READER COMMENTS ON
"Tell Schumer and Feinstein to Vote No on Torture - Vote No on Mukasey"
(10 Responses so far...)
COMMENT #1 [Permalink]
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the_zapkitty
said on 11/4/2007 @ 9:41 am PT...
... and don't forget Mukasey's support of unlimited executive power.
If the office of the President has the power to break the law for whatever reason without fear of punishment, as Mukasey and Bush both believe it does, then the President has effectively been given unlimited power.
COMMENT #2 [Permalink]
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Thick-Witted Liberal
said on 11/4/2007 @ 10:20 am PT...
I called Diane but she is not listening. Mukasey is in.
COMMENT #3 [Permalink]
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Pat G
said on 11/4/2007 @ 10:33 am PT...
To be clear, Mukasey is as slippery as Gonzales, Roberts, and Alito. ALL most surely were coached by Bush and cronies to answer as evasively as possible- and they did. And the stupid Democrats allowed them through. We are now living with the destruction of the Rule of Law.
When asked whether the president must follow federal statutes, Mukasey replied:
"That would have to depend on whether what goes outside the statute nonetheless lies within the authority of the president to defend the country."
In effect, he may as well have quoted Nixon:
"When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal."
WRONG.
No self-respecting American would have allowed these liars and their deceptive non-answers to pass the Committee gate.
I am sorry to say- there is no other way to say it- Too many of our Democrats have become Enablers to Bush. We need to call them what they are. They looked the other way on Roberts, Alito, Gonzales, Rice, to the demise of Justice and the Rule of Law.
Please call and write your Senators and also Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein: http://www.senate.gov
CALL IT WHAT IT IS- WATER TORTURE
Excerpt from http://www.opednews.com/...a_brief_on_the_use_o.htm
DESCRIPTION OF WATER TORTURE
During water torture, the body and head of a victim is typically strapped to an inclined board with the head lower than the feet. The victim’s jaws are forced open and a cloth is forced deep into the mouth and over the nose. Water is continuously poured over and into the cloth forcing the victim to stop breathing until forced to either swallow water and/or aspirate it into the lungs, triggering the gag reflex.
Water torture results in controlled drowning, the degree of which depends upon the ability of an individual to resist and the will of the torturer. The punishment ranges from psychological torment and physical suffocation to death. At the least, water torture represents a mock execution. The primeval fear of asphyxiation leads to overwhelming panic in even the most disciplined individuals who may be trained and psychologically conditioned to die rather than submit.
Water torture can lead to serious injury to the victim. A lack of oxygen can quickly result in permanent brain damage, and the aspiration of even small amounts of water can lead to lung disease, including pneumonia. Struggles by the victim against the restraints can produce severe sprains and broken bones. Significantly, the intense fear of imminent death and the victim’s helplessness to prevent it produces devastating and long lasting psychological damage.
HISTORY OF WATER TORTURE
The use of water to simulate drowning has been used as a torture device since at least the Middle Ages. It was known as the tortura del agua during the Spanish Inquisition and was used by agents of the Dutch East India Company during the Amboyna massacre in 1623.
Water torture has been acknowledged by the United States to be illegal since at least 1901 when an Army officer was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for using it to torture a Philippine rebel.
In 1947, a Japanese officer was prosecuted by the United States for strapping a U.S. civilian to a tilted stretcher and pouring water over his face until he agreed to talk. The officer was convicted of a Violation of the Laws and Customs of War and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
In 1957, French forces in Algeria tortured Henri Alleg, a journalist, by strapping him to a plank and wrapping his head in a cloth placed under a running water tap. Alleg later talked about his torture in The Question: "The rag was soaked rapidly. Water flowed everywhere: in my mouth, in my nose, all over my face. But for a while I could still breathe in some small gulps of air. I tried, by contracting my throat, to take in as little water as possible and to resist suffocation by keeping air in my lungs for as long as I could. But I couldn’t hold on for more than a few moments. I had the impression of drowning, and a terrible agony, that of death itself, took possession of me. In spite of myself, all the muscles of my body struggled uselessly to save me from suffocation. In spite of myself, the fingers of both my hands shook uncontrollably.
COMMENT #4 [Permalink]
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Soul Rebel
said on 11/4/2007 @ 1:22 pm PT...
While you're at it (calling) make sure you tell you're House Representative to vote yes on Kucinich's HR 333 which he is bringing to the floor as a privileged resolution on Tuesday. Impeach Cheney NOW.
Peace
www.Call4Democracy.org
COMMENT #5 [Permalink]
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DES
said on 11/4/2007 @ 4:36 pm PT...
apparently DiFi is willing to approve a ham sandwich as long as it isn't named Alberto Gonzales.
COMMENT #6 [Permalink]
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Big Dan
said on 11/4/2007 @ 5:54 pm PT...
This is bullshit by the Democrats...again...bullshit!
Maybe Schumer and Feinstein are just against Mexican AG's that condone torture!
COMMENT #7 [Permalink]
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Kathleen
said on 11/5/2007 @ 8:51 am PT...
It is only logical to ask "did Jewish groups pressure Feinstein and Schumer to roll over and vote for Mukasey for Attorney General?"
And
How will Mukasey effect the upcoming Aipac/Rosen/Weissman trial? Will he dismiss it? Undermine it?
We should be asking these questions.
COMMENT #8 [Permalink]
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Dredd
said on 11/5/2007 @ 3:32 pm PT...
I will call them many things. One of those things I will call them is DemoCon.
Now fuck you two phoney Zell Miller bastards who don't know the difference between the boston tea party and a joe lie berman tea party.
COMMENT #9 [Permalink]
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molly
said on 11/5/2007 @ 3:56 pm PT...
#7..interesting observation. #8 I have read your comments for some time. Seems like they have changed lately. Have you changed medication or stopped medication whatever it isn't working.
COMMENT #10 [Permalink]
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Agent 99
said on 11/5/2007 @ 5:06 pm PT...
I've got a little waterboarding lesson and a memo from intelligence professionals regarding the Mukasey nomination here for anyone still unclear on the concept.