This Pony Party is an open thread. Chat amongst the ice and snow and cold temps…if only in your imagination! Please do not rec.
December 24, 2008 archive
Dec 24 2008
A Date With Eric Holder And Barack Obama
If you wish to repost this essay you can download a .txt file of the html here (right click and save). Permission granted.
“The Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendements to the Constitution of the United States prohibit cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.“
With that sentence begins the documentary film “Torturing Democracy“, a documentary to be aired on PBS television stations nationwide on January 21st, 2009, one day after President Bush leaves office.
One day after President Bush leaves office will be the first day of President-Elect Barack Obama’s new administration.
Between today and that day, we have a date with Attorney General-Designate Eric Holder and President-Elect Barack Obama. Everyday.
As netizens reading this at the founding site of the Citizens Petition for a Special Prosecutor to Investigate and Prosecute Bush War Crimes we have a date every day with those two men as we work to generate as many signatures to the petition that we can possibly generate to bring the war criminals in the Bush administration to justice. Principally Mr. Bush himself, Vice President Richard Cheney, and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. They were the leaders. The instigators. And the approvers. But there are many others as well, and they all deserve fair trials. it is the very least we can do for them, and for the world.
These crimes are being euphemistically referred to as “abusive interrogation techniques” by such respected figures as Senator John McCain. These are euphemisms for torture. Torture is a War Crime. Waterboarding is a War Crime. The CIA has admitted waterboarding detainees. Recently, Vice President Cheney has brazenly admitted authorizing the program that led to waterboarding, other forms of torture too numerous to list, and ultimately, the deaths by homicide of detainees.
As is often the case, we are because of our insatiable interest, curiosity and determination to be as well informed as we can be, much farther ahead of the millions of people who will see Torturing Democracy on January 21st, 2009.
Before the PBS broadcast the documentary in its entirety can be viewed at TorturingDemocracy.org
The following video is the first eight and a half minutes of the full documentary. Watch the rest at the link above.
Dec 24 2008
writing in the raw: who are we?
i am left with this one question: who are we?
cattle? feudal serfs? indentured servants? are we trapped? who’s in charge, anyway?
i only realize now that the real turn in my political perception happened after the Nov 2005 elections, when Democrats regained a slim majority in Congress. when i expected everything to happen. accountability. push-back at FISA, the Military Commissions Act, the Patriot Act, more oversight of the captains of industry and financial markets. i really thought, listening to the likes of Henry Waxman that the sane people, once again, had some meaningful influence over politics and policies.
what slowly began to dawn on me was that the people i thought would work to restore our country had sabotaging us all along.
so when i read Cheney on Wiretapping: “Congress said we could”
Dec 24 2008
Holy Mackerel
Ok, I’m going to admit it again, I’m a Rachel Maddow groupie…I just LOVE her. And if you’ve ever watched her show, you know that she does a segment titled either “Ms. Information” or “Holy Mackerel” where she covers stories from below the fold.
So I thought today I would do my best Maddow imitation and bring you some stories you might have missed while you were working so hard on getting the petition signed and making sure our Zen Dictator fearless leader ends his strike.
These are not the kind of stories ek, magnifico, or mishima would write about. I could never dream of reaching their level. But its Christmas Eve Eve, so I hope you’ll join me in a little “holy mackerel.”
- 1
- 2