Happy Torture Day!

I couldn't let the day pass without acknowledging a historic event: the day that disappearing people and subjecting them to state-sanctioned torture became official US policy.

Civil libertarians and leading Democrats decried the law as a violation of American values. The American Civil Liberties Union said it was "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history." Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin said, "We will look back on this day as a stain on our nation's history."

"It allows the government to seize individuals on American soil and detain them indefinitely with no opportunity to challenge their detention in court," Feingold said. "And the new law would permit an individual to be convicted on the basis of coerced testimony and even allow someone convicted under these rules to be put to death."

The AP writer does her level best to put a smiley face on the new law of the land, but it is what it is-- one more step toward a police state. I think Tony Snow delivered the best quote on the issue:

Snow rejected the idea that Americans should be able to see and judge the standards for themselves, particularly in the aftermath of illegal abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison.

"The only way accountability doesn't exist is if you believe that the military is not committed to it," Snow said.

That's his response to an Abu Ghraib question? There's so much dishonesty and doublespeak in that little statement the guy deserves some sort of prize-- especially for the explicit invitation to invent your own happy reality. Maybe we could call them the "Winnies," in honor of Winston Smith. A gold rat would make a nice statue, right?