Decius wrote:
During this long period of delay and potential litigation, ugly passions would again be aroused. And our people would again be polarized in their opinions. And the credibility of our free institutions of government would again be challenged at home and abroad.

In the end... the verdict of history would even be more inconclusive with respect to those charges arising out of the period of his Presidency...

My conscience tells me clearly and certainly that I cannot prolong the bad dreams that continue to reopen a chapter that is closed. My conscience tells me that only I, as President, have the constitutional power to firmly shut and seal this book. My conscience tells me it is my duty, not merely to proclaim domestic tranquility but to use every means that I have to insure it.

That was Jerry Ford pardoning Nixon, and he was wrong to have done so. It gave us these bastards.

How many times have we heard "It can't happen here." No. Enough. This has already gone too far and needs to be stopped now. The lies that these people told us so they could do this. We do not sweep this under the rug, we drag these recalcitrant despots into the light of day.

We are either a nation of law and can move forward in that light, or we are a yet another joke to be swept into the ashheap of history. These people are responsible for the torture of people in our custody, and the deaths of some of those at Bagram and Abu Ghraib. This cannot stand. If it does we have lost the soul of the country. This is a fundamental evil and cannot be ignored.

RE: The torture row is not going to go away.