Two political links

Standard

First: Andrew Sullivan points out that Dick Cheney confessed to a war crime in a recent interview.

In fact, the attorney general of the United States is legally obliged to prosecute someone who has openly admitted such a war crime or be in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention on Torture. For Eric Holder to ignore this duty subjects him too to prosecution. If the US government fails to enforce the provision against torture, the UN or a foreign court can initiate an investigation and prosecution.

These are not my opinions and they are not hyperbole. They are legal facts. Either this country is governed by the rule of law or it isn’t. Cheney’s clear admission of his central role in authorizing waterboarding and the clear evidence that such waterboarding did indeed take place means that prosecution must proceed.

Cheney himself just set in motion a chain of events that the civilized world must see to its conclusion or cease to be the civilized world. For such a high official to escape the clear letter of these treaties and conventions, and to openly brag of it, renders such treaties and conventions meaningless.

Not that anything will be done about it in this country. A former Republican can confess to war crimes on TV and nothing happens to him, but Obama administration has to respond to frivolous birther lawsuits.

Second: Here’s an essential breakdown of the insanity of the current American political situation. You can skip the lengthy analysis that comes after the five steps–it only reiterates the opening in more depth.

But I still find it astonishing that the DC media continue to insist that Democrats must do more to reach out to an opposition party that has refused to abandon discredited ideas and are determined to obstruct governance. I also find it hard to believe that the media keeps calling this a “center-right country” when it simply isn’t true.