No On Gonzales

The full senate is poised to vote on Alberto Gonzales today. A vote for Gonzales is, quite simply a vote for torture. I have gotten behind in my blogging and while I have posted often on the issue of torture I did not keep up on the Gonzales vote; my apologies. Other Bloggers have been keeping up on the issue, check out the daily KOS:

As the prime legal architect for the policy of torture adopted by the Bush Administration, Gonzales's advice led directly to the abandonment of longstanding federal laws, the Geneva Conventions, and the United States Constitution itself. Our country, in following Gonzales's legal opinions, has forsaken its commitment to human rights and the rule of law and shamed itself before the world with our conduct at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. The United States, a nation founded on respect for law and human rights, should not have as its Attorney General the architect of the law's undoing.

For my part, my family has written both of our senators. Please do the same.

Elections in Iraq – So Far so Good

As a certified member of the liberal elite (and a Christian no less) I have had very little to say that has been favorable towards the foreign policy of the Bush administration. However, I have said before and I will say again that there is no greater legacy that an administration can leave than to grant people a democracy where one did not exist before. It will be some days before we can fully assess the success of the Iraqi elections but based on early analysis it does appear that they have been a success. From MSNBC:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - More Iraqis than anticipated defied threats of violence and calls for a boycott to cast ballots Sunday in Iraq's first free election in a half-century. The violence continued unabated, however, with insurgent attacks on polling stations killing at least 44 people, including nine suicide bombers.

If the early news pans out then Bush has something that he can honestly brag about and I will support him on this. In the mean time it would be nice if someone would remind President Bush that you cannot spread liberty through torture.