a retirement, and a physician speaks out

Sandra Day O'Connor retires. Too bad, since she always struck me as a basically decent and logical justice. We'll miss her. I dread the nomination/confirmation process, since I suspect Bush will go with a radical ultra-conservative to please the right wing as usual. But I hope I'm wrong. Some on the far right are known to say "Gonzalez is Spanish for Souter"... they'll pressure the White House to name somebody closer to Scalia or Thomas in ideology.

Speaking of people involved in torture, the Washington Post today ran an op-ed piece that was critical of the military's role in torture condemned physicans for any participation. Burton Lee calls for a full investigation of the military's role in torture, and demands the restoration of ethical standards for doctors and nurses to keep them from serving as facilitators for torture.

Burton Lee was a doctor in the US army ... and later served as George W. Bush's personal physician for four years.