Come back, George, we hardly knew ya!

This country’s politics are clearly in a state of rapid, dramatic transition. A transition to exactly what is far from clear. The way I see it, we may resume our rapid descent into the abyss of fascism so ruthlessly engineered by Nixon, Reagan and the two Bushes.To be sure, that is a very likely future for America, post-Obama. However, instead, we may build upon and “professionalize” the liberal, widely popular movements that rallied behind Obama in ’08 and restore the messy, far from perfect, but nonetheless liberal democracy that was America before the modern rightwing proceeded to wreck the country and discard our values.

Really, we don’t have a choice. Many of us have already forgotten what it was like under Bush, when an American government hellbent on establishing fascism by any means necessary was in power. But I haven’t. Murders, torture, a country left permanently undefended from perils both manmade and natural, arbitrary imprisonment, censorship, stolen elections, joblessness, thievery, greed, hypocrisy and lawlessness enshrined as moral values, increased poverty and ill health.

Here are my photos from today’s demonstration against Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

The turnout was pathetic. I’m sure there are many reasons why. Even while Bush was still in office, there were fewer and fewer people coming to various events. But once Obama was elected, interest in the actions really evaporated, with some justification, with many saying we had to give Obama “a chance.”

Welll, he’s had his chance, and is not responding well, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many in the peace movement (which goes on, regardless of what party is in power or what individual is in office).

No one was under the illusion that Obama was a pacifist. But he did say he was against “stupid wars” and that he would work to end the occasion of war. He is not keeping that promise with this escalation.

There are probably many who would come to a protest against Bush’s wars, who won’t come near one against Obama’s. But there will continue to be a need for such public statements, and enough who will continue to consistently call for an end to American aggression, imperialism and global thuggery.

Here are some sites where the consistent message goes on, or is being newly expressed.

The Old Stalwarts
World Can’t Wait
United for Peace and Justice
Code Pink
After Downing Street
Voters for Peace
War Resisters League
Win Without War

Some new groups/alliances
EndUSWars.org
Peace of the Action

I gave a small donation, and hope some of my readers can too. Whether you can or not, please

Vote in the referendum to Indict Bush (and other high officials)

A message from Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark:

‘Why indictment is a must.’
Dear Rena,

I am writing to you as a long-time supporter of the ImpeachBush movement. More than a million people came forward to demand the impeachment of Bush and other high-ranking officials in the Bush administration.

I am appealing to you to make a donation to a growing new movement for the indictment and prosecution of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and other high officials of the Bush administration who engaged in criminal wrongdoing.

Please make an urgently needed donation today to help the IndictBush movement grow by clicking this link.

The greatest danger arising from impunity for President Bush and his cohorts would be that all subsequent officials will feel secure in committing the same crimes and the people, having failed to compel impeachment for such open, notorious and egregious crimes, will feel even more helpless to prevent them. Ultimately the power and the responsibility to prevent criminal acts by government is with the people.

The movement for accountability is sweeping the country. The Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, and the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, are both proposing to launch investigations into the possibilities of criminal conduct by high officials in the Bush Administration.

Now is the time for massive outreach and publicity. This requires organizing national call-in days to pressure Congressional representatives, intensive media work, and providing literature for people of conscience to distribute in cities and towns across the country.

Please consider taking a moment right now to make a donation to this new movement for the indictment of Bush. There is no time to spare. The time to act is now and we will.

The crimes of the Bush administration must be proclaimed, acknowledged and remembered because their disastrous human consequences, dictatorial tendencies, subversion of Constitutional government and violation of the rights and dignity of humanity. They include wars of aggression, the crime against peace and the “Supreme International Crime,” war crimes, and crimes against humanity, genocide by military violence “with intent to destroy in whole, or in part, a national… or religious group,” authorizing and condoning massive violations of the Constitution of the United States, its Bill of Rights and other Amendments, international treaties including the U.N. Charter, Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Convention Against Torture, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Geneva Conventions.

The clear duty of the American people and their elected representatives — on which the changes in U.S. government policies essential to achieve a peaceful, decent and humane future depend — is the vigorous pursuit of the indictment of former President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other high officials who have participated in their crimes, followed by rigorous criminal prosecution wherever the evidence, having been fully and fairly presented to a federal grand jury, results in their indictment.

The indictment of George W. Bush and other high officials is the challenge facing ‘We, the People.’ Will we rise to meet it? This is not a matter of politics or partisanship. It is the defense of the basic tenets of the Constitution. Please consider making a donation so we can get this movement off the ground and into the streets.

Sincerely,

Ramsey Clark,
Former U.S. Attorney General

Bitchin’ Bush Ice Cream Flavors

Jay Hazen sent us this list of flavor names supposedly submitted to Ben & Jerry’s for a Bush themed ice cream. Comment with your favorite one or submit your own!

• - Grape Depression
• - The Housing Crunch
• - Abu Grape
• - Cluster Fudge
• - Nut’n Accomplished
• - Good Riddance You Lousy Motherfu***r… Swirl
• - Iraqi Road
• - Chock ‘n Awe
• - WireTapioca
• - Impeach Cobbler
• - Guantanmallow
• - imPeachmint
• - Heck of a Job, Brownie!
• - Neocon Politan
• - RockyRoad to Fascism
• - The Reese’s-cession
• - Cookie D’oh!
• - Nougalar Proliferation
• - Death by Chocolate… and Torture
• - Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream
• - Chocolate Chip On My Shoulder
• - Credit Crunch
• - Mission Pecanplished
• - Country Pumpkin
• - Chunky Monkey in Chief
• - WMDelicious
• - Chocolate Chimp
• - Bloody Sundae
• - Caramel Preemptive Stripe
• - I broke the law and am responsible for the deaths of thousands . . . with nuts

And in comments, these good additions were offered:

• Rotten Apple DeCider
• Choc and Awe (better spelling that above, IMO)
• Credit Bubble Gum

I think my favorite is Abu Grape. That’s some pretty black humor.

But here’s what the lawyers think:

*************************************************
From the Desk of Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director, ACLU
Just as we’re in court challenging the government’s use of the “state secrets” doctrine, we must also confront the doctrine on Capitol Hill.
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=46PjOWEpAqQ-RD0Wck4BXw
*************************************************

Dear ACLU Supporter,

Yesterday, ACLU lawyers encountered a recurring — and troubling –obstacle in our lawsuit seeking justice for torture victims caught up in the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program. But this time, the objections were not coming from the Bush administration.

To our surprise and disappointment, the new Justice Department urged a federal appeals court to dismiss our lawsuit charging a Boeing subsidiary with providing critical support for the CIA’s rendition program based on the same “state secrets” claim that the Bush administration had repeatedly invoked to avoid any judicial scrutiny of its actions. During the course of the argument, one judge asked twice if the change in administration had any bearing on the Justice Department’s position. The attorney for the government said that its position remained the same.

This isn’t the kind of change we need if we want an America we can be proud of again.

If the judges rule in the government’s favor, our clients — who were tortured as part of the government’s rendition program –will never get their day in court.

We’re still hoping the court will rule in our favor and allow our case to move forward. But, in the meantime, we must do everything we can to end the abuse of the “state secrets” doctrine both in the courts and on Capitol Hill.

Senators Kennedy, Leahy, Specter and Representative Nadler introduced legislation in 2008 to narrow the scope of the state secrets privilege — and open the courthouse doors to people who have suffered real and legitimate harm by the government. Clearly, this legislation is needed now more than ever.

Send a message to these members of Congress to let them know you support the State Secrets Protection Act. http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=4ZCCyt9qoeR3O5xPyJOmeA

This crucial civil liberties bill recognizes the need to take precautions when it comes to national security. But, it also acknowledges that courts have been competently managing the balance between the security of classified information and the right to a fair trial in criminal cases for years. And, most important of all, it makes it much more difficult for the government to abuse the state secrets doctrine to escape accountability for illegal behavior.

We can’t allow any administration to invoke state secrets to hide a reprehensible history of torture, rendition and the most grievous human rights violations.

Send a message to support the State Secrets Protection Act. http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=RM5mjfeVNW98tsG2xLz5aA

Yesterday, the Obama administration had an opportunity to act on its condemnation of torture and rendition. But, instead, the Justice Department opted to stay the course.

Now, we must hope that the court will assert its independence, reject the government’s false claims of state secrets, and allow victims of torture and rendition their day in court.

Thanks for standing with us as we work to pursue justice on this critical civil liberties issue.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
ACLU

P.S. The ACLU has been working on this case for years. To learn more about rendition and the people impacted, watch our short video. http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=y7U5EBGwWSZLgZNf9A9rCA

© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004

And here’s another ACLU spokesperson on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight. (It’s preceded by Rachel and Kent Jones doing a little silly bit of “comedy” on the issue, which in my opinion was inappropriate for the seriousness of the problem, and not funny. But it’s the only video I could find posted this soon after the show.)

Debra Sweet from World Can’t Wait is also sounding the alarm:

Why Should the U.S. Government’s Right to Secrecy Trump the Right of People Not to be Tortured?

Binyam Mohamed is no longer a non-person, even though he’s still in Guantanamo.  After being flown around the world by the CIA, and tortured in both Pakistan and Morocco, he’s fighting the torture.  Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have direct testimony of torture from the five who were transported in CIA sponsored flights by Jeppesen Datalan, a subsidiary of Boeing, and testimony to show that employees of Jeppesen knew they were planning flights in what has become known infamously as the “Torture Taxi.”

Yesterday, the ACLU represented Mohamed and 4 other men who were tortured and “rendered” by the CIA in the US Court of Appeals, 9th District in San Francisco.  The Bush administration had gotten a judge to throw out the men’s lawsuit against “extraordinary rendition.”  The ACLU and others hoped that the Obama administration would not stand on “national security” and let the suit go forward.

But no.  The New York Times reports today, “the Obama administration seemed to surprise a panel of federal appeals judges on Monday by pressing ahead with an argument for preserving state secrets originally developed by the Bush administration.”  The ACLU provided testimony from Mohamed that, “he was routinely beaten, suffering broken bones and, on occasion, loss of consciousness. His clothes were cut off with a scalpel and the same scalpel was then used to make incisions on his body, including his penis. A hot stinging liquid was then poured into open wounds on his penis where he had been cut. He was frequently threatened with rape, electrocution and death.”

The World Can’t Wait continues to demand an end to torture carried on directly by the United States or its allies; the overturning of the Military Commissions Act and “enhanced” interrogation whether carried out by U.S. military, CIA, private contractors, or allied governments’ the closure of Guantanamo, Bagram and other indefinite detention facilities controlled by the United States. It believes that the rights of the people to be free of government spying supersede the secrecy rights of the government.  FULL statement here

And to repeat the action part from ACLU:

Send a message to support the State Secrets Protection Act. http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=4ZCCyt9qoeR3O5xPyJOmeA

Today in his hearing for CIA director before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Leon Panetta, who supposedly was selected for the job because his hands were clean of evil Bush-era practices, sold his soul and eliminated the possibility of prosecuting those who tortured on Bush’s orders. Cernig at Crooks and Liars and Newshoggers explains why this action gives legal cover to Bush, Cheney and their top-level goons.

Worse, not prosecuting the torturers sets up a malicious feedback that fatally undermines prosecutions for ordering torture. If there’s no prosecution for commission of a crime, how can someone be prosecuted for ordering what is apparently admitted isn’t a crime? No defense lawyer is going to pass up such a gift argument and the Obama administration knows it. Not prosecuting those who tortured is a “get out of jail free card” not only for the torturers but for those who ordered torture and those who falsely said torture could ever be legal. It’s a travesty of justice and one that Chris Dodd has sadly admitted Democratic leaders have looked the other way on for purely political reasons.

But Panetta — and presumably his new boss Barack Obama — is willing to take their policies even further into Bush territory.

And with the news that Panetta wants to reserve the possibility of using “enhanced interrogation” techniques which go beyond the US military code – which in turn is simply a retelling of the Geneva Conventions and binding treaties on torture – along with the Obama administration’s complicity in shielding Bush officials from revelations of torture…well, my Newshoggers colleague Jay McDonough is correct. “We cannot, despite assurances otherwise, trust our government not to render and torture detainees.”

The chances of restoring the rule of law to this country anytime soon do not seem very likely. What a pathetic people we have become.

Formal Petition to Attorney General-Designate Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any and all government officials who have participated in War Crimes.

Sponsored by Docudharma.com and Democrats.com.

Bush countdown created by James Miller

I’m oddly compelled to stare at the countdown clock that currently sits in the left sidebar of this site. In less than 24 hours now, we will be rid of the nightmare of having George W. Bush leading and destroying the free world simultaneously.

This time tomorrow we’ll know who he’s pardoning as his final eff-you to everyone who isn’t within his little cabal of crooks and sadists. Ted Stevens is a sure bet. Certainly Scooter Libby and Alberto Gonzalez will be able to enjoy the rest of their sick lives in comfort.

But will he find a way to pre-emptively pardon himself and his entire administration from future prosecution for war crimes? I’m guessing this is one thing he will manage not to screw up. After all, this time, finally, his own neck is on the line.

Updated to include a more watchable countdown clock (and actually more accurate about the moment of transition):

Bush countdown created by James Miller

Update 2: I’m shocked at news that Bush has pardoned two border agents (for a horrendous murder), and has said no other pardons will be forthcoming. That means Ted Stevens will go to jail! And we can still hope Bush Administration officials will too.

Update 3: Atrios’ explanation makes sense:

If, in fact, there are no more pardons coming I won’t be completely surprised. Pardoning the people below him would remove any 5th amendment reasons to not testify, and Bush has never shown much sign of giving a shit about other people.