On Tuesday, John Ashcroft came to Knox College to give a speech.  Afterwards, students were given a chance to ask questions.  I asked about the case of a Japanese soldier, Yukio Asano, who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor for waterboarding American soldiers, and then diaried his response as I remembered it on both DKos and MyDD, which led to it being mentioned on Countdown's "Worst Person in the World" segment and being spread all around the progressive netroots.

Now, due popular request, the local newspaper has posted the exchange on YouTube.  Check it out for yourselves:

As you may already know, John Ashcroft addressed the subject of whether waterboarding is torture at Knox College on Tuesday.  Although most of his defenses were tripe, he actually had a valid point with this remark:

Congress has defined it [torture], the law has the definition.  I don't believe the law has been violated--and if the law needs to be changed, you should talk to your congressman, not to me.

It's worth thinking about.  Why has Congress done nothing to stop Ashcroft and his ilk?  And why haven't we stepped up to the plate and forced our legislature to do their job?

I got a lot of emails and comments yesterday from people who wished they could have done what I did.  To all of them, I say this: you and I together can do something better.  We can make waterboarding and "enhanced interrogation" explicitly illegal once and for all.

We can pass Senate Bill 1943.

(Cross posted at DKos)

Earlier tonight, I attended John Ashcroft's speech on "Leadership in Troubled Times" at Knox College.  So, while it's still fresh in my mind, here's how it went--including the question I asked that made him lose his cool completely.  (I apologize for the lack of pictures--I don't have a digital camera.  As my friends post their pictures of the event online, I'll try to add them into this diary.)

Anybody else remember the good old days when Democrats were enjoying the primaries and had a sense of humor about the candidates?  Anybody?  Bueller...Bueller?

I hereby proclaim this thread off limits to all infighting, outrage, scandals, words ending in "gate", people with sticks where the sun don't shine, and Ronald Reagan.  This diary is intended to be a much needed infusion of humor and camaraderie...as well as a chance to rack up some mojo.

Lately it seems that many Democrats, both here and elsewhere, have forgotten what this party is really about: beliefs.  Supporting a certain candidate does not make you a Democrat any more than supporting a different candidate makes you not a Democrat.  It's not who you vote for.  It's what you stand for.

So, whether you support Obama or Clinton, take a deep breath.  Just this once, put down your weapons--verbal or otherwise--and think about what you stand for.  Why are you a Democrat in the first place?  What is it that really matters to you?

Place your right hand on whatever book you hold most sacred--be it the Bible, Tanakh, Qur'an, Mahabharata, Book of Shadows, or Constitution--and recite this Democratic Creed with me:

(Note: I posted this on DKos back in February, but it got ignored in favor of candidate diaries.  I figured I'd try again here.)

As we all know, Republican leaders are fond of saying that because we liberals don't support the disastrous war in Iraq, we don't support the troops.  It's a great illustration of the lack of logical reasoning skills on the part of Republican leaders, but why take my word for it when every single one of us can disprove the charge through our actions?  If we all commit to showing support to our soldiers in deed rather than in words only, not only will we make the Republicans look foolish, but we'll also help give hope and comfort to thousands.  So today, I'm calling on everyone to commit to as many of these "six steps" as you can.

I want some credit: I've come this far in the political primary season without losing my cool, despite being constantly attacked by older women because I voted for Obama.  Being a strong feminist pursuing a male-dominated career, I let the slurs and aspersions slide, and mostly ignored the women calling me a "female chauvenist" and a "mindless MTV-bot" (I'm a senior in college).  

The other day, I passed a fellow college student who was sporting a Hillary '08 button.  She took one look at my Obama button, sputtered a bit, and snapped, "Where the hell did your mother go wrong?"

Good question, albeit rudely phrased.  I'll leave it to you to judge...but first, let me introduce you to the great lady I am honored to call my mother.