Dec 16 Weekly Update: Vice President Cheney Admits Authorizing Torture, VCS Works to Restore Our Civil Liberties

December 16, 2008 –  Spread the Word: Close Guantanamo Bay, End Torture, and End Domestic Spying

This week’s update contains three important items. First, our VCS membership keeps growing. Second, we want you to let President-Elect Barack Obama know we want our civil liberties restored, especially since Vice President Dick Cheney recently confirmed on TV that he authorizied torture. And, third, we need your donations to keep up our work fighting for our inate rights enshrined in our Constitution.

First, Veterans for Common Sense is pleased to announce our membership has grown to more than 14,000. We thank those of you who share our updates and ask you to keep sending them to your friends so we can keep growing!

Second, VCS wants you to send a strong message to Congress and the new Obama administration: STOP TORTURE. Please go to www.Change.gov and share your ideas with the new White House that begins governing on January 20, 2009. In our view, Obama should take an immediate and strong stand against torture by anyone taking place anywhere. With the stroke of a pen, he can restore human rights and end the abuses of the past eight years started by the out-going administration.  Here is a blockbuster news article where Vice President Richard “Dick” Cheney admits to “clearing” the use of waterboarding, an illegal form of brutal torture simulating drowning: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/11906

Here are other steps we believe Obama can take to restore the beacon of liberty symbolized by our Statue of Liberty.

—> Close Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp. Guantanmo has become synonymous with torture, human rights violations, and ignoring Constitutional liberties. In order to return the world’s confidence in America and to assure Americans that torture is not taking place under our flag, Obama must close the doors of Guantanamo and open up the trials for all of the prisoners of war being held there. We want our habeas corpus restored now. The bogus term, “enemy combatant” should be eliminated. We should resume using “enemy prisoner of war” and following the Geneva Convention.

—> Stop Torture. Americans must unite and demand that any remaining government orders suggesting or authorizing torture be terminated. We must rebuild our reputation as a country that respects human rights at all times. We degrade our moral values and our civilization when we condone torture. Veterans or Common Sense worked with several other organizations to sue the Department of Defense to force the government to reveal outrageous documents ordering waterboarding and other forms of torture.

—> End Domestic Spying. Spying on Americans by our government is unconstitutional, and it must stop now. Veterans for Commmon Sense wants the Obama administration to restore our Constitutional liberties. The first step is to restore our rights by ending Domestic Spying. insert article on domestic spying – a recent article about Maryland peace groups targeted by the police.

Please go to www.Change.gov and share your ideas with the new White House that begins governing on January 20, 2009.  We agree with the wisdom of Thomas Paine who wrote that “Law is King” in his clarion call to end the despotism of King George III who believed that as king he was the law. Now, more than ever before in our Nation’s history, we recommend people read our Constitution and bring about an end to illegal dentention centers void of human rights, an end to brutal torture, and an end to spying on innocent citizens.

Third, we need your year-end tax-deductible donations to fight for our Constitution and our Civil Liberties. We are a voice rising above others and will remain so with your help. Please give to VCS today to help fund our efforts to learn the facts about Gitmo, torture, and domestic spying. With your help, we can begin to restore American dignity at home and abroad.

Finally, please watch ABC News broadcast interview where Vice President Cheney knew about and supported the torture of fellow humans, a violation of our Constitution, our laws, and the Geneva Convention: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6468400.  The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties, where VCS is a co-plaintiff, helped uncover the official documents implicating Cheney – otherwise, the press would remain unware of Cheney’s actions.   

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