posted
Fuck Bush. Fuck his cronies. Fuck the sheep who vote for him, and especially fuck those who think he's "the lesser of two evils." All those people who moan, "Oh, Gore never could've handled the War on Terra'..." Yeah? I bet he could have. I bet he would have made progress, and I bet he wouldn't have to resort to barbaric practices like torture to wage it.
quote:Much is being said about it in the blogosphere, but I'd just like to harp on two things.
(1) The article reports that Justice Department lawyers reviewed this opinion on specific interrogation practices in or before April of 2003. Deputy Solicitor General Paul Clement told the Supreme Court that the Executive did not engage in "mild torture" or "things of that nature" in April of 2004. We now have further evidence that this was a false representation by DOJ. The memorandum described in the WSJ article carefully parses what does and does not amount to "torture" technically defined -- so when the Justice Department told the Court that DOJ does not engage in "mild" torture "or things of that nature," this was at the very least grossly misleading, and more likely recklessly false. (I say "recklessly" because there's still no reason to think that Clement himself actually knew what he was saying was false. But if he didn't know, he certainly could and should have known.)
(2) How any constitutional lawyer could maintain that the President had the authority to authorize these sorts of practices that (even in the eyes of the administration's own lawyers) skate up to the edge of torture (and in my eyes go far beyond the edge) without some sort of congressional authorization is quite simply beyond me.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
Oh no! I miscalculated how many words I was gonna use! What an ill turn of events! Jay, you truly are the obscure! Obscurely perceptive, that is!
posted
Molly Ivins reminds me that when the United States puts out its report on human rights, "we will be a laughingstock."
Here is what the State Department says what we're supposed to be about:
quote:Because the promotion of human rights is an important national interest, the United States seeks to:
Hold governments accountable to their obligations under universal human rights norms and international human rights instruments;
Promote greater respect for human rights, including freedom from torture, freedom of expression, press freedom, women's rights, children's rights, and the protection of minorities;
Promote the rule of law, seek accountability, and change cultures of impunity;
Assist efforts to reform and strengthen the institutional capacity of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Commission on Human Rights; and
Coordinate human rights activities with important allies, including the EU, and regional organizations.
Ask yourself how that matches up to what Mr. Bush and his administration is doing.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I'll tell you one thing. The cursed "Landmark Education" is pulling out of Sweden! Almost everyone's on to them and their ways here! Your move. Make us proud.
[ June 11, 2004, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: Nim the Fanciful ]
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
And what's the deal with the veneers? I mean, dude, totally make the piece out of wood. None of this poplar covered in birch bullshit.
Registered: Oct 1999
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posted
Good cheap lighting though. Though why they make Japanese looking lanterns is beyond me.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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