Outlawing Extraordinary Rendition

Via Fafblog (of all places), I learned of HR 952, introduced by Edward Markey of Massachussetts, which would ban Extraordinary Renditions, our country's loathsome practice of kidnapping and shipping to foreign countries those people we suspect of engaging in or supporting terrorist activities. The countries we ship these people to are known to engage in torture, but we extract a promise from them before turning the suspects over that they will not torture them. Any torturing that's done after that is not our fault. No sirree. Overzealous patriots for hire may inflict a little pain, permanent injury, or death, but that is not our intention. You can read more about this practice at Nat Hentoff's Liberty Beat (you can read about this in a lot of places, but I think I first heard of the practice in Hentoff's column a couple years ago).

Find and contact your Representatives and urge them to support this bill. If your Representative is Markey or one of his co-sponsors write them anyway to thank them for their support.