Thanks, Sen. Leahy, but I'll take JUSTICE

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday February 12, 2009 · 1:37 PM PST

2009/02/12 · 13:37

Sen. Leahy, please accept my genuine thanks for choosing to make your case on Daily Kos and also accept -- in the spirit of vigorous debate befitting a democracy -- my rejection of your proposal for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

jfaustus

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday October 30, 2008 · 5:46 PM PDT

2008/10/30 · 17:46

Thanks to proseandpromise for the shout-out and the encouragement to write this diary.

Health care IS your right. Not "should be". IS. Don't let anyone tell you different.

See, we in the US have the luxury of a strong Costitution and Bill of Rights. We complain -- rightly! -- about their erosion and their discriminatory application even in good times. But there are lots of places that don't have strong constitutions, or where even well-written constitutions are so poorly enforced they might as well not exist. People in those countries, the people I work with, look to international human rights law to protect them where their governments won't. But international human rights law applies here too -- not just "over there". And it confers on each of us a right to health care.

jfaustus

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday July 18, 2007 · 12:12 PM PDT

2007/07/18 · 12:12

One of the defining characteristics of the GOP for the last 15 years and this administration in particular is relentlessness. If at first people don't believe the lie, pound pound it home at every opportunity. Evidence mounts that Iraq is a colossal failure? Shout "Progress!" from the rooftops. The country is appalled that the federal government would consider intervening in the private medical decisions of a husband and wife? Convene a special session of Congress to address the burning national issue of Terry Schiavo's life support. Gitmo and the Special Romney Double Gitmo.

The list, of course, goes on. The machine goes on. And on. And on. It never stops. It doesn't rest. If you're marginally sensitive and reflective, it doesn't let you rest. It twists your guts, keeps you tossing and turning in your sleep, captures your thoughts in moments of inattention and leads you down the path to dreary daymares of a crumbling republic.

In stark contrast, our Dem leaders have so far been more relent-full. But now is the perfect time to turn the tables.

jfaustus

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday June 29, 2007 · 12:47 PM PDT

2007/06/29 · 12:47

This is a reply to Matt Stoller's very interesing missive. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (I'll call them TRCs) are extremely controversial mechanisms even in the context they were designed for -- the aftermath of massive, large-scale and systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international human rights.

A vile as the Bush Administration is, as deep as its contempt for the rule of law might be, it is difficult to place it in the same league as apartheid South Africa, Pinochet's Chile, or the civil war in Sierra Leone (to name a few places that have had TRCs).

Below the fold, I'll try to get at why even a massively re-engineered TRC wouldn't be appropriate for the US

RSS

Thanks, Sen. Leahy, but I'll take JUSTICE

Your RIGHT to Health Care

Not Just Once! Let the GOP "Get Their Fill"

A Reply to Matt Stoller's Why We Need A Truth and Reconciliation Commission