Monday, April 27, 2009

American Torture

We Americans didn't want to look at our torture crimes because we knew that was wrong AND we also knew nothing was going to be done about it. I had wondered for many years how the Germans could have gone along with Hitler's crimes and I used to feel smug about that. Not anymore. To the Germans there came a time when Hitler's actions became theirs, and now we Americans too have sailed under that same Arch de Acquiescence, whirling around and around in a whirlpool of profound and studied detachment. We can no longer say it was Bush who did it. Now it is America who did it.

All we can offer now in propitiation is that we were waiting for a saviour. And he is here - and we want him to cleanse us real quick. Problem is that the big boys are way out there beyond any retribution basking in glory and retirement benefits and we will never get any piece of bush, cheney, rumsfield, addington, yoo, gonzales, ashcroft, and many others including powell who sold his soul for a beaker of washing powder at the U. N. when he could have changed everything. So - all we can do - rationally - now - is to crucify all the poor bastards who carried out the orders of the Lords. If EVERYBODY refuses, because they know they will eventually be punished, then maybe someday nobody will carry out those damn orders.

Monday, April 20, 2009

President Obama versus The Law

Two stunning blows to America came out of President Obama’s White House on Thursday, April 16, 2009.

The first was the official recognition that the former president (Bush) had knowingly violated the American Constitution, and had not enforced the laws of the nation by directing American military and CIA personnel to torture captured war prisoners.

The second was that Obama, the current president, would also knowingly violate the American Constitution, which he had promised less than three months ago to protect and defend, and also that he would not enforce the laws of the nation as he had also sworn to do, since he will not punish those who carried out the torture orders or those who issued them.

There will have to be fallout from that.

First, in the United States military. Any military order MUST meet three criteria to be valid and enforceable: 1) it must be legal, 2) must be issued from competent authority, and 3) must be clearly conveyed. Obama has just wiped the first two of those requirements away. Now, instead of being required to follow only legal and authorized orders, military personnel must now obey ALL orders. The lessons learned from the Waffen-SS and Nazi Germany some of which involved the Jewish holocaust are vitiated and weakened to the point of uselessness.

Second, Obama says the nation can’t “waste time” seeing that this violation is enforced and that "error" is corrected. The protection and enforcement of the constitution and laws of the nation are not as important as the other things that Obama wants to do. This continues the process President Ford began when he provided a general amnesty to President Nixon for the crimes he committed while in office, and provides additional precedence to the concept that a president cannot be punished for illegal activities, or anything he does, while he is president.

Third is the inevitable implication that no law is to be considered valid or enforceable until the president has said it is one that he wants to have enforced.

Fourth is that America can no longer in good faith punish other nations that torturers captured American servicemen. Such actions will now be seen as selfish and vindictive.

Fifth, the fact remains and WILL remain that the laws of America have been broken and will HAVE to be enforced or ELSE the basic nature of the American government will have changed forever.

In short, by these two actions, President Obama has rewritten the United States Constitution. And nobody knows what it is now or what it means now. Perhaps president Obama will reveal this new law as time unfolds?

I have supported Barack Obama but I could also support impeachment. Let's see if we can find another way. BUT- action needs to follow this direlection of duty.

John Womack