Guantánamo Bay to Close in 2009 November 14, 2008

YAY for human rights!!!! A press release Monday revealed that Barrack Obama plans to close Guantánamo Bay and currently has a team of advisors tackling the logistics of the assignment.  I know both candidates mentioned doing this, but I’m certainly not so young as to hold my breath waiting on the fulfillment of campaign promises. All I can say is that I am REALLY, REALLY excited about an end to this nasty blemish on the reputation of the American people.

To quote Sarah Palin [look, Mom! I'm being bi-partisan!]:

“As defenders of the culture of life, John McCain and I believe in the goodness and potential of every innocent life. I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves.”

Of course, she’s talking about abortion here, but it’s very applicable to the entire spectrum of the dignity and sacredness of human life. Who is less able to defend themselves than a prisoner who has no access to a lawyer, has not been accused of a crime, and does not primarily speak the language of his/her captors?

Actually, Catholic Social Teaching provides a really nice outline for the how to take the concepts of sacredness and dignity of life beyond just *life* and *death*.  If you look closely, you might recognize some commonality of thought with a certain American president-elect. Anyway, you can read more about Guantánamo closing in this Huffington Post article. O happy day. 

-Mission Statement- June 29, 2007

“They think that I’ve got no respect, but everything means less than zero.” –Elvis Costello

Blindly trusting the people in charge or blanketly agreeing with anyone, for that matter, isn’t really respectful at all. If you love your country and your fellow man, you’ve got to keep watch on them, jealously guard their well-being, and when you find something amiss, sound the alarm. I’m not a political person. But I believe strongly in social justice, and the old-fashioned kind, too. And I have these friends. The so-called well-informed kind, and they keep bringing me news that makes it hard for me to sleep at night. The only remedy I could think of was to share this stuff in hopes that the good people of the planet might come together in a call to arms against those who would rob us of our freedoms so that they might better line their pockets.