The plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty used to say, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Now it says, "Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here."
We got the Bush Regime, arguably the most incompetent, corrupt and outright-treasonous Administration in American history. A regime so reckless, savage and gleefully bestial that it made the career-Nixon-hating Hunter Thompson actually pine for the good old days of Tricky Dick: "I miss Nixon. Compared to these Nazis we have in the White House now, Richard Nixon was a flaming liberal."
And, like Nixon, it is more than likely that not a single one of the smirking traitors who nearly wrecked this country will ever spend a day in jail. Instead they remain lodged in our flesh like so many ricin pellets, oozing their poison into our national bloodstream, waddle from one fawning audience to another, worming their way into major media outlets, or dispatching their degenerate children and underlings out into the world the keep their poison pumping.
They soiled our good name, bankrupted the country, shredded the Constitution and kicked the crutches out from under the global economy on their way out the door, and while it is sometimes hard to focus on them through the flames of the world they set on fire, we must.
America could have had justice.
But America didn't get justice.
America got Hopey McChange, who said he wants to look forward, not backward. Who said there must be no "retribution", no "vengeance", no "payback", who said the era of "divisive partisanship" must end.
I just came across this article in Mother Jones, which is a bit horrifying:
Walters' discovery that her home had been sold out from under her marked the low point of a four-year fiasco that began when Ocwen Loan Servicing became her mortgage servicer in late 2004. Through no fault of her own, Ocwen incorrectly processed or lost dozens of Walters' payments and charged her more than $2,000 in late fees and thousands more in additional charges-all without notifying her. The Florida-based company tried to foreclose on her three times. After she paid more than $10,000, Walters figured things were settled. But Ocwen had other ideas.
Please read the entire article, it's a tale of shocking usury, which we're used to by now, but what is more telling to me is the reaction of various agencies of the Federal government, which I am mournful to remind people who believed in Barack Obama, he now heads.
If accountability is off the table, so is Democracy.
In an age when the rich and powerful have more control over the creation of the law than ever we face the greatest threat to our Democracy we have ever known. We have met the enemy, and he is us.
If the rich and powerful can bribe lawmakers to do their bidding AND those lawmakers are not subject to the same laws they are supposed to uphold than there is no freedom, there is no equality, there is no justice. The biggest threat to our democracy is not a man with a bomb in his pants or a hijacker flying a plane, it is a man with unlimited power and no one that he must answer to. If that man is an American he is capable of doing more damage to America than any terrorist could ever dream of.
If you love freedom and Democracy please join me below the fold.
It seems that the people of Iraq are angered at the dismissal of all charges against the Blackwater security guards in a case that left 17 dead.
An Iraqi looks at a burned car in the days after the 2007 killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. The dismissal of charges could fuel a fresh outcry. (Ali Yussef / AFP/Getty Images / September 24, 2007)
We have served as Directors of Central Intelligence or Directors of the CIA for Presidents reaching back over 35 years. We respectfully urge you to exercise your authority to reverse Attorney General Holder's August 24 decision to re-open the criminal investigation of CIA interrogations that took place following the attacks of September 11.
~snip~
Attorney General Holder's decision to re-open the criminal investigation creates an atmosphere of continuous jeopardy for those whose cases the Department of Justice had previously declined to prosecute. Moreover, there is no reason to expect that the re-opened criminal investigation will remain narrowly focused.
bold and italic added by diarist
The last line is especially important in my opinion, as it proves Special Prosecutor John Durham and Attorney General Eric Holder may be taking this investigation all the way to the top, as they are required to do under the Constitution and International Law.
Thankfully, long gone are the days when the CIA could lie with impunity and the DoJ was not independant, but a political tool of the Executive branch. I guess the CIA misses the good ole days of Bush/Cheney.
Good thing those days are not coming back any time soon.
The letter was signed by former CIA directors Michael Hayden and Porter Goss, who worked for President George W. Bush; John Deutch and James Woolsey, who served during the Clinton administration; George Tenet, who worked for both President George W. Bush and President Clinton; William Webster, who served under President George H.W. Bush; and James Schlesinger, who headed the agency during the Nixon administration.
The only names of living CIA heads who have not signed are Ex President George H.W. Bush and current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
I'd say that it's safe to say that when Clinton and George W. Bush appointees oppose this investigation it can't be considered a witch hunt. I'd also say that it is safe to say that when the head of the CIA under Nixon opposes something, you are doing the right thing.
The full letter to the President plus analysis below the fold.
Lets talk about torture for a few minutes, shall we? The Dog hears the groans out there, and yeah, he gets that this is an icky subject, but even in our digital age where it is easy to find content you like and ignore the stuff you don't, there are some things you should not look away from. Torture is one of them. However just because torture is horrible does not mean there is not a place for mockery in our pursuit of accountability to the rule of law! Follow the Dog below the flip for more details.
Memo: Attach Bush to torture = make them defend both.
Though Morning Joe doesn't say Bush's name, I think we should, and Democrats will use this to pursue justice and Destroy the GOP. I consider it a great instance of killing two birds with one stone.
Republicans will say this will damage the President's popularity in polls, they will justify and lie and say anything to avoid owning this issue, but the fact is that the law was broken, and I believe this is the beginning of a well timed plan to get the ball rolling now, and then use it against the GOP for maximum effect.
For those of us who are really concerned (obsessed) with the rule of law the revelations of the Cheney sponsored CIA Death Squads are the kind of thing which makes you want to curl up and rock back and forth while thinking of our happy place. It might be going a little under-thought about by most of the nation right now as we are focused on the Health Care bills and the ever diverting "Great Republican Melt Down" with Americas three current favorite clowns, Governor's Palin and Sanford, and Sen. Ensign (The Family, NV) taking up all the oxygen but this is serious stuff we should be really concerned about.
Happy Monday and welcome to the Dog's torture accountability letter writing campaign. The basic premise of this series is that every Monday the Dog will write a letter to decision makers on urging action on accountability for the State Sponsored Torture program of the Bush Administration and provide the links so you the reader can cut and paste the letter or use it as the jumping off point for your own. The important thing is to keep the heat on the people who can move this issue forward by keeping their in boxes full. This week we will be writing the President with carbon copies to the AG, Speaker of the House, Majority Leader of the Senate and Chairs of the Judiciary Committees.
The Dog writes about law a lot, mostly because it fascinates him, the way it evolves and changes based on new information or new ways of viewing our basic Constitutional rights. One of the areas of particular concern is, of course, the torture of prisoners and the holding of them without charge or trial, whether they are designated as "enemy combatants" or not. On May 21st the President gave a policy address about the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison camp. In this speech he mentioned there were likely to be prisoners who, in his words could not be released but also could not be tried.
George W Bush may have damaged this Democracy beyond all repair.
The Constitution defines the powers of the Executive Branch and the Presidency. George W Bush took power beyond those which are defined in the Constitution.
As of now the President CAN spy on me, name me a terrorist, imprison me without trial and torture me until I confess to something. Should it give me any comfort that he promises not to do so? Or should I wait until some President (or his advisors) feel less squeamish about it?
With those new extra-Constitutional power, George W Bush became MORE THAN just a President. With the new and un-Constitutional powers of office, the Presidency under Bush became less Democratic and more Authoritarian.
For all intents and purposes, George W Bush was more than a man, but less than a God.
Now that President Obama holds the office, it is his duty to restore the powers of the Executive branch to their original status as defined within the Constitution.
So far, the Obama Administration has applied the same strategy Bush had been following to matters related to the Iraq-Torture scandal, all while telling us repeatedly, "No. Trust us. We will handle it. "
and we are supposed to believe them.
When George W Bush and his administration took new Executive Powers for themselves they let the Genie out of the bottle. Our job is to put the Genie back in.
So, what happens if POTUS Obama does not intend to abdicate the un-Constitutional powers of the executive branch that were illegally taken by the Bush Administration. What if he will not deny future Presidents the ability to name citizens "enemy combatants". What if he will not deny our Government the ability to illegal spy on citizens without a specific warrant. What if he will not deny future Presidents the ability to torture when necessary. His Chief Of Staff has said as much. But he promises not to let it happen again.
President Obama, your promises are meaningless to me.
Your actions speak volumes.
The day I fully believe the promises of any politician is the day I pack my bags for the funny farm. Especially after the last President, and especially when I consider who may be the next one.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely."
If Obama does not CHANGE his view on this issue, I can no longer have any HOPE he will be able to administer his office as required under the Oath he swore to when he accepted it.
What matters more than our basic HUMAN RIGHTS? Tax code and global warming mean nothing to a man tied to a rack.
And if you can do it to somebody, you can do it to anybody.
To those who would say that this will mean the Republicans will win, I ask you, which should I prefer?
Fact: Of the 3 people who the Bush/Cheney Regime admits to waterboarding, American citizen Jose Padilla, who is accused of planning to obtain and detonate a dirty nuclear bomb in the USA has been imprisoned on American soil since May 8, 2002. They even put him on trial here. His case was heard by the Supreme Court, the highest court in the empire.
The strange thing is, the WMD that Padilla was accused of seeking was never found, have yet to surface and can not be proven through evidence.
That whole evidence thing isn't such a big deal though since we have denied American citizen Jose Padilla his Constitutional rights to a trial by jury.
Oh. About Jose Padilla. Did I mention he is almost certainly insane by now? 7 years of solitary confinement, torture and long periods of induced sensory deprivation will do that to a person over time, give or take a few years.
"Absolutist(s)" is the term President Obama used to describe people who expect laws to mean something. If I believe in the absolute nature of the rule of law, I am an "absolutist". What President Obama said, in a way, is that the left demanding justice is equivalent to the right who demand immunity from the rule of law.
President Obama, who I voted for and want to support, just said "neither side is right."
"If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, "the law is an ass, a idiot."
Charles Dickins
Of course Obama is wrong on this, because two wrongs do not make a right.
(Note: I tried over and over to embed the video with no success. I don't get it. Nightprowlkitty did it the other night -- she must've hit a nerve I haven't found. Sorry, wish I could've done it myself!)
So the Dog had some vacation days which needed to be burned (use it or lose it vacation day policies suck!). This means he was able to watch the Presidents speech live on MSNBC. Since many of you will be at work, and won't have gotten to see it the Dog thought that he would share what he saw with you, prior to the Traditional Media going over and over and over it, always spiced with the "Dueling Speeches" meme, since some old dried up War Criminal also gave a speech today. The Dog is not going to talk about the War Criminal's speech at all.
Welcome to the 9th in the Dog's letter writing campaign series. This series is dedicated to taking action (even if it is a small action) every week on the issue of torture. Here is how it works, each week the Dog writes a letter highlighting some aspect of the torture issue and making the point this requires investigation. The Dog sends these letters to the President, the Supreme Court, AG Holder, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and Rep. John Conyers, the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Your part, if you chose to act is pretty easy. Simply cut and paste the letter and send it under your own name.
This will come as no surprise but Thomas Friedman is a yutz. There are many reasons why folks might agree with the Dog on this (his unquestioning and revenge based support of the Iraq War being a huge one) but today is the first time the Dog has felt the need to call out the New York Time columnist in any blog posting. Why is today different? The Dog is so very glad you asked gentle reader! Today Mr. Friedman crossed the line, today he makes a completely spurious argument against torture prosecutions. You can find Mr. Friedman's column here.
In "Reclaiming America's Soul", Paul Krugman rejects the arguments of torture apologists . . .
Isn't revisiting the abuses of the last eight years, no matter how bad they were, a luxury we can't afford?
No, it isn't, because America is more than a collection of policies. We are, or at least we used to be, a nation of moral ideals. In the past, our government has sometimes done an imperfect job of upholding those ideals. But never before have our leaders so utterly betrayed everything our nation stands for. "This government does not torture people," declared former President Bush, but it did, and all the world knows it.
And the only way we can regain our moral compass, not just for the sake of our position in the world, but for the sake of our own national conscience, is to investigate how that happened, and, if necessary, to prosecute those responsible. These investigations should, where appropriate, be followed by prosecutions - not out of vindictiveness, but because this is a nation of laws. We need to do this for the sake of our future. For this isn't about looking backward, it's about looking forward - because it's about reclaiming America's soul.
Do you want action on the issue of the Bush Administrations apparent State Sponsored Torture program? It is an easy enough question, but you should consider it. Not, do you think it will happen or should happen, but do you want it to happen? Knowing the answer to this question can inform your next steps, so even if you think you know take a couple of minutes and really think about it.
Mr. President, have I been rolled? I write today to ask this question, because it is truly, critically important to me as a citizen and a voter. All my life I have derided single issue voters, after all can't they see that there is a bigger picture beyond their issue? That they find it compelling and are sincere in their commitment is not in doubt, but there has to be a balancing of the issues in any democracy. Now, I find myself in the position of being a single issue voter. It is due to the fact that there is finally an issue that is so overriding, so critical to the very notion of what it means for all of us to be Americans that I find myself in this position. That issue, Mr. President, is the extra legal holding, rendition and torture of prisoners in the so-called War on Terror.
Reform Immigration -
March on Washington
Thankfully, long gone are the days when the CIA could lie with impunity and the DoJ was not independant, but a political tool of the Executive branch. I guess the CIA misses the good ole days of Bush/Cheney.
