In Support of 'The Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading..." Amendment to Intelligence Authorization Act 2010

I am posting a response to this latest call to action, quoted below.

Subject: CALL MCMAHON TODAY ABOUT THIS

718-351-1062/202-225-3371


Dear Members,

Today Liz Cheney, the chairman of Keep America Safe, released the following
statement in response to a late-night provision added to the House of
Representatives' intelligence authorization bill that will be voted on later
this afternoon. We urge all Keep America Safe members to contact their House of
Representatives member and tell him or her to vote against the intelligence
authorization bill.

"Late last night, Democrats in the House of Representatives inserted a provision
dubbed 'The Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Interrogation Act of 2010' into the
intelligence authorization bill. This new language targets the US intelligence
community with criminal penalties for using methods they have deemed necessary
for keeping America safe. These methods have further been found by the
Department of Justice to be both legal and in keeping with our international
obligations.

"American intelligence officers do not deserve this kind of treatment from the
government they honorably serve. Day in and day out, they protect our country
and make difficult decisions--at times in matters of life and death. In return
for their service the government rewards them with little pay and no
acknowledgement of their heroic actions. Democrats in Congress now want to
threaten them with criminal prosecutions and deprive them of valuable tactics
that protect America.

"We urge the Congress to vote against the intelligence authorization bill in its
current form."

Liz Cheney
Chairman
Keep America Safe


In response, I must disagree with Liz Cheny, and perhaps all Chenys walking the Earth. Protections against torture and cruel/unusual punishments are built right into our Constitution's Bill of Rights. Our founder's put this provision in, not because they read George Orwell's 1984, but because they lived in a reality where this was regular business.

Equal application of law and of the Constitution apply to all, or in spirit, should. Any attempt to exclude a select group from laws - especially to grant extraordinary powers to an arm of government - especially a secretive, shadow government-type agency such as the CIA - is triple disasterous and an affront to Liberty and rule of law.

I am curious as to why one should support, and call on tea party members to support, a subversion of the rule of law on behalf of government. What about equal application of the law and the Constitution? Exempting Federal Agents from the law will only serve to further undermine the civil liberties we still have left in this country, and to further make a mockery of our so called "justice" system.

I am more afraid of my own government than I am of foreignors. Giving the stamp of approval of the American people to commit acts prohibited by our Bill of Rights, is the last thing they need. As an American who believes in the rights of man, I demand our government stop torturing for my own good and stop violating the liberties of all in the name of my "safety".

Does the Tea Party stand for Liberty, or does it stand for turture? This call to action seems to imply it stands for torture.

Sincerely,

Tom V
Staten Island

Civilian Trial of 9/11 Suspects

I would like to state a brief position and inquire about the position of others
on this issue.

I feel that our civilian courts are a very appropriate place for the trial of
suspected terrorists. There are obviously laws on the books, as part of
established city, state and federal codes, that address issues of conspiracy and
mass murder. Seeing as the crimes were committed against individuals, should not
the people's court see justice is served? While the nation was damaged as a
whole on 9/11, it is our brothers and sisters in the Tri-State area that were
lost that day. I want for us to bring those responsible to justice, rather than
an arbitrary tribunal. We are a nation of laws. A tribunal, in my mind, conjures
images of bending the law, as if our laws were not good enough to establish
these tragic crimes as wrong and provable.

Please share your opinions, thanks.