Neat story about former Sec. of State Condi Rice and Aretha Franklin, a good Democrat, joining up to raise money for charity and make a little music in Philadelphia. Of course, a couple of lefty losers are trying to gin up outrage because of Condi's work in the Bush administration and her unapologetic support for tough interrogation techniques that, according to top intelligence officials, actually saved American lives.

According to the story:

Sebastian Doggart, a human-rights activist in New York and documentarian of American Faust: From Condi to Neo-Condi , argues that Rice was a principal player in the Bush interrogation program, and has urged the Philadelphia Orchestra to not perform with her.

Rice and other senior Bush officials reviewed and approved CIA use of harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, on detainees at secret prisons, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report declassified in 2009.

Doggart called the concert an attempt at a "restoration" of Rice's image.

Steven Jewell, a Stanford alumnus, has organized a petition asking the university to investigate "whether to be involved in a torture program on leave from the university is compatible with her duties as a university professor."

"Torture is a crime against humanity, and to have her treated by a cultural organization as if she is just simply an artist, without the context of her involvement in crimes against humanity, is reprehensible," he said.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. The good news is, Aretha is giving these idiots no R-E-S-P-E-C-T. The show will go on, as it should.