Monday, January 09, 2006  Bush Still Wants to Torture  So
remember that whole torture issue? The administration wanted to
continue to be able to torture people and many said this was bad
policy. John McCain (R-AZ) felt strongly enough that he added an
amendment to a budget bill and the administration threatened to
veto it. Cheney fought for months to avoid the amendment but in
the end the Senate approved it 90-9. it all seemed settled on
Dec 30 when Bush signed H.R. 2863. But hold on for the rest of
the story.  Remember how the government supposedly works.
Congress makes the laws, the President executes the laws, the
Courts interpret the laws. The right has been whining about how
the courts have been overstepping their bounds, that justices
should merely interpret not make the laws. Well the president
also gets to sign the laws but still not write them. He can veto
the whole thing or sign it, he (or she) can't change it. Well it
seems there's more.  In 1986, then deputy assistant attorney
general in the Offic