From:
GOP Debate Reveals Depraved and Deluded Political Class
(Future of Freedom Foundation) -- by Tim Kelly --
The most recent GOP foreign policy debate revealed the depraved and deluded state of America’s political class. There was a time when U.S. presidents sought plausible deniability for things like torture and assassination; now such sordid practices are openly supported by candidates seeking the country’s highest elected office.
Several candidates were asked their opinion regarding waterboarding. Herman Cain said that he was against torture, but that he believed waterboarding to be an “enhanced interrogation technique” and therefore permissible. Michele Bachmann indicated she would authorize waterboarding. Rick Perry also supported it, saying, “This is war. That’s what happens in war. And I am for using the techniques, not torture, but using those techniques that we know will extract the information to save young American lives. And I will be for it until I die.”
Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman, to their credit, came out unequivocally against waterboarding, with Paul calling it illegal and immoral. When asked directly what he thought constituted torture, Paul said “waterboarding is torture.”
Paul is correct. Waterboarding is torture. It is an interrogation technique that causes severe pain in the form of reflexive choking and gagging. Subjects are strapped to a board, and their heads are covered. Water is then poured over their faces. The subjects cannot breathe through the mouth or nose, and death will occur if the procedure is not interrupted.
Now, torture is illegal under U.S. and international law. It is also banned by the Geneva Convention on Torture, a treaty to which the United States is a signatory. President Ronald Reagan signed it in 1988, and the U.S. Senate ratified it in 1994; it therefore has the force of law in the United States. By advocating an interrogation technique which is clearly torture, Cain, Perry, and Bachmann are supporting the violation of the very law they would be sworn to uphold should one of them win the presidency.
When the subject of assassination came up, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich signaled their strong support. Gingrich elaborated, “If you engage in war against the United States, you are an enemy combatant. You have none of the civil liberties in the United States, you cannot go to court."
On this point, Gingrich is simply wrong. When an American citizen is accused of waging war against the United States, he stands accused of treason. Treason is specifically mentioned in the Constitution under article III, section 3, which reads, “Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”
The mere accusation of treason (or terrorism) does not relieve government officials of their obligation to abide by the law, which requires due process.
Romney and Gingrich are essentially supporting the position taken by the Obama administration, which asserts that the executive branch has the authority to kill any person they claim is a really bad person (i.e., “enemy combatant” or “terrorist”) without having to go through the inconvenience and expense of following the Constitution.
Paul condemned the policy of assassinating alleged terrorists and pointed out the cognitive dissonance afflicting those who think the government shouldn’t run the health-care system, yet somehow believe it should be entrusted with the power to kill U.S. citizens without due process. As Paul said, “You want to live within the law and obey the law. Because otherwise, it's going to be very bad for all of us.”...MORE...LINK
FOR LIBERTARIAN NATIONALISM: ANTI-CORPORATIST, ANTI-COMMUNIST, ANTI-GLOBALIST...PRO-SOVEREIGNTY, PRO-POPULIST, PRO-FREE ENTERPRISE
My Other Blog & Comments
News and Information Feed
-
-
-
-
-
Топ важных советов для здорового пикника на природе39 minutes ago
-
-
TikTok1 hour ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Eugen Dühring3 hours ago
-
-
-
Follow the Money3 hours ago
-
-
The complicated truth about being stalked3 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What An Incredible Hike!4 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
A lesson in privilege5 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sunday, April 28, 20248 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Arthur Topham RIP - ZOG Opponent10 hours ago
-
-
-
The Scramble For Antarctica10 hours ago
-
-
-
The Collapse of The Enlightenment12 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
News Briefs – 04/28/202415 hours ago
-
-
All About Ed17 hours ago
-
-
Washington Moves On to Plan B18 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Dying to Your Flesh – Session 222 hours ago
-
Ashes of Apathy in El Salvador22 hours ago
-
-
Moral Anarchy: An Understatement22 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Colleges revolts against Israel1 day ago
-
-
-
Month of the Leader, part 31 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Kim Iversen Show2 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I Called It Five Years Ago!2 days ago
-
A Derb Tribute Show2 days ago
-
-
-
The dumbest decision.3 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Democracy For Dummies5 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Now Argentina Wants To Join NATO1 week ago
-
-
-
-
Tulsi Gabbard Left The Woke War Party2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
Help Whatfinger Grow…4 weeks ago
-
-
-
Navigating Taxation Policy5 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
So sorry about tomorrow3 months ago
-
-
-
TFeed Index 20233 months ago
-
-
-
-
Headline 3: Of Christmas And Paganism5 months ago
-
Imagine Being This Desperate5 months ago
-
-
Hardcore7 months ago
-
Media Say ... Gloom And Doom In China7 months ago
-
-
U.S. Openly Militarizes Space8 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Conversations With Cabbies10 months ago
-
-
-
-
Hegemon USA’s War on Truth-Telling11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tips1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Man, Bear, Pig Event Coming1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What a Wonderful Stocking Stuffer!2 years ago
-
test2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
#273 – Marc Randolph2 years ago
-
My Farewell Announcement2 years ago
-
My Farewell Announcement2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Farewell, for now3 years ago
-
-
Audio Book Lost Colony of Hatteras3 years ago
-
-
Cancel Yourself3 years ago
-
-
Hello world!3 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Non-Jewish Origins of Krav Maga3 years ago
-
-
-
Why the Marines are dumping their tanks4 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Voxiversity Live Stream6 years ago
-
-
Home: A Recap6 years ago
-
Big Brother’s War on Cash6 years ago
-
-
-
-
By: Osamas Pajamas9 years ago
-
Join Our Mailing List12 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
GOP debates reveal sickness, cynicism and moral depravity of entire, conjoined political class from Obama through Perry
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment