Mukasey should not be confirmed

[KevinTheOmnivore]

John Ashcroft was the United States attorney general from 2001 to 2005. He now heads a consulting firm that has telecommunications companies as clients.

That about says it all.

[Preechr]

Ok, Ok... I just fully skimmed the Libertarian Handbook and no where in there... believe it or not... does it say that a known terrorist has any sort of protection from harm under any sort of ideal law. "Your right to swing your fist stops at my chin," remember? I have said it before and I'll say it again: I want a government that will do whatever it takes to end the evil of terrorism. Yes, I understand that "terror" and it's causation can be loosely and ruthlessly defined by an evil government, but that's why I like people like Max... I am in the precarious position of finally agreeing with ex-Vp and current Nobel Prize-Winning think-o-crat Al Gore on a tiny sub-set of his current eco-propaganda retirement plan: Flat-Earth type skeptics of everything new should probably just be disregarded... Yet, I think they should exist and be heard, just in case, like Max, they have the potential for one day uncovering a Luddite, anti-lightbulb sort of path of which we should actually be fearful. Maybe that will happen... who knows?

And, Kevin... come on... Sullivan hasn't been relevant since he subscribed to ABB Weekly when our dear leader made his position on Gay Marriage known last election cycle. For all your righteous indignation at anything Geggy, you might as well have linked an article from michaelmoore.com, man.

I have never supported Bush's intentions outright. I have been steadfast in this administration's unintended consequences and my butthole has been so tight so far you'd be hard-pressed to poke a toothpick up in there. I know why conservatives support this war, and though it makes me a bit queasy, I appreciate the fact that conservative support of this effort has made it possible. My biggest grief here is that Liberals... if they even exist anymore... haven't taken over the reins, especially since the tide has turned and things are looking decidedly better in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This should never have been attempted as a war against Rag-Heads that want to subjugate us and make our wives wear Burkas. It was, though, and so far that it was... even for the wrong reasons... it is good.

What we need now is a real Liberal to finish what Dubya inadvertently started... but, unfortunately, what passes for a Liberal these days is just a sad memory of what was started with our nation's founding...


What were we talking about again? Torture? Waterboarding? Yeah, I think I fully support "enhanced" methods of interrogation as long as we have guys like Max to bitch about everything somebody can come up with and as long as those "enhanced" methods produce positive results... Isn't that what this has boiled down to again? Was this ever about Mukasey at all?

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Andrew Sullivan is still one of the most highly read and respected writers on the web. He's very different than Michael Moore.

I'm not asking you to like him, but he's far from irrelevant.

[mburbank]

Yes, damnit! It's about Mukasey like this.

Torture is illegal. You can do all the fancy footwork you want, but under our current system of laws it's illegal.

Personally, I think that's good, because I think it's wrong, but my emotional reaction has nothing to do with Mukasey's nomination.

If you allow a nominee to become attorney general who is willling to say "I find breaking the law acceptable under certain circumstances" That's a problem. Because of his office, it's a damn problem if he says it's okay to drive above the damn speed limit or Jay Walk, and it's by degree a bigger problem when the crime in question is torture, and in addition, he's saying it's okay for the attorney general to perjure himself as long as that's what the President wants. It doesn't matter if you think torture is justified any more than I think torturers are subhuman. It's the law.

You can't have a dog catcher who thinks some dogs should be allowed to run around free biting people. You can't have a fire chief who thinks it's okay if some people burn up. And you can't have an attorney general who says it is okay for some people to break the law.

I'm sure we've had dog catcher's, fire chiefs and attorney generals who've done all that. I'm sure it's the rule and not the exception, but it's WRONG.

And I agree with you, there's not a liberal out there, and if this damn election leaves me feeling like I have little choice but to vote for Hillary I may take a dump in the voting booth.