Executive Privilege/Torture

[Meritaten1]

This opinion piece raises some interesting and disturbing questions about the long-term consequence of an expansion of the Executive Privilege doctrine during a "war on terror":


http://magic-city-news.com/article_1636.shtml


"Torture as an Executive Privilege
By Charles Cutter
Jun 18, 2004, 09:24

"We’ve all heard of the classic pain-inducement technique whereby sharp bamboo shoots are inserted under the fingernails. It may come as a surprise to all civilized people, but the present government of the United States does not believe this would necessarily constitute a form of legal torture. Torture can now be determined using a subjective scale measuring the intensity of pain. And who is the empathetic soul that gets to make this determination?

George W. Bush, of course."

(article continues)

[teryang]

1. straight to the fascist heart of the regime

<Let’s get this straight: Under the arguments and actions set forth by this administration, George W. Bush is the ultimate legal arbiter of who is, or isn’t, an "enemy combatant." He determines who can be seized without charge, without evidence, without access to an attorney, without even admitting they’ve been taken. (Keep in mind, this power extends to American citizens.) Further, George W. Bush is also the ultimate legal arbiter of what does, or does not, constitute torture - and when, where, and to whom it can be administered.

Talk about "executive privilege."

Are you comfortable yet?>

[struggle4progress]

2. And the real question is: Do enough people give a sh*t?

"Since 9/11, we’ve been willing to trade many of our freedoms for the illusion of security. So, let’s up the ante - let’s trade off a large part of our humanity as well. Ask yourself, in all honesty: Given the proper PR campaign from Bush & Co., how many of us would accept the government policy of inflicting torture on helpless people - in exchange for the promise of greater security?"

[myopic4141]

3. "Where is the outrage against the outrage?"

Those famous words uttered by Senator Inhofe says it all. No one has taken him to task for declaring this nation the lesser of two evils. The right has been claiming that this nation is void of morality. They were right in the assertion about the nation; but, wrong about the source. It is not the left who are the soulless; but, the right. The truth is out for all to see.

[Disturbed]

4. Right Wing Dictatorship

That is what Amerika is. What can be done about it?

[myopic4141]

5. Get out and partake in efforts to change the soul of America.

Stand up and be counted in efforts to rid the nation of the scourge that plagues it. More importantly than anything else, do so from within the bounds set by the principles this nation once stood for. To become as they does nothing but make hollow any victory for this nation would still be the lesser of two evils rather than the beacon of hope it is suppose to be. Use anger rather than hatred to forge ahead for anger can be controlled and directed whereas hatred strikes randomly diminishing both the hater and hated alike.