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Departments National Issues The Omnibus CYA Act of 2009 The next bill logically should find guilty of a capital crime anyone killed in US custody. And suicide, real or fake, will provide no escape from the law. Under this new regime, al Libi will have convicted himself, a hunger strike will be a guilty plea, and any wise guy who shoots himself in the back of the head while handcuffed in a police car will simply not get away with it. There is also probably no reason to leave the president's preventive detention policy subject to the complaints of human rights groups. An innovation Congress might consider, short of declaring all prisoners "guilty", would be to declare all those preventively detained to be non-humans. In fact, a true Omnibus CYA Act of 2009 would need to include the following additional measures, drawing inspiration from the president's proposal to kill people who might talk: -Descriptions of torture by victims will constitute returning to terrorism and be punished accordingly. -Descriptions of torture by direct participants will be punishable as treason, as will the hearing of any case involving torture by any judge. -Public photos and videos of US torture will be collected and burned on the National Mall, removed from the internet, and their possession and distribution criminalized. -The International Committee of the Red Cross will be listed as a terrorist organization. -Diaries, journals, newspaper and magazine articles, Congressional reports, radio commentaries, books, and blogs documenting US torture will be edited and corrected by a new presidential commission. -Presidential orders, signing statements, Department of Justice memos, and notes from Donald Rumsfeld authorizing torture will be classified and forgotten. -The internet will be closed to independent bloggers so that nobody remembers. -Dick Cheney will be drugged and taken to an undisclosed location. Some of these steps might at first appear extreme, but then so did aggressive war, foreign bases, warrantless spying, mercenary armies, state secrets claims, signing statements, executive orders, lying to congress, executive privilege, assassination squads, unmanned drones, the electric chair, supermax prisons, bankster bailouts, staying in Iraq and Afghanistan and 96 other nations forever and ever and ever, privatized vote counting, triple digit interest rates, secret agencies with secret budgets, rendition, and legalized campaign bribery, and you don't hear too many complaints about any of those things any more, do you? And when you do, the complaints are aimed at changing the status quo, not maintaining it. Similarly, concerns about torture, but not the torturing itself, will soon be a thing of the past. Sure, I've exaggerated and simplified, but do you really expect nothing to be done about the mountains of existing evidence when those in power are moving mountains to block some photos? And do you think our republic will survive acceptance of foreign empire, detaining people without charge, and executing people without a trial? Of course, we COULD snap out of it immediately, splash some cold water on our faces, and compel the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor. Then, if we're really serious about restoring a nation of laws, we'll take the additional steps at that same link, including making prosecutions happen locally, at the state level, and internationally, forcing Congress to impeach Jay Bybee, exposing yet more evidence, demanding that Congress use the Capitol Police to enforce its own subpoenas, passing the State Secrets Protection Act, passing the Lee-Wexler bill for a commission on abuse of power, passing the Baldwin resolution to address all of these issues, and hounding the torture lawyers and doctors and officials out of our universities and professional associations. We've come to our senses and solved crises before. There is no reason we can't solve this one. Our duty is to condemn all speculation as to whether or not we will succeed, and to devote all of our energy to working for success. --- David Swanson is the author of the upcoming book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press. You can pre-order it for a discount price at http://tinyurl.com/daybreakbook |
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Recent National Issues Articles McCain could have meant Less War Healthcare mandate vs. the Constitution A healthy economy Apostle of our inner genius Wars or jobs: decide now Are Americans Too Broken for the Truth to Set Us Free? The school-to-prison pipeline Kucinich circulating privileged resolutions to end wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan National security state still killing John F Kennedy Richard Viguerie calls GOP litmus tests "Well intentioned," but urges replacement of Republican establishment leaders Craziest Obavietghanistan speech moments New civil resistance coalition formed to end the war Anti-Americans Why can't we do to DC what we did to Seattle? They should get a union KSM and MSM The two percent robustness Between hate speech and adoration Pelosi arrested us for asking for healthcare Over 2,200 veterans died in 2008 due to lack of health insurance Isolated incident Come together right now Joel Peresman of the Rock Hall Foundation says the time has come today Between hate speech and adoration Preview of Ramzy Baroud's 'My Father was a Freedom Fighter' Why I am risking arrest for Medicare for all Single-eye vision Did Obama/McCain choice matter? No one else will stop the killing -- Veteran's group to members: Multiply resistance by any peaceful means available Accepting the prize Glen Ford speaks in Columbus Heavy Traffic Who SHOULD Decide About War? Starting Another Year of War in Afghanistan Congress must pass single-payer health care now! U.S. Drug War Priorities in Need of Re-Evaluation Senator Kennedy visits then Cleveland City Councilman Govt-funded reporter urged lynching of Black Congresswoman HEALTH CARE WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE Oligarchy rules the health care debate Six months of immunity Grand theft auto: how Stevie the Rat bankrupted GM The perfect storm The Joint Public-Option Single-Payer United Front Breaking sarcasm: Holder Joins Conyers in Demanding Action If media were any good I've Seen 1,200 Torture Photos California should pay its people in pot How to trap a torture judge A Campaign Proposal for Progressives* Two Ways to Pay As You Go Declaration of Indictment Remove the filibuster from the Senate rules The Emperor's seven signing statements Letter to Obama from a dying friend Honor our hemp-raising patriot heroes Breaking: Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously finds Franken winner Why demand to prosecute torture will grow The Iron Triangle The rise of single-payer health care Trading press events for votes: What should press do? U.S. government threatens to prosecute waterboarding Gutting the health care plan: the scorpion and the Congress Darth Vader Cheney and the next attack Justice for the privileged The Omnibus CYA Act of 2009 We don't need the General Motors Corporation New report casts exclusion of single payer option as a question of democracy and human rights Peace rising Democratic Socialists? Dems Not Half That Good Give workers what they need! Priorities Never Again George & the Water Board 76 members of Congress oppose staying in Afghanistan forever Holder's plans as clear as Gonzales' memory Why isn't Obama turning to the Credit Unions? Connell's sister now doubts plane crash was accident Renters caught in squeeze face eviction Interview with Dr. Margaret Flowers, arrested Tuesday on Capitol Hill, part two Why we risked arrest for single-payer health care Not outraged about torture? Take your torture photos to church day The hounds of heaven Pay to play politics is unacceptable for health care reform It's national Nancy Off the Table Day President Obama's war budget: analyzing the numbers Give everyone healthcare by shutting down insurance companies Torture and treason The wrong torture question The prosecution of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney The prosecution of torturers Rule of law vetoed by President Obama Take heart and have courage Karl Rove still not arrested Hard times for African-American workers Forced patriotism Geo-insanity's latest mutation Changing the rules of the blame game War casualties at home Capitalism's self-inflicted apocalypse MoveOn is not new to supporting war Is this the best we can do? Happy Birthday, Cesar Chavez! Capitalist Incarnate: My interview with a vampire Baseball: More than a man's game Let's truly honor Cesar Chavez A modest proposal Breaking: Peace activists arrested at Pentagon Government stands in the way of financial security of small farmers: NAIS program is source of deep concern A New Deal for American Workers Bill Moyers Journal: Interview with Simon Johnson Join a union, get fired Oregon Plumbers Local Endorses HR 676 Appoint a special prosecutor Kids for cash Washington & Lafayette get stoned & talk marriage An RX for nurses -- and us, too Jobs may decline, unions won't Cross of irony Coffee entrepreneur brewing trouble for George W. Bush Perriello, peace and justice What President Obama should say Truth and healing The problem with truth, reconciliation, and commissions Sit down! Sit down! Abandoning torture, but what about war? ... No intelligent life down here Keeping the Bush era viable Bolsheviks in Seattle? New letter from Leonard Peltier: A hero’s welcome Holding Rove in inherent contempt Missing the train on the recovery package President Obama must free Leonard Peltier Dangerous executive orders Childish things A New Day The shirt off my mother's back Not to remain silent Be the peace For the health of all: Camp Hope Bill Richardson - Kissinger-American The future of civilization Camp hope holds Obama to "Change" pledge Read National Issues Articles by Year: |
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