what once was a crime is now an acceptable technique

Walter Pincus notes our progressing attitudes about waterboarding. In 1947, the US-run Tokyo War Crimes tribunal sentenced a Japanese military officer to 15 years hard labor for waterboarding people.

In 1968, a photo of an American army unit using waterboarding against a Vietnamese prisoner reportedly prompted an investigation.

And today, although Congress says it thinks it's outlawed waterboarding, the de facto Administration refuses to say whether it is acceptable or not -- although it HAS been used extensively since 9/11 with the explicit permission of the White House and its lackeys in the Department of Justice.

At this rate, by 2025 we'll be waterboarding junior high school students to force 'em to rat out on their pot-smoking buddies.

Remember when the American government used to oppose torture and support human rights? Gosh, those were the days.