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Holder Just Made Me a Promise

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By David Swanson

As Attorney General Eric Holder left an appropriations subcommittee hearing on Thursday I spoke loudly from the third row as he prepared to leave the room:

“We need a special prosecutor for torture, Mr. Attorney General. Americans like the rule of law. The rule of law for everybody.”

He replied as he approached and walked by, surrounded by bodyguards:

“And you will be proud of your country.”

I was joined by others in replying simultaneously:

“Yes, we read more

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Liveblogging Politico Forum on Climate Change at Starbucks on Capitol Hill

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7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday: Mindy Lubber from CERES is one of the speakers, formerly at EPA; also Brad Figel global director of govt. affairs for Nike formerly at Senate finance committee (holding up a “sustainable shoe” and supposedly wanting to push Congress to pass “meaningful” climate legislation this year); (Rep. John Dingell seems to be late).

7:15 Lubber wants to address global warming right away, says “financial leaders” want this, just like Greenpeace read more

Liveblogging Politico Forum on Climate Change at Starbucks on Capitol Hill Read More »

When Our Pundits Excuse Torture

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By David Swanson

While much of elite US punditry is backing away from torture, Jeff Jacoby is claiming to have opposed it but to now find it excusable. His Boston Globe column takes a very “balanced” approach. He both opposes torture under all circumstances AND excuses it given the current circumstances:

“I contended that the cruel abuse of terrorist detainees was something we could never countenance – not just because torture is illegal, unreliable, and a threat to the read more

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Take Heart and Have Courage

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By David Swanson

We’ve pushed long and hard to put accountability, impeachment, prosecution, and the restoration of congressional power on the American table, and they’ve all just landed with a thud and splatter of gravy and cranberry dressing. So, eat up, take heart, and prepare to work harder than we have over the past several frustrating years of path breaking and pressure building.

Impeachment, specifically of torture memo author turned lifetime federal judge Jay Bybee ( read more

Take Heart and Have Courage Read More »

ImpeachBybee.org

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ImpeachBybee.org Open for what to do and why.

CLICK HERE to ask Congress to impeach Jay Bybee.

The New York Times finally wants somebody impeached and it’s Jay Bybee.

A Spanish judge is seeking an indictment of Jay Bybee.

Jay Bybee’s “legal” memos were thrown out by the Bush administration.

Jay Bybee signed memos authorizing torture.

Jay Bybee is a federal judge with a lifetime appointment.

Lawyers have been held accountable for the crime of pretending to legalize crimes before, read more

ImpeachBybee.org Read More »

Personal Torture Laws: Your Tax Dollars at Work

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By David Swanson

On August 1, 2002, then-Assistant Attorney General of the United States Jay Bybee sent an 18-page official memorandum from the Office of Legal Counsel to the Acting General Counsel of the CIA John Rizzo. Such memos are treated as laws within our government, not opinions, not theories, not briefings, but laws. They are secret laws, but in many cases there’s not much risk of us ordinary schmucks who don’t know the laws violating them, at least not without also violating read more

Personal Torture Laws: Your Tax Dollars at Work Read More »

Congressman Nadler Asks for Special Prosecutor for Torture

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Congressman Jerrold Nadler has just publicly asked that the Attorney General appoint a special prosecutor. Please THANK HIM, and please ask him and ask your congress member to jointly send to Eric Holder the letter that Nadler and 55 other congress members sent to Michael Mukasey requesting a special prosecutor last summer, or an updated version thereof.

Here is a release from Nadler’s office:

CONGRESSMAN JERROLD NADLER
8th Congressional District of New York
Nadler Applauds Obama read more

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Obama Protecting Bush from Spain?

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The official story is that Spain has decided not to prosecute Bush’s torture lawyers. Yet the known facts suggest something else entirely.

1-We know that the prosecutor who initiated this effort wants to prosecute Bush. He wrote about it months ago. We know that he and his colleagues see targeting the lawyers first as a step in Bush’s direction and more likely to move forward than a case that starts at the top.

2-We know from Scott Horton’s reporting that Spain and the Obama read more

Obama Protecting Bush from Spain? Read More »