This week the Supreme Court made me proud of America by reaffirming the rights of prisoners and rejecting the Bush administration’s contention they could create a haven free of habeas corpus. The court took a step in the direction of the signers of the Declaration of Independence who asserted that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”
I am also proud of Senator Barack Obama, who fully endorsed the decision in Boumediene v. Bush. He understands the concept of universal human rights, something America must support at home if we are to fight for human rights abroad. If you agree that it is God, and not the State, that bestows rights upon human beings, then I hope you will vote Obama in November.
Filed under: current events, politics
Yes, indeed. What the Bush administration has gone with detainees is unthinkable, according to the America I have grown up in. We are torturing people. To persons of conscience, this should be a major factor in their decision. I’m just not sure where McCain stands on the matter; given his history, he should be against torture. But speeches at the convention told a different story.
Note: Your comment has been edited to eliminate a reference to the name of my state’s governor. Please see http://alaskanlibrarian.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/temporary-comment-policy-no-vp/ for details.
McCain says he doesn’t want to torture, but then President Bush still claims we don’t torture nor have we ever tortured. In February, Senator McCain voted against a bill that would have limited all government agencies to the techniques listed in the Army’s Interrogation Field Manual. He urged the President to veto the bill because the CIA needed the freedom to pursue “enhanced interrogation techniques.”
SInce these techniques are secret, perhaps Senator McCain doesn’t believe they include torture. Given the Administration’s past definitions of torture that appear to exclude anything short of actually killing the prisoner, I find this VERY unlikely. I think secrecy invites abusive, torture like behavior and therefore, I believe McCain has abandoned his commitment. This breaks my heart.
Source:
Daily Dish
McCain: Against Torture, But
14 Feb 2008 10:05 am
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/02/mccain-against.html
It is sad that John McCain can forget like this. I recently read the vook “The Dark Side” by Jane Mayer and posted this http://armsopenwide.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/jesus-wept-enhanced-interrogation-methods/
Why would McCain’s running mate ridicule Obama for standing up for the rights of all? Detainees, like Down Syndrome babies, born and unborn, are vulnerable. And the unalienable rights our Creator endowed us with are not just for citizens, but for all people. I wrote my Senator and said “I want America back.”
Note: Your comment has been edited to eliminate a reference to the name of my state’s governor. Please see http://alaskanlibrarian.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/temporary-comment-policy-no-vp/ for details.
I absolutely agree with you. Thank you for sharing your post. The rights your father fought for will be upheld with pride once again. Hopefully after November. But if not, then one day soon.