It's FRIDAY! Whoohoo...

And I was in such a good mood...

In what seems like a determined effort to allow cruelty, the United States government, under the leadership of President George W. Bush, now claims that the legislation republican Senator John McCain drafted banning torture does not apply to Guantanamo Bay. Let me repeat that. Our government is trying to bypass a law banning torture. Again - our government is fighting to allow torture. I just can't get that through my mind. From the Washington Post:

Bush administration lawyers, fighting a claim of torture by a Guantanamo Bay detainee, yesterday argued that the new law that bans cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody does not apply to people held at the military prison.

In federal court yesterday and in legal filings, Justice Department lawyers contended that a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot use legislation drafted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to challenge treatment that the detainee's lawyers described as "systematic torture." - Washington Post

This is just plain miserable. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in our nation's leadership. I started doing a little research on the whole issue of torture (which is difficult to do whilst I'm supposed to be working) - I found a great article on the subject HERE. To be honest, I haven't chewed through the whole document yet; it's kinda long, and I can only read so much before my blood pressure starts rising.

On the lighter side...

If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, he should see it with representation. - The Farmer's Almanac

Serfs in the Middle Ages had to give up 20% of their income yearly and that made them virtual slaves. Today the average American pays 47%. What does that make Americans? - Kenneth Prazak, Secretary of the Libertarian Party of Illinois (Apr 14, 2000)

If Congress were to pass a flat tax, you'd simply pay a fixed percentage of your income, and you wouldn't fill out any complicated forms, and there would be no loopholes for politically connected groups, and normal people would actually understand the tax laws, and giant talking broccoli stalks would come around and mow your lawn for free, because Congress is NOT going to pass a flat tax, you pathetic fool. - Dave Barry