Am I romanticizing history? Wasn't there a time in this country when people stood for their beliefs, and when something was blatantly morally wrong, they said so?Waterboarding is torture. The U.S. military knows it, and bans the practice. The U.S. government knows it -- after World War II we prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American prisoners of war.
Yet yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm a man as U.S. Attorney General who would not state that waterboarding is torture. He went as far as to call it "repugnant," but would say no more. Why couldn't he state that if confirmed, he would ban the practice in the future? The talking heads' analysis is that he doesn't want to jeopardize CIA staff who are currently using the method, but I don't buy it. All he has to do is say "from here on out, it won't be used by anyone working for the United States government."
There was a time when the United States was respected around the world as a fair and just country. A nation that truly lived the ideals of democracy. You know, with liberty and justice for all.
I am happy to say that my senators, Mikulski and Cardin, both voted against Mukasey's confirmation.
I am disgusted to report that several presidential hopefuls simply did not vote:
- Clinton
- Obama
- Dodd
- Biden
- McCain
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