Rep. Bernie Sanders I-VT
Sen. Patrick Leahy D-VT
Sen. Jim Jeffords I-VT
With regard to the pending legislation governing the trials of those held in Guantanamo Bay, I ask you to prevent the enormous betrayal of basic human rights that the President is seeking. Allowing any one office, any one man to have the supreme power to pick and choose torture as he sees fit, to interpret the Geneva Convention to suit his will is simply wrong.
We are all members of the human race. Treating any human being with the disregard for dignity, for humanity, for life that this deal proposes diminishes us all. It puts the safety, the security, the life of all of us at greater risk. If we have no respect for the basic human rights of our enemies, how can we expect that they will treat us, their enemies, any differently?
Sir, you have the power, the opportunity, the responsibility to stand against this abuse of power, to stand up for human dignity, to stand with international law.
Please do.
7 comments:
Thank you for sending that letter!
Sadly, 51 of our elected officials didn't see things our way. The amendment to strike the habeus review provision was defeated.
I second what Debra said. I just don't know why our President thinks we can take any sort of moral high ground any more. Why fight an enemy if we are just going to turn around and do the same thing?
Hmmm, maybe you need to run for office, would surely do something for the darn apathy monster.
Would that I could. Alas, as a non-citizen all I can do is pay my taxes and raise a stink. I may be without a vote, but I'll be damned if I'm without a voice. Soon... and then they won't know what hit 'em. ;o)
When I started my first internship, I worked with a woman who had moved here from England. Her first presidential election as a citizen was my first as an 18 year old. We had so much fun debating politics that summer. Ok, so it wasn't so much of a debate because we agreed. But, it just felt so good to have a voice and then be able to use it in an election! Oh, and my candidate won, that time.
A good letter! I wish I had written one to Senator Lugar. (R, Ind.) Now I have to write him and tell him that I am so disappointed, and he let me down, and I'll never defend him to my husband again! Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of all people should know how damaging this bill will be to our reputation all over the world.
Good for you for fighting your apathy on that one--
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