"The America we believe in does not torture people."

[ulysses]

- Amnesty International USA, 10/26/06

I finally got around to replacing the worn out stickers on the back window of my truck this afternoon. Of the four I took off, all of which had been there at least since some time in 2001, the old Amnesty sticker had fared the best. The old DU sticker had peeled badly, the "No More Enrons!" from a fund drive many moons ago had faded to white, but the AI sticker, the longest resident, had gently cracked and become worn, the black background gray at the edges. When I slid the razor blade against it, it came off as dust.

The image of the Democratic Party as an organization that might stand with Amnesty against torture is coming off just as gently. It likely won't even be remarked-upon in the press tomorrow, except to laud the wisdom of certain Dems in allowing a "competent" director to come to the Department of Justice. All will sagely nod their heads. Nothing about the now-likely elevation of a man incapable of calling torture by its name to the post of Attorney General has seemed violent or, in our strange world, even odd. This is the way government is supposed to work. Bipartisanship. Working together for the common good. Let the president have his so we can have ours. All is well.

And yet, for all the quiet that will probably surround Michael Mukasey's confirmation, there are those who will dissent. A new AI sticker took the place of the old one on my truck today, as did a fresh DU sticker in its place. In dissent, however Quixotic, I hope that we can continue to find the strength to try to turn around this party and this country. Honestly, we don't have a fuck of a lot else.

Better days, friends.

[Fridays Child]

1. Well said.

[babylonsister]

2. I guess we can no longer even think that, the topic of your OP.

Sad day it is.

[ulysses]

4. it's just that the America in which we believe

is not the America that we have.

[opihimoimoi]

3. Uly, never in my life would I believe this shit....that those 2 would approve of Torture

I am so pissed off with those 2...I got friends/family in Baghdad...they are now subject to TORTURE if captured....

WTF is wrong with these 2 Dufuses??? Where are their brains???

[ulysses]

5. opihi, old friend, I think it's endemic.

Bush needs two votes on the committee to push Mukasey forward...and not one, not three, but the needed two materialize? This is not coincidence, man.

[opihimoimoi]

7. What is the payoff for them 2??? What is it that they would vote for TORTURE?

This goes against all known codes/cultures/etc that embraces Positivity.

Good Gov'ts do not Torture...period....

Bush and his GOP has truly fucked America...and today, they got help from these 2 assholes, Schumer and Di Fi...

[Sparkly]

9. I wish I knew.

What kind of political "deal" could this possibly involve?!?

Unbelievable.

[opihimoimoi]

10. One of their families is being held Hostage?? Big Bucks? Joe got to them??

My fragile brain is frozen....

[paulk]

15. the deal, as I understand it -

the current serving AG (Keifer?) is a Bush crony - a truly bad guy. The nominee is a pretty well respected attorney, who shows at least a chance of being independent of the Bush White House. In any case, he would be out of office in just over a year.

He can't admit that waterboarding is torture because that would open up several members of the admin. to prosecution. No one Bush nominates is going to do that. Bush has threatened to not send anyone new up and let the current pro tem AG serve out his term. The Justice Dept. is in a shambles from Gonzales - something does need to be done ...

The Dems could make a political statement by rejecting the current nominee and be stuck with Keifer - or they could settle for the lesser of two evils and approve the nominee.

Bush, as usual, is putting himself ahead of the good of the nation.

------------


Myself, I don't know what the best course is.

[Sparkly]

16. Thanks -- that is more than I knew

I still think they should oppose the nomination of ANYone who is ambivalent about the law. Force the Chimp to make a recess appointment if necessary - ?

[IndianaGreen]

11. They both supported the war in Iraq and Iran, and they voted to take our freedoms away

all in the name of protecting us from that Orwellian Emmanuel Goldstein.

[opihimoimoi]

13. This is SHAMEFUL and Anti American...they are traitors and Unpatriotic

[ulysses]

12. dunno. maybe they just agree with the practice.

:shrug:

[opihimoimoi]

14. Their brains got comp'd by some Pub Pathogens??? They are not Human

[madrchsod]

6. they deserve no respect from anyone

who believes in the rights of man no matter how evil they may be. they are cowards in the face of the evil that has darken our land

[opihimoimoi]

8. They lost my respect....thats for sure....Cowards and Nefarious too.

Their names will go down in History as complete fuck ups...

[ulysses]

17. a wee

:kick: