On this day in 1881, Billy the Kid passed away at the age of 31 from an overdose of lead delivered by Sheriff Pat Garrett.

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Matt Davies, NY Journal News

With reports that the Health Insurance Industry has been spending $1,400,000 per day to influence Congress, key lawmakers are now saying health care reform will not happen before the August recess.

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

What’s the connection?

Demanjuk has been extradited to Germany where he has been formally charged with 27,900 counts of being an accessory to murder for his role as a guard at one of Hitler’s death camps.

Bush, and nearly everyone involved in the Abu Gahrib scandal, continue to roam freely. It is alleged that Bush led the United States into a war of aggression based on lies. If true, that would be an international crime. Estimates range from over 100,000 to around 1,000,000 Iraqi childrne, women, and men killed as a result of Bush’s war against Iraq.

In an unjustified war of agression, Bush, and all those who carried out his orders, could be held accountable. However, it is likely that low-level soldiers, who neither knew nor could have known the illegality of the war, would be held to criminal charges. Those on the top, however, who knew the intelligence was being manufacured, would not be so insulated.

It may well be that those individuals may be hunted down, much in the same manner as former nazis.

“Efraim Zuroff, the top Nazi-hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, welcomed the filing of formal charges.

This is obviously an important step forward,” Zuroff said by telephone from Jerusalem. “We hope that the trial itself will be expedited so that justice will be achieved and he can be given the appropriate punishment.”

Therein lies the connection. There is no statute of limitation on international war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The effort to bring Demjanjuk to justice sends a very powerful message that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrator,” Zuroff said.

If Obama fails to hold the Bush Administration accountable, perhaps some future president will have the courage to do so.

Cookies by gummitch

Good morning, all!

Gummitch taunted me mercilessly yesterday about his cookie baking day, so I decided to snag his picture and declare this Cookie Day.

Recipes are welcome, even if it’s too hot to bake.  And since this is your daily open thread, everything else is on the table as well.

Interesting cookie facts from the Wiki:

Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society, throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.

With global travel becoming widespread at that time, cookies made a natural travel companion, a modernized equivalent of the travel cakes used throughout history. One of the most popular early cookies, which traveled especially well and became known on every continent by similar names, was the jumble, a relatively hard cookie made largely from nuts, sweetener, and water.

Cookies came to America in the very first century of English settlement (the 1600s), although the name “koekje” arrived slightly later, with the Dutch. This became Anglicized to “cookie”. Among the popular early American cookies were the macaroon, gingerbread cookies, and of course jumbles of various types.

Enjoy!

According to the New York Times, former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to keep a counter-terrorism program secret from Congress — for eight years.  CIA Director Leon Panetta informed the House and Senate Intelligence committees about the program after he learned of it on June 23,

Dick Cheney

and shut down the program immediately.  The purpose and activities of the program remain secret.

The law requires the president to make sure the intelligence committees “are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity.” But the language of the statute, the amended National Security Act of 1947, leaves some leeway for judgment, saying such briefings should be done “to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters.”

In addition, for covert action programs, a particularly secret category in which the role of the United States is hidden, the law says that briefings can be limited to the so-called Gang of Eight, consisting of the Republican and Democratic leaders of both houses of Congress and of their intelligence committees.

Cheney’s involvement in the secret counter-terrorism program came to light through the inspector general’s report, which featured the former vice president’s primary role in keeping secret the NSA’s eavesdropping activities from all but a small number of government officials.

Intelligence and Congressional officials have said the unidentified program did not involve the C.I.A. interrogation program and did not involve domestic intelligence activities. They have said the program was started by the counterterrorism center at the C.I.A. shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but never became fully operational, involving planning and some training that took place off and on from 2001 until this year.

The secret program, begun just days after September 11, 2001, was so secret, so closely held to the vest by the Bush administration, that it’s effectiveness was questionable at best.

A report released on Friday by the inspectors general of five agencies about the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program makes clear that Mr. Cheney’s legal adviser, David S. Addington, had to approve personally every government official who was told about the program. The report said “the exceptionally compartmented nature of the program” frustrated F.B.I. agents who were assigned to follow up on tips it had turned up.

House Rep Jan Schakowsky has written to the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Rep Silvestre Reyes, demanding an investigation, and Rep Pete Hoekstra doesn’t want to be too “harsh” in his judgment of the agency.

In Newsweek, there’s a statement by the CIA spokesman, Paul Gimigliano, regarding the demand of seven House members that Director Panetta correct his previous testimony to the Intelligence Committee, in the light of this newly-discovered secret program:

Paul Gimigliano, a CIA spokesman, said Panetta has nothing to correct: “Director Panetta took the initiative to raise the issue with the Hill. He did so promptly and clearly, as the oversight committees themselves recognize. He stands by his statement that it is neither the policy nor the practice of the CIA to mislead Congress. He believes, as his actions show, in the importance of a candid dialogue with Congress.”  (Emphasis added)

Well, of course it’s not the official policy of the CIA to lie to Congress.  No one is going to put that kind of thing in writing, right?  But in practice, clearly the CIA has lied to Congress time after time after time.  For Director Panetta to stand by his statement that “it is neither the policy nor the practice of the CIA to mislead Congress” is ridiculous on it’s face — and frankly, insulting.

President Obama

Going back to the fact that the law requires that the president make sure that the intelligence committees “are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity,” but keeping in mind that the language of the law was amended to say that the briefings should be done “to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters,” it’s clear to me that President Obama needs to yank Director Panetta’s chain.  Panetta’s semantic quibbling reflects badly on the Obama administration, and works further toward chipping away at candidate Obama’s promise of “transparency.”

After Nancy Pelosi’s contentious and on-going fight over what she was told and when, and former Senator Bob Graham’s revelation that the CIA was wrong (lied) about the number of briefings they gave him, it’s obvious that the “Gang of Eight” briefings are a joke.

From the New York Times article:

Democrats in Congress, who contend that the Bush administration improperly limited Congressional briefings on intelligence, are seeking to change the National Security Act to permit the full intelligence committees to be briefed on more matters. President Obama, however, has threatened to veto the intelligence authorization bill if the changes go too far, and the proposal is now being negotiated by the White House and the intelligence committees.  (Emphasis added)

This is dangerous ground, President Obama.  Appearing to be against briefing the full intelligence committees on more security matters raises questions about your commitment to “change.” You have tipped your hand, and now must define “too far.”

I began this post with the news that Dick Cheney had ordered the CIA to keep a counter-terrorism program secret from Congress for almost eight years.  This matter must be investigated by a Special Prosecutor, who’s encumbered by no limitations whatsoever.  It will be expensive, and it will be painful, but it is our only course if “no one is above the law,” and if we are interested the rule of law.

Having said that, Barack Obama is president now, and it’s his responsibility to guide this country toward greatness — even if it’s expensive, even if it’s painful.  Moving forward does not include forgetting the past.

President Obama, this is your moment — one of many, many moments — make the most of it.  For us.

UPDATE:  From The Raw Story

The controversy over claims the CIA lied to Congress by withholding information about a counter-terrorism program centers around an “attempt” by the agency to seize and kill Al Qaeda leaders in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

According to the story, the CIA program that agency director Leon Panetta learned of last month, and then disclosed to the House Intelligence Committee, was “an attempt to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives.”

The Journal cites unnamed “current and former government officials” who reportedly said the program had never become fully operational before Panetta ordered it shut down last month.

Cryptically, the paper states: “Republicans on the panel say that the CIA effort didn’t advance to a point where Congress clearly should have been notified.” No explanation is given as to why only Republicans on the committee would have been privy to this information. (Emphasis added)

Very interesting — especially the part about only Republicans being privy to this information.

Appoint a Special Prosecutor now, Mr Holder!

HT:  Max Anax junius -1 on ThinkProgress

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
John Cole, Scranton, PA Times-Tribune

Guardian.co.uk/The Observer

“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status …” (Article 2, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

I have been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when th e convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This was in conflict with my belief – confirmed in the holy scriptures – that we are all equal in the eyes of God.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. It is widespread. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths.

Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women’s equal rights across the world for centuries. The male interpretations of religious texts and the way they interact with, and reinforce, traditional practices justify some of the most pervasive, persistent, flagrant and damaging examples of human rights abuses.

At their most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

Go here to read the rest of this excellent article.

My son is a huge fan of The Young Turks, and he thought I’d like this video.  I think you’ll like it, too. 

All cartoons are posted with the artists’ express permission to TPZoo.
John Cole, Scranton, PA Times-Tribune