jude folly

This is the hot story about an abundantly famous athlete with a reputation as pure as the driven snow, a post-Thanksgiving auto wreck and brief hospital visit. As few details are known, and even less context, about said events, his refusal to elaborate has only stoked curiosity and ginned up the rumor swill. As someone who’s neither a fan nor a detractor, I hope he can keep a lid on it and maintain his privacy–sponsors and fans be damned. I doubt anyone’s ever had an arm twisted to watch him golf or to buy the shaving cream he’s selling. Perhaps he’ll lose some sponsors and he’ll lose some fans–hardly anything to whine about given the levels of success he’s achieved.

The fawning public needs to accept responsibility for idealizing and adoring an exceptional athlete who, just like everyone else, puts away his golf clubs one at a time. So, move along, spectators, there’s nothing more to see here.

Pfc. Lynndie England holds what appears to be a dog’s leash around the neck of a naked man at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Digital image obtained by The Washington Post from Iraq.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a federal appellate court’s decision to allow the release of still more photos allegedly illustrating the abuse of U.S.-held prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though initially in favor of the release of said photos, the Obama administration changed course and argued that, if published, the images would provoke further anti-American sentiment and jeopardize the security of U.S. military personnel, diplomats, and citizens around the world.

At the risk of sounding naive, this sounds a lot like an argument against using torture to interrogate prisoners in the first place; let alone severely compromising the moral authority of the United States–meaning, how can we expect other countries or para-military organizations not to mistreat our citizens if our conduct in war is just as abusive?