From his signing statement ratifying the UN Convention on Torture from 1984:

"The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention. It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today.

The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called 'universal jurisdiction.' Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution."

Looks like the man each and every Republican Candidate that repeatedly quoted their hero, President Ronald Reagan, all during their campaign for the Presidency in 2008, as well as many other Republicans reminding us of what all he accomplished during his presidency, has just popped up from his grave and kicked them all right smack in the butt for ignoring the United States rule of law and 'his' signature expressing opposition to torture.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann announced on Thursday that he is willing to pay $1,000 to charity for every second that Fox News anchor Sean Hannity undergoes waterboarding torture.

As HuffPost noted yesterday, Hannity was prodded by actor Charles Grodin into agreeing to subject himself to waterboarding to benefit a charity for the families of U.S. soldiers.

"What a breakthrough it would be if, by having reality literally forced upon him, a buffoon like Hannity were to realize the deadly seriousness of this," Olbermann said. "The searing truth: that the moment of torture automatically makes the presumed bad guy recipient the victim, and makes the torturer into the evildoer."

"For every second you last, a thousand dollars -- live or on tape, provided other networks' cameras are there. A thousand dollars a second, Sean, because this is no game. This is serious stuff. Put your money where your mouth is, and your nose. Oh, and I'll double it when you admit you feared for your life, when you admit the horrible truth -- waterboarding, the symbol of the last administration, is torture."

If I knew where to donate I would.  I'd give a lot to see Hannity undergo this torture.  And I mean the exact treatment that any prisoner of ours was subjected to (15-20 seconds of rough treatment).

Be sure to make an offer by emailing Hannity at: hannity@foxnews.com

The conversation tonight on various media outlets has been about the Democrats in the House and Senate that were supposedly told about this torturing of prisoners. 

Speaker Pelosi denies being told the techniques were actually used; only that they could be, and if they were ever used, they would be informed immediately by the White House.  They were never told the actions were used.

Personally I would think the better answer (if you are lying or not) would be, "I was under oath; this information was top secret and classified.  I would have been sent to prison for treason if I had leaked or told others what the President planned on doing.   Now that the information is declassified I can admit to the actions and fight till my last breath to keep it from ever happening again."

That would have been the easier answer; but instead Pelosi told the truth, yes, they heard of the possibility of using waterboarding; but as far as she knew, these enhanced interrogations were never actually used.

Knowing for a fact how secretive the Bush administration was, we should all believe the Speaker.  Just look at the present conversation and documents that are being released.  For years we were told we were not torturing prisoners or spying on Americans -- now we know they were doing so all along.

Once again Republicans backtrack on their beliefs about America's Rule of Law.  Once again their memory is conveniently lacking the facts. 

I'm sure many of you remember the Impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton, right?  Do you also remember the arguments that Republicans used as reason for trying to Impeach and convict President Clinton?  If not, here are a few examples of what some of the more well known figures said back then about the Rule of Law:

Here's what former House Majority Leader Tom Delay said back in 1998 when the House was debating whether to impeach President Clinton:

I believe that this nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law.

Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.

Shall we follow the rule of law and do our constitutional duty no matter unpleasant, or shall we follow the path of least resistance, close our eyes to the potential lawbreaking, forgive and forget, move on and tear an unfixable hole in our legal system? No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) said the following:

He called Clinton a "serial violator of the oath" to tell the truth. "Equal justice under the law, that's what we're fighting for," he said. "And when the chief law enforcement officer trivializes, ignores, shreds, minimizes the sanctity of the oath, then justice is wounded, and you're wounded, and your children are wounded."

Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) said:

"If our country looks the other way, our country will lose its way"

House Speaker Bob Livingston(R) said:

"We're not ruled by kings or emperors and there is no divine right of president."

Bill Bennett said in his article, "The Death of Outrage":

And so the question the House Judiciary Committee must decide during the next month is the same one that faced the committee a quarter-century ago, when it considered whether to impeach Richard Nixon: Will it reaffirm the time-honored American ideal that no man is above the law?

Bill Bennett also said this:

In particular, the thirteen House managers who prosecuted the Clinton case in the Senate are truly, in the words of William Bennett, "authentic profiles in political courage," men who were willing to risk their careers to stand up for principle and the rule of law.

Rep. John Boehner(R) said the following during Clinton's impeachment event:

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, every member of Congress takes an oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution. And today we're challenged to do our duty under that oath. No person in this House is without fault or without sin, but the question before us is not whether the president has sinned. The question before us is whether the president has committed illegal acts, including perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

Under the Constitution that we swore to defend, these are serious crimes, crimes that our constituents would go to prison for. And do we hold the president, the top-ranking law enforcement official in our country, to a lower standard?

John Locke once wrote, "Where the law ends, tyranny begins." Mr. Speaker, if we believe in our Constitution, then the law does not stop at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In our constitutional democracy, no one, not even the president, is above the law.

None of us sought the burden of impeachment when we ran for this office, but every one of us raised our right hand and swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. And who are we to ignore that obligation by turning a blind eye to crimes by the leader of our government?

I have no choice but to honor my oath of office. I have no choice but to impeach this president and send this matter to the Senate, as my oath of office requires me to do.

 

My fellow Americans, as former President Ronald Reagan once said, "Facts are stubborn things!"

The United States signed the Geneva Convention saying we would NOT torture prisoners.  President Bush, VP Cheney and many other top officials from the Bush administration have now admitted they water boarded prisoners.  We now have written documentation saying we waterboarded prisoners.

Waterboarding is torture.  People of been put to death or gone to prison for committing this crime in our past history.

The RULE OF LAW has been ignored my Republican friends, get over your political posturing and admit it.  Stand up and defend your Constitution like you 'claimed' to be doing during the Clinton Impeachment trial.  We must punish those that authorized these war crimes.

 

Is it just me or are we missing something during all this conversation about torture and who said what, when and why did they say it?  Aren't we forgetting the missing link here?  Who was the superior in charge of all these people that we are accusing of possibly having done wrong?  Why  are the media and others omitting or pushing aside the actions of President George W. Bush's  during the past 8 years?

Do you think for one minute that if the situation were reversed and President Barack Obama's administration had committed war crimes, that the Republicans would just go after VP Biden and AG Holder, Sec of State Clinton and their employees?  Not only no; but hell no!  They'd go straight to the top -- straight to the guy that was in charge of it all.

George W. Bush authorized these actions and may have even asked for them to be looked in to.

All through the CIA agent's name leak story, we only heard about V.P. Cheney, Scooter Libby, different reporter's names and others surrounding them -- nobody accused President Bush of authorizing that action.  President Bush even lied on television as though he knew nothing about the case and demanded to know who leak the agent's name -- when all along it was his own people - near and dear.

Do you honestly believe that these people did all these bad things completely on their own?  I realize we all love to make fun of George W. Bush's brain and speaking capabilities; but gosh folks, the man wouldn't have gotten to be President by being completely stupid.  Besides, even if he knew nothing and was put in a padded cell while in office -- the BUCK STOPS at his desk.  He was in charge.  He either gave the orders or ignored what his people were doing -- either way, he is just as guilty if not more so than all the rest.

Do not forget who was the BOSS from Jan of 2000 - Jan of 2009!

Fox news is bringing the BIG GUN in support of former President George W. Bush....his mom!

Yes, Fox will air an interview with Barbara Bush tonight at 10pm eastern time.  Whenever Bush is in trouble, mom and dad come out from behind the walls.

In the past few weeks we've seen former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Ari Fletcher and former Vice President Cheney come out to attack the Obama administration and the torture issue.

Talk about OPERATION SAVE BUSH folks.....this is only the beginning I'm afraid.  The Republican Party seems bent on protecting this man and his administration no matter what the cost to America.

It just occurred to me (I'm slow) that former Vice President Cheney is doing what some accused Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich of doing, the former vice president is taking his case to network talk shows. 

The Governor compared himself to an honest, hardworking cowboy that was about to be lynched by a band of black-hatted political insiders eager to raise taxes.  The makeover of the facts was part of Blagojevich's attempt to stroke sympathy from potential jurors, should his case reach trial.

Those in the media enjoyed making fun of Blagojevich's media circus.  "There's no benefit at all, except to make himself look ridiculous. In addition, anything he says can be used against him later" in court,".

Former VP Cheney is planting seeds of doubt with potential jurors who may one day hear his and former President George W. Bush's case in a court.  He too should start worrying about what he says in public, his words can also be used against him later.

I would imagine that the GOP realizes that if anyone would get national attention with his words about torture and past actions of the Bush administration, it would be former VP Dick Cheney.  So, I'm betting he has agreed to appear ever so often on Fox news and make an accusation about President Obama or claim victory with keeping the country safe or declaring victory in Iraq.

It's a pitch to hopefully get Americans believing what the Bush administration did the past 8 years -- was OK --- in this case.

As Senator Leahy said tonight on The Ed Show, MSNBC, if VP Cheney wants to tell his side of the story let him come to my committee under oath and tell it.

I pray that Cheney's monthly appearance on Fox or some other GOP ran media outlet, will do the exact opposite of what they intend and remind voters instead why it is they voted for a new 'attitude' and a new 'direction'.

Lastly, I hope they realize why they wanted to get America back to the rule of law and therefore our respect around the world.

Some of you may think I'm obsessed with this torture history of America's; but what I really am is 'shocked' to hear what some are saying about it.

Former Vice President Cheney's contention that by torturing the enemy the Bush administration saved lives, therefore torturing is a good thing.

Shall we then torture possible suspects of murder and kidnapping - perhaps they'll give in and give us the whereabouts of the victim?  To hell with their civil liberties.

Cheney's attitude is like the cop that kills a unarmed gangster saying, "I got a bad guy off the street."  Or the bank robber that steals money from the bank and gives it to his family to eat with saying, "I kept my family off welfare."

The 'means' justifies the 'end' logic just isn't what America is about.

VP Cheney and those like him are the same ones that would say collateral damage is necessary; One life for many. 

In some respects this may be true; but if you rule your nation's laws on this premise you damage her to the point of no return.

How is this attitude any different than that of a country led by a dictator?  Their law rules, not the country's law.

Americans must stand up and say 'no' to this attitude.

Ichael Isikoff at Newsweek is reporting that the DOJ is continuing to consider prosecuting Bush Officials, CIA Officers and Contractors for Torture.

Video: From Rachel Maddow Last Night.

BREAKING!!!

HuffingtonPost says that President Barack Obama is no leaving the door to open to possible prosecution of Bush administration officials who devised harsh terrorism-era interrogation tactics.

He also said Tuesday that he worries about the impact of high-intensity hearings on how detainees were treated under former President George W. Bush. But Obama did say, nevertheless, he could support a Hill investigation if it were conducted in a bipartisan way.

Sounds like maybe the White House is reconsidering their position on prosecuting anybody for War Crimes.  Or....perhaps this was the plan all along? 

Perhaps they planned to have Obama and his people come out against prosecution of Bush officials and CIA members in the beginning to show that he wasn't 'gun-ho' on doing so and therefore, not to blame, if the Attorney General or Congress ends up doing so.

The only problem with that is, if crimes are found to have 'indeed' (like there's a doubt?) been committed and Obama came off as 'ignoring them', it could end up hurting him politically.

However, if crimes are found to have been committed and people go to jail for them -- those that supported the investigation will most likely forget that Obama said 'no' in the beginning and just be satisfied that justice was served by whomever.

I pray this isn't just a way to 'calm the crowd' in hopes the demand will die down over time.  Because if it is, the Obama administration will once again tick off those of us that are demanding something be done and I don't expect he really wants to do that - again.

I wrote this last night but feel the need to repeat it since now VP Cheney is making his comments:

WASHINGTON -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich charged Monday that President Barack Obama's cordial greeting with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez sends a poor message to enemies of America.

In a nationally broadcast interview on NBC's "Today" show Monday, the Georgia Republican also accused the administration of being too slow to react to North Korea's launching of a rocket test and said it has reached out too much to ease relations with Cuba.

Appearing on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends," Gingrich said: "This does look a lot like Jimmy Carter. Carter tried weakness and the world got tougher and tougher because the predators, the aggressors, the anti-Americans, the dictators, when they sense weakness, they all start pushing ahead."

Gingrich complained that the simple act of a smiling Obama shaking Chavez's hand caused a book Chavez has written to skyrocket on the best-seller lists in the United States.

"What I find distressing," he said, "is that the administration opposes opening up oil exploration," but yet Obama has "bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia" and now reached out to Chavez, whom Gingrich said has been conducting "a vicious anti-American campaign."

Isn't is funny how soon Republicans forget their own past?

Speaker Gingrich seems to have forgotten how his hero, President Ronald Reagan, was once a friend of a dictator; Remember Saddam Hussein Mr Speaker?

Remember when the special envoy for President Ronald Reagan, Donald Rumsfield, went to Baghdad, Iraq?  Remember Rumsfield's famous handshake with Saddam Hussein back on December 20, 1983?

Do you also remember in 2005 the comments from soldiers guarding Saddam Hussein after his capture?

Saddam Hussein likes Doritos, washes his hands compulsively and thinks fondly of the late US President Ronald Reagan, according to American soldiers who guarded him and tell their story in the July issue of GQ magazine.

Saddam Hussein likes Doritos, washes his hands compulsively and thinks fondly of the late US President Ronald Reagan, according to American soldiers who guarded him and tell their story in the July issue of GQ magazine.

The jailed former Iraqi leader described how Mr Reagan, who was president during the time of Iraq's 1980-88 war with Iran, sold him planes and helicopters.

"Reagan and me, good,'" Saddam said, according to the article by Lisa DePaulo.

"He said, 'I wish things were like when Ronald Reagan was still president'," said one of the soldiers who guarded him.

Ronald Reagan was trying to make friends with Saddam and other enemies back then for  broader strategic foreign policy reasons back then, just as President Obama is doing now.

As for how Jimmy Carter did with his foreign policy; he's the only one that was able to make a lasting peace with Egypt and Israel -- remember?  Israel and Egypt ended 30 years of war with an historic peace treaty brokered by the United States and then President Jimmy Carter.  That peace treaty still exists today.

What peace treaty did President's Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush -- or even you Mr. Speaker, broker in the last 30 years?

UPDATE:

Chavez and Obama talking in video: Looks more serious to me.

WASHINGTON -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich charged Monday that President Barack Obama's cordial greeting with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez sends a poor message to enemies of America.

In a nationally broadcast interview on NBC's "Today" show Monday, the Georgia Republican also accused the administration of being too slow to react to North Korea's launching of a rocket test and said it has reached out too much to ease relations with Cuba.

Appearing on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends," Gingrich said: "This does look a lot like Jimmy Carter. Carter tried weakness and the world got tougher and tougher because the predators, the aggressors, the anti-Americans, the dictators, when they sense weakness, they all start pushing ahead."

Gingrich complained that the simple act of a smiling Obama shaking Chavez's hand caused a book Chavez has written to skyrocket on the best-seller lists in the United States.

"What I find distressing," he said, "is that the administration opposes opening up oil exploration," but yet Obama has "bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia" and now reached out to Chavez, whom Gingrich said has been conducting "a vicious anti-American campaign."

Isn't is funny how soon Republicans forget their own past? 

Speaker Gingrich seems to have forgotten how his hero, President Ronald Reagan, was once a friend of a dictator; Remember Saddam Hussein Mr Speaker?

Remember when the special envoy for President Ronald Reagan, Donald Rumsfield, went to Baghdad, Iraq?  Remember Rumsfield's famous handshake with Saddam Hussein back on December 20, 1983? 

Do you also remember in 2005 the comments from soldiers guarding Saddam Hussein after his capture?

Saddam Hussein likes Doritos, washes his hands compulsively and thinks fondly of the late US President Ronald Reagan, according to American soldiers who guarded him and tell their story in the July issue of GQ magazine.

Saddam Hussein likes Doritos, washes his hands compulsively and thinks fondly of the late US President Ronald Reagan, according to American soldiers who guarded him and tell their story in the July issue of GQ magazine.

The jailed former Iraqi leader described how Mr Reagan, who was president during the time of Iraq's 1980-88 war with Iran, sold him planes and helicopters.

"Reagan and me, good,'" Saddam said, according to the article by Lisa DePaulo.

"He said, 'I wish things were like when Ronald Reagan was still president'," said one of the soldiers who guarded him.

Ronald Reagan was trying to make friends with Saddam and other enemies back then for  broader strategic foreign policy reasons back then, just as President Obama is doing now.

As for how Jimmy Carter did with his foreign policy; he's the only one that was able to make a lasting peace with Egypt and Israel -- remember?  Israel and Egypt ended 30 years of war with an historic peace treaty brokered by the United States and then President Jimmy Carter.  That peace treaty still exists today. 

What peace treaty did President's Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush -- or even you Mr. Speaker, broker in the last 30 years?
 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imIMJjhHqQQ&feature=player_embedded]

Finally a Republican that is willing to say NO to the RIGHT subject.

The question is, will Senator McCain now be willing to sign onto an investigation of these memos and other information about torturing of prisoners in the past 8 years? 

Will any republican stand against this torturing of prisoners?

Call your congressman/woman or Senator and demand that they do so.

Teabags for less taxes or standing against war crimes -- which is more important?

Perhaps it's time Americans, those that believe war crimes were committed during the Bush administration, should stand up and be counted just as the teabag groups have been this past couple of weeks.

It's commendable to see Americans that will stand for hours in rain, cold or hot weather to complain about our tax system and how our government spends our money; but it's also sad to see how these same people and millions more will refuse to protect America's ideals and demand her respect by standing for the rule of her laws.

Will Americans be just as patriotic as those that took up arms to protect our nation, by taking up signs of protest and standing for hours against those that committed war crimes in our countries name?

Will people be willing to stand hours in the harshest of weather to protest the complacent attitude of our leadership toward war crimes? 

Will they accept that it's alright to simply ignore our past crimes?  Are Americans willing to ignore 'all' crimes that have happen in the past 8 years?  Shall we release those that committed any crime in the past 8 years and not look back again?  Why don't we release those soldiers that have been found guilty while serving their nation in Iraq or Afghanistan?  It's the past after all, we shouldn't bother looking in our rearview mirrors, right?

It's time to stand for something more than our pocketbooks people, for without our self respect, honor and rule of law -- we are nothing more than some third world country.

Mr President -- you are WRONG as WRONG can be about allowing the Bush officials to go on with their lives as though they were just another administration.  You are wrong to ignore these criminals and by doing so you are allowing others to follow in their footsteps.

We have all demanded that the Iraqi people stand up for their nation and their people.

Well Americans -- it's time we stood for something more than money.

BRITISH scientists have developed the world's first stem cell therapy to cure the most common cause of blindness. Surgeons predict it will become a routine, one-hour procedure that will be generally available in six or seven years' time.

The treatment involves replacing a layer of degenerated cells with new ones created from embryonic stem cells. It was pioneered by scientists and surgeons from the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London and Moorfields eye hospital.

This week Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical research company, will announce its financial backing to bring the therapy to patients.

The treatment will tackle age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness. It affects more than 500,000 Britons and the number is forecast to increase significantly as people live longer. The disease involves the loss of eye cells.

I'd like to hear those that were against Stem Cell research on the basis of embryonic stem cells being used or destroyed, approach a blind person and tell them, sorry, tough luck, we've decided to STOP this research from going on.

While I understand those against using these cells, I happen to be one of those that think caring for the living is more important then a cell that would never become a human being in the first place because they were going to be destroyed anyway.

These people that are against using these cells are the same ones that tell those that can't afford medical attention, tough luck, health care isn't a RIGHT, it's a luxury.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in his rebuttal to the President's weekly address, lambasted big spending by the Democrats -- and praised the Tea Parties from this past week:

They want to work with the President he said.  Since when?  As for all the spending, where were 'they' during the past 8 years?  Heck, you could even include the years they had charge of Congress in the 90's.  How much did they care about the massive spending then?

The Representative pointed out a couple of States expenses but left off those his party has.  Typical.  He also mentioned using some of the stimulus for other projects and not research.  I hate to tell the guy but we wouldn't have 'any' stimulus if it had been left to a Republican vote.

Problem is, the Republicans have FAILED to show how THEY would have saved our financial system (other than what the Bush team did before leaving office and those in Congress approved - $750 billion dollar TARP).

I recently had a debate with a staunch conservative about the Tea Parties.  My only question was, "What would you have done on Jan 20th with the financial system and the economy as it was at that time?")

What did I get back?  Arguments on how we got here instead; not what he would have done.

He brought up spending and deregulation (Barney Franks); the usual arguments.  Exactly what we heard today from this Representative.  Not one solution to the problems of today.  His final comment was, stop spending and no bailouts.  That's real easy to say; doing is another ball game.  That's like saying to a homeowner, stop spending money on your home, save instead.  Don't pay those bills -- they will just disappear.

Instead of showing Americans what they would do, they are creating a website to criticize what the Obama administration is doing.  I'm NOT impressed.

We don't need another website for that, the media and blogs keep us well informed already.

What we need are solutions. At least the Obama team are willing to make the tough choices (to the tune of possible political damage).  Where are yours Republican Party?

Meanwhile, are you enjoying that extra $40-50 a month?  Pays the water bill doesn't it?  That's nice.  How about you seniors out there.  What will you use that $250 rebate for?  A car payment?  Medicine, car repairs?  How about food for a month?  Better than nothing at all huh?  If Republicans had there way with their votes, you wouldn't have gotten anything.  They wanted to STOP SPENDING, remember?