Back, and somehow the news is no better?!

Hey there, I took a vacation in lovely Philadelphia (my hometown, if you're there in the next month check out the Manet and the Sea exhibit), and took the opportunity to become blissfully ignorant of all that's going on in the world. That is, until I heard the voice of Nicholas Berg's father (A Philadelphia-area resident) recounting the horrible crime performed upon his son.

And the cycle of violence continues. I hope we use more violence to stop the violence, that really seemed to work the last time. And I hear that in light of this act, the moral relativists out there are claiming victory, that somehow because we didn't behead Iraqi prisoners (we only killed 30 or so of them, probably), that we are the champions of good. Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe became the first high-ranking official I know of to publicly spout the "they deserved it" defense, saying, among other things, that:

"...these prisoners, they're not there for traffic violations. If they're in cell block 1A or 1B, these prisoners, they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents, and many of them probably have American blood probably on their hands and here we're so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.

Maybe we're concerned about their treatment because it directly affects our treatment, but what do I know? And maybe we should keep in mind that, according to the Red Cross, 70 to 90% of these prisoners had likely been arrested by mistake. So you're right, Senator Inhofe, they're not there for traffic tickets. They're not there, in fact, for ANYTHING.

Not that I expected to return to a saved world full of peace, but still, it's depressing.