Guantanamo: A Legacy Of Shame

It will take the United States many years to live down the atrocity known as Gitmo - Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. It was bad enough that the Bush administration was lying to everyone about the torture going on there. Torture was commonplace. The Bush administration says what they did at Guantanamo garnered them valuable information about terrorism. However, CIA analysts who had to evaluate the information said it was worthless.

Of course, most information gathered by torture is worthless. A man being tortured is far more interested in telling you what you want to hear than in telling the truth. That's because when you hear what you want to hear the torture will stop, whereas the truth might only invite further torture.

But now we learn via an investigation by McClatchy News that there is another reason the information was worthless. Hundreds of the detainees were either very low-level Taliban foot-soldiers, or they were not connected to terrorism at all. In other words, they had no information to give.

They were reported to police or American soldiers as terrorists, because of old fueds and disputes or simply to get some reward money. Very soon after the U.S. entered Afghanistan, it was learned that the U.S. would pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for anyone with terrorist ties, and did little or no checking to verify the truth of accusations. If you didn't like someone, just tell the authorities he was a terrorist. They would arrest him and pay you a big bounty -- whether it was true or not.

The sad thing is that the Bush administration knew this was happening. But they were so paranoid about letting a real terrorist slip through their hands, that they imprisoned over 770 at Guantanamo anyway. Of that 770, only six have ever been charged with a crime. Hundreds of others have been finally released after years of incarceration and torture.

There are still nearly 300 detainees at Gitmo. One is left to wonder, why have only six been charged if all of them pose a danger to the United States. Obviously, no evidence exists of this "danger", except in the depraved minds of members of the Bush administration. If any evidence existed, charges would have been filed.

Now it becomes clear why the Bush administration wanted to deny even the most basic legal rights to the detainees. They had absolutely no evidence on which to hold them, but were afraid if they released them that one or two might actually turn out later to have been a terrorist. It simply did not matter to them that hundreds of innocents were being imprisoned and tortured.

Bush seems to think that history will vindicate him in the long-run. I think just the opposite will happen. I think as more and more of the truth comes out, future generations will revile him and wonder how our generation could have allowed him to do such terrible things. In fact, I wonder that myself.

This generation tried to impeach one president for getting a "blow-job" in the White House, but let another get away with starting an unnecessary war that killed thousand of innocents and tortured and imprisoned many others.

I was going to ask where are our values, but I think a better question may be -- do we have any values other than fear and greed?

Claytie's Back! Now Supporting McCain

Texas rancher and oilman, Clayton "Claytie" Williams, is back in the news again. Younger voters and those fairly new to Texas may not remember Claytie. He was Ann Richards' Republican opponent in the 1990 Texas governor's race, and is possibly the worst candidate to ever run for that office. Ann Richards kicked his ass that year at the ballot box.

Claytie started the campaign at least 20 points ahead in the polls, and was considered a shoo-in for the governorship. But then he started talking, and it seemed like every week he said something so stupid that he dropped another notch in the polls. He compared Ann Richards to his cattle, saying he would "head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt".

Then he angered Hispanics by telling them they should vote for him because he met his wife in a Mexican restaurant. Claytie just considered his remarks as humorous, but most Texans found them very offensive and they wound up costing him the election.

Perhaps the most offensive of his remarks was when he compared rape to the weather. He said, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it". His gaffes were so numerous and outrageous that year that I began to feel sorry for his campaign manager (even though he was a Republican).

The joke about rape was so over the line that it made national news, but I guess McCain was hiding under a rock somewhere because he claims he didn't know about it. You see, Claytie is one of McCain's biggest fund-raisers in Texas. He has already raised $300,000 for McCain this year.

But Claytie's past has caught up with him. A couple of days ago, the McCain campaign cancelled a Texas fund-raiser that was to be hosted by Clayton Williams. It seems that the rape joke had been unearthed, and McCain didn't want to associate himself with such an offensive remark. He told newsmen that he didn't know about Claytie's offensive behavior.

However, he's going to keep the $300,000. He didn't find the remark to be that offensive! Add this to the fact that McCain opposes a woman's right to control her own body and opposes equal pay for women, and I find it difficult to believe any woman would consider voting for him -- no matter how mad at the Democratic Party they are!

Democracy Fading In Zimbabwe

For years now, strongman Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron hand. But earlier this year, it looked like Democracy might actually come to the troubled African country. Mugabe actually decided to hold elections and allow his opponents to participate.

I'm sure that Mugabe thought he was either popular enough or feared enough that people wouldn't dare to vote against him. He was wrong. The candidate of the opposition Movement For A Democratic Change (MDC) actually outpolled Mugabe in the election. But the MDC candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, did not receive a clear majority, so a runoff is to be held soon.

Most Western governments believe Tsvangirai would win a fairly held runoff, but it is looking less and less like that will be allowed by Mugabe. Mugabe (pictured above) is currently using a combination of slander and intimidation and legal shenanigans to try and hold on to his power.

He is accusing the MDC of being "lackeys" controlled by foreign governments, who would return Zimbabwe to colonial rule. He has boldly declared that there is no way he will allow the MDC to rule the country, and has threatened to go to war to prevent it.

He has also arrested Tsvangirai at least 5 times since the election, with the last time being last week. Other MDC officials have also been arrested repeatedly. Tendai Biti, deputy leader of the MDC, is currently waiting to see if treason charges will be upheld. Mugabe had him charged with treason because he declared victory for the MDC in the last election before all votes were counted.

Mugabe is also using the army and civilian thugs to intimidate the populace. Even with Western poll watchers, it is highly doubtful that a fair election can be held now in Zimbabwe. And if it somehow did happen and MDC wins, it is even more doubtful that Mugabe will step down peacefully. He clearly will do anything to hold on to his dictatorial power.

It now looks like Zimbabwe may be just one election away from a civil war.

Potter County Sheriff Convicted

About 4:30pm on Thursday, the jury in the trial of Potter County Sheriff Mike Shumate retired to consider their verdict. Seven hours later, they returned with a guilty verdict. They convicted him of receiving bribes from a company that wanted the commissary contract for the Potter County Detention Center (County Jail). The jury acquitted him of two charges of violating campaign law. Evidently, they didn't think he used any of the bribery money for his political campaigns.

After the verdict was read, the judge stripped Shumate of his badge and revoked his bond. Shumate will stay in the Potter County Detention Center until his punishment is decided. The court will convene again Tuesday morning for the punishment phase of the trial, where he could receive anything from probation to 99 years in prison.

Shumate surprised everyone by taking the stand in his own defense. He testified that he had not taken any bribes, and the charges came from the imagination of his "vindictive" ex-wife. In fact, during his summation Shumate's attorney called Shumate's ex-wife "the meanest woman in Amarillo", and said everyone was afraid of her, including Shumate.

It does seem a bit strange that the defense team agreed to an all-female jury, and then went with the "vindictive ex-wife defense". But smart defense or not, Shumate is now a convicted felon.

Supreme Court Slaps Bush Down Again

Since Bush became president, he has tried to assume the powers of a king. He wants to be able to put people in prison and hold them there for years with charges or a fair trial. He was even able to talk a Republican-controlled Congress into passing a law that gave him that ability -- as long as the arrestee was a foriegner and Bush labeled him a terrorist.

But I think he always knew he was violating the Constitution. That's why he kept the prisoners in our military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Bush thought if he kept foriegners that he called terrorists in a facility outside of the United States, then he wouldn't have to abide by the Constitution or the rule of law.

He was wrong. A couple of months ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo was considered U.S. property as far as the law was concerned since the only authority there was the United States military and government. Yesterday, the Supreme Court restored the right of habeas corpus.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court said the detainees in Guantanamo do have the right to appeal their detention to a United States civilian court. They cannot be held for years without charge or trial and denied the ability to appeal their unlawful detention. The majority decision was written by Justice Kennedy (pictured above). He was joined in the majority by Ginsberg, Souter, Stevens and Breyer.

I applaud these justices. It sets a dangerous precedent when anyone is denied access to the court system, and can be held indefinitely without charges or trial. We are supposed to be a nation that relies on the rule of law. But if that rule of law can be denied to one person, who is to say that can't be extended to others?

I am no lover of terrorists. If the United States government has evidence that any of the detainees engaged in acts of terrorism, they should bring them to a duly authorized court and give them a fair trial. If they are then found guilty, they should be punished severely.

A perfect example of how to treat terrorists is how the U.S. government acted against Timothy McVeigh. He was given a fair trial, convicted and punished according to law. All legal and constitutional guarantees were respected.

But if there is not enough evidence to bring a criminal to trial, then they should be released. A nation based on the rule of law does not keep a person incarcerated for years without charges. The United States government needs to charge the detainees and give them a fair trial, or release them.

Bush still doesn't want to do that. He said he is thinking of asking Congress for another law to allow him to keep these dictatorial powers. But the Republicans no longer control Congress. Congressional Democrats must show they have a backbone. They must deny him any such unconstitutional law.

Democrats must not give in this time. It's too important.

Political Tidbits

In an interesting article in the Huffington Post yesterday, Cecile Richards tells us that her mother, Ann Richards, would be supporting Barack Obama if she were still with us today. Ms. Richards says of her mother, "...if she were still around she would suit up and campaign for Senator Obama in the farthest corner of the farthest state. Mom would see in him a leader with a long and consistent record for standing up for women's health care, a man raised by a single mother, a father of two daughters, and a husband who supports women's rights 100 percent."

In language that's very remniscent of the former governor, Cecile Richards said, "Mom would have said that women voting for John McCain would be like chickens choosing to vote for the Colonel."

I don't think this is a surprise for most Democrats. The great Ann Richards was a loyal Democrat and a tireless campaigner for women's rights.

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According to MSNBC, John McCain is not just having trouble winning over his party's right-wing base. He's also not doing well among the party's richest contributors. Of George Bush's largest contributors, so far, only 8% of them have donated money to the campaign of John McCain.

At that rate, McCain is going to have a lot of trouble matching Obama's record-breaking fundraising effort.

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The city of El Paso has just passed up an opportunity to strike a blow for the environment. In a 4-3 vote, the city council decided not to ban plastic bags. It turned out to be a business versus environment vote.

Councilman Eddie Holguin said, ""This is just another example of Big Brother telling the business community what to do. I can't comprehend why council wants to force more things down the throat of the business community."

Speaking for the ban, Councilman Steve Ortega countered, "These bags are not biodegradable, and they take 1,000 years to dissolve. We have a beautiful city, but the landscape is littered with plastic bags."

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has decided that George Bush is a wicked man. He said, "This wicked man desires to harm the Iranian nation. (Bush) made plans, moved into Afghanistan and then Iraq, and announced that Iran was the third target."

Ahmadinejad is a total idiot, but even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Bush's Iraq Defense Pact Is Falling Apart

The United States has a very tenuous legal justification for invading and occupying Iraq. That justification is a United Nations mandate that was approved after Bush sent Colin Powell to lie to the United Nations about reasons for the war. But that mandate runs out at the end of this year. At that time, the United States would either have to withdraw or get the mandate extended.

But Bush doesn't like either option, so he has been trying to force the Iraqis to agree to an American-Iraqi Defense Agreement. Such an agreement would let him bypass the United Nations and commit the United States to keeping troops in Iraq for many years. For a while it looked like he might be successful in that endeavor, but now opposition is growing in both countries.

Although the Bush administration says it's still on target to complete the agreement by July 31st, anonymous sources in the administration and the Iraqi government say they don't think an agreement can be reached by the end of the year. The sticking point in the negotiations are the terms of the agreement each side is demanding.

The Bush administration wants:

* Dozens of bases from which U.S. troops can launch attacks or arrest Iraqis without prior consent of the Iraqi government.

* Complete immunity for U.S. troops and security contractors.

* Control of Iraq's air space.

* No guarantee the U.S. will protect Iraq from foriegn attacks.

The Iraqi government wants:

* U.S. troops to stay on bases outside the cities.

* No immunity for troops and security contractors.

* U.S. will act only when Iraq requests help.

* U.S. will not control Iraqi air space.

It doesn't look like the two sides are close to an agreement. But even if they were, opposition to the agreement is growing in this country. Even some Republicans are afraid Bush is trying to force a future administration into accepting an unending occupation of Iraq.

Obama has spoken up about the agreement and says it must be "absolutely clear that the United States will not maintain permanent military bases in Iraq." He also says that any security commitment to Iraq must have Congressional approval. Obama is on solid constitutional grounds here.

Any such agreement reached would have the effect of a treaty, and according to the United States Constitution, "He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur". It seems clear enough that the agreement could not take effect without approval of the Senate.

If Senate Democrats would just show a little backbone, they could stop this ridiculous agreement in its tracks, and that's just what they should do! Without the agreement, Bush would have to go back to the United Nations. They certainly wouldn't agree to a long extension of the mandate, if they extended it at all.

It is time to withdraw ALL American troops from Iraq. A good step toward achieving that goal would be to deny Bush this defense agreement. That would give the next president the option of starting an orderly withdrawal.

Political Tidbits

Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball yesterday had an interesting "big number" of the day. The number showed the ungodly cost of a presidential campaign these days. Matthews said the New York Times had figured up what it cost Hillary Clinton to get a delegate in the 2008 campaign. The figure was $109,823 per delegate, and that was for the losing campaign. Can you imagine what the number will be in four years? Maybe it's time for us to seriously consider public financing of national campaigns.

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Al Franken is now officially the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Minnesota. He received over 60% of the first ballot votes at the Minnesota Democratic Convention. He told the convention, "I will not lose my spine." That's a promise I wish a few more Democrats would make.

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It looks like maybe Bob Barr will be siphoning off some Republican votes in the coming election. Former Texas congressman and future prison inmate, Tom DeLay, was asked if Barr would get a lot of Republican votes. He said yes. He went on to say his own wife had announced she would be voting for Barr, and he was still trying to talk her out of it. McCain still has a lot of convincing to do with his right-wing party's base.

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There are many who are clamoring for an Obama-Clinton ticket. President Jimmy Carter is not one of them. He told The Guardian newspaper in London that would be "the worst mistake that could be made". Carter said, "That would just accumulate the negative aspects of both candidates" and the accumulated vulnerabilities would overshadow the campaign.

The People's Mansion Burns

I was in Austin for the Texas Democratic Convention last weekend. It was such a great convention, that I went to bed on Saturday night a very happy person. But when I woke up Sunday morning, I was greeted by the sad news that there had been a very destructive fire at the Governor's Mansion early Sunday morning.

By the time I got home on Sunday, it was being reported that the fire was probably caused by an arsonist. That made it even worse. Who would do such a dastardly thing to the people of Texas?

This mansion doesn't belong to any one Republican or Democrat. It belongs to the citizens of our great state. We just let a Republican or Democrat live there while they serve their term as governor.

Making matters even worse, this is the 4th oldest governor's residence in the nation. It is the oldest one west of the Mississippi. This arsonist didn't just try to burn down the house where the governor lives -- he tried to destroy a piece of Texas history. In effect, he spit in the face of every Texan.

I hope they apprehend him quickly and punish him severely. I know he wouldn't want to have me sitting on his jury!

Potter County Sheriff On Trial

While I was at the State Democratic Convention last week, the trial of Potter County Sheriff Michael Shumate started. The sheriff is accused of taking bribes to award the commissary contract to a particular company. He allegedly received laptop computers, meals, trips, cash and other gifts from the company.

The sheriff is also accused of failing to report campaign donations -- many of them from the same company to whom he awarded the commissary contract. This is also a serious charge, since the money is not subject to campaign laws if not reported. It can be used then for any purpose, including dumping the money into his own personal bank account.

The State Attorney General's Office is acting as prosecutor for the trial. That's at request of the Potter County District Attorney. Since the District Attorney must work closely with the Sheriff's Department, he thought there might be the perception that he couldn't be impartial. That was probably a wise decision.

In an interesting sidelight to the trial, the sides agreed to an all-female jury. The alternate juror chosen is also female. County officials believe this is the first time an all-female jury is sitting in an important felony trial in Potter County.

The trial is expected to last most of this month.

In spite of the felony charge, Shumate ran for re-election this year. Fortunately, he was defeated in the Republican primary by Brian Thomas. Thomas will be opposed in November by Democrat Robert Taylor. At this time, it's looking like that's shaping up to be one of the tighter races in the Panhandle.

The Battle For Party Chair

There is an exciting contest this year to see who will lead the Texas Democratic Party for the next two years. There are three candidates -- current chairman Boyd Richie, Roy LaVerne Brooks and popular progressive David Van Os (pictured above).

It looks like the real fight will be between Richie and Van Os. Richie has been an OK chairman, but tends to pick the races the state party will support because he says they don't have the funds to fully support all candidates.

On the other hand, Van Os is a big supporter of the "254 county strategy". He doesn't want to cede even the reddest counties to the Republicans. Van Os is a fighter, and can best be summed up by his favorite quote -- Fight'em till Hell freezes over and then fight'em on the ice.

Brooks has been the party's vice-chair, and her supporters say it is time to remove that glass ceiling and elevate her to the leadership. She is a long-time Democratic activist and it's hard to guage her level of support. I imagine this election will require a roll call of the delegations.

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It looks like Boyd Richie gets to keep his position as party chairman. Richie got 4823.9 votes (63.24%), Van Os got 1520.2 votes (19.93%) and Brooks got 1283.9 votes (16.83%).

The Democratic Dichotomy

This is my seventh Texas Democratic State Convention, and every time I am again amazed at the broad diversity within the Democratic Party. Democrats truly are the "Big Tent" party. You can look around at the thousands of delegates and alternates, and you will see every race, age, sex, ethnicity, sexual-preference and religion that makes up Texas and the rest of America.

This same thing is reflected in the booths and exhibits that have been set up for the delegates to peruse. There are booths for those who favor gun ownership, and for those whose oppose gun ownership. Both the pro-choice and pro-life factions have booths. The environmental-protection and anti-nuclear proponents have their booths only a few steps away from several energy companies.

Don't expect to see this from the Republican Party. They only recognize one point of view on most issues and one religion. In addition, when you look at the delegates, you'll see so much white that its almost blinding.

As it does every two years, the diversity of the Democratic Party makes me proud to be a member.

Clinton Asks For Party Unity

Appearing before 6,000 of her supporters today, Hillary Clinton officially suspended her campaign and threw her support to Barack Obama. She said, "Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me."

She retold some of the stories she has been telling on the campaign trail to illuminate how many of her supporters sacrificed for her campaign and its goals. Then she spent a few minutes thanking her supporters and making sure they knew how much she appreciates them.

Then she turned back to the matter at hand. She spoke to her supporters, and told them, "The way, the way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passions, our strengths and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United States."

She went on to say the Democratic Party is a family, and that its now time to restore the bonds that tie us together. She said that every minute wasted looking back, keeps us from moving forward to a Democratic victory. She told the crowd that life is too short and the stakes are too high, and "I will work my heart out" to see that Obama is elected in November.

This is the speech that Clinton needed to give. She said everything she needed to say, and the Obama campaign should be satisfied with her effort today to unify the party.

There were some boos in the crowd when Obama was mentioned, and while that was disappointing, I guess it is understandable. It has been a long and hard-fought campaign and many of Clinton's supporters are heartbroken. However, I do feel that most of them will show themselves to be good Democrats and unify behind the ticket, especially since Clinton has now asked them to do so.

It will still be a long campaign and I expect the Republicans to continue their tradition of dirty politics. But with Obama's hard campaigning and Clinton's valuable help, the country can be saved from having to endure another four years of failed Republican policies.

Saturday Session Has Started

They have finally started the saturday session of the convention -- a few minutes late, as is normal for Texas Democrats. They have told us that they will stop the convention and broadcast Hillary Clinton's speech when she starts it. As the convention leaders said, it makes no sense to have thousands of good Democrats miss one of the most important speeches of the year because they are doing the party's work.

They did finally announce the figures for the convention delegates. They were supposed to do it last night, but evidently our state leadership's not very good at math and they needed more time. Here are the figures:

Total Delegates -- 7,239

Obama Delegates -- 4,144 (57.3%)

Clinton Delegates -- 3,088 (42.7%)

Undecided Delegates -- 7

You gotta love those 7 undecided delegates. There's always a few who don't seem to like anyone, even after the nomination has been decided.

I hope this puts to rest the argument over who won Texas. Barack Obama won Texas and has over 57% of her delegates.