You taught me something. Thanks. I totally agree with you. Torture is wrong all the time. Cheney went to the dark side of the force and even looks demented.

The Repugnicans will always support torture. Obama needs to get a staff that are on board with your article. The guys in government who say "it really did work" need to hit the road. We want change.

When it comes to any current problem my answer is, "Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either Bush." They were losers and I cannot believe we elected them.

You wrote:

Why not just get to the point: find a waterboarder and waterboardee, go to a grand jury, then, if indictment is obtained, go to trial. Commissions are mostly about NOT getting to the point.

Now you write:

All of us would chop off the legs of people to stay safe or words to that effect. Count me out of that job. You take the chainsaw and then go to trial for mayhem or murder. Go to Texas or another country where people think like you do.

Other than making a living in a shitty economy my 30 years in the Navy was a waste of time. I remember swearing to defend the U.S. Constitution. It was an empty promise I made. There is no rule of law in this country and the Constitution might as well be burned.

My wife's father was one of the few who fought the Japanese on Guadalcanal in WWII who survived. He slept on a steep hill with a small tree between his legs so he wouldn't slide down. He came back with malaria to the land of the fatcat pigs.

Anyone who tortured or waterboarded people in Iraq or Cuba should be on a locator list of dangerous people.

Am I missing something in your sick post to DeWitt? I read her post and it made sense. You're the one who needs to go away. Why the hell are you quoting Amendments? Enlighten me. What you got?

Look on the positive side. There is going to be a civil war in Iraq, Israel, and possibly in the United States. Conservatives are doing us a favor by keeping guns available. They think they are the only ones who can shoot the wings off a fly. For the Southern States they have forgotten what it is like to get their butts handed to them in a civil war. I prefer government control of guns in a perfect world. That is not where we are at this time in history. We will either heal as a nation and help the World to heal or it will be mano e mano, man to man, one on one, a physical confrontation between thugs. Gentlemen do not need weapons. There are not many people who can afford to be gentle these days. A total collapse of the World financial system could have been a turning point in civilization but it never happened. From one cowardly thug to another I'm watching my back. The NRA and fellow travelers around the World must go away. The old adage about stick and stone MAY hurt my bones but words will never harm me might be true. Good luck and good hunting.

If we had a real Republic and Justice prevailed they would all join Maddoff in the hooscow.

Abeone: I doubt if most people even know what a Republic is but the United States of America is NOT A REPUBLIC.

Fido wrote: You should not confuse democratic with democracy. You would not confuse atheletic with an athelete. Democracy is the only natural form of society, which is to say, self governing. When people control themselvs no one rules them. If they invest some one with authority it is to see a specific task accomlished. It is for organization, for a directed purpose, and for this purpose the people delegate responsibility while keeping their sovereignty. Democracy is the only form of government. All systems short of democracy are mixed with tyranny. Rule is not government. Rule is coercion.

The good news: He is out of office. The bad news: He is still alive (for now). I see him as a traitor. I watched him 25 years ago and he was different then or so it seemed. He would be a guest on the PBS McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour as the "moderate repugnican" who could present a reasonable point-of-view. Arlen Specter was also a guest. The difference between the two men is a that Senator Specter did not turn to the dark side. Specter is one of the best senators in Congress. Cheney had a character flaw of immense proportions that led to greed and blind tyranny. He shot one of his friends a 78-year-old attorney with a shotgun. Was it an accident?

I wouldn't trust him with a gun.

I don't don't know if I agree with you on this statement: "I think each of the 41 Republican senators, in a sense -- and I don’t want to overstate this -- is a national asset because if one was gone, you’d only have 40, the Democrats would have 60, and they would control all of the mechanisms of government.”

I do agree that you are one of the best Senators in Congress.

For this you should be proud: You voted in favor of the Senate's version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 10, 2009; you were one of only three Republicans to break ranks with the party and support the bill, which was favored by President Barack Obama and was unanimously supported by the Democratic senators.

I admired you 25 years ago and I admire you now; you didn't turn to the dark side like your colleage Dick Cheney. I support your effort to go Independent. Thanks for your service.

How do I become a volunteer? It's not the Food Bank but it is probably better than chocolate cheesecake. I've got to get down there. Thanks for article.