Your good news of the day
by digby
Only 21 Senators (all Republicans) voted not to ban torture that isn't in the Army Field Manual today. (Yes, the AFM allows torture like solitary confinement...)
Lest you think this is a huge deal, torture was already illegal when the Bush administration did it so there's little reason to believe that anything would stop a future administration from ordering it too or that anyone would object to doing it if they were so ordered. It's not as if anyone is ever punished for ordering it or perpetrating it. It's more of a guideline than a law.
Still, it's somewhat comforting to know that 80% of our Senators wanted to make a symbolic gesture saying they don't think torture is something we should do (unless we really, really think we need to.) So that's good.
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