‘Every generation or so an evil
arises which is so monstrous, so degrading to the human spirit, so morally
bankrupt that even to debate it is a sign of moral corruption. Native American
genocide, slavery, totalitarianism, and Jim Crow laws are evils so unspeakable
that we cannot understand today how anyone with a shred of decency could have
once supported them. Today, torture, a practice far more degrading to us than
to our victims, represents such an evil. 

The issue has become urgent
because Bush has chosen to demand the legal right to torture anyone he wishes.
When torture was revealed at Abu Ghraib, the administration - falsely and
shamelessly - attempted to shift its own responsibility onto foot-soldiers like
Lynndie England. Since then, however, leaks have revealed that the CIA has
tortured terrorist suspects all around the world, using techniques like
"waterboarding." In response, Senator John McCain proposed an
amendment, attached to the 2006 Defense bill, that would ban torture. 

Bush's first response to McCain's
amendment was to threaten to veto the Defense Bill if it passed. When it became
clear that McCain's amendment would pass by an overwhelming majority (it passed
in by a 90-9 margin in the end), Bush reversed course and said he would support
the amendment. Yet when he actually signed the bill, Bush added something
called a "signing statement" in which he reserved the right to do
whatever he chooses as Commander-in-Chief to "protect the American people
from further terrorist attacks." In short, even as he signed McCain's
amendment, Bush let it be known that he intends to ignore it as he sees fit.’ 

On Torture
& Being "Good Americans"