In a related story to my post on Maher Arar , Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass) condemns Congress for what he terms "capitulation, not compromise" to the Bush administration on torture:

"For the Bush Administration, the air is too thin on the moral high ground," Rep. Markey said. "While the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress may be breathing a little easier today, our troops abroad may be in jeopardy because of this serious erosion of the protections in the Geneva Conventions."

[..]"By using legal mumbo-jumbo to obscure the fact that the CIA will continue to be allowed to use torture and will actually be insulated from legal liability for previous acts of torture, President Bush is proceeding ever further down the slippery slope that Colin Powel(l) warned us will endanger American troops in the field by encouraging other countries to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions."

I think the thing that upset me most yesterday when McCain, Warner and Graham announced that they had reached an agreement with the White House, was the complete silence on the Democratic side of the aisle.

To his credit, Rep. Markey--who is the senior Democratic member of the House Homeland Security Committee--has been very vocal about his condemnation. If only the mainstream media would actually cover it.

So I put it to you, the C&L readers: will you get your elected officials to commit? Are they in favor of torturing people, knowing full well that information gathered is suspect at best, and that those rendered to countries we condemn as fascist may very well be completely innocent? That they're proud to be a member of the Congress and country that decided they don't have to abide by the Geneva Conventions any longer

The media is not asking them these hard questions, but they work for you. Get them to tell you that they support President Bush's actions.