Sean Hannity volunteers to be waterboarded 'for the troops', GOP appears to condone torture

[BirminghamExaminer]

Short Excerpt:

Sean Hannity, a Fox cable news network talk show host has volunteered to be waterboarded because he doesn't believe it is torture despite that as early as 1898, the United States condemned waterboarding as torture. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered that General Jacob H. Smith, U.S. Army be dismissed from the Army after it was learned that the "water cure" was being used in the Philippines by the Army soldiers under his command.

Sean Hannity has agreed to be waterboarded 'for the troops.' The talk show hosted volunteered on the air yesterday. MSNBC talk show host, Keith Olbermann has agreed to pay $1000 for every second that Sean Hannity is waterboarded and will give the money to the troops that Hannity spoke of.

Hannity isn't the only right wing talk show host to trivialize the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques. Rush Limbaugh condones waterboarding as do a number of other Fox news network hosts. The latest right wing talking point on the subject is that waterboarding isn't torture because some U.S. military personnel are waterboarded in their training in order to prepare for torture if captured. To reasonable people, such a talking point makes no sense. The military is familiar with this form of torture because it was used on U.S. soldiers at the end of the Korean war and in response, the military has trained specialist personnel who are at risk of being captured by foreign entities who condone the use of torture.

If Sean Hannity's intent to be waterboarded is meant to prove that it isn't torture, he should be waterboarded five times a day for a month. But even then, the conditions would not be the same as those that prisoners of war find themselves in. He would have the knowledge that he isn't really being tortured and that his tormentors aren't going to let him die. Instead, it would more resemble a TV reality show where contestants must eat bugs to 'survive' in the jungle.

(major snippage)

The Fox news network, a right wing media outlet owned by Australian Rupert Murdoch, allowed TV personalities and hosts to encourage viewers to armed insurrection. It encouraged the uninformed disenfranchised malcontents that make up the base of its television audience, to show discontent, to revel in its feeling of marginalization. FOX encouraged demonstrations known as "tea bag parties" where the minority of people who hate President Obama for reasons they can't quite articulate could protest taxes even though those protesting would benefit from fewer taxes under President Obama's tax reform. Sean Hannity, the same man who wants to be waterboarded for the troops, asked his fans to vote for their favorite way to overthrow the United States government on his website. But nothing that has come in the first 3 months of the Obama administration from the GOP and right wing media outlets has been as ominous and foul as the Republican party and right wing media's pro-torture stance.

When a major political party in a two party system, backed by a right wing media, condones torture, it is clear that the political party, in this case, the GOP, has become dysfunctional. How long can it continue to be a major political party when it condones torture, works to obstruct repairing the economy and the nation's standing in the world and refuses to work for its citizens? That elected officials would condone torture may be the harbinger of doom for a major political party and that is unfortunate.

(more major snippage)

For entire story, go here.

[Atman]

1. K&R

.

[mbperrin]

2. I'm certainly in favor of Hannity being waterboarded. Now this won't be

filmed and edited, will it?

It needs to be live, so that 3 seconds in, when he's trying to scream, we'll have some notion as to whether or not he's changed his mind about it being torture.

OF COURSE it's torture!!!!!!!!

But the entertainment value of Hannity being waterboarded? Priceless....

[jimshoes]

3. hannity will never let himself be

waterboarded. I don't think he has the stones.

[tomreedtoon]

4. So he'll be labeled a coward.

It wouldn't matter. I doubt that Olbelmann would have to cough up enough cash to buy a Chinese scooter. Hannity would probably go after about three seconds.

[peace frog]

5. Keith Olbermann has his checkbook out for this event

Last night on Countdown he offered $1000 per second for every second Hannity could stand to be waterboarded. Of course, we know Little Sean doesn't have the stones to actually go through with it, charity benefit be damned.

[Doctor_J]

6. OK. See you in a month, after 186 sessions

the very essence of a girlie man

[bemildred]

7. Is he selling tickets? nt

[OHdem10]

8. If the Democrats continue to permit the Righties to always be on the

side of the troops, always "supporting the troops, while permitting
the righties to paint the lefties as anti-troops and therefore
weak on foreign policy and protecting the country--guess who wins.

Torture Topic can be a double-edged sword.

[14thColony]

9. One session

But with no ability to stop it. Duration is randomly determined based on the averge upper and lower time limits of a real session, and Hannity will not even be told what those upper and lower limits are. He will be told that once it starts, nothing he can do will stop it until the secret time limit has been reached. That should introduce a not inconsiderable element of doubt that will fuel his fear and panic once the water starts flowing.

[Lerkfish]

10. Hannity will never do this.

even if he considered it at all, I'm sure he'd do a "dry run" without cameras rolling to see if he could hack it, and in that dry run realize he can't hack it (no one can, really), so he'll claim he was misquoted or misunderstood or whatever.

Hannity is a frickin coward like all repub primadonnas.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. You know something that no one is talking about this stupid thing?

When you trigger these things, they have a way of coming back. That's why they're called Post Traumatic shock syndrome. That's why they're saying it's just best to erase the memory of the event, completely. You don't have to be waterboarded for these things to happen. Anything that will cut off your breathing can do it. Like being on the bottom of a pile-up when your teammates get excited after a goal and jump on top of you, crushing your chest, making it impossible to breath. Or choking on something when eating.

I hope, if Sean experiences these after-effects, that he will be honest and report them.

[salinen]

12. Sean Hannity honest

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[nichomachus]

13. What absolute bullshit

There is a huge difference in being waterboarded when you know the person is going to stop if you ask them to, and when you know that they're not really going to kill you, versus not knowing if it will stop or if you will die.

One of the horrible parts of torture is not being in control of the situation. This is why the torturers deliberately disorient the victims.

This is why fake executions are considered torture. In this form, they treat the prisoner as if he'd going to be executed, but at the last minute they don't do it. The torturers could argue that it's not torture because the prisoner isn't actually harmed. However, the psychological harm is immense and meant to induce panic.

Hannity is just a grandstanding horse's ass.

[Twinguard]

14. I would love to see Hannity waterboarded.

But to make it realistic, he would have to be captured and imprisoned. He would have to have someone who speaks a different language shouting at him relentlessly-- treating him like prisoners are treated. After enduring this for a period of time (lets say a month), he would then be dragged to the torture chamber and waterboarded. During the waterboarding, ask him questions that he might or might not know the answers to.

If he were warterboarded in a safe and non-hostile environment, he would either mentally check out (insert your own punchline here :) ) like I do when I'm getting a filling at the dentist -or- just sing like a canary so he could say "Look, it made me give up the information. It works!"

[stubtoe]

15. If he does go through with this, and it changes his mind about waterboarding

actually being torture, and he said so, publicly, then this could be a net positive.

That's IF he goes through with this.

[stubtoe]

16. He might be well-advised to read Christopher Hitchen's article about being waterboarded

Believe Me, It’s Torture before deciding to go through with it. It doesn't sound like much fun.

[madamesilverspurs]

17. Hannity will wimp out.

And he'll blame MSNBC for it.

[BirminghamExaminer]

18. This article is about the GOP condoning torture

as well as Sean Hannity's antics.

The frightening truth about this subject is that the GOP itself appears to be condoning torture.