I want to throw my passport in the trash because I live in a country in which our government has agreed that torture is acceptable. But really, aren't I naive to be surprised?
Nothing new in this photo- but still it just boggles my mind every time. One torturer salutes another - mano-a-mano, as they say.
Yes, I have been away for awhile. I was overwhelmed by apathy. That's a lazy-ass excuse to stop caring though so I'll take some responsibility for this mess of a country we live in. Anyone have any ideas on how to get it back?
What Happened That Made Me Mad Enough to Come Back
I am committed to writing in my blog again - even if a single person doesn't read it. Why? Because of the the bill passed this week by Congress. But before I go there and everywhere else I haven't been in 2 years...
Let's Dig in to The Periphery -
People and Things in the News That Make Me Sick
Aren't we all so glad that Bob Woodward has experienced a respite from his epic hubris to write a more objective perspective of the junta? Bob is a flawless intuitive of the pulse of the American consumer. He knows in his politically expedient and greedy heart that "Now's the time to dog Bush! Before it was better to make him look good - especially if it came from someone from the liberal mainstream! Ka ching, baby - let me upgrade my house on Martha's Vineyard, tout de suite."
Bob's new book delivers the not-so-surprising news that America's most famous war criminal - Henry Kissinger - whose expertise can be felt from the fields of Cambodia to the boulevards of Chile - has been advising the junta on war strategy.
The Chileans who died on September 11, 1973, salute you, Mr. Kissinger, and your late boss, Richard M. Nixon. Read about General Augusto Pinochet to learn more about the fruits of Mr. Kissinger's advice.
And before I forget, strike Harold Ford, Jr., D-Tenn from the potential cool Dems on the horizon. He proudly voted with the Republican majority on the above-mentioned Military Commissions bill. How do you sleep at night, Congressman Ford?
Probably just as easily as Mary Landrieu, D-La. You remember her from the interview with Anderson Cooper? Tell us again where you were when the levees broke Senator Landrieu? I notice your website doesn't show your proud vote for this bill this week. Come on sister, be brave and show us your true colors!
I have received a buttload of e-mail from Democrat organizations this week and you know what my response is to them: "Where have you all been in the last EIGHT YEARS? I am not sending another dime to you cowardly p0liticians until one of you has the guts to become a LEADER!" None of them have yet responded.
Bubba Talks Back
I loved all the journalists who spoke on behalf of Chris Wallace's courage during his exchange with Bubba this week. I wish Chris was brave enough to ask our current President and the current Secretary of Defense the following very simple questions:
- Why have we spent in excess of $500 billion at war with a country that has absolutely zero ties to 9/11?
- How many Americans have died and been wounded since the War on Terror began?
- How many Iraqi women and children have died since we liberated Iraq from the dictator we supported?
- How much of that just-approved $70 billion dollars is going to help the returning wounded American soldiers numbering more than 20, 000?
- Mr. Rumsfeld, why were you shaking the hand of the known torturer and human rights abuser in the photo above?
Post-Katrina Justice: Only for the People not for the Leaders
Tina Ritko, an MLW reader in the great liberal metropolis of San Francisco, gave me this article from Esquire to read. It made me wish I was a criminal defense attorney so I could defend them. It's a long article but it's worth your time. I've never heard of Nancy Grace but I think someone should let her in on the principle of karma. The subjects of the article were indicted last week.
Today's Real Important Story
The Military Commissions Bill - all the barely understandable legislative-speak confused me so I leave it to the experts to help me unravel what it really means.
From the Washington Post
"Congress approved landmark changes to the nation's system of interrogating and prosecuting terrorism suspects last night, preparing the ground for possible military trials for key al-Qaeda members under rules that critics say will draw stiff constitutional challenges. They include restrictions on a suspect's ability to challenge his detention, examine all evidence against him, and bar testimony allegedly acquired through coercion of witnesses.
The new bill is designed to legalize military commissions and to clarify interrogation techniques that CIA officers may use on terrorism suspects considered "unlawful enemy combatants," who are granted fewer protections than are prisoners of war. Hundreds of such detainees have been held for several years without trial at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while others were held at secret prisons overseas.
... it grants the executive branch substantial leeway in deciding how to comply with treaty obligations regulating actions that fall short of "grave breaches" of the conventions.
It would bar military commissions from considering testimony obtained through interrogation techniques that involve "cruel, unusual or inhumane treatment or punishment," which the Constitution's Fifth, Eighth and 14th amendments prohibit. The bar would be retroactive only to Dec. 30, 2005 -- when Congress adopted the Detainee Treatment Act -- to protect CIA operatives from possible prosecution over interrogation tactics used before that date.
From Amnesty International:
Our representatives in Congress have just passed legislation that:
- Establishes a new judicial system to try a wide variety of people in military commissions that lack the minimal safeguards regarding coerced evidence may deny the right of the accused to examine evidence against them. A person could be sentenced to death under this flawed system.
- Strips prisoners in Guantanamo – and other alleged “enemy combatants” in U.S. custody -- of the ability to file a writ of habeas corpus and challenge their detention. Many of these prisoners have been held for almost five years without charges or meaningful judicial review
- Expands the definition of ‘unlawful enemy combatant” to allow the U.S. government to detain people – on or off the battlefield – indefinitely without charge or access to judicial review for an act as minor as writing a check.
- Provides retroactive immunity to those who may have been implicated in creating policies or participating in abuse and other acts that most of us would consider torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
From Michael Stickings:
"Yesterday was a terrible, terrible day in American history. It was a day that may live on in infamy, a day that America, or at least an important part of her, died. The vote in the House was 253 to 168. The vote in the Senate was 65 to 34. Twelve Democrats supported the legislation. They should be ashamed of themselves. One Republican, Lincoln Chafee, opposed it. He should be a Democrat. "
Dahlia Lithwick expressed it at Slate:
"Now we are affirmatively asking to be left in the dark. Instead of torture we were unaware of, we are sanctioning torture we'll never hear about. Instead of detainees we didn't care about, we are authorizing detentions we'll never know about. Instead of being misled by the president, we will be blind and powerless by our own choice. And that is a shame on us all."
I know the junta will continue to wave the flag bearing the profound, intelligent, and sophisticated belief that "if you disagree with us, then you support the terrorists."
And you know what my answer to that is - War is terrorism.
But I do believe that good does eventually overcome evil. So I'm with Jesse in keeping hope alive. I wish our leaders - Democrat and Republican would work just as hard and invest just as much into peace as they do war. If we continue to advocate violence to stop violence all we achieve is a violent world. War only leads to more war.
If it is our intention to create a peaceful world - where are our actions that back up that intention? War for peace, says the junta. And the violence grows and the wallets get fatter.
I think Dennis Kucinich had the best idea- a Cabinent-level member devoted to peace. We've got to start somewhere - and as someone wise once told me - "Thoughts create intention. Intention creates reality."
Walking along the boardwalk in Belmar this summer, I found a book by Peace Pilgrim. I think her ideas are a lot more interesting, albeit difficult to live, than the men and one woman who came up with Pax Americana which violates the word peace for an agenda focused on propogating fear and war to soothe egos bruised by the Vietnam experience. Note the infamous names among them and guess how many have ever served in the military.
And finally, a little bit of humor from Harper's Index, January 2006.
Percentage approval rating of:
Bill Clinton the day after impeachment: 73
George W. Bush in November, 2005: 37
Peace out, people.
