More shocking details are emerging from the 2003 81-page memo by former Justice Department senior lawyer John Yoo, who determined that the commander-in-chief can order poking out of eyes, slitting of body parts and throwing acid at prisoners, and none of that would constitute torture because it would not result in “death, organ failure or serious impairment of bodily functions.”
Washington Post:
Thirty pages into a memorandum discussing the legal boundaries of military interrogations in 2003, senior Justice Department lawyer John C. Yoo tackled a question not often asked by American policymakers: Could the president, if he desired, have a prisoner’s eyes poked out?
Or, for that matter, could he have “scalding water, corrosive acid or caustic substance” thrown on a prisoner? How about slitting an ear, nose or lip, or disabling a tongue or limb? What about biting?
These assaults are all mentioned in a U.S. law prohibiting maiming, which Yoo parsed as he clarified the legal outer limits of what could be done to terrorism suspects as detained by U.S. authorities. The specific prohibitions, he said, depended on the circumstances or which “body part the statute specifies.”
Earlier today, Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto made a startling admission, suggesting that, at some point in the past, the White House regarded the events in Iraq with undue optimism:
Q Also, how does this latest violence in Iraq and the latest uncertainty about what's going on color the Petraeus-Crocker testimony this time around? It obviously has changed the equation. I mean, weeks ago it looked like the surge was -- you know, had this pretty rosy cast, and now with all this renewed violence, I think it has changed the dynamics. So how has this changed the equation?
MR. FRATTO: Well, I think we've thrown out all of the rose-colored glasses in how we look at Iraq, and try to look at it through clear lenses as to what is actually going on in the country. And what is happening there, I think what we are all seeing is that the Iraqi political leadership is trying to take hold of the security for their country. They took a very bold, aggressive action in Basra. It wasn't a overall success, but it -- but we learned a lot about what the capabilities of the Iraqi army are, and we learned a lot -- and maybe this is even the most important thing -- of what the capabilities and intentions of the Iraqi leadership are to go after criminal elements and illegal militias in their country, and to evenly enforce the rule of law across the country.
Oh, for a press corps with the intellectual rigor of the good folks at ThinkProgress, who astutely wondered, "When exactly did the White House throw away its rose-colored glasses?"
I'd suggest we flash back to March 5, 2008, the day President Bush endorsed GOP nominee John McCain, and subject the video of their joint appearance to greater scrutiny. Because based upon the remarks of John McCain and his surrogates, it appears as though he passed those rose-colored glasses on to his would-be successor.
We know that Bush had the glasses just before the endorsement announcement. Remember? He was tap dancing.
According to a new poll by CBS News, 89% of Americans think that the Iraq War has contributed to the country's economic problems. Americans surveyed ranked the war immediately behind the economy as the most pressing problems faced by the nation:
HOW MUCH HAS THE IRAQ WAR CONTRIBUTED TO U.S. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS?
A Washington Post analysis gets into the limits of allowable maiming under John Yoo's 2003 torture memo, and the Congressional Quarterly investigates evidence of illegal drugging of detainees, as questions are raised about rendition flights from Portugal and new allegations of torture by the British army. [Cursor.org]
12:03:51 PM comment []
Brittany wields her paintbrush with confidence, slapping it roughly against the canvas to produce streaks of green or smears of orange. With apparent pride, she steps back, inspects her work -- and extends her trunk to receive a freshly loaded paintbrush.
Brittany, an African elephant, is doing her small part to pay her way at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Her artwork is sold at the zoo's gift shop to raise funds.
This painting pachyderm is far from the only artistic animal in captivity. For years zoos and aquariums across the country have encouraged animals to paint as a way to keep the penned-up denizens mentally enriched. Typically, the paintings were discarded or set aside.
Several people have surprised me by saying that one of the movie's biggest legacies is the impact you had on diversifying New York film crews.
Do the Right Thing was my first union film. I looked at the rosters, and for the most part, it was white males. Especially the Teamsters. So we had some conversations....
Does this mean you're down on the Clintons?
The Clintons, man, they would lie on a stack of Bibles. Snipers? That's not misspeaking; that's some pure bullshit. I voted for Clinton twice, but that's over with. These old black politicians say, "Ooh, Massuh Clinton was good to us, massuh hired a lot of us, massuh was good!" Hoo! Charlie Rangel, David Dinkins--they have to understand this is a new day. People ain't feelin' that stuff. It's like a tide, and the people who get in the way are just gonna get swept out into the ocean.
Today, Sen. John McCain spoke to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kansas City, MO. He spoke at length about the sacrifice paid by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, acknowledging “how little has been asked of others compared to their service” and declaring that the nation owes veterans “a debt that we can never fully repay.”
He also said that veterans should have access to “the highest quality health…care in the world” upon returning:
As President, I will do everything in my power to ensure that those who serve today and those who have served in the past have access to the highest quality health, mental health and rehabilitative care in the world. The disgrace of Walter Reed must not be forgotten. … Whatever our commitments to veterans cost, we will keep them, as you have kept every commitment to us. The honor of a great nation is at stake.
Watch it:
<script type="text/javascript">
var flvmcvets32024021364 = new SWFObject('/wp-content/plugins/flvplayer.swf?file=http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/04/mcvets.320.240.flv&;autoStart=false', 'em-flvmcvets32024021364', '320', '260', '6', '#ffffff');
flvmcvets32024021364.addParam('quality', 'high');
flvmcvets32024021364.addParam('wmode', 'transparent');
flvmcvets32024021364.write('flvmcvets32024021364');
</script>
– Voted AGAINST an amendment providing $20 billion to the VA’s medical facilities. [5/4/06]
– Voted AGAINST providing $430 million to the VA for outpatient care “and treatment for veterans,” one of only 13 senators to do so. [4/26/06]
– Voted AGAINST increasing VA funding by $1.5 billion by closing corporate loopholes. [3/14/06]
– Voted AGAINST increasing VA funding by $1.8 billion by ending “abusive tax loopholes.” [3/10/04]
– Voted AGAINST a $650 million increase in veterans’ medical care funding. [8/1/01]
Though McCain has derided progressive universal health care plans as “a government takeover,” he is mum on the success of the VA, a government-run, integrated approach that, as Paul Krugman put it, is “one of the few clear American success stories in the struggle to contain health care costs.”
Execution By Lethal Injection Under Renewed Scrutiny. Most US states that permit lethal-injection executions prevent veterinarians from using the same method to put animals down, according to a new study.One of the three drugs injected into condemned prisoners, the one that causes paralysis, has been banned from use in animals by at least 42 states, said the study’s author, Ty Alper, a [...] [CommonDreams.org » Headlines07]
10:26:19 AM comment []
Last night, CBS[base ']Äôs 60 Minutes followed-up on the case of Don Siegelman, who was released from prison recently after an appeals court said his conviction “raised substantial questions of law or fact.” The former Alabama governor said that Karl Rove had [base ']Äúaccomplished his goal[base ']Äù of ending his political career. [base ']ÄúWhat we need is Karl Rove to get himself over to the Judiciary Committee and put his hand on the Bible and take an oath and give testimony,[base ']Äù Siegelman said Sunday. [base ']ÄúAnd he can either tell the truth or take the Fifth, either one will satisfy me.[base ']Äù Watch it:
<script type="text/javascript">
var flvsiegelman60min32024021350 = new SWFObject('/wp-content/plugins/flvplayer.swf?file=http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/04/siegelman60min.320.240.flv&;autoStart=false', 'em-flvsiegelman60min32024021350', '320', '260', '6', '#ffffff');
flvsiegelman60min32024021350.addParam('quality', 'high');
flvsiegelman60min32024021350.addParam('wmode', 'transparent');
flvsiegelman60min32024021350.write('flvsiegelman60min32024021350');
</script>
In response to Siegelman, Rove told 60 Minutes, [base ']ÄúI never talked to the Department of Justice about Siegelman. I never talked to anyone in the White House about Siegelman.[base ']Äù
Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) spoke to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, making the case for the “unmistakable progress” in Iraq.
A telling moment in his remarks came when he was arguing why President Bush’s surge “dramatically turned around the situation in Iraq.” Just as he reached this point in his speech, MSNBC cut away to report on escalating violence in Iraq:
McCAIN: Faced with the prospect of defeat, we had two fundamental choices. We could retreat from Iraq and accept the horrible consequences of our defeat. Or we could change strategies and try to turn things around. It was, I believe, a critical moment in our nation’s history, and a time of testing for our nation’s political leadership.
In the year that has passed, our nation showed its strength –
MSNBC: And speaking of Iraq, we do have breaking news out of Iraq, where at least four mortars have been fired into the heavily-fortified Green Zone today. It’s unclear at this time if there are casualties or any major damage. Now the news comes just a day after five U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq. Two, again, inside that Green Zone.
Watch it:
<script type="text/javascript">
var flvmccainiraqbreak432024021360 = new SWFObject('/wp-content/plugins/flvplayer.swf?file=http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/04/mccainiraqbreak4.320.240.flv&;autoStart=false', 'em-flvmccainiraqbreak432024021360', '320', '260', '6', '#ffffff');
flvmccainiraqbreak432024021360.addParam('quality', 'high');
flvmccainiraqbreak432024021360.addParam('wmode', 'transparent');
flvmccainiraqbreak432024021360.write('flvmccainiraqbreak432024021360');
</script>
Yesterday’s death toll was “one of the worst daily tolls for the American military in the most heavily protected part of Baghdad.” The New York Times notes that the attacks “were, symbolically at least, a sign that forces hostile to the United States are still able to strike at the American nerve center and seat of government power in the capital of Iraq.”
From TSA’s mood music to Obama’s bowling blunder, Bill Maher takes on the issues of the week, including the growing concern over the Democrats’ heated primary battle: “If voting can destroy the Democratic party, then the party isn’t very democratic.”
As verses from the Koran floated from a loudspeaker, the Shiite militia commander's face glowered. Inside the cavernous funeral tent, a large portrait of his 16-year-old son, Mustafa, hung over the mourners. Abu Abdullah, who fought U.S. troops and Sunni insurgents for five years, never expected his son to die before him. Now, he said, his anger was directed at other Shiites.
An Iraqi soldier, he said, had shot Mustafa two days earlier as he approached a checkpoint in Sadr City, where Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army rule. Abu Abdullah blamed Sadr's Shiite rivals, who lead the Iraqi government.
"What do I feel inside me?" asked Abu Abdullah, dressed in black. "I want to do to them exactly what they did to my son, and even more."
In this volatile Shiite redoubt, animosity toward Prime Minister Nouri-al Maliki and his allies has deepened in the aftermath of Iraq's worst violence in months, threatening to escalate a conflict among Shiites that could further draw in U.S. troops.
Sadr's followers view a recent U.S.- and British-backed Iraqi government offensive in the southern port city of Basra as an attempt by their Shiite rivals to weaken Sadr's movement ahead of provincial elections later this year. Iraq's security forces, they say, are tools used against them by their rivals. Clashes erupted across southern Iraq and Baghdad, diminishing only after Sadr ordered his fighters to lay down their weapons.
Today on "The View" the ladies took a few moments to remember film legend Charlton Heston, who died over the weekend. Whoopi recounted how excited she was to talk to Heston back when she had her own talk show, as he had one of the first interracial screen kisses. She then reenacted their on-air exchange, which included Heston leaning over and kissing Whoopi. As part of that, Whoopi leaned over and planted a kiss on an unsuspecting Joy Behar. Gun jokes ensued.
