I for one cannot understand for the life of me why on earth John Ashcroft, failed former Attorney General, is even being listened to by the House Judiciary Committee. All his posturing can possibly do is cause frustration for his hearers as he bleats about such things as waterboarding serving a "valuable" purpose and that it does not constitute torture.

Frankly, it would seem to me if Mr. Ashcroft paid attention he could have no doubts whatsoever about waterboarding. As author and newly-minted American citizen Christopher Hitchens so recently sputtered as he tried to recover from feeling near death: "Believe Me, It’s Torture!"

I mean, as Vanity Fair prefaced Hitchens' article, "What more can be added to the debate over U.S. interrogation methods, and whether waterboarding is torture? Try firsthand experience. The author undergoes the controversial drowning technique, at the hands of men who once trained American soldiers to resist—not inflict—it."

Read the story: 

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/hitchens200808

~~~~

On a personal note, I once sent a complaining email to Mr. Ashcroft (long before his AG gig, back when he was running for Senator). Well, his campaign put me on their mailing list and I started receiving the damnedest multipage diatribes I ever imagined. I repeatedly tried to get off the list, to no avail. Finally, I had HAD it and emailed, "I am not John Ashcroft's constituent and if I were, I would commit suicide."

At last I got off the list!

Positively,
Carolan