Four years ago today, I got the worst phone call of my life, and America lost a hero. Today, YOU can honour HIM and give him the legacy he deserves.
As some of you know, my husband, Dan, was a Vietnam vet who survived torture. When he got back to the US all of his toenails had to be removed, to try to get rid of the bamboo poisoning where they had tried to inflict pain to get him to tell them what they wanted to know. He had scars all over his body, and a trench on the back of his neck where he had hit him. But the worst effects were psychological: there was never enough food in the house to fill the psychological hole left by the food deprivation, and he never got a full night's sleep. He was still waking up screaming the week before his fatal heart attack four years ago today.
Dan left me a mission: to stop torture as the law, policy and practice of the United States, and to push to ensure that those responsibile are held accountable. I need YOUR help with that mission.
There are several ways YOU can help:
1) You can phone, fax, email, or write to your president, your senators, and your congressional representatives to tell them that three things nee to happen:
1) An independent, open, and thorough investigation into all those who wrote the Bush definition of torture, all those who made it the law, policy and practice of the United States, all those who authorize the torture, all those who ordered the torture, and all those who carried it out, with indictments and prosecutions to follow as recommended.
(All American adults must know what happpened in their names,
and here must be legal accountability for torture.)
2) An independent, open and thorough accounting of all those held in US custody since January 21, 2001,all those renditioned,and all those disappeared, including the women and children, and their treatment.
(All American adults must know what has happened to all of these
men, women and children, are they even still alive?)
3) The Army Field Manual on Human Interrogations, Appendix M, must be removed or substantially altered, to remove torture techniques, including sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, human contact deprivation, and the use of drugs during interrogations.
- You can start making plans to March for Accountability on the Saturday of Labour Day Weekend, September, 5, 2009. More information to come in the coming days and weeks.
- You can, and I say this with complete humility, help me bring Dan's voice and Dan's mission to Netroots Nation 09, as a NN Scholarship recipient. http://democracyforamerica.com/...
YOU have it in your power to make a difference.
YOU have it in your power to make JUSTICE and ACCOUNTABILITY happen.
YOU have it in your power to give Dan the legacy that he deserves.
Please, stand up and TAKE ACTION today.
With gratitude,
Standing for justice and accountability,
Hugs,
For Dan,
Heather