https://www.conservapedia.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Conservative92Conservapedia - User contributions [en]2026-10-09T08:16:07ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.35.14https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Irve_Lewis_Libby_Jr.&diff=382332Irve Lewis Libby Jr.2008-01-29T23:03:17Z<p>Conservative92: /* Libby and Presidential Clemency */</p>
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<div>[[Image:Hdy567.jpg|right|thumb]]<br />
'''Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr.''' is a former deputy Secretary of Defense, Chief of Staff, National Security Advisor and private Attorney to Vice President [[Dick Cheney]]. <br />
<br />
Libby was born in New Haven, [[Connecticut]]; his father was an investment banker.<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31libby.htm "A Rough Road For 'Scooter'?"], Kenneth T. Walsh</ref> Various sources report that he has been rather secretive about his actual first name, and that the initial "I." stands for Irving.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4965501 "Guarding the 'I' in I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"], Mike Pesca, National Public Radio, October 19, 2005.</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/22/AR2005102201439.html "In the Spotlight And on the Spot: Scooter Libby, Backstage No More"], Mark Leibovich, [[Washington Post]], 23 October, 2005.</ref> According to interviews, he first acquired his nickname "Scooter" as an infant, when his father, after seeing him move quickly across his crib, described him as "a scooter".<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/27/politics/main989970.shtml "Libby: Lawyer, Adviser, Author:] Cheney's Chief Of Staff Both Political Insider And Acclaimed Novelist", Stephen Smith, [[CBS News]], October 28, 2005</ref><br />
<br />
He previously served as the attorney of Marc David Reich, whom was convicted of tax evasion and illegal trading with Iran,<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/02/clinton.library/ CNN - GOP lawyer: Facts 'misconstrued' in Rich case]</ref> and was then given a full pardon by [[Bill Clinton]] in January, 2001. <!-- note: sentence confusing - might be read as Clinton pardoned Libby --><br />
<br />
He was convicted on 3 of 5 charges in the Plame Affair, including perjury and obstruction of justice, for which he received a 30 month prison sentence, a $250,000 fine, and probation. On July 2nd, he received a presidential commutation of his 30 month sentence.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Valerie Plame case==<br />
Libby was convicted on four counts and his sentence was later commuted. The convictions were on:<br />
<br />
*Obstruction of Justice (intentionally deceiving the grand jury about how he learned, and “disclosed to the media,” information about Valerie Plame Wilson’s employment by the CIA);<br />
*Making a False Statement (intentionally giving the FBI false information about a conversation he had with [[Tim Russert]]);<br />
*Perjury (knowingly providing false testimony about a conversation he had with Russert and knowingly providing false testimony about his conversation with reporters regarding Valerie Plame Wilson’s CIA employment).<br />
He was found not guilty on an additional charge, that he gave false statements to the FBI about his conversation with ''Time'' magazine reporter Matt Cooper.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17479718/ MSNBC]</ref><br />
<br />
Libby testified that he learned about Plame from the White House about a month before Russert told him in a phone conversation, and that he told Russert he didn't know about Plame. Russert testified that Plame was not mentioned in the phone call, and documents showed that it was unlikely that Libby had forgotten about Plame. Libby did not testify at his trial, and it is not known how he would have resolved the apparent contradictions.<br />
<br />
Although the U.S. Probation Office recommended a sentence of 15-21 months, Judge Reggie B. Walton (appointed to the federal bench by George H.W. Bush) sentenced Libby to thirty months in jail and a fine of $250,000 on June 5th, 2007.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070605/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak_trial Yahoo News]</ref><br />
<br />
==Response to Conviction and Sentence==<br />
<br />
Libby's lawyers repeatedly emphasized that Valerie Plame's employment at the CIA was disclosed by columnist Robert Novak in July of 2003 and that Novak's "primary sources" were Richard Armitage (former deputy Secretary of State) and Karl Rove (a presidential advisor) ... not Scooter Libby. In addition, a CIA spokesperson, Bill Harlow, confirmed the information about Plame's CIA employment to Novak.<br />
<br />
It was also noted that the overwhelming evidence from the FBI and grand jury investigations and the trial proceedings shows that neither Libby nor the numerous other government official who discussed Ms. Wilson's employment believed she was covert, or that her employment status was classified. As a result, none of the five witness who testified that Libby discussed Plame with them suggested that they felt that they were having a conversation about a covert or classified employee, a point affirmed in an August 2004 government affidavit and the government's Guidelines Memorandum ("the information to which defendant was given access did not expressly identify Ms. Wilson as a covert agent.")<br />
<br />
With respect to the sentencing stage, Libby's lawyers complained about the behavior of prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. In October 2005, Fitzgerald said (in a press conference) that he would not speak to "whether or not Valerie Wilson was covert." Early in discovery, Libby's lawyers sought documents which addressed the topic and the government refused to provide the information because it was "irrelevant." The government argued Wilson's status was "not an element of any of the three statutory violations charged." In June of 2006, the court issued a discovery order which, again, emphasized that Wilson's employment was "immaterial to the preparation of the defense." In preliminary instructions to the jury, the judge said her "actual status" was "totally irrelevant" to any "assessment" of the Libby's guilty or innocence. After the trial, however, in its sentencing memo, the government adopted a "new position" - that Wilson was a "covert agent" and that Libby should be sentenced as though that fact were established at trial. <br />
<br />
==Libby and Presidential Clemency==<br />
<br />
Almost from the beginning of his trial the President was encouraged to pardon Libby. Among those calling for pardon were [[William F. Buckley]], Jr, [[Fred Thompson]], Cal Thomas, [[Ann Coulter]], Jack Kemp, [[Tom DeLay]]<ref>http://libbypardon.net/procon.htm</ref> and Robert Bauer, general counsel to [[Barack Obama]]<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-aide-wants-libby-pardoned-2007-06-14.html Obama aide wants Libby pardoned], By Sam Youngman, ''The Hill'', June 14, 2007.</ref> But the trial continued and sentence was announced without presidential interference. As decisions were being made regarding the possibility of bail, many believed President Bush's hand would be forced, that he would have to grant a pardon in order to spare Libby from entering prison. <ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWY2MzRiNTAwZmE3NjZhMzZmODNhMTcyYjUzYzc4MjQ= "Respite for Libby?"] ''National Review'', June 14, 2007</ref><br />
On July 2, 2007, after a ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that Libby's prison sentence couldn't be suspended as the appeals process was pursued, President Bush's hand was forced and he commuted Libby's prison sentence. This means that while Libby will serve no jail time, he will still have to pay the fine, stay on probation, and the conviction will remain on his record. <ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070702-4.html] "Grant of Executive Clemency, July 2, 2007",</ref> This decision was decried by Democratic Party Presidential candidates [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]] <ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aA.bUy89_1hk&refer=homeBush Commutes Libby's Prison Term in CIA Leak Case], By Edwin Chen, "Bloomberg.com", July 2, 2007.</ref> though supported by others. Joe Wilson, on the day of President Bush's commutation of Libby, spoke to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on [[the Situation Room]] in which he stated, "Scooter Libby is a traitor."<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[Intelligence Identities Protection Act]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External Links ==<br />
* [http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/index.html Libby Trial Documents]<br />
* [http://www.scooterlibby.com/ Libby Legal Defense Fund]<br />
* [http://libbypardon.net Pardon for Libby? Blog]<br />
* [http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15988 Robert Novak on the Libby Trial]<br />
* [http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/fsalvato/government/06082007.htm The Incredible Judicial Disparity: Berger v. Libby], Frank Salvato, June 8, 2007.<br />
* [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0605071libby1.html Libby Letters] -- letters from [[Donald Rumsfeld]], [[Henry Kissinger]], [[Paul Wolfowitz]], [[John Bolton]], [[Mary Matalin]], [[James Carville]], [[Peter Pace]], [[Richard Perle]], [[James Woolsey]], [[Douglas Feith]], [[Christopher Cox]], [[Leon Wieseltier]], [[Leonard Garment]], [[Alan Simpson]], [[Natan Sharansky]], [[Richard Myers]], and [[Anthony Fauci]], petition the Judge for leniency. [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/pdf/libbyletterscomplete.pdf]<br />
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2168642/ Free Scooter Libby] by [[Christopher Hitchens]], ''Slate'', June 18, 2007.<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Libby, Lewis}}<br />
[[Category:Political people]]<br />
[[Category:Criminals]]<br />
[[Category:Crime]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Assault_on_Reason&diff=380059Assault on Reason2008-01-25T15:39:42Z<p>Conservative92: /* False segue from general to specific */</p>
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<div>[[Image:Thumb assaultonreason 1.jpg|right|thumb|The Assault on Reason]]<br />
'''''The Assault on Reason''''' is primarily an assault on the [[Bush administration]], according to a ''New York Times'' book review.<br />
<br />
It is a political book <ref>Gore still says he has no plans to run for president, but his latest book, "The Assault On Reason," is so nakedly political and sharply critical it's hard to discern what his plans may be. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596 ABC News] </ref><br />
by [[Al Gore]] which he denies is political. <ref>"I'm not a candidate and this is not a political book, this is not a candidate book," Gore told Diane Sawyer on ''Good Morning America''. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596 ABC News] </ref><br />
In the book, Gore accuses [[President Bush]] of having an unprincipled hunger for power.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the book, Al Gore discusses how he thinks that the American democracy has been undermined by the current administration's intrusions of power. While claiming that the book is not political, Gore attacks the current President and his administration relentlessly.<br />
<br />
<br />
In a June 12, 2007, review for ''Reason'' magazine, Michael C. Moynihan wrote:<br />
<blockquote><br />
The Assault on Reason reestablishes Gore as America’s premier besserwisser and moral scold: the politician who both warns that we are scaring people to death and argues that Manhattan will soon be submerged beneath the Atlantic.<ref>[http://reason.com/news/show/120701.html Free Speech for People Who Think Like Me], Michael Moynihan, ''Reason'', June 12, 2007</ref><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
ABC's Jake Tapper wrote:<br />
<blockquote><br />
"The Assault On Reason" is an assault on President George W. Bush -- 308 pages of professorially rendered, liberal red meat.<br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
==General critique of US politics==<br />
<br />
*This volume moves beyond its criticisms of the Bush administration to diagnose the ailing condition of America as a participatory democracy — low voter turnout, rampant voter cynicism, an often ill-informed electorate, political campaigns dominated by 30-second television ads, and an increasingly conglomerate-controlled media landscape ... [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/books/22kaku.html?ex=1186718400&en=4aafb1641989b3cc&ei=5070]<br />
*The book also critiques the growing occurrence of American citizens being turned away from world events as a result of extremely minor events (specifically, the death of Anna Nicole Smith) as an analogy to a person's immune system. Gore uses the immune system to describe how when the American continuously hears too much of a negative thing, such as the goings-on in Iraq, which Gore equates to the constant exposure of a bodily sickness the immune system, it can cause the people to overreact to a small occurrence such as the death of a celebrity, which Gore equates to the immune system collapsing in on itself when an easily combatible disease has not been immunized by the body.<br />
<br />
==False segue from general to specific==<br />
Gore's book quotes a general rhetorical question by Democratic Senator Byrd, which in itself raises a good point.<br />
<br />
:"Why do reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions?"<br />
<br />
Byrd's inquisition seems to be somewhat contradicted when Gore claims that Democrats appear to be more reasonable than Republicans.<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
*[[Generation Investment Management]], a company that seeks to establish the rules and licensing for the new [[carbon-trading]] scheme.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JE48XHKG64 Video of Al Gore blasting George H. W. Bush for ignoring Iraq's ties to terrorism]<br />
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596&page=1 Gore's 'Assault on Reason' an Assault on Bush] - ABC News<br />
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[[category:book]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Daily_Kos&diff=380058Daily Kos2008-01-25T15:37:53Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
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<div>[[Image:W masthead wads.jpg|right|frame]]<br />
The '''Daily Kos''' is a [[Leftist|left-wing]] [[blog]] that features advertisements like "DraftGore.Com ... Sign Our Petition" with a picture of a smiling [[Al Gore]] in front of what appears to be an image of the Earth from outer space.<ref>viewed Feb. 25, 2007.</ref> It also features a picture of [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[George W. Bush]] with a large cartoon cowboy hat.<br />
<br />
Entries on this blog on February 25, 2007 range from gossip (such as teaser about eviscerating coverage of [[Mitt Romney]]'s polygamist ancestors) to vulgarity and use of swear words.<br />
<br />
CBS News has recently suggested that liberal blogs (not necessarily the ''Daily Kos'') may be their favored candidates own worst enemies, as they provide some political fodder for the other side:<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/23/opinion/main2507660.shtml</ref> <br />
<br />
: [A] former aide to Joe Lieberman advised the party to refuse bloggers access and "deny them jobs that confer party approval." ... [P]lenty of Democrats were upset with the netroots. <br />
<br />
This statement on behalf of Lieberman was, of course, ironic, considering he no longer identifies with the Democratic party himself, and ran in the general election on a separate party line named "Connecticut for Lieberman," having been denied the Democratic party's nomination.<br />
<br />
[[Bill O'Reilly]] has recently begun leading a campaign against the Daily Kos, and has claimed that despite the fact that a significant percentage of Americans may disagree withits liberal views, most of the Democratic candidates for president were at its yearly convention the YearlyKos, including [[Barack Obama]], [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[John Edwards]]<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
'''Sources:''' <references/><br />
<br />
==External link==<br />
* [http://www.dailykos.com/ The ''Daily Kos'']<br />
<br />
[[category: blogs]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Daily_Kos&diff=380057Daily Kos2008-01-25T15:36:57Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:W masthead wads.jpg|right|frame]]<br />
The '''Daily Kos''' is a [[Leftist|left-wing]] [[blog]] that features advertisements like "DraftGore.Com ... Sign Our Petition" with a picture of a smiling [[Al Gore]] in front of what appears to be an image of the Earth from outer space.<ref>viewed Feb. 25, 2007.</ref> It also features a picture of [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[George W. Bush]] with a large cartoon cowboy hat.<br />
<br />
Entries on this blog on February 25, 2007 range from gossip (such as teaser about eviscerating coverage of [[Mitt Romney]]'s polygamist ancestors) to vulgarity and use of swear words.<br />
<br />
CBS News has recently suggested that liberal blogs (not necessarily the ''Daily Kos'') may be their favored candidates own worst enemies, as they provide some political fodder for the other side:<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/23/opinion/main2507660.shtml</ref> <br />
<br />
: [A] former aide to Joe Lieberman advised the party to refuse bloggers access and "deny them jobs that confer party approval." ... [P]lenty of Democrats were upset with the netroots. <br />
<br />
This statement on behalf of Lieberman was, of course, ironic, considering he no longer identifies with the Democratic party himself, and ran in the general election on a separate party line named "Connecticut for Lieberman," having been denied the Democratic party's nomination.<br />
<br />
[[Bill O'Reilly]] has recently begun leading a campaign against the Daily Kos, and has claimed that despite the fact that a significant percentage of Americans may be repulsed by its liberal views, most of the Democratic candidates for president were at its yearly convention the YearlyKos, including [[Barack Obama]], [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[John Edwards]]<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
'''Sources:''' <references/><br />
<br />
==External link==<br />
* [http://www.dailykos.com/ The ''Daily Kos'']<br />
<br />
[[category: blogs]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Irve_Lewis_Libby_Jr.&diff=344202Irve Lewis Libby Jr.2007-11-28T16:25:53Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
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<div>[[Image:Hdy567.jpg|right|thumb]]<br />
'''Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr.''' is a former deputy Secretary of Defense, Chief of Staff, National Security Advisor and private Attorney to Vice President [[Dick Cheney]]. <br />
<br />
Libby was born in New Haven, [[Connecticut]]; his father was an investment banker.<ref>[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31libby.htm "A Rough Road For 'Scooter'?"], Kenneth T. Walsh</ref> Various sources report that he has been rather secretive about his actual first name, and that the initial "I." stands for Irving.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4965501 "Guarding the 'I' in I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby"], Mike Pesca, National Public Radio, October 19, 2005.</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/22/AR2005102201439.html "In the Spotlight And on the Spot: Scooter Libby, Backstage No More"], Mark Leibovich, [[Washington Post]], 23 October, 2005.</ref> According to interviews, he first acquired his nickname "Scooter" as an infant, when his father, after seeing him move quickly across his crib, described him as "a scooter".<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/27/politics/main989970.shtml "Libby: Lawyer, Adviser, Author:] Cheney's Chief Of Staff Both Political Insider And Acclaimed Novelist", Stephen Smith, [[CBS News]], October 28, 2005</ref><br />
<br />
He previously served as the attorney of Marc David Reich, whom was convicted of tax evasion and illegal trading with Iran,<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/02/clinton.library/ CNN - GOP lawyer: Facts 'misconstrued' in Rich case]</ref> and was then given a full pardon by [[Bill Clinton]] in January, 2001. <!-- note: sentence confusing - might be read as Clinton pardoned Libby --><br />
<br />
He was convicted on 3 of 5 charges in the Plame Affair, including perjury and obstruction of justice, for which he received a 30 month prison sentence, a $250,000 fine, and probation. On July 2nd, he received a presidential commutation of his 30 month sentence.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Valerie Plame case==<br />
Libby was convicted on four counts and his sentence was later commuted. The convictions were on:<br />
<br />
*Obstruction of Justice (intentionally deceiving the grand jury about how he learned, and “disclosed to the media,” information about Valerie Plame Wilson’s employment by the CIA);<br />
*Making a False Statement (intentionally giving the FBI false information about a conversation he had with [[Tim Russert]]);<br />
*Perjury (knowingly providing false testimony about a conversation he had with Russert and knowingly providing false testimony about his conversation with reporters regarding Valerie Plame Wilson’s CIA employment).<br />
He was found not guilty on an additional charge, that he gave false statements to the FBI about his conversation with ''Time'' magazine reporter Matt Cooper.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17479718/ MSNBC]</ref><br />
<br />
Libby testified that he learned about Plame from the White House about a month before Russert told him in a phone conversation, and that he told Russert he didn't know about Plame. Russert testified that Plame was not mentioned in the phone call, and documents showed that it was unlikely that Libby had forgotten about Plame. Libby did not testify at his trial, and it is not known how he would have resolved the apparent contradictions.<br />
<br />
Although the U.S. Probation Office recommended a sentence of 15-21 months, Judge Reggie B. Walton (appointed to the federal bench by George H.W. Bush) sentenced Libby to thirty months in jail and a fine of $250,000 on June 5th, 2007.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070605/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak_trial Yahoo News]</ref><br />
<br />
==Response to Conviction and Sentence==<br />
<br />
Libby's lawyers repeatedly emphasized that Valerie Plame's employment at the CIA was disclosed by columnist Robert Novak in July of 2003 and that Novak's "primary sources" were Richard Armitage (former deputy Secretary of State) and Karl Rove (a presidential advisor) ... not Scooter Libby. In addition, a CIA spokesperson, Bill Harlow, confirmed the information about Plame's CIA employment to Novak.<br />
<br />
It was also noted that the overwhelming evidence from the FBI and grand jury investigations and the trial proceedings shows that neither Libby nor the numerous other government official who discussed Ms. Wilson's employment believed she was covert, or that her employment status was classified. As a result, none of the five witness who testified that Libby discussed Plame with them suggested that they felt that they were having a conversation about a covert or classified employee, a point affirmed in an August 2004 government affidavit and the government's Guidelines Memorandum ("the information to which defendant was given access did not expressly identify Ms. Wilson as a covert agent.")<br />
<br />
With respect to the sentencing stage, Libby's lawyers complained about the behavior of prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. In October 2005, Fitzgerald said (in a press conference) that he would not speak to "whether or not Valerie Wilson was covert." Early in discovery, Libby's lawyers sought documents which addressed the topic and the government refused to provide the information because it was "irrelevant." The government argued Wilson's status was "not an element of any of the three statutory violations charged." In June of 2006, the court issued a discovery order which, again, emphasized that Wilson's employment was "immaterial to the preparation of the defense." In preliminary instructions to the jury, the judge said her "actual status" was "totally irrelevant" to any "assessment" of the Libby's guilty or innocence. After the trial, however, in its sentencing memo, the government adopted a "new position" - that Wilson was a "covert agent" and that Libby should be sentenced as though that fact were established at trial. <br />
<br />
==Libby and Presidential Clemency==<br />
<br />
Almost from the beginning of his trial the President was encouraged to pardon Libby. Among those calling for pardon were [[William F. Buckley]], Jr, [[Fred Thompson]], Cal Thomas, [[Ann Coulter]], Jack Kemp, [[Tom DeLay]]<ref>http://libbypardon.net/procon.htm</ref> and Robert Bauer, general counsel to [[Barack Obama]]<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-aide-wants-libby-pardoned-2007-06-14.html Obama aide wants Libby pardoned], By Sam Youngman, ''The Hill'', June 14, 2007.</ref> But the trial continued and sentence was announced without presidential interference. As decisions were being made regarding the possibility of bail, many believed President Bush's hand would be forced, that he would have to grant a pardon in order to spare Libby from entering prison. <ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWY2MzRiNTAwZmE3NjZhMzZmODNhMTcyYjUzYzc4MjQ= "Respite for Libby?"] ''National Review'', June 14, 2007</ref><br />
On July 2, 2007, after a ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that Libby's prison sentence couldn't be suspended as the appeals process was pursued, President Bush's hand was forced and he commuted Libby's prison sentence. This means that while Libby will serve no jail time, he will still have to pay the fine, stay on probation, and the conviction will remain on his record. <ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070702-4.html] "Grant of Executive Clemency, July 2, 2007",</ref> This decision was decried by Democratic Party Presidential candidates [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Barack Obama]] <ref>[http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aA.bUy89_1hk&refer=homeBush Commutes Libby's Prison Term in CIA Leak Case], By Edwin Chen, "Bloomberg.com", July 2, 2007.</ref> though supported by others. Joe Wilson, on the day of President Bush's commutation of Libby, spoke to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on [[the Situation Room]] in which he stated, "Scooter Libby is a traitor." This caught CNN off-guard, as they promptly disconnected Wilson's phoneline.<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[Intelligence Identities Protection Act]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
== External Links ==<br />
* [http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/index.html Libby Trial Documents]<br />
* [http://www.scooterlibby.com/ Libby Legal Defense Fund]<br />
* [http://libbypardon.net Pardon for Libby? Blog]<br />
* [http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15988 Robert Novak on the Libby Trial]<br />
* [http://www.newmediajournal.us/staff/fsalvato/government/06082007.htm The Incredible Judicial Disparity: Berger v. Libby], Frank Salvato, June 8, 2007.<br />
* [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0605071libby1.html Libby Letters] -- letters from [[Donald Rumsfeld]], [[Henry Kissinger]], [[Paul Wolfowitz]], [[John Bolton]], [[Mary Matalin]], [[James Carville]], [[Peter Pace]], [[Richard Perle]], [[James Woolsey]], [[Douglas Feith]], [[Christopher Cox]], [[Leon Wieseltier]], [[Leonard Garment]], [[Alan Simpson]], [[Natan Sharansky]], [[Richard Myers]], and [[Anthony Fauci]], petition the Judge for leniency. [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/pdf/libbyletterscomplete.pdf]<br />
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2168642/ Free Scooter Libby] by [[Christopher Hitchens]], ''Slate'', June 18, 2007.<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libby, Lewis}}<br />
[[Category:Political people]]<br />
[[Category:Criminals]]<br />
[[Category:Crime]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Daily_Kos&diff=344200Daily Kos2007-11-28T16:18:52Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:W masthead wads.jpg|right|frame]]<br />
The '''Daily Kos''' is a supposed [[Leftist|left-wing]] [[blog]] that features advertisements like "DraftGore.Com ... Sign Our Petition" with a picture of a smiling [[Al Gore]] in front of what appears to be an image of the Earth from outer space.<ref>viewed Feb. 25, 2007.</ref> It also features a picture of [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[George W. Bush]] with a large cartoon cowboy hat.<br />
<br />
Entries on this blog on February 25, 2007 range from gossip (such as teaser about eviscerating coverage of [[Mitt Romney]]'s polygamist ancestors) to subjective vulgarity.<br />
<br />
CBS News has recently suggested that supposedly liberal blogs (not necessarily the ''Daily Kos'') may be hurting their favored candidates, as they may provide some political "dirt" for the other side:<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/23/opinion/main2507660.shtml</ref> <br />
<br />
: [A] former aide to Joe Lieberman advised the party to refuse bloggers access and "deny them jobs that confer party approval." ... [P]lenty of Democrats were upset with the netroots. <br />
<br />
This statement on behalf of Lieberman was, of course, ironic, considering he no longer identifies with the Democratic party himself, and ran in the general election on a separate party line named "Connecticut for Lieberman," having been denied the Democratic party's nomination.<br />
<br />
[[Bill O'Reilly]] has recently leading a campaign against the Daily Kos, and claimed that despite the fact that a considerable number of Americans may disagree with its views, most of the Democratic candidates for president were at its yearly convention, the Yearly Kos, including [[Barack Obama]], [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[John Edwards]]<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
'''Sources:''' <references/><br />
<br />
==External link==<br />
* [http://www.dailykos.com/ The ''Daily Kos'']<br />
<br />
[[category: blogs]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Daily_Kos&diff=344199Daily Kos2007-11-28T16:17:59Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:W masthead wads.jpg|right|frame]]<br />
The '''Daily Kos''' is a supposed [[Leftist|left-wing]] [[blog]] that features advertisements like "DraftGore.Com ... Sign Our Petition" with a picture of a smiling [[Al Gore]] in front of what appears to be an image of the Earth from outer space.<ref>viewed Feb. 25, 2007.</ref> It also features a picture of [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[George W. Bush]] with a large cartoon cowboy hat.<br />
<br />
Entries on this blog on February 25, 2007 range from gossip (such as teaser about eviscerating coverage of [[Mitt Romney]]'s polygamist ancestors) to subjective vulgarity.<br />
<br />
CBS News has recently suggested that supposedly liberal blogs (not necessarily the ''Daily Kos'') may be hurting their favored candidates, as they may provide some political "dirt" for the other side:<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/23/opinion/main2507660.shtml</ref> <br />
<br />
: [A] former aide to Joe Lieberman advised the party to refuse bloggers access and "deny them jobs that confer party approval." ... [P]lenty of Democrats were upset with the netroots. <br />
<br />
This statement on behalf of Lieberman was, of course, ironic, considering he no longer identifies with the Democratic party himself, and ran in the general election on a separate party line named "Connecticut for Lieberman," having been denied the Democratic party's nomination.<br />
<br />
[[Bill O'Reilly]] has recently leading a campaign against the Daily Kos, and claimed that despite the fact that some Americans may disagree with its views, most of the Democratic candidates for president were at its yearly convention, the Yearly Kos, including [[Barack Obama]], [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[John Edwards]]<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
'''Sources:''' <references/><br />
<br />
==External link==<br />
* [http://www.dailykos.com/ The ''Daily Kos'']<br />
<br />
[[category: blogs]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Daily_Kos&diff=344198Daily Kos2007-11-28T16:16:00Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:W masthead wads.jpg|right|frame]]<br />
The '''Daily Kos''' is a supposed [[Leftist|left-wing]] [[blog]] that features advertisements like "DraftGore.Com ... Sign Our Petition" with a picture of a smiling [[Al Gore]] in front of what appears to be an image of the Earth from outer space.<ref>viewed Feb. 25, 2007.</ref> It also features a picture of [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[George W. Bush]] with a large cartoon cowboy hat.<br />
<br />
Entries on this blog on February 25, 2007 range from gossip (such as teaser about eviscerating coverage of [[Mitt Romney]]'s polygamist ancestors) to subjective vulgarity.<br />
<br />
CBS News has recently suggested that supposedly liberal blogs (not necessarily the ''Daily Kos'') may be hurting their favored candidates, as they may provide some political "dirt" for the other side:<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/23/opinion/main2507660.shtml</ref> <br />
<br />
: [A] former aide to Joe Lieberman advised the party to refuse bloggers access and "deny them jobs that confer party approval." ... [P]lenty of Democrats were upset with the netroots. <br />
<br />
This statement on behalf of Lieberman was, of course, ironic, considering he no longer identifies with the Democratic party himself, and ran in the general election on a separate party line named "Connecticut for Lieberman," having been denied the Democratic party's nomination.<br />
<br />
[[Bill O'Reilly]] has recently begun standing up to Daily Kos, and pointed out that despite the fact that many Americans may be repulsed by its ultra-liberal views, nearly all of Democrats candidates for president were at its yearly convention, including [[Barack Obama]], [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[John Edwards]]<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
'''Sources:''' <references/><br />
<br />
==External link==<br />
* [http://www.dailykos.com/ The ''Daily Kos'']<br />
<br />
[[category: blogs]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Torture&diff=343871Torture2007-11-27T22:33:04Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>The term '''torture''' refers acts which inflict severe pain or mutilation on prisoners. Governments, armies and tyrants have inflicted torture on opponents throughout recorded history, chiefly against [[slave]]s and [[rebel]]s, but also against political or religious dissidents.<br />
<br />
In the West, the best known cases of torture were inflicted by ecclesiastical and political authorities during the Middle Ages. A well-known example from historical fiction occurs in ''[[Ivanhoe]]'', and well-known examples from real history can be found in the [[Malleus Maleficarum]]<ref>[http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/ The Malleus Maleficarum]</ref>, a manual for [[Witch Hunt|witch hunters]]. Opposition to torture on [[human rights]] grounds began in the 20th century, yet torture persists in countries as diverse as [[China]] and [[Sudan]]. <!-- too grisly and disgusting to mention here, but go read The Epoch Times for China. I might talk about ants and hamstringing in the Sudan article. Ed Poor. --><br />
<br />
==Iraq war==<br />
[[Image:0524072torture1.jpg|400px|right]]<br />
In a raid on an [[al-Qaeda]] safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal." Along with the images soldiers seized various torture implements, such as meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. The images, declassified by the Department of Defense, also include a picture of a ramshackle Baghdad safe house described as an "al-Qaeda torture chamber." It was there, during an April 24 2007 raid, that soldiers found a man suspended from the ceiling by a chain. According to the military, he had been abducted from his job and was being beaten daily by his captors. Earlier Coalition Forces freed five Iraqis who were found in a padlocked room in Karmah. The group, which included a boy, were reportedly beaten with chains, cables, and hoses.<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0524072torture9.html Torture, Al-Qaeda Style] <br />
Drawings, tools seized from Iraq safe house in U.S. military raid, May 24, 2007. </ref><br />
<br />
== UN definition ==<br />
The UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment defines torture as:<br />
<br />
"...any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions." <ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureDefinition</ref><br />
<br />
== Common methods ==<br />
Torture is widely practiced in many countries throughout the world as a means of intimidating the ruling regime's opponents. Amnesty International in Asia & the Pacific states that incidences of torture or ill treatment by the police have been reported in over 140 different countries since 1997. <ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureContext</ref> By far most commonly reported method of torture is physical beatings - other commonly reported methods include: <br />
<br />
* [[Rape]] and [[sexual abuse]] in custody <br />
<br />
* [[Mock execution]] or threat of death <br />
<br />
* Prolonged [[solitary confinement]] <br />
<br />
* [[Electric shock]]s<br />
<br />
* [[Suffocation]]<ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureMethods</ref> <br />
<br />
* [[Waterboarding]]<ref>http://people.howstuffworks.com/water-boarding.htm</ref>, also known as 'water torture' or 'water cure'<br />
<br />
== Controversy ==<br />
It is a matter of dispute whether it serves any valid purpose to distinguish between degrees or levels of torture. To some opponents, "torture is torture" and should always be prohibited. The US maintains that its [[coercive interrogation]] techniques are not "[[torture]]". While this position has met with considerable resistance from legal experts nationwide<ref>http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/06/usdom13130.htm</ref>, President [[George W. Bush]] vetoed the [[McCain Amendment]], which was intended to tighten the definition of torture. <br />
<br />
On [[21 June]] [[2004]], secret Justice Departmentdocuments were released defining torture only as treatment that can cause, "organ failure or even death." The release of this definition of torture by the Justice Department spurred President Bush to appear on national television the very same day and clarify by saying, "I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture." <br />
<br />
On [[19 December]] [[2005]], the United States Congress passed a resolution placing a ban on "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of "detainees." This ban was reinforced by the strongly split Supreme Court on [[30 June]] [[2006]].<br />
<br />
However, on [[8 October]] [[2007]], the Justice Department and the CIA released a new memo which asserted that the methods of interogation they were using on the detainees did not count as torture as defined by the Congressional resolution. This has sparked another ongoing controversy between [[liberals]] and [[conservatives]] over the ethics the Bush Administration is using to interogate the detainees.<br />
<br />
The signatories to the [[Geneva Convention]] <ref>http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/geneva03.htm</ref> in 1949 defined relative classes of persons who may be considered "prisoners". The Bush administration has classified [[terrorist]]s as [[unlawful combatant]]s not associated with any signatory power and maintain previous international conventions have not addressed this classification.<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/14/2devos.pdf?rd=1 Mind the Gap: Purpose, Pain, and the Difference between Torture and Inhuman Treatment] by Christian M. De Vos<br />
<br />
[[Category:Barbaric practices]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Torture&diff=343868Torture2007-11-27T22:31:50Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>The term '''torture''' refers acts which inflict severe pain or mutilation on prisoners. Governments, armies and tyrants have inflicted torture on opponents throughout recorded history, chiefly against [[slave]]s and [[rebel]]s, but also against political or religious dissidents.<br />
<br />
In the West, the best known cases of torture were inflicted by ecclesiastical and political authorities during the Middle Ages. A well-known example from historical fiction occurs in ''[[Ivanhoe]]'', and well-known examples from real history can be found in the [[Malleus Maleficarum]]<ref>[http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/ The Malleus Maleficarum]</ref>, a manual for [[Witch Hunt|witch hunters]]. Opposition to torture on [[human rights]] grounds began in the 20th century, yet torture persists in countries as diverse as [[China]] and [[Sudan]]. <!-- too grisly and disgusting to mention here, but go read The Epoch Times for China. I might talk about ants and hamstringing in the Sudan article. Ed Poor. --><br />
<br />
==Iraq war==<br />
[[Image:0524072torture1.jpg|400px|right]]<br />
In a raid on an [[al-Qaeda]] safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal." Along with the images soldiers seized various torture implements, such as meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. The images, declassified by the Department of Defense, also include a picture of a ramshackle Baghdad safe house described as an "al-Qaeda torture chamber." It was there, during an April 24 2007 raid, that soldiers found a man suspended from the ceiling by a chain. According to the military, he had been abducted from his job and was being beaten daily by his captors. Earlier Coalition Forces freed five Iraqis who were found in a padlocked room in Karmah. The group, which included a boy, were reportedly beaten with chains, cables, and hoses.<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0524072torture9.html Torture, Al-Qaeda Style] <br />
Drawings, tools seized from Iraq safe house in U.S. military raid, May 24, 2007. </ref><br />
<br />
== UN definition ==<br />
The UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment defines torture as:<br />
<br />
"...any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions." <ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureDefinition</ref><br />
<br />
== Common methods ==<br />
Torture is widely practiced in many countries throughout the world as a means of intimidating the ruling regime's opponents. Amnesty International in Asia & the Pacific states that incidences of torture or ill treatment by the police have been reported in over 140 different countries since 1997. <ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureContext</ref> By far most commonly reported method of torture is physical beatings - other commonly reported methods include: <br />
<br />
* [[Rape]] and [[sexual abuse]] in custody <br />
<br />
* [[Mock execution]] or threat of death <br />
<br />
* Prolonged [[solitary confinement]] <br />
<br />
* [[Electric shock]]s<br />
<br />
* [[Suffocation]]<ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureMethods</ref> <br />
<br />
* [[Waterboarding]]<ref>http://people.howstuffworks.com/water-boarding.htm</ref>, also known as 'water torture' or 'water cure'<br />
<br />
== Controversy ==<br />
It is a matter of dispute whether it serves any valid purpose to distinguish between degrees or levels of torture. To some opponents, "torture is torture" and should always be prohibited. The US maintains that its [[coercive interrogation]] techniques are not "[[torture]]". While this position has met with considerable resistance from legal experts nationwide<ref>http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/06/usdom13130.htm</ref>, President [[George W. Bush]] vetoed the [[McCain Amendment]], which was intended to tighten the definition of torture. <br />
<br />
On [[21 June]] [[2004]], the Justice Department released a memo defining torture only as treatment that can cause, "organ failure or even death." The release of this definition of torture by the Justice Department spurred President Bush to appear on national television the very same day and clarify by saying, "I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture." <br />
<br />
On [[19 December]] [[2005]], the United States Congress passed a resolution placing a ban on "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of "detainees." This ban was reinforced by the strongly split Supreme Court on [[30 June]] [[2006]].<br />
<br />
However, on [[8 October]] [[2007]], the Justice Department and the CIA released a new memo which asserted that the methods of interogation they were using on the detainees did not count as torture as defined by the Congressional resolution. This has sparked another ongoing controversy between [[liberals]] and [[conservatives]] over the ethics the Bush Administration is using to interogate the detainees.<br />
<br />
The signatories to the [[Geneva Convention]] <ref>http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/geneva03.htm</ref> in 1949 defined relative classes of persons who may be considered "prisoners". The Bush administration has classified [[terrorist]]s as [[unlawful combatant]]s not associated with any signatory power and maintain previous international conventions have not addressed this classification.<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/14/2devos.pdf?rd=1 Mind the Gap: Purpose, Pain, and the Difference between Torture and Inhuman Treatment] by Christian M. De Vos<br />
<br />
[[Category:Barbaric practices]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Torture&diff=343867Torture2007-11-27T22:30:21Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>The term '''torture''' refers acts which inflict severe pain or mutilation on prisoners. Governments, armies and tyrants have inflicted torture on opponents throughout recorded history, chiefly against [[slave]]s and [[rebel]]s, but also against political or religious dissidents.<br />
<br />
In the West, the best known cases of torture were inflicted by ecclesiastical and political authorities during the Middle Ages. A well-known example from historical fiction occurs in ''[[Ivanhoe]]'', and well-known examples from real history can be found in the [[Malleus Maleficarum]]<ref>[http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/ The Malleus Maleficarum]</ref>, a manual for [[Witch Hunt|witch hunters]]. Opposition to torture on [[human rights]] grounds began in the 20th century, yet torture persists in countries as diverse as [[China]] and [[Sudan]]. <!-- too grisly and disgusting to mention here, but go read The Epoch Times for China. I might talk about ants and hamstringing in the Sudan article. Ed Poor. --><br />
<br />
==Iraq war==<br />
[[Image:0524072torture1.jpg|400px|right]]<br />
In a raid on an [[al-Qaeda]] safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal." Along with the images soldiers seized various torture implements, such as meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. The images, declassified by the Department of Defense, also include a picture of a ramshackle Baghdad safe house described as an "al-Qaeda torture chamber." It was there, during an April 24 2007 raid, that soldiers found a man suspended from the ceiling by a chain. According to the military, he had been abducted from his job and was being beaten daily by his captors. Earlier Coalition Forces freed five Iraqis who were found in a padlocked room in Karmah. The group, which included a boy, were reportedly beaten with chains, cables, and hoses.<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0524072torture9.html Torture, Al-Qaeda Style] <br />
Drawings, tools seized from Iraq safe house in U.S. military raid, May 24, 2007. </ref><br />
<br />
== UN definition ==<br />
The UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment defines torture as:<br />
<br />
"...any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions." <ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureDefinition</ref><br />
<br />
== Common methods ==<br />
Torture is widely practiced in many countries throughout the world as a means of intimidating the ruling regime's opponents. Amnesty International in Asia & the Pacific states that incidences of torture or ill treatment by the police have been reported in over 140 different countries since 1997. <ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureContext</ref> By far most commonly reported method of torture is physical beatings - other commonly reported methods include: <br />
<br />
* [[Rape]] and [[sexual abuse]] in custody <br />
<br />
* [[Mock execution]] or threat of death <br />
<br />
* Prolonged [[solitary confinement]] <br />
<br />
* [[Electric shock]]s<br />
<br />
* [[Suffocation]]<ref>http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureMethods</ref> <br />
<br />
* [[Waterboarding]]<ref>http://people.howstuffworks.com/water-boarding.htm</ref>, also known as 'water torture' or 'water cure'<br />
<br />
== Controversy ==<br />
It is a matter of dispute whether it serves any valid purpose to distinguish between degrees or levels of torture. To some opponents, "torture is torture" and should always be prohibited. The US maintains that its [[coercive interrogation]] techniques are not "[[torture]]". While this position has met with considerable resistance from legal experts nationwide<ref>http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/06/usdom13130.htm</ref>, President [[George W. Bush]] vetoed the [[McCain Amendment]], which was intended to tighten the definition of torture. <br />
<br />
On [21 June] [2004], the Justice Department released a memo defining torture only as treatment that can cause, "organ failure or even death." The release of this definition of torture by the Justice Department spurred President Bush to appear on national television the very same day and clarify by saying, "I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture." <br />
<br />
On [19 December] [2005], the United States Congress passed a resolution placing a ban on "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of "detainees." This ban was reinforced by the strongly split Supreme Court on [30 June] [2006].<br />
<br />
However, on [8 October] [2007], the Justice Department and the CIA released a new memo which asserted that the methods of interogation they were using on the detainees did not count as torture as defined by the Congressional resolution. This has sparked another ongoing controversy between [liberals] and [conservatives] over the ethics the Bush Administration is using to interogate the detainees.<br />
<br />
The signatories to the [[Geneva Convention]] <ref>http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/geneva03.htm</ref> in 1949 defined relative classes of persons who may be considered "prisoners". The Bush administration has classified [[terrorist]]s as [[unlawful combatant]]s not associated with any signatory power and maintain previous international conventions have not addressed this classification.<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
*[http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/14/2devos.pdf?rd=1 Mind the Gap: Purpose, Pain, and the Difference between Torture and Inhuman Treatment] by Christian M. De Vos<br />
<br />
[[Category:Barbaric practices]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Assault_on_Reason&diff=343865Assault on Reason2007-11-27T22:20:54Z<p>Conservative92: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Thumb assaultonreason 1.jpg|right|thumb]]<br />
''The Assault on Reason'' is primarily an assault on the [[Bush administration]], according to a ''New York Times'' book review.<br />
<br />
It is a political book <ref>Gore still says he has no plans to run for president, but his latest book, "The Assault On Reason," is so nakedly political and sharply critical it's hard to discern what his plans may be. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596 ABC News] </ref><br />
by [[Al Gore]] which he denies is political. <ref>"I'm not a candidate and this is not a political book, this is not a candidate book," Gore told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596 ABC News] </ref><br />
In the book, Gore accuses [[President Bush]] of having an unprincipled hunger for power.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the book, Al Gore discusses how he thinks that the American democracy has been undermined by the current administration's intrusions of power. While claiming that the book is not political, Gore attacks the current President and his administration relentlessly.<br />
<br />
<br />
In a June 12, 2007 review for Reason Magazine, Michael C. Moynihan wrote:<br />
<blockquote><br />
The Assault on Reason reestablishes Gore as America’s premier besserwisser and moral scold: the politician who both warns that we are scaring people to death and argues that Manhattan will soon be submerged beneath the Atlantic.<ref>[http://reason.com/news/show/120701.html Free Speech for People Who Think Like Me], Michael Moynihan, ''Reason'', June 12, 2007</ref><br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
ABC's Jake Tapper wrote:<br />
<blockquote><br />
"The Assault On Reason" is an assault on President George W. Bush -- 308 pages of professorially rendered, liberal red meat.<br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
==General critique of US politics==<br />
<br />
*This volume moves beyond its criticisms of the Bush administration to diagnose the ailing condition of America as a participatory democracy — low voter turnout, rampant voter cynicism, an often ill-informed electorate, political campaigns dominated by 30-second television ads, and an increasingly conglomerate-controlled media landscape ... [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/books/22kaku.html?ex=1186718400&en=4aafb1641989b3cc&ei=5070]<br />
*The book also critiques the growing occurrence of American citizens being turned away from world events as a result of extremely minor events (specifically, the death of [Anna Nicole Smith]) as an analogy to a person's immune system. Gore uses the immune system to describe how when the American continuously hears too much of a negative thing, such as the goings-on in Iraq, which Gore equates to the constant exposure of a bodily sickness the immune system, it can cause the people to overreact to a small occurrence such as the death of a celebrity, which Gore equates to the immune system collapsing in on itself when an easily combatible disease has not been immunized by the body.<br />
<br />
==False seque from general to specific==<br />
Gore's book quotes a general rhetorical question by Democratic Senator Byrd, which in itself raises a good point.<br />
<br />
:"Why do reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions?"<br />
<br />
This inquisition seems to be somewhat contradicted when Gore claims that Democrats appear to be more reasonable than Republicans.<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==See Also==<br />
*[[Generation Investment Management]], a company that seeks to establish the rules and licensing for the new [[carbon-trading]] scheme.<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
<br />
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JE48XHKG64 Video of Al Gore blasting George H. W. Bush for ignoring Iraq's ties to terrorism]<br />
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596&page=1 Gore's 'Assault on Reason' an Assault on Bush] - ABC News<br />
<br />
[[category:book]]</div>Conservative92https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Assault_on_Reason&diff=343863Assault on Reason2007-11-27T22:12:35Z<p>Conservative92: immune system</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Image:Thumb assaultonreason 1.jpg|right|thumb]]<br />
''The Assault on Reason'' is primarily an assault on the [[Bush administration]], according to a ''New York Times'' book review.<br />
<br />
It is a political book <ref>Gore still says he has no plans to run for president, but his latest book, "The Assault On Reason," is so nakedly political and sharply critical it's hard to discern what his plans may be. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596 ABC News] </ref><br />
by [[Al Gore]] which he denies is political. <ref>"I'm not a candidate and this is not a political book, this is not a candidate book," Gore told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596 ABC News] </ref><br />
In the book, Gore accuses [[President Bush]] of having an unprincipled hunger for power.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the book, Al Gore discusses how he thinks that the American democracy has been undermined by the current administration's intrusions of power. While claiming that the book is not political, Gore attacks the current President and his administration relentlessly.<br />
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In a June 12, 2007 review for Reason Magazine, Michael C. Moynihan wrote:<br />
<blockquote><br />
The Assault on Reason reestablishes Gore as America’s premier besserwisser and moral scold: the politician who both warns that we are scaring people to death and argues that Manhattan will soon be submerged beneath the Atlantic.<ref>[http://reason.com/news/show/120701.html Free Speech for People Who Think Like Me], Michael Moynihan, ''Reason'', June 12, 2007</ref><br />
</blockquote><br />
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ABC's Jake Tapper wrote:<br />
<blockquote><br />
"The Assault On Reason" is an assault on President George W. Bush -- 308 pages of professorially rendered, liberal red meat.<br />
</blockquote><br />
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==General critique of US politics==<br />
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*This volume moves beyond its criticisms of the Bush administration to diagnose the ailing condition of America as a participatory democracy — low voter turnout, rampant voter cynicism, an often ill-informed electorate, political campaigns dominated by 30-second television ads, and an increasingly conglomerate-controlled media landscape ... [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/books/22kaku.html?ex=1186718400&en=4aafb1641989b3cc&ei=5070]<br />
*The book also critiques the growing occurrence of American citizens being turned away from world events as a result of extremely minor events (specifically, the death of [Anna Nicole Smith]) as an analogy to a person's immune system. Gore uses the immune system to describe how when the American continuously hears too much of a negative thing, such as the goings-on in Iraq, which Gore equates to the constant exposure of a bodily sickness the immune system, it can cause the people to overreact to a small occurrence such as the death of a celebrity, which Gore equates to the immune system collapsing in on itself when an easily combatible disease has not been immunized by the body.<br />
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==False seque from general to specific==<br />
Gore's book quotes a general rhetorical question by Democratic Senator Byrd, which in itself raises a good point.<br />
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:"Why do reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions?"<br />
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But then the book makes the utterly one-sided claim that it is Republicans who give short shrift to truth, while giving his own Democratic Party a free pass.<br />
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==Notes==<br />
<references/><br />
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==See Also==<br />
*[[Generation Investment Management]], a company that seeks to establish the rules and licensing for the new [[carbon-trading]] scheme.<br />
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==External links==<br />
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*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JE48XHKG64 Video of Al Gore blasting George H. W. Bush for ignoring Iraq's ties to terrorism]<br />
*[http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3192596&page=1 Gore's 'Assault on Reason' an Assault on Bush] - ABC News<br />
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[[category:book]]</div>Conservative92