A Call To Action in Regards to Torture

[demgurl]

Do you believe in truth and justice? Do you believe that nothing will be right until guilty parties are executed? Have you lost faith that the Democrats will do the right thing?

If so, join the club. I gave up on our government today. I became a little more depressed when I heard, on NPR, that Ambassadors to Spain were upset at the ongoing investigations into torture. For the first time I started to face the reality that this criminal cabal just may get away with it.

I searched for an answer and then realized that usually what we would do is write to our representatives and ask them to take action. It seems that they do not care about us or what is right any more. They are complicit in the cover-up. I contend what we must do now is force our government to investigate and prosecute whether they want to or not.

The way to do that? Quite simple, really. We do not put any pressure on them, we let everyone else put the pressure on our country. Today I started a letter writing campaign to Spanish newspapers that are written in English. (I can speak a little French but virtually no English) I thanked the country for the job it is doing investigating these crimes since my country appears reluctant to do so. I told them to keep up the good work and to find justice.

If enough of us write these letters it will make the news. Imagine the pressure when the stories come out that the citizens of the US are imploring Spain to take care of our dirty laundry since our government will not. If enough of us write to these newspapers, we can not be ignored. If you are against torture and you want to see justice, please consider doing what I have done. I am also considering writing other international newspapers so that a lot of countries are made aware that we are fed up with the complicity in criminal activity and that we, the people, need all the allies we can get.

Thanks!

[EFerrari]

1. That's not a bad idea!

[demgurl]

2. Thanks.

It costs nothing but a little bit of time but it won't work unless a bunch of us do it. That is when people will take notice and ask why the government is ignoring the will of the people in this country.

[demgurl]

3. shameless kick.

[demgurl]

4. Last shameless kick and then I will take it to other

Democratic forums. I was really hoping to get some people doing this. We can not let them get away with torture.

[Senator]

5. K&R

[H2O Man]

6. Definitely nominated.

It is important for people to write to President Obama (and others in his administration), as well as to members of both the House and Senate, on the need for criminal prosecutions of those who are responsible for the Bush-Cheney torture policies. It is far better to actually write letters on paper, and send them through the mail, rather than simply e-mailing.

This is something that should involve people who are pleased with the Obama administration and/or the current Congress, as well as those who are not. Everyone who believes in the rule of law, as defined by our Constitution, should take the time to do this. Ask for a reply, and let the person that you write to know that you are planning to use their response as a topic in letters-to-the-editor in your local newspapers.

Participating in this activity is a form of exercising Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights.

[pleah]

7. K&R Very interesting.

Could work. ;-)

[KaryninMiami]

8. I think it's going to take more then letters and phone calls and petitions

We need a groundswell of citizens - millions of us- to organize a protest march in DC and in our home towns. The administration and the world, frankly, needs to see that although we respect and support our President, on this issue-- holding criminals accountable- we will not be silent and we will not let it simply get swept under the rug. My guess is that this is probably going to start manifesting soon if we don't see actual movement towards investigations taking place. There are enough groups ready and we certainly have the communications tools in place (leftover from the past 8 years) to reach enough folks who would and will take action. I for one, believe this is a crucial issue and would be willing to organize and or head to DC for a massive march.

[KharmaTrain]

9. International Action Is The Way It Has To Go...

The problem with our system is it is run by politicians...people who vote party and self interest over what is right or even legal. In cases of this sort, it's a tainted jury pool...easily manipulated by money or horsetrading of votes and a "court" where hearsay and blatant lies can go unquestioned. It's fine for getting your highway built or setting laws, but attrocious at enforcing them.

Even an independent commission is rife with holes. As we saw on the 9/11 commission, political appointees are place there to protect the interests of their political party or patron. And then, those reports do little if the political will isn't there to follow through.

President Obama inherited georgie boooosh's Pottery Barn. Instead of fixing it, georgie made it worse. He inherited a military stuck in two wars with no end game in sight and morale at an all time low. He inherited a diplomatic nighttmare that SOS Clinton is just beginning to mend. It's a precarious situation...teamed up with an economic disaster...it's not one easy to fix or even investigate. But investigate we must...and we must demand a full accounting...the only real way to "move forward" is to fix the crimes of the past and hold those who broke laws accountable.

I've long advocated UN tribunals for the "archetects" of the "war on terror"...outside of the taint and grandstanding of our political system. This issue is beyond the political capabilities of our system, thus I welcome the Spanish query and would hope that other nations join in supporting a bigger investigation. Put the pressure on our government to cooperate or, even better, government investigations with those of the world court...allowing our system to handle the small fish and the international to handle the larger ones.