Ex Post Facto in reverse?
Posted by phidipides at July 27, 2006 11:59 PMJohn Dean says the country has returned to an "imperial presidency" that is putting the United States and the world at risk.
In his new book, "Conservatives Without Conscience," Dean looks at Republican-controlled Washington and sees a bullying, manipulative, prejudiced leadership edging the nation toward a dark era.
"Are we on the road to fascism?" he writes. "Clearly, we are not on that road yet. But it would not take much more misguided authoritarian leadership, or thoughtless following of such leaders, to find ourselves there.
"I am not sure which is more frightening," he adds, "another major terror attack or the response of authoritarian conservatives to that attack." Amen brother Dean.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14062437
Posted by Judith at July 28, 2006 02:04 AMClinton has questioned the length to which Israel has gone to defend itself. "It's important for us to get some kind of ceasefire now," Clinton said.
Evidently Clinton has learned little in his position as the son of H. W. Bush.
Like everything else these past six years, the 1996 war crimes statute will simply be taken care of to assure no criminal actions are taken.
"Evil reigns where good men do nothing."
Posted by Judith at July 28, 2006 02:19 AMI wonder how those troops, who were to return home shortly, feel now about being sent to Baghdad for an extended tour?
Posted by Judith at July 28, 2006 02:28 AMIsrael: 30,000 reservist will face possible deployment to Lebanon. If someone doesn't stop this fucking insanity now, there will come a point of no return for all of us.
I have got to stop getting up at 3:00 in the morning.
Posted by Judith at July 28, 2006 02:41 AMBy the time Bush leaves office, he will have set two records: fewest vetos and most pardons.
Posted by Cookie Monster at July 28, 2006 02:49 AMMidland, Texas. SUV sales have skyrocked. "Gas could go as high as $4.00 per gallon, and people will be buying two or three SUVs." Quote from SUV salesman in Midland. Meanwhile, poor people are taking their pocessions to pawn shops to afford the gas that keeps these bastards in their SUVs.
Posted by Judith at July 28, 2006 02:54 AM
The United States is finished.
It's not just the Geneva Convention that these WAR CRIMINALS have declared quaint. The Constitution itself is to them, more of an obstacle to overcome then a guide to be revered and followed. The US has been bankrupted financially, strategically and morally by George Bush who has broken his oath as President, betrayed his Country, and committed numerous counts of treason. The United States cannot be a nation of laws if the President breaks them with impunity.
Until George Bush is tried for his crimes the US will forever be a marginal shadow of its former proud glory.
G.O.P.
G-ouging O-il P-rices
Enough said.
Posted by Sharon at July 28, 2006 05:14 AMTo "conservatives" the Rule of Law now means obtaining "protection" (i.e exemption) from its application.
I guess the "War on Terra" renders the entire structure of the American legal system inoperative and "quaint", right Abu?
Posted by euzoius at July 28, 2006 05:53 AM
John Dean is correct and he ought to know.
Posted by Christopher at July 28, 2006 05:53 AMBut it would not take much more misguided authoritarian leadership, or thoughtless following of such leaders, to find ourselves there. -John Dean
Dean pretty much hits it on the head here. It won't be any overt acts by those in power that will continue to push this country towards fascism. It will be, as Dean suggests, the actions by those thoughtlessly following leaders who would not stop such a move. It is the spread of rightwing propaganda amongst an ill informed citizenry that will lead us down that road. And 'leaders' with such little deference toward the Constitution, like Bushco., will do nothing to discourage it.
Posted by snark at July 28, 2006 05:57 AMClinton has questioned the length to which Israel has gone to defend itself. "It's important for us to get some kind of ceasefire now," Clinton said.
I'm frustrated beyond belief with this situation. In the beginning, I understood the Israel wanted to wipe out Hezbollah, and I supported their efforts to do so. But I think it's become clear even to them that they're not going to be able to do that, so now they're just trying to weaken them and push them back. OK, fine, but it's time now for a ceasefire and no one is doing anything about it! Why isn't Condi working on this 24/7?? A bunch of people met in Rome, did nothing and that's it?? Israel can't win this and the only thing that's going to happen is that they look more and more brutal and unreasonable and provide and advertisement for the next generation of Hezbollah. When we will learn that these kinds of groups can't be defeated militarily. They have unlimited manpower. And why the fuck isn't the Bush administration doing anything? All emotion about death and destruction aside, looking at this purely militarily and politically, Israel is getting itself in deeper and deeper and looking worse and worse. It's got to stop.
Posted by CG at July 28, 2006 06:08 AMArticle I of US Constitution states 'no bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.'
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[Editor: ignore=off]"...or the response of authoritarian conservatives to that attack."
I hope Dean didn't mean WWIII. Martial Law followed closely behind.
CG, I share your frustration. The US doesn't want a sustainable peace resolution? They want a prolonged war.
I firmly believe this is the long term mission of PNAC.
Posted by Seven of Six at July 28, 2006 06:37 AM
Will anyone be surprised when the rest of Iraq starts going down the tubes after moving troops from other areas to Baghdad?
Posted by CG at July 28, 2006 06:38 AMIn a striking and bizarre parallel to the right's perpetual hostilities toward the Constitution, a Fairfax County wingnut waiting on his order of two cheeseburgers, fries and a Coke (super sized), walked behind the McDonalds counter and sliced off one of the hands of the clerk, then waved about the bloody stump announcing "I did this for Rush..."
Posted by snark at July 28, 2006 06:39 AMDon't worry, CG, Head Butler Blair will supposedly "press" Team Nero for a ceasefire today during his performance evaluation in DC.
That should turn things around.
BTW, have you seen the various accounts from Hezbollah leaders that they were surprised by the Israeli reaction to their soldier-nap, and that they had merely intended to undertake another prisoner exchange transaction?
Further, over at Col. Pat Lang's blog "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (indispensible for military/intel info on the Second Lebanese War), he quotes American CIA/military intel sources who have concluded that Iran did not want this crisis, and gave no "green light" beforehand, so much of our prior musings on what Iran "wants" from the crisis are likely groundless.
It's starting to look like Israel thought that after Syria cleared out last year, this was a great opportunity to "destroy" Hezbollah. Their "plan" (bombing civilian infrastructure, Beirut, the airport, and civilians, followed up with small battalion level search and destroy missions along the border) seems incoherent and incomprehensible and a lot of the military analysts are just scratching their heads over it.
It would be interesting to know if Israel and the US ever seriously sat down with the new Lebanese government after Syria pulled out and tried to work out some sort of DIPLOMATIC solution to having Hezbollah start to phase down (or out) its rocket and militia wing, or come to some arrangement concerning the disputed Sheba Farms area which would have satisfied Hezbollah.
Or whether our two happy militarist powers just saw the Syrian pullout as another military operation opportunity, which we are watching to our horror today.
Posted by euzoius at July 28, 2006 06:40 AMIs your other hand OK bendejo?
Posted by Seven of Six at July 28, 2006 06:42 AMeuzoius, This makes it more apparent that the US somehow hoodwinked the Israeli's into this fiasco. They were on the edge from the get go, I just don't see how they could have fallen for it so easily. Unless they thought it would have been a 2 day walk in the park.
Posted by Seven of Six at July 28, 2006 06:48 AMSo what's taking so long to start a suit against the administration for war crimes? C'mon somebody! Furthermore, is there any way a class action suit can be brought against them for war crimes? It does hurt all of us, after all.
Posted by Geoffrey Knobl at July 28, 2006 06:51 AMI have been wondering the same, who and how do you initiate a war crimes investigation? I think there is probable cause to indict.
Posted by Angel at July 28, 2006 06:55 AMIt would be useful if we had subpoena power.
Posted by Seven of Six at July 28, 2006 07:05 AMSo this was a law passed in Clinton's era so it didn't count right? Amazing that no one picked up on this law until now, even when they were re-writing the military code of conduct. The signing statement (once again) put the guys who had to implement Bush's King's X at direct odds with this law. Congress is down to the single reason of its existence, to be there to write excuses each day for Bush. It would be interesting to see in what contect the law came in response to.
Posted by mainsailset at July 28, 2006 07:14 AM
"A bunch of people met in Rome, did nothing and that's it??"
The Italians make beautiful shoes.
Posted by art at July 28, 2006 07:41 AMIs your other hand OK bendejo?
Brilliant, SOS. I actually laughed out loud.
Posted by iamcoyote at July 28, 2006 07:48 AMIt would be interesting to know if Israel and the US ever seriously sat down with the new Lebanese government after Syria pulled out and tried to work out some sort of DIPLOMATIC solution to having Hezbollah start to phase down (or out) its rocket and militia wing, or come to some arrangement concerning the disputed Sheba Farms area which would have satisfied Hezbollah.
Of course not. Bush has ignored the Israeli-Arab dispute his whole time in office. Resolution 1559 (?) was passed saying that Hezbollah had to disarm and then no one did anything to try to make sure that happened and Hezbollah amassed 12000 rockets on the border while the UN peacekeeping force watched I guess. I'm not sure what they're supposed to do.
Posted by CG at July 28, 2006 09:16 AMThere are some lawsuits pending, but they do not recieve any media attention.
Posted by Anjha at July 28, 2006 09:16 AMIn case you doubted that NPR's on the slide downward:
Doppelgangers Cause Confusion on Capitol Hill
Congressmen Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Iowa's Steve King are two outspoken Republicans often seen speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives. They also bear a striking enough resemblance to each other that they have confused reporters, other members of Congress and even their own wives. . . This could be a big problem, if not for the fact that King and Tancredo -- both Republicans -- are in almost total agreement on all issues.
Gag.
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 28, 2006 09:29 AMDo people actually listen to NPR? I keep hearing about it, but I tried to listen once and the sound effects during stories was so lame I had to turn the channel. I mean really, do they need to have the sound of running water when people are talking about water?
Posted by iamcoyote at July 28, 2006 09:33 AMNPR sucks, sometimes.
Posted by Seven of Six at July 28, 2006 10:25 AMIf telling someone they suck means that they fellate The Man - NPR has been sucking and is sucking with more abandon in the last few years.
And it's all Hunter's fault.
Posted by idiosynchronic at July 28, 2006 11:50 AMGuess Abu and Addington aren't feeling so confident about their "legal" position and theories on executive power. Anything to preempt a challenge in the courts. These guys are despicable.
Posted by Leonard at July 28, 2006 01:03 PMBenito, nice made-up little story. You should write a book of fiction. You do it so well.
Posted by Judith at July 28, 2006 03:08 PMCareful Judith, or Benditover will smite thee with his remaining arm.
Posted by TIKI AL at July 28, 2006 03:54 PMIn a striking and bizarre parallel to the left's perpetual hostilities toward George Bush,
Boost the Risperidone, bendito. You are making no sense. The man is mentally ill. Scizophrenia more than likely.
"Asghar said the man's son told him that evening that his father was on medication for mental problems."
If you are trying to indicate "Muslims" are just somehow hyper-reactionary, you missed. Unless of course you can disregard the schizophrenic who heard jesus on the radio telling him his hands were offensive. So the guy wedged an electric knife in a drawer and cut both hands off. Oh! I get it! You are comparing the left to mentally ill Muslims. That makes neo-cons like you more like mentally ill christians! Appropriate.
Man, the stuff menatlly ill christian neo-cons hear jesus tell them to do. Stem cells are life and sacrosanct so they should be flushed down the crapper. 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq is the price of saving American democracy. Starve the poor, feed the rich. War on Muslims through the death of Lebanese christians at the hands of the Israelis. You sick fucks really are mentally ill! I think you need the Chair of Tranquility (yes, the one Benjamin Rush used).
Posted by phidipides at July 28, 2006 06:30 PMNPR = Voice of America = Radio Marti =
What does that tell you?