Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse in what we hear coming out of the White House, it seems that the authorization for the use of torture goes all the way to Dick Cheney.  It's not like that really surprises anyone.  It looks like the AP has a story about it. 

I am amazed that so many people are willing to check their morals at the door when it comes to this.  For instance, one of BYU's more distinguished graduates, Jay Bybee was the one who put his name to the infamous "Torture Memo" that the Justice Department used to justify torture.  This is the memo that said that as long as the physical pain "must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death."  Ok, so as long as you don't impair a bodily function or cause organ failure, do whatever you want?  You have to be kidding me!  What are they teaching people at BYU Law that would ever make them think that this is a good idea?

To me, the United States should be a shining beacon to the rest of the world.  The excuse that "others would do it to us, so we better do it to them first" to me does not fly.  If you expect to make the world a better place (which is the stated aim of the Iraq War when you peel off all the layers of rhetoric) I think the best place to start is at home.  The US needs to be an example to other countries for good, not for bad.  Why should we expect China to respect civil rights if we ourselves do not?  How can we condemn China for torture if our own Justice Department says that it's ok as long as we don't make someone's liver fail?  Or what about holding people at Gitmo without charges, denying them a chance to talk to a lawyer and violating half the Bill of Rights?  I have no problem with depriving someone of rights as long as it's the result of due process of law, like not letting felons vote for example. 

So it's time for the Bush administration to step up, admit fault, and actually FIX THE DAMNED PROBLEM!

        

 

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