Judie Brown
Values, acts of torture, and Obama
By Judie Brown
Though we may hear news stories that disturb us, let us not lose perspective. There are stories we rarely hear, stories of torture that happens every day in our country. We cannot forget the tiny cries that come from mouths that have been silenced all too soon.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, torture is defined as "the act of causing severe physical pain as a form of punishment or as a way to force someone to do or say something."
On this subject as it applies to the U.S. intelligence actions and alleged terrorists captured and interrogated, the Obama administration has said publicly that tactics such as waterboarding and other forms of "torture" are "brutal, wrong, and counterproductive." The administration has been outspoken on this topic, including the release of the controversial CIA report, for Obama believes that enhanced interrogation tactics are "contrary to our values."
Personally I find Obama's statements on this subject dubious at best, hypocritical at worst.
We know, for example, that the Obama administration takes nothing short of extremist positions when it comes to torturing/killing preborn babies or threatening the health and welfare of vulnerable Americans. We know Obama turns a blind eye to such atrocities.
So is it any wonder that one is left speculating which set of values Obama is actually talking about?
Think about these facts.
We are learning that advance directives may be hazardous to your health. An advance directive is a document that many people sign in order to have a plan in place in the event they become ill and are unable to speak for themselves. But one expert, Dr. Ferdinando Mirachi, said in an interview that when patients cannot speak for themselves, clinicians may forgo treatment – even for a treatable condition – when an advance directive and DNR order is present.
Further, as the federal government becomes more invasive into our lives with the national health care law and its consequences, other equally suspect practices could well become the norm, resulting in the premature deaths of those who entrusted their care to the wrong people.
Such practices are "contrary to our values," yet the Obama administration never utters a word.
Did you know that those involved in bioethics are debating why it may be ethical to take the lives of severely disabled newborns? "Arguing from a quality-of-life standpoint, [a Canadian bioethicist] writes that 'Once we have concluded that death is what is in the best interest of the infant, it is unreasonable not to bring about this death as painlessly and as much controlled in terms of timing by the parents as is feasible.'" While this advocacy comes from a Canadian bioethicist and is essentially the promotion of infanticide, there is no doubt that the same attitudes and practices exist in the United States as well. A Live Action video in which a nurse describes the act of "putting a baby in a toxic solution to ensure its death" is but one example. Such actions are "contrary to our values," yet the Obama administration never utters a word.
And perhaps you did not know that cases of statutory rape involving an older man sexually victimizing an underage teen have been covered up by Planned Parenthood on more than one occasion. The sheriff's office in Pinal County, Arizona, alleged in one case that "a Planned Parenthood counselor intentionally covered up the rape of a 15-year-old girl by a serial rapist, and that the cover-up slowed the arrest of the perpetrator." The same scenario has played out in Los Angeles and only God knows how many other locations in the United States.
For the record, statutory rape is a crime. Not only that, but the violent act is "contrary to our values." However, where Planned Parenthood is involved and is guilty of a cover-up, the Obama administration simply looks on.
If these are not examples of the hypocrisy hidden in Obama's words, then what are they?
Each of the acts I have described is a form of brutal torture. The sad outcome for many of these innocent victims is death. Each is a tragedy that is indeed "contrary to our values."
To be clear, the values I write about are the values on which this nation was founded. They are based on natural law principles – a set of ethical guidelines that are apparently foreign to the understanding of President Obama.
So we are left to wonder: What are your values, Mr. President?
© Judie Brown
December 20, 2014
Though we may hear news stories that disturb us, let us not lose perspective. There are stories we rarely hear, stories of torture that happens every day in our country. We cannot forget the tiny cries that come from mouths that have been silenced all too soon.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, torture is defined as "the act of causing severe physical pain as a form of punishment or as a way to force someone to do or say something."
On this subject as it applies to the U.S. intelligence actions and alleged terrorists captured and interrogated, the Obama administration has said publicly that tactics such as waterboarding and other forms of "torture" are "brutal, wrong, and counterproductive." The administration has been outspoken on this topic, including the release of the controversial CIA report, for Obama believes that enhanced interrogation tactics are "contrary to our values."
Personally I find Obama's statements on this subject dubious at best, hypocritical at worst.
We know, for example, that the Obama administration takes nothing short of extremist positions when it comes to torturing/killing preborn babies or threatening the health and welfare of vulnerable Americans. We know Obama turns a blind eye to such atrocities.
So is it any wonder that one is left speculating which set of values Obama is actually talking about?
Think about these facts.
We are learning that advance directives may be hazardous to your health. An advance directive is a document that many people sign in order to have a plan in place in the event they become ill and are unable to speak for themselves. But one expert, Dr. Ferdinando Mirachi, said in an interview that when patients cannot speak for themselves, clinicians may forgo treatment – even for a treatable condition – when an advance directive and DNR order is present.
Further, as the federal government becomes more invasive into our lives with the national health care law and its consequences, other equally suspect practices could well become the norm, resulting in the premature deaths of those who entrusted their care to the wrong people.
Such practices are "contrary to our values," yet the Obama administration never utters a word.
Did you know that those involved in bioethics are debating why it may be ethical to take the lives of severely disabled newborns? "Arguing from a quality-of-life standpoint, [a Canadian bioethicist] writes that 'Once we have concluded that death is what is in the best interest of the infant, it is unreasonable not to bring about this death as painlessly and as much controlled in terms of timing by the parents as is feasible.'" While this advocacy comes from a Canadian bioethicist and is essentially the promotion of infanticide, there is no doubt that the same attitudes and practices exist in the United States as well. A Live Action video in which a nurse describes the act of "putting a baby in a toxic solution to ensure its death" is but one example. Such actions are "contrary to our values," yet the Obama administration never utters a word.
And perhaps you did not know that cases of statutory rape involving an older man sexually victimizing an underage teen have been covered up by Planned Parenthood on more than one occasion. The sheriff's office in Pinal County, Arizona, alleged in one case that "a Planned Parenthood counselor intentionally covered up the rape of a 15-year-old girl by a serial rapist, and that the cover-up slowed the arrest of the perpetrator." The same scenario has played out in Los Angeles and only God knows how many other locations in the United States.
For the record, statutory rape is a crime. Not only that, but the violent act is "contrary to our values." However, where Planned Parenthood is involved and is guilty of a cover-up, the Obama administration simply looks on.
If these are not examples of the hypocrisy hidden in Obama's words, then what are they?
Each of the acts I have described is a form of brutal torture. The sad outcome for many of these innocent victims is death. Each is a tragedy that is indeed "contrary to our values."
To be clear, the values I write about are the values on which this nation was founded. They are based on natural law principles – a set of ethical guidelines that are apparently foreign to the understanding of President Obama.
So we are left to wonder: What are your values, Mr. President?
© Judie Brown
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(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
