The inhumanity of the shrub

This, of course, is nothing new, but the president is taking new steps to dismantle the Geneva Convention protections. Now, he's asking Congress to pass legislation protecting U.S. officials from prosecution so they'll be free to use methods that infringe on the "personal dignity" of prisoners. Methods such as the ones made famous by the Abu Ghraib photos- "forced nakedness, use of dog leashes and wearing of women's underwear"- would be perfectly legal and acceptable under the new legislation.

Now, of course, it's not. Such bullshit is illegal under the War Crimes Act of 1996, which states that any violation of the Geneva Conventions is cause for imprisonment.

"This removal of [any] reference to humiliating and degrading treatment will be perceived by experts and probably allies as 'rewriting' " the Geneva Conventions, said retired Army Lt. Col. Geoffrey S. Corn, who was recently chief of the war law branch of the Army's Office of the Judge Advocate General.

This is a dangerous precedent to set, Mr. President. And arguably pretty stupid. But honestly, I don't have the energy or the focus right now to make the argument. I'm too pissed off.

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On a slightly more upbeat note, CNN has found that 60% of the American public is now against the Iraq War. Sorry, Shrub. It couldn't last forever.