How Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney want to believe that they are a part of the James Bond world and are accomplishing good on behalf of God, mother and country!
Since their government relies on spin control we get some exciting words that appear to be out of an old Sean Connery film as the dashing Scot appears as good old 007 James Bond. Now we have words like rendition and interrogation making their way into the public lexicon.
It is time to get down to basics and call these actions what they really are. You grab somebody and dump that individual in a friendly (for interrogators) outpost.
You then begin to “interrogate.”
How is that defined? Well, one activity is waterboarding. What is that? That’s a term that stands for simulated drowning.
Hold it, isn’t that torture? Shhh! We shouldn’t call it that since that is upsetting.
Remember how we needed that Patriot Act after 9/11?
Well, remember now that we provide a label for someone we grab and throw into jail or some dark and isolated room that constitutes a substitute for jail without giving these individuals access to a lawyer.
Mind you, according to fashionable labeling these are not citizens. We call these individuals that we are trying to convince to confess, we label them enemy combatants.
I mean, doesn’t that carry a less offensive ring than if we label them torture victims?
As we learned from Karl Rove and the Republican spin machine – Labeling is the thing! How much better to refer to interrogations of enemy combatants than those other unpleasant names that conjure up cruel dictatorships and the most barbaric methods of torture.
Remember, loyal citizens, to learn the correct labeling and above all do not question your masters since they are conducting wars and engaging in rendition and interrogation to make all of you safer.
Always remember these operative code words: Perpetual War is a necessary means to achieve Perpetual Peace.
Some of us, no matter how hard you try, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, think that all of this nifty little phraseology is nothing more than subterfuge, cruel and tragic subterfuge.
What does all of this really mean?
It means that a government calling itself the beacon of democracy and the standard to be held up high for the entire world to follow resorts to preventive rather than pre-emptive war, ah, another labeling conflict, along with kidnap and torture, all in the name of preserving American democracy.
Shame on you, Congress, for not performing your constitutional responsibility.
Shame on you Congress for not convening immediate hearings on the impeachment and removal from office of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, who tirelessly and ruthlessly subvert the U.S. Constitution and defile international law.
Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi, your refusal to act as leaders of the respective bodies of Congress in the face of democracy’s destruction will ensure roles for you in historical infamy!
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Bill Hare
