Letters to the Editor
bystander
Published Letters: 1640
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The utter gall
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This in my mail box:
Dear ,
Tomorrow, I will bring the Intelligence Authorization Conference Report to the floor of the Senate. Section 327 of the bill establishes one interrogation standard for the entire U.S. government. This would effectively end torture by requiring that the intelligence community abide by the standards articulated in the Army Field Manual.
In order to attempt to block the ban on torture, Republicans may filibuster the bill or raise a point of order, claiming the torture provision violates the rules of the Senate. If the Parliamentarian agrees, we will be forced to try and waive the point of order. Either way we need 60 votes.
Already some Republicans have signaled they will side with us - however we need more.
Take a stand against torture
Every Senator will be forced to answer a simple question: do they support torture?
Do they support torture even though they know it is morally repugnant?
Do they support torture even though they know it puts our own Soldiers, Sailors and Marines at risk?
We are a nation at war -- a war in Iraq and a war against terrorism -- but this war does not give our leaders the authority to cast aside the laws of armed conflict. We need to restore our nation's moral authority, because the most effective way to fight terrorism is to harness all of our power - military, economic, and moral. When we do, the world will follow our lead once again.
It may take years, but we can start by declaring loudly, and with one voice: America does not torture.
Take a stand against torture
If we fail to oppose an evil as obvious as torture -- and it is an evil, then as Thomas Jefferson said, I will "tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just." By passing this bill we can send a clear signal to the world that America does not torture - no ifs, ands or buts.
Take a stand against torture
Thank You,
Harry Reid
[The embedded link at my sig. Give 'em hell, Harry, indeed.]
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sweet memories
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1964 was my freshman year of high school. My memories of upheaval stretched from Selma (1965) through Watts (1965) into Newark (1967) MLK's and RFK's assassinations and the Democratic convention (1968) culminating in Kent State (1970). I checked the dates to be sure of the sequence. My memory was pretty strong as it turns out. Some things really do get burned in your brain. There may have been other events, but these are the ones that were fixed in time for me.
What adnoto wishes for, I don't think I'd want to relive. And, adnoto would probably say that's part of the problem. Too many of us who remember still alive. I am not convinced that it couldn't happen again, even if I hope it doesn't. But, when I think back, the images were blasted into everyone's life via the television and newspaper coverage, and some of them still live in my imagination. What I am less sure of, is the degree to which the publication of these images, and the accompanying reports, fed subsequent events.
There have been demonstrations in the past few years (immigration, the war in Iraq come to mind) which have received scant media attention. I feel like I really had to dig to find coverage, even if I knew it was happening. If I didn't know it was happening, could I have missed it altogether? I suppose Kitt is right. An event that could culminate in $40 mil worth of damage (Watts) would likely be reported. Undoubtedly, that was hyperbole on my part. But, I can't seem escape the feeling that the media carefully screens the playlist, not unlike a radio station responding to corporate programming.
I'm probably projecting my own uncertainty. Is the world closer and smaller? Or, is there a segmentation by which certain elements are kept as far apart from each other as the media can arrange?
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Jim White
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Awhile back I put up and excerpt from the ACLU's 2008 Work Plan. I can't find the full document online, but in the section discussing FISA was this concluding sentence.
If a law that includes immunity and unconstitutional basket warrants is signed, your can rest assured that ACLU lawyers will be in court challenging it as quickly as humanly possible.
Not sure how they imagine that, but there are lawsuits pending. By passing a bill with immunity and basket warrants, the Senate (ratified by the House) may scuttle those suits, but there may still be a avenue the ACLU can pursue. I've consistently read through various threads that many expect the bill to be challenged in the courts if it is signed into law. The problem, people concede, is the various courts are populated with Bush appointees.
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adnoto
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That was a good piece by Chris Floyd you linked at your sig. This has got to be one of the most truthful statements I've read recently.
Looked at from the outside, as an attempt at some kind of rational statecraft or coherent, competent military policy, the two wars [Afghanistan and Iraq] look like a bloody shambles: lurching from here to there with no clear purpose, entirely counterproductive, spawning more and more of the very terrorism, chaos, extremism and repression they purport to be combating.
BTW, what was up with Chris' site yesterday? Interesting graphic, but it sure wasn't Empire Burlesque.
And, I really don't think I earned [Space here for Jefferson quote that everyone is ignoring]. Actually, I did try to respond to this, and took the thread off topic in the process.
Since you're a runner, if you haven't already seen it, you might appreciate the link at my sig.
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Holly McLachlan
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I can't help but note that he makes a point of insulting Glenn in each opening letter he posts...
Uh-huh. I find it ... interesting.
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totallyblase 2:42
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]LOL ;-)
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Thanks, pow wow
[Read the article: Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Good news, or bad, as a messenger you're simply the best.
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oomex
[Read the article: CNN's John Roberts helps out Mike McConnell]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I do believe Conservativeslayer didn't believe s/he needed to close the snark tag.