Bad, CIA! Bad!

The Senate's Torture Report (big honkin' 500+ page PDF), otherwise known as the Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency 's Detention and Interrogation Program, was released today. Well, the Executive Summary was released.

To nobody's surprise, it describes the forms of torture our country used against people. Forms of torture we imprisoned or executed people for after World War II after finding them guilty of doing the same thing. Forms of torture we condemned other countries for using. Forms of torture never dreamed up before.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney had this to say:

“What I keep hearing out there is they portray this as a rogue operation, and the agency was way out of bounds and then they lied about it,” Mr. Cheney said in a telephone interview. “I think that’s all a bunch of hooey. The program was authorized. The agency did not want to proceed without authorization, and it was also reviewed legally by the Justice Department before they undertook the program.”

Cheney admits to the Bush administration's knowledge of and authorization for the use of torture. The euphemism "enhanced interrogation techniques" made torture sound so much more acceptable, especially to protect ourselves from a global terrorism threat. Fear and propaganda can make you accept anything as reasonable. You can even contrive a legal justification for it even if it is discredited and withdrawn later.

But don't expect anything to come of this. After his first election, President Obama said he believed we needed to look forward as opposed to looking backwards.

In other words, nobody will be held responsible for the crimes committed in our country's name.

Doing the right thing is a hard choice. Should a former president and vice president be prosecuted and possibly imprisoned for war crimes or should our country admit to using torture and just say it's time to move on.

Yep. A hard choice.

The CIA should have no problem surviving the stern looks and finger pointing. Our country on the other hand abandoned the moral high ground years ago and has no chance of recovering it. We can express indignation at others all we want as long as we're prepared to have Guantanamo, Bagram, dark sites, water boarding, and rectal feeding thrown into our collective faces. Because now it's a shame we all share.

Tacoma Cyclocross Racing Weekend

What a tough but fun weekend. I got to hang out and race with my brother John and catch up with my Team Double Check team mates whom I see about once a year. Saturday's race was at Marymount. The rains had thoroughly soaked the grass, which was then churned into thick mud by hundreds of bicycle tires. John did the Masters 45+ race at 9:10 and the heavens opened up for him. He didn't say so but I'm sure he was thankful for that. Racing in the rain is true cyclocross racing. The rains eased off for my Masters 55+ race at 10:00 and another large field of riders churned the ground up even more.

The upper part of the course had all the soft ground. The lower section was nice and solid. There was very little in the way of technical stuff. And there were two run ups. We dropped down to the lower section twice where we got to feel like we were going faster on firm ground. The we got to run up the hill and slog through the mud. It was hard work.

I raced again at 12:45 on the single speed. It was exhausting trying to get through the wheel-grabbing mud. It was so thick at the barriers that my bike would almost come to a complete stop when I jumped back on. So I just kept running with the bike until I hit more solid ground. One thing that helped me was the whiskey hand ups I took. The first shot didn't sit well for a half lap or so. But I was ready for it when I came around for the second shot. I'm pretty sure I finished DFL but I had a nice buzz going. And I made the local paper.

 Although John's not smiling, he is having fun.

 All racers looked like they shat themselves something fierce.

 Tired and muddy after the single speed race.

Sundays venue was at Steilacoom Park. This course was definitely made for roadies. There was no technical stuff whatsoever. And there was no run up. They had a long climb and a fast descent with a coupe of sharp turns. The remainder was flat and featureless. John and I did the same races as before. I was tired from Saturday's efforts. About 45 seconds into the Masters 55+ I was all jacked up and coming in hot to a 180-degree turn. My front wheel slid out on the wet grass and down I went. Those who hadn't passed me yet now had a clear shot. The rest of the race was uneventful. On the bright side I did finish 14 our of 17 so no DFL there. 

During the single speed race, in which I got to see all the other riders twice, even John Speare's friend Dylan who was tented right next to us. We both kept thinking we knew the other and finally got that settled when I spoke up. 

John kept my spirits high with some beer hand ups. It was great to have something to look forward to because the long climb was brutal. With each lap I was spending more time standing on the pedals and trying not to hate life. But I stayed upright the entire race, rode as hard as I could, and had a good time.

 John tearing it up at Steilacoom.

John doing me a solid with a beer hand up.

I always bring my A game when it comes to beer hand ups. Bryan MacDonald caught these shots of me at the top of my form.

Armored Up

Check out the military equipment that's been given to law enforcement agencies in the state of Washington. For what possible use does the Spokane County Sheriff have for a mine resistant vehicle?



Data gathered by The Marshall Project.

I Can Relate

I often remind myself that it's okay that someone else took the same or similar photo.

My Reputation Did Not Precede Me

This weekend I'm headed over to Tacoma to hang out with my brother, John, and do some cyclocross racing. I signed up for the Men's 55+ and the Single Speed on both days. After registering I clicked on the Race Predictor for all the races. I'm listed in third place for both of Saturday's races. And I'm listed 2nd and 4th for Sunday's races.

That's crazy! I don't know how USA Cycling crunches the numbers to reach these conclusions. Maybe they forgot to carry an aught or something. I wonder if doing two races each time makes a difference.

Hopefully, nobody goes to any great lengths to find out who I am before the race.

Racer 1: Hey, who's this Hank Greer guy from Spokane?

Racer 2: That's him over there wearing the pink and yellow tie.

Racer 1: With the matching socks?

Racer 2: Yeah.

Racer 1:  (pause) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

No pressure on me, right? My plan is to race the 55+, complete the single speed, and have fun. Mostly have fun.

Costco Disguised Phishing Attack

I received this odd email today and it didn't fool me for a second. But even smart people can get fooled these days.