One Little Victory

OK, back to the writing.

My relative absence of late has been a combination of being busy and being a bit burned out from writing. I don’t think I’ve quite lost the passion for posting, but my attention has just been pulled in too many directions to be able to focus on blogging. Thus, accept my apologies for not being terribly active of late, and I am sure that will change, but I’m just not sure when.

So, what’s going on lately that’s worthy of note?

Obama/Kaine in ‘08?

It looks like the short list for vice president is down to Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, and Tim Kaine. And it looks like Kaine has become the odds-on favorite. Sorry, Clinton supporters…. actually, no I’m not, but it sounded nice. Kaine is a moderate and will definitely play well in historically red state Virginia.

Has the U.S. illegally attacked Iran?

Scott Ritter, who knows about such things, has written a very interesting piece in Truthdig about an apparent U.S. covert military action now taking place within Iran. It just amazes me how, if this is true, our administration still does not get what catastrophe awaits us if we go to war with Iran. Not to mention that we are launching yet another illegal and immoral attack upon a sovereign nation. Anyone sense a trend here?

Eugene Robinson on Torture

Speaking of Truthdig, here is an article written by Eugene Robinson on the recent revelations about this administration’s shameless approval of torture. This administration has committed itself to destroying the rule of law in this nation.

Here is the article:

Bush’s Legacy of Torture
Posted on Jul 28, 2008
By Eugene Robinson

I still find it hard to believe that George W. Bush, to his eternal shame and our nation’s great discredit, made torture a matter of hair-splitting, legalistic debate at the highest levels of the United States government. But that’s precisely what he did.

Three previously classified administration memos obtained last week by the American Civil Liberties Union add to our understanding of this disgraceful episode. The documents are attempts to justify the unjustifiable—the use of brutal interrogation methods that international agreements define as torture—and keep those who ordered and carried out this dirty business from being prosecuted and jailed.

The memos don’t call it torture, of course. Heavily redacted before being surrendered to the ACLU under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the documents refer euphemistically to “enhanced techniques” of interrogation. Changing the name doesn’t change the act, however. One memo, written in 2004, specifically makes clear the administration’s view that “the waterboard” is an acceptable way to extract information.

Waterboarding, a technique of simulated drowning, is considered torture virtually everywhere on earth except in the Bush administration’s archive of self-exculpatory memos, directives and opinions.

The most stunning of the memos—written in August 2002 by Jay Bybee, who was head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel—makes the incredible claim that unless a torturer has the “specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering,” no violation of U.S. laws against torture has occurred. Bybee, since appointed to the federal bench, wrote that the torturer needed only the “honest belief” that he was not actually committing torture in order to avoid legal jeopardy. Oh, and Bybee added that it wasn’t even necessary for that belief to be “reasonable.”

The memo notes that U.S. torture statutes outlaw the infliction of severe mental pain, as well as physical pain. It acknowledges that “the threat of imminent death” is one of the specific acts that can constitute torture. Somehow, though, the administration pretends not to understand that strapping a prisoner down and pouring water into his nose until he can’t breathe constitutes a death threat—regardless of whether the interrogator intended to stop before the prisoner actually drowned.

Perhaps that question was dealt with in the nine-tenths of the memo that was redacted before the administration handed it over to the ACLU. The memo never would have been released at all if the government hadn’t been ordered to do so by a federal judge.

The whole thing would be laughable if it were not such a rank abomination. No government obeying the law needs a paper trail to absolve its interrogators of committing torture. Conversely, a government that produces such a paper trail has something monstrous to hide.

It is not difficult to avoid violating federal laws and international agreements that prohibit torture. Just don’t torture people, period. The idea that there exists some acceptable middle ground—a kind of “torture lite”—is a hideous affront to this nation’s honor and values. This, perhaps above all, is how George Bush should be remembered: as the president who embraced torture.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, as he left office, Bush issued some sort of pardon clearing those who authorized or carried out “enhanced techniques” of interrogations from any jeopardy under U.S. law. International law is something else entirely, however, and I imagine that some of those involved in this sordid interlude might want to be careful in choosing their vacation spots. I’d avoid The Hague, for example.

Barack Obama has stood consistently against torture. John McCain, who was tortured himself as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, has denounced torture as well—and, although he voted against restraining the CIA with the same no-exceptions policy that now applies to military interrogators, he has been forthright in saying that waterboarding is torture, and thus illegal. On Inauguration Day, whoever wins, this awful interlude will end.

The clear and urgent duty of the next president will be to investigate the Bush administration’s torture policy and give Americans a full accounting of what was done in our name. It’s astounding that we need some kind of truth commission in the United States of America, but we do. Only when we learn the full story of what happened will we be able to confidently promise, to ourselves and to a world that looks to this country for moral leadership: Never again.

Eugene Robinson’s e-mail address is eugenerobinson(at)washpost.com.

You’re kidding, right?

According to the Wall Street Journal, George W. Bush is misunderstood just like, you know, Batman. WTF? Congrats to the WSJ on getting a Golden MoMo.

McTasteless

Well, at least he’s predictable. Good old McSame is back at it, alleging that Barack Obama blew off a troop visit in Germany because he couldn’t take photographers with him. He even put out a national spot on it. I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone to learn that the accusation is factually not even close, as noted not only by the reporters covering Obama’s trip, but also by Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. So much for a respectful campaign, eh Sparky? Thus, with this post does McSame pass Bush in Golden Momo awards. To be fair however, I didn’t start blogging until 2006, so I missed out on many priceless Bush moments.

House apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow

Well, the House of Representatives may be spineless where the Iraq War, government accountability, and many other issues are concerned, but at least they got this right.

House apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow
Resolution does not mention reparations; commits to rectifying ‘misdeeds’

WASHINGTON - The House on Tuesday issued an unprecedented apology to black Americans for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow segregation laws.

“Today represents a milestone in our nation’s efforts to remedy the ills of our past,” said Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only white lawmaker to represent a majority black district. Cohen faces a formidable black challenger in a primary face-off next week.

Congress has issued apologies before — to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II and to native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In 2005, the Senate apologized for failing to pass anti-lynching laws.

Full story here…

Patriots sign another offensive weapon

The rich get richer. After the Oakland Raiders cut veteran running back Lamont Jordan, he signed on with the New England Patriots. Let’s see, that gives us Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Fault and Lamont Jordan. I think the running game will improve a bit this year.

McCain fails own test

So for anyone keeping track at home, here is the John McCain record on Iraq.

And we’re going to trust this asshat with our nation? Remember McCain supporters, we will get what we deserve if this clown is elected in November.

What a Dick

Dick Cheney’s planned address to wounded combat veterans next month has been called off. Why? Because his “security” requirements were about as respectful to the veterans as the administration’s policies towards them.

According to the New York Daily News, Cheney insisted the sick vets be sequestered for two hours before Cheney’s arrival and couldn’t leave until he’d finished talking.

Please note that these are WOUNDED veterans, some of whom are crippled, and many of whom would have extraordinary physical difficulty staying in the room for an extended period of time.

Way to go, Dick. But at least you get another Momo.

*****
OK, that’s enough for tonight. But there is more brewing around in this devious brain… don’t you worry.