Movin' On Up

Daniel Koffler | August 3, 2005

Congressman Jon Porter (R-Nevada) takes a broad perspective on the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay:

"Many of these detainees have never had dental treatment ever," Porter said. "Now they have anesthesia and they have all the modern technology treatments, so a lot of them are actually very pleased because they are living better than they ever have. Many of them are happy to be there."

Someone needs to remind Porter that words have consequences. It's bad enough that the newly released JAG memos accurately detail military officers' objections to the administration's loosening of rules on prisoner detention. Now Porter has to go ahead and create an incentive for terrorism--dental care!

Story here; link via Josh Marshall.

Comments

|8.3.05 @ 3:44PM|#

Porter said for security reasons the lawmakers did not interact with detainees.

I'm curious, was he reading their minds then?

|8.3.05 @ 3:45PM|#

Go ahead!
Fix my teeth!

|8.3.05 @ 3:46PM|#

As far as I can tell, he did what the news organizations do. He went down there, they showed him some empty cells. The brass there told him what they wanted to say and he didn't ask any questions. And he left.

|8.3.05 @ 4:07PM|#

As a prisoner you may also get to see the world .

Anon

|8.3.05 @ 4:07PM|#

Expect Air America and the like to make a big point about how terrorists get free dental care but many Americans don't.

gaius marius|8.3.05 @ 4:53PM|#

i'm sure many west africans were also overjoyed at being abducted and brought to the american south. hell, what's not to love about the technological west?

|8.3.05 @ 5:14PM|#

G.

I think this may be more analogous to the old Southern argument that many slaves actually liked slavery 'cause, otherwise, no one would take care of them.

...The analogy breaks down quickly on a number of fronts, one of them being that slaves were neither taken on the battlefield nor terrorist enemies of the United States. ...Another being that the average slave in the Old South--as little personal freedom as he or she my have had--may have actually enjoyed more personal freedom than the prisoners of Guantanamo.

P.S. So I guess we should drop the whole democracy push and just hit the Middle East with a good dental plan?

|8.3.05 @ 5:28PM|#

Hey, I've got a great idea! We'll not only give them dental care (free!), we'll also give them comprehensive medical care. We can give them experimental therapies and see how they respond!

What could possibly go wrong?

|8.3.05 @ 6:27PM|#

Now I know Rummy's plan to cripple terrorists: Slow mercury poisoning via amalgams.

|8.4.05 @ 2:44AM|#

Them terrorist bastards now gots gubmint tranmitters in their teeth. Bush should release 'em an' follow 'em in his stealth black helicopters back to that O-sama bastard!

Course, if the terrorists get wise to the transmistters, they can jest pull their teeth. That's what me and the rest of the Posse did when learned Janet Reno was trackin' every potato chip we ate. We wore dentures for a while, 'til we learned the guy who made the dentures was a Democrat. Damn that Bill Clinton! He headed us off at the pass.

Don't get me started about fluoride!

|8.4.05 @ 10:39AM|#

Those people in Cuba should be grateful. They're getting free, quality medical care.

Wait a minute, which thread is this?

|8.4.05 @ 10:22PM|#

terrorists must pay

dental hygiene overrated

fluoridation affects precious bodily fluids