Reagan on Torture

With all the doublespeak going on out there in the GOP about torture, here's a pretty clear statement on the matter -- from Ronald Reagan, no less (the founding father of modern Republicanism and winner of the award for Most Exploited Name In GOP Debates. Excluding "Clinton," of course.)

From Andrew Sullivan:

"The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiations of the Convention [Against Torture]. It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today." - president Ronald Reagan, 1988.

Notice his clear stand not just against torture but also against "other inhuman treatment or punishment" as well. And now think what Bush and Cheney have done to the honor or reputation of the United States and the integrity of the conservative soul.

Happy Feet

Check out this little girl's mad rollerblading skills. The first half a minute is pretty boring because she's just standing there, but the wait is worth it!

Real Life Mystery Story

A friend of mine sent this article to me over a year and a half ago, raving about the reporting and storytelling in this real-life murder mystery unfolding on the Upper East Side, of all places:

The consulate, an elegant 19th-century Beaux-Arts mansion off Fifth Avenue that is Indonesia's home in New York for cultural events, cocktail receptions, economic conferences and aid to travelers, was transformed on a quiet Sunday morning into the setting of a locked-door mystery. It appeared to be a homicide, investigators said, though they did not rule out suicide."

The broody narrative and graphic detail (later) feels like a mystery novel -- the reporters draw you in with scenarios and the lingering doubt of investigators -- but at the same time all the elements of a hard news story are there.

 

Here's the follow-up.

Aw, Nuts

04 Oct 2007 12:10 EDT DJ

Virginia Peanut Crop Seen Dn About 33% On Drought

WINDSOR, Va. (AP)--A peanut specialist estimated Virginia's overall peanut production at about 2,000 pounds an acre this year, about a third less than normal, because of drought.

Despite some "good pockets" of peanuts in some places, dry ground has been so hard that vines "couldn't even get into the ground, and when they did, they just dried up," according to Joel Faircloth, a peanut and cotton specialist at Virginia Tech's research center in Suffolk.

In a normal year, Virginia typically produces about 3,000 pounds an acre.

Faircloth says other peanut-growing states have been just as dry as Virginia - including Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Faircloth and local extension agents held a pod-blasting clinic last week to test the maturity of peanut samples from area fields. They said some varieties are ready for harvest, although some may not be totally mature.