Greetings from New Zealand!

It's neat here. I'm in Auckland, which is sort of lik a rainier, quainter Los Angeles. The All Blacks do this thing called the haka before the game, and it's awesome.

Being in a different country makes me realize how much my own country's government terrifies me. I was terrified at the airport. I'm terrified to come back.

The people I'm staying with say that the American government isn't as smart as I give them credit for, but when you hear stories like that one about the man from eastern Europe on holiday who ended up in gitmo, it's hard not to be scared.

People in New Zealand aren't as paranoid as in America. But I guess that's to be expected.

GITMO

Hey, does anyone remember when America was about humane treatment? Remember when people seemed to adhere to this crazy idea that torture was BAD? Does anyone remember when people cared about Habeas Corpus?

No? Oh, right, that seemed like such a long time ago.

Let's discuss torture:
If you are being tortured, you want it to stop. And if you know there is something you can say to make it stop, you will most likely say it.

Notice that it's "what you can say to make it stop". That doens't necessarily mean it's the truth. If the torturers don't know any better, you could say anything. If I were being waterboarded, I'd admit to killing JFK.

And not only that, people get to be there violating Habeas Corpus and the right to a fair trial.

Hey, assclowns. What would you think if someone in Iraq were torturing American troops like this? I bet you'd hold the exact same stance. Because this is totally fair.

The saddest part is that this is just another day with 8 years of this shit. Everyone's become immune to outright atrocities like Scooter Libby and Whitewater and GITMO. It's all in a day's work now.

Mindfuck of the year.