Pat Leahy

Key Democrats Dodge Torture Prosecutions

Bob Fertik — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:23:41 -0400

Despite the torture memo revelations, Democratic leaders are showing little interest in prosecuting torturers, according to Jason Leopold:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy reiterated his calls for a bipartisan “truth commission.”

“The Bush administration not only ran roughshod over our values and law, they undercut the public trust of the American people and tarnished American’s prestige and authority throughout the world,” Leahy said. “These legal memoranda demonstrate in alarming detail exactly what the Bush administration authorized for “high value detainees” in U.S. custody. The techniques are chilling. This was not an “abstract legal theory,” as some former Bush administration officials have characterized it. These were specific techniques authorized to be used on real people.

“We cannot continue to look the other way; we need to understand how these policies were formed if we are to ensure that this can never happen again. This is why my proposal for a Commission of Inquiry is necessary. We must take a thorough accounting of what happened, not to move a partisan agenda, but to own up to what was done in the name of national security, and to learn from it.”

But Leahy has previously said that such a committee would never get off the ground without the support of Republicans.

Republicans are adamantly opposed to a Truth Commission, and support prosecution instead. So why doesn't Senator Leahy simply adopt their position and call for prosecution?

Sen. Carl Levin, D-MI, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said “If we are to retain our status as a leader in the world, we must acknowledge and confront these abuses. Only then can we credibly object to the use of abusive tactics on our troops when they are captured.”

Levin’s committee is expected to release the full declassified report on the roles senior Bush administration officials played in implementing torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. The report, which is 200 pages and contains 2000 footnotes, is in the process of being declassified by the Defense Department.

Levin stresses the simple point that no one else ever mentions - if we don't want our captured soldiers to be tortured, then we'd better not torture prisoners ourselves!

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, who requested a couple of weeks ago that Holder appoint a special prosecutor to begin a criminal investigation into the Bush administration’s use of torture, did not renew those calls following the release of the memos.

“The legal analysis and some of the techniques in these memos are truly shocking and mark a disturbing chapter in our nation's history,” Conyers said. “Hopefully these practices have been ended for all time. Critical questions still remain, including the role and legal culpability of high-ranking officials in the former administration in directing and approving the use of these troubling techniques. I urge the administration to continue to ensure that the rule of law is upheld concerning this matter."

The only way to "ensure that the rule of law is upheld" is through prosecution. Conyers knows it so why won't he come out and say it?

Bill O'Reilly Attacks Pat Leahy over Truth Commission

Bob Fertik — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:04:04 -0500

Here's more evidence that the bipartisan "Truth Commission" proposed by Sen. Pat Leahy and Rep. John Conyers is impossible. Bill O'Reilly attacked it immediately as a treasonous effort to help Osama Bin Laden attack America. The ventriloquist's dummy for O'Reilly's attack was Marc Thiessen, Bush’s former chief speechwriter:

THIESSEN: [T]he facts that they want to get out are the techniques we use to interrogate terrorists. The techniques that we used to intercept e-mails and communications and telephone calls. And when you get those facts out, it’s not just going out to the American people and to the viewers on television. It’s going out to Osama bin Laden. It’s going out to the terrorists who can use those information to get around our intelligence and plan the next attack.

So it’s very deadly — this is very deadly serious stuff. … And it’s terribly dangerous.

Of course Bin Laden doesn't need to read about U.S. torture techniques in a U.S. government report - he can simply ask the victims or read their lawsuits. But if O'Reilly is genuinely concerned that a Truth Commission would reveal secrets, then surely he would prefer a Special Prosecutor like Patrick Fitzgerald who would carefully protect government secrets and just enforce the law.

If George Bush and the torturers agree with O'Reilly that they are heroes, let them convince a jury of their peers.

Truth Commission Fallacies Part 2

Bob Fertik — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:36:57 -0500

To build support for his proposed "Truth Commission" (see BushTruthCommission.com) Senate Judiciary chair Pat Leahy (D-VT) offers more fallacies. (Senator Leahy's staff has not replied to my phone/email requests to answer the questions I posed yesterday.)

During the past several years, this country has been divided as deeply as it has been at any time in our history since the Civil War...

In this week when we begin commemorating the Lincoln bicentennial, there is need, again, "to bind up the nation's wounds."...

Rather than vengeance, we need a fair-minded pursuit of what actually happened...

A truth and reconciliation commission would be tasked with seeking answers. It would provide Congress and the American people with a shared understanding of the failures of the recent past, so we do not repeat them in the future.

Fallacy #7: America is deeply divided.

That's absurd. A deeply divided country would be angrily fighting with weapons and/or words. There is absolutely no political violence in America today - zero. That is in obvious contrast to the Civil War (both on the battlefields and in big cities), to the labor battles of the 1930's, and to the Vietnam War battles of the 1960's.

Nor is our country deeply divided along partisan lines. Democrats have won the last two elections by sweeping majorities, and President Obama has overwhelming support. The truth is that America is more united than at any time since the aftermath of 9/11.

Fallacy #8: America has "wounds to heal."

The wounds that need healing are those resulting from George Bush's repeated acts of violence against our laws and our Constitution. The tried-and-true remedy for criminal actions is prosecution.

Fallacy #9: A desire for prosecution is a desire for "vengeance."

That's also absurd. Since when is a simple request to enforce the law an act of "vengeance"? Is every complaint to every prosecutor an act of "vengeance"?

"Vengeance" would be a demand for Bush to be hanged - like Bush's demand for the hanging of Saddam Hussein.

Fallacy #10: A prosecution is not a "fair-minded pursuit."

In America, prosecutors take enormous pride in their fair-mindedness. The only exceptions were the corrupt partisan prosecutors appointed by George Bush. Obviously we adamantly reject a corrupt prosecution like that.

Fallacy #11: "Truth" and "Reconciliation" go hand-in-hand.

The criminals who need to be investigated will never tell the truth voluntarily. And if the truth of their crimes is exposed despite their fierce opposition, they will never reconcile with those who expose it.

Fallacy #12: A "Truth Commission" will produce a "shared understanding."

How can there be a "shared understanding" of torture? The Bush Administration adamantly believes it produced "good information" and "saved American lives." Everyone else knows it produced "bad information" and also helped Al Qaeda recruit terrorists to kill hundreds or thousands of American soldiers.

Fallacy #12: A "Truth Commission" will make sure we do not repeat Bush's crimes in the future.

To quote the NRA, misunderstandings don't cause crimes - criminals do. The only way to end criminal actions is to put criminals in jail - both for punishment of past criminals and deterrence for future criminals.

Questions for Senator Leahy

Bob Fertik — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:56:39 -0500

Dear Senator Leahy,

When you proposed a Truth Commission on February 9, you rejected prosecution because it could "take all of the next eight years."

In your interview with Rachel Maddow on February 10, you said prosecution could "take 10 or 15 years."

Your statements require us to ask these questions:

1. Are you aware that President Bush and Vice President Cheney have publicly confessed that they authorized waterboarding and other acts which are established forms of torture under federal law?

On 4/11/08, ABC's Martha Raddatz asked President Bush about "enhanced interrogation methods, including waterboarding, for detainees." Mr. Bush replied, "I told the country we did that. And I also told them it was legal. We had legal opinions that enabled us to do it. And, no, I didn't have any problem at all trying to find out what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed knew... Yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved."
On 12/16/08, ABC's Jonathan Karl asked Vice President Cheney, "Did you authorize the tactics that were used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?" Mr. Cheney replied, "I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the agency in effect came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do. And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it."

2. Armed with these confessions, why would prosecution take any longer than other confessed crimes?

3. Do you believe former Presidents and Vice Presidents are above the law?

4. Do you believe a President can authorize torture on the basis of "legal opinions"?

5. Do you accept our obligation under the Convention Against Torture to prosecute war criminals?

Maddow Pushes Senator Leahy for Prosecution

Bob Fertik — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:30:24 -0500

Rachel Maddow did an excellent segment on Senator Pat Leahy's call for a Truth Commission. Despite Leahy's brushoffs, Maddow kept returning to the question of prosecution. Leahy's objection to prosecution is simple - and ludicrous:

You're gonna have some people who say "let's go ahead and prosecute everybody," that could take 10 or 15 years.

Senator Leahy, are you unaware that both Bush and Cheney have publicly confessed to authorizing waterboarding and other forms of torture? Given these confessions, why would prosecution take more than 10-15 minutes?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Republicans Reject Truth Commission So Let's Prosecute

Bob Fertik — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:22:15 -0500

Democratic "leaders" desperately want to sweep the most heinous crimes of the Bush-Cheney administration under the rug, rather than prosecute those crimes according to the Rule of Law. Today, Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy proposed a "truth commission," which he called

a middle ground to find the truth. We need to get to the bottom of what happened -- and why -- so we make sure it never happens again.

Notice what is glaringly missing - any form of accountability. Of course, the only way to "make sure it never happens again" is to punish those who just did it. Otherwise they will come back in 4 or 8 years and commit all the same crimes again, only worse!

Yet even without accountability, the top House Judiciary Committee GOP member rejected Leahy's proposal out of hand.

"No good purpose is served by continuing to persecute those who served in the previous administration," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas. "President Obama promised to usher in an era of "change" and bipartisan harmony. Unfortunately, the continued effort by some Democrats to unjustly malign former Bush Administration officials is politics as usual," Smith said.

Smith cited the four detailed reports stemming from Inspector General investigations, and said recommendations made have been implemented. He said Democrats also had already conducted a two year inquiry in public hearings.

"Rather than continuing to waste taxpayers' time and money on fruitless finger-pointing, Congress should focus on the future and what we can do to help the American people during these difficult times," Smith added.

If Senator Leahy and other Democratic leaders have any illusions that any Republicans will cooperate with a "Truth Commission," they need to listen to Lamar Smith's uncompromising rhetoric, and also count the number of Republicans who voted for President Obama's Recovery Act - namely 0.

A bitterly divisive Truth Commission is a waste of everyone's time. So rather than waste time, Attorney General Eric Holder should immediately appoint a Special Prosecutor to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of the Bush-Cheney crimes and prosecute everyone who broke the law. Please join over 40,000 Americans who have urged Eric Holder to act now.

Update 1: Sen. Leahy created a Straw Man to dis everyone who believes in the Rule of Law:

There are others who say that, even if it takes all of the next eight years, divides this country, and distracts from the necessary priority of fixing the economy, we must prosecute Bush administration officials to lay down a marker.

Senator Leahy, I defy you to name one leading advocate who takes that position. Those of us who support the Rule of Law want a Special Prosecutor like Patrick Fitzgerald. Did Fitzgerald take 8 years? Did he divide the country? Did he distract from urgent priorities? Absolutely not. He simply did his job out of the limelight, exactly the way all prosecutors are supposed to operate.

Update 2: David Swanson spells out all the reasons why a Truth Commission is a waste of time - or worse.

A commission with no power to punish anyone except through shame is powerless in an age of shamelessness. The commission's subpoenas would be enforced through the courts, allowing the process to be dragged out well beyond a year and a half, or allowing witnesses to refuse compliance. All of this delay would simply serve to bolster claims that the crimes of the past eight years are unimportant because in the past. And if the commission offered criminal immunity to witnesses in order to entice them to testify, then its result would be permanently blocking prosecutions in the name of revealing the "truth."

Update 3: Some Democratic "leaders" believe getting "the truth" is more important than holding criminals accountable. They would even give full immunity to the criminals to get "the truth." That's utterly insane.

First, "The truth" about Bush's Torture System is easily available from numerous books - and of course from victims who would be more than happy to testify under oath if Congress simply asked. There are also honest officials inside the government who would testify without immunity if subponaed. So why give immunity to the criminals instead of prosecuting them for their heinous crimes?

Second, George Bush and Dick Cheney already told their side of the story in their final interviews. They authorized torture because they believed it would prevent attacks, and they believe it worked! Those who know better - like the interrogator with the pseudonym "Matthew Alexander" who wrote an op ed in the Washington Post and was interviewed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show - would be happy to testify without immunity.

Finally, even if Democrats don't want to prosecute torturers, the United States is obligated to do so under the Convention Against Torture, which was signed by Ronald Reagan.

Update 4: Chris Bowers can't get answers from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:

Over the past month, I have placed four calls and an email to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's press department asking if, based on the Senator's calls for such investigations, what he would actually do in make such investigations come to pass. None of my contacts have been returned. So, I think I will ditch contacting Senator Whitehouse on this matter at all, and just inquire directly with the Judiciary chair's staff, and / or his committee staff.

I have contacted about a dozen Senators or their offices over the past month. Only Kerry and Whitehouse have failed to get back to me. Not sure if this is because of a different attitude toward online media, toward my relevant inexperience in such contacts, toward responding to constituents vs. non-constituents, or some other factor entirely. Whatever it is, the lack of responsiveness from Senator Whitehouse's staff is kind of frustrating.

Frankly I'm not surprised. Democratic "leaders" are terrified of investigations and I'm sure they told Whitehouse to shut up.

Call Your Senators To Oppose Iraq Funds and Wiretap Immunity

Bob Fertik — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:09:03 -0400

The Senate will vote this week on two disastrous bills: $163B for the continued occupation of Iraq and immunity for George Bush and the telecoms who are illegally wiretapping our calls and emails.

On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) launched a filibuster against the "Warrantless Wiretapping Immunity Act" with an impassioned speech on the Senate floor. Dodd is supported by Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Unfortunately it takes 41 votes for a successful filibuster, and we can only count on 30, based on a similar vote on 2/12/08. These Democrats voted wrong. Call them and tell them to join the Dodd Filibuster against telecom immunity.

Max	Baucus	MT	202-224-2651
Evan	Bayh	IN	202-224-5623
Thomas	Carper	DE	202-224-2441
Robert	Casey	PA	202-224-6324
Dianne	Feinstein	CA	202-224-3841
Daniel	Inouye	HI	202-224-3934
Tim	Johnson	SD	202-224-5842
Herb	Kohl	WI	202-224-5653
Mary	Landrieu	LA	202-224-5824
Joseph	Lieberman	CT	202-224-4041
Blanche	Lincoln	AR	202-224-4843
Claire	McCaskill	MO	202-224-6154
Barbara	Mikulski	MD	202-224-4654
Ben	Nelson	NE	202-224-6551
Bill	Nelson	FL	202-224-5274
Mark	Pryor	AR	202-224-2353
Jay	Rockefeller	WV	202-224-6472
Ken	Salazar	CO	202-224-5852
James	Webb	VA	202-224-4024
Sheldon	Whitehouse	RI	202-224-2921

Sen. Pat Leahy Stands Up for Habeas Corpus

Bob Fertik — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:20:15 -0400

At a time when the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are being shredded in front of our eyes, what a pleasure it is to watch Sen. Pat Leahy descend from the lofty heights of Capitol Hill to give a terrific speech to a rally of The People.

The Swiftboating of Governor Kathleen Sebelius

theBlueHighwayman — Fri, 11 May 2007 01:32:13 -0400

New sign on the Highways!

Dispatch from a Hotel in Normal, IL - 12:15A CST

Karl Rove and the gang are at it again, this time it is to destroy the Democratic Governor of Kansas. Her mortal sin was to tell the truth about the Kansas National Guard equipment.

Tony Snow, living up to his name, started the snowball rolling by stating "Governor Sebelius never requested anything from the Federal Government." Today that ball was picked up by none other than Sean Hannity. He interviewed two idiots from Pittsburgh, PA, who have a morning show on 104.7 FM (a Clearchannel station) and XM Radio named Quinn and Rose, and accused Howard Dean of orchestrating the Governor's statement for political gain.

The story goes like this:

Quinn and Rose say they have a "Confidential Source" who somehow managed to hear a conversation between the Senator and the Governor. It seems the Senator was displeased with Governor Sebelius's statements concerning the National Guard. In response she repents and claims that Howard Dean got her to do it. Presumably Howard Dean planned with Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid, Senator Durbin and Senator Leahy to use the tragedy in Kansas to launch a political attack against Bush concerning the National Guard issue.

Here is the interview on Sean Hannity (It's an MP3 file about 6 minutes long)
INTERVIEW

After listening to these morons I called the radio station in Pittsburgh and left a message for Quinn and Rose's producer Jay Bahanon who returned my call and said:

We do have a confidential source on our report about the conversation between the governor of Kansas and Senator Brownback. I'm not going to give you any names if that's what you want, that's not going to happen. But we do have a good credible source on it.

If you would like to contact Quinn and Rose:
quinn@warroom.com
rose@warroom.com

Let them know how appreciative you are that they are busy carrying out Rove's dirty work! While you're at it maybe Jay Bahanon, their producer, would like to hear from you: 412-920-2796

I also think it would be a great idea to contact Senator Brownback to let him know how disgusting it is for a Presidential Candidate to be involved in this sort of thing.

Washington Office:
303 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1604
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Fax: (202) 228-1265

Main District Office:
612 S. Kansas Ave
Topeka, KS 66603
Phone: (785) 233-2503
Fax: (785) 233-2616

If you'd like to contact Governor Kathleen Sebelius just to let her know she has your support and that this despicable lie will never stand.

Website: http://www.governor.ks.gov

Contact the Governor
Office of the Governor
Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 212S
Topeka, KS 66612-1590

Voice 1-877-KSWORKS (1-877-579-6757)
Local 785-296-3232
For the Hearing Impaired 1-800-766-3777

It is truly pathetic how desperate the Republicans have gotten. Don't let them get away with these grotesque attacks on Democratic politicians. This will probably not play big in NYC but out in Kansas Governor Sebelius is going to have to deal with the Rove machine.

Update 1: Media Matters has a transcript of the Hannity show and full documentation on the national guard equipment shortage.

Update 2: On Thursday, the DNC's lawyer, Joseph Sandler, sent cease and desist letters to XM Radio and FreeRepublic.com adamantly denying Gov. Dean had any such conversation with Gov. Sebelius. The letter to XM Vice President Dara Altman demands they:

immediately cease and desist, and instruct Messrs. Quinn and Rose to cease and desist, from further dissemination of the above-quoted statements or any statements similar in substance and
immediately - on tomorrow morning's show or the next morning's show, at the latest - broadcast on the Quinn & Rose show an express retraction of these statements.

The letter to FreeRepublic's James Robinson demands they:

immediately cease and desist from further dissemination of the above-quoted statements or any statements similar in substance and
immediately post a retraction of these statements in a location on its web page a[t] least as prominent as that on which the story appeared.

Update 3: Several rightwing blogs jumped on the story. HotAir published flat denials from Dean, Sebelius, and Brownback. GatewayPundit published a denial from Brownback. Wizbang has not published the denials.

Impeachment Day 16

Bob Fertik — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:50:54 -0500

Senator Pat Leahy led the first real oversight hearings with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who did his best to dodge and weave. Finally Leahy let Gonzales have it, blasting him over the treatment of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was detained and sent to Syria, where he was regularly tortured for almost a year before being released uncharged.

"We knew damn well if he went to Canada he wouldn't be tortured. He'd be held and he'd be investigated. We also knew damn well if he went to Syria, he'd be tortured. And it's beneath the dignity of this country, a country that has always been a beacon of human rights, to send somebody to another country to be tortured."

Paul Krugman of the NY Times joins us in declaring a Constitutional Crisis:

The broader context is this: defeat in the midterm elections hasn’t led the Bush administration to scale back its imperial view of presidential power.
On the contrary, now that President Bush can no longer count on Congress to do his bidding, he’s more determined than ever to claim essentially unlimited authority — whether it’s the authority to send more troops into Iraq or the authority to stonewall investigations into his own administration’s conduct.
The next two years, in other words, are going to be a rolling constitutional crisis.

Senator Joe Biden has also warned repeatedly about a Constitutional Crisis, including his appearance Thursday on Hardball:

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about a constitutional question, Senator. Stephen Hadley was on “Meet The Press” this weekend and sort of dodged the question. Should the president be required to get the approval of Congress before he attacks Iran, should he decide to do so?
BIDEN: Absolutely, positively, unequivocally. I have a second resolution—a law actually—that I‘m in the process of drafting. I will be seeking bipartisan support, making it clear that the authorization for the use of force that the president got three-and-a-half years ago does not—emphasize does not—give him the authority to attack Syria or Iran. That would be a disaster.
MATTHEWS: But you don‘t expect him to sign that bill, do you?
BIDEN: No, I don‘t, but I expect it to generate a constitutional crisis were he to ignore it and to, in fact, him—for then attack Iran.

Biden is drafting legislation to prohibit military action against Iran or Syria under the terms of the 2002 Authorization of Military Force that Bush violated to invade Iraq on false pretenses. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also drew a line in the sand on Iran, saying "The President does not have the authority to launch military action in Iran without first seeking congressional authorization."

Bush is pushing us to the brink of war with Iran because they refuse to cooperate with Bush on a variety of issues. But in 2003, Dick Cheney rejected an offer of broad cooperation from Iran, according to Colin Powell's Chief of Staff Larry Wilkerson.

CactusPat wants to impeach Bush for firing his own U.S. Attorneys who are investigating Republican crimes:

Now it it's grown to the Bush cabal dumping five to ten US Attorneys, replacing them with Repugnant cronies and bypassing the Senate confirmation process by taking advantage of a little known provision of the Patriot Act likely inserted last minute by none other than former Senate Judiciary chairman Arlen Specter

Dave Lindorff calls Bullshit on Bush's shell game to "legalize" his illegal NSA wiretapping:

Clearly Bush is hoping that the problem will now go away; that the Congress will drop plans to seriously investigate the five-year illegal NSA spying campaign he illegally ordered up. Indeed, the Justice Department has reportedly already gone to the Court of Appeals to request that the federal case finding the spying to be illegal, currently on appeal by the government, be "mooted," or ruled no longer at issue because of their new decision to operate within the law. No doubt similar arguments will be made to the House and Senate intelligence and justice committees...
What do they take us for, idiots?

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers is no idiot, and he wrote Gonzales to demand "a full briefing to Committee Members on changes in the Administration's NSA wiretapping program." He asked for "copies of the new court orders, under classified cover, so that we may be better informed on the new program." Gonzales is trying to keep the court orders away from Congress because they violate the FISA law by having a single judge grant blanket approval to wholesale wiretapping of potentially millions of innocent citizens, rather than having the FISA Court approve individual warrants for true terrorism suspects.

The Boston Globe now estimates the purely monetary cost of the Iraq War at $2 trillion

after factoring in long-term healthcare for wounded US veterans, rebuilding a worn-down military, and accounting for other unforeseen bills and economic losses, according to a new analysis to be presented today in Boston.
[..]The figure is more than four times what the war was expected to cost through 2006 — around $500 billion, according to congressional budget data.
The new study is billed as a detailed analysis not only of the potential costs of sustaining the operation in Iraq for at least several more years, but also the expenses likely to be incurred by taxpayers long after US troops withdraw.

The LA Times says purely military costs have increased from $4.4 billion per month in 2003 to $8.4 billion per month.

Senator Chuck Hagel is trying to stop Bush from escalating the Iraq Occupation over the opposition of Congress. He told Wolf Blitzer "this is not a monarchy."

PBS NOW tells the story of U.S. soldiers going back to Iraq for their second and third tours, which is pushing our military to the breaking point.

ThinkProgress reports the Pentagon unveiled new rules for detainee trials “that could allow terror suspects to be convicted and perhaps executed using hearsay testimony and coerced statements.”

Meanwhile, House Democrats blew away Kos's objection that Democrats must "prov[e] we can govern" before we can begin impeachment, by completing their 100-hour agenda in 42 hours.