There have been a number of deaths in the family and among friends in this millennium. But out of all of them, there is one which stands out from the pack as being the most difficult for me to deal with. Today is the eighth anniversary of the passing of my late father Richard Dunn McElhinney. All I will say about it at the present time is what I say every year at this time; namely, that prayers for the eternal repose of his soul would be most appreciated.



Eternal rest grant unto his soul oh Lord and may thy perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace with all the souls of the faithfully departed. Amen.

The Gitmo Myth and the Torture Canard

This thread deals somewhat systematically with a lot of the garbage commonly paraded about by those who have for years publicly kvetched on these subjects. Hopefully for those who actually care about factual accuracy and take matters of ethics seriously, this thread will serve to inform them. Even if you do not agree with the manner in which the "war on terror"{1} has been conducted -in part or in whole- at the very least the rationale for what was done and why is well articulated in the thread above.

Note:

{1} Yeah, yeah I know overseas contingency operations. But much as I have never been fond of the term "war on terror", compared to the current nebulous construct I will continue to utilize it. (Though the term "war on terrorism" or "war on terrorists" would be preferable to both in my mind.)