Even John Ashcroft worried about history's judgment of the Bush Administration when he and other rulers authorized torture. Yet this concern apparently doesn’t trouble editors of mainstream newspapers as they exonerate the Feds for these crimes. Meanwhile, their publishers wonder why circulation continues to plummet.

“Is the Bush administration criminally liable for its lawlessness?” asked a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times. Not surprisingly, the Times answers that it isn’t.

Why not?

Because there are just too many criminals: the Administration shares “the culpability for flouting national and international conventions against torture and spying” with the Congress that encouraged its outrages. Alas, adding hundreds of complicit Congressmen to the multitude of malefactors at the White House makes this “a systemic failure” rather than “a matter of individual, politically motivated violations of law.”

That’s a novel argument and one the politicians it’s meant to exonerate would scoff to apply to the average lawbreaker. Too many “criminals” never stops the State from shattering citizens’ lives. Governments at the local and Federal levels prosecute and then imprison hundreds of Americans every week; almost 2.3 million of our friends and family are currently behind bars. “[M]ore than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison,” USA Today reported earlier this year when a new study “document[ed] America's rank as the world's No. 1 incarcerator.” We’ve gone from the land of the free to the land of the lock-up — at least for John Q. Public.

Many of these prisoners committed “crimes” that hurt no one: almost 22% languish in jail because they grew, owned, bought, sold, or sometimes just talked about an illicit drug. Contrast that with the malfeasance of which the Times admits the President, Vice-President, and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld are guilty: “The administration was wrong to evade courts in seeking warrantless surveillance of Americans, wrong to establish the Guantanamo Bay detention center, heinous in its acceptance of torture.”

Among them, those offenses ruined thousands of lives as the Bush Administration mutilated human flesh and ravaged human souls. Its “alternative interrogation techniques” even killed a few men. Yet the Times insists that bringing these sociopaths to justice is unnecessary. Why bother when a “scathing report by the Senate Armed Services Committee” already slaps them on the wrist? Besides, the report is “a vindication of American institutions designed to investigate the misconduct of public officials.”

The Times apparently prefers vindicating those institutions to punishing “misconduct.” For those who believe that something beyond a mere scolding ought to await torturers, the Times allows that “further congressional investigation of the administration's spying program is also in order.”

Remember that the Times’ publisher, David Hiller, reportedly invited his buddy Rumsfeld to edit its Sunday opinion pages. Rumsfeld also sat on the board of directors for the Times’ parent company. And yet the paper recommending a free pass for the Secretary and his accomplices pats itself on the back as a guardian of civil liberties: “This editorial page has been uncompromising in its criticism of the Bush administration's flouting of international and domestic law.”

Joining the Times in its magnanimity towards war criminals is the Washington Post. It’s published several columns pooh-poohing the proposal that felons in office be held as accountable for their lawbreaking as taxpayers are for theirs. Jack Goldsmith of Harvard Law School warned in late November that “second-guessing lawyers' wartime decisions under threat of criminal and ethical sanctions may sound like a good idea … But the greater danger now is that lawyers will become excessively cautious in giving advice…”

Ummm, yeah, isn’t that the point? When a John Yoo urges the government to unspeakable evil, wouldn’t a bit of hesitation lest he and his client stand trial for war crimes come in handy?

The Post’s Ruth Marcus added another coat of whitewash on December 20. In case that didn’t cover enough of the Administration’s sins, she applied more on the 31^st. It’s not the quantity of criminals nor deterring them that bothers her; no, it’s censuring officials with such noble motives.

Should we condemn men who tortured out of “high principle”? (That gets my vote for “Oxymoron of the Year.”) Isn’t “ensuring that these mistakes are not repeated … more important than punishing those who acted wrongly in pursuit of what they thought was right”? Pity the poor politicians who must now “worry… about dealing with career-ruining internal investigations or being hauled before congressional committees.” Far better for the nation to “turn the page to a new era.” Kids who smoke a joint at a party should be so lucky. Unless, of course, one day they plan to occupy the White House as an elected official.

The shameless Wall Street Journal equates the Bush Administration’s crimes against humanity with “protecting the country.” Its editors also devoutly trust any Republican who defends the Administration while dismissing the very few Democrats who suggest that its top tier advocated torture. Dick Cheney must tie such gullible guys in knots: this stalwart pillar of the Administration actually brags about authorizing “dunks in the water,” a.k.a. waterboarding.

Other papers editorialize with all the enthusiasm of Charlie Rangel contemplating a tax cut. The Salt Lake Tribune summarized the scandal in about 400 words, recommending that Obama’s incoming Administration “make public the still-secret details of America's journey into darkness…” It should also “adopt laws and procedures” prohibiting such future excursions. But report after report has already publicized plenty of damning details, many of which violated existing “laws and procedures.” McClatchy-Tribune Information Services nevertheless appreciated this tepid approach so much that it syndicated the column.

The Federal government is becoming as secure a refuge for American war criminals as some South American countries were for the Nazis. That the Bush Administration enjoyed bipartisan support for its abominations ought to have every editorial page in the country excoriating, not excusing, the Feds — especially when some of those pages praised the Administration’s deposing of Saddam Hussein for his abuse of human rights.

Philosophers from St. Paul to C.S. Lewis have noted the deep-seated conscience in man. Something in us recognizes evil, deplores its triumph, and demands its denunciation. Editors ignore that universal thirst to their peril.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (8)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Dave B said:

The High Cabal It is now clear we are in a race against time. The High Cabal that pulled off 911 (Best evidence on Architects and Engineers for 911 truth), now have our Government hostage through the 6 trillion dollar debt racked up by the Feds and congress over the last 6 months. Either an honest FBI exposes and convicts all the crooks, or we risk the institution of a new Parlamentary Government, new currency and New World Order.

report abuse vote down vote up

December 31, 2008
Votes: +1

archtoplee said:

... Best evidence for 9-ll government foreknowledge is The New American. William Jasper has been writing articles on 9-11 since shortly after 9-11.The movie Press For Truth is excellent. The Murrah building was left standing for days after the initial explosion(s). General Partin wanted to keep the building intact due to his suspicion that charges may have been set at certain columns. He knew from experience that a bomb expolding from the distance of the street could not do that much damage. The Twin Towers were different. In my opinion the best approach is to continue to show William Jasper's article, (downloadable from this site), and show the DVD Press For Truth. There is the Building Seven conundrum. A case I suppose could be built around why that building collapsed on its "own footprint." We'll need to dig up the debris and have experts look for traces of dynamite, which is something the government isn't going to do. With sufficient good people elected to Congress in the next few years the 9-11 case could conceivably be reopened. At that point you will see the rats running every which way. People will talk when the peoples's legislative branch gets a backbone. In the nineteen fifties there was a lone man in the US Senate that stood up to the conspirators and his name was Joseph McCarthy. We need more like him with the guts to expose the conspiracy that shuts down its own internal security apparatus in order to allow a Pearl Harbor and a 9-11 to occur.You and I and many others already know why they let these events happen. We just need to get more people visit this site and read the evidence that The JBS has, and to understand the action plans to do something taking the government away from the influences of the conspiracy.

report abuse vote down vote up

December 31, 2008
Votes: +2

GaryRLewis said:

... I really hope the sheeple of this nation are beginning to wake-up and realize that they can't pretend everything is fine and dandy, that some politician in Washington will take care of all the issues. In terms of the 9/11 discussion, the video that really convinced me was 'Loose Change, Final Cut'. I have just recently purchased the Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth DVD and can't wait till it gets here. For all those who cannot conceive of our government’s involvement in 9/11 I strongly suggest you start doing some research, that's the only way. When you begin to educate yourself then you will see everything coming together, but don't take my word for it, do the work.

report abuse vote down vote up

December 31, 2008
Votes: +1

archtoplee said:

Horse whippings No one has been more upset about the direction that America has been taken by the conspiracy than me. It's one thing to get mad and say that we should teach those who are taking us in that direction a lesson. No one member of the conspiracy is going to be taken behind the barn or pilloried on the town square. The American people who vote and who have influence on the political life have to be approached with the truth. The people who approach them with the truth must themselves be rational and influential people who will gain the respect of the local policaman, fireman, sheriff, city council man, mayor, car dealer and school board member., etc. Getting mad and wailing away at the bad situation won't do the job of getting our country back on track. There's a lot to be said about the man who lights a candle to light up the darkness. One can curse the darkness all one wants and it will be dark for ever. Light the path of those whom one comes in contct with and before long we will get our country back.

report abuse vote down vote up

January 02, 2009
Votes: +3

weed said:

the looking glass becky akers said: ------------------------------------------------------------- almost 2.3 million of our friends and family are currently behind bars. “[M]ore than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison,” USA Today reported earlier this year when a new study “document[ed] America's rank as the world's No. 1 incarcerator.” We’ve gone from the land of the free to the land of the lock-up — at least for John Q. Public. Many of these prisoners committed “crimes” that hurt no one: almost 22% languish in jail because they grew, owned, bought, sold, or sometimes just talked about an illicit drug. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- tell the doctors and nurses who have to treat crack babies from birth, and the parents and families of drug addicts who have destroyed their lives and those around them that "these crimes hurt no one". as for all those languishing in our jails, is it the government's fault that they chose to break the law? i think not. they are there because they have chosen to abuse society at large. if you want to feel sorry for someone, ms. akers, feel sorry for the victims of these crimes. if you want to weep for someone, ms. akers, weep for a society that has totally lost its moral compass and a nation that has become so degenerate that the stink has spread throughout the earth. and if you want to pray for someone, ms. akers, pray for yourself; that you will see who the real enemies are in this war of survival. it's always easier to blame someone else for our woes, isn't it?

report abuse vote down vote up

January 04, 2009
Votes: +0

Peter Steele said:

RE: Editors have an axe to grind as most of the news is falsely biased The NYT has an axe to grind as I call it the Pravda of American Newspapers. It is not a good moral compass as a paper and I hope it goes out of business while Human Events becomes the paper of record. BGen Peter F. Steele, USMC [Ret] for the late RADM Peter Steele, USN and his friend the late Major General Barry M. Goldwater, Sr.

report abuse vote down vote up

January 06, 2009
Votes: +1

MarkGlen said:

	Leftist Media How long has the U.S. media been leftist?
	report abuse vote down vote up

January 07, 2009 | url
Votes: +0

MarkGlen said:

Trashing The Mark The German Wiemer Republic following WWI crushed with war reparation debt was buying votes with paper money. They were bailing out businesses and giving stimulus money to the people. Paper money called the “Mark” was backed by federal lead and gun power, fiat money. The people thought everything was fine. They had settled in for the long haul. But in a few short years, by 1923, the Mark had lost its value. One trillion Marks for one Yankee dollar. It took fifty billion Marks to buy a postage stamp. It was cheaper to burn paper money for fuel than coal. Obviously we haven’t learned from history. The United States should ease up on bailouts and stimulus checks. And if we cut taxes across the board people with money, for one thing, would invest in the economy by creating more jobs. Lower taxes make for a stronger economy and generate greater tax revenues. Also, do away with or reduce federal estate taxes. Along with major tax cuts the federal government must become more efficient. (Is government and efficiency an oxymoron?) Keep in mind the Federal Reserve (Fed), a corporation, caused the crash of 1929 by cutting off or limiting the money supply to local banks. And we are in the mess we are in today because socialist politicians tried to fix the problem by using socialist monetary policy.

report abuse vote down vote up

January 07, 2009 | url
Votes: +0