Fire John Yoo the U.S. torture architect

What would you do if you found out that a pyromaniac worked in the fire department in your town?  You would urge the fire department to fire him, right?

Well, what if you heard that a law professor had written a memo authorizing and, in a sense, advocating illegal torture by the Bush administration?  We assume the reaction would be the same.

Last week, I wrote to you about a shocking memo written by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in 2003 advising the Pentagon that laws and treaties forbidding torture and other forms of abuse did not apply to U.S. interrogators because of the president's wartime power.

The man who wrote that memo -- John Yoo -- is now happily ensconced as a tenured law professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law.  While an unknown number of people suffer the aftereffects of illegal torture he encouraged, Professor Yoo is teaching, writing, and generally enjoying life in California.

This is flat out wrong.  John Yoo should not only be disqualified from ever serving in government again, but he should also be prohibited from spreading his distorted view of the law and the role of lawyers to young law students.

The National Lawyers Guild has called for his dismissal.  We are joining their call and hope you will, too.

Please take a moment and send a strongly worded (and pre-written) E-mail to Christopher Edley, Jr, Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, today, urging the dismissal of John Yoo.  Just click on the following link to get started:

After you have taken action, please forward this E-mail widely to friends, family, and colleagues. Together, we can rid John Yoo from the ranks of law professors in this country.