While we focus on the immoral “torture” part of the new torture bill, we’re missing a more insidious little tid-bit: removing the right to a trial.

In England, way back in 1679, it was made illegal to stuff people in prison without charges and leave them there to rot.

This was done because imprisonment had become the government’s favorite means of suppression. Parliament thought this was a really bad idea, mostly because the peasantry had become so fed up with being silenced in this way, that the Lords who ran Parliament were in fear for their lives. So Parliament wised-up and passed a law to stop the practice.

[updated to include Magna Carta info]

Produce the Body

Note: In the following excerpt, I’m removing the long lists of people to whom one can appleal, the lists of who can make appeals on one’s behalf, lists of who can be served a writ, and shortening other lists, such as “warrant or warrants” and removing some adjectival expressions to shorten the text and make it easier to understand. The full text is available here: http://www.constitution.org/eng/habcorpa.htm

Note 2: “Habeus Corpus” below means “show me the defendant” (or literally, “produce the body”)

… it shall and may be lawful to and for the person or persons so committed or detained … or any one on his or their behalf, to appeal or complain to … any one of his Majesty’s justices … (4) and the said … justices… are hereby authorized and required … to award and grant an habeas corpus…, (5) to be directed to the officer or officers in whose custody the party so committed or detained shall be, returnable immediate  before the said … justice; (6) and upon service thereof … the officer shall … bring such prisoner or prisoners before the said … justice … true causes of the commitment … (7) and thereupon within two days after the party shall be brought before them, the … justice … shall discharge the said prisoner from his imprisonment, taking his or their recognizance, with one or more surety or sureties, in any sum according to their discretions, having regard to the quality of the prisoner and nature of the offense, for his or their appearance in the court of the … city or place where … the offense was committed, or in such other court where the said offense is properly cognizable … (8) unless it shall appear … that the party so committed is detained upon a legal … warrant … for such matters or offenses for the which by the law the prisoner is not bailable.

Or, in short: Every prisoner must have his or her day in court. Every prisoner should be able to defend themselves against accusations – just in case those accusations turn out to be nothing more than the spite of someone who doesn’t like you.

Prior to that, the Magna Carta, in 1225, had granted the same:

To any man whom we have deprived or dispossessed of lands, castles, liberties, or rights, without the lawful judgement of his equals, we will at once restore these.

This concept has been recognized as a basic element of civilized societies for 781 Years.

In dictatorships, the “Writ of Habeus Corpus” does not exist – prisoners have no right to trial, no right to defend themselves. Heck, they don’t even have to be accused of any crime. They can simply be tossed into some dingy hell-hole because they pissed off the wrong person. In such countries, the government gets in the habit of “disappearing” people it doesn’t like.

Until now, we in the United States have firmly believed in freedom. Until now, we have believed the fact that people shouldn’t be thrown in prison unless they had done something wrong. Until now, we have believed that everyone has the right to defend themselves in a court of law. Until now, we have believed that people who didn’t commit any crime should be allowed to live free.

Until Now.

For hundreds of years, people have given up their lives, their limbs, their youth to defend those rights.

But now those who, upon taking office, swear to protect those rights against ALL threats have decided to turn their backs on freedom:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Those we trusted to care for the most precious element of our democracy – our freedom – are ready to sign it away.

Cowardice pushes them to want to appear “tough.”

They are not brave enough to keep our democracy alive.

The fertile field of democracy, first planted 230 years ago, has been abandoned to a harvest of fear.

[cross posted elsewhere]

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I don’t know all the details, but it appears that the Republican holdouts on the torture issue, McCain, Graham, and Warner, have folded on Bush’s proposals regarding detention, treatment, and trial of alleged terrorists.

The Post has a summary of the so-called compromise, but it’s hard to see what Bush gave up.

Here are what look like the key points:

1. Bush gets an agreement to provide a specific definition of the acts defined as violating the Geneva Convention. This is something that human rights activists were opposing because it gives the interrogators the ability to go right up to the line, and tailor any techniques to evade the protections of the law. This is not possible under the Geneva Convention’s prohibition of outrages against personal dignity.

2. Bush gets a total pass on any past violations of the Geneva Conventions.

3. Detainees don’t get to see the evidence against them, although they may get to see redacted “summaries”. As a trial lawyer for more than twenty-five years, I can tell you that summaries are no substitute for the actual evidence that is introduced against you.

4. There appears to be no protection for illegal detention. I can’t tell what the compromise does to habeas corpus, but from what I can tell it seems to be out the window.

5. A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said in an interview that Bush essentially got what he asked for in a different formulation that allows both sides to maintain that their concerns were addressed. “We kind of take the scenic route, but we get there,” the official said.
This doesn’t necessarily prove it, since the Administration is obviously interested in coming out looking like a winner, but given the vehemence of Bush’s opposition earlier in the week it certainly suggests that they think they won.

And here’s the kicker: Democrats sounded a cautious note about the Republican accord, calling attention to the past Republican division rather than taking a position on the compromise.

We have to fight this hard. Where is the outrage?

Call your Senators today!

There are no words:

Click on the image, get over there and make sure your volume is on.

The latest press release from the General:

The Honorable J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker of the House of Representatives
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington , DC 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker,

As you are aware, the cornerstone issue of my candidacy for Vermont ’s U.S. House seat is real ethics reform in Congress. I believe that Congressional ethics is a non-partisan issue and I look forward to working with both parties in Congress to strengthen existing rules.

Congress must prove it is serious about honesty, integrity and accountability in Washington . Therefore, I am asking you to expel Representative Bob Ney from the House of Representatives immediately.

Representative Ney will plead guilty to federal corruption charges on October 13. His behavior has proved him unworthy of the public’s trust. By expelling Representative Ney from the House of Representatives you will send a strong message that the leadership of Congress condemns any unethical behavior by members regardless of party affiliation.

I hope that you will act swiftly to resolve this matter.

Sincerely,

Martha T. Rainville

And what a limb it is that Martha has gone out on. Calling for an admitted corrupt felon to be thrown out of office. What’s next for this maverick (who not too long ago had no qualms about accepting money from, shall we say, the “ethically challenged”)? Perhaps tomorrow, she’ll send a press release expressing the opinion:

• …that Stalin was a bad man.
• …that puppies should not be thrown in front of oncoming trains.
• …that alcohol should not be served to first graders.
• …that torture is wrong.

Do’h! Well… maybe that last one has some, y’know…wiggle room. From Vermont Woman:

She categorically condemned the use of torture, but when asked if she believed that the U.S. had participated in or condoned torture since 9/11, she said that all she knew was in the newspapers

…and a couple paragraphs down the page…

“But I think we need to be careful, as we enter a new era [where] the threat is coming from very amorphous terror groups, that we don’t, by instituting the Geneva Conventions itself, put ourselves at a disadvantage.”

She’s really getting the hang of this politician thing, isn’t she?

(I’m going ahead and front paging this, as it includes input from readers of this site and elsewhere. For my part, I won some and lost some, in terms of content… I might elaborate in the comments. What was most important to me, though, was the statement of principles. A big part of me wanted to see the platform end right there so it could fit on a postcard. Overall, as a member of the committee that worked on this document, I ain’t doin’ backflips over it, but I feel pretty good about it. There are a lot of different views in the Dem party – left, right and everything in between, but the basic set of principles which guide those views exemplified in this intro are solid. In fact, there was only one attempt to modify them (that was defeated) at the convention, and that says something. – promoted by odum)

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

Vermont Democrats believe the rights to health care, food, shelter, clean air and water, education, privacy, justice, peace and equality, the right to organize and of free speech are essential to a robust democracy. These rights are not negotiable.

Based on these principles, we stand against torture, bigotry and discrimination, forced childbirth, corruption, and the establishment of state-sponsored religion or religious doctrine.

We believe that all citizens have a responsibility to be informed, engaged participants of our democracy. We demand that all elected officials fully adhere to their oaths of office and defend the Constitutions of the United States and Vermont at all times, using all lawful means available to them through their office.

We expect elected leaders at all levels to adhere to national and international laws and treaties, as required by the Constitution, and to govern compassionately and with fiscal integrity and transparency.

As a society, we must work toward economically and environmentally sustainable communities to protect the future of our planet.

Everything we do – every policy, law, and regulation – must consider the effects of our actions on the lives and futures of the world’s children, and their children.

A. GOVERNMENT:

Government should be effective and responsive in protecting and enhancing the public interest, but cannot be the answer to all problems. Government provides basic services, protection, stability, justice and equal opportunity and should do so with efficiency and sensitivity.
All citizens are entitled to transparency, fairness, responsibility and accountability in government at all levels.

1. The War in Iraq:
a. We condemn the false claims that justify the war in Iraq, and the failure of current foreign policy to consider the historical, cultural and religious forces in the region.
b. We are committed to a sensible and clear strategy to bring those who still serve home from Iraq quickly and with dignity.
c. We are committed to an active policy to cooperate with other nations to support a financial and political commitment to stabilizing and securing Iraq.
d. All military personnel, veterans and their families must be recognized for their courage and service and are entitled to full medical, emotional and financial support.

2. Foreign policy:
a. We are committed to establishing a sensible security strategy that serves to reunite us as a nation by respecting the advice of commanders and other professionals with a goal of rebuilding our credibility and strength in the world.
b. Keeping our citizens secure from attack from without and within our borders, while respecting civil and privacy rights, is a major responsibility of government that we uphold.
c. We support the local-emergency-response mission of the Vermont National Guard and believe that they are not and should not be a regular unit of the U.S. military services, nor should they be used to advance the political agenda of any administration.

3. Sound Fiscal Policy:
a. We believe that sound fiscal policy is vital to the responsible operation of government and the maintenance of social and environmental programs.
b. Citizens and businesses should contribute to our local, county, state and national expenses in proportion to their capacity and income. We support progressive taxation, responsible spending, and the creation of protections against revenue shortfalls.
c. We will use resources wisely, avoiding harmful program cuts when revenues are down. Our social programs must be viable within the ability of the state to leverage its resources to pay for them.
d. We stand against corruption in business and in government at all levels. Government officeholders and their appointees must be accountable to taxpayers for their ethical and fiscal actions.
e. The contracting out of services is too often used as an indirect way to reduce the number of public employees, and is done with the false promise of saving money for taxpayers. Where state employees have the expertise and skill to do the work required at reasonable cost, we will avoid outsourcing jobs. Favoritism and no-bid contracts, to name two examples, are ethically and fiscally irresponsible.

4. Managing State Government:
a. We are committed to consistent, fair enforcement of regulations and to improvement in coordination among state agencies.
b. Good government means looking for creative, smart ways to make government run more efficiently, more cost effectively, and in a more coordinated fashion. This process must involve state employees as well as management and those who receive services and interact with state agencies, including local government bodies.
c. Vermont state government needs to work more closely with town government.
d. Government needs to be transparent by adhering to all open meeting, and open records laws.

5. Campaign Finance Reform and Public Financing:
We are committed to campaign finance reforms, including public financing, that will be upheld through court challenges.

6. Voting Rights:
a. Voting is both the responsibility and right of each Vermonter. Voting is the foundation on which a free society stands, thus we support measures to encourage all citizens to exercise their right and fulfill their responsibility to vote including same-day voter registration.
b. We are committed to changing the Vermont Constitution to promptly accomplish the election of statewide officers to fairly reflect the will of the electorate when no candidate receives over 50 percent of the votes cast.
c. We insist upon free and fair elections with accountability for all electoral votes with clear paper trails to verify voter choices in voting machines.

B. BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES:

We believe that the areas of education, health care, housing, and other essential human services are essential components of healthy Vermont communities.

1. Children and Childcare:
a. Our children and their needs will be considered when crafting all programs, policies and regulations.
b. We are committed to creating affordable, quality childcare.

2. Education:
a. Because public education is essential to democracy and freedom, we will provide equal opportunities for a quality public education to all Vermonters. These opportunities extend to early childhood education, affordable and accessible higher education, and continuing education for adults.
b. We support the existing law that currently provides for public high school choice, as well as community-based public funding for non-sectarian schools in communities that do not have their own public schools.
c. We condemn the administration’s current implementation of No Child Left Behind and support the repeal of the act.
d. We demand that the federal government fully fund any mandates for education.
e. The goal of the educational system should be to educate students to become informed, thoughtful citizens, productive workers, and caring members of their communities.  We encourage innovative approaches designed to improve the quality of education and school accountability.

3. Health Care:
a. We believe that every human being – every child, adolescent and every adult – must have access to appropriate, quality medical care.
b. We are committed to reducing costs and improving services with a health care system where every Vermonter is covered with access to health care, prescription drugs and long-term care without regard to employment.
c. The system must offer a choice of health care providers, be based on ability to pay, and be accountable to the public for financial performance and quality of service.
d. We will explore a single-payer health care system, and the treatment of chronic conditions through prevention and early intervention. Catamount health care is a significant step toward the realization of these goals.

4. Aging population:
a. Significant demographic changes in our nation and state will dramatically change the context of our social needs and economic reality into the future. With Vermont’s over 65 population doubling in the next decade, we must prepare for the impact of a shrinking proportion of the population in the workforce.
b. We will strive to provide for the health, security, and social well being of our seniors with compassion, so that Vermonters can live with independence, grace and dignity.

5. Crime Prevention:
We will protect all our citizens and communities by focusing on the causes of crime and prevention through education, drug treatment, and deterrence.

6. Housing:
a. We will work to promote home ownership and housing for all through the construction of affordable housing and moderately priced homes as well as housing that is accessible to the elderly and people with disabilities. We will work to uphold minimum housing standards throughout the state.
b. We are committed to restoring funding for Section 8 and other programs to subsidize low-income rental housing.

7. Human Services:
We have an obligation to provide services that protect the well-being and preserve the dignity of Vermonters in need. We will constantly seek to improve the responsiveness and quality of Human Services programs.

C. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS:

We stand for the separation of powers among the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of government as defined in the Constitution, held to account by a free press and media. We support individual liberty and the community of citizens caring for and about each other. We stand against torture, the use of secret prisons, the detention of people without charge or judicial rights, and warrantless monitoring, searches, and seizures.

1. Equality Before the Law:
a. Great social progress has been made toward this national goal, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, over the last decades towards a more just society. We acknowledge that the goals of the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, the gay rights movement, and the labor movement, have not yet been realized.
b. We reject efforts to reverse progress toward a more just society. We will work toward continued advancement on these fronts and act unapologetically with affirmative action when necessary.
c. We support the addition of equal rights amendments to the United States and Vermont Constitutions and the protection of all citizens, regardless of race, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, military service, or creed.

2. Health Care:
We believe, as do most of the industrialized nations of the world, that health care is a basic human right without regard to employment. We will continue to develop innovative strategies to provide quality, affordable universal health care, and reasonably priced prescription medications for all Americans.

3. Reproductive Education and Choice:
a. We believe in the right to seek and receive complete, accurate and science-based information on family planning, pregnancy services, and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
b. We reaffirm the universal right of women to make decisions regarding abortion and other reproductive health issues, free from harassment and interference.

4. Workers’ Rights:
a. We believe that government must ensure the rights of employees. We support the right to organize a union, bargain collectively, and to work free from discrimination in a safe, healthy and fair environment.
b. We support the enforcement of all federal, state, county and municipal laws that protect workers.

5. Civil Unions:
We continue to support Vermont’s Civil Unions law and full, equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered couples.

6. Native Americans:
We will insure the dignity, individuality, and cultural distinctiveness of Vermont’s Native American peoples and support the formal recognition of tribal status.

D. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY:

We believe economic opportunity in Vermont should be available to all its citizens. Business, government, labor and environmental groups must be collectively responsible for incorporating Vermont values to build economic opportunity for all.

1. Economic Development and Job Creation:
a. We will support efforts to create jobs that pay a livable wage, provide for a secure retirement, and occur in safe and healthy environments.  We will support jobs that provide workers with the right to organize, collectively bargain livable wages and benefits, and improve the standard of living for Vermont and American workers.  We support the development and growth of businesses of all sizes, with a focus on small businesses. We will pursue incentives to help small businesses, which are committed and connected to Vermont, especially in the areas of the state where the local economy is struggling.
b. Addressing the health care crisis and the spiraling cost of energy in Vermont is a critical part of sound economic development strategy.
c. We oppose the elimination of the federal inheritance tax, which is leading to the concentration of the nation’s wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer families, now and into the future.  This is a manifest danger to a democratic society.  We support the use of a federal inheritance tax with a large deductible so that most Americans, family farms, and businesses will be unaffected by the tax, but the concentration of wealth is prevented.

2. Tax Cuts/Deficit:
a. The federal tax cuts of the last six years have disproportionately benefited the wealthiest citizens and corporate taxpayers while the resulting deficits are used to justify cuts in vital programs that benefit the majority of Americans.  We will work to reverse the negative impact of those cuts on Vermonters while challenging, where feasible, the policies that turned budget surpluses into debts for our children and grandchildren.
b. We are committed to returning to a policy of fiscal responsibility with taxation based on ability to pay, investment in infrastructure and full funding for programs that support working Vermonters and the vulnerable in our society.

3. Job Displacement:
a. We will work against the migration of jobs to other countries by working for a trade policy that protects the environment, workers’ rights, and the health of local communities around the world and promotes the creation of jobs that pay a livable wage in Vermont and America.
b. We will fight against the outsourcing and privatization of jobs to non-union environments, off-shoring to other countries, and to employers that ignore the rights of workers, adversely impact the economies of local communities, and fail to protect the environment.

4. Agriculture and Forestry:
a. Agriculture and forestry are the historical and cultural foundation of Vermont and continues to shape our character as a people who hold land precious. It is central to our existence and our economy. Thriving family farms are vital to the continued success of our economy.
b. We will create programs that provide economic stability, encourage diversification, promote value-added enterprises, and foster environmental responsibility.

5. Diverse and Sustainable Economy:
a. We are committed to a diversely developed, stable economy and support broadening the spectrum of economic sectors to encourage entrepreneurial enterprises that create opportunity, meaningful work, and wealth.
b. The growing concentration of power and wealth by multinational corporations must be limited. The needs of Vermonters must come first.

6. Communications:
a. We support the preservation of net neutrality on the internet as the basis of access to the most diverse information, opinion, and artistic resources.
b. We are committed to promoting universal broadband telecommunications services statewide.
c. We support diversity in the ownership of media outlets and believe broadcast licensees should afford reasonable opportunity for discussion of conflicting views on matters of public importance.

7. Job Training:
a. We are committed to public and private investment that will provide job training to Vermonters to compete in the global economy.
b. Colleges and universities can propel our society into greater prosperity and are important to local economies throughout the state. We are committed to supporting these institutions with increased funding, and other material support.

8. Livable Wage and Equal Pay:
a. A Livable Wage is the simple decency owed to all citizens by employers. If all employers paid a living wage, the cost of state-provided supports, including food stamps, would be drastically reduced. Vermont employees are entitled to a livable wage and a secure retirement.
b. Childcare, health care and fully funded pension benefits are important components of compensation.
c. Equal work must be recognized with equal pay.

9. Regulatory Review:
a. We will review economic development programs in order to assess their successful components, to provide accountability, and to streamline the processes when possible while preserving the right of public input and protecting the public good.
b. We will work for organizational changes that create links among agencies to foster close working partnerships in policy and economic development.

E. SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT:

Strong environmental protection is vital to a healthy economy. We are committed to cleaning up our air, water, and land and to addressing global climate change as the major environmental and economic challenge of our time. We respect private property rights while remaining aware of the value of a healthy environment in enhancing our economy, public health, and quality of life. We are committed to transparency when drafting environmental legislation and to the rigorous enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations.

1. Sprawl:
We will encourage Vermont’s working landscape and quality of life while encouraging economic vitality in community centers. We support measures intended to discourage wasteful land consumption; promote downtowns and village centers; and conserve farmland and forestland.

2. Environmental Protection:
a. We are committed to preserving Vermont’s quality of life, the biodiversity of its ecosystems, and the purity of its air, soils, and waters.
b. We support the goals of Vermont’s land use planning laws and other foundations of environmental law such as the Endangered Species Act.
c. We must establish systems to control or mitigate problematic runoff from all sources to create cleaner watersheds and enforce all applicable laws for sewage treatment and stormwater runoff.

3. Regulatory Process:
We will work to ensure that state agencies have the authority and intention to help businesses comply with necessary regulations as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. We support strict and reasonable enforcement of all regulations.

4. Sustainable Business:
a. We will promote economic development and environmental protection through environmentally friendly and sustainable businesses that are important to the future of our economy.
b. Sustainable business principles include supporting local businesses that keep profits circulating within the local community, the county and the state.

5. Transportation:
a. Investment in sensible transportation infrastructure will produce a stronger economy. We must maintain our transportation network while expanding alternative and public transportation.
b. We are committed to developing energy efficient transportation options.

6. Emerging technology:
a. Biotechnology holds great promise and has the ability to alter the structure of life. We are committed to creating strong biotechnology laws that protect the environment by erring on the side of caution.
b. The proponents of this technology should bear the burden of proof that GMOs will not harm human health or the environment.
c. We support stem cell research for the promise it holds for relieving human suffering.

7. Energy Independence:
a. Global warming is a real threat to our survival and a direct result of human activity and other factors. We are committed to sustainable energy investment, energy efficiency, and developing renewable energy resources that will make our nation more secure and our economy stronger while reducing global warming.
b. The continued dependence of our society on imported oil is a significant factor in our foreign policy, which has resulted in the loss of thousands of American lives in combat. We are committed to reducing our dependence on fossil fuel, both domestic and imported.
c. We will expand Efficiency Vermont and pursue new energy solutions such as, but not limited to: solar, geothermal, biomass, and wind. We need to provide incentives to build the alternatives that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy. We stand for planning, developing, and using local, renewable sources of energy in harmony with the local ecology and economic base.
d. Nuclear power and the burning of fossil fuel both present unacceptable long-term risks to the environment and human health. Vermont must aggressively reduce its reliance on these energy sources and encourage other states to do the same. Vermont must maximize efficiency by becoming a leader in researching, developing, and deploying, clean renewable energy sources, creating good jobs while improving the environment.

We hold these principles, goals and commitments in common as members of the Vermont Democratic Party and will work together and individually, to the best of our ability, to promote them as the guiding ideology of a just and fair government.

Vermont Democratic Platform Committee
September 16, 2006

From Hall Monitor:

“In her speech to the Vermont AFL-CIO organization, [Progressive candidate for Auditor Martha] Abbott called on the Governor to support closing the capital gains loophole in state tax policy,” the release said.

Then it quoted Abbott:

“If Governor Douglas truly cares about making Vermont more affordable for the ordinary WORKING person, why has he not proposed doing away with this giant capital gains loophole and using the savings to lower property taxes?”…

…Informed that Douglas did, indeed, once propose to do something about the capital gains exlcusion, Abbott gave us her best “Emily Litella” moment (for those who don’t remember, Emily Litella was a character performed by the late, great comedian Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live who ended her tangent-laden screeds with “Never mind.”)

“I guess I owe him an apology,” she said.

Okay, look – it was a strange decision for Abbott to decide to run so directly against the Governor. And it was bizarre to fire off a press release based on an impulsive impression of what reality must be as opposed to what it actually is. But I wasn’t going to blog on this until I saw her getting beat up for it in the comments on another site. For my part, I don’t want to beat up on her, but want to instead focus on those seven words: “I guess I owe him an apology”.

Try to remember the last time a politician actually apologized for something (and I mean a real apology, not one brought on for a little strategic self-preservation). Now think of how many politicians of all stripes – Dem, Prog, Republican, Green, whatever – have actually done things that merit an apology.

The MO after such a gaffe is usually to scramble to ratchet up your attack in a desperate bid to get the spotlight onto somebody – anybody – else.

I’m a parent, and if there is one lesson I try to impart to my own kids it’s this: the ability to apologize is perhaps the greatest measure of character. Everybody everwhere does or says things they shouldn’t, and I believe good people are to large extent defined as such by their capacity to recognize and take responsibility for their misdeeds, from the smallest offhand slight up.

In our every-person-for-themselves, it’s-all-about-me culture, however, apologies are often treated as signs of weakness. The reality is that they’re an indicator of moral strength. We don’t want to apologize because it’s hard to. It’s no fun. So we give into weakness and rationalize it by casting it as a moral virtue. “It’s a free country.” “That’s just the way I am.” “Who cares what you think?”

This is how we end up electing a president who takes pride in refusing to admit mistakes or act in such a way that suggests he has anything to learn from anybody. And he is applauded for this. It’s “tough.”

Good for you, Martha. Take your lumps and move on. Hopefully my kids will do the same when they screw up the next time. And hopefully I will too.

“Pardon Me”

It’s the new game in town, brought to us by none other than the Deciderer, grand Inquisitor of the new crusade.

See, the President has spent the last 5 years promoting and ordering torture. Torture is immoral. That’s why 194 countries, led by the United States (back in the days when we actually held the moral high ground in the world), cobbled together the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Conventions prevented thousands of our soldiers from torture in the dark days of WWII.

The Geneva Conventions were heralded as a sign of humanity’s commitment to true and lasting civilization. It was a commitment to the belief that as humans, we are better than frightened animals; a commitment to the belief that we are better than petty, cruel, murderous barbarians.

The Father of our country, George Washington, did not allow his troops to torture the British. Washington understood something that the stunted adolescents now occupying office in the city that bears his name don’t: torture is wrong, inhumane, immoral, and counterproductive.

“Always some dark spirits wished to visit the same cruelties on the British and Hessians that had been inflicted on American captives. But Washington’s example carried growing weight, more so than his written orders and prohibitions. He often reminded his men that they were an army of liberty and freedom, and that the rights of humanity for which they were fighting should extend even to their enemies. … Even in the most urgent moments of the war, these men were concerned about ethical questions in the Revolution.”

Now, in the city named after the man who started the uniquely American trend away from petty cruelty and vengence, the current President and his apologists are playing the game of “Pardon Me.”

[More after the jump…]

It goes something like this:

1. Do something so deeply immoral that all of the civilized world signed a treaty agreeing never to do it again.
2. Keep making excuses for this immoral behavior until it looks like you’re actually about to get caught red-handed, because some of your victims are about to be interviewed by a neutral international humanitarian organization.
3. Then, as the fan starts to spin and the manure pile starts to stink … grant yourself a pre-emptive pardon!

It’s easy: Just submit a bill (a kind of back-door Presidential Pardon – for yourself) that “clarifies” the wording of the treaty – wording that has saved countless numbers of our soldiers from inhumane treatment over the decades, through at least 4 wars and 8 presidents. Rewrite it to make it “clear” that you’re excusing yourself for your own immoral acts. It’s just like excusing yourself from going AWOL, or excusing yourself from illegal drug use, or heck, even from skipping school.

What’s one more excuse? So what if it hands our children over to cruel abusers beyond imagining? So what if it turns America from a shining beacon of morality into just another petty bully on the world stage? So what if it means lower-quality information from our prisoners, leading us to waste millions on wild goose chases and causing us to kill, maim, and torture innocents on the way?

So what?

Well, Pardon me, but I know we’re better than that.

For hundreds of years, from George Washington all the way through to Bill Clinton, we have been better than that. We must not let this petty President excuse himself for his behavior. He doesn’t get a “pass” just because he’s not used to taking responsibility for his actions. If anything, it’s high time someone taught him about the importance of personal responsibility – that there are consequences when you do something wrong.  It’s something most kids learn from an early age.

It’s time for those who are required to provide 2/3 of the Checks and Balances built into the Constitution to take their obligation seriously. Do not pass ANY of the laws that seek to change or reinterpret the wording of the Geneva Conventions – the treaty that brought a new level of hope and security to the civilized world.

Compromising our integrity and our morality is inexcusable.

Call or write your Representatives and Senators and tell them you won’t accept any more excuses. Tell them that you will accept neither the President’s Detainee Bill, nor any proposed compromise bill.

[cross-posted on my blog]

With the Religious Right a factor in each of my last three diaries, it seemed apropos to mention an interesting new blog set up by left-wing evangelical preacher (yes, you read that right) Jim Wallis that examines religion in politics. As part of the blog’s kickoff, Wallis (the author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It) has engaged in a civil back-and-forth with former Christian Coalition Golden Boy (and failed political candidate) Ralph Reed on the value and viability of the Religious Right today. Wallis and Reed are engaging in a fascinating exchange, a few choice bits of which I’ll excerpt below the fold.

A long overdue conversation, and an excellent use of the medium. I personally don’t agree with Wallis’s view of the world, but this is compelling stuff – and many of the blog comments are worth reading as well. Warning: there is plenty of material to make you really angry here, but it’s often very refreshing and politically encouraging. Wallis is a clear, no-nonsense advocate for evangelicals to look beyond the twin issues of abortion and gay rights which the GOP has manipulated into an exclusive political primacy in the eyes of Christian activists, to the intentionally excluded issues of poverty and environmentalism (to name only a couple).

And even on the hot button issues of gay rights and abortion, Wallis challenges Reed and other Religious Right activists to look beyond the politics of division and reach out to liberals to build proactive strategies to advance their beliefs, such as ways to make abortions less common, or means to address real threats to family stability by supporting married couples and families instead of mindlessly scapegoating gays and lesbians.

From Wallis’s first post:

I believe a debate on moral values should be central in American politics. The question is, of course, which values? Whose values? And how should we define moral values? The problem is when one side of the political spectrum (your side) tries to define values as meaning only two things – opposition to same-sex marriage and criminalizing abortion. And while those two have become “wedge issues” that your side has effectively used for quite partisan purposes, many of the pressing problems our society confronts have an essential moral character. Issues regarding the sacredness of life and family values are indeed very important, and need a much deeper moral discussion; but there is also a broader moral agenda that reflects all the values Americans care about.

Reed returned with:

Religious conservatives did not create this issue and did not seek it out to benefit the Republican Party; indeed, most of them were Democrats until the 1980’s. But the nation’s conscience is unsettled by one out of every three pregnancies ending in the death of an unborn child, and people of faith should address it persistently and prominently. And when the courts began to impose a redefinition of marriage, people of faith were right to speak out consistent with their beliefs and values.

In the end, what separates religious conservatives from their liberal coreligionists is not a broad versus a narrow agenda, but rather a liberal versus a conservative agenda.

Wallis again, in his next post:

The Religious Right has now lost control of the evangelical political agenda and here’s why.

One year after the television images of Katrina were seared into our minds, thirty-seven million Americans still live in poverty, left out and left behind. Globally, thirty-thousand children die needlessly every day from hunger and disease. Certainly poverty is a moral value, and it clearly is for a new generation of evangelicals.

Despite official indifference and denial, the future of our fragile environment is in jeopardy as global warming continues unchecked. Caring for the earth that sustains us is also a moral value which young evangelicals now call “creation care.”

Insisting on full humanity and dignity for all people by opposing discrimination and oppression for ethnic or racial reasons, whether intentionally or due to systemic structures, is a moral imperative. Racism, human rights, sex trafficking, and genocide in places like Darfur are all now clearly on the Christian agenda.

Twenty-six hundred Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis are now dead. Daily violence continues to spiral out of control. The cost and consequences of a disastrous war, that many now believe is a distraction from the real fight against terrorism, is a moral issue. And attacking the war’s opponents as appeasers does not answer the hard questions.

But you still don’t see many of the issues above on the political agenda of the Religious Right. In fact, some leaders of the Religious Right have tried to keep issues like the environment and poverty off the evangelical agenda for fear they would distract from same-sex marriage and abortion.

And the comments run the gamut, from the truly disturbing:

One more thing… Mr. Reed, you stated “In the end, what separates religious conservatives from their liberal coreligionists is not a broad versus a narrow agenda, but rather a liberal versus a conservative agenda.”

I disagree, and will offer this in support: “Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ — to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness.
But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice.
It is dominion we are after. Not just influence.
It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time.
It is dominion we are after.
World conquest. That’s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel. And we must never settle for anything less…
Thus, Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land — of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts, and governments for the Kingdom of Christ.”

This is from George Grant’s book, The Changing of the Guard: Biblical Principles for Political Action.

To the truly clarifying:

If people believe they are cared about by ‘God’s’ alleged servants, then there would have been less abortions. To show ‘God’s love and care’ as servants of God are suppose to, the Christian Right should have been pro every government program that would aid single mothers. Or women, who would have been willing to leave the hardhearted husband who was forcing them to ‘abort.’

Instead, the Christian right’s version of so-called “Christianity” is to condemn those who do have babies while simultaneously mouthing off about being against ‘abortion’ of babies.

This is there “straw-man” deceit before God and humanity. It was the political football to promote right wing politics.

Fascinating, informative stuff, and definitely worth a serious look.

(Update: Okay, I went back to the blog “Green Mountain Hard RIght” that this diary refers to and found that there are TWO GMHR blogs run by the same person with a slightly tweaked computer pseudonym. Although one hasn’t been updated for a couple weeks, they seem to have been run in tandem for some time now. Weird. Here’s a link to the one that this diary refers to, and here’s the one linked to from She’s Right. Go figure.)

Via Freyne in Seven Days some time back:

[Rich Tarrant:] “Everybody has a right to express their views, but I think politicians, it says something about themselves based on who they ask to help them. That’s just the way it is.”

We’ve taken Rich Tarrant to task on numerous occasions for courting the Center for American Cultural Renewal/Vermont Renewal. This is a Vermont-based religious right organization that had references to gays as “fags” on their site and has used children as weapons to advance their theocratic agenda. Blier Watch – which is undergoing a renaissance of sorts and becoming less myopically (and at times, inappropriately) focused on the CFACR’s Executive Director – discovered a right wing blog entry containing a guest list from a more recent gathering of theocrats under the CFACR’s tent. Who showed up to see and be seen? From Green Mountain Hard Right (emphasis added):

When I arrived the usual crowd of right-wingers were assembled (mostly from Rutland County) as well as a few big wigs from the State GOP and candidates for high office. In attendance were Windsor County GOP Chairman Suzanne Butterfield, Governor and Mrs. Douglas, U.S. Senate candidate Greg Parke, Bennington County State Senator and U.S. House candidate Mark Shepard, Attorney General GOP primary opponents Dennis Carver and Karen Karin, Chittenden County State Senate GOP candidate Agnes Clift, and Brandon State Representative Joe Acinapura. Curiously there was no appearance made by Rutland County GOP Chairman Jonathan Wallace… former Adjunct General Martha Rainville decided to show up

One wonders if it bothers GMHR blogger vtpaleocon that many of those politicians who showed up to pay homage at the altar of the anti-gay religious right are not inclined to celebrate that relationship in the public eye.

(FYI: A “paleocon” is a slightly mushier term than neocon. The Paleocon patron saint is Pat Buchanan, and those who self-identify as PCs are often similarly ultra-socially-conservative (but economically populist), Vatican-II-rejectionist Catholics who gleefully recognize no line of distinction between their religion and their politics, and spend a great deal of time trying to cast this as intellectual virtue. They’ve never risen to be a potent political force the way the evangelically-driven Religious Right movement has, so they tend to piggy-back on their protestant frequent-soulmates… they also have a tendency to have some disturbing racial views if you dig below the surface, and BW in their post also track Green Mountain Hard Right’s links to some nakedly racist, white seperatist rhetoric that I had no idea were a part of that site.)

( – promoted by odum)

Yikes! This just came across my screen as a press release from Joe Merone at VPT with a note that Graff will step down from Vermont This Week at the end of the year.

No replacement yet.

Former AP Bureau Chief Graff Will Succeed Vachon as National Life VP – Communications

Montpelier, VT.  (September 18, 2006)  —  Chris Graff, the former Vermont bureau chief of the Associated Press, will join the National Life Group in December as vice president of communications. He will succeed Brian Vachon who is retiring from the position after 25 years with the company.
Graff, who worked for AP for 27 years, has also served as host of Vermont Public Television’s “Vermont This Week” for the past 14 years. He is recognized as one of the most distinguished journalists in Vermont. 
Vachon, who was the editor of Vermont Life Magazine prior to beginning his career at National Life, has been the primary spokesperson for the company for the past quarter century. His responsibilities, which Graff will assume when Vachon steps down at the end of this year, also include internal and external communications, government relations as well as public relation activities and programs.
“We genuinely appreciate everything that Brian has contributed to our company during his distinguished career,” said National Life Group’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom MacLeay.  “We are also extremely pleased to have someone of Chris Graff’s considerable stature and strong Vermont connections joining us and bringing his proven skills to bear for our organization.” 

The National Life Group is a growing and diversified family of financial service companies made up of its flagship company, National Life Insurance Company which was founded in Montpelier, VT. in 1850, as well as Sentinel Asset Management Inc., Equity Services, Inc. and~National Retirement Plan Advisors Inc. all of Montpelier; and Life Insurance Company of the Southwest of Dallas, Texas.