Jesus said:
If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him?
All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.
In other words, we should waterboard the shit out of each other.
Actually, I don’t know if waterboarding normally causes involuntary bowel movements. What I do know is that the U.S. Senate is about to confirm a man as our chief law enforcement officer who will not admit that waterboarding is torture.
I also know that that is not the primary problem with Mike Mukasey. When he was questioned about the legality of violating the FISA law, Mukasey suggested that the president could ignore the law: “The president doesn’t stand above the law. But the law emphatically includes the Constitution.” Leahy responded, “I see a loophole big enough to drive a truck through.” No matter…they moved on.
And it only got better:
…when asked about contempt charges against witnesses who refuse to respond to congressional subpoenas, Mukasey said he would refuse to follow the statute that requires a U.S. attorney to refer contempt citations to a grand jury.
John Dean notes some similarities between our current situation and the Watergate era, and then concludes.
Since Judge Mukasey’s situation is not unlike that facing Elliot Richardson when he was appointed Attorney General during Watergate, why should not the Senate Judiciary Committee similarly make it a quid pro quo for his confirmation that he appoint a special prosecutor to investigate war crimes? Richardson was only confirmed when he agreed to appoint a special prosecutor, which, of course, he did. And when Nixon fired that prosecutor, Archibald Cox, it lead to his impeachment.
Before the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee completely cave-in to Bush, at minimum they should demand that Judge Mukasey appoint a special prosecutor to investigate if war crimes have been committed. If Mukasey refuses he should be rejected. This, indeed, should be a pre-condition to anyone filling the post of Attorney General under Bush.
The Judiciary Committee is so far from asking for a special prosecutor that they are overlooking Mukasey’s express refusal to enforce their subpoenas. Sens. Schumer, Feinstein, and all the Republicans are going to ratify the Attorney General’s right to ignore their subpoena power.
I don’t think I’ve witnessed a more dispiriting political event in my lifetime. But I am sure there is worse to come.
Regarding your last paragraph, I’m right there with you.
I was reading Boran2’s beautiful diary about painting this morning. He always asks us to paint a picture of our thoughts.
After Schumer and Feinstien’s treachery yesterday, the picture in my mind is of fetid water eddying down the toilet.
Didn’t want to pollute his lovely painting with dark imagery, but since this is a dark diary it seems okay here.
What is it now.. fourteen months? Fourteen months before we see if the US of A has become a virtual police state with defacto house arrest as the norm for all citizens? If the first few days of the new democratic/whatever administration don’t include elimination of the Patriot Act, we’ll know exactly where we stand. War crimes prosecution is a great idea, but I’d settle for the Constitutional rights I grew up under being reinstated.
My bet is no politician will ever — EVER — give up acquired power, regardless of who willed it to him.
Free speech zones, my ass. And forget about going to Canada. Entry has become so Gestapo like its not to be believed.
In order to get to a more pure and spiritually oriented world perhaps the United States should END.
Otherwise it’s just another example of the false fight between political lefts and rights and that the real power lies with the secret government, a subsidiary of the Illuminati.
Forget the Illuminati. Nothing bright about Dubya. Try something more viscuous, like Big Oil.
seriously.
As a Californian I am truly sorry for the despicable behavior of Senator Feinstein, to include her support for the guy who doesn’t know if waterboarding is torture. I’ve voted against her during her wretched political career at every opportunity, going back to when she and Jello Biafra squared off in the SF mayoral election, after George Moscone’s assassination.
Has anyone noticed how much political scum is churned up after a liberal gets whacked?
I hate to feel like a prophet, but months ago–when Leahy blustered that he wouldn’t even schedule a hearing until he got the documents he wanted–I predicted they would put someone in as interim who was so aweful that Leahy would look like a fool.
Look, it was a minor miracle that there was even a change in party control last election. The Senate control is tenuous. That’s not an excuse; it’s the reason that old party hacks like DiFi and Schumer still believe they can operate “business as usual.” They haven’t gotten the message. They are so surrounded by the trappings of power that the voices of real voters are muffled.
The net contains a great body of intelligent, creative people. It’s time to really change the balance of power, so in 14 months they get the message. It may not be possible to challenge every seat of Republicans and (primary) Blue Dogs and Old Dogs, but many are reachable. Even if the penalty for old school thinking is having to spend a bundle in a primary, it’s something.
The demographics are with progressives. It’s time for some serious planning, and serious money, to make them listen.
Sadly, my hopes are waning for new progressives. Here’s what happened to a progressive candidate for senate in Maine last year. I don’t know anything about this race except what I’ve read at her web site, but it’s definitely not encouraging.
“It’s time for some serious planning, and serious money, to make them listen.”
Looks as if we’ll have to figure out how to do it all ourselves.
I think we have passed the tipping point where our democracy still existed, if feebly, to one where fascism will be the inevitable resolution to our current political crisis.
I gave up on her a while ago and would never vote for her again. But Schumer really shocked me with this. I’m still trying to find some method to his madness. If he has truly rolled over for the Bushies, I say fuck the Democrats – it’s time for a third party.
On second thought, it would be a second party.
Schumer didn’t shock me. He’s a long time Dem establishment figure. He pouts his finger in the air to see which way the corporate cash flow is going, and then he follows after it.
Schumer’s efforts to recruit a candidate for the North Carolina race have been hampered by his preference for a pro-life candidate. I kid you not.
If it was Utah or Alabama I could at least understand the strategic thinking. But Schumer’s pro-choice credentials are officially gone. Casey was bad enough, but he didn’t pick Casey because he was anti-choice, but rather in spite of it.
lead item in the daily wapo email, page one in the print edition…
the headline says it all…
i only have one quibble… the defections are not of recent vintage… they sold out a long time ago, and we are only now seeing it in the full light of day… they have essentially declared what we have suspected all along, that they are supporters of a criminal regime, fully cognizant of their actions, and they no longer care who knows it…
Welllll??? it seems that you are there Boo! Now, the latest from Pak is going to be interesting. Lets see how the scumbag handles this latest.As twisted as I am, how about this action as a model for 08? If Mosh gets away with this, can’t you see this being used as a model?
I guess that we should watch the wingnuts reaction, This could be fun!!!!!!!!!
I’m not sure why, but among all of the many disappointments since the Republicans lost power in Congress last fall, this one is the most devastating to me. I have an actual life, but I try to pay some attention to these things because I think we’re in freefall mode, having already gone of the cliff of anything resembling sound foreign or domestic policy in the U.S.
I just don’t get this. Is is corporate selling out? Is it support for Israel? Do that they have something on Schumer and Feinstein? This just baffles me.
I think the overall Democratic strategy should be to push, push, push to change the direction from the devastation and catastrophe of the Bush/Republican majority years. I’m less and less sure these days we’re even going to make to the end of this presidency without another war and other epic disasters (like letting Pakistan implode while we gin up another bogus war in Iran to help divert attention from the failed bogus war in Iraq).
Win or lose in the various Congressional battles, the strategy should be to help Americans arrive at this unmistakable conclusion in 2008:
If you really believe America is headed in the wrong direction, and needs profound change, we’re going to have to elect more Democrats. The 2006 election was a good start, but it’s going to take a larger majority to really change things.
Caving on Mukasey is shattering to me because it knocks the legs out from under this argument.