This morning I was reading this article about another fatherless child Bush and Cheney have created.  They are truly the destroyers of men and nations.

Then, I read SteinL's excellent diary about Ret. U.S. CJCS Bill Odom's editorial today in Wapo.

Then, I got to thinking about Rummy, Cheney, Wolfowitz and all the others who lied our nation into invading and occupying Iraq.  And I realized they are the same crew that kept us in Vietnam for years after they knew we were defeated.

And I asked, "Why?"

A recent diary by neoperiapt has called into question what I would call a consensus here at DKos that Alberto Gonzales, the current Attorney General of the United States, made an outrageous attack on our fundamental right to Habeas Corpus when he stated in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, under oath, that Habeas was not a universal right of all Americans under our Constitution.

I will show below that our consensus is right, and Gonzales did make such an outrageous attack, and that he should continue to be called on it.    

***NOTE to neoperiapt and his supporters: This is not a "call-out" diary, and the following is offered in the interest of fully-informed debate here in the community.

Today I watched the testimony of the Attorney General of the United States before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Then, I went to read about how it was being portrayed in the media.

Along the way, I stopped at the nytimes.com and clicked on the video of Gonzales' testimony.

In my opinion, the video amounted to propaganda.  So, I wrote a letter to the public editor at the Times, Byron Calame.  It is printed in full on the flip.  I invite you to also view the video, compare it with your understanding of Gonzales' testimony and submit a similar letter to the Times if you feel I am correct.

Tomorrow, Alberto Gonzales, the Torturer's Apprentice, will appear before the Judiciary Committee.

As Greenwald has noted, Gonzales stays true-to-form with this last-minute disclosure.  As with the Padilla case and his previous appearances before the Committee, Gonzales now has dropped what is being billed as another return-to-sanity bombshell, with the usual shock-and-awe publicity.

Wow.  A sudden respect for the rule of United States law by its Attorney General and President?  Of course, this would be nothing to celebrate given the events of the past 6 years, although it would be a welcome change of course.  However, if you examine the  text of the letter from the Torturer's Apprentice, that is not what is going on here.

Join me...

John Murtha.  Vet.  War Hero.  Supporter of a strong defense.  Scion of the military contractor establishment for years.

Suddenly goes off the reservation.

Refuses to continue to support PermaWar and an unjust occupation.

In the immortal words of the Godfather of Soul:

PAYBACK!

It has begun.  And of course, it is being launched in the political hitjournal of record, WAPO.

Now that even the Republicans are beginning their "blame Bush" campaign, I thought that it would be a good time to consolidate all the post-Nov. 7 Bush CYA satire in one place.

Please join in.

The top 10 White House/Far Right responses in the aftermath of Nov. 7 on the flip.

The Republicans have seen fit to destroy our liberty and desecrate our Constitution.

They have sought to cover up and validate the Executive Branch's power grab, while at the same time covering up and legitimizing torture done in OUR name with OUR tax payer dollars.

Now, it turns out, in addition to covering up for Bush and his torture squad, they are covering up for the pedophiles in their midst.

It is time to link these issues.  Republicans Torture.  Republicans are Pedophiles.  They must be stopped.

This is a simple diary.

I want the Torture Bill repealed.  I know we can't stop Bush from signing it.  When he does, our campaign to restore America's decency and liberty begins.

REPEAL.

It's that simple.

Demand it of your candidates.

Ask a simple question of them:  Do you support REPEAL of the Torture Bill?

I no longer have words for this situation.  So I will let others far more eloquent than I speak.

From an article by Ariel Dorfman in tomorrow's Wapo:

Are we so morally sick, so deaf and dumb and blind, that we do not understand how torture degrades us? Are we so fearful, so in love with our own security and steeped in our own pain, that we are really willing to let people be tortured in the name of America? Have we so lost our bearings that we do not realize that each of us could be that hapless Argentine who sat under the Santiago sun, so possessed by the evil done to him that he could not stop shivering?

Mike Kinsley wrote a great article Friday about how Bush has been able to re-define victory in Iraq to his advantage.

Kinsley distills Bush's ability to master time through language.  Like a magician, Bush is able to subtly move between the past, present and future tenses to give the illusion of a glorious march to victory.

A few observations for your consideration:

1. All disputes thus far over the "detainee" legislation have been Kabuki, i.e. a well-orchestrated, supremely choreographed dance.  I call this dance a "Republican War Party."  Any semblance of schism, or Rethug fracture was fiction.  "Opposition" has been feigned.  

2. Through this dance, McCain and Warner have been lionized.  It was the process of legitimation.  They are attempting to legitimate torture by this process.

3. Make no mistake, the War Party is serving a political purpose as we speak.  But as with the last War Party rollout, there is a larger endgame.  It is time to figure out where they are going with this.  Can you use your imagination and help?

As David Sirota notes, David Broder published a skillful propaganda piece today.

Broder began by excoriating the Bush Administration for its advocacy of torture.  

As I read, I said to myself, David, you're a little late to the game, but we're happy to have you join us in the TORTURE IS UNAMERICAN CAMP here at Dkos.

However, my opinion then changed as Broder proceeded to diss us bloggers -- the FIRST and LOUDEST voices opposing torture -- as "extreme" and "left-wing", and then add insult to injury (or is it injury to insult?) by awarding credit for opposing Bush's torture policies to purported "Independent" Republicans like McCain and Warner and Graham, and guess who....Joe Lieberman!!  

HAHAHA....what delicious irony.  

My letter to Broder follows on the flip....

Didn't realize Karl was Darth until I read this story about his tortured upbringing.

Yesterday, Bush went to Capitol Hill to lobby for torture.

LOBBY FOR TORTURE.

Those are not my words, they are the words of the Washington Post editorial board, a group that was in full support of the Iraq war.

The editorial, posted on the flip in part, is entitled "A Defining Moment for America."

Unfortunately, the WaPo board has not fully grasped the implications of a President who lobbies for torture.  

The problem is, OUR BELOVED AMERICA IS ALREADY ASSOCIATED WITH TORTURE.  Our personnel, paid with our tax dollars, have ALREADY tortured other human beings.

The significance of Bush's trip to Capitol Hill then, is different, and far more disturbing.  

In short, the PRESIDENT of our country has sanctioned torture from the beginning.  What his trip to Capitol Hill shows is his state of mind.  I will consider the implications of this here and in future diaires.

I am in full support of the efforts to rebut ABC, and I want to use my diary today to take the gloves off and help our community think about the REAL path to 9/11 and the path to hell Bush has deliberately taken this country down in its aftermath.

There is a counter-narrative we must tell about George W. Bush and the Bush family before 9/11, and then the connection of this narrative to what Bush has done in the aftermath of 9/11.  

The connection: the Bush family and its close relation to the House of Saud.  The House of Saud has essentially bought the POTUS.  The evidence is clear, and it is convincing.

Much of the pre-9/11 relationship was covered by Craig Unger in his excellent book.  The post 9/11 relationship is not as clear, but we can show motive and opportunity, and that is enough.   Follow me on the flip to learn how.

Bob, I want you to know something.  I am a New Yorker who lived through 9/11.  I experienced the death, the dust and the disaster that was that day and the weeks that followed.

Thousands of our fellow Americans died that day.

By defacing the truth of 9/11 and lying in an attempt to blame President Clinton for the deaths of those Americans, you are lying to me, you are lying to my children and you are lying to the world.

You are pissing on the graves of the beloved Americans we lost that day.

So, I'm going to make you the following promise....  

 

I wanted to be sure everyone knows the full story on Justice Kennedy and if you believe in the power of prayer or just in the good karma from warm healthy thoughts, please send some his way.

The story is on the flip, but apparently Justice Kennedy had the original procedure last fall.  It was not announced at the time.

As the story notes, this is a common procedure and people who have had it lead healthy, active lives.

Of course, I don't think you can disregard the fact that Kennedy had these problems right after Roberts and Alito joined the court.  Whodunit??  Take the poll!

 

As we all know, our Bill of Rights and other civil liberties hang by a thread in this country.  And that thread is Justice Anthony Kennedy.

So, I was surprised to see this report (on the flip) about his hospitalization just now.  Since I did not see any other diaries on this, I figured our community might like to know.

I am sure you will join me in wishing him a speedy recovery.

Article follows on the flip...