From Democracy Now!:

Report: Top Admin Officials Approved Assault, Waterboarding of CIA Prisoners
ABC News is reporting senior Bush administration officials personally discussed and approved how top al-Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the CIA. The group agreed on controversial interrogation techniques including physical assault, sleep deprivation, and waterboarding. The officials were all members of the Principals Committee on the National Security Council. They included Vice President Cheney, former National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft. It’s the first time senior White House officials have been linked to an explicit group authorization of the CIA interrogation program. One top official recounted Ashcroft was the lone cabinet member to raise doubts. The official quoted Ashcroft as saying, “Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly.” In the summer of 2004, amidst the controversy over the Abu Ghraib photos and the withdrawal of a controversial memo approving harsh interrogations, the Principals Committee again approved new techniques on a CIA prisoner captured in Asia. Condoleezza Rice is said to have provided decisive support, reportedly telling CIA officials, “This is your baby. Go do it.”

Nothing terribly uplifting or even remotely spiritual this time; just an observation I wanted to make.

This past week in an interview Dick Cheney was asked about polls showing an overwhelming opposition to the War in Iraq.  His response was:  "So?"

His reply reminded me of another corpulent politician from a different era; a guy named Boss Tweed.

"George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues."

For those of you who might have missed this, take a guess.

I am concerned.  The Guardian is reporting Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran -- which means Condi Rice’s diplomatic approach has lost favor.  And in the meantime, the Senate has voted favorably on a resolution put forward by Joe Lieberman declaring that Iran is committing acts of war against our country by attacking our soldiers in Iraq – see  Chris Floyd’s Next Target: Iran; Democratic Senators Haven’t Learned a Thing.

According to Chris Floyd, all of the Democratic Senators who are candidates for the Presidency (Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama, and Joe Biden) voted for Lieberman's resolution.  This does not bode well – as things are, I would expect a Democratic cave-in should Bush launch an attack on Iran.

Irony.  What I see as a triple-step backwards is coinciding with a step forward -- US House backs Iraq withdrawal (however not by a veto-proof margin).

Having a hard time coming up with something to write this morning. Damned summer doldrums, anyway.

In the meantime, Zippy seems appropriate this morning:

Oh, no he din't:

WASHINGTON - President Bush commuted the sentence of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Monday, sparing him from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case.

Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, according to a senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

Bush's move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That decision put the pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby's allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

In light of this action, I propose we amend Romans 13:

Therefore whoever resists authority (except high-ranking aides to Dick Cheney) resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (except those who practice the "dark arts of politics"). For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad conduct of those without connections to the President. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good serve Dick Cheney well, and you will receive its approval...

Let the White House know what you think.

Pee Ess: use this as a surrogate Coffee Hour thread until such time as a real CH shows up. First person to make a witty comparison to Paris Hilton gets a recommend!

Rector Ed Bacon of All Saints Episcopal Church gave a remarkable July 4th Sunday sermon!  At the end of this 2007 church year Rector Bacon has come to the conclusion that judiciary committees in both the House and the Senate should begin impeachment investigations on Vice President Cheney.

The video of this sermon is posted here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...

I emailed mine yesterday to urge him to support HR 333.  It’s not the first time I have done so – but impeachment is in the air and, given the recent stonewalling over document production and flagrant disregard of federal document retention requirements by the Vice President’s office, it is time for it to come to a head.  With this much secrecy and the known untruths that led to the war in Iraq, who knows what all is being hidden from the American people.  But it is a fair assumption that, whatever it is, it is not healthy for our Constitutional system.

I emailed my Congressman after reading David Michael Green’s essay on CounterPunch, Freedom Ain’t for Free; The Founding Fathers Never Met Dick Cheney.  The essay can also be found on the author’s website, The Regressive Antidote.  This essay is rich in quotable parts – you may want to share your favorite parts in the comments so dip in and read it all.

So, let’s begin with Mr. Cheney:

For the past three years I have been involved with a wonderful organization called ICUJP: Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, a group of people who came together after September 11th to say that religious communities should not be blessing war and violence.  Some who blog here might know the Reverend George Regas from our organization - for those who don't, here's a copy of a sermon he gave at the National Cathedral that upset a few on the religious right.

TONIGHT at 7:00 p.m., ICUJP will be hosting a talk at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles – the question we will be asking is:

Should George Bush and Dick Cheney be Impeached? What are the Moral Implications of Impeachment?

For the past three years I have been involved with a wonderful organization called ICUJP: Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, a group of people who came together after September 11th to say that religious communities should not be blessing war and violence. Some who blog here might know the Reverend George Regas from our organization - for those who don't, here's a copy of a sermon he gave at the National Cathedral that upset a few on the religious right.

This coming Monday, June 11th  at 7:00 p.m., ICUJP will be hosting a talk at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles – the question we will be asking is:

Should George Bush and Dick Cheney be Impeached? What are the moral implications of Impeachment?

Last week, Steve Clemmons wrote an essay that was widely quoted and commented upon,  Cheney Attempting to Constrain Bush's Choices on Iran Conflict: Staff Engaged in Insubordination Against President Bush.  The gist of it can be found in this excerpt – but please read it all.

The GOP hates faith...if it's not conservative Christianity, apparently:

House Republicans said that Democrats should retract an invitation to let the nation's largest Islamic civil liberties organization use a Capitol conference room for a seminar.

The House Republican Conference referred to the Council on American-Islamic Relations as "terrorist apologists" and called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) to cancel the forum scheduled for today.

"It should be a concern to ordinary Republicans that the party is being viewed as a reservoir of anti-Muslim hate," responded Ibrahim Hooper, the Muslim group's national communications director .

The council has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada and says its mission is "to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding."

Here's CAIR's offense:

CAIR TO HOLD CAPITOL HILL PANEL ON GLOBAL OPINION AND U.S. POLICY

Washington Daybook

SPONSOR: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) holds a discussion on "Global Attitudes on Islam-West Relations."

PARTICIPANTS: Steven Kull of the Program on International Policy Attitudes; and Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR

DATE: March 13, 2007, Noon - 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: H-137, U.S. Capitol

Uh-huh. So let's get this straight.

Sending war-mongers and apocalypticists before AIPAC=patriotism.

Inviting CAIR to Capitol Hill to find ways of improving the US image abroad=apologizing for terrorism.

Good to know.