George W. Bush Hates America

It's 1:30 in the morning, and I'm here at the Co-op, killing time until the production meeting at 3:30. So while I have a few minutes, I want to touch briefly on a subject that I've been really wanting to mention here.

The torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib was, it now appears, not merely the work of a few bad apples, but was in fact official U.S. policy. Enough so that the Bush administration had already prepared its legal rationale for using "interrogation" methods that were in clear, direct violation of the Geneva Convention and international law.

The main sticking point -- torture aside -- is that the memo states:

To protect subordinates should they be charged with torture, the memo advised that Mr. Bush issue a "presidential directive or other writing" that could serve as evidence, since authority to set aside the laws is "inherent in the president."

The upshot of the argument? George W. Bush is above the law. ALL law. Don't like it? Fuck you.

I say, fuck him. We've got to get this guy out of office; this is exactly the line we must never, ever cross. Josh Marshall states it well:

So the right to set aside law is "inherent in the president". That claim alone should stop everyone in their tracks and prompt a serious consideration of the safety of the American republic under this president. It is the very definition of a constitutional monarchy, let alone a constitutional republic, that the law is superior to the executive, not the other way around. This is the essence of what the rule of law means -- a government of laws, not men, and all that.

PS: If you want to read the memo for yourself, the Wall Street Journal has posted it online, available for free. (pdf file) |