Our president, George the Lesser, has once again nominated Steven Bradbury, who has been running the Office of Legal Counsel without being confirmed by the Senate, for the position for about the fourth time. The legal counsel issues legal opinions to government officials, including the president, to guide the officials through legal entanglements. Usually, a lawyer asked to write an opinion on a subject, usually some action a client, in this case, the U.S.A., is about to take or has taken, is expected to be somewhat objective in the analysis of the legal problem.
Bradbury, according to the news media, authored opinions that it's okay to torture people to get the answers the inquisitor, in this case, the U.S.A., needs.
It is interesting that the nomination comes just after Jose Padilla, the U.S. citizen who was first accused of building a "dirty bomb" and who was locked up for six years, then tried on the charge of materially aiding groups involved in terrorist activities, was sentenced to 17 years in prison [dirty bomb allegations were not part of the case against him]. Of about 125 recorded conversations, Padilla was in on seven of them and his two "co-conspirators," who received less time in prison than Padilla, were participants in the other calls. Jurors who talked after the verdict thought that Padilla was on the fringes of the "conspiracy" -- he said in one conversation that he was ready to go overseas to train. The problem with the conviction is that the judge did not allow a shred of evidence about the torture inflicted upon Padilla, but acknowledged during the sentencing hearing that the "extreme environmental stress," of which he was a victim, warranted some consideration in sentencing. Maybe the judge should have considered that he was a bit player in the scheme, which never reached any kind of stage, other than the talking stage -- it was a conviction based on ideas that they had and not any actions that they had taken. Padilla's co-conspirators got 15 1/2 years and 12 1/2 years, respectively; so, the judge bowed to political pressure in sentencing the high-profile, well-known defendant. Who has heard about Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, his co-defendants, and what they did?
In any event, back to Steven Bradbury, who opined that torture is okay -- now, once again, Bush the Lesser is trying to reward him for his loyal efforts to legitimize war crimes.
And Bush the Lesser made the nomination after his hypocritical* speech about his admiration and his emulation of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the ideals and ideas, for which Dr. King gave his life.
* -- hyp·o·crite [hip-uh-krit] – noun
1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs, e.g., George W. Bush
2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.
[Origin: 1175–1225; ME ipocrite < OF < LL hypocrita < Gk hypokrits a stage actor, hence one who pretends to be what he is not, equiv. to hypokr(nesthai) (see hypocrisy) + -tés agent suffix]