December 7, 2008 archive

Truth and Shaming Commission

When looking around for something on Truth Commissions I found that for the most part they were called Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. Like I said in the essay I posted on that, I was still gagging on the “R” word. I still gag on it today.

You’ll find Josh Marshall of TPM fame listed at the bottom of the Wiki entry on TRCs as having proposed one for BushCo. He also has an interesting TPMtv interview with Burt Neuborne of the Brennan Center for Justice, NYU. Burt calls for a “shaming” commission. Basically he says let’s out the torturers and those who ordered the torturing so that the whole world will know them for who and what they are. This is the part of a Truth Commission that is the heart of what I would like to see.

You can see Burt make his case at the 4:30 mark in this TPM clip: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…

It sounds good to me. Personally, I’m not far enough along to go for the Reconciliation part even though I know that Mandela did it and Ghandi would do it. I do believe firmly in the Truth part. I’d like to see at least the top three tiers exposed to the public in all their lies and crimes against humanity. They need to stand naked before the Truth for all the world to see.

I resign myself to the reality that they’ll never see jail time even though they deserve it more than 95% of those incarcerated now. A good world-wide shunning and shaming will be sufficient. We can’t let the history of what happened these last eight years be lost, hidden or manipulated. The cost of letting this slide even a little will mean that our descendants will see this and worse happen in their lives. It has to stop somewhere. The conditions are right to do it now.

The Republicans will be a problem. The complicit Establishment Democrats will be an even worse problem. We need to not just keep their feet to the fire, we need to turn it up until they can’t ignore it anymore. We’ve got the Executive branch back. It’s time to steamroll the Legislative denizens.

Truth Now!

Grijalva for Secretary of Interior? Let’s hope so!

Crossposted at Green Mountain Daily.

Photobucket

As president-elect Barack Obama is introducing new members of his cabinet, bloggers are wondering if they’ll see anyone progressive enough to like. I heard Mary Beth Maxwell is being considered for Secretary of Labor. She’s a union activist and former field director for Jobs With Justice. If chosen, Maxwell will also be the first openly-gay cabinet member. I sincerely hope she gets it.

But now, many environmentalists are giddy over the fact that another progressive is being considered for Secretary of Interior. Roberto Lovato writes today, for Alternet and Huffington Post, that Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is under consideration for Secretary of Interior. If chosen, environmentalists and environmental organizations have reason to celebrate.

Lovato writes “of all the candidates being vetted by the Obama transition team for this complex and challenging responsibility, none can match the unique qualifications of Raul Grijalva.” Let’s take a look:

Read below the fold.

We Must Keep Barack’s Back

Barack Obama’s transition team has announced house meetings for the coming weekend, Dec. 13 & 14, to discuss policies and give our ideas.  This seems important.  This is an opportunity for us.  I urge Dharmaniacs to attend.  In addition to buhdy’s petition, this seems another avenue to try.

The email from David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign and transition team manager, arrived just as I had reached the low point of despair over Barack’s appointments.  How can one be optimistic for a foreign policy team of Robert Gates, James Jones, Hillary Clinton, etc.?

But the announcement of the meetings raised me up and encouraged me once again to make the effort. The meetings are nationwide.  There are at least 100 meetings in the SF Bay Area. I’ve signed up for three, hoping that I might have some influence, open some eyes, perhaps have my opinions changed as well.  It will be a mighty task to keep Barack’s back from the Faustian-Corporate pressures which have ruled the “slumberland of DC” for lo these several decades.

David Plouffe’s announcement follows below the fold:

Load more