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And, yes, I DO take it personally: 06/17/2007 - 06/24/2007
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And, yes, I DO take it personally

Saturday, June 23, 2007

The Carlyle Group

i just finished watching the documentary on the carlyle group produced by VPRO television in the netherlands that jim recommended the other day... it's a must-see...

note: i had problems trying to view it directly from the site... it kept reloading after just a couple of minutes... i got it to work once i opened realplayer and played it in that software...

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WaPo, Page A01, Sunday's edition, begins a 4-part series on Darth and his dark reign

this series may just be a journalism landmark, and, hopefully, will help prepare the ground either for cheney's impeachment or outright ouster...

here's one scary vignette from november 2001...

Just past the Oval Office, in the private dining room overlooking the South Lawn, Vice President Cheney joined President Bush at a round parquet table they shared once a week. Cheney brought a four-page text, written in strict secrecy by his lawyer. He carried it back out with him after lunch.

In less than an hour, the document traversed a West Wing circuit that gave its words the power of command. It changed hands four times, according to witnesses, with emphatic instructions to bypass staff review. When it returned to the Oval Office, in a blue portfolio embossed with the presidential seal, Bush pulled a felt-tip pen from his pocket and signed without sitting down. Almost no one else had seen the text.

Cheney's proposal had become a military order from the commander in chief. Foreign terrorism suspects held by the United States were stripped of access to any court -- civilian or military, domestic or foreign. They could be confined indefinitely without charges and would be tried, if at all, in closed "military commissions."

definitely worthwhile reading...

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And, oh, btw, about that Executive Order that George and I aren't subject to

just so that everybody's singing from the same hymnal, here's the link to the executive order that both cheney and bush now claim they are not subject to...
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
March 25, 2003


- - - - - - -

FURTHER AMENDMENT TO EXECUTIVE ORDER 12958, AS AMENDED,
CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

kagro x over at daily kos has taken the time and trouble to read through it for us and notes the following excerpts...
I just thought it was weird to say the order wasn't meant to apply to the President or the Vice President, considering that they appear...

here:
Sec. 1.3. Classification Authority. (a) The authority to classify information originally may be exercised only by:

(1) the President and, in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President;

and here...
[Sec. 1.3.(c)](2) "Top Secret" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President; in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President; or an agency head or official designated pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(3) "Secret" or "Confidential" original classification authority may be delegated only by the President; in the performance of executive duties, the Vice President; or an agency head or official designated pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of this section; or the senior agency official described in section 5.4(d) of this order, provided that official has been delegated "Top Secret" original classification authority by the agency head.

and here...
[Sec. 3.1.](c) If the Director of the Information Security Oversight Office determines that information is classified in violation of this order, the Director may require the information to be declassified by the agency that originated the classification. Any such decision by the Director may be appealed to the President through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. The information shall remain classified pending a prompt decision on the appeal.

and here...
[Sec. 3.3.(c) An agency head shall notify the President through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs of any specific file series of records for which a review or assessment has determined that the information within that file series almost invariably falls within one or more of the exemption categories listed in paragraph (b) of this section and which the agency proposes to exempt from automatic declassification.

[...]

The President may direct the agency head not to exempt the file series or to declassify the information within that series at an earlier date than recommended. File series exemptions previously approved by the President shall remain valid without any additional agency action.

hey, he's just keeping us on top of things...

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DAMN, I'm good!

so far, i've beaten glenn greenwald to the punch twice... on thursday, i noted that glenn had posted on that odious, alien, reptilian, slithering abomination called norman podhoretz after i had done so back the end of may and then again this past wednesday... then, just yesterday, i posted on the seeming omnipresence of al qaeda in news stories and official statements from the white house, and today i see that glenn has posted on the same thing...

< snark > seriously, all i ask is that i get paid a measly quarter of what salon is paying glenn instead of the nothing i'm now pulling down... a modest request, certainly... < /snark >

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Not part of the Executive Branch? No money for YOU!

good... i like it a lot...

from both daily kos and atrios...

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel issued the following statement regarding his amendment to cut funding for the Office of the Vice President from the bill that funds the executive branch. The legislation – the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill -- will be considered on the floor of the House of Representatives next week.

"The Vice President has a choice to make. If he believes his legal case, his office has no business being funded as part of the executive branch. However, if he demands executive branch funding he cannot ignore executive branch rules. At the very least, the Vice President should be consistent. This amendment will ensure that the Vice President's funding is consistent with his legal arguments. I have worked closely with my colleagues on this amendment and will continue to pursue this measure in the coming days."

emanuel's statement was accompanied by the following graphic, thanks to raw story...



the "no money for you" post headline was inspired by "the soup nazi" seinfeld episode, arguably one of the funniest episodes in the series...

listen here...

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How do journalists get to the REAL truth?

there's an interesting journalistic ethics kerfuffle percolating... a number of news outlets, including alternet, picked up on ken silverstein's exposé of washington lobbyists in this month's harper's magazine... silverstein went undercover to gather information for the lengthy article, assuming the alias, "kenneth case," and, according to bill moyers' blog, posed...
...as the representative of a fictitious investment group with business interests in Turkmenistan, and approached several prominent Washington lobbying firms to see how they might bolster the image of Turkmenistan as a viable international economic and diplomatic partner.

from the harper's article...
The U.S. General Accounting Office estimated in 1990 that less than half of foreign lobbyists who should register under FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938] actually do so, and there is no evidence that matters have improved. In theory, violators can be heavily fined and even sent to prison, but almost no one has been prosecuted for ignoring the act, so there are few risks for non-compliance. Those firms that do register generally reveal little information beyond the names of their clients, the fees they pay, and limited information about whom they contact. Because disclosure requirements are so lax, it is nearly impossible to monitor the activities of foreign lobbyists. What little knowledge we do have of lobbyist-orchestrated diplomacy—including most of the projects discussed above—has been gleaned not from FARA filings but from serendipitous revelations or investigative reporting.

Which leaves Americans to wonder: Exactly what sorts of promises do these firms make to foreign governments? What kind of scrutiny, if any, do they apply to potential clients? How do they orchestrate support for their clients? And how much of their work is visible to Congress and the public, and hence subject to oversight? To shed light on these questions, I decided to approach some top Washington lobbying firms myself, as a potential client, to see whether they would be willing to burnish the public image of a particularly reprehensible regime.

why turkmenistan...?
Given that my first pick, North Korea, seemed too reviled to be credible, I settled on the only slightly less Stalinist regime of Turkmenistan. Until his sudden death last December, President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov built a personality cult that outdid that of any modern leader except possibly Kim Jong Il. High school students were required to study The Ruhnama, Niyazov’s book of personal and spiritual wisdom, described on its official website as being “on par with the Bible and the Koran.” The self-declared “Turkmenbashi,” or “Leader of all Ethnic Turkmens,” Niyazov had his image plastered on billboards and buildings across the country, as well as on the national currency, salt packets, and vodka bottles. He named after himself not only a town but an entire month of the year (the one we unenlightened non-Turkmen still call January). Any opposition to the Turkmen government is considered to be treason, and thousands of political dissidents have been imprisoned. In 2004 a man seeking permission to hold a peaceful demonstration was sent to a psychiatric hospital for two years.

Following Niyazov’s demise, Minister of Health Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the Turkmenbashi’s personal dentist, became acting president. Berdymukhamedov was relatively unknown when he was declared acting president. Some have speculated that he is the Turkmenbashi’s illegitimate son, which would explain his unexpected ascendancy. He had been responsible, according to the BBC, for implementing Niyazov’s 2004 reform of the health service, “which many observers have blamed for its near collapse.” Berdymukhamedov was confirmed as president in an election held in February—he ran against five other candidates, all from the ruling party, and won 89 percent of the vote—in a balloting that he described as being held “on a democratic basis that has been laid by the great [late] leader,” but which just about everyone else deemed to be a sham.

one of the firms approached by silverstein, posing as kenneth case, was apco, the 2006 pr agency of the year according to pr week magazine... from apco's website...
APCO Worldwide is a global communication consultancy specializing in building relationships with an organization's key stakeholders. These relationships are critical to the full range of challenges our clients face.

We believe an organization's reputation is the culmination of how such challenges are managed. In the end, this work builds and protects an organization's value and the value of its products and services.

It is our goal to be your trusted partner of choice and help you create this value – by pushing the boundaries of communication and providing global service, culture by culture.

"case" met with several "key professionals" of apco this past february who presented him and a colleague with what i would characterize as a high-powered dog-and-pony show touting apco's capabilities, its connections in congress, and its proposed strategy for turkmenistan... according to Barry Schumacher, a senior vice president at APCO Associates...
"This really is an opportunity to define the new government of Turkmenistan."

the subsequent article in harper's, a powerful inside look at how lobbying firms operate in d.c., even generated an interview with bill moyers... the issue that has subsequently emerged centers on the ethics of undercover journalism, and, in fact, there is even a poll up on moyers blog asking readers to register their opinion of undercover journalism... needless to say, silverstein's article provoked a response from apco... here is a portion of apco's response, taken from their website...
In violation of recognized journalistic principles, Silverstein neither asked us for comment nor gave us an opportunity to respond to his “facts”. In addition, Silverstein appeared on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS and neither he, nor representatives of the program, contacted APCO for comment. Had they asked, we would have told them these facts:

* In advance of the meeting, and to help us determine if a meeting should take place, we began our standard due diligence by contacting people in the policy community who are expert in the region to determine their view of the new government. Our due diligence gave us reason to hold a preliminary meeting to determine the legitimacy of the client.
* We then held a preliminary meeting where we told Silverstein, “Case”, we would need more information before we would be comfortable moving forward, and that if we decided to proceed, we would need to register the representation with the U.S. Department of Justice in a manner fully consistent with U.S. law and regulation. This regulation requires full disclosure, whether working directly for the government or on behalf of business interests which benefit the government indirectly, contrary to Silverstein’s representations.
* We ended the meeting politely and without any commitment or contractual relationship. There was never a further meeting, therefore no way for Silverstein to determine whether we would have taken the assignment.

as a refugee from many years in the corporate world, i can tell you flat out that there is no way in hell silverstein would have been able to see what he saw and hear what he heard had he approached apco as a journalist... no way would they have allowed him to see their presentation on turkmenistan... rather than being shown what apco presented to someone they believed was a good faith representative of the interests of turkmenistan, they would have given silverstein the journalist version of their dog-and-pony show, a presentation that would have been qualitatively and substantially different from the one he was shown... yes, i have qualms about undercover journalism, particularly the "under false pretenses" part... however, in these days of undiluted spin and outright lies that are passed off as truth, i don't know of another way to get a clear picture of what's REALLY going on...

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Hillary Clinton: "a sleek, well-funded, power-seeking machine"

i stumbled across this from barbara ehrenreich's blog in my usual morning mosey through my various rss feeds... i don't think i've seen a better characterization of hillary clinton, and the final paragraph pretty much says it all...
In the end, the question of who Hillary is seems almost a bit anthropomorphic. Surely she has loved, laughed and suffered in the usual human ways, but what we are left with is a sleek, well-funded, power-seeking machine encased in a gleaming carapace of self-righteousness. She’s already enjoyed considerable power, both as a Senator and a “co-president,” and in the ways that counted, she blew it. What Americans need most, after fifteen years of presidential crimes high and low, is to wash their hands of all the sleaze, blood, and other bodily fluids, and find themselves a president who is neither a Clinton nor a Bush.

agreed, and precisely why, if the various mechanisms that bush has used to move us to an authoritarian state are not nullified, i believe hillary would be at least as dangerous in office as bush has proved to be...

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So, the office of the president doesn't belong to the executive branch either

i have to ask myself if bush's response here is simply a statement of the original intent or something designed to attempt to cover cheney's flabby white ass...
The White House said Friday that, like Vice President Dick Cheney's office, President Bush's office is not allowing an independent federal watchdog to oversee its handling of classified national security information.

An executive order that Bush issued in March 2003 — amending an existing order — requires all government agencies that are part of the executive branch to submit to oversight. Although it doesn't specifically say so, Bush's order was not meant to apply to the vice president's office or the president's office, a White House spokesman said.

[...]

"We don't dispute that the ISOO [Information Security Oversight Office] has a different opinion. But let's be very clear: This executive order was issued by the president, and he knows what his intentions were," [White House spokesman Tony Fratto] said. "He is in compliance with his executive order."

well, yeah, he didn't SAY so, but, ya know, ya kinda gotta read between the lines, dontcha know... after all, we all know that the law is ultimately up to the prez, never mind what words are actually written on the piece of paper... they're just a formality...

so, obviously, if it suits them, they just make it up... mark my words, it isn't much longer before the white house will be telling us, when challenged, that they don't HAVE to provide an explanation...

how much more of this can the country be expected to stand before we finally move to toss these bastards out...? it's now to the point where saying they're lawless and out of control is a serious understatement... they gotta go...

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The Bear is waking up

I'm not talkin' 'bout Yogi Bear, either. I've posted on this sort of thing many times. The International Herald Tribune confirms my fears.
A mystery in Beijing: Who runs the military?

BEIJING: As China converts its growing economic power into military muscle, a lack of transparency and a habit of secrecy pose formidable challenges in assessing the country's long-term ambitions, according to defense experts.For foreign governments and analysts monitoring the Chinese military, one of the biggest mysteries is who is actually in charge.

Nominally, President Hu Jintao, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, the top military command body, is head of the armed forces, but there is considerable doubt among experts about the extent of the authority that he and his fellow civilian leaders exert over the 2.3 million-strong People's Liberation Army.

[...]

In addition to defending Chinese territory, most Chinese and foreign analysts agree that Beijing aims to build a force capable of enforcing its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.

But China's current thinking about when force is justified or what perceived threats are driving its accumulation of firepower remains unclear for most foreign governments and analysts.

Some foreign military analysts believe that there is now considerable debate under way in the Chinese military about the role of pre-emptive force in some circumstances including the use of nuclear weapons.

If and when we strike Iran with tactical nuclear weapons; it will set precedent and give China the international green light for pre-emtive nuclear strikes. On what grounds will we have to complain?
The Bush administration has repeatedly complained about this lack of transparency and called for increased military exchanges with Beijing. "The outside world has limited knowledge of the motivations, decision making and key capabilities supporting China's military modernization," the Pentagon said in its annual report on China's military power released late last month. "China's leaders have yet to explain adequately the purposes or desired end-states of the PLA's expanding military capabilities."

Well, Duuuuuuhhhhh!!!! Bush has yet to explain adequately the purpose of ours. This attitude of, 'Do what I say, not as I do' bullsh*t has got to stop. It is absurd, ludicrous, and down-right farcical, for the Bush Administration to complain about a 'lack of transparency'. In addition to that, he is sending out the signal, that, "If you've got Nukes, we'll talk to you". What better incentive could we provide to the smaller nations?

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Friday, June 22, 2007

Dumb as a sack full of hammers

It seems as if things are moving along, just as planned. From the Jerusalem Post: IAF preparing for Iran strike.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has been training on long-range flights, including refueling in mid-flight, in preparation for potential strikes against Iranian nuclear targets. The training program has been taking place for some time but has only been released for publication Friday, the Ma'ariv daily reported.

[...]

At the end of 2007 the US and Israel are expected to hold a joint assessment to ascertain the influence of economic sanctions against Iran.

A new package of upgraded sanctions prepared jointly by Israel and the US, includes exerting pressure on European governments to cancel US $22 billion in loan guarantees given annually to European companies trading with Iran.

The new package also includes sanctions against banks working with Iran, non-renewal of oil infrastructure in Iran and a long series of economic actions that are meant to seriously hurt the Iranian economy.

Just what we need to do.....not! Iran is not Iraq, these sanctions are likely to do more harm than good. Russia and China will not go along with this, and in all probability will step up their support of Tehran; using their vast 'dollar holdings', causing more economic problems for the U.S. than for Iran. Crap, is there not one person, in power, possessing a little common sense?

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The Real World

You should jump over to this site, Informationclearinghouse.info and watch their piece on the Carlyle Group. It is the perfect example of Elite control of world affairs, economies, and governments. If you don't believe in that sort of thing, if you believe what you are told, that only conspiracy nuts go for this stuff, you really should watch this documentary.
It is originally a production from the Netherlands, so it is able to talk about things our media won't touch anymore.


http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3995.htm

It has all the major players. All those wonderful folks we are told to look up to and be like.
It's all about life. liberty, and the pursuit of happiness---THEIRS, not ours.
When I watch stuff like this I don't know whether to cry or turn revolutionary.
I always learned these kind of people are the enemies of freedom and democracy.
What do you think?

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More on contempt of Congress and inherent contempt

i won't repost it here... just click on over to daily kos and read kagro x's update...

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Contempt of Congress? Ok, fine, so DO it already, goddamit

i don't want to hear any goddam WARNINGS... the time for WARNINGS is long over... we want ACTION... this lawless, megalomaniacal presidential administration needs to face some ACCOUNTABILITY...
House Judiciary Committee Democrats warned yesterday they would pursue a contempt of Congress motion if the White House fails respond to subpoenas for testimony and documents related to the firings of U.S. attorneys last year.

The deadline for a response is Thursday, June 28. If the White House does not comply, it opens the possibility of a constitutional showdown between the two branches. In an ironic twist, the Department of Justice (DoJ) would be called on to enforce the contempt motion.

it looks like we have yet another opportunity to re-visit inherent contempt... (previous posts here and here...)
the most widely-discussed option, contempt of congress, would entail automatic involvement of the justice department, which, as we now so clearly realize, would be problematic to say the least... however...
Under the inherent contempt power [PDF], the individual is brought before the House or Senate by the Sergeant-at-Arms, tried at the bar of the body, and can be imprisoned. The purpose of the imprisonment or other sanction may be either punitive or coercive. Thus, the witness can be imprisoned for a specified period of time as punishment, or for an indefinite period (but not, at least in the case of the House, beyond the adjournment of a session of the Congress) until he agrees to comply. The inherent contempt power has been recognized by the Supreme Court as inextricably related to Congress’s constitutionally-based power to investigate.

here's kagro x's thoughts...
The most obvious benefit of inherent contempt is that it's conducted entirely "in-house," that is, entirely on the authority of the legislative branch. The most obvious drawback? Spending time on a trial. Well, that and the scene of having the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police physically barred from entering the White House to arrest those who've defied subpoenas.

But is there another choice? What other power, besides impeachment, does the Congress have in its arsenal to enforce the "subpoena power" we were all told this election was about? There are no other direct options, only oblique approaches to using indirect leverage.

[...]

Let's face it: if the "administration" simply refuses to budge, the Congress either has to fold its tent and go home, or enforce on its own authority the subpoena power the American people voted for. Given that we've reached this impasse -- and we knew it was coming -- over an investigation into the hyper-partisan and hyper-politicized nature of the U.S. Attorneys, inherent contempt proceedings would appear to be the first and most direct resort of Congress in enforcing its mandate.

contempt of congress, inherent contempt, whatever... let's git 'er done...

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The NYT has concerns for our Constitution

i wish to hell they'd address our constitutional crisis head-on instead of beating around the bush... (sorry, that was a rotten but completely intentional pun, a variety harder to swallow than the unintentional kind...)
President Bush is notorious for issuing statements taking exception to hundreds of bills as he signs them.

[...]

The Bush administration’s disregard for these laws is part of its extraordinary theory of the “unitary executive.” The administration asserts that the president has the sole authority to supervise and direct executive officers, and that Congress and the courts cannot interfere. This theory, which has no support in American history or the Constitution, is a formula for autocracy.

[...]

When the Bush presidency ends, there will be a great deal of damage to repair, much of it to the Constitutional system. Congress should begin now to restore the principle that even the president and those who work for him are not above the law.

so, nyt, please tell me, what the fracking hell does "begin now to restore" mean...? hmmmmm...? what precisely would that look like...? hmmmmmm...? we've got a major, MAJOR, problem here in this country, namely, that we are losing on a daily basis everything that we were founded on... so, CALL IT FOR WHAT IT IS, WOULDJA PLEASE...?

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Free speech in Venezuela, yes or no?



as long as we're on the subject of latin america...

we really need to keep in mind that virtually everything we see, hear, and read these days is being spun... and i mean EVERYTHING... the best we can do is to keep our eyes open for things that are being spun in directions different from the prevailing traditional media spin that permeates our daily lives... take the incessant vilification of hugo chávez in venezuela... if your information comes solely from traditional u.s. media sources, your view of mr. chávez would naturally be extremely negative... i confess that, since i'm subject to the same media deluge as everyone else, i tend to lean in that direction myself... nonetheless, it's extremely important to take into account that there are OTHER views, OTHER perspectives, that may contain more than a grain of truth...

first of all, this about the so-called censorship of free speech in venezuela, a hot topic in multiple news stories over the past few weeks...

some key points made by the author...

  • Most of the media in Venezuela is still controlled by people who are vehemently (sometimes violently) opposed to the government.
  • All over the broadcast media you can hear denunciations of the president and the government of the kind that you would not hear in the United States on a major national broadcast network.
  • Pick up a newspaper -- El Universal and El Nacional are two of the biggest -- and the vast majority of the headlines are trying to make the government look bad.
  • Turn on the radio and most of what you will hear is also anti-government.
  • Venezuela has a more oppositional media than we have in the United States.
this reminds me of experiences i used to have when working in the corporate world... i would hear from various folks or read in various media, statements to the effect that, "wow, such-and-such an employer would be SO GREAT to work for... they're doing SUCH great things..." however, as an employee of said corporation, i knew better... when you are completely reliant on others in order to form your opinions, just remember, the ONLY truth comes from inside yourself, and nothing, NOTHING, substitutes for first-hand experience...

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Mexico's Supreme Court acts aggressively to defend its constitution



once again, the u.s. is being left in the dust by other countries more intent on serving their citizens than propping up business interests and creating an authoritarian, one-party state...
"They don't know what we're made of," [Supreme Court Justice Sergio Salvador Aguirre Anguiano] said. "We're here to fulfill the duty entrusted to us … without political influence upon us, simply according to our convictions, impartially, without raucous talk, just as is laid out in the constitution."

wow...! what a CONCEPT...!

here's what's been going on...

Key rulings by the court have produced a subtle but important shift in Mexico's political landscape. The court has reined in one of the nation's most powerful business interests and is moving against two rogue governors.

[...]

On Thursday, the court agreed to create a committee to investigate the political violence and disorder in the southern state of Oaxaca, ruled by the almost universally reviled Gov. Ulises Ruiz.

On Monday, it's scheduled to begin considering whether it should form a similar panel to investigate Puebla Gov. Mario Marin, absolved by lower courts of abuse-of-power charges in the case of an investigative journalist arrested in his state.

[...]

On June 7, the court used this power to overturn a law that granted huge concessions to the nation's two largest media conglomerates. The legislation was known here as "the Televisa law" because lawyers for that company helped draft it.

Many here saw the law as a massive giveaway to the companies: Among other things, it would have granted both Televisa and TV Azteca 20-year licenses to the airwaves that were easily renewable.

so, why now...?
Analysts say the court is acting because President Felipe Calderón and a divided Congress have failed to move against entrenched interests and corrupt local leaders. Though most of its members were appointed by Mexico's previous two presidents, and all were confirmed by Congress, public outrage has forced the court to act, analysts say.

"The court is stepping up to the plate to fill a worrisome void," said John Ackerman, a law professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Ackerman said the court's recent actions were unprecedented in Mexican history.

well, i'll be dipped... a country that takes its constitution seriously... what won't they think of next...?

note: keep in mind that Felipe Calderón is the u.s.-supported candidate that, in a highly suspect election last july, won over Andrés Manuel López Obrador, an event that i've posted on extensively (here, here, here, here, here, and here)...

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Political appointees, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the common good

the la times, no doubt reflecting its further-to-the-right ownership (see tribune.com), offers this in today's op-ed section on the alberto gonzales/justice department scandal...
Attempting to resuscitate a rapidly expiring "scandal," congressional Democrats have issued subpoenas to former White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers and former White House political affairs director Sara M. Taylor, demanding their testimony regarding the administration's 2006 decision to replace eight U.S. attorneys. [...] The president, however, should stand firm and refuse to permit his subordinates' compliance. He can, and should, claim executive privilege.

From the start, this affair has lacked legal substance. There is no evidence that firing these U.S. attorneys was unlawful or inappropriate. Chosen for political reasons, they can legally and morally be fired for political reasons: insufficient loyalty, a perceived failure to pursue administration priorities or that someone with better political contacts has come along. Politics is not always a pretty business, and anyone seeking job security should not take a political appointment.

Moreover, there is a core constitutional principle at stake here. Political appointees like U.S. attorneys exercise the president's authority, and they serve at his pleasure.

[...]

The Democratic leadership understands very well that the president was entitled to fire these individuals for political reasons. It knows how little job protection political appointees have; the very same rules apply to congressional staff. The newly emboldened Congress is on a grand fishing expedition, hoping to uncover something to weaken and discredit the administration and the presidency itself.

Because there is no legitimate congressional concern here to weigh against the president's clear interest in keeping White House political personnel deliberations confidential, a claim of executive privilege should be upheld by the judiciary. The president's answer to both House and Senate subpoenas should be "See you in court."

By David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, [both of who] served in the Justice Department under presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

while i do whole-heartedly agree with the "see you in court" suggestion, i must point out that there are two truly astounding assumption that pervade this op-ed by messrs. casey and rivkin... the first is that appointing justice department officials to serve purely POLITICAL purposes is O.K. and that giving them the ax for NOT serving purely political purposes is equally O.K... the second, equally troubling assumption, is that these appointees serve entirely at the PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT... there is absolutely no mention anywhere of honoring the fundamentals of the constitution, observing the rule of law, or serving the common good... none... (and may i point out that the "constitutional principle" of serving at the president's "pleasure" does NOT include negating the OTHER constitutional principles...)

i seriously don't know how any discussion of the ins and outs of presidential appointments could, in all conscience, NOT mention the constitution, the rule of law, or the common good... of COURSE political appointees are expected to follow the policy guidelines set down by the president, guidelines that are, presumably, crafted to serve the common good, observe the rule of law, AND uphold the constitution, but they are also required to do so within the very clear guidelines set forth in that document and the body of law that supports it... when the president's agenda is crafted solely for the aim of accruing more power and money for the political party and financial backers that the president represents, often in contravention of the constitution those political appointees were sworn to uphold and in violation of the rule of law, serving AT THE PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT is no longer a valid mandate...

what has taken place in the bush administration is a complete and total perversion of the political appointment process, an abandonment of the principle of serving the common good, and a willful negation of the constitution... THAT'S the "scandal," messrs. casey and rivkin... when you find it in your hearts to point out that our president and everyone in the executive branch must be devoted to upholding the constitution, acting in accordance with the rule of law, and serving the common good, i will be willing to listen... not before...

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The media is al-Qaeda's best p.r. agency

in the top reuters story this morning on the latest u.s. military push in iraq, al qaeda is mentioned 13 times in a 614 word story...

  • al Qaeda militants (4x)
  • Sunni Islamist al Qaeda
  • al Qaeda (5x)
  • al Qaeda hotbed
  • stronghold of al Qaeda
  • al Qaeda domination
reading the article, you would think that al qaeda is not only everywhere in iraq but is also behind all the insurgent activity that's going on... but, as is typical with our media, you have to read down to paragraphs 14 and 17 to get any clue about the bigger picture...
President George W. Bush has sent 28,000 extra troops mainly to Baghdad to help curb sectarian bloodshed and buy time for Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to reach a political accommodation with disaffected minority Sunni Arabs, who are locked in a cycle of violence with majority Shi'ite Muslims.

[...]

[Brigadier-General Mick Bednarek, deputy commanding general, operations, 25th Infantry Division] said the fight against al Qaeda in Diyala also involved local Sunnis Arabs who opposed the United States but who wanted to end al Qaeda domination of their communities.

being the good little robotrons that we are, we read and hear al qaeda, al qaeda, al qaeda, 24/7, and we KNOW (because we've been told time and time and time again) that osama bin laden heads al qaeda, that al qaeda is our mortal enemy, and that al qaeda is out to destroy us in our beds as we sleep, so, by extension, we are fighting osama bin laden and terrorists in iraq... after all, the bush administration has to have multiple ways of reinforcing their key themes, right...?

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Thursday, June 21, 2007

Norman Podhoretz is a hostile, psychopathic, alien life form

i've posted twice recently on the twisted abomination that is norman podhoretz, here and here... now i see that glenn greenwald has posted his perspectives on this hostile alien life form masquerading as a human being, and that they're dramatically similar to my own...
Any doubts about what Norman Podhoretz is -- and what the movement is which reveres him -- ought to be forever dispelled by his answer ... to the question of what the British should have done in response to the detention of 15 of their sailors by Iran:
They should have threatened to bomb the Iranians into smithereens if the sailors weren't returned immediately. They should have threatened it. Whether they would have had to carry out the threat, I doubt, maybe they would have.

Just think about that. England should have threatened and then "bombed the Iranians into smithereens" if their sailors were not returned immediately. Contemplate the depravity required even to suggest such a thing -- that a nation of more than 70 million human beings be reduced to rubble, perhaps vaporzied, over an incident of that magnitude, which was peacefully resolved after two weeks. It is really warped beyond belief. And it's the tone that is almost as notable as the content -- the breezy, smug wave of the hand that signifies the brutal deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people, possibly many more.

[...]

What Norman Podhoretz is advocating -- blowing Iran into "smithereens" -- is criminal and morally twisted for reasons that should require no elaboration. But the far more significant fact is that such advocacy does not relegate him to the fringes. Quite the contrary, the movement of which he is an integral part, on whose behalf he speaks, is well within the political mainstream as depicted by our political press. And it is doubtful that there is anything he (and his comrades) could do or say which would change that.

glenn also offers this photo of those podhoretz is so eager to slaughter...


[Photo by Flickr user Koldo used under a Creative Commons license]

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Update on Gitmo

well, it was a mildly uplifting thought for a fleeting moment...
“No decisions on the future of Guantanamo Bay are imminent, and there will not be a White House meeting tomorrow,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said in response to a report by the Associated Press.

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Closing Gitmo would defeat the entire purpose

if this does indeed happen, it's going to remove the primary reason why detainees have been held outside the u.s. - the excuse that u.s. law does not apply in a place like guantánamo... there will be some serious implications arising from a decision to close gitmo, all of them, i hope, favorable to restoring our historic and enormously important system of justice... and i hope the first thing that gets restored is habeas corpus...
The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and move the terror suspects there to military prisons elsewhere, The Associated Press has learned.

President Bush's national security and legal advisers are expected to discuss the move at the White House on Friday and, for the first time, it appears a consensus is developing, senior administration officials said Thursday.

The advisers will consider a new proposal to shut the center and transfer detainees to one or more Defense Department facilities, including the maximum security military prison at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, where they could face trial, said the officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations.

Officials familiar with the agenda of the Friday meeting said Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Peter Pace were expected to attend.

It was not immediately clear if the meeting would result in a final recommendation to Bush.

i posted this back in february on the basic purpose of guantánamo...
The whole purpose of setting up Guantánamo Bay is for torture. Why do this? Because you want to escape the rule of law. There is only one thing that you want to escape the rule of law to do, and that is to question people coercively—what some people call torture. Guantánamo and the military commissions are implements for breaking the law.

—Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, January 2007, to the author, Marie Brenner, in the article, Taking on Guantánamo, Vanity Fair, March 2007.

does closing gitmo mean we're not going to torture any more...?

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I don't want to hear about 26% in the polls, I just want him GONE

yes, 26% is an abysmally low number for a sitting president with over an entire year and a half left in his presidency, and, yes, there is comfort in knowing that so many americans see george bush for the unsurpassed natural disaster he is, but... given the destruction he and his criminal compadres have already wreaked on the foundations of our democratic republic, on our ability to function as a nation, on our civil liberties, and on virtually every thing that makes the united states worth fighting for, and, over and above that, considering how much time they have left in which to pursue their profoundly evil agenda, we simply cannot sit by and let them proceed... i would think that 26% would be a call to action for my fellow citizens to rouse themselves from their tv- and shopping-induced comas and START TO DO SOMETHING TO GET RID OF THESE BASTARDS...!
Only 26 percent of Americans, just over one in four, approve of the job the 43rd president is doing; while, a record 65 percent disapprove, including nearly a third of Republicans.

it's not going to plateau at 26%, i would bet my last shekel on it...

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Is Darth the VP of the United States or does he head the government of his own country?

i don't understand how the shit he can get away with this...
The Office of Vice President Dick Cheney told an agency within the National Archives that for purposes of securing classified information, the Vice President's office is not an 'entity within the executive branch' according to a letter released Thursday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

"The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, you exempted the Office of the Vice President from the presidential executive order that establishes a uniform, government-wide system for safeguarding classified national security information," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Committee's chairman, wrote in a letter to Cheney. "Your decision to exempt your office from the President's order is problematic because it could place national security secrets at risk. It is also hard to understand given the history of security breaches involving officials in your office."

Waxman noted that Cheney's office had declared itself not affected by an executive order amended by President George W. Bush in 2003 regarding classification and declassification of government materials.

i do believe that the vice president serves as the president of the united states senate... therefore, by extension, the office of the vice president is subject to the rules governing the senate, yes...? no...? if he's not within the executive branch, that leaves only the legislative branch, and the judiciary, right...?
The Vice President of the United States is the first in the presidential line of succession, becoming the new President of the United States upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President. As designated by the Constitution of the United States, the vice president also serves as the President of the Senate, and may break tie votes in that chamber.

[...]

As President of the Senate (Article I, Section 3), the vice president oversees procedural matters and may cast a tie-breaking vote.

so, darth, if you insist on where you're NOT, where ARE you...? hmmmmmm...??

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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

NeoCons and Israelis Attack Carter, Abbas is Bush Junior

I always thought Jimmy Carter was a less than spectacular President. In his defense, I don't think anyone would have been able to do a good job at the time.
Carter is, without doubt, our nations best expert on the Middle East. He was pissed after the elections in the occupied territories because Bushco, the NeoCons, and the Israeli hardliners refused to recognize the outcome of a democratic election.
I didn't like it either, but that's how the Palestinian people voted.
Now, the obvious outcome has transpired, Palestinian civil war. Carter is speaking out, and the Administration has immediately set to work to discredit Carter as being "out of touch" in the Middle East.
Unbelievable.


Jimmy Carter says U.S. aims to split Palestinians
19 Jun 2007 16:36:40 GMT
Source:Alertnet & Reuters

Israeli-Palestinian conflict
More By Jonathan Saul

DUBLIN, June 19 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Tuesday Washington's support for the Palestinian Fatah group and the blocking of aid to Gaza were part of a mistaken policy aimed at dividing Palestinians.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah dismissed Hamas from the government last week and formed a new cabinet in the occupied West Bank after gunmen from the Islamist group took over the Gaza Strip.

Abbas violated the results of a monitored election and Palestinian authority law by doing this. He is becoming a wonderful NeoCon.
In a bid to shore up Abbas, the United States and the European Union pledged on Monday to lift a 15-month old embargo on the Palestinians imposed after Hamas won elections and rejected their calls to recognise Israel and renounce violence.

My, they moved fast, like they were expecting this to happen.
Carter, on a visit to Dublin, said the United States and Israel had done "everything they could to prevent accommodation between Hamas and Fatah".
[...]
Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas has said he still considers a 3-month-old unity coalition, in which he is prime minister, as the legitimate Palestinian government and accuses Abbas of participating in a U.S.-led plot to overthrow him.

The criminal traitors in the White House and a small group of Israeli Likud racists just put Haniyeh and Hamas on the moral high ground. Shows how much they understand. Once again, they make the terrorists stronger.
Fatah has rejected a Hamas overture for "dialogue" and banned all contacts with the group.
[...]
"This effort to divide Palestine into two peoples now, I think it is a step in the wrong direction," Carter said.

"There is no effort being made outside to bring the two together."

BUSH CRITICISED

U.S. President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met in Washington on Tuesday and pledged to work together to strengthen Abbas against Hamas Islamists.

Carter, who was president from 1977-1981 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his charitable work, has been highly critical of Bush's Middle East policies. In May he described Bush's presidency as "the worst in history".
[...]
"This departure on human rights is completely incompatible with all the predecessors in the White House," he said.

Actually, I disagree with this statement with only one word---CHINA.
"It's excused inadequately by the aftermath of 9/11 that the terrorism threat is so great that we can abandon our basic American principles on human rights," he said. "I strongly disagree with that(emphasis added)."

That last passage alone puts Carter in direct conflict with the traitors in D.C.
I have been watching the "think tank" gang, Benjamin Netanyahu(former Likud P.M.), and the whole Bush/NeoCon machine lash out at Carter. Carter knows more about what's going on over there than all of those crooks combined.
I'm not Jewish, but I did grow up in a half Jew, half protestant household. I don't know any American Jews who think Israel should be getting such a blank check from the U.S. Most of my family have become more and more uncomfortable with the behavior of Israel at the expense of the U.S. They are a strange group of Jews, they think that they are Americans first, Jews second.
There are also a lot of Jews, here and in Israel, that remember the man who brought Israel the greatest wave of peace and security in its' history, Jimmy Carter.
Keep that in mind as you hear all of the Carter bashing in the days ahead.
If I can stick up for Old Jimmy, you can too.

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God bless Robert Parry who dares to name our country's crisis for what it REALLY is

the reality is staring us right in the face and i simply do not understand why it's so hard to grasp...
In years to come, historians may look back on U.S. press coverage of George W. Bush’s presidency and wonder why there was not a single front-page story announcing one of the most monumental events of mankind’s modern era – the death of the American Republic and the elimination of the “unalienable rights” pledged to “posterity” by the Founders.

The historians will, of course, find stories about elements of this extraordinary event – Bush’s denial of habeas corpus rights to a fair trial, his secret prisons, his tolerance of torture, his violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches, his “signing statements” overriding laws, the erosion of constitutional checks and balances.

But the historians will scroll through front pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post and every other major newspaper – as well as scan the national network news and the 24-hour cable channels – and find not a single story connecting the dots, explaining the larger picture: the end of a remarkable democratic experiment which started in 1776 and which was phased out sometime in the early 21st century.

How, these historians may ask, did the U.S. press corps miss one of history’s most important developments? Was it a case like the proverbial frog that would have jumped to safety if tossed into boiling water but was slowly cooked to death when the water was brought to a slow boil?

Or was it that journalists and politicians intuitively knew that identifying too clearly what was happening in the United States would have compelled them to action, and that action would have meant losing their jobs and livelihoods? Perhaps, too, they understood that there was little they could do to change the larger reality, so why bother?

As for the broader public, did the fear and anger generated by the 9/11 attacks so overwhelm the judgment of Americans that they didn’t care that President Bush had offered them a deal with the devil, he would promise them a tad more safety in exchange for their liberties?

And what happened to the brave souls who did challenge Bush’s establishment of an authoritarian state? Why, the historians may wonder, did the American people and their representatives not rise up as Bush systematically removed honorable public servants who did their best to uphold the nation’s laws and principles?

dear mr. parry,

if you wrote about nothing else but this from now on, i would not blame you for a minute... the more i observe, read, deduce, and put the puzzle pieces together, the more i realize that the bush regime's wholesale negating of the united states constitution and the establishment of an authoritarian state is the single most dangerous event of modern times... it needs to be shouted from the rooftops, it needs a paul revere sounding the alarm, it needs the loudest, most credible voices pounding it home every day until people pay attention... i appreciate more than i can say your efforts in this regard... at least there are a few who see what is REALLY going on...

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Bombing Iran - Podhoretz confirms Paul Craig Roberts' scenario

a quick refresher on the doomsday scenario painted by paul craig roberts in his counterpunch article that i posted on yesterday, about the neocons' and the bush administration's eagerness to bomb iran, and the serious consideration they're giving to doing it with nuclear weapons...
The Bush regime has concluded that a conventional attack on Iran would do no more than stir up a hornet's nest and release retaliatory actions that the US could not manage. The Bush regime is convinced that only nuclear weapons can bring the mullahs to heel.

[...]

A plan to attack Iran with nuclear weapons might also explain the otherwise inexplicable "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive" (NSPD-51 AND HSPD-20) that Bush issued on May 9. Bush's directive allows him to declare a "national emergency" on his authority alone without ratification by Congress. Once Bush declares a national emergency, he can take over all functions of government at every level, as well as private organizations and businesses, and remain in total control until he declares the emergency to be over.

and, to make sure everything is in its proper context, back on may 30 i also posted on norman podhoretz' outrageous article in commentary magazine, republished in the wall street journal, entitled "The Case For Bombing Iran," where podhoretz says this...
[T]he plain and brutal truth is that if Iran is to be prevented from developing a nuclear arsenal, there is no alternative to the actual use of military force--any more than there was an alternative to force if Hitler was to be stopped in 1938.

[...]

[Bush] intends, within the next 21 months, to order air strikes against the Iranian nuclear facilities from the three U.S. aircraft carriers already sitting nearby...

now, podhoretz, in an interview, basically confirms roberts' grim predictions...



a few hair-raising highlights...
“Well, if we were to bomb the Iranians as I hope and pray we will,” Podhoretz says, “we’ll unleash a wave of anti-Americanism all over the world that will make the anti-Americanism we’ve experienced so far look like a lovefest.”

[...]

But even global anti-Americanism is worth it, he argues, to slow Iran’s nuclear program “for five or 10 years or more.”

and then, probably realizing what he's saying, tries to paper it over with this lie...
It’s “entirely possible,” he claimed, that “many countries, particularly in the Middle East” would “at least secretly applaud us.”

yeah, just like they're all secretly applauding our occupation of iraq...

i encourage you to take the time to watch at least a portion of the video... it's not that there's anything in there that adds much to the essence of what he's saying, but what i find exceptionally disturbing is the same thing i find with so many highly educated, influential people - he seems so THOUGHTFUL, so REASONABLE, so MATTER-OF-FACT, when in reality he is advocating the precise course of action that could take the united states down the last stretch of road toward full-tilt totalitarianism...

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Common Cause now on the impeach Gonzo bandwagon

common cause, which i used to consider a vital organization, has, in my view, become increasingly irrelevant in recent years... i receive their regular email communications but rarely read them as the subject lines usually don't suggest issues i consider to be of high priority... today's email was an exception and i was moved to post on the video they've prepared in support of their effort to impeach alberto gonzales... i was also moved to visit their home page, a place i have not visited in a long time, and was both pleased and surprised to see that their organizational focus is considerably more focused and topical than i thought... that's good...

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Heritage provided the intellectual horsepower for the Bushies to politicize our government

while reading a jim hightower article reprinted in alternet, i was pointed to a 2001 heritage foundation report that contains these eye-opening points...
Career civil servants should not be tasked with formulating and executing the details of an agenda for major policy change. Political appointees, personally loyal to the President and fully committed to his policy agenda, are essential to his success...

[...]

The President needs a full cadre of personnel committed to him and his agenda in the federal agencies that execute the details of national policy.

  • The new President must make liberal use of his power of appointment, get a loyal team in place to carry out his agenda, and insist on accountability while maintaining a clear distinction between career and non-career employees.
  • Political appointments to key policymaking positions must be made in a timely fashion.
  • Political appointees must be in charge of implementing the President's policies and readily available to speak for the Administration.
  • Political appointees should make key management decisions; such decisions should not be delegated to the career bureaucracy.
robert moffit, the author of the report, calls this the "political administration model..." he continues with this caveat, the outcome of which has been evident from the earliest days of the bush administration, most recently on display in the justice department...
[T]he Office of Presidential Personnel (OPP) must make appointment decisions based on loyalty first and expertise second, and that the whole governmental apparatus must be managed from this perspective. Picking appointees who are "best for the job" merely in terms of expert qualifications can be disastrous for an Administration genuinely committed to change, because the best qualified are already in the career positions and part of the status quo--the permanent government.

and so, political appointees, chosen above all else for their loyalty and frequently without any depth of expertise in the areas in which they are placed, end up overriding and overruling those who DO have the expertise in order to accomplish a political agenda... while this could conceivably be a good thing IF the ruling political administration was truly serving the common good of the nation, for a presidential administration with only two items on its agenda, power and money, it's an unmitigated disaster, not for those in power, of course, but for the country...

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More Wisdom From The Past

Once again, a Founding Father provides guidance and more than a little prophecy.
In 1821, John Quincy Adams stated the following about America:


“She has abstained from interference in the concerns of others, even when conflict has been for principles to which she clings, as to the last vital drop that visits the heart. She has seen that probably for centuries to come, all the contests of that Aceldama the European world, will be contests of inveterate power, and emerging right. Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all.(emphasis added) She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example.
She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force.... She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit.... [America’s] glory is not dominion, but liberty.”

NeoCons and their Democratic Party co-conspirators would call this isolationism. However, if you really READ the passage, Adams is denouncing military intervention. This isn't promoting a restriction on political and/or economic support. Political and economic pressure are the preferred methods to influence world affairs by civilized nations.
The total lack of WMD's in Iraq are an excellent example of how sanctions can prevent tyrants from expanding their arsenals. The war in Iraq was totally unnecessary.
Our Government and Elected Officials constantly violate the guidance written down by the Founders, including the Constitution.
They are not just guilty of Impeachable offenses, they are guilty of Treason.
If there are any free generations of Americans to come, how will they judge our generation?

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Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Dodging The "D" Word

More good news for our troops and their families. NeoCons are still dodging the draft at the cost of loyal Americans.
Little Georgy might be securing his power to declare martial law in fear of our military and their families rising up against him once he does this to them.
The latest from the A.P.

Army Considers Longer Combat Tours Again
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Army is considering whether it will have to extend the combat tours of troops in Iraq if President Bush opts to maintain the recent buildup of forces through spring 2008.

IF, If that power drunk traitor decides to extend tours? I guess the few allies he has left in Congress told him to avoid talk of a Draft at all costs.
Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren testified Tuesday that the service is reviewing other options, including relying more heavily on Army reservists or Navy and Air Force personnel, so as not to put more pressure on a stretched active-duty force.
[...]
"It's too early to look into the next year, but for the Army we have to begin to plan," Geren told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We have to look into our options."

Gen. David Petraeus, Iraq war commander, suggested Sunday that conditions on the ground might not be stable enough by September to justify a drop in force levels, and he predicted that stabilizing Iraq could take a decade.(emphasis added)

Dirty traitors. Laying the ground work to continue with the "Stay the Course" plan past September.
[...]
There are about 156,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

When asked by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., whether maintaining the force buildup would affect soldiers' 15-month combat schedules, Geren said he was unsure and cited "numerous options" available, including a "different utilization of the Guard and Reserve" and relying on the other services for help.
[...]
The Army assessment comes as Democrats say they are already frustrated with the existing policy.
[...]

B.F.D.! The Democrats already fell in line with their NeoCon masters. Spoiled frustrated little children. They are traitors too.
In case you haven't noticed, my comments are becoming more and more inflamed.
I am reaching the end of my rope with this bunch down in DC.
And still, through all of this, the Soldiers fight on. Just like Viet Nam.
Who among us fight for them, while their blood flows for the NeoCons?

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Iran, the sacking of Peter Pace, nukes, unfettered presidential power, and martial law

i really need to stop reading paul craig roberts... he takes all the creepy-crawlies that start skittering around in my mind when i stand back and look at what is really happening and puts them in black and white...

(btw, not meaning to break my arm patting myself on the back, but i offered the very same rationale for pace's sacking back on june 9... i also posted on NSPD 51 and HSPD-20 back on may 20 and commented on how nicely they seem to fit with the martial law provision of Section 1076 of the Defense Authorization Act, another post i put up back on april 25...)

"It is the absolute responsibility of everybody in uniform to disobey an order that is either illegal or immoral."

General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Press Club, February 17, 2006.

"They will be held accountable for the decisions they make. So they should in fact not obey the illegal and immoral orders to use weapons of mass destruction."

General Peter Pace, CNN With Wolf Blitzer, April 6, 2003

[...]

The Bush regime has concluded that a conventional attack on Iran would do no more than stir up a hornet's nest and release retaliatory actions that the US could not manage. The Bush regime is convinced that only nuclear weapons can bring the mullahs to heel.

The Bush regime's plan to attack Iran with nuclear weapons puts General Pace's departure in a different light. How can President Bush succeed with an order to attack with nuclear weapons when America's highest ranking military officer says that such an order is "illegal and immoral" and that everyone in the military has an "absolute responsibility" to disobey it?

An alternative explanation for Pace's departure is that Pace had to go so that malleable toadies can be installed in his place.

Pace's departure removes a known obstacle to a nuclear attack on Iran, thus advancing that possible course of action. A plan to attack Iran with nuclear weapons might also explain the otherwise inexplicable "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive" (NSPD-51 AND HSPD-20) that Bush issued on May 9. Bush's directive allows him to declare a "national emergency" on his authority alone without ratification by Congress. Once Bush declares a national emergency, he can take over all functions of government at every level, as well as private organizations and businesses, and remain in total control until he declares the emergency to be over.

Who among us would trust Bush, or any president, with this power? What is the necessity of such a sweeping directive subject to no check or ratification?

[...]

A speculative answer is that, with appropriate propaganda, the directive could be triggered by a US nuclear attack on Iran. The use of nuclear weapons arouses the ultimate fear. A US nuclear attack would send Russian and Chinese ICBMs into high alert. False flag operations could be staged in the US. The US media would hype such developments to the hilt, portraying danger everywhere. Fear of the regime's new detention centers would silence most voices of protest as the regime declares its "national emergency."

This might sound like a far-out fiction novel, but it is a scenario that would explain the Bush regime's lack concern that the shrinking Republican vote that foretells a massive Republican wipeout in the 2008 election. In a declared national emergency, there would be no election.

As implausible as this might sound to people who trust the government, be aware that despite his rhetoric, Bush has no respect for democracy. His neoconservative advisors have all been taught that it is their duty to circumvent democracy, as democracy does not produce the right decisions. Neoconservatives believe in rule by elites, and they regard themselves as the elite. The Bush regime decided that Americans would not agree to an invasion of Iraq unless they were deceived and tricked into it, and so we were.

[...]

Americans might have more awareness of their peril if they realized that their leaders no longer believe in democratic outcomes.

i really wish i didn't agree with him... the kind of scenario roberts spells out is PRECISELY the kind of scenario that nobody in this country chooses to see or, more accurately, hasn't paid close enough attention to to understand how carefully the stage has been set for it to play out... using roberts' term, the bush "regime" - precisely the correct word imho - is extraordinarily dangerous, not only for this country but also for the world... i think these criminals are both perfectly capable and perfectly willing to carry out such a catastrophic plan... i would sincerely hope, however, that prior to its execution, the enormity of it would leak out and inspire our somnolent populace to finally undertake to throw the bastards out so we can start with the hard work of getting our country back...

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Tax Evaders Hit M.S.M.

ProfMarcus posted an earlier report on these folks in NH. I am pleasantly surprised that the MSM has actually picked up the story.
This whole income tax argument is complicated, however, one of the fundamental ideas is that income tax violates the constitution since it is a direct, un-apportioned tax.
There is merit to this argument, but in 1913 the gov't decided that the tax was OK, under somewhat dubious arguments and circumstances. It was the Solicitor General of the IRS that rendered the deciding opinion. That alone is suspicious.
Since then the courts have upheld the income tax "laws" via precedent.
It needs to be revisited by the courts and these folks might just get it there.
Story from ABC via AOL News.

Couple Holed Up in House Over Tax Dispute
Claims There Is No Law Requiring Them to Pay
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
ABC News
Posted: 2007-06-19 00:43:49
(June 19) - Calling the federal agents surrounding his fortified compound "guns for hire," a New Hampshire man convicted of tax evasion vowed today that he and his wife would fight U.S. marshals to the death if they tried to capture them.

"Do not under any circumstances make any attempt on this land. We will not accept any tomfoolery by any criminal element, be it federal, state or local," said Ed Brown in a press conference from the stoop of his concrete-clad home in Plainfield, N.H. "We either walk out of here free or we die."

Brown and his wife, Elaine, were sentenced in absentia in April to serve 63 months in prison for failing to pay more than $1 million in income tax.

The couple, however, insists that there is no law that requires citizens to pay income tax.

"There is no law. We looked and looked," Brown told the press.

Brown and his supporters, including Randy Weaver, leader of the 1992 standoff with ATF agents at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, told the press that the government has unlawfully tricked people into believing they have to pay income tax, knowing full well that such a law would be unconstitutional.

[...]
"I'd rather die on my feet right here than die on my knees under this de facto government," he said. "Bring it on."

Despite months of surveillance and reports of agents hiding in the woods of the couple's 110-acre compound, U.S. marshals said this morning that the Brown's Plainfield, N.H., home was not surrounded by their officers.

U.S. Marshal Stephen Monier made an effort to starkly contrast the actions of the Marshals with those of the ATF agents who besieged Ruby Ridge in 1992. In addition to Weaver's son, one federal agent was killed in that incident.

"There is no standoff and the house is not surrounded." Monier told ABC News.com. "We have no intention of assaulting the house or engaging in a violent confrontation."
[...]
Since failing to appear in court the couple has remained within the concrete-fortified walls of their rural New Hampshire home.

Monier said the Marshals have been communicating with the couple in an effort to get them to turn themselves over the federal authorities without having to resort to the use of force.
[...]
Last week agents cut off the home's telephone, Internet and power access. Monier said the couple most likely had generators -- possibly solar or wind powered -- but that eventually the Browns would become uncomfortable enough in their isolation that they would be forced to surrender.

Keep in mind, this is all over not paying taxes. These folks haven't committed any violent crime against any other person.

"They probably have generators but those will soon need fuel and need people to fix them. We want to continue to encourage them, and make it uncomfortable enough for them that they'll give up."

Brown said he and his wife had enough supplies to wait out the government no matter how long it lasted. He said the couple did not use air conditioning and could chop down trees from firewood.

Last week, Danny Riley a friend of the Browns was arrested near their home by federal agents while walking the couple's dog.

The Marshals claim they were engaged in routine surveillance of the property, but the Browns believe Riley thwarted a potential raid.

Unfortunately, you can't win against the IRS. Maybe that's the real indicator that the law needs to be re-examined. All this time, resources and money spent to punish these folks. I bet the million bucks they owe has already been spent, and then some, on this operation.
Could this really be about the Gov't having control over citizens, not about paying taxes?
The family friend, Riley, was arrested while walking the dog, yet, the lead agent says the property isn't surrounded. Hmmm, interesting. Also, why arrest a guy for walking the dog? Ask him questions, yes, but arrest him?
Randy Weaver is no saint, but he has enough celebrity to make sure that the Feds. won't repeat their incompetence at Ruby Ridge. Hopefully these folks won't die of old age before the case gets to the Supreme Court and the tax law will get a real, open review.

I forgot to mention when I first posted this, that Mrs. Brown is a dentist that owns her office building. It has additional rental properties in it and is appraised at just over $800,000.
Why doesn't the IRS just seize it and sell it? Again, hmmm, interesting.

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Monday, June 18, 2007

Impeachment isn't about revenge, it's about who we are as a country

if we don't do this, we will only leave the door wide open for it to happen again - and again - and again - and again - and again...
If our Government does not impeach and prosecute George Bush before he leaves office...any other attempted prosecution of him will fail miserably, even if one is able to start. If our own government, the beacon of Freedom and Justice to the world refuses to hold him accountable, why should anyone else?

If we do not Impeach...George Bush gets off scott-free. Skates...cruises, betas the rap, flies the coop and laughs his way to the bank, as America slouches closer to totalitarianism and corruption as an accepted way of life.

And no, this is not about revenge, it is about Justice and a word quickly slipping into anachronism in American Politics....Accountability.

god, i'm getting tired of banging this drum...

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It's time to impeach - OPOL reads my mind

that's the question, all right... do we want to continue to endorse tyranny...?

one pissed off liberal at daily kos lays it on the line in his customary fashion...

It is still possible to live in America while ignoring the reality of it. Sadly, far too many people do.

[...]

With the collusion of the MSM and the Democrats (many of them if not most), the nefarious criminal neocons have seized control of our country in a hostile takeover and have kept it under the radar of average citizens. It has been a brilliant but heartbreaking feat, a stunning coup d’etat, and a devastating loss to us all.

[...]

So between the clueless, the complicit and the corrupt we have all been sold down the river. Normally we would look to the Democrats to help us in such circumstances -normally.

Where are the Democrats?

Wherever they are, they should be feeling the shame of their inaction and their collusion at this point. Even rightwingers are now raising the alarm and calling for corrective action.

[...]

Where is the outrage? Where are the Democrats? And where are all these apologists and enablers coming from?

It is my considered opinion that to argue against impeachment at this point in history, innocently or not, is to argue against freedom and democracy for America and amounts to an implicit endorsement of tyranny.

c'mon, my fellow americans... wake the hell up...!

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Clemency for Libby: "the hedonistic pleasure of political expediency"

from the politico...
A well-connected Republican whose views have reached Bush’s inner circle said that if Libby goes to prison, “It would be seen by the religious and policy conservatives as the president abandoning his loyalty virtue for the hedonistic pleasure of political expediency.”

have you ever in your life read such an odoriferous pile of steaming multi-syllabic horseshit...? "the hedonistic pleasure of political expediency...?" unbelievable that those words could actually be uttered by a living, breathing human being... whoever the "well-connected republican" was who mouthed those words could only have been orgasmic at the time... nothing else could explain it...

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Dump don't ask, don't tell

it doesn't have any place in the united states of the 21st century... watch this robert greenwald video and then click here to sign the petition...

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Illegally doing lots of government business over political party email servers

some fairly mind-boggling additional information from waxman's house oversight committee...

first of all, the practice was widespread...

In March 2007, White House spokesperson Dana Perino said that only a “handful of officials” had RNC e-mail accounts. In later statements, her estimate rose to “50 over the course of the administration.” In fact, the Committee has learned from the RNC that at least 88 White House officials had RNC e-mail accounts. The officials with RNC e-mail accounts include Karl Rove, the President’s senior advisor; Andrew Card, the former White House Chief of Staff; Ken Mehlman, the former White House Director of Political Affairs; and many other officials in the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Communications, and the Office of the Vice President.

secondly, the volume of useage was much heavier than was initially thought...
The RNC has preserved 140,216 e-mails sent or received by Karl Rove. Over half of these e-mails (75,374) were sent to or received from individuals using official “.gov” e-mail accounts. Other heavy users of RNC e-mail accounts include former White House Director of Political Affairs Sara Taylor (66,018 e-mails) and Deputy Director of Political Affairs Scott Jennings (35,198 e-mails). These e-mail accounts were used by White House officials for official purposes, such as communicating with federal agencies about federal appointments and policies.

third, deletion and destruction was undertaken on a wholesale basis...
Of the 88 White House officials who received RNC e-mail accounts, the RNC has preserved no e-mails for 51 officials. In a deposition, Susan Ralston, Mr. Rove’s former executive assistant, testified that many of the White House officials for whom the RNC has no e-mail records were regular users of their RNC e-mail accounts. Although the RNC has preserved no e-mail records for Ken Mehlman, the former Director of Political Affairs, Ms. Ralston testified that Mr. Mehlman used his account “frequently, daily.” In addition, there are major gaps in the e-mail records of the 37 White House officials for whom the RNC did preserve e-mails. The RNC has preserved only 130 e-mails sent to Mr. Rove during President Bush’s first term and no e-mails sent by Mr. Rove prior to November 2003. For many other White House officials, the RNC has no e-mails from before the fall of 2006.

and, in direct contravention of the presidential records act, it appears that gonzo knew of the destruction and did not act to enforce the law...
In her deposition, Ms. Ralston testified that she searched Mr. Rove’s RNC e-mail account in response to an Enron-related investigation in 2001 and the investigation of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald later in the Administration. According to Ms. Ralston, the White House Counsel’s office knew about these e-mails because “all of the documents we collected were then turned over to the White House Counsel’s office.” There is no evidence, however, that White House Counsel Gonzales initiated any action to ensure the preservation of the e-mail records that were destroyed by the RNC.

not only does it appear that the presidential records act was violated, there was complete disregard for internal white house policy set forth in 2001 that was put in place specifically to insure compliance with the act...
To implement this legal requirement, the White House Counsel issued clear written policies in February 2001 instructing White House staff to use only the official White House e-mail system for official communications and to retain any official e-mails they received on a nongovernmental account.

why are these people still in office...? why haven't we stormed the white house with rakes and hoes, buckets of tar and sacks of feathers, and run the entire lot of them out of town on a rail...?

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The questionable ethics of U.S. businesses operating outside the U.S.



.
Decades of toxic emissions have robbed the nearby mountains of vegetation

i took a calculated risk while teaching my class this past weekend... i showed them the film "the corporation..." besides presenting some little-known facts about the evolution of the corporate form of business structure, the film also offers a stark and unflattering perspective of the many ethical abuses transnational corporations engage in daily, with a particular focus on their operations outside of the u.s... in a stroke of timeliness, this la times article in today's edition about doe run's smelting operation in la oroya, peru, caught my eye and i thought it would make the basis for a good post...

some years ago i had the opportunity to visit the high mountains of peru and more recently spent some time in the andean altiplano in argentina, so i've had a brief but first-hand glimpse of the vast and breathtaking beauty of that part of the world... i never saw an environmentally damaged andean area, but i have seen other, similar areas in the u.s. rocky mountains, in mexico, and in the balkans of s.e. europe...

some key points from the article illustrate the dilemma often faced by the citizens of the communities in which transnational corporations do business...

  • On the twisting streets of the Old Town [La Oroya Antigua], air laced with sulfur dioxide spewing from the smokestack irritates the eyes, befouls the mouth and stings the lungs. Fine dust coats furniture and clothes, residents say.
  • In 2006, the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based environmental advocacy group, named La Oroya among the world's 10 most-polluted places, a list that includes Chernobyl, Ukraine.
  • In children, a [blood-lead reading of] 10 micrograms a deciliter, is considered elevated by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials at Doe Run acknowledge that almost every child tested in the Old Town has a blood-lead reading at least double that level.
  • A St. Louis University research team said La Oroya faces a "daily toxic cocktail" and labeled the situation "an environmental health crisis."
  • Doe Run officials say emissions are down and have never been shown to have harmed anyone. "I am not aware of any case of serious illness that may be attributed to our La Oroya operations," said spokesman Victor Andres Belaunde. Critics say Doe Run's repeated threats to shutter the plant and leave more than 3,000 employees jobless have intimidated Peru's government.
  • [M]any residents support the plant because it drives the economy. "The smelter is needed here," said Rocio Guadalupe Mejia, 31, a mother of two who heads a community group backed by Doe Run. "There would be no La Oroya without the smelter." Many here work for Doe Run, live in Doe Run-supplied housing and send their young to Doe Run-supported schools. The company logo and its green-and white colors are seen on buildings, lunch boxes and billboards.
and, as in so many other underdeveloped and emerging economies throughout the world, the citizens of la oroya are faced with an unfair choice - earning a living or maintaining their health...

.
(L) Men and women scrub down a street in La Oroya to wash away lead and other contaminants spewed from the smelter.
(R) Crispin Huaroc, 63, wears rubber gloves as he cleans masks used at the smelter, where he has worked for 37 years.


here's what doe run says about the la oroya operation on its la oroya web page...
The Doe Run Company acquired Metaloroya (now Doe Run Peru) in 1997 from the government-owned company, Centromin, which had operated it since 1974. Doe Run Peru operates a metallurgical complex in La Oroya, located 112 miles northeast of Lima at an altitude of 12,385 ft.

The La Oroya complex has been smelting copper since 1922 to support the Cerro de Pasco mining empire. Lead production began in 1928 and zinc production in 1952. The complex has recovered precious metals, such as gold and silver, since 1950. The complex also produces more than a dozen other by-products.

and, on the same page, here's what they say about what they're doing to help the community of la oroya...
Community Involvement

Previous operators of the La Oroya complex left a legacy of contamination which, compounded with the unstructured growth of La Oroya, has exposed its residents to environmental and health risks. Doe Run Peru is concerned with the impact the contamination has on the surrounding communities as well as the health concerns brought on by poor nutrition, lack of sanitation and clean water, and poor air quality. The company is working with local communities and government authorities to find solutions to these issues and improve the quality of life for the town’s residents.

To meet these objectives, Doe Run Peru supports the surrounding communities in implementing sustainable-development projects. The company also works extensively in the community to improve public education and healthcare infrastructure.

Doe Run Peru’s accomplishments in La Oroya over the last five years include:

* Conducting the first-ever community-wide blood lead level survey using the Centers for Disease Control protocol.
* Entering into an agreement with the Peruvian Ministry of Health, MINSA, to launch a joint effort to control blood-lead levels of 2,000 children under the age of 6 living in Old La Oroya.
* Constructing a modern medical clinic and government dining establishment that services 800 low-income individuals.
* Implementing water-collection systems in parts of La Oroya that enable treatment of storm water and sewage.
* Remodeling more than a dozen public schools, benefiting more than 2,000 students.
* Introducing a breeding program for sheep and llamas through the purchase of top-quality animals, whose offspring were donated to 12 surrounding communities. In addition, seminars were offered to 2,600 farmers covering animal husbandry and pasture improvements.
* Providing small business practices training for nearly 4,000 local women, resulting in 25 new community businesses.
* Developing a recreational center that includes soccer fields, artificial lakes, wildlife, and barbecue areas.
* Introducing a community education program to address the issue of blood lead levels in young children.

most interestingly, here's what doe run says about la oroya on its home page...
The Doe Run Company recently created a new relationship with Doe Run Peru, which has transitioned to an affiliate from a subsidiary. Both companies operate equally and independently, guided by a common vision to become global providers of premium metals and services.

note the key verbiage oh-so-innocently buried there - "transitioned to an affiliate from a subsidiary"... what does that tell you...? one, by creating doe run peru as an "affilate," doe run has built a financial liability firewall between the parent company and doe run peru... whatever financial obligations doe run peru may incur for environmental and/or health damages, doe run in st. louis will not have to dip into its corporate coffers to pay... two, by placing doe run peru in an independent "affiliate" status, it's much easier to sell...

so, in closing, who's the power and money behind doe run...?

Doe Run emerged from the old St. Joseph Lead Co., which during the Civil War purchased extensive lead deposits in Missouri. In 1994, a New York-based conglomerate, the Renco Group, acquired Doe Run. Renco's chief executive is Ira Rennert, known for his junk-bond transactions, his holdings of polluting companies and his lavish Hamptons estate.

and the renco group...?

from wikipedia
...

Renco Group is a holding company controlled by Ira Rennert. It owned AM General, maker of the Hummer SUV, until a recent deal handed control to Rennert's neighbor, Ronald Perelman. Another Renco subsidiary, U.S. Magnesium, is accused of polluting the Great Salt Lake, and other Renco companies are accused of pollution in Missouri. The Renco Group owns mills and mines around the United States and in South America. Pollution problems at the company's properties have sparked public outcries, environmental lawsuits, and hundreds of millions of dollars in environmental penalties and fines.

welcome to the wonderful world of globalization...

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