Resist the War Criminals

Frank Rich is moved to lament the decline in our nation's moral authority from our time as liberators of Europe, from the Nazis, to our present government's secret memos redefining torture as "enhanced interrogation techniques."

“We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture,” said Henry Kolm, 90, an M.I.T. physicist whose interrogation of Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, took place over a chessboard. George Frenkel, 87, recalled that he “never laid hands on anyone” in his many interrogations, adding, “I’m proud to say I never compromised my humanity.”
Our humanity has been compromised by those who use Gestapo tactics in our war. The longer we stand idly by while they do so, the more we resemble those “good Germans” who professed ignorance of their own Gestapo. It’s up to us to wake up our somnambulant Congress to challenge administration policy every day. Let the war’s last supporters filibuster all night if they want to. There is nothing left to lose except whatever remains of our country’s good name.

More than 2/3 of the nation have lost any confidence in the moral authority of the Cheney/Bush regime in Washington, D.C. The 2006 elections proved that many of us wanted Congress to work, actively, right now, to restrain the warmongers from doing worse harm than they have already. It is not enough to grumble, privately, that too many on Capitol Hill seem content to "run out the clock" until 2008. We, who live and pay taxes in the United States of America, must demand more from our elected representatives.

Secret overseas prisons, "enhanced interrogations," billions looted by corrupt war profiteers. Our outrage over these abuses needs to become more immediate, more personal. These abuses depend for their funding on our contributions to the Treasury. We are the real bosses, here. Cheney, Bush and their cronies depend on us feeling helpless to change what is done in our name. We are not mere spectators-- we are citizens. Let us thank our representatives when they do their jobs well, like in voting for SChip expansion of subsidies for children's health care. Let us hold them to account when they enable the crooks in the White House. It's time to talk back to the right-wing blowhards on T.V., and demand that our "free press" live up to its name and help inform the public about important issues that affect us all.

I saw a bumpersticker the other day: "If you're not outraged then you're not paying attention!"

Here's my new slogan idea for my fellow outraged citizens: "If you're outraged, then for mercy's sake do something!" Call, write, boycott, march and bring the kids... I know we're all too busy to right every wrong. The hijacking of our government by right wingnuts demands our strongest resistance. Fight back now while we still have something left to defend!