Teaching the "Good Book" to your children.

The torture device

Don't forget - thousands died in great pain over prolonged periods of time while hanging from that most holy of symbols - the cross. What a great religious symbol representing God's love for you.

Cheney Vs. Ventura - Torture

Jess Ventura - Important Words

Republicans 'R' Us

Not all Republicans are cruel SOB's - there's a legitimate argument for smaller government. But under G.W. Bush and Company, we suffered some pretty horrible indignities.

Torturing Science - Cartoon

Can The Democrats Stand Up To The President?

See the related post just preceeding this one...

From the LA Times...

House Democrats failed Tuesday to override President Bush's veto of a ban on waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques, and they castigated the administration for subjecting prisoners to torture in the fight against terrorism.

"We are on stronger ground ethically and morally . . . when we do not torture," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said in closing the debate. "Our ability to lead the world depends not only on our military might but on our moral authority." The vote to overturn the veto, which required a two-thirds majority, fell short, 225-188.

The bill Bush vetoed authorized money for intelligence agencies and included a provision to limit the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies to tactics allowed by the Army manual used by military interrogators. The manual outlaws eight techniques, including waterboarding, a method that simulates drowning and is widely considered torture.

"Torture is no proper tool in the arsenal of democracy," said Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) "If we abandon our American values, we lose who we are as Americans. . . . And if the administration and all of its apologists . . . continue to force America to abandon our values, we will lose the war."

"Torture, he said, "is not only un-American, it is ineffective."

Bush Vetos Compassion (News) (Commentary)

I don't know how to lead into this story. The President's values regarding caring for/about our fellow human beings are so different from my own values that I just don't know what to say.

From the American Civil Liberties Union...

In a brazen move signaling a callous disregard for human rights, President Bush last week vetoed the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act largely due to a provision that would have applied the Army Field Manual on Interrogations to all government agencies, including the CIA. The manual prohibits specific acts of torture and abuse, including waterboarding. During recent congressional testimony, CIA Director Michael Hayden admitted the agency has waterboarded detainees.

This Breaks My Heart...

...to think that this is my country doing this shit.

Read details and a description of the torture at Boing Boing.

Today's Salon features a long first-person account of Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, who was kidnapped to a CIA "black site" torture camp. It's strong and scary stuff, and the people responsible deserve to be hauled into court, shown up for the criminals they are, and stuck in a cell for the rest of their lives. The traitors in government who sanctioned this program should join them. Torture is a cancer. Extrajudicial imprisonment is a cancer. These things rot democracy. They rot nations.

The Worl Has Changed

Is this true? I should verify, but I'm too lazy. It's interesting any way.

Torture Bush

The following is one of those (again) commentaries with the right words at the right time. This really tickled me...

From Wonkette and The Washington Post Blog.

Writing on the Washington Post’s blog thing this weekend, columnist Eugene Robinson came up with a reportedly good way to determine if the various “we don’t torture” torture methods should really be considered torture by American courts: Torture Bush & Alberto! But only with the approved non-torture torture methods.

If we haven’t actually put anybody on the rack or pulled out his fingernails, we haven’t committed torture.

If that’s true, then shouldn’t the administration officials — starting with the president himself — who authorized these techniques be willing to experience them first-hand? Until George W. Bush can say, “Hey, I’ve been waterboarded, and it wasn’t so bad,” or Alberto Gonzales can say, “To tell the truth, spending those three days naked in a freezing-cold cell wasn’t painful or anything,” then I’ll continue to believe that history will condemn this administration for a shocking lapse of moral judgment. Bush will be remembered as the president who tried to justify torture.

Did You Know - The US Tortures

This sort of stuff breaks my heart - I know we've been listening to it for several years now, but I thought we were better than this. Link to the article for the whole story...

An Iraqi who was a key source of intelligence for MI5 has given the first ever full insider's account of being seized by the CIA and bundled on to an illegal 'torture flight' under the programme known as extraordinary rendition.

From The Raw Story.

Torture State

Yeah - the signs tell it all - not much more to say. We're in the crapper and Bush is ready to make with the flush.