Joining the ranks

Updated When Bush nominated him, I noted that Alberto Gonzales had argued that the war on terrorism made the Geneva Conventions' limitations on treatment of enemy prisoners "obsolete" and "renders quaint some of its provisions."

I pointed to the fact that his office played a role in a memo arguing that torture of alleged al Qaeda held outside the US "may be justified" and that international laws against torture "may be unconstitutional" if applied to the War on Terrorism^{(c)(tm)(pat.pend.)}.

I reminded readers that he was the one who publicly defended the Shrub team's absurd contention that so-called "enemy combatants" could be imprisoned indefinitely without access to lawyers or courts. And I blasted the idea that his nomination was not "contentious."

In the wake of his confirmation hearings, I called him a "no-good, lying slimebucket" who engaged in "deceit, denial, and double-talk."

I mean, I expected Gonzales to lie. I expected him to run away from his own words. I expected him to dodge his record. I expected all kinds of deceptions and evasions ranging from the merely clever to outright whoppers. ... And yup, I got exactly that.

I also slammed the Democrats' "utterly incompetent" questioning of him and said that those who thought he would be an improvement because he's not John Ashcroft were "fooling themselves."

So I think it would be abundantly clear to all what I think of him being approved as Attorney General.

And yes, I have contacted both my senators about it. And I am confident they both will vote no, as any decent human being who does not want to endorse torture and indefinite detention without legal rights must.

But there is a move to get as many blogs from as wide an ideological span as possible declaring their opposition to Gonzales. So I am taking what, again, I would think to be my obvious position and making it explicit so as to add my tiny voice to the growing chorus of what is, last time I checked, 487 blogs.

No! to torture. No compromise, no acceptance, no softening. And so No! to Alberto Gonzales.

If you have a blog and want to add your voice, this is the link.

Updated to add the links and correct a mistake in my own chronology. Posting at 4am is not wise.