The Tortured Vote of Feinstein on Mukasey: Disingenuous or Just Plain Dishonest?
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
So why is Dianne Feinstein going to vote for Mukasey as Attorney General after he gave responses on waterboarding, torture and unitary authority that were right out of the White House Q and A response book?
For Feinstein, perhaps it is that she is a disingenuous RepubliCrat. She has defected the Democrats on more key votes in the senate and the Judiciary Committee than you can shake a stick at. Most recently, she was the sole Democratic defection on Judiciary that allowed the nomination of the Neo-Confederate Leslie Southwick to get to the floor for a positive vote. In short, another Bush Administration bigoted partisan judge will take a seat on the federal bench because of Feinstein.
Some argue that Feinstein (who at one time was the Mayor of San Francisco, and who – along with Pelosi – makes us think sometimes that the worst thing for progressive politics is a rich SF "liberal") is essentially trading her votes for contracts that her husband receives from the government. Some argue that she is just so wealthy, Washington establishment-like, and out of touch with her obligation to the Constitution, that she votes for people whom she feels are of the same "class" of D.C. insiders as she has become.
But what most disturbs us about the Feinstein pledge of support for Mukasey is a commentary she had published in the LA Times on November 3 providing the "rationale" for her vote. There’s only one big problem with Feinstein’s message to the voters; it’s specious at best.
Feinstein quotes Makasey to show how he is allegedly opposed to the Bush Administration using waterboarding:
"I do know ... that waterboarding cannot be used by the United States military because its use by the military would be a clear violation of the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA). That is because waterboarding and certain other coercive interrogation techniques are expressly prohibited by the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation, and Congress specifically legislated in the DTA that no person in the custody or control of the Department of Defense (DOD) or held in a DOD facility may be subject to any interrogation techniques not authorized and listed in the manual."
Then Feinstein comments, "As Judge Mukasey wrote, waterboarding is clearly against the law for the American military. Waterboarding is clearly prohibited by the Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Convention. It was again prohibited by the Detainee Treatment Act, which only covers military interrogations."
There’s the rub, Dianne, since "waterboarding" as apparently conducted by the Bush Administration is carried out by the CIA or "subcontractors," not technically by the Pentagon. As long as Mukasey doesn’t declare that it is illegal across the board, his response is condoning the use of waterboarding – and likely tipping his hat that other coercive techniques amounting to torture would be sanctioned by the DOJ.
Feinstein knows this full well. In fact, way back to when Ashcroft was still AG -- and the torture revelations were first breaking -- a Washington Post article reported on June 9, 2004: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the memo on interrogation techniques permissible for the CIA to use on suspected al Qaeda operatives ‘appears to be an effort to redefine torture and narrow prohibitions against it.’ The document was prepared by the Justice Department's office of legal counsel for the CIA and addressed to White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales."
The reporters noted in the next paragraph: "The 50-page Justice Department memo said inflicting physical or psychological pain might be justified in the war on terrorism ‘to prevent further attacks on the United States by the al Qaeda terrorist network.’ It added that ‘necessity and self defense could provide justifications that would eliminate any criminal liability.’"
Now we are getting to the heart of Feinstein’s betrayal of justice. Mukasey’s White House scripted evasion on waterboarding and torture was designed to set him up for eventually exonerating Bush Administration officials of illegal criminal actions, once he "sees" the classified files concerning Bush Administration sanctioned torture.
Feinstein claims that it is up to Congress to close any loopholes on torture, an unlikely scenario in the foreseeable future (and she knows it), which in any case would almost certainly not be retroactive.
So Feinstein is essentially arguing that the role of the Attorney General is not to act like an Attorney General. She is helping Bush, Cheney and others receive a "get out of jail free card."
We came across two articles this weekend, at the same time Feinstein had her prepared justification for the Mukasey confirmation published, which in essence exposed her disingenuous "reasoning." An Associated Press November 4th analysis has as its very first paragraph: "Senate confirmation of Michael Mukasey as attorney general has snagged on a complex legal question of whether some Bush administration officials would face lawsuits or war crimes charges if, as Democrats insist, he defines waterboarding as torture."
In the Washington Post on Sunday, a law professor penned an op-ed entitled "Waterboarding Used to Be a Crime." Besides noting the excruciating details of waterboarding (which he says is not near-drowning, but drowning that is controlled not to end in death, even though it sometimes, of course, does), he points out that we prosecuted enemy soldiers for conducting waterboarding on captured American soldiers in WW II.
It would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic to the nation that Feinstein concludes her LA Times op-ed with this less than believable "I’m-just-a-Pollyanna-style-of-gal" statement: "The bottom line is this: I hope that Judge Mukasey will fairly and evenhandedly represent the American people and direct the Justice Department wherever the facts and the law lead, not where the White House dictates."
Of course, the clear and transparent reality is that the White House did dictate Mukasey’s answers on waterboarding and torture. They were straight from the Ashcroft, Gonzales, Addington script.
The senior senator from California should know that, shouldn’t she?
Dianne Feinstein is much too smart to play that dumb.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
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Senator Swinestein
My letter to Senator Swinestein:
Dear Senator Feinstein,
I'm stunned to hear of your vote in favor of Mukasey! If Mukasey is confirmed, he will never do anything to hold the Bush Administration accountable for their many crimes!
Are you in favor of that? They nominated Mukasey in hopes that he would be their get out of jail free card! Well, that is not acceptable to me!
I have always voted for you in the past, but no more! You have sold out completely to special interests, your husband's interests being one of them! I will do everything in my power to make sure that if you run again for office, you will be defeated!
Why not just change parties, since you always vote with the Bush Administration, on any issue of importance! At least by changing parties, you wouldn't be a hypocrite!
I'm going to contact everyone I know to expose you as the Republican, in Democrat clothing that you are! You are a disgrace, and disappointment to your constitutants! THEY, put you in office to represent THEM, in their fight against a criminal administration!
By voting in favor of Mukasey, You are in violating the oath you took to protect and uphold the Constitution, and the rule of law! Do the right thing! Resign from the Senate right now, before you compromise your integrity even more!
The Enemy Amongst Us
The Enemy Amongst Us
The forces of totalitarianism and tyranny are on the march. As Walt Kelly’s Pogo said “I have met the enemy and he is us.” To condone is to become complicit in the crime. The Attorney General nominee would condone torture and the violation of our civil liberties. More importantly our Democratic senators Schumer and Feinstein support his confirmation. Ben Franklin said “He who would give up liberty for security, deserve neither.” What part of this don’t they understand?
This administration has practiced psychological warfare on the public since 9/11. Their whole foreign and domestic agenda is predicated on the specter of fighting terrorism in a war with no end. We have been led to believe we must become a fortress nation, with walled borders, draconian measures against illegal immigrants , curtailment of civil liberties, terror alerts, and unlimited powers to the executive, abdicated by the congress and the courts, This is the Israeli model, where they have literally walled themselves in, a concentration camp mentality. How successful are they, surrounded by enemies, in constant fear of terrorist attack, and in perpetual war with their neighbors?
In the six years since 9/11, we have the Patriot Act I and II, the Military
Commissions Act, the Defense Authorization Act, NSPD 51, and soon brought to you by the Department of Homeland Security, Real ID Cards. We are becoming a National Security State. These Acts have led to Preemptive War, Indefinite Detention, Enhanced Interrogation, and Extraordinary Rendition. After just getting rid of Alberto Gonzalez, who openly defended these illegal and immoral practices, why would senators Schumer and Feinstein support a nominee who won’t offer an opinion on their illegality?
The Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are being shredded by this administration and a complicit , both Republican and Democratic congress who took an oath to defend them. It would be wise indeed to heed the words of Fredrick Douglass, “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress”. Our senators may confirm, but will we endure these tyrannies?
The Jewish Elephant in the Room
I love how everyone is just glossing over the last names of these people as if they have nothing in common. You think that just maybe they support the racist theocracy of Israel over the US and everyone else in the world? There are a lot of good people in this world who happen to have Jewish names, Russ Feingold to name one, but we can not continue to ignore the facts. Every time I bring this up some simpleton who doesn't even know the actual definition of the word accuses me of being anti-semitic, but I am again and again proved right by the actions of Israel and their supporters. Why does a group of people who makes up roughly 13 million of the over 6 billion inhabitants of this planet have such an impact on the policies that affect everyone else so deeply? What kind of representation is that? But hey who am I to say, after all they are God's favorite chosen people.
Feinstein, Schumer, and other anti-American traitors
The problem is not simply that these Congress critters are "Republocrats". It goes much deeper.
The major two-party political system in the U.S. has been a complete and utter farce for decades. While certain superficial differences still exist between the two parties, they are basically cut from the same cloth.
When it comes to the salient issues of the day, such as the phony "War on Terror", so-called free trade, etc., the Demos and Republicans are generally in TOTAL agreement!
By the way, how does one win a war on a CONCEPT? Is it even possible to win a war on terror? How about the war on drugs? Has the drug problem in America improved after decades of that dog & pony show? One thing for sure -- we all have fewer rights and liberties now, less personal privacy, and the Constitution has been almost totally decimated!
Not much of a surprise really, when you consider that our president, vice-president, many of our Congressmen, and members of the judiciary are members of secret societies. (Actually, the existence of these societies is not so secret anymore.) I'm referring to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Trilateral Commission (TC), Bilderburgers, Skull & Bones society, and the Jesuits.
When you observe certain politicians whose deeds continually bear bad fruit, there's a good chance that these folks are members of those organizations -- or at the very least, they're heavily controlled and influenced by such societies!
It's not that Feinstein, Schumer, Teddy Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, etc. are "inept". Rather, they are INTENTIONALLY selling us down the road. (Take a look at who is behind the push to eliminate our freedom to purchase health supplements, reduce the dosages of vitamins to a sub-therapeutic level, and raise our costs on what vitamins and herbs are allowed to remain on the shelf. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical cartel continues to poison Americans and make profit margins of THOUSANDS OF PERCENT!)
Years ago, the Democrats touted themselves as the "pro-labor" party. When was the last time they even paid lip service to helping labor in America? (I don't remember either!)
Bill Clinton voted for that unconstitutional piece-of-crap NAFTA treaty, which sold out American jobs. He's a Democrat, right? And Bush gave us CAFTA. Along with the "leaders" of Mexico and Canada -- and the Bilderburgers, who pull their puppet strings -- they are now striving to create a North American Union (NAU) with a common currency for the three countries!
Such a union would dissolve the sovereignty of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and ultimately eliminate our self-determinism as a free people. It's being done WITHOUT the knowledge or consent of the American people (OR Congress)! Unelected and unappointed officials are in the driver's seat, making decisions that will drastically impact our daily lives. Mighty considerate of them, isn't it?
So how's the economy REALLY doing? We now have more unemployed workers in the labor market chasing far fewer decent jobs -- along with downward pressure on wages, benefits and environmental standards.
(As a result of a series of unfortunate circumstances, I recently had to go back to work at "middle age". Trust me, it's a living nightmare to make such paltry wages. The dirty little secret is that non-professional jobs outside the major urban areas are paying $6-8/hr. on average. That is, if you're "lucky" enough to find one! So now I'm making what I was earning over 25 years ago. Actually, far less, once you factor in the extreme inflation (i.e., DOLLAR DEVALUATION). We can thank the Bush criminal cartel for much of that, but the Demo-rats are also to blame!)
Somehow, I don't think Feinstein or Schumer give a damn about how many of their constitutents are in the same boat as I am -- just so long as it isn't THEM!!!
Feinstein
Because of Feinstein,Schumer,LIE-berman,Pelose,Reid, and others in the DEMOCRAT Party are not real Dmocrats and have to go and the damage that they have done to my Country (U.S.A) is great and will take GENRATIONS to fix, these pepole enabled the REPUBLICANS to do this to our CONSTITUTION,and BILL OF RIGHTS, but FIRST WE the PEOPLE have brake up the CORP:, run MAIN STREAM MEDIA, WE the PEOPLE have start standing UP TOO.
Everyday
Everyday we reach new lows of degradation.
How many members of the Senate are watercarriers for Lieberman?
The Republican majority in the Senate stated their position and towed the line. The Democrats cower and sell themselves to the highest bidder. How do these people get elected? Are they truly a reflection of us? If so we might just as well face the music and see ourselves for what we are. Bullies - cowards - unscruplous opportunists and now torturers.
These people represent us - it is intolerable and should not be tolerated.
How To Put Those War Criminals & Mass-Murderers On Trial?
By our seeing to it that Congress revokes both the 200l AUMF that begot us the Iraq war and the more recent AUMF that's cleared the way for our president to order a military strike on Iran. Why will our accomplishing the above lead to the trial of George W. Bush II and his accomplices? Because we will have ended one war and prevented another, that's why, whereupon, empowered by our having stopped the bloodshed, it'll be up to us, the what sort of world, and is there any doubt as to what the fate of said criminals then will be?
It's not just Bush
Instead of directing your hate at the war pigs, Bush and his handlers, consider all the millions who support him and respond to the fear tactics. Why does Bush seem to support torture? Because it works politically. It makes him look tough, macho, whatever it is that so many people seem to want in their leader.
Remember, all the repuglican candidates are running to the right of Bush, promising to torture even more, to "double Guantanamo", to be even more warlike, if possible than sickos currently running the country.
It's not just Bush. Torture works for him. He can't be blamed for that.
Of course he has to have his top law enforcement official fudge on the classification of water boarding. Otherwise he is liable for war crimes.
the cooler
I am not voting for anyone
I am not voting for anyone in the democrat-republican party in the general election. We have to break out of this one party system somehow.
Progressives...Unite
We not only have to get rid of every Republican, there is many a bluedog Dem or just plain Coporatist among the Democratic ranks..we have to get rid of them all..to see this country back from the eve of destruction..we have our work cut out for us...but Fienstien, Lieberman, Schumer, Pelosi, Reid and Rahm Emanuel are the worse of the worst...I'm sure there are many more...any of the turncoats who have consistenty capitulated, or who have come right out and voted with the Republicans..at least 75% of the time, should be on the "hit list" Its not just the right wing loonies its the cowardly Democratic enablers...
They've all got to GO!
I couldn't agree more! No more "Repthugnican Lite" in the party leadership, who have proven themselves at every possible opportunity to be nothing but supple, greedy, courtesans, rubber-stamping the destruction of the Constitution, and handing absolute power to a man who has repeatedly proven himself to be a pathological liar, who's oil wars were lauched by lies, WHICH THEY APPROVED, and fueled by blood money contracts, as Feinstein so perfectly demonstrates. He has also destroyed Congress as a meaningful, relevant part of the governance of the nation. That is to say, these same Senators & Representatives have been rendered superfluous by the WH Junta. Their ongoing collaboration with the WH, by approving Mukasey, for example, or voting the latest $50 billion for the Iraqi Warcrime, or being unable to over-ride a Dumbyah veto of health insurance for children of the middle class, or bringing the illegal spying of this "Government" upon its' own citizens without a warrent, to a grinding halt, is direct proof that they agree to this overthrow of our system of Government, and it's fountain of all Law, the Constitution. This, by definition, is Treason. They cannot be allowed to continue to represent us, the Citizens.
But we also have to make sure that whoever we support is dedicated to replacing every Dumbyah boot-licking, apparatchik appointee, in every federal department. These people infest our State like an horrific melanoma, in EVERY aspect of the Government. There's unfortunately no hope for the Supreme Court. We're saddled with Alito & Roberts for decades, but the rest of the Bureaucracy isn't under "for life" terms of hire.
Get the cronys out of the FDA, the EPA, FEMA, the SEC, Homeland Security, Defense, etc, and replace them with serious professionals who will restore a functional government and protect our people. While we're at it, we need to end the "outsourcing" of vital Government functions and services to somebody's brother's Potemkin company.
We face the rebuilding of the Nation, literally from the ground up, rather like the task the Founders faced. We need to understand this, I think, and it's very difficult, because we've never had to contemplate such a contingency.
But a great intellect and patriot said it best:
"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."---Paine, 1776
Grandma Jefferson
Oh, no, DiFi's old man's business had "nothing" to do it
Buzzflash, here's an old news item from
The San Franciso Chronicle
Army contract for Feinstein's husband
Blum is a director of firm that will get up to $600 million
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.
The award to help with troop mobilization, weapons systems training and anti-terrorism efforts is the latest in a string of plum defense jobs snared by URS. In February, the firm won an army engineering and logistics contract that could bring in $3.1 billion during the next eight years.
But of course, just like Hillary Clinton said of taking money from wellheeled lobbyists at the Yearly Kos convention, Ms. Feinstein is in No-o-o-o-o-o! way influence by her husband's business.
Giving up on DiFi
I gave up on Ms. Feinstein a few bad votes back. As a result of her and the other Senate and House demoquacks who are essentially "bush enablers", I renounced my membership in their party and struck off on the independent path. She and the others no longer deserve my votes - they have to EARN it if they ever get another.