Because Democracy is Not Free — we all have to work at it
After trying hard to convince the Department of Justice that it needs to end the culture of Abu Ghraib and start the healing process, it did THIS. Remember one of the Lynndie Englands from the MSPB hearing — the grown man who played with a deck of cards while I was forced to move heavy boxes while [...]
MADRID (AFP) — A Spanish judge on Wednesday opened an investigation into an alleged “systematic programme” of torture at the US Guantanamo Bay detention camp, following accusations by four former prisoners. This decision by Baltasar Garzon is separate from an earlier case he was mulling — the one that would specifically name six Bush-era officials [...]
In 1949, George Orwell’s classic book, “1984″ was published. Sunday’s Washington Post article invokes his masterpiece in the following quote: [Regarding torture,] Several experts, including Columbia Law School adjunct professor and commentator Scott Horton, noted that the Justice Department even approved of the modern equivalent of the Ministry of Love’s Room 101 from George Orwell’s “1984,” [...]
CNN reports “Rights Groups Criticize CIA Immunity.” You don’t know what it’s like to be an underling in a coercive society where people are afraid to speak up for what is right. I reread one of my older posts, “The Culture of Abu Ghraib” and recalled the following from my own life: The cowards later [...]
This is one funny rated-G news clip. If you don’t know the “other meaning,” check out the Urban Dictionary definition of “teabagging.” (warning: the double-entendre is rated R) Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fcivilservicechange.org%2F%3Fp%3D1002′; addthis_title = ‘Teabagging%3A+The+Right+is+Going+NUTS+for+it%21′; addthis_pub = ”;
In an earlier post, I referenced FDR’s famous quote, “I agree with you. I want to do it. Now make me do it.” Well, between Spain and the ACLU, they’ve done it. According to CNN, “The Obama administration will release four Bush-era memos on terror interrogations Thursday, according to a senior administration official.” The administration [...]
BBC’s headline reads, “Spain rejects US torture probe.” CNN’s headline reads, “Prosecutor: Drop case against Bush officials” Bringing the Bush six to trial threatens to turn the court “into a toy in the hands of people who are trying to do a political action,” Spain’s Attorney General Candido Conde-Pumpido said. Still, the decision ultimately belongs [...]
Last week, on Bill Fisher’s blog, I read about the possibility that Spain would try Bush officials as international criminals. Today, the Daily Beast reports that Spain will make the announcement tomorrow. Spanish prosecutors will seek criminal charges against Alberto Gonzales and five high-ranking Bush administration officials for sanctioning torture at Guantánamo. The other five are: [...]
A group of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) at the Social Security Administration (SSA) is arguing that it would be fine for them to not renew their law license, and that such an expectation might somehow be — unfair! (Court Doc) Reader Jim then asked for more information. Well, there are real ALJs, and there are fake AJs. SSA [...]
And it’s about time! From Politico: The Bush Justice Department always had its share of critics, particularly on the left. But now a powerful new group of critics is making its voice heard — federal judges, who have taken a series of extraordinary steps to correct what they see as prosecutorial misconduct in a variety [...]