The gyrations of the Republicans and the right wing to justify our use of torture as a policy are growing ever more ridiculous. Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) has introduced legislation to ban "extraordinary rendition," the practice of detaining "suspects" and then sending them to other countries without any hint of due process on our part. Bob Herbert, in today's NYTimes:
"Pete Jeffries, the communications director for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, ...said: "The speaker does not support the Markey proposal. He believes that suspected terrorists should be sent back to their home countries."
Surprised, I asked why suspected terrorists should be sent anywhere. Why shouldn't they be held by the United States and prosecuted?
"Because," said Mr. Jeffries, "U.S. taxpayers should not necessarily be on the hook for their judicial and incarceration costs."
Herbert says: "It was, perhaps, the most preposterous response to any question I've ever asked as a journalist."
Especially since, according to the story in today's NYT, we're not spending much taking care of ordinary prisoners in the US: "Private Health Care in Jails Can Be a Death Sentence"
