Map of life expectancy at birth from Global Education Project.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Conscience

It would be a stretch for me to say that this is on topic, but there is a movement to organize bloggers to oppose the confirmation of Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General, and I feel compelled to act in solidarity.

The Bush Administration has brought disgrace and shame to the United States, in more ways than we can count. But Mr. Gonzalez is a particularly important symbol of the depravity of the gang of murderous thieves who have seized power in this country. Mr. Gonzalez provided a veneer of legal justification for many of the crimes against humanity they have committed. Among other despicable actions in his formal capacity as White House Counsel, Mr. Gonzalez endorsed repudiation of the Geneva Conventions, the torture of prisoners, and the argument that the President of the United States, in his capacity as Commander in Chief, is above all laws and treaties.

Now Mr. Bush has nominated Gonzalez to be the nation's chief law enforcement officer. Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in his confirmation hearings, Gonzalez repeatedly failed to answer questions, continued to maintain that the torture of people designated by the President as "enemy combatants" is legal, and he lied under oath. All of the Democrats on the Committee have now voted against his confirmation, but the Republicans, in a disgraceful betrayal of their country, voted to send his nomination to the Senate floor. Are there enough people of honor in the United States Senate to stop what will be an ineradicable stain on the national honor?

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