Presidential Scholar Confronts President on Torture
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/30/2209/
Published on Saturday, June 30, 2007 by the Boston Globe Presidential Scholar Confronts the President; Gives Bush Letter Decrying Torture
by Claire Cummings
WELLESLEY — Usually, the high school seniors who win the federal government’s highest honor just go to the White House, pick up their Presidential Scholars medal, and get their picture taken for posterity with the president.
Mari Oye had other ideas.
In the Georgetown University dormitory the night before the big moment, the newly minted Wellesley High graduate persuaded 49 of her 140 fellow scholars to sign a letter she and a dozen others had drafted and she had just written longhand on notebook paper, calling on President Bush to reject torture and treat terrorism suspects humanely.
Text of the letter handed to President Bush by Mari Oye
Mr. President.
As members of the presidential scholars class of 2007, we have been told that we represent the best and brightest of our nation. Therefore, we believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions. We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants.
Signed
Before the scholars posed for a photo with Bush on Monday, she handed him the letter. He put it in his pocket and took it out after the photo shoot. Reading silently to himself, the president looked up quizzically at Oye and said, according to her, “We agree. America doesn’t torture people.�
The minute-long confrontation earned the Yale-bound student a mention in The New York Times and other national media outlets. Dana Perino , White House deputy press secretary, also responded later Monday. “The president enjoyed a visit with the students, accepted the letter and upon reading it let the student know that the United States does not torture and that we value human rights,� Perino said.
Some other presidential scholars were not happy, saying that the letter’s presentation spoiled their moment.
“I’m sure we can all agree torture is not a good thing. It was just the means of how they were going about it,� said Amanda Berbert , 18, of Centerville, Utah.
Oye is not backing down.
“I really felt l could not just go down and smile for the camera and not say anything,� she said in an interview yesterday at her home. “There are some things that are more important than the decorum of protocol.�
July 1st, 2007 at 7:01 am
Just as it was starting to look like the coming generation was condemned to eke out an existence under the dark skies of fascism as an underclass things like this occur & give me hope for the future. Also check out this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/washington/27poll.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin. Peace, Roland Hardy
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:24 pm
If this young scholer can confidently confront the president, why not the rest of us? Let’s call all senators with a prayer of supporting confrontation on several key issues including on the subpoenas to probe the Attorney dismissals in the strong hope the Senate Judicial Committee doesn’t hesitate! Will Senate Judiciary Comm. Panel Hold Bush Admin. in Contempt of Congress? July 02 07
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leahy Threatens Contempt Citations Over US Attorney Probe Subphoenas Congressional Quarterly Midday July 02 07
Just In Congressional Quartly Midday Update
http://public.cq.com/docs/cqm/cqmidday110-000002544954.html
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he is prepared to ask the panel to hold the Bush administration in contempt of Congress if officials continue to defy subpoenas issued seeking documents related to the dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys.
“If they don’t cooperate, yes, I’d go that far,� said Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said yesterday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.�
President Bush asserted executive privilege June 28 over White House records related to the dismissals. In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, White House counsel Fred F. Fielding said Bush also is prepared to assert the privilege to prevent two former senior White House aides from testifying in the matter.
Leahy said his panel would determine if the executive privilege claim is valid before proceeding. “Based on the court cases,� he said, that appears doubtful.
The House and Senate Judiciary committees on June 13 ordered White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten to produce documents related to the firings by June 28.
The House panel also subpoenaed former White House counsel Harriet Miers to produce documents and appear before the panel’s Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee on July 12.
The Senate panel also subpoenaed former White House aide Sara M. Taylor to produce documents and testify on July 11.
Source: CQ Today Midday Update Political Clippings compiled from BNN Frontrunner and CQ Politics.com. © 2007 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved.