<table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-12-2010/intro---john-yoo-interview-reflections'>Intro - John Yoo Interview Reflections</a></td></tr><tr style='height:14px; background-color:#353535' valign='middle'><td colspan='2' style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; width:360px; overflow:hidden; text-align:right'><a target='_blank' style='color:#96deff; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/'>www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><embed style='display:block' src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:261515' width='360' height='301' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes'>Daily Show<br/> Full Episodes</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.indecisionforever.com'>Political Humor</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/videos/tag/health'>Health Care Crisis</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table>
I find that hard to believe that there aren't more senior officials that had a national security background that they would go to an admitted lower level official. Particulary given how controversial this memo was. Yoo doesn't seem to elaborate much on that and his response even acknowledges that there were others who did have a national security background. Then do you understand what Yoo is arguing or are you just punting on the basis that we should just accept Yoo's argument? I watched the videos and I find his arguments to be unconvincing for reasons previously stated. And I agree they aren't charicatures but that doesn't mean that their arguments are valid. As far as that the country is evenly split on it frankly polling has shown that a significant portion of the country doesn't understand Constitutional rights and/or are more than willing to compromise those rights for a variety of reasons. In fact we debate that here all the time. Falling back to saying that we should just accept it because Yoo isn't the charicature that Daily Kos et al makes him out to be or that a lot of Americans agree with him isn't a justification in itself.
Except that in most cases those exercises have been very problematic. As I noted with the Emancipation Proclamation that was written very narrowly and the detention of Japanese Americans has been repudiated by later US Presidents and Congress. These directly contradict his statement that these issues had never been addressed.
that's not the issue he said had never been addressed. he was speaking specifically of enhanced interrogation in a time of war, or as he put it, the middle ground between giving someone their miranda rights and torture. he was not speaking in the general sense of the expansion of presidential powers in war time.
Maybe his lawyers can use those videos at The Hague as a display of Yoo's sober, thoughtful, honorable character; who while grappling with extraordinarily difficult questions, at a time of great peril for the country, chose to justify war crimes in a sober, thoughtful way.
Except that issue has been debated since the time of Lincoln's suspension of Habeus Corpus and relates directly to issues like the detention of Japanese Americans. The question of enhanced interrogation is a question of what due process rights are granted to prisoners whether by the Constitution or treaty. Saying he is talking about a different issue is a distinction with no meaning.
Yes Basso - very wise. Now stop Demonizing every democrat you come across and start realizing they are in fact sober thoughtful honorable men and women. Maybe start with Obama. The day you live by your own advice will be truly be historic.
