Memos, Memos, Everywhere!

It seems that the talk of the beltway here recently has centered-on President Obama’s move to release previously confidential Bush-era memos outlining the Bush Administration’s complacency with the use of questionable possibly torturous interrogation tactics.

Here’s a link to a story outlining what was released by the Obama order.

Many folks worry that releasing such documents will endanger Americans around the globe as there is now proof that America is using the questionable-tactics when interrogating detainees. The fear is that with the release of the memos, tantamount to an admission of guilt, other countries (presumed enemies of America) will retaliate and use similar, if not worse tactics on future American detainees.

While I agree that the admission of guilt does make America look bad on the global stage, I am not willing to make the jump that these memos are the straw that will break the proverbial camel’s back.

Now for the obvious statement of the day-

These memos don’t endanger the well-beings/lives of Americans abroad, the fact that America partook in such heinous actions do.

These memos didn’t water board, sleep-deprive or starve anyone…WE DID.

Whether we release a few memos or not, these still actions took place. And there must be some atonement.

I applaud a gutsy move by the Obama Administration in making these memos public. It is a strong first-step in making things right.

The next step is to make real progess toward preventing such actions from ever taking place again.

The first words out of my mouth the morning of 9/11 were ‘Get used to it.’

And I took a lot of grief for that.

But sadly, history has proven me right. In viewing these memos, you can see why enemies of America would be so outraged by our actions as to facilitate an attack on American soil.

As long as we keep playing the eye-for-an-eye game, we need to expect a sucker punch or two.

These moves by Obama are decisive steps away from the Bush-era ‘cowboy diplomacy’ approach to foreign policy.

We all saw how far Bush got us, maybe it’s time to fess-up and venture down a different path. I am encouraged by what I am seeing.

Here’s hoping Obama can put his money where his mouth is.

Happy Earth Day all

In this post I’d like each of you to post a comment stating one move you plan to make in the coming year to get a little more green.

Hopefully this will inspire/encourage everyone to keep moving towards being a bit greener.

My goal in the next year will be to use my bus pass more. I currently use it to commute to work, but still log 100-200 miles in my car on the weekends. I want to go 50/50 car/bus in my non-work travels.

I look forward to hearing your goals.

More baby steps...

This baby-steps entry is gonna be short.

As there is nothing new that I am doing.

I am just making you Seattle residents aware of the changes that took place in the city’s recycling program.

Here is a link to the city recycling website.

The city is making it a bit easier to recycle more.

Just a couple highlights:
- No more separating glass from other recyclables! *This was especially a pain for a fella like me who enjoys a bottle of beer or 5, every now and again.
- The list of what is now acceptable as recyclable has gotten bigger, which is always a good thing.

Here's the link again for a breakdown of particulars.

And remember, every little bit helps.