George W. Bush got what he wanted, ostensibly as a tool in his unfocused “war on terror”: By signing into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Bush has made it legal for the C.I.A. to continue operating torture facilities in undisclosed, foreign countries, and for the writ of habeas corpus to be suspended for individuals who are designated “enemy combatants” against the U.S. (Designated by whom? That question remains unanswered.) The law also “establishes military tribunals that would allow some use of evidence obtained by coercion [that is, torture], but would give defendants access to classified evidence being used to convict them.” (Reuters)
The provisions of Bush’s new torture law mean that Americans have lost the key, constitutional right on which Anglo-American criminal law (and criminal-law procedures in true democracies in general) is founded; that’s the basic right of an individual to know why he or she is being apprehended and detained. Now, technically, as in Stalin’s Soviet Union, Hitler’s Germany, Mao’s China or Pol Pot’s Cambodia, anyone labeled an “enemy combatant” – again, by whom; by Bush? – can be whisked away and never heard from again. That kind of authority, in the hands of corrupt or untruthful politicians, may or may not be an effective tool in some kind of “war on terror,” but it certainly can be a useful tool when it comes to silencing their opponents.

In an Orwellian pronouncement dutifully reported by Voice of America, the taxpayer-funded “news” service that acts as a mouthpiece for the administration, Bush said: “The United States does not torture….It is against our laws and it is against our values. By allowing the C.I.A. program to go forward, this bill is preserving a tool that has saved American lives.” Bush’s claim flies in the face of numerous reports of torture conducted by American officials at U.S. military prisons or secret locations overseas.

It’s that Bush’s mind IS cement!

We can build this huge Embassy compound but cannot restore the Iraqi electricty or water supply. Amazing.

Yes

Why does King George the W hate Americans so much? Is it because of our liberty and democracy?

The Torture Bill signed this morning by the boy king was simply the latest step in the plan to strip away our rights. It started with the preventive detention bill inacted 23 years ago. It was sold as a tool against organized crime but was first used by that corrupt prick guilianni against 8 black and brown political activist in New York.

The vile frothing lunatics who prop up our new emperor hate democracy, our constitution and the rule of law. Hell they hate the enlightenment. They didn’t start with this junta and they won’t stop once the little prince is off the throne, they’ll simply replace him with another one. They will not stop until they have rolled back the 20th century.

Voting will not be enough, I beseech you volunteer at your precinct do what you can to stop Diebold hacking. There is a reason Rove and Bush are not worried about Nov 7th.