Against All Enemies, Foreign & Domestic
"Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world" UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Those of us who still believe that America should be a beacon of hope, of human rights & liberty have no choice but to rise up and oppose all those enemies, foreign & domestic, who want to diminish these ideals or even take them away. These are, indeed, values worth fighting for.
We have to say "NO" to anyone who undermines, abets the assault, or is indifferent to human rights, justice and liberty. Especially we have to say "NO" to those who act in our name. Alberto Gonzales should not be confirmed as "our" Attorney General. He cannot be "our torturer" in the eyes of the world.
The Bush administration, especially after the re-election, is becoming ever more arrogant. There is no time for compromise on such matters as those at hand today. That's why we are also taking notes on all those Democrats in the Congress who don't have a backbone to stand with us.
As for Ms. Rice, we have another problem here. She shouldn't be confirmed as our diplomatic face to the world. Yes, I'm impugning her honesty. I question her judgment. It's about major mistakes, one of which was her failure to see AlQueda as the number one enemy of our country, despite numerous & serious warnings from multiple sources.
The facts are what they are, Ms. Rice, and if you were not ready last week at the Senate hearings answering such inquiries, you can choose any forum you like to have "that discussion" as you suggested. May I say, you were very effective in taking a question and then elaborating on issues that are largely irrelevant to the question in order to chew up the clock!
You lied to the Senate last week, saying that the U.S. "didn't go to war solely on WMD." Oh, really? This is not how I remember the war being sold to the American people. Care to read your own statements, Ms. Rice? While at it, please also read your "husband's" (she calls GW Bush as such) statements of that time. How about Rummy's? He even knew the location of the WMD! Let's not forget what Dick told us about Saddam's nuclear capability either! Impugn? You bet!
YES to human rights, YES to civil liberties, YES to truth, and NO to all of our enemies, foreign and domestic!
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7 comments:
It's important to stand up and be counted... Even if the Republican wolves and some Democratic sheep will vote to confirm both Gonzales and Rice, I feel that we have to send a message. We are not talking about minor points here, but major issues.
This should also set the tone for the fights to come in the next 4 years.
Jane, NJ
I also agree with your points. I understand that a president should get the team he wants to make policy with, but he's not infallible (gosh, we know this much about Dubya) and since he acts in our name, we have to make our disapproval known. This is only the beginning of our fight to preserve, protect and promote what America should stand for--human rights, democracy and personal freedoms.
Cathryn, WA
Senator R. Byrd from W.Virginia spoke eloquently about the need to vote against Rice. Senator Byrd asserted that Ms. Rice had helped to make the Bush administration's case for an unconstitutional, unwise and unprovoked war against Iraq - and had done so, he said, on the basis of faulty intelligence that she represented before the war as far more conclusive than it was..... (New York Times on line, 1/26/05)
Alex, DC
Forgive my long posting, but the Washington Post's editorial on Gonzales is worth reading...
"ALBERTO R. GONZALES was vague, unresponsive and misleading in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Bush administration's detention of foreign prisoners. In his written answers to questions from the committee, prepared in anticipation of today's vote on his nomination as attorney general, Mr. Gonzales was clearer -- disturbingly so, as it turns out. According to President Bush's closest legal adviser, this administration continues to assert its right to indefinitely hold foreigners in secret locations without any legal process; to deny them access to the International Red Cross; to transport them to countries where torture is practiced; and to subject them to treatment that is "cruel, inhumane or degrading," even though such abuse is banned by an international treaty that the United States has ratified. In effect, Mr. Gonzales has confirmed that the Bush administration is violating human rights as a matter of policy...."
"But Mr. Gonzales revealed that during his tenure as White House counsel, the administration twisted this straightforward standard to make it possible for the CIA to subject detainees to such practices as sensory deprivation, mock execution and simulated drowning. The constitutional amendments, he told the committee, technically do not apply to foreigners held abroad; therefore, in the administration's view the torture treaty does not bind intelligence interrogators operating on foreign soil. "The Department of Justice has concluded," he wrote, that "there is no legal prohibition under the Convention Against Torture on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment with respect to aliens overseas." ..... 1/26/05
Alex, DC
Well, Rice was confirmed today as expected. Gonzales is next. I guess now they'll both implement Bush's "freedom policy" and liberate countries throughout the world. Can't wait...
Good to see Rep. Senator Jeffords vote against Rice! He along with Rhode Island's Chaffe and Maine's Snowe should leave the Republican party as they are the true endangered species in Congress: the moderate Republicans.
I wonder if those Republicans and other fiscally conservative but socially liberal Reps are happy with their party being highjacked by the extreme right...
Rory, OH
At least all the 8 Dems in the Judiciary Committee voted against Gonzales! We are taking names. We know the Reps have more what they need in the Senate to confirm Gonzo but we want to see 45 'no" at least!
Jesse,MN
I've written to the Democrats representing my state and asked them to vote "NO" on the Gonzales nomination, for the reasons I've stated on my blog. I also reminded them that I and many other activists are going to take names of all those who have no spine to stand with us.... Please do the same.
Here's the link to find your Senator:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Thank you.
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