Dear Curtis,

[curt]

a wierd way to start a blog entry when your name is Curtis. Not. I gave AI my e-mail address while at an evening with Juan Roberto Melendez last year. They've been keeping me updated ever since. Have you seen The Green Mile? It was both a pleasure and painful to meet and speak with Juan. I was most impressed by the school English teacher and his spontaneous translations.....Juan's English burried in a very strong Puerto Rican accent. Juan and I parted as brothers that night. I know, and Juan knows how hard it is to keep a thing going when you're sure it's of no use at all. That's why I would like to share this with you. The e-mail from AI :

Dear Curtis,

This past Saturday, with a single stroke of his veto pen, President Bush blocked a tough law forbidding the CIA from using waterboarding and other despicable interrogation "techniques." We can't let him have the last word.

In the face of this brutal affront to human rights, we must show that President Bush does not represent the vast majority of American citizens. This starts with each and every one of us acting in our own communities.

Act Now. Call talk radio stations and write a letter to the editor ...

It took thousands of calls, letters and emails from Amnesty activists like you to persuade Congress to pass tough anti-torture legislation. And now, it's going to take just as much energy and determination to counter Bush’s unconscionable veto.

Let's make it clear that torture is wrong everywhere, all the time, no matter the circumstances, and no matter which agency does it. And so is putting people on "trial" based on torture-tainted evidence. Bush acted. Now you have to act. Call your local radio station. Write a letter to the editor. Forward this email to as many people as possible.

Speak out against torture. Don't let Bush have the last word!

President Bush tried today to defeat our efforts to put America on record. But, with spirited protests all across America, we’re going to make it clear that our nation abhors what our President condones.

Please act against torture now.

Sincerely,

Larry Cox
Executive Director
Amnesty International USA

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcgXO-vX7dM

On not letting Bush have the last word..............he won't. Obama still has a lot to say. Won't all of it be good.

[Mark]

Yeah, Obama had a lot to say. It was the same stuff Bush said and the same stuff Eichmann said, only Obama said it in much better English. I'd rather have somebody speaking Ebonics or Spanglish who could say, "No more fuckin' torture, man, we don't do that shit any more and anybody who did it gonna be busted."