In my younger days, I participated in a bit of political theater.  (The Ted Kennedy Swim Team, which waded through a fountain on the Senate side of the Capitol grounds on the 20th anniversary of Chappaquiddick, was perhaps the most interesting.  The fact that no one was arrested shows how far we have fallen over the past 18 years, because I doubt that you could even approach that fountain today wearing a Ted Kennedy mask, snorkel, and flippers.)  A small-town boy, it took me a while to realize that the organizations involved really only hoped to grab a headline, and maybe a small photo, so that they could continue to raise money.

There’s a bit of political theater scheduled to take place today, at noon Eastern time, outside the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and in this case I really don’t care that the ultimate aim is undoubtedly to swell the coffers of the leftist organization sponsoring it.  With the Senate Judiciary Committee preparing to vote on President Bush’s nomination of Michael Mukasey as attorney general, “a group of human rights activists will demonstrate waterboarding,” a form of non-torture (according to Vice President Cheney) that Mukasey has supported.

I’ll let the rest of the press release I received speak for itself:

The volunteer torture victim will demonstrate what victims of U.S. government torture experience—with one important exception. In this demonstration, the victim can stop the procedure at any time. In U.S. government torture, the victim is not afforded this luxury.

An invitation is being extended to persons with special difficulty understanding that waterboarding is torture: Judge Michael Mukasey, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, and members of the Office of Legal Counsel.

Also invited are Senators Schumer and Feinstein and any others, who feel that the best we can do is accept an Attorney General willing to turn a blind eye to torture.

Anyone want to place any bets on which of those people will show up?