It never ceases to amaze me how the Bush administration will flat out lie, but never is held accountable or suffers consequences, as appropriate. Yes, lie is a strong word, but regretabbly it fits.
In the following video, Tony Snow is nailed for his understatement of the President’s stay the course strategy.
On October 23, Dan Bartlett, Counselor to the President, stated on The Early Show that the administration had never used stay the course. I beg to differ. I did a simple search on the White House website (using their search function, not “The Google”, and found 157 separate references to “stay the course.”
So, this is the dignity that GWB restored in the White House.
Remember Jean Schmidt? Rep. Schmidt (R-OH) attacked Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) when he initially announced his opposition to the war in Iraq. At the time, Schmidt’s remarks created a virtual brawl in the House Chambers. Schmidt’s indiscretion is coming back to haunt her. Vic Wulsin, a Democrat, is Schmidt’s opponent in this year’s election. Wulsin has a new ad that brings back that black mark in Schmidt’s history.
Dick Cheney has confirmed the use of water-boarding to interrogate detainees, but the Veep says water-boarding is not torture. Instead, Cheney says it falls within a “fairly robust interrogation program without torture, and we need to be able to do that.” [Emphasis added.]
Cheney declared in the McClatchey Newspapers’ interview, “It’s a no-brainer for me, but for a while there, I was criticized as being the vice president `for torture.’ We don’t torture.”
According to the Geneva Conventions, water-boarding is torture. So, who do you believe, Cheney or the Geneva Conventions? Moreover, does this not violate the the recent Supreme Court ruling, which ultimately initiated the Military Commissions Act?
Since Cheney never served a day in his life in military service, I suppose the “VP of Torture” is an expert on what is or is not torture. How many times has Cheney been subjected to water-boarding? Furthermore, if Cheney had a child serving in the military and was subject to water-boarding by our enemies, would he still consider water-boarding and similar acts as not torture?
Heck, let’s just shoot alleged enemy combatants in the face with a shotgun a few times. That’s probably not torture either.
Now to the real point. According to the Geneva Conventions, doesn’t Cheney’s admission of water-boarding qualify the VP of Torture as a war criminal? Think about it. Why did George Bush adamantly refuse US membership in the International Criminal Court? Just a little too close for comfort?
The insane ideoogy of this administration is beyond contemptable. My father was a POW in Yugoslavia in World War II. Until the day he died at the age of 81, he woke up every night of his life literally screaming from nightmares related to his POW experiences. This is what we want US veterans to endure because they will receive equal treatment (or worse) from our enemies?
The New Jersey Supremes ruled that gay couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples. Justice Barry T. Albin wrote for the majority:
Our decision today significantly advances the civil rights of gays and lesbians. We have decided that our State Constitution guarantees that every statutory right and benefit conferred to heterosexual couples through civil marriage must be made available to committed same-sex couples.
Thomas H. Kean Jr., a Republican New Jersey State Senator who is in a heated race against Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), wasted no time weighing in on the court’s decision. Kean and a few of his Republican comrades began pursuing an amendment to New Jersey’s State Constitution banning same-sex marriage.
Let’s hope Kean’s gay-bashing sets him back a few points in the polls. Menendez needs to come out swinging. Being wishy-washy will do Menendez or the Democratic Party no good. No sitting on the fence.
And then there is this nut, Matt Daniels, the high muckity-muck of Alliance for Marriage:
“The court is holding a legal gun to the head of the State Legislature, and saying,’Listen, there are two bullets, you get to pick the bullet: either gay marriage or civil unions,’ ” said Matt Daniels, president of Alliance for Marriage, an organization based in the Washington area that supports a federal Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. “And that is not democracy. That is court-imposed policy-making that takes this out of the hands of the people.”
Menendez needs to illuminate and capitalize on the bigotry of nuts like Daniels.
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Dick Cheney has confirmed the use of water-boarding to 