Torture Accountability Action Day was marked in San Francisco and Berkeley by three events: a press conference at the California State Bar Association where 130 ethics complaints against William “Jim” Haynes were filed; a “Bye Bye Byee” rally and filing a judicial misconduct complaint against Bybee with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals; and an evening speaking event with Ray McGovern called “Our Himmlers, Eichmanns Unscathed as Obama Dithers: Why Is He Afraid of the Torturers?” A fourth event, the “Shame on Yoo” witness against torture at John Yoo’s house in Berkeley, is on Sunday, June 28.

At 11:00 some National Lawyers Guild folks, some CodePinkers, and me for PDA delivered 130 individual ethics complaints against William “Jim” Haynes to the California Bar Association. Every single bureaucrat, guard, and clerk we encountered thanked us for what we were doing, and all eagerly accepted our ARREST TORTURE buttons, saying they couldn’t wear them on duty, but would as soon as they were out of uniform.

We continue to collect complaints and encourage everyone reading to submit one and ask their lists and friends to do the same. The Bar Association MUST respond to each complaint and perhaps the sheer volume will convince them to launch an investigation of Haynes and disbar him. “This campaign is appropriate because William Haynes was one of the lawyers shaping policy that harmed so many prisoners and put all of us in greater danger,” said Carlos Villarreal, Executive Director of the NLGSF. Please go to www.nlgsf.org/committees/againsttorture.php print the complaint, fill it out, and mail it to the National Lawyer’s Guild SF address at the bottom of the complaint. Thank you.

Cynthia Papermaster reports: “We held a noontime “Bye Bye Bybee” rally at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in SF. Bybee holds a lifetime appointment as a judge of the 9th Circuit. Betsy Rose led us in singing “Bye Bye Bybee” (to the tune of Bye bye Blackbird) and “We Shall Not be Moved”. We had a series of speakers representing the many groups who are working for torture accountability, and then a great group of people accompanied me inside the courthouse where I filed a formal judicial misconduct complaint against Bybee.

Rae Abileah: “It was very moving to hear speakers from Amnesty International, Veterans for Peace, and CODEPINK speak about the need to pursue justice, to preserve our Constitution, to right the wrongs of the past 8 years so that we can move forward with integrity.”

Speakers included Ray McGovern, ex-CIA analyst and peace and social justice activist; Banafsheh Akhalghi, Director, Amnesty International Western District; Sharon Adams, SF National Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture; Emily Levy, Velvet Revolution; Nancy Mancias, CODEPINK; Mary Ann Thomas, World Can’t Wait; and of course, our organizer, Cynthia Papermaster, CODEPINK Golden Gate. We sold buttons and bumper stickers, got people to sign postcards to Holder, and delivered our complaint re Jay Bybee to the 9th Circuit. A woman sidled up to me and whispered that many of the attendees were federal employees who secretly supported us, but were afraid. What have we become? See video

At 7:30PM 120 people attended a Torture Accountability program with Ray McGovern at the Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalist Church. Also speaking were Jon Eisenberg, the lawyer in the Al-Haramain (illegal wiretapping) case and Abdi Soltani, Executive Director, ACLU Northern CA. Reports on torture accountability campaigns were made by representatives from CODEPINK, Bay Area Religious Campaign Against Torture, World Can’t Wait, PDA and the National Lawyers Guild SF Committee Against Torture. Carrie Gerendasy sang two memorable songs.
Ray McGovern is Irish-Catholic, grew up in the North Bronx, went to Fordham University, Georgetown, and Harvard, and quotes Latin with an Irish-Bronx accent. He said the Congressional oversight committees had become “overlook” committees. He urged us to anger, and defended it as a virtue, saying Thomas Aquinas said “anger looks to the good of justice.”
A long, exhausting, very good day.

Photos from our San Francisco Bye Bye Bybee rally on Flickr!

Sunday, June 28, 4-6 p.m. SHAME ON YOO witness against torture, John Yoo’s house in Berkeley at 1241 Grizzly Peak Blvd.
On Sunday, Bay Area CODEPINK will again be in the streets… demonstrating outside the home of “torture professor” John Yoo. To support this action from home you can call the UC Law School Dean Christopher Edley and ask him to dismiss Yoo on grounds of professional misconduct and complicity in torture: 510-642-1741.

Rae Abilieah’s three fave moments at the rally:

~ Ray McGovern said, “well most people know me as a former CIA analyst, but if you really want to know who I am most proud to be, look inside…” at which point he opened his button down shirt to reveal a CODEPINK tee underneath! Now that’s a superman move! And we’ve got a photo to prove it!

~ Betsy Rose sang her new song, “Bye Bye Bybee”. I also made up some chants for the occasion:

1-2-3-4
Arrest the crooks that made the war!
5-6-7-8
Prosecution: We can’t wait!

So long! Farewell!
Bybee please resign!
So Long! Farewell!
You should be doing time!

Hey hey, ho ho
Cheney Bybee Bush and Co
Their torture ways have got to go!

~ Great protest gear: Nancy unveiled a satin pink slip that said “Pink Slip Bybee!”, Susan made ARREST TORTURE pink buttons, World Can’t Wait folks lined the sidewalk in orange jump suits, and my costume blooper–putting the plastic handcuffs around my wrists for show as I spoke about a citizens arrest of Rove… and then realizing that the key for the toy cuffs was back at the office…