Political games unseemly

One critical resolution promoted by Indiana Republican National Committee member Jim Bopp Jr. is to call the Democrats names. Another earth-shaking bill proposed by Georgia Rep. Paul Broun would name 2010 the “Year of the Bible.” One wonders why all the Bush years aren’t “Bible” years, what with Rumsfeld’s Pentagon briefings misquoting Scripture to justify torture and unprovoked war.

The U.S. (and the world) is in economic turmoil. Unemployment is expected to continue rising through the rest of this year. We now realize people in our government reversed course on our highest ideals, such as prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment, and endorsed torture.

Abu Zubaydah deserves an impartial trial and swift justice – perhaps even execution. But torture? Zubaydah was administered the American Baptism 83 times to solicit fake connections between al-Qaida and Iraq. That goes way beyond interrogation, no matter how much immoral people excuse the ends to justify the means. The psychologists, lawyers, interrogators and those who crafted our torture policy should all be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. And Congress needs to get to work addressing our economic crisis, instead of playing political games.

Paul Yost

Spokane