Posted on 09/28/2006 8:54:10 AM PDT by MNJohnnie
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1709588/posts?page=1
House passes detainee bill
Republicans pushed a bill supported by President George W. Bush to set rules for interrogating and trying terrorism suspects through the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday and Senate Republicans were expected to follow within a day.
The House passed the bill 253-168 largely along party lines, dismissing warnings from Democrats that courts would strike down the plan for failing to meet judicial standards.
Republicans who control both chambers want to send the bill to Bush by the weekend, when lawmakers head out to campaign for November elections that will determine control of Congress.
The bill sets up procedures to try foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Supreme Court struck down Bush's original plan, saying it violated U.S. and international standards.
As Senate debate on the bill got under way, Republicans defeated an attempt to pass an alternative that Democrats said would meet Supreme Court standards and help restore America's image, damaged by harsh treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
The Senate was expected to pass the bill on Thursday, after considering several other amendments.
Republicans, seeking to polish their terrorism-fighting credentials in the final days of their campaigns, depicted the new rules as tough but fair.
"By formally establishing terrorist tribunals, the bill provides a critical tool in fighting the war on terror and it provides a measure of justice to the victims of 9/11," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, a California Republican, said the bill provides "basic fairness in our prosecutions but we also preserve the ability of our war fighters to operate effectively on the battlefield."
But Human rights groups and many Democrats said the deal gave Bush too much latitude to allow harsh interrogations and to deprive detainees of legal rights.
Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat, said agreeing to "such an ambiguous compromise would allow the president to define torture when and how he sees fit."
Rep. Louise Slaughter, a New York Democrat, said the bill sends a signal that "America's leaders are willing to abandon our values ... in favor of thuggish tactics they hope might make them safer for a little while."
Democrats also predicted the courts would find the bill unconstitutional because it deprived detainees held without charges of the right to file legal challenges to their imprisonment.
Under a compromise worked out last week, the CIA will be able to continue aggressive interrogations, but supporters of the bill said agency interrogators would comply with the Geneva Conventions' requirement for humane treatment.
The bill also expands the definition of "enemy combatants," who can be held indefinitely without charges, to include those who knowingly support terrorist groups with arms, money and other activities.
Backers of the bill said that provision would choke off supplies to terrorist groups, but critics said it was too broad and could subject many more people to indefinite detention.
And...and...and...I'm a good person. (sniff, sniff)
Wanna by some realestate?? No $$$ Down! Easy Terms!
It's getting close to time that this would be a great time to totally stock up the National Reserves, or as soon as it appears to bottom out. If I was Bush, I'd order new secure facilities to be built to get a few billion extra barrels in fact if it gets close to $50 per barrel. :)
LOL!
I agree!
but I sure wish Roccus would have offered a nice back and neck rub instead of relaxing to kill my head-ache- LOL!
j/k-
that's Johnnie's job!
;-)
Good grief, and I thought WE paid too much. Great map, Clint.
I hate my state.
I guess the Democrats you're forced to live under there are taking in more local taxes to make sure they get their cut and keep people annoyed and blame Bush for the gas prices. :)
This state is full of socialists. Cook County runs the state.
How does a Democrat manage that in a state that BUsh won so comfortably in both elections? That's so odd. I never have understood that. Byrd and Rockefeller don't reflect most West Virginians, but they keep getting elected. Makes no sense.
My daughter saw a Delta gas station, here in NJ that was $2.05, earlier this week. My local Texaco station was at $2.34 as of Tuesday.
One more reason the phrase "pro-choice" is a blatant lie when applied to Democrats.
I'm getting riped off in PA. I don't pump so I guess I pay for the service and I only use Sunoco.
LUST fee? hahahahaha
If you get any more ephemeral, you won't be able to push the keys on your keyboard!
Heheheh. :) That was a good show. :) And I hadn't seen Zardoz but I think I'd like it since I have always had a certain fascination with apocolyptic type movies; Mad Max, Damnation Valley, Water World (despite it's liberal global warming anti-oil drivel). It's an interresting "what if" type of movie I think.
Thanks for the ping.
I'd always thought of running to be a genuine challenge while simultaneously straddling a fence and sticking your head up your bum......
Maybe the dims should properly be described as "Cut n' Stumble, Trip and Fall on Your Face".
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