The President and Vice President of the United States of America, together with dozens of members of their Administration, should be held to account for the very same indictments prosecuted at Nuremberg.

Whether or not our commitment to Justice is great enough, right now, here in the United States, Sands tells us that prosecutions are being prepared on the international stage.

Personally, I share the outrage and urgency demonstrated by those who have even attempted to subject Bush and Cheney to “citizen’s arrest.”

Marjorie Cohn’s testimony before the Committee, alongside Sands, was no less compelling.

I dearly hope the “hearings” on these matters (at the very least) do not end here.

Thank you, thank you, for this blog post!

In the most daunting era of our history since the Revolution, Lincoln attempted to appeal to the best we might be. Bush has “gauged our weaknesses” and brutalized them. He appeals, instead, to our lowest fears and petty resentments. That may reflect who he is. It may also be that Shrub is a cunning animal who is not as smart as he thinks, but smarter than we give him credit for, which is itself a victory of cunning over strength.

If Dick Cheney controls Bush’s actions, it’s in large measure Bush agrees with him. He thinks he’s being a manager by “delegating” the work to a “subordinate” like Cheney, so long as he stays out of the limelight. In exchange for the power of the Presidency, Dick finds that an offer he can’t refuse.

***

One reason the differences between Lincoln and Bush are important is this. Despite Lincoln’s prominent advocacy for fair treatment, prisoners on both sides were treated horribly. The “fair play” attitude early in the war gave way to retribution, punishment, starvation and mass death. Revulsion at that outcome is a principal reason we have the Geneva Conventions.*

Imagine the opportunity for mistreatment if Lincoln had said in private to his generals that all Southern prisoners were “fair game”. The South would have responded in kind. Both sides would have actively brutalized their prisoners, denying them food, shelter and medical care, resulting in even greater mass death and burning resentment.

Far fewer brothers, sons and fathers would have limped home. The “War of Northern Aggression” that’s been on simmer ever since would have boiled over more than once. George Bush is planting the seeds for that outcome throughout the Middle East, uncaring about the harvest that only others will reap. John McCain? He doesn’t think Bush has gone far enough; he longs (for others) to be tested in the coming whirlwind.

* The literature on this topic is considerable. A good place to start:
http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v02/v02p137_Weber.html

If President Obama opts for a “truth and reconciliation commission” rather than an all-out prosecution for law-breakers, I hope that the Democratic collaborators are outed as well as all Republican miscreants. I’ve been a Democrat for life, but I have grown increasingly ashamed of my Party.

Bob in HI

Leaving aside the potential for delusional sadism brought on from too much exposure to fictional television

Whoa, it turns out we might need that censorship of “violins on television” [to quote Emily Latella] — not to protect our children, but to protect us from what “violence” [i.e., 24] plants in the twisted minds of Addington, Rumsfeld, et. al.

I’ll bet 24 is on all of their TiVos.

Bob in HI, where it is now time for breakfast.

http://www.slate.com/id/2100899/

“They said he had a dismissive, if not derisive, attitude toward the Geneva Conventions,” Scott Horton, a lawyer who was approached by six outraged JAG officers last year, told the Chicago Tribune. “One of them said he calls it ‘law in the service of terror.’ ”

wow, it’s amazing that you have time for anything else.

p.s. offer is open-ended, email me any time wrt to any downloads. many, many thanks for all you do.