didionville

so as i am posting video and pictures of didion and marveling about what an amazing adventure life is, steven and i are watching bill moyers’ journal (episode airing friday, may 9, 2008). bill moyers and phillipe sands are discussing sands’ most recent book (Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values).

one of sands’ points is how incredulous he is that lawyers with all of their training and education and their duty to uphold constitutional protections have been able to rationalize extreme methods of interrogation as acceptable and lawful and well within the rights of the executive branch of our government to authorize. unsurprising, he discusses the deep involvement of dick cheney’s attorney, david addington, in crafting the argument rationalizing torture of prisoners at guantanamo and other sunny locales in the war on terror. (remember: attorneys represent the interests of their clients.)

sands also talks about the rebellions within the military, launched by officers who are adamantly opposed to harsh interrogation techniques: they don’t work; they endanger american military personnel worldwide; they deeply undermine american values and law.

speaking of military officers fighting most ferociously on the front lines against the bush administration to protect the rights of prisoners, i want to direct you to the story of matthew diaz, a distinguished naval officer who released the names of all of the detainees at guantanamo when it became clear the bush administration had no intention of doing same in spite of a court order requiring it. diaz got in a lot of trouble doing the right thing, but he also was awarded the 2008 ridenhour truth-telling prize. (i want to advise you, reader, against holding your breath that bush will offer a last-minute pardon to diaz.)

interestingly, bill moyers won the 2008 ridenhour courage prize, thus bringing this post full circle.

one more point: the world is a better place for people like philippe sands and bill moyers and matthew diaz. i am sorry that they are currently having to use their talents to bring to light critical issues that threaten to indelibly stain the american character, but thank god they are.

today was didion’s first bath in the regular bathtub. it seems like overnight didion grew out of his duckie tub. as with everything, didion conquered the tub with great aplomb, and he enjoyed playing with his squirt toys; though, i use “play” loosely … “chew” and “drool on” are more accurate.

yesterday evening it was family time in the pok … we were all on the couch watching sportscenter repeat itself, like, six times in one hour, when steven and i hear lips smacking. we knew it wasn’t either of us, so that left only one suspect: d-man.

and smack he did. it was pretty funny, and being the textbook first-time parents that we are, we hurriedly grabbed the video camera and oohed and ahhed as if our kid had just discovered fire.

enjoy.

i thought it worthwhile to post the follow up to yesterday’s lesson …

pure genius. (of course, original stuff here.)

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on another front … i have been writing comments here and there on a few blogs and have realized that i am making typos all over the place. YIKES! anyone who knows me knows what a grammar freak i am (yes, in spite of the fact i write in all lowercase, except for those random intervals when i binge on all caps and exclamation points). i’m afraid people are going to think i or — worse — didion is illiterate.

enough whining … back to cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry …