ATTENTION MUST BE PAID
Ok, peeps. Here's the call to arms (yes, I mean that ironically)(I know this post looks long and boring but please read)(via Andrew Sullivan):
MCCAIN AMENDMENT SA 1977
TEXT OF AMENDMENT SA 1977.
Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. SMITH, and Ms. COLLINS) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2863, making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:SEC. __. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE INTERROGATION OF PERSONS UNDER THE DETENTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense or under detention in a Department of Defense facility shall be subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the United States Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation.
(b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to with respect to any person in the custody or under the effective control of the Department of Defense pursuant to a criminal law or immigration law of the United States.
(c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights under the United States Constitution of any person in the custody or under the physical jurisdiction of the United States.SEC. __.
PROHIBITION ON CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT OF PERSONS UNDER CUSTODY OR CONTROL OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
(a) In General.—No individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.[Page S10909]
(b) Construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose any geographical limitation on the applicability of the prohibition against cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment under this section.
(c) Limitation on Supersedure.—The provisions of this section shall not be superseded, except by a provision of law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act which specifically repeals, modifies, or supersedes the provisions of this section.
(d) Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Defined.—In this section, the term "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" means the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, as defined in the United States Reservations, Declarations and Understandings to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment done at New York, December 10, 1984.
The good news: this amendment (to a military spending bill) passed the Senate 90 to 9. That's great news, actually. Colin Powell has signed on, giving it his approval. Great support for a much needed piece of legislation.
The horrifying, frightening news is that Bush plans to veto it. Oh yes. However, if it passes the House with similar numbers, the White House may just be cowed into silence.
Taking a cue from Andrew Sullivan, I'm asking you to write your Congressperson to let him/her know how strongly you support this amendment. You can find out the stats on your Representative here.
Washington Post article here.
posted by Noisette @ 11:23 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
What a time in which we live. I completely share your enthusiasm for this language and its purpose. But it's depressing that additional language is necessary over and above the protections and dignities supposedly inherent in our system and constitution.
I'm dimly aware of the huge abyss of ignorance that is my greatest single attribute, but here's the thought that keeps coming to mind as I think on this: the difficulties targeted by this amendment are being propagated off of American soil. And that begs the question, why are we holding people in Guantanamo Bay?
I'm afraid I can answer my own question: this plan keeps us from being bound by the rule of law or the strictures of our own constitution.
This is the guy we elected.
It's a good start.
Of course Bush will veto it. He has nothing to lose as he will be gone after this term.
And this is what happens when you live in a democracy populated by so much ignorance.
"In its statement on the veto threat, the White House said the measure would 'restrict the president's authority to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack and bringing terrorists to justice.'"
How does treating a prisoner with a shred of dignity and humanity restrict the president from protecting Americans? How does being able to take pictures of naked and humiliated detainees make me safer? Once again, I'm failing to follow the president's logic.
Chère Noisette,
je ne vais pas garder mon poste, mon contrat s'arrête bientôt. comme tu l'as très bien remarqué en France, les gens de la fonction publique (enseignants, etc.) ne peuvent pas être virés. C'est pour ça qu'il y a des problèmes de professeurs pédophiles qui sont toujours restés en activité, ils ont simplement changé d'établissement. Et bien entendu, le rectorat est au courant.
J'imagine que ce genre de comportement est impensable aux USA où si tu ne veux pas travailler, tu dégages ;-). Je crois que les français ont une vision de l'emploi complètement faussée qui leur fera du tort dans l'avenir...
Eh ben- on a plein de problemes "d'emploi" la aux E-U: regarde notre president. Il a lance une guerre completement illegale, sans fin, sans objectif vrai, etc. On a essaye de le virer, sans succes. Les americans ont eu trop peur de s'en debarasser. Et la maintenant on est completement foutu.
Non mais bon, je vois ce que tu veux dire. La bureaucratie en France, c'est un peu comme nulle part ailleurs- tu peux faire n'importe quoi sans avoir peur de perdre ton job.
So,,,with ToTS winding down we thought we'd creste a new sandbox for us to play in.
It a forum where peopel can dissect and discuss specific blogs and bloggers. This is a private forum.. You've been invited to contribute because your posts on ToTS and other blogs always made us feel tingly in our naughty places.
FORUM LINK:
http://blogmewithaspoon.forumup.org/
See you there,
Blogmewithaspoon
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