Have you seen the December cover of Harper's Magazine yet?

[WilliamPitt]

Woop. There it is.

[Dora]

1. MAKE IT SO! nt

[aquart]

3. Amen.

[bjobotts]

70. With our cowardly dem leaders? "It would just detract from policy making"

[pam4water]

56. Is that Rumsfeld in the back?

[AsahinaKimi]

57. "Make it so"

[Parche]

2. I Cant Afford To Buy It In This Economy

:rofl: :hi:

[bobbolink]

4. Even though they are a Socialist Conspiracy, there are still public libraries.

:hi:

[Warpy]

5. Harper's was the one sub I kept when I was poor

They're that good.

[bjobotts]

71. TPM has a good online piece by Scott Horton at the Cafe section from this issue

[bjobotts]

72. I sent it to several people it was that effective on how easy it is to prosecute

[bjobotts]

73. based on the evidence on hand. A must read if can't get the magazine.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Nice!

[Richard D]

7. From the cover of their magazine . . .

. . . to the eyes and ears of the gods.
May it be so!

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. For anyone that doesn't think Bush should not be held accountable

This is a must read:

Also this diary over at Kos


Justice After Bush: Prosecuting an outlaw administration
by Compound F

Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 05:55:24 PM PST

Over at Harper’s, Scott Horton lays out the case for prosecuting the Bush adminstration (subscription required, but having someone lay out the case clearly does my heart good, so it’s worth it).

Compound F's diary :: ::
First, Horton notes how we cannot simply walk away from BushCo’s lawbreaking and move on, because BushCo didn’t simply break some laws like his predecessors. They waged war on law itself.

This administration did more than commit crimes. It waged war against the law itself. It transformed the Justice Department into a vehicle for voter suppression, and it also summarily dismissed the U.S. attorneys who attempted to investigate its wrongdoing. It issued wartime contracts to substandard vendors with inside connections, and it also defunded efforts to police their performance. It spied on church groups and political protesters, and it also introduced a sweeping surveillance program that was so clearly illegal that virtually the entire senior echelon of the Justice Department threatened to (but did not in fact) tender their resignations over it. It waged an illegal and disastrous war, and it did so by falsely representing to Congress and to the American public nearly every piece of intelligence it had on Iraq. And through it all, as if to underscore its contempt for any authority but its own, the administration issued more than a hundred carefully crafted "signing statements" that raised pervasive doubt about whether the president would even accede to bills that he himself had signed into law.

Then, Horton gets to the hard part. How do you move forward with such a massive and complex set of prosecutions against the president and his entire senior staff? No precedent exists for such an undertaking, and it’s not clear that our legal system can handle such an undertaking. What are we going to do? Prosecute our entire political class on all of the myriad crimes they have collectively committed? Obama is going to have his hands full just with the issue of Bush signing statements, not to mention achieving bi-partisan consensus on the ongoing crises of the economy, environment, and failed wars.

Horton gets pragmatic: Bust the Big Fish on Torture.

There can be no doubt that torture is illegal. There is no wartime exception for torture, nor is there an exception for prisoners or "enemy combatants," nor is there an exception for "enhanced" methods. The authors of the Constitution forbade "cruel and unusual punishment," the details of that prohibition were made explicit in the Geneva Conventions >>>>>>>>>snip


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/17/204849/93/576/662502

[greguganus]

9. Send this to Pelosi--not that it will do much good. n/t

[MsLeopard]

14. Oh please

Pelosi remains concerned only with her clean table and her warehouse full of dry powder. She's useless, spineless, and entirely incapable of recognizing criminal activity of anyone in the Bush Crime Family. Now, if she could pin a crime on the protesters in front of her house - well, she would move with the speed of light. But holding BushCo accountable? In my dreams, and yours.

edit for clarity

[pokercat999]

74. Reed and Pelosi MUST be involved with the Bush Crime

Family up to their ears, there can be no other excuse for their lack of performance over the last six years.

[barbtries]

10. this is what has to happen

justice has waited long enough, too long already.

[peace frog]

11. Orange jumpsuits become them

And bars on locked cages. And huge sweaty tattooed cellmates named Killer who think they got a purty mouth. :evilgrin:

[Howardx]

12. ralph steadman?

the cheney is very steadmanesque

[navarth]

16. don't think it's Steadman's work

not enough ink spilled all over the place. although the eccentric characterization is a bit like Ralph. but no, don't think so.

what a great cover. have to buy that one.

[Kolesar]

50. The guy who did "The Wall" ?

(Pink Floyd reference)

edit: It's Steve Brodner http://www.harpers.org/subjects/SteveBrodner

[Demobrat]

53. Gerald Scarfe

The best cartoonist in England.

[Pharaoh]

13. Boo Ya!! K&R

[kentuck]

15. But those cartoon characters behind the bars...

do not think it would ever be true? That is why they are so intent on robbing us blind right up to the day they leave office. God forbid that we have enough money to run a decent government. Blasphemy!

[MiniMe]

17. A Seinfeld ending?

[WilliamPitt]

18. .

[Captain Hilts]

19. That's "Whoops Der it is." nt

[lib2DaBone]

20. Make it so or this Country is Toast!

[glinda]

31. Obama needs to correct this crap otherwise we will still be seen as assholes and crooks

[Berry Cool]

21. There's more delightful fantasy fulfillment pictured on that single cover

than can be found in a million porn magazines.

[northofdenali]

22. I love Harper's - and my mommy.

My mommy renews my subscription every second Christmas. The ones in between, she renews my Vanity Fair........... :hug: mom! Still going strong at 92!

Thanks, Will - I didn't want to scan-and-post, but this cover is going to be framed and hung in my Criminal Politicians Library (lots of Ted Stevens there, too).

[trusty elf]

23. Those are beautifully drawn caricatures!

The joy that I would feel seeing those people behind bars might possibly exceed the elation I felt when Barack was elected.

[tomp]

24. where's powell...oops, he's obama's friend now...

still waiting for change.

[annabanana]

25. The Dems in Congress will have to be FORCED to do this.

None of them are chomping at the bit to get the job done, except maybe Conyers, Kucinich, Whitehouse & Feingold. . .

[Ichingcarpenter]

26. Horton proceeds to list potential venues for criminal trials

:

Nuremberg-style tribunal: The United States convenes a tribunal to try the people in the positions of authority (lawyers, judges, policymakers) to create or prevent the extra-legal frameworks that allowed torture to take place.

International Criminal Court: Mainly used by greater powers to prosecute lesser powers. US refuses to join other 108 members and sign the charter. Unlikely legally, impossible politically.

Foreign Courts: War crimes are not subject to strict claims of jurisdiction. For example, Canada could potentially prosecute US war criminals on the basis of the renduring and torture of Canadian nationals in other countries, just as Pinochet was seized in Britain based on Spanish warrants. Being a super-power, we’re unlikely to extradite our own (well, WHY NOT???), and other countries are either allies or would tend to treat us delicately, noting however that 26 CIA officers are, in fact, being tried in absentia in Italy for assault and kidnapping. That doesn’t get the Big Stinking Fish, though.

Domestic Courts:
Uniform Code of Military Justice: Unlikely. Too much deference to preserving "command structure."

Federal Courts: Bush has tight control of DOJ. Mukasey won’t lift a finger. Also, Bush will likely pardon war criminals, but those pardons need not be respected outside of the US. In fact, it may signal to foreign courts that no domestic solution is possible, thus motivating foreign intervention, conferring jurisdiction by last resort, should locally pardoned criminals decide to travel beyond our borders.

Commission of Inquiry ("Truth & Reconciliation"): This strikes me as sort of New Age law and order: Granting immunity to criminals in exchange for the establishment of historical truth. Is our political consensus really that fragile? The election was decisive. Still, I’d take truth over nothing. Nothing comes from nothing. Besides, when the truth came out, people might change their minds about those local pardons, and over-ride them with international jurisdiction.

Horton disagrees with my exotic "new agey" label. He thinks "truth and reconciliation" is the best path having a precedent, citing the Warren Commission investigating JFK’s assassination (1963), and the Kerner Commission investigating race riots (1967). This could be done at the stroke of the Executive’s pen, or by hybrid executive-legislative authority. While the commission would require bipartisan support, the actual work should be carried by professional lawyers, investigators, and experts given security clearances, not by politicians.

With respect to the scope of the investigation, Horton suggests:

The commission’s mandate requires definition and focus. It must also, however, provide the commission with reasonable room to pursue leads that arise in the course of its investigation. The commission’s charge, therefore, should be to examine the formation and implementation of policy concerning the treatment of detainees in operations (including intelligence operations) undertaken in connection with the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists. Tying the subject matter to a specific piece of legislation will keep the investigation focused on a single controlling authority even as it allows investigators to explore all of the operations
in which that authority was used, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan, nearby staging areas, or other sites around the world, including Guantánamo and "black sites" yet to be identified.12 Such a mandate would also allow the commission to investigate a variety of nonadministration actors, including Congress itself. Republicans have frequently argued that many powerful Democrats, including House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, were fully briefed on the administration’s torture policy and failed to raise objections. Did Congress acquiesce to the administration’s choices? Did it provide legal authority? Republicans may be questioning Democratic involvement simply in order to discourage congressional
inquiries. But such questions nonetheless are completely legitimate.

[bobbolink]

28. Add Wexler to that list....

[99th_Monkey]

46. Don't forget Wexler. He's been calling for impeachment for sometime. ~nt~

[malaise]

27. That's perfect

A lady can hope.

Happy Thanksgiving WilliamPitt. :D

[Bozita]

29. Outstanding!

[bdamomma]

30. that is where they belong, let's make it happen.

[rhett o rick]

32. One of the most important items for Obama to tackle is the reestablishment of the rule of law. nm

[eilen]

33. HA! I picked it up for my mom last week

my bush-luvin MIL loves to try and defend him by telling me that "Congress has it's lowest approval rating in history" and my comeback is always " that's only because Peolosi took impeachment off the table."

My Mom wanted this framed for Christmas. I think I'll get her the sub. I already send her The Nation.

[Duval]

49. LOL!

I sent two of my sisters a sub to The Nation! Maybe they can read some REAL journalists for a change.

[spanone]

34. Y E S

[sellitman]

35. Error: You've already recommended that thread.

I've been recommending this thread for almost 8 years.

Happy Thanksgiving Will.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. Awesome

[Mad_Dem_X]

37. If only!

We can dream, can't we?

[Bette Noir]

38. Priceless.

[Richd506]

39. I love Harper's

They've been around since before the Civil War believe it or not!

[ClusterFreak]

40. ...

:yoiks: ;-)

[prostock69]

41. Wow! Let's hope more mags follow in their footsteps.

[oasis]

42. "A Smirkfree Environment"

:woohoo:

[Generic Other]

43. I predicted it years ago (here's my version from 06)

[hangman86]

61. Oh my God!

I've never noticed this until now but Rice totally has one of those "I've done time bitch!" faces. :rofl:

[smiley]

44. Partners in crime

[peacetalksforall]

45. There is only one sad aspect to this. The three of them could not have figured

out how to deliver all the crimes committed against us and the world. They had the Pentagon, think tanks, the Federalist Society - advising Woo and Gonzales, some on the Supreme Court, all the CEO's of GE, Time-Warner, Disney, Viacom and all subsidiaries and Murdoch - who -'persuaded' their employees at the networks to support the WH in every way from imbedded lemmings to guest experts to off the wall hosts. Then there were the newspapers and magazines and radio who really rung the bells for war and the idea that we are not all patriots and that all Muslims and Mexicans caused it. At the top (and this is the really serious side of this that no one acknowledges) - there were the foundations, corporations, lobbyists, barons who gave the orders.

Let's admit it - they went after war so they could steal for themselves.
They went after privatization so they could steal for themselves.
The fixed the banks and wall street so they could steal for themselves.
They bombed, tortured, exiled, destroyed so they could steal for themselves.

They should all be on the cover and they should not be put together in a cell 0R a prison - they should have one to a prison if there are enough prisons.

But, some of our citizens still don't get it and some of our Congresspeople wouldn't vote for it an impeachment or a trial. Should they be in prison, also.

Who are the patriots - the predators or the victims?

It's time to split it all open, examine it, and see all that is there.

But, somehow, I don't think that's going to happen to them, so they will just regroup and draw up another plan - for the barons. Perhaps the barons will call for other operatives.

The real war - the barons against the little people. Never thought I'd say that or have to say that. Never thought it would be exposed to me.

I have to admit, certain people knew. We didn't listen and there are still people who are not listening. Masked in hypocritical patriotism and loyalty.

[Dragonfli]

47. A bumper sticker I would like to see -

[pam4water]

55. Wow wow I want that one too. n/t

[Dragonfli]

59. It would be premature until a conviction, however -

If you would like a cafe press sized png version for ordering one online...
I have one ready.

[BrklynLiberal]

48. I knew there would be a day when this would be prescient..

[lcdnumber6]

51. Horton's article is excellent.

It is a well thought-out, realistic strategy to unearth what has happened over the past eight years. I heart Harpers!

[Capn Sunshine]

52. We all need a dream

now that my fondest dreams have been fulfilled Nov. 8, I'm gonna dream big!

[ksimons]

54. Woop. Love it! nt

[deutsey]

58. Yeah, that's going to happen....

It's nice to dream, though.

[penndragon69]

60. Dreams CAN come true!

[Dinger]

62. Wow, I'm Gonna Have To Get A Copy

Whee!

[whistle]

63. That's great!

[Patchuli]

64. I'm buying it just so I can keep looking at it!

I wish I could K&R this! Whoooooooooooooop there it izzzzzzzz!

[Historic NY]

65. Outstanding send them all to GITMO.

[Capt. America]

66. Not going to happen with the Quisling milquetoast Pelosi and the her band of Dems appeaser cowards.

[Demobrat]

69. I can't allow myself to hope because I think you're right.

Bad for America ... tear the country apart .... move on ... bla bla bla ... I can hear it now.

[NoSheep]

67. Yeah. It's my present to myself every month.

[defendandprotect]

68. Popular idea ...!!!

[The Wizard]

75. Too many unclean hands to prosecute here

They must be kidnapped by international law enforcement and tried at The Hague for crimes against humanity. What they've done to we the citizens of the United States will be forgotten in the name of bipartisanship.
For our justice system to regain credibility Scalia and Thomas must be impeached for failing to recuse themselves in Bush v Gore, as Thomas' wife was on the Bush transition team and Scalia's son was employed by the firm representing Bush. The beginning of the restoration of judicial integrity starts with these two characters disbarred and made examples of what happens to those who perceive the Constitution as paper on a roll in the smallest rooms in our homes.

[Political_Junkie]

76. Woohoo!!!

Please! Please! Please! Someone make it so.

[bobshin]

77. Unfortunately Harpers readers are by far the minority in this world.

Educated.

[kestrel91316]

78. So mote it be.