From a directive by the Gestapo chief, Muller, 1942:<\/p>\n
Read all about it, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to all the things the Nazis were doing in 1942, we've added others, including waterboarding which the explicitly Nazis forbade (at least initially). And these are the very things the Republican candidates tried to one-up each other on, during their last debate; Mitt Romney wished we could have two<\/i> Guantanamos; Giuliani and Tancredo both said they'd support whatever methods interrogators could think of; Tancredo wants a \"Jack Bauer\", presumably to come and break as many fingers, knees and laws as it takes. <\/p>\n These men should<\/i> be excluded from public office by the simple fact that no decent person would vote for someone advocating interrogation methods identical to those used by the Gestapo. But they aren't; instead, they are the leading lights of the Republican Party. They get thunderous applause as they shake their fists and demand harsher interrogations and more torture. Among their supporters, their advocacy for torture is a selling point, not a sign of mental illness.<\/p>\n America is a deeply disturbed country.<\/p>\n Update:<\/p>\n And why has America so quickly fallen in love with torture? I will blockquote myself<\/a>:<\/p>\nEven though I normally hate me some mass-pop-psychology... my pet theory is that 9\/11 simply gave people an excuse to indulge aspects of their personalities that they normally would've kept under wraps. All the latent authoritarian, sadistic impulses now have a chance to jump up and work out under cover of \"patriotism\" and \"making them pay\". It's every little macho coward's dream come true: a chance to do what's normally forbidden or taboo and come out of it looking like a Jack Bauer-esque hero. <\/p>\n