[politics] Just say "No" to torture, part 2.

There's still time. If you have not done so already call, write, email your Senator. Ask them to vote "No" on Gonzales. Below is the text of the email I sent Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) this evening. Unlike her counterpart, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Murray has not taken a public stand for or against Gonzales.

Sen. Murray -- On the eve on Gonzales' confirmation hearings, I am again writing you with the same plea I made last week: please vote no. On the very site from which I have accessed this form, you have a picture from a Juneteenth celebration you attended (the picture is dated 19 June 2004, and can be found at http://murray.senate.gov/photos/display.cfm?id=223587).

The title of the picture?

"Never Be a Bystander in the Fight for Human Dignity"

To confirm Gonzales would be much, much worse than being a bystander. To confirm Gonzales would be an affront to human dignity - it would condone torture, it would condone unilateralism, it would condone this corrupt administration's entire foreign policy. Gonzales' confirmation would be a black mark on this Republic.

I urge you to please do what I feel you must know to be right - vote against this man. Please read your own words and take them to heart:

"America is a lot closer today to the ideals promised in our Constitution," Murray said. "But our work for social justice, for democracy, and for liberation is not done." (caption for the Juneteenth photo listed above)

"But those opportunities would mean nothing if the basic rights and freedoms of our citizens were undermined by judicial decisions. This debate is also about the legacy we leave. As senators, our legacy is not just in the bills we pass or the laws we change. It’s in the people we approve to interpret those laws. " (http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=203353 - remarks re: the nomination of Patricia Owen to the 5th Circuit Court, dated 30 April 2003)

Please, Senator. Do not do the State of Washington or the United States of America a disservice. Please vote no on Gonzales.

[politics] Just say "No" to torture.

Just say "No" to Gonzales. Simple as that. Do we really want to be remembered as the first generation to officially sanction the use of tactics which we so roundly condemn elsewhere in the world? I always thought we were a better country than that. Even as I grew older and became aware of the gaps in my perception of our nation's history (you know: those little details like genocide, worker exploitation, war crimes, race-baiting, Red-baiting, anti-intellectualism, etc.), I still believed that we were a better nation than that. I still believe it. I must. Please, if you are an American who still believes in the Rule of Law - hell, who still believes in rules at all, write your Senator - urge them to vote "No" on Gonzales. [UPDATE re: my own Senators: Senator Cantwell (D-WA) has already posted a statement on her website that she will vote no on Gonzales. If you're in WA, send her a thank you. Senator Murray (D-WA) has made no such statement; if you're in WA, nag her here.]

[random] And so it has come to pass...

Entropy wins. Damn thermodynamics, anyway! (blows dust off blog index) Heh. Gotten a little stale in here, hasn't it? Not that too many people are reading this or anything ;-) I promise to put a little more energy into this system. Really I do.