Censure for Bush

I raced back home today to see the Judiciary Committee Hearing on the Censure of the Bush/Cheney/Halliburton administration.

Where the hell were the other Democrats? They left Russ Feingold out to dry, absenting themselves with the exception of Lehey. What a disappointment.

They are likely to attack Iran before they are out of office.

They are likely to attack Iran before they are out of office.

That is a quote from an article in the progressive. See:

http://progressive.org/mag_wx031106

The Adoration of the Bushi

"Everything President Bush does is for our good."

That is the quote I woke up hearing this morning on CSPAN.

How unutterably ignorant can you be?

This comment would be pitiful if it weren’t such a part of the ideology that is destroying what little democracy we have left in this country. I’m sorry, but I can only have contempt for people like this.

My God, they’re going to run Barbara Bush for President. Just kidding, but she has evidently made a comment that the country is ready for a woman president, preferably a Republican.

On that subject, I can’t understand this talk about Hillary Clinton running for president. As much as I think that she would be a good president, certainly a hell of a lot better than the present criminally crazed lot, I do not think she can be elected. I think she can win the Democratic nomination, but I do not think she can win a national election.

One only has to listen to the woman-hating rhetoric and the caricatures of her already prevalent in the culture. A friend recently forwarded to me a photo montage depicting Hillary Clinton appearing to have a piss in a urinal like a man. Now, the person who forwarded this is a Democrat.

Years ago, I was astounded when I walked through an acquaintance’s house to see an image, held with a magnet to the refrigerator, of Hillary Clinton’s fat legs. Now the woman who owned the refrigerator had cut this image out of some publication and put it on her refrigerator. You tell me what this is all about?

As a third example of the misogyny so prevalent in this culture, consider the ridicule of Elizabeth Edward’s weight in the last election.

Hillary Clinton, in my opinion, is just not going to be elected. I wish she could be elected, but I don’t believe it. The most interesting person considering running to me is Feingold.

Well, I guess my cat and I should get up. It's hard lately to even leave the television. There's some kind of morbid fascination with watching a train wreck happening, especially a train wreck involving an entire nation. It's a little like watching Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to President Kennedy.

The Bastards

Newsweek estimates that there are some 14 U.S. hostages still being held in Iraq. But, according to the Bush/Cheney/Halliburton administration, things are just hunky-dorie in Iraq.

The Telegraph (a U.K. publication) is reporting that a U.S. soldier has left the army over what he calls "illegal" tactics used by U.S. troops and coalition forcer.

See the article:

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/12/nsas12.xml

What the Bastards Are Up To Today

Everything's Grand in Iraq

While the Bush/Cheney/Halliburton administration busily maintains that the situation in Iraq is going well, the body of an American peace activist was discovered dumped on a pile of garbage in Baghdad. Tom Fox, a representative of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, was in Iraq to campaign against the U.S. occupation and to try to get Iraqis held by the U.S. released.

Reuters reports that Fox was taken hostage in November by a group called "Swords of Truth." The Swords evidently can't tell the difference between their opponents and their supporters, or don't care.

In more good news (according to the BCH administration) a senior editor for the Iraq state television was shot dead in his car on Saturday. Reuters reports that he was the second journalist to be killed in one week.

Story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060311/ts_nm/iraq_journalist_dc

More Bush/Cheney/Halliburton Sleaze

Another of the Bush/Cheney/Halliburton administration's buddies got himself into hot water with the police last week. Claude Allen, a former domestic policy person, is reported by Reuters to have been arrested this week for "alledgedly swindling two stores out of more than $5,000..."

Reuter's Story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060311/pl_nm/bush_aide_dc

Rolling right along:

Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, has announced that she is resigning her post. This is the woman who presided over the opening of Tellowstone National Park to snowmobiles and helped the BCH administration push for energy development on public lands. The really big suprise is that she's going to work for the private sector. That's really novel.

Norton, of course, claims that the investigations of Jack Abramoff's dealings with her department have nothing to do with her resignation. Right, and there are WMDs in Iraq. Why don't we put these people in jail?
cjjohns.com

What the Bastards Are Up To Today

Cadaver Dog Teams Sent Home

On CNN last night, there was a story of teams of investigators with cadaver dogs arriving in New Orleans only to be asked by a representative of FEMA to sign a form stating that they were providing long-term aid to people displaced by the hurricane Katrina.

The cadaver-dog teams refused to sign and pointed out that asking them to sign was an act of fraud.

FEMA promptly informed the teams that contrary to an agreement, they (FEMA) could not pay for their hotel rooms. As a consequence, the teams are leaving.

Bush is requesting billions for New Orleans reconstruction, but they could not find enough money to pay for hotel rooms for these teams for a few days.

It should escape no one's attention that the teams began finding bodies as soon as they arrived in New Orleans and that Bush was visiting NO at the time. It should be remembered that the Bush administration told the media that dead bodies were not to be shown on television after Katrina and the usually subservient media complied. Now, the Bush administration would prefer the embarrassing bodies to disappear in the rubble rather than having them dragged out in public to further demonstrate just how criminally negligent this administration is.

Republicans Block the Investigation of the NSA Wiretapping

Below is the link for the Washington Post's article on the Republican blocking of the investigation of the NSA wiretapping program.


http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030806J.shtml

And an article about FBI violations related to wiretapping. This is only further confirmation that an investigation is warranted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/politics/09terror.html?th&emc=th


Even though the Republicans are trying to act as if the agreement with the White House about the NSA wiretapping is a meaningful one, it allows warrantless wiretapping. Below is a New York Times story about this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/politics/09nsa.html


For legal commentary and southern stories, go to www.cjjohns.com

Republicans have blocked Democratic efforts to investigate the NSA wiretapping. They have made a "deal" with the White House that warrantless wiretaps can occur for as much as 45 days and then they have to be approved by the Attorney General. Boy, that's a real check on the Bush White House. What a sleazy lot of sobs they are.

Harper's Impeachment Panel

I awoke to CSPAN again this morning. They were airing a panel put together by Harper's Magazine on the impeachment of Bush.

The effects of this new right-wing dominated Supreme Court will be seen not only in the cases they decide, but the cases they refuse to decide. Consider, for example, this from the Associated Press:

By GINA HOLLANDThe Associated PressMonday, March 6, 2006; 12:57 PM

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether a top judge in Illinois improperly voted to throw out a $1 billion judgment against State Farm after accepting campaign donations from company lawyers and executives.

As Holland points out in the article, this case raises the question of whether an individual citizen has a right to a hearing before an impartial judge. As judge who has received campaign contributions from the company at question in the case, can hardly be considered as impartial.

Customers of the Bloomington, Illinois State Farm Insurance Company won a class-action lawsuit "accusing the company of fraud for refusing to pay for top-quality replacement parts on damaged cars." The judge in question, was asked to stay out of the case because of the conflict of interest the campaign contributions represented.

Continuing from the Associated Press:

A dozen public interest groups had pressed the Supreme Court to declare that people have a due process right to an unbiased judge, pointing out that 30 states will hold supreme court elections this year and money may taint those contests.

Lawyers for groups such as Common Cause told justices that high-dollar judicial races "engender an appearance of corruption that critically threatens the very foundation of the courts, and the rights of the litigants who appear in them."

Karmeier, a Republican, and his Democratic opponent spent, combined, more than $9 million in 2004 in what experts called the most expensive judge race in American history.
After taking the bench he sided with State Farm, and separately voted to throw out a $10 billion fraud judgment against Philip Morris over the marketing of its "light" cigarettes.
Justices were told that Karmeier directly received $350,000 in State Farm-related donations.
But lawyers for State Farm flatly denied that and said the company itself gave no money to Karmeier. "This court should reject (their) attempt to salvage some part of their case by improperly impugning the integrity of Justice Karmeier and the Illinois Supreme Court," lead lawyer Sheila Birnbaum said in a filing.

The Illinois Supreme Court has been split on whether to overturn the verdict entirely, and Karmeier cast the deciding vote.

Separately, public interest groups have asked a state board that looks into allegations of judicial misconduct to investigate Karmeier.

The case is Avery v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 05-842.

This case is just the beginning of the judiciary joining the executive branch in managing the society for corporate interests.

Morning Stories: What the Bastards are Up to Today

The Bush/Cheney/Hailliburton Administration is going after journalists for leaks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030400867_pf.html

I would be willing to bet that if the truth is ever known about the NSA wiretaps, we will find out that the BCH administration was wiretapping journalists.

Gary Hart on CSPAN

Gary Hart is on CSPAN this morning. He, at least, is raising the question of why Bush has been so adamant about this Dubai deal. He even mentioned the notion that Bush and his buddies may be making money off the deal. Nice to hear somebody actually talking about the real question.

I teach, or I used to teach, so I spend a lot of time answering questions from students. When the suggestion is made that somebody is making money off a deal like the port deal, students immediately assume that the profit is direct. In their minds, they seem to see men with envelopes making pay offs in shady public bathrooms.

While this may in fact go on, it is seldom in this day and age, that crude. The trade-offs and the benefits are much more indirect and more sophisticatedly arranged. So, the search for the smoking gun is seldom successful.

Hart is not as upset about the port deal as some people are. He pointed out that to have Saudi Arabia control our oil was more important than having Dubai control a part of port operations.

Hart’s new book is "The Shield and the Cloak: The Security of the Commons." Publishers Weekly says: "This is an accessible and stimulating read for those interested in national security, politics and terrorism."

CSPAN says he is working on a book about the future of the Democratic Party. On that subject, CSPAN also had on John Dean yesterday, talking about the future of the Democratic Party.

Other points made by Hart in the 2 March interview:

-corporations are using illegal labor
-we are not producing enough scientists
-we are importing our science from countries like Pakistan
-we are consuming more than we are producing
-we need to produce more mathematicians
-the minimum wage in this country is too low. You can work full time at minimum wage and still be living in poverty. We have to elevate the minimum wage.

If you haven't discovered CSPAN, you should. I can't imagine what we would do without it.

Get Ready for Jeb

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Jeb Bush had a hand in initiating the sweetheart $236 million federal no-bid contract (another one) for Carnival Cruise Lines to house Katrina victims. Kudos to Henry Waxman (D-California) for calling on Bush to explain the deal.

Maybe, finally, people are starting to see the pattern here. The Bush administration has functioned as a management board for corporate interests. They have created opportunities and taken advantage of every opportunity to funnel money to their cronies.

If the Republicans manage to steal the 2008 election, we will have more of the same.

I read something in the past few days where Bush was referred to as the "chief squatter." Love it.

The Supreme Court and Texas Redistricting

At lest according to the mainstream media, the Supreme Court was not very sympathetic to arguments against Tom DeLay’s Republican take over of Texas districts.

Below are some excerpts from an article on Truthout.com about the issue.

DeLay's Texas Voting Map Raises Partisanship Issue Bloomberg
Wednesday 01 March 2006

...the court will decide "whether there's a constitutionally enforceable limit on partisan greed in the redistricting process," said Nathaniel Persily, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Voters who challenged the new districts are asking the Supreme Court to rule that the Constitution's equal-protection guarantee bars states from redrawing the map in mid-decade when the only purpose is partisan gain.

The high court has never ruled a voting map unconstitutional on grounds of excessive partisanship.

Those challenging the new map also say it diluted minority voting strength in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act, which protects black and Hispanic voters.

Attorneys at the Justice Department agreed with that assessment in a memo but were overruled by their superiors, the Washington Post reported in December. The Justice Department said its approval of the plan was vindicated when a federal court rejected a Democratic challenge to the redistricting.

More on the Port Deal with the UAE

Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) is on CSPAN this morning, saying that the 45-day period (for investigation of the Port deal with the UAE) is just a "cooling-off" period, agreed to by the administration, so that the public furor will die down. I agree.

What the Democrats are saying is that what is needed is a real investigative review. As it stands now, the deal is going to go through while the 45-day investigation is being done. Menendez is arguing that the clock needs to stop on the deal while the investigation is taking place. Menendez is also arguing that we need legislation to provide effective checks on decisions like this in the future.

Menendez is making the distinction that the administration refuses to do between "foreign companies" and "government-owned and controlled corporations."

Menendez is making the point that the Bush administration allowed the UAE controlled company to "certify" the background checks individuals who were to work at the port.
Very few people are talking about the connections between the Bush family and the UAE.