"The America we believe in does not torture people."

[ulysses]

- Amnesty International USA, 10/26/06

I finally got around to replacing the worn out stickers on the back window of my truck this afternoon. Of the four I took off, all of which had been there at least since some time in 2001, the old Amnesty sticker had fared the best. The old DU sticker had peeled badly, the "No More Enrons!" from a fund drive many moons ago had faded to white, but the AI sticker, the longest resident, had gently cracked and become worn, the black background gray at the edges. When I slid the razor blade against it, it came off as dust.

The image of the Democratic Party as an organization that might stand with Amnesty against torture is coming off just as gently. It likely won't even be remarked-upon in the press tomorrow, except to laud the wisdom of certain Dems in allowing a "competent" director to come to the Department of Justice. All will sagely nod their heads. Nothing about the now-likely elevation of a man incapable of calling torture by its name to the post of Attorney General has seemed violent or, in our strange world, even odd. This is the way government is supposed to work. Bipartisanship. Working together for the common good. Let the president have his so we can have ours. All is well.

And yet, for all the quiet that will probably surround Michael Mukasey's confirmation, there are those who will dissent. A new AI sticker took the place of the old one on my truck today, as did a fresh DU sticker in its place. In dissent, however Quixotic, I hope that we can continue to find the strength to try to turn around this party and this country. Honestly, we don't have a fuck of a lot else.

Better days, friends.