9-9-06, 10:29 a.m.

For months now, possibly years, I've been reading various accounts of secret CIA prisons, 'rendition', and the torturing of detainees. All along the Bush Administration and their mouthpieces have been elusive about the existence of these secret prisons and categorically denying that our detainees have been tortured.

This week the chimp finally admitted that the secret prisons existed, only because he wanted to use the information for political gain. He had to admit to the existence of these prisons in order to move some of the prisoners to Guantanamo and publicize the fact that the US has these 'terrorists' in custody and have gleaned valuable information from them (all a secret of course). This was, of course, all designed for painting himself and the Republicans as strong on terra, and the Democrats soft on terra. There's an election on the horizon, ya know!

So let's take a step back and analyze what just happened. First of all, Bush instantly pissed off what few European allies he had left, because he told them that the secret prisons didn't exist. Bush once again painted himself as a liar. He might as well be wearing a sign reading 'I cannot be trusted'. Not only did he lie about the existence of the secret prisons, but he must have also lied about the torturing of detainees. He has denied all along that 'we don't torture', but the only reason for shipping them off to non-US territories is to have them out of the bounds of US laws & protections. Bottom line - of course they're being tortured. In the process of admitting to secret 'black-site' prisons, and having 'renditioned' these detainees for 'special interrogation', Bush is also pushing for congressional action to allow for a change in the Geneva Conventions and military tribunals. The Supreme Court has already ruled against this, but now Bush is trying to change the laws... right now... in a hurry... in time for the November election. Gee, could it be that Bush is politicizing his tough-on-terrorism rhetoric for GOP advantage? Ladies & Gentlemen, please do not fall into this trap again. Stay focused. You've been doing so well this last year and a half. Keep these important points in mind as you go forward, and particularly as you go to the polls in November: George W. Bush (and his neo-con cabal) has/have repeatedly and consistently proven that they cannot be trusted. Their lies and deceitfulness have been a hallmark of this administration and tenure as President of the United States. Despite what you may see in this weekend's ABC 'docudrama' - 'The Road to 9/11', the attacks on September 11th happened on George W. Bush's watch! There were over 50 blatant warning signs, and he chose to ignore them. When the attacks did occur, he froze. And after the attacks he obstructed the investigation and (ab)used the attacks to carry out a fascist agenda of American imperialism abroad, and constitutional decimation at home. (btw... Don't buy the implication that it's all Clinton's fault because he didn't kill bin-Laden when he had the chance. That's another blatant right-wing lie.) George W. Bush (and his neo-con cabal) lied us into the conflict/occupation/quagmire in Iraq, which has drained our military, our treasury, and our economy, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, since we simply MUST 'stay the course'. The Republican-controlled Congress (both the Senate & House of Representatives) has acted as a rubber stamp allowing Bush (and his neo-con cabal) to get away with illegal & murderous crimes, all under the (dis)guise of 'protecting America'. For the entire Bush presidency there has NOT been a balance of power in the United States government. There has been a gross IMbalance, and that has resulted in disaster. The Republican-controlled, rubber-stamp Congress has also allowed Bush (and his neo-con cabal) to carry out a domestic agenda which has ballooned our deficit & debt, rewarded companies which ship jobs overseas & invest in gas-guzzling vehicles, decimated environmental, constitutional, and worker's rights & protections, and driven a much bigger wedge between the wealthy and the non-wealthy in our country. Virtually all of the legislation over the last 6 years has been to the advantage of big business. These are just the tip-of-the-iceberg of the many important things I want you to walk away with. Now go vote! And when you do vote... vote with your heart... vote with your head... and vote with your conscience. But please, DON'T vote with your fear.

-Scott Shuster is a progressive columnist, having written for www.dubyad40.com since May of 2005.

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