If torture stopped in early 2004, how is Obama endangering Americans by banning torture?
May 15, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: There is another part of Col. Lawrence Wilkerson's post at the Washington Note The Truth About Richard Bruce Cheney that deserves greater attention: My investigations have revealed to me — vividly and clearly — that once the Abu Ghraib photographs were made public in the Spring of 2004, the CIA, its contractors,
Torture Was Used to Coerce a Confession About The Non-Existent Link Between al Qaida and Saddam Hussein
May 15, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The picture becomes clearer every day that the Bush torture program was not for the purpose of preventing another imminent attack on the United States (the "ticking time bomb" scenario) or even for acquiring actionable intelligence in the field on the whereabouts of al Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Bush torture program was
Breaking: Cut school funds, increase private school tax credits
May 15, 2009
by David SafierAccording to reports, Jan Brewer is planning to call a special session to increase tax credits for private schools. The details are vague at this point, but the talking point is crystal clear. The state Supreme Court ruled that Arizona's vouchers for disabled students and children living in foster homes were unconstitutional —
Republican legislators losing supporters
May 14, 2009
by David Safier The Star had an editorial today, Slippery slope: State's education reputation at risk. But there's another slippery slope here, and it has nothing to do with education. It's the slope Republicans may be sliding down as they alienate more and more of their natural supporters. If they keep slipping, 2010 could find
Changing the subject?
May 14, 2009
by David SafierI've been watching cable news this afternoon (Warning: watching too much cable news can result in severe attacks of anxiety and rage. Contact your physician if the symptoms last longer than 24 hours — or shut off the damn TV!) The Republicans are trying desperately to reframe the torture debate into a single
Battle lines firming up
May 14, 2009
by David SafierAfter it looked like Brewer was planning to cave to R legislators last week and accept a hack-and-slash budget with no taxes, she issued a press release saying, yes, she still wants a temporary $1 billion per year tax increase. Today, she may have sealed the deal. The Accidental Guv, then the Oscillating
America’s Anti-Torture Tradition
May 14, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: George Washington established the American value that "we do not torture" even in the face of atrocities committed by the British empire on American soil. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. authored this educational opinion America's Anti-Torture Tradition, which was published in the Los Angeles Times in December 2005 (excerpts): Every schoolchild knows that Gen.
Former Governor Jesse Ventura gets it right on torture
May 14, 2009
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura recently was a guest on Larry King Live! (isn't that an oxymoron?) and wasted no time in getting to the torture issue (at 1:20 into the video). Some snippets from Ventura: "We've created our own Hanoi Hilton. We can live with that?" "I would prosecute every person
