A shameful passage

The United States Supreme Court illegitimately installed George W. Bush as president of the United States after the 2000 elections. Boy George was going to while away his time in office, rewarding friends in politics and the oil and defense industries with rich contracts.

That was why Dick Cheney held those meetings with energy interests behind closed doors. It was as evil a cabal as you could get. They were corrupt and lazy, to boot.

Then, history intervened.

Whatever you believed about the origins and the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, the events propelled our nation on a path that altered the course of our history. Every step along the way, when our nation’s leaders had opportunities to chose paths that would strengthen or imperil our nation, they chose wrong.

They chose torture, rather than follow the rule of law. They belittled and denigrated international laws and institutions, rather than harness the goodwill of the community of nations.

The new administration, a legitimately elected president, Barack Obama, bearing a mandate from the people of this country, has begun trying to repair the damage wrought by the last administration. They won’t always make the right decisions. Their steps might be, at times, unsure. But they have one thing George W. Bush never had. Legitimacy.

UPDATE: A special prosecutor should decide the fates of John Yoo, Jay C. Bybee and other memo writers. They should suffer the consequences for violations of international laws that their memos aided and abetted.

All lower level soldiers punished for following orders should have their punishment reduced (because we now know they did not torture on a whim but were, in fact, following orders).

Gen. Geoffrey Miller should be tried for War Crimes.

A Truth & Reconciliation Commission (senior members of the judiciary and the U.S. Congress; governed by strictures of Congressional testimony) should get sworn testimonies of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, George “Slam Dunk” Tenet, and Colin Powell. Their testimonies will be immunized if they tell the truth. Liars should be prosecuted for the wholesale violations of international laws (conventions against torture and the Geneva conventions) that occurred.

All will be consigned to history’s judgment.

MARINE FROM TEANECK DIES DURING TRAINING EXERCISES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, March 10, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A04

A 20-year-old Teaneck man died, apparently of a heart attack, while undergoing combat water survival training Friday at the Marine Corps training base at Parris Island, S.C., a Marine spokesman said.
Danilo A. Marty Jr., was training at an indoor swimming pool to upgrade his water survival safety qualifications from third class to second class when he collapsed about 2:30 p.m., Capt. J.R. Mill said Saturday.
“It looked like . . . during the evolution of that exercise, he obviously must have experienced difficulties,” Mill said. “While they were trying to get him out of the pool, he apparently collapsed.”
Marty, who was in the pool with approximately 55 other men when the attack occurred, was pronounced dead at 3:47 p.m. Friday at the Beaufort Naval Hospital, Mill said. The cause of death was listed as “cardiopulmonary arrest, secondary to aspiration” a heart attack, he added.
Marty arrived Feb. 14 at Parris Island and began the 12-week cycle popularly known as “Boot Camp,” Mill said.
“You think it is hard to lose a Marine in combat. You can compound that a hundredfold when we lose a recruit in training,” he said.
Marty’s family has already been notified of his death, Mill said. The Martys, whose telephone number was unlisted, could not be reached for comment Saturday. Before Marty could be deemed medically fit for recruit training, Mill said, he would have undergone two complete medical examinations.
A typical day for recruits begins about 4:30 a.m., and training, which lasts until about 8 p.m., is fitted in between personal care and meals, Mill said. The safety qualification training began about 1:30 p.m. Friday and was to go on until 3 p.m. Marty, in attaining his third class safety qualification, demonstrated he could take care of himself, Mill said. Friday’s training was to teach him how to do that and take care of a wounded Marine at the same time, he said.
Although what Marty was doing when he began experiencing difficulty is now the subject of investigation, Mill said, the recruit was in the pool wearing full Marine gear, including boots, utilities, helmet, flak jacket, H-harness, cartridge belt, two magazine pouches, two full canteen with covers, a rubber rifle, duplicate of a M-16 A2 service rifle, and a standard 40-pound pack.

Keywords: TEANECK; DEATH; VICTIM; DEFENSE; NEW JERSEY

SHOPPERS SIGN UP TO SUPPORT TROOPS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, January 27, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A03

A constant question in letters written home by American servicemen and women in the Middle East is how the public is reacting to their being over there.
If the more than 3,000 signatures collected on banners at two Paramus shopping malls Saturday are any measure, then support for the men and women if not for the war itself is overwhelming, said family members who organized the banner-signing.
“Every signature that goes on there is one more support for our men and women, and they will know how the public really feels, that they really care and have pride in them,” said one of the organizers, Joan Piazza of Paramus. Her 21-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Steven Piazza, is on the front line in Saudi Arabia with the U.S. Marine Corps 81st Platoon.
The Bergen County chapter of the American Red Cross Military Family Support Group, formed shortly after the first deployment of servicemen and women in August, set up tables inside Paramus Park mall and Garden State Plaza at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The white nylon banners each had a yellow band with black lettering above and below reading “Support Our Troops, Come Home Soon. “
By mid-afternoon, people were searching for space in the cotton margins of the banners. Shopper after shopper walked up to the tables, many simply to sign their names, others to write such messages as “You are in our hearts and prayers. God Bless. “
Sandy Rosenberg, 54, of Paramus said she signed the banner because although she is against the war she wants the men and women serving in the Middle East to know that she supports them and wants them to come home safely.
Kevin Mendillo, 29, of Fort Lee commended the military family support group for its effort to boost the morale of the troops.
“These guys are putting their lives on the line, risking their lives to protect us,” Mendillo said.
The banners will hang atop the Bergen County Courthouse, Piazza said. When the war is over and the soldiers and sailors return, the banners will be presented to them at a “big party. “

Keywords: USA; IRAQ; KUWAIT; WARFARE; DEFENSE; SAUDI ARABIA; MIDDLE EAST; PARAMUS

Caption: COLOR – JOE GIARDELLI / THE RECORD – Nancy Monaco of Fort Lee signing a banner at Paramus Park mall. PHOTO – AL PAGLIONE / THE RECORD – Bergen County Executive William “Pat” Schuber, left, and Sheriff Jack Terhune at courthouse ceremony honoring U.S. troops.