The Honorable Senator Feinstein,
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat though for the last 6+ years I have supported Democratic candidates because I am thoroughly alienated by the Republican party, its politicians and its positions. Even more to the point, I feel that I am slowly seeing the eroding of the fundamental principals of our form of government.
I feel the government our forefathers painstakingly crafted in the founding of this country is slowly being dismantled around us. The seemingly unchecked rise of executive power coupled with a politically compromised judiciary and a congress too timid to wield the power vested in its institution, appears to be poisoning the global landscape for generations to come.
To think that our values could be turned on their head in such an Orwellian fashion that in the name of "Freedom"' we have gutted Habeas Corpus, allowed renditions, created black sites and now have "GitMo" as a symbol of American Justice and "The Rule of Law" turns my stomach. The very idea that we are playing semantic games over what "torture" is and whether or not waterboarding (or "simulated drowning") in any form is torture or not is antithetical to what I thought were our "American Values".
Senator Feinstein, I want my country back. When I heard that you and Senator Schumer were going to vote in favor of Mr. Mukasey's appointment without getting a firm answer on waterboarding and torture, I was deeply dismayed. When I read on your website the account of your reasons why, my position softened somewhat. I can understand your pragmatism in this case.
However, I want you to know that I, like many of my friends and associates, are at our limits. There must be change and we want to see our leaders take the risks necessary to defend what is most important of all -- our Constitution and all it represents. Otherwise, we are squandering the sacrifices of our brave men and women have made and are continuing to make in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.
I beseech you to demand that Mukasey not only address the waterboarding and torture issues immediately upon his approval but that he hold any and all accountable who have subverted our laws and warped their interpretations regardless of their motivations. We are supposed to be "a nation of laws" and no man or woman, and especially not the President, is above those laws.
I still want to believe in my country and my government but my faith has been sorely tested. Please show us that that Congress can exercise its obligation to be a check and a balance on executive power.
Respectfully.
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat though for the last 6+ years I have supported Democratic candidates because I am thoroughly alienated by the Republican party, its politicians and its positions. Even more to the point, I feel that I am slowly seeing the eroding of the fundamental principals of our form of government.
I feel the government our forefathers painstakingly crafted in the founding of this country is slowly being dismantled around us. The seemingly unchecked rise of executive power coupled with a politically compromised judiciary and a congress too timid to wield the power vested in its institution, appears to be poisoning the global landscape for generations to come.
To think that our values could be turned on their head in such an Orwellian fashion that in the name of "Freedom"' we have gutted Habeas Corpus, allowed renditions, created black sites and now have "GitMo" as a symbol of American Justice and "The Rule of Law" turns my stomach. The very idea that we are playing semantic games over what "torture" is and whether or not waterboarding (or "simulated drowning") in any form is torture or not is antithetical to what I thought were our "American Values".
Senator Feinstein, I want my country back. When I heard that you and Senator Schumer were going to vote in favor of Mr. Mukasey's appointment without getting a firm answer on waterboarding and torture, I was deeply dismayed. When I read on your website the account of your reasons why, my position softened somewhat. I can understand your pragmatism in this case.
However, I want you to know that I, like many of my friends and associates, are at our limits. There must be change and we want to see our leaders take the risks necessary to defend what is most important of all -- our Constitution and all it represents. Otherwise, we are squandering the sacrifices of our brave men and women have made and are continuing to make in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.
I beseech you to demand that Mukasey not only address the waterboarding and torture issues immediately upon his approval but that he hold any and all accountable who have subverted our laws and warped their interpretations regardless of their motivations. We are supposed to be "a nation of laws" and no man or woman, and especially not the President, is above those laws.
I still want to believe in my country and my government but my faith has been sorely tested. Please show us that that Congress can exercise its obligation to be a check and a balance on executive power.
Respectfully.
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