider which of those beliefs are identifiable to our own, We hold
this truth to be self evident, Without being spiritually connected there is no
moral premise that these leaders have to adhere to.
This frees them from our value system as we understood the values that America
stood for. "Truth, Justice and the Pursuit of Happiness" Now we are all faced
with our lives being nothing more than a physical machine to work, work, work.
Now when that very same system says we don't need you anymore because we have
all we need and we can go elsewhere to get what we want and at a cheaper rate
to us. You are left with a huge load of debt and no way of paying for it.
That's fine if it's what you value in your own country but, that was not what
we valued in our own country. We valued the pride that we got from doing a good
days work for a good days pay that we would use to support our families. Now
we have both parents working for the same wages that one made back 30 years
ago. Now with our own costs so high to us we are finding it impossible to pay
for the basics.
Look at how much we are paying just to have water, food, and shelter??? I have
an old farm house that 30 years ago would have only cost you $100.00 a month to
pay for. This same farm house now costs me $900.00 a month plus all
maintenance, utility and insurance costs to pay for on a $350.00 a week salary
that doesn't offer me any overtime and I'm thankful to have a job. It's only on
2 acres of land.
So, it's no where near enough to plant anything to make a living off of. We
have seen the greed of the few destroy the lives of many and any of you people
that are sitting in a $150,000, $200,000 or higher home you have my sincerest
sympathy. $2000.00 - $4000.00 a month payments. Yep, it's clear to me what
happen to America. The Crooks took over when the values were stripped away!!!
Your All In My Prayers... Peace Be With You!!!
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