John Ashcroft: I’m Willing To Be Waterboarded

[Renew Deal]

Source: Think Progress

Last night, former Attorney General John Ashcroft delivered an address on national security at the University of Colorado. The event was marked by heated protests. About 20 student protesters wearing “shirts with ’shame’ written on the backs and wearing American flags over their faces, welcomed Ashcroft to the stage by standing up and turning their backs to him.”

During the speech, Ashcroft caused an uproar when he declared Guantanamo Bay was a “good place” for detainees. In addition, he defended the torture tactic of waterboarding:

Ashcroft also responded to questions from the audience. The first question came from a woman who asked if Ashcroft would be willing to be subjected to waterboarding.

“The things that I can survive, if it were necessary to do them to me, I would do,” he said.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2007/11/28/ashcroft-waterboarded/

---

Let's get to it.

[DS1]

1. If he was in hospital for a heart condition

it might very well kill him. Hard to believe I actually wish he were back in office compared to the current batch of total nutters

[driver8]

3. No shit -- I never thought I would WISH for Ashcroft.

That has to be a sign of just how low we have sunk...

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. No kidding. Who would have predicted that Ashcroft was the least crazy. n/t

[dantyrant]

17. Oh, let's not kid ourselves.

Ashcroft had himself annointed with Crisco before taking office(google it)... He's still a first-rate loon, and him saying he'd willing to be waterboarded just reaffirms that in my mind.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

29. Googled and true! Not as good as the Real Thing though

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/08/04/IN136349.DTL

Among his colleagues he was still a little strange -- a guy who had his father anoint him with cooking oil from the kitchen before taking office. Cynics dubbed him "The Crisco Kid." And his voting record led the John Birch Society to rank him favorably, right alongside Sen. Jesse Helms.

[Lisa]

38. that, and the barbed-wire sculpture of the Statue of Liberty he keeps in his barn

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,95234,00.html

[Fovea]

6. I thought him coding would be a distinct possibility

but the shear shadenfreude of it kept me from responding.

[Fovea]

2. We need more reality tv shows during the writer's strike

so here is number one with a bucket!

[calimary]

49. I know! "Waterboarding with the Stars!!!"

The one with the dancing just wrapped up and we've gotta fill the time with something, don't we? And everyone is in bathing attire, so there's some good T&A in there for the ogglers.

[Fovea]

50. Pitch It!

You've got star material, Baby!

[Kutjara]

4. Easy for him to say...

...when he knows it would never happen. Just another big-talking Republican coward.

[lonestarnot]

9. blowhard asshole!

:toast:

[bullimiami]

7. im sure its bad being waterboarded by friends as a demonstration

but quite another to be waterboarded as part of interrogation by enemies who you know could kill you.

[KansDem]

15. I agree...

Strap him to a board and pour water down his nose & mouth. Ask him over and over, "DO YOU HAVE SEX WITH ANIMALS?" "DO YOU HAVE SEX WITH ANIMALS?" Do it over and over until he gives the right answer.

Of course, this "demonstration" would be pooh-poohed by the neo-cons, but it would reveal just how unreliable information gleaned from torture can be.

[bullimiami]

30. and if he dies? i guess you pack him in ice and shrug. oh well. shit happens.

[Lasher]

8. It's the New Gestapo world tour!

SUNDAY! SUNDAY!

THERE'S FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

HEAR

Ashcroft tell the student body that torture is good!

SEE

the asshole get paid a pile of university money to stink up the campus!

BE THERE!

[L. Coyote]

13. Sponsered by your local educational institutions. With your money!!

[downindixie]

10. I would volunteer

to make it happen!

[jaysunb]

11. Why didn't he join the army and take a chance at it ?

LIAR !

[mlevans]

12. How about if that new attorney general joins him?

Then maybe he'd be able to tell the Senate whether it's actually torture or not.

[dantyrant]

21. It wouldn't be right to leave out Gonzo...

Let's make it a trifecta.

[mlevans]

25. Only a trifecta?

I'm not ordinarily vindictive by nature, but this is a list that could go on and on and on...

[dantyrant]

32. No objections here :D

[donkeyotay]

60. Wish we had an attorney general who would merely ask if it's legal or not

Instead of playing games with semantics. It's as if the country has spent 6 years trying to define the definition of "is." The Geneva Convention set the bar so much lower than waterboarding that it is a laughable question. Besides, waterboarding isn't the only practice that meets the definition. Prisoners of war, (or enemy combatants or terrorists) are protected under law (unless the unitary executive redefines it) from being tortured (or coercively interrogated). No man is above the law, and no one can be without it's protection if we are to live by the rule of law.

[yardwork]

14. We could have a fundraiser! Waterboard Ashcroft for $1 a minute!

Where do I pay?

[dantyrant]

31. Reality TV: "So you think you can waterboard Atty-Gen Ashcroft?" n/t

[robinlynne]

16. well he just signed a 52 million dollar contract with the gov't. I'd say his support was

purchased at a premium.

[KamaAina]

18. You heard the man. Go for it!

[balantz]

20. YEAH!!!

Waterboard that scumball!!!!

[balantz]

19. Do these low-level human thugs who should be in prison

actually get paid to make speeches?

Why do I get the feeling that he was sweating up there with people turning their backs on him and announcing their knowledge of his compliance with the nazi regime in Washington. Do these bastards like to think they can continue to shine as leaders of a free society? Just WHO THE FUCK do they think they are? It's just fucking incredible. This dream called America has become a nightmare.

[slowry]

22. Why would water-boarding "work" -- even theoretically -- if it wasn't torture? n/t

[mlevans]

27. A point to ponder...

Various experts have pointed out that torture doesn't work insofar as obtaining reliable intelligence goes, because people being tortured will say anything to get the torture to stop. Considering that Bush is a compulsive liar, if he were tortured would it make him tell the truth?

[Mz Pip]

23. Easy for him to say

It's never going to happen so it's not like he's some big friggin tough guy just saying the words.

I'm sure the freepers will use this statement as some kind of justification that waterboarding really isn't torture since John Ashcroft would be willing to submit to him.

Words are easy. Actions, not so much.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Quantess]

24. Someone needs to call his bluff.

C'mon Ashcroft. I dare you. Right now.

[Turbineguy]

26. Maybe we can come to some sort

of arrangement.:evilgrin:

I'm willing to waterboard him.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

28. Line forms on the right. Please, no shoving.

If we charge a small fee I think we could knock a nice chunk out of our national debt too!

[demnan]

33. They should have asked

if he would be willing to be in the room with 20 calico cats and a bare-breasted statue.

[Judi Lynn]

34. But could he be waterboarded while singing "Let the Mighty Eagle Soar?"

~~~~ link ~~~~

[balantz]

35. Ugh! I just watched that.

Please make it so!

[Scurrilous]

46. "Let the Mighty Eagle Soak!"

:thumbsup:

[Judi Lynn]

56. Now we're talkin'. Good one! n/t

[rockybelt]

36. So

waterboard the motherfucker already. A missourian.

[Javaman]

37. Well, johnny boy...

I have a tub, a board and a hose, what are you waiting for?

What's that? what training do I have, LOL john you're so funny, I don't need any stinking training. It's all about the experience for you, isn't it?

Let's call it on the job training, because let's face it, I don't honestly think there is a school for this shit.

So what do you say, johnny boy???

[Lisa]

39. unfortunately, there actually IS a school for this kind of thing ...

In fact the "techniques" are documented in training manuals. The dictators in Latin America, pre-revolutionary Iran, and other places around the world who used torture techniques often called on CIA expertise. I am sorry to report that some of the information was gained by human experimentation at a respected Canadian university. Naomi Klein presents the background in a very well-researched book.

http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/short-film

[City Lights]

40. Let the water boarding begin! And make sure it's televised.

Most Americans have no idea what water boarding really is. Let them see it first-hand when it's done to Asscroft. Imagine the things he'll "confess" to (:evilgrin:), and all on live television.

Bring it on. :popcorn:

[Moochy]

47. He could do a special version of his famous song...

"Let the Water-Board, Like it's never poured before..."

:+

[maddogesq]

41. Oooh, kinky.

Wonder if John wants the water board technician to be a buxon blonde in tight leather. :)

[damntexdem]

42. Then I'm willing for him to be.

But no one else.

[rocktivity]

43. Of course John Ashcroft can handle being waterboarded

After all, he was able to handle creating this.

(Warning: This link contains material which may be unsuitable to music lovers.)

x(
rocknation

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

44. Take a number.

[Sabriel]

48. The line will beat Black Friday at Best Buy

You'll have to pay people to hold your place in line.

[superconnected]

45. By all means, Waterboard that man.

[TankLV]

51. Me! Me! Me! Let me do it! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!

[Anarcho-Socialist]

52. At the earliest opportunity please!

[bkcc]

53. I say let's take him up on his offer.

Let's see if he comes out of the experience a changed man.

[Orsino]

54. He said no such thing.

He tried to imply it, clumsily, but he didn't indicate any willingness or make any promise.

[HuffleClaw]

55. erm, he WASN'T saying he'd submit to waterboarding, in fact he meant the opposite

'the things i can survive'

[mac56]

57. Here's what I don't get about the RW's stance on waterboarding.

If it's so harmless and benign, just a wacky frat-boy prank -

Why do they bother doing it?

What benefit would it have for them?

Answer: the fact that they do it proves it's NOT a "harmless benign frat-boy prank".

[slowry]

61. Thanks.

That's like what I said above; nobody asks these people straight up: "If it isn't torture, how could it 'work', even theoretically?"

[treestar]

58. Naturally he thinks so

Don't forget - right wing fundie nutjobs believe that they will be persecuted until they deny Jesus, and believe they won't do it. It's their racism that makes them think nonwhite, nonChristian people will cave in and deny their gods, or give up the information, whichever it is.

IOW, they believe white Christians are strong and will not cave even under torture. They never think that could apply to the Muslims or whoever they are torturing. It's part of the package of the total double standard - they are "right" and others are "wrong."

[MissMillie]

59. As Olbermann says: Let the Eagle Soak (n/t)

.