House passes torture bill

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein at 8:30 AM on September 28, 2006.

The House voted 254-168 against the rule of law yesterday and for Bush's right to interpret the Geneva Convention in whatever way seems convenient. The so-called compromise legislation, which actually became more draconian during the alleged "compromise" isn't just about torture, it also includes a ridiculously broad definition of enemy combatant, and slap in the face to international law, the loss of habeas corpus for detainees in US military prisons, and more!

Don't you feel safer already?

That's 34 Democrats out of 194 and 219 out of 226 Republicans voting for the bill.

The New York Times published a scathing editorial about the torture bill, entitled Rushing Off a Cliff:

Here’s what happens when this irresponsible Congress railroads a profoundly important bill to serve the mindless politics of a midterm election: The Bush administration uses Republicans’ fear of losing their majority to push through ghastly ideas about antiterrorism that will make American troops less safe and do lasting damage to our 217-year-old nation of laws — while actually doing nothing to protect the nation from terrorists. Democrats betray their principles to avoid last-minute attack ads. Our democracy is the big loser.

Cenk Uygur calls it a bill that will live in infamy, the Alien and Sedition Act of our age.

[Balkinization, Unclaimed Territory, Huffington Post]

Lindsay Beyerstein a New York writer blogging at Majikthise.