In This Together?

Why would the ACLU want to attack itself?

On Face the Nation yesterday Peter King demonstrated the typical face of the Republican Party as of late. The face of a stupid, ignorant, name-calling bully. Would it have been too much for guest host Harry Smith to have pointed out to King that the ACLU consists of Americans? Just because members of the ACLU have different opinions than King does not mean that they are not Americans. This is what King is implying by saying that the American Civil Liberties Union is "tearing down the United States." Why does King need to resort to arrogance and insults? Is it because his arguments and knowledge of the facts are so weak? Why doesn’t King have faith in our system of justice? Also, why does King think that the only place the detainees can be tried is either New York or Virginia? What about an international court? What about the Hague?

From Rep. Peter King: ACLU Is "Tearing Down The United States" by Michelle Levi:

Representative Peter King (R-N.Y.) said that by opposing military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay and by advocating for the release of photographs of torture committed upon detainees, the American Civil Liberties Union is "tearing down the United States," during a heated debate with the ACLU's executive director, on Face the Nation Sunday.

The Obama administration's decision to go forward with the trials of terror suspects held at Gitmo, and to try to block the declassification of photographs of abuse, were flashpoints this week, with the president being accused by some of reneging on campaign promises to roll back the Bush administration's policies on interrogation and the shutdown of the American prison at Guantanamo Bay.

King admitted that "in every war there are going to be abuses," but added that he is not sure "what purpose the ACLU serves in constantly tearing down the United States, constantly attacking our government."

Anthony Romero makes so much sense to me. King claims Romero has “venom” for the President. I do not see it. The only venom I see is leaking from King, as if it is impossible for him to contain it. King says that there “is no CSI guy in Afghanistan” as if that is supposed to mean something. It is very hard for me to comprehend why so many dislike the ACLU so much.

Affirmations

It seems that the further right that you move on the political spectrum the more likely it is that you will find people who hate (yes, actually hate with a vengeance) the ACLU and secular humanists. As for the ACLU, why would anyone possibly be against civil liberties, freedom, and justice? As for secular humanists:

The Affirmations of Humanism:
A Statement of Principles

* We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.
* We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation.
* We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life.
* We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.
* We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state.
* We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.
* We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.
* We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.
* We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.
* We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.
* We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.
* We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.
* We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.
* We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.
* We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion.
* We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.
* We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.
* We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.
* We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others.
* We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.
* We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.

Why would anyone possibly be against secular humanists?

Bicycles, Maps, And Helmets

From Democracy Under Surveillance by Michael Scherer

As I noted yesterday, a document obtained by the Colorado ACLU shows that the Denver Police had requested a widespread effort to gather intelligence on such normal activity as people with "bicycles," "maps," and "helmets," since all three devices could be used by violent protesters. (Recently, a Denver activist who had gathered bricks to do masonry work on her home was interviewed by police on suspicion of gathering projectiles for protests.) The end of the same memo also included this alarming notation: First responders who "discovered the above mentioned" were asked to contact Denver Police and the CIAC, a joint fusion center for information sharing between local authorities and the Department of Homeland Security.

Read more here.

Endless War

From Reject Endless War & Torture Cover-Up:

After years of litigation, the Supreme Court recently ruled in Boumediene v. Bush that detainees held at Guantánamo have a right to challenge their detention through habeas corpus -- the ancient freedom that protects people from being thrown in prison illegally, with no help, no end in sight and no due process.

Habeas proceedings could allow detainees to bring up the fact that the evidence that the government has against them came from hearsay, or even torture and abuse. Courts could also release people who are detained indefinitely without charge. Attorney General Michael Mukasey wants to make sure neither of these things happen.

Read the rest here.

Take Action Against The Immoral Bush Administration

From ACLU Calls for Independent Counsel After Torture Admissions; Will Anyone Pay Attention? by Jonathan Stein:

I don't quite understand how the media let out a collective yawn when it heard the news that top Bush Administration officials (Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Powell, Ashcroft, Tenet) personally signed off on "enhanced interrogation techniques" that included pushing, slapping, sleep deprivation, waterboarding, and other tactics. Waterboarding is torture, remember?

I'm further confused by the fact that the media remained passive after President Bush admitted that he knew and approved of what his principals were doing. This should have been huge news — the tactics the Administration's top officials approved probably violated the Geneva Conventions, after all — and yet this was less important than "Dog Finds Way to Owner's Funeral"?

Call on your members of Congress to demand an independent prosecutor.