I just sent this to Obama and AG Holder

[guitar man]

I felt compelled to speak out about torture so I fired this off to The President and the Attorney General a while ago. I doubt either will get to read it in the flood of email they get, but it felt good to get it out. Just thought I'd share it with you all.

Dear Mr President and Mr Attorney General,

I am writing with concern for the future, and with the deepest concern for the very existence of the country I love. I think it is now beyond debate by any reasonable person that officials in our Government, up to and including the former President did indeed authorize and carry out brutal torture in direct and flagrant violation of US and International law.The only question that remains is, what is going to be done about it? Are we going to allow them to be above the law or are we going to hold them to the same standards every law-breaker in our Nation should be held to?

It matters not if those tortured were "bad people", a "threat to national security and the safety of American citizens" or even Beezelbub himself. The singular fact that disturbs me most and should outrage every citizen of this country is the fact that we were indeed torturing. The techniques described in the memos have, in the past resulted in the prosecution and even the execution of the people responsible for implementing them. So how could we possibly now allow any and all parties to such actions to escape justice, and if we do, what would that make us? Perhaps the largest 3rd world, tin pot dictatorship "banana republic" the world has ever seen, except with a shiny coat of gloss over the rot that lies underneath. I sincerely hope and pray my family never has to live in such a country. If we decide not to prosecute and punish the torturers, I fear the United States of America we all know and love will cease to exist and devolve into a despotic regime that knows no bounds, with no moral or ethical compass.

I have a 3 year old daughter who not long from now, will be entering school. Am I going to have to try and explain in the near future that what is described in her sanitized history book is not true? That it's a whitewash at best or an outright fabrication at worst? There is no way I will be able look into her eyes and tell her anything but the truth about what we are living through at this present moment in history. And after I tell her that truth, how am I supposed to respond if/when she asks "daddy, does this mean they can come take us away and torture us too?" My God the last thing I would ever want to have to do is to tell her that awful truth should we fail at this moment in time to do what is right and just. How do you explain to your child that our own government is free to carry out such atrocities with impunity?

And yes, I can hear the naysayers now. "We have such big problems right now, the economy, unemployment, health care etc. on the table, do we really need to pursue this now?" The short and simple answer is, yes, we do. Believe me, I'm a simple working man and I am being battered and bruised by the economy and cost of health care too, but all the economic recovery in the world isn't worth a plug nickel if it comes at the price of killing our Democratic Republic by allowing these criminals to go free and live above the law. Surely we can recover the economy and pursue justice at the same time.

I also know without a doubt that prosecuting and punishing those responsible for these atrocities will no doubt cause significant political repercussions and upheaval. No doubt, the pundits and politicians from the Republican right will scream "partisan witch hunt" and worse in relation to any such prosecutions, in spite of the ironic fact that they are the ones who impeached President Clinton over a mere tryst. Don't let them sway you, gentlemen, what's right and just must be done in spite of their incessant and irrelevant howling. Mr President, as a candidate you stood up and stared them in the eye and called them out on their hyperbolic spin, half-truths and outright fabrications. As President, I have no doubt you can do the same in that face of any opposition you and Attorney General Holder will encounter in this matter.

Mr President, Mr Attorney General, please, please don't let the people responsible get away with this, I beg of you. For the future of our Nation and for our future generations, please investigate, arrest, prosecute and punish those involved in illegal torture, up to and including former President Bush and former Vice President Cheney.Should we fail to do so, then may God help us all.

Sincerely

L M
Tulsa Oklahoma

[pleah]

1. A big K&R! Bravo!

:yourock:

[guitar man]

3. thanks

:hi:

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Off to greatest...

[guitar man]

4. thanks

:)

[bdamomma]

5. what a great letter, send a copy to your Senators and Reps too.

[guitar man]

7. thanks

I'm sure Inhofe and Coburn are really gonna love this one. :rofl:

[bdamomma]

9. send it anyway.

[guitar man]

10. ok, I just did

:evilgrin:

[Raksha]

6. K & R - fantastic letter! Definitely a keeper.

[guitar man]

8. thanks

:hi:

[dgibby]

11. OMG! What you said!

K&R!

[guitar man]

12. :)

thanks

:hi:

[Solly Mack]

13. K&R

[guitar man]

17. thanks

:)

[Riverman]

14. Thanks. I associate myself with this letter and will send a copy

with your permission and my own statement to Senators Boxer, Feinstein, and god help us, Congressman Tom McClintock (R)!

[guitar man]

15. no problem

fire away! :)

[ChiciB1]

53. What A Fantastic Letter That Captures ALL That I Feel... I Too Would Like

to make a copy and send to my Senators & Representative. Bill Nelson (d)?, Mel Martinez (R) and Vern Buchanan (R)... not that it would "touch" any of them, but a stab in the dark is better than a GOOSE Egg!

I no longer know WHAT to think of this country, of ANY administration OR our government and how it's being run. I DO know that what I see is an aberration to me and it not only outrages me, it saddens me like no time before!

Thanks for sharing, you DID good!!

:thumbsup: :toast:

[madokie]

16. excellent

Recommend

[guitar man]

18. thanks, fellow Okie

:hi:

[Haole Girl]

19. Thank you for taking the time to write this

It is well-written. I only hope it finds its way into the right person's hands.

:hi:

k&r

[guitar man]

20. thanks

It will probably find its way to the recycle bin, but I had to write it anyway :hi:

[me b zola]

21. K&R

[reflection]

22. k/r. n/t

[Hubert Flottz]

23. K&R...

The Neocon America = Beacon of Bullshit!

[Wednesdays]

24. K&R

:kick:

[laylah]

25. AWESOME guitar man..

if only the whole populace would spam him (in a good way) with these kinds of e-mails. I, personally, think he is afraid and surrounded by doomsayers. I voted for MY president but am slowly becoming disenchanted...100 plus days or not.

[lunatica]

26. Yes!

[noiretextatique]

27. thank you for the inspiration

great letter. i am going to write one too.

[bigwillq]

28. Bravo!

:bounce: :hug:

[quidam56]

29. We've become a Nation of Fraud and cover ups.

...lies may come and go, but the truth remains what it is ... ( unknown ) http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138 Hannity's America sure ain't My
America !

[Bozita]

30. Outstanding! Big K&R.

[Duncan]

31. yep.

well put.

[MasonJar]

32. Eloquent expression and magnificent ardor! Thank you so much.

[jbfam4]

33. Bravo,guitar man

I hope you send this to your local paper. Many of us feel the same way you do, but can't express it as well.

The part about what you will tell your three year old daughter brought tears to my eyes. My three year old Grandson has been an Obama Boy ever since he was two....he saw Senator Obama on TV and told my Daughter, I"m an Obama boy. While delivering food to senior citizens he told them about Sasha and Malia and how much he liked their Daddy.

Thank you for sharing your inspiring letter.

[katandmoon]

34. K&R

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

35. I wouldn't worry about the president not getting this

I called the White House and spoke to a woman taking messages for the president. I told her I'd sent several emails and apparently the president hadn't gotten any of them.

She said "the president gets all of his mail"

So, I am left to ponder why he doesn't seem to care about torture and citizens rights.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

36. Great letter by the way.

[Ztarbod]

37. I didn't read passed the second sentence

You stated your position and we do not have access to the information required to draw conclusions, so ...

[varelse]

38. K&R

[Skittles]

39. AWESOME

:thumbsup:

[Enthusiast]

40. K&R! Well done.

All malfeasance needs to be prosecuted no matter who are suspected. The prisons of this country are full of people in for far lesser offenses.

[democrank]

41. Bravo!

[winyanstaz]

42. K & R,,,thank you for speaking out...

We need more patriots like you. Thank you again.

[dotymed]

43. Thanks and GOOD LUCK GUITAR MAN

I have sent dozens of letters like this and dozens on other
important progressive issues that I feel must be acted upon to
give Americans a real voice in our system. Hopefully, you will
have better luck than I did. I received one form letter from
the Whitehouse and A few form letters from my Representatives.
None of them replied to my specific concerns. They were just
letters saying what great people they were and how hard they
were working for us. LOL...I'm poor. They sure as hell don't
care about me. I believe Lugar (from In.) actually sent me a
letter thanking me for my support on an issue that I severely
and vocally disagreed with him on. No time for the peasants.
The monied rulers can't wait.

[florida08]

44. excellent

and aside from having a 3 year old daughter, it is the epitome of what most of us want..simple justice for our kids and grandkids. "Surely we can recover the economy and pursue justice at the same time." Great argument..because justice is always the first thing to be sacrificed and quite frankly I've grown weary of it. Thanks for a wonderful script.

[deaniac21]

45. By the time your daughter is in school, all of this will be forgotten.

[ChiciB1]

54. If There Is ANY Hope Left For This Country, And I'm Not Sure There's Much...

THIS may still be around at that time! I won't say I'd bet on it, but I sure can wish once in a while.

[NoSheep]

46. Excellent job!! THIS is the noise we need to be making. Let's all write our own.

:yourock:

[kentuck]

47. K & R !

100th rec.

[guitar man]

48. wow, is this still going??

I guess y'all are easily amused here :rofl:

but seriously, thanks for all the comments and K&Rs everybody, the world is a much better place because of each and every one of you :hi:

[earcandle]

49. can i post it in my news section at noodlebrain.com?

[guitar man]

51. sure thing

no problem, fire away :hi:

[mimitabby]

50. nice letter, i hope someone reads it!

[Javaman]

52. emailed or hand written? nt

[guitar man]

55. so far just emailed

I may print it off and snail mail it also.

[guitar man]

56. delete

wrong place :blush:

[Javaman]

58. if you are up to it, write it out in long hand and mail it.

there is a better than even chance Obama may read it.

[guitar man]

59. If it's in my handwriting

the chances of anybody successfully reading it are pretty slim :rofl:

I may give it a shot though, thanks :hi:

[Javaman]

60. Oh I know what you mean. good luck! :) nt

[guitar man]

57. Wow

Thanks again everybody for all the great comments and K&Rs :hi:

[Usrename]

61. I wonder how Obama would act if his own daughter was in Gitmo.

He is greatly increasing the odds for that day to come to pass.