Air Force Official Commits Suicide

This is one of those tragedies that really seem to be hiding something bigger:

Air Force's No. 2 weapons buyer found dead

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force's No. 2 acquisition official, facing scrutiny for a temporary job arranged by the service while he awaited Senate confirmation, was found dead at his home in an apparent suicide, according to an internal Air Force memo obtained by Reuters on Monday.

"Mr. Riechers was found deceased in his home, cause of death appears to be suicide, time of death is unknown," said the memo, which was issued late Sunday.

Charles Riechers, principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition, was working on the Air Force's highest priority weapons programs, including a $40 billion aerial refueling tanker that is due to be awarded late this year or early next, and a $15 billion combat search and rescue helicopter.

People do not normally commit suicide while they are waiting for a Senate confirmation. So what is going on here?

Like many similar questions, this one may go unanswered and be condemned to conspiracy theory hell.

The article mentions this:

[...]The Washington Post reported on October 1 that Riechers was hired for two months by defense contractor Commonwealth Research Institute at the request of the Air Force while Riechers was out of work and awaiting Senate confirmation for his new position. The job paid $13,400 a month.

$13,400 A MONTH! I don't know about you, but that is a lot of money to me. He must have been doing some important work for defense contractor CRI:

[...]"I really didn't do anything for CRI," Riechers told the newspaper. "I got a paycheck from them."

Or not.

So let me get this straight. A guy who is the Air Force's No. 2 acquisition officer was getting $13,400 per month from a defense contractor. Then, he kills himself two weeks after this conflict of interest is revealed to the public.

Now, I'm no lawyer, but Riechers' conflict of interest has to be illegal:

[...]Riechers' predecessor, Darleen Druyun, served nine months in jail in 2005 for violating federal conflict of interest laws by taking a job with Boeing while still overseeing billions of dollars of its work for the Air Force.

So it is illegal.

Well, I am sure Bush's Department of Justice will get right on this... oh, wait, they won't do anything. It is Bush's culture of corruption that allowed this to happen in the first place (and in the second place and in a whole bunch of other places). It's all part of their "free market" idealogy. See, the "free" in free market means "free" to break the law and enable corruption if it helps the greedy corporations get more money at the expense of American taxpayers.

Well, I am sure the Congress will do something about this... oh, wait, I forgot how busy they were capitulating to the worst President in U.S. history on Iraq and FISA and SCHIP.

So, carry on. Nothing to see here. Our government is too busy screwing us out of our hard-earned cash and giving it to corporate welfare programs. It's too busy stealing from the poor to give to the rich. It's too busy racking up record levels of debt that our grandchildren will be slaves to.

It doesn't have time to weed out corruption, establish a fair market economy, eliminate corporate welfare, and give us what this country actually needs like an exit stratagy from Iraq, a universal public health care program, and a serious plan to end the threat of global warming.

::sigh::

Look, we don't have to put up with this. We can change our country for the better if we all work together. We, the people, are supposed to be in charge of this country, and corruption occurs easily when we aren't paying attention and aren't demanding better from our representatives in government. We are their bosses, not the other way around.

Outrage Overload

There is too much to be outraged about these days, and today is no exception.

I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, which makes me just want to take a break from it all, but there are some things I feel the need to mention.

First on my mind are the Democratic presidential candidates who have decided that they are against democracy:

Five Democratic hopefuls pull names off Michigan ballot

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

October 10, 2007

WASHINGTON - Five Democratic presidential contenders yesterday yanked their names off the Michigan ballot, delivering a group snub to a state feuding with the national Democratic Party over its decision to move its primary to mid-January in violation of party rules.

The removals reinforce the authority of the Democratic National Committee to impose order on a tumultuous campaign in which dozens of states have pushed up their nominating contests in hopes of attracting more money and attention from the presidential candidates. The DNC has threatened to unseat the delegates of states that defy the primary rules set by the party.

The candidates' decisions provide a symbolic boost for New Hampshire, which is anxiously trying to protect its historic status as host of the first-in-the-nation primary. DNC rules allow for early contests in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada, but Michigan and Florida defied the DNC by scheduling their primaries for Jan. 15 and Jan. 29, respectively.

[...]Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware - joined by John Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, and Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio - declared yesterday that they would not be candidates in the state's primary. Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Chris Dodd of Connecticut - who, like all of the Democratic candidates, have pledged not to actively campaign in the state - chose to remain on the ballot.

Congratulations to these losers: Obama, Biden, Edwards, Richardson, and Kucinich. Their stance against democracy has effectively made it much easier for me to decide who I will be voting for in the primary election because I won't be voting for any ot them.

I am not happy that Clinton and Dodd have stated that they won't campaign in Michigan, but their stance is the much lesser of two evils in this case. As an Ohioan, I will show my solidarity with Michigan (a rare thing for an Ohioan to do) by not voting for anyone who Michigan voters can't vote for.

The DNC and their anti-democratic rules can rot for all I care. They won't be getting a dime from me. My money is much better spent elsewhere like MoveOn.org or some other entity that is willing to fight for democracy and fight against an archaic and unfair system that places Iowa and New Hampshire above all other states.

By the way, before I move onto another topic, there's this article about Kucinich:

Kucinich remains on Michigan ballot after trying to withdraw

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
The Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan voters will have a choice of four candidates in the Democratic presidential primary, even though Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich tried to join four other Democrats who have decided not to be on the ballot.

[...]But Kucinich twice filed incorrect paperwork with the Michigan secretary of state's office, and had not filed a notice of withdrawal with his notarized signature by Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, said the office's spokesman, Ken Silfven.

A campaign manager first signed the paperwork, then the campaign sent in another withdrawal notice signed by Kucinich. But the signature had not been notarized as required.

Either Kucinich's staff is absent-minded or they are being very crafty by pandering to Iowa and New Hampshire while still remaining on Michigan's ballot. Either way, I am still not voting for him.

So it guess it is down to Dodd, Clinton, and Gravel for me. At this point, I am leaning towards Dodd, but Clinton or even Gravel could steal that away by coming out against the anti-democratic Iowa-and-New-Hampshire-always-go-first nomination process. (C'mon, Gravel! What have you got to lose?)

We need a national primary. Period. Anything else is a crime against democracy.

Quickly, (because I don't have a lot of time right now) here are the other things that have recently caused me to be outraged:

Dems Fail Litmus Test

The Washington Post reported today that Sen. Harry Reid ☼ has informed private-equity funds that the Senate will not be closing the obscenely inequitable tax loophole that allows mega-billionaires to be taxed at 15 percent – lower than most working Americans. Harry says there simply isn't time in the busy Senate schedule. Seriously. And the Post points out that if there isn't time in 2007, there almost certainly won't be in 2008 either – "Congress tends to be leery of tax increases in election years."

I'm sure this has nothing whatsoever to do with the private-equity firms and hedge funders putting "more than 20 lobbying firms" to work for them in the Halls of Congress. Nor is Reid's about face a sign of the Wall Street Execs "increasing their campaign donations to members of Congress." It's simply a jam-packed schedule – who has time to address the shafting of revenues for public infrastructure investment? Rebuilding the shredded social contract? funding health care, education, or new sustainable energy programs? Making up for lost revenues due to insane Bush tax cuts?

As I posted previously, this was a litmus test for Democrats – to see whether the party > is capable of truly taking a stand for working people. They have failed it. Rick Perlstein blogged today of Democratic capitulations on this issue and FISA.

Steamier Earth Likely, Due to Global Warming

John Roach
for National Geographic News

October 10, 2007

[...]Scientists expect the rising humidity to cause heavier rains, stronger hurricanes, and increased human heat stress.

[...]Climate scientists have long predicted that a warmer world will allow more water to evaporate, thus making the planet more humid.

Indeed, several studies have shown trends of increasing surface humidity around the planet, but until now scientists were uncertain what was driving the trend.

The new study combined a fresh data set of surface humidity with climate models, "and actually attribute[s] those trends to human influence," said study co-author Nathan Gillett, a climate scientist at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.

Partisanship Accusation Expanded in Alabama

By PHILIP SHENON WASHINGTON, Oct. 10

The son of Alabama’s current Republican governor boasted that a Republican judge would “hang Don Siegelman,”

Sorry, I don't have more of a quote for that last one. I can't access the link right now.

One more thing before I go, this last subject I am outraged about not because former President Carter said these things, but because not enough people are saying it with him:

Carter: US has abandoned 'basic principles of human rights'

Associated Press
Thursday October 11, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Former US president Jimmy Carter last night told CNN the US tortured prisoners in violation of international law, following an assertion last week from George Bush that the US "does not torture".
The 2002 winner of the Nobel peace prize accused Mr Bush of making up his own definition of torture and the hawkish vice president, Dick Cheney, of being a "militant".

"Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of human rights," Mr Carter told CNN.

NPR Features Bribed Pundit Armstrong Williams

Last Wednesday, NPR did a stupid thing. They let Armstrong Williams on their airwaves. They had him on the Political Junkie segment of Talk of the Nation to discuss the Republican "debate" at Morgan State University. I put "debate" in quotes because the frontrunners for the Republican presidential nomination skipped this debate. They skipped it because the debate was geared towards African-American voters and Republicans don't support African-Americans...

because African-Americans don't support Republicans...

because Republicans don't support African-Americans.

So NPR decided to have on African-American Republican Armstrong Williams. My, my, my, how quickly we forget:

From Wikipedia:

Selling the Bush Administration's "No Child Left Behind" policy

In January 2005, USA Today reported that documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that Williams had been paid $240,000 to promote the controversial No Child Left Behind Act ("NCLB") of the Bush administration. According to USA Today, Williams was hired "to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same."

As part of the agreement, Williams was required "to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts," and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004." The contract with Williams was part of a $1 million contract between the U.S. Department of Education and the public relations company, Ketchum Inc.

Melanie Sloan from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told USA Today that the contract may be illegal "because Congress has prohibited propaganda," or any sort of lobbying for programs funded by the government. "And it's propaganda," she said. Representative George Miller, a member of the House Education Committee, called the contract "a very questionable use of taxpayers' money" that is "probably illegal." Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was founded in 2001 by Melanie Sloan, a former aide to Representative John Conyers (D-MI) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).

After the USA Today revelations, Tribune Media Services terminated its syndication agreement with Williams. In a statement to Editor and Publisher (not available on its website), TMS stated: "[A]ccepting compensation in any form from an entity that serves as a subject of his weekly newspaper columns creates, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest. Under these circumstances, readers may well ask themselves if the views expressed in his columns are his own, or whether they have been purchased by a third party."

What? NPR couldn't find an African-American Republican pundit who HADN'T BEEN BRIBED to promote a Bush policy?

I know there aren't a lot of African-American Republicans, but come on. Having on Armstrong Williams is completely disrespectful to African-Americans, pundits, and the NPR audience (but completely typical of Bush Republicans).

Iraq Confronts Evil Blackwater

It is one of many sins in the long list of crimes against humanity that Bush has committed in his illegal war. The use of private mercenary forces that have no accountablity for the people they kill or harm is one of the more horrendous aspects of Bush's criminality.

Finally, it looks like Iraq is doing something about groups like Blackwater. It is a sad state of affairs that a country that barely has it together has to do this for us:

What happens to private contractors who kill Iraqis? Maybe nothing

Blackwater USA employees are accused of killing several civilians, but there might not be anyone with the authority to prosecute them.

By Alex Koppelman and Mark Benjamin

An incident this past weekend in which employees of Blackwater USA, a private security firm that has become controversial for its extensive role in the war in Iraq, allegedly opened fire on and killed several Iraqis seems to be the last straw for Iraqi tolerance of the company. Iraqi government officials have promised action, including but not limited to the suspension or outright revocation of the company's license to operate in Iraq.

But pulling Blackwater's license may be all the Iraqis can do. Should any Iraqis ever seek redress for the deaths of the civilians in a criminal court, they will be out of luck. Because of an order promulgated by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the now-defunct American occupation government, there appears to be almost no chance that the contractors involved would be, or could be, successfully prosecuted in any court in Iraq. CPA Order 17 says private contractors working for the U.S. or coalition governments in Iraq are not subject to Iraqi law. Should any attempt be made to prosecute Blackwater in the United States, meanwhile, it's not clear what law, if any, applies.

Of course, not paying for crimes and escaping justice is all part of the Bush plan for himself, Scooter Libby, his administration, and Blackwater. If this world has any sense of justice, all of them will see the inside a jail cell for 20 years or more.

Director of National Intelligence Lied To Congress

He the Director of National Intelligence, but I don't think that lying to Congress is a very intelligent idea. Plus, it's against the law.

Steve Benen at The Carpetbagger Report wrote about it:

When the Director of National Intelligence lies to the Senate

On Monday, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on recent changes to the FISA law, which the Bush administration has insisted were necessary to keep Americans safe. In defending the law, McConnell seems to have lied to the Senate. Badly.

Steve Benen links to the Newsweek article about McConnell's violation of the law and public trust:

Spy Master Admits Error

In a new embarrassment for the Bush administration top spymaster, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell is withdrawing an assertion he made to Congress this week that a recently passed electronic-surveillance law helped U.S. authorities foil a major terror plot in Germany.

Benen also asks some good questions:

[...]At this point, I have a few questions. First, how does anyone expect lawmakers to negotiate policy matters with the White House in good faith when administration officials lie with impunity? Second, will there be any consequences for McConnell in light of these revelations?

And third, isn’t it against the law to lie to Congress?

To answer his last question, yes, it is against the law to lie to Congress. However, there never seems to be any consequences for breaking that law. So there seems to be no reason to stop lying to Congress.

Alberto Gonzales lied just about everytime he spoke before Congress. Gen. Petraeus lied to Congress earlier this week. Karl Rove just skips the whole process by refusing to go in the first place. It doesn't make a difference. The results are the same: no consequences.

Congress needs to start acting like an equal branch of government and put a stop to this. I know it's a cliche, but the Democrats need to grow a spine. (At least, more of them need to grow a spine. There are some tough Democrats like Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), et cetera. We need more like them.) Democrats need to stop giving their milk money to the White House bullies, and stand up for our country, our Constitution, and all Americans. That's why we voted them into power. Now, it's time for them to keep their end of the bargain and use that power.

Net Neutrality = Free Speech

The politicized and discredited Department of Justice has come out against Net Neutraility. They might as well come out against the 1st Amendment also:

Justice Dept. Opposes Network Neutrality

Associated Press
Friday, September 7, 2007; Page D02


The Justice Department said yesterday that Internet service providers should be allowed to charge extra for priority Web traffic.

The agency told the Federal Communications Commission, which is reviewing high-speed Internet practices, that it is opposed to network neutrality, the principle that all Internet sites should be equally accessible to any Web user.

[...]The public-advocacy group Public Knowledge criticized the Justice Department filing. "It is at odds with reality for a Justice Department that approved the largest telecommunications merger in history . . . to now claim that market forces and antitrust enforcement will be able to protect the free and open Internet," the group's president and co-founder Gigi Sohn said in a written statement.

"Perhaps the Department has forgotten that many consumers have little or no choice at all for their high-speed broadband services."

Bush Knew Iraq Had No WMDs And Lied To Go To War

This news is huge, but I won't hold my breath while I wait for the traditional media to report on it.

Of course, it isn't really news to those of us on the left who have been saying this all along, but this reinforces our stance that Bush lied us into the war in Iraq. If he had any decency, Bush would resign for this, but since he doesn't, we should impeach him and prosecute him for the war criminal he is.

A diary by Chomskyface called "Bush Knew There Were No WMDs BEFORE Iraq War - New Salon Piece" on DailyKos.com first made me aware of this article on Salon.com:

Bush knew Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction

Salon exclusive: Two former CIA officers say the president squelched top-secret intelligence, and a briefing by George Tenet, months before invading Iraq.

By Sidney Blumenthal

Sept. 6, 2007 | On Sept. 18, 2002, CIA director George Tenet briefed President Bush in the Oval Office on top-secret intelligence that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, according to two former senior CIA officers. Bush dismissed as worthless this information from the Iraqi foreign minister, a member of Saddam's inner circle, although it turned out to be accurate in every detail. Tenet never brought it up again.

Nor was the intelligence included in the National Intelligence Estimate of October 2002, which stated categorically that Iraq possessed WMD. No one in Congress was aware of the secret intelligence that Saddam had no WMD as the House of Representatives and the Senate voted, a week after the submission of the NIE, on the Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq. The information, moreover, was not circulated within the CIA among those agents involved in operations to prove whether Saddam had WMD.

Read the whole article, and tell your friends and family about it. If they aren't outraged, then they aren't paying attention.

Culture Of Corruption Continues

The 2006 elections didn't end the Republican culture of corruption. The investigations continue:

Doolittle Aides Subpoenaed in Probe

By ERICA WERNER – 17 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of GOP Rep. John Doolittle's top aides have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating ties between Doolittle, his wife and jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia were issued to Chief of Staff Ron Rogers and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Blankenburg. They were announced on the House floor as Congress returned from its August recess Tuesday after the aides informed the House speaker about the subpoenas, as required under House rules.

Doolittle is under investigation. As is Ted Stevens (R-AK):

Contracts, ties to Stevens probed

By Erika Bolstad and Greg Gordon
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating the National Science Foundation's award of $170 million in contracts to the oil-field-services company that oversaw renovations on Sen. Ted Stevens' home, an NSF spokesman said Wednesday.

Veco won a five-year NSF contract in 1999 to provide logistics and support for polar research, although it had no previous experience in that field. During the same time period, Veco's top executive managed renovations that doubled the size of the longtime Republican senator's Girdwood, Alaska, home — the scene of a July 30 FBI search.

Then there is Sen. Vitter's (R-LA) ties to the DC Madam, and Sen. Craig's (R-ID) ties to soliciting an undercover police officer for sex. Other GOP Senators are demanding Craig's resignation, but are pretty quiet about Vitter. That hypocrisy is due to the homosexual nature of Craig's crime. Both Vitter and Craig have admitted to doing something illegal, but the GOP wants Craig to resign because of their wanton bigotry and blatant hypocrisy. I can't figure out if they are too stupid to realize this absurd double standard or too amoral to care.

Regardless, there you have it. The culture of corruption continues, and now that the Democrats are in control of Congress they appear to be too spineless to do anything about it... or about our occupation of Iraq... or about global warming... or about illegal, warrant-less wiretapping... or about a presidential administration usurping power and increasing corruption more than any administration before it... or about much of anything.

I'm glad the Democrats are in control because at least they aren't as bad as the Republicans were for the past decade, but the Dems are still allowing too much to slip by in the form of inaction or caving to pressure. That they allowed the Bush FISA bill to pass is unforgivable. That they allowed the Leslie Southwick nomination past the Senate Judiciary committee is horrific and awful.

The culture of corruption continues, and whether the politicians are guilty of being directly involved with it or guilty of inaction toward shutting it down, the fight goes on. It was a big feat getting the Democrats in control of Congress, but it has become clear to me that it was not enough. We need to continue to set goals that improve upon past accomplishments.

Jonathan Singer at MyDD.com set a goal to elect More, Better Democrats. I would like to set a similar goal to elect more liberals and progressives who have the resolve to end the culture of corruption, stand up for their beliefs, counter the neo-con insanity, get our troops out of Iraq, fight global warming, and work toward single-payer universal healthcare for this country.

I had some hope that when the Democrats took control of congress in January 2007, that there would be some relief from the constant barrage of reasons to fight for a better America. I was wrong.

The Democrats Betray Us

Capitulation.

Capitulation and betrayal, that is what the Democrats have given us, capitualion to the Bush administration and betrayal to the American people.

I really had hope for the first time in a long time when the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in last year's elections.

Now that hope is gone:

U.S. Congress yields to Bush to pass spying bill

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Congress yielded to President George W. Bush on Saturday and approved legislation to temporarily expand the government's power to conduct electronic surveillance without a court order in tracking foreign suspects.

Civil liberties groups charged the measure would create a broad net that would sweep up law-abiding U.S. citizens. But the House of Representatives gave its concurrence to the bill, 227-183, a day after it won Senate approval, 60-28.

What was all our work for? Why did we work so hard to elect Democrats into power? I worked to get friends and family members to vote for Democrats, to get them majority control of Congress, because I believed that surely the Democrats would fight to protect the Constitution and our civil rights.

I was wrong.

I feel so hurt and betrayed by this traitorous action. I don't know if I will get over it by the next election. The problem is: if neither Republicans nor Democrats will stand up for the Constitution and our civil rights, who will?

I thought that after the 2006 elections, that this long, national nightmare of rule under the Bush regime would soon be over. I thought that the Bush administration would have to pay for their crimes, and America would see a rebirth of the idea that no man, not even the president, is above the law.

Now, Congress has moved to legalize the crimes of the Bush administration. I have lost all hope. I have lost hope that I will see Bush and Cheney in prison. I have lost hope in my country. I have lost hope in the "Democratic-controlled" Congress. I have lost hope in humanity.

If we cannot even prevent the regression of American idealism, how can we possibly hope to be progressive? How can we possibly hope to stop global warming? How can we hope to gain universal healthcare? How can we hope to eradicate poverty? How can we hope to end pollution? How can we hope to bring peace to the Middle East? How can we hope to restore our good reputation in the world? How can we hope to end the causes of terrorism? How can we hope to restore the rule of law? How can we hope to restore the Constitution?

I'm so sick of this. I feel so sick. I am sick of myself that I dared to have any hope. I am sick that I put my trust in the Democrats to do the right thing and stand up to the evil Bush administration. Sick, sick, sick.

Gonzales Lies Again

No shock or awe from this story, but still it is good to know the Bushies don't get away with all their lies:

Report: Gonzales Knew of FBI Violations

The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 10, 2007; 2:37 AM


WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales received reports detailing legal or procedural violations by FBI agents in the months before he told senators that no such abuses had occurred, The Washington post reported Tuesday.

In April 2005, while seeking renewal of the broad powers granted law enforcement under the USA Patriot Act, Gonzales said, "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse" from the law enacted after the 9/11 terror attacks.

According to the Post, Gonzales had received a least half a dozen reports describing such violations in the three months before he made that statement. The newspaper obtained the internal FBI documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

We really need to impeach Gonzales.

An Admission That We Are In Iraq For Oil

Finally, a conservative in government admits the real reason we are still in Iraq: oil.

Of course this conservative isn't from our government:

Australia 'has Iraq oil interest'

Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has admitted that securing oil supplies is a key factor behind the presence of Australian troops in Iraq.

He said maintaining "resource security" in the Middle East was a priority.

[...]In comments to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Nelson admitted that the supply of oil had influenced Australia's strategic planning in the region.

"Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world," he said.

"Australians and all of us need to think what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq.

"It's in our interests, our security interests, to make sure that we leave the Middle East, and leave Iraq in particular, in a position of sustainable security."

There you have it, folks: A conservative admits the truth about why we are in Iraq.

It is not because we want to spread freedom or democracy. It is because the greedy men in power want oil, and they have sacrificed the blood of the innocent for that oil.

Naturally, this admission wasn't from an American conservative (I'm not going to hold my breath for that to happen), and naturally, this is something we liberals have been saying throughout this tragic debacle.

We have the capability to ween ourselves off of oil and convert to a eco-friendly energy infrastructure, but evil men in power like Bush and Cheney would rather sacrifice the lives of Americans to keep us slaves to the oil industry. They are traitors to this country, and even if they spend the rest of their lives in prison (and they should), it wouldn't be enough of a punishment for all the evil they have wrought.

Bush Stabs Justice In The Back

Bush has absolutely ZERO credibility left now. He has, once again, proved to be a national disgrace and the worst president ever:

President commutes Libby's sentence

Calls 30-month term for ex-Cheney aide 'excessive'

By Mark Silva
Washington Bureau
Published July 3, 2007


KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- President Bush, calling the prison sentence for Lewis "Scooter" Libby "harsh" and "excessive," on Monday commuted the 30-month term that had been handed to the former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney.

[...]Libby was convicted of obstruction of justice and lying to a federal grand jury in special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of the leak of a CIA operative's identity. Libby had spoken with reporters about Valerie Plame, the CIA operative whose husband, Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence in the run-up to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Libby was convicted of making conflicting statements to the federal prosecutors and the grand jury investigating the leak.

I can only hope Bush lives long enough to regret this and every other horrific mistake of his failed presidency, but I doubt that, even if he lives a thousand years, Bush will ever understand the evil and damage he has caused our nation and our world. He lacks the mental capacity.

Another Bush Administration Criminal: Griles

I cannot wait for Bush and Cheney to go to jail for their crimes, but until then, we can get some satisfaction from seeing other Bush administration criminals sentenced:

High ranking Bush administration official sentenced in lobbying scandal

WASHINGTON: A federal judge chastised a senior U.S. government official and doubled his proposed prison term to 10 months Tuesday for lying to senators in a lobbying scandal. He was the highest Bush administration official sentenced in the probe.

J. Steven Griles, the Interior Department's deputy secretary, pleaded guilty to obstructing a congressional investigation, but on Tuesday his lawyers tried to deflect blame for his faulty testimony.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle was not pleased.

"Even now you continue to minimize and try to excuse your conduct," she told Griles before doubling the five-month prison term he and prosecutors had agreed on.

Griles admitted to lying to Senate investigators about his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the central figure in a corruption investigation that has led to convictions of a former congressman, legislative aides, lobbyists and officials in the Bush administration.

Bush's Assault On The Constitution And The Law

Bush does not seem to understand what every fifth grader is taught regarding the three branches of government and the checks and balances between them:

'Signing Statements' Study Finds Administration Has Ignored Laws

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 19, 2007; Page A04

President Bush has asserted that he is not necessarily bound by the bills he signs into law, and yesterday a congressional study found multiple examples in which the administration has not complied with the requirements of the new statutes.

Bush has been criticized for his use of "signing statements," in which he invokes presidential authority to challenge provisions of legislation passed by Congress. The president has challenged a federal ban on torture, a request for data on the administration of the USA Patriot Act and numerous other assertions of congressional power. As recently as December, Bush asserted the authority to open U.S. mail without judicial warrants in a signing statement attached to a postal reform bill.

[...]The instances of noncompliance were not as dramatic as some of the signing statements that have caused the most stir, such as Bush's suggestion that he was not bound by a ban on torture in U.S. military detention facilities. But congressional aides said they were significant.

Bush is essentially rewriting laws in violation of our U.S. Constitution. Bush should be impeached, convicted, and imprisoned for this.

More White House Crimes

Add this to the list of crimes committed by the Bush administration:

Bush aides may have illegally lost e-mail, Dems say

By Andy Sullivan
Reuters
Monday, June 18, 2007; 4:34 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Karl Rove and dozens of other White House staffers appear to have illegally routed official e-mails through a Republican group that subsequently deleted them, a congressional report said on Monday.

By using Republican National Committee e-mail accounts for official business, senior White House aides may have broken a law requiring them to preserve presidential records, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said in an interim report.

Seriously, how many more crimes can they commit before the American public demands impeachment?

Problems With VA Bonuses

VA Acknowledges Problems With Bonuses

By HOPE YEN

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The VA on Tuesday acknowledged problems in its award of $3.8 million in bonuses to senior officials who put health care at risk and said it would consider changes to avoid conflicts of interest and improve oversight.

Isn't it funny how they always acknowledge problems like this AFTER the problem occurs?

Seriously, nobody considered this to be a problem beforehand?!

I am not sure that the people who did not think that these bonuses were a problem BEFORE they were given out should be in charge of an institution that is so important to our veterans. They need to be fired... now.

Schlozman On Crossing The Line

Schlozman says he never 'crossed the line' in hiring at Justice Department

By DAVE HELLING
The Kansas City Star

Former U.S. attorney and current Justice Department lawyer Bradley Schlozman says he never “crossed the line” by asking political views and affiliations of potential employees of the department.

Fortunately for us, he is not the one who decides whether he "crossed the line" or not.

William Jefferson (D-LA) Should Resign From Congress

Why?

Why did Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District re-elect William Jefferson? There was a run-off election between Jefferson and another Democrat, and the district could have voted to send the candidate who wasn't under investigation by the FBI, but no, they had to vote for Jefferson.

This is a major, MAJOR problem with American politics. Most people do not pay enough attention until things get really bad like it did with the Republican corruption during their twelve year reign in Congress. That is part of the reason the Democrats were voted into majority control of Congress in 2006. We cleaned up some of the corruption by doing so, but we still need to finish the job regardless of party affiliation. It looks like Congress is heading in that direction by getting the House Ethics Committee involved now that Jefferson has been indicted:

House Approves Speedy Jefferson Probe

The House ordered a speedy internal investigation that could oust indicted Rep. William J. Jefferson from Congress before his bribery trial.


Mindful of anti-corruption sentiment among voters last November, the House passed two resolutions Tuesday that require the ethics committee to investigate charges more quickly than in the past.


Jefferson, meanwhile, resigned his seat on the Small Business Committee in response to his indictment on federal charges of taking more than $500,000 in bribes. Democrats already had moved to take that seat from him. Jefferson admitted no wrongdoing.

I know that, in our country, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, but I have noticed a trend of late regarding indicted members of Congress. The trend follows the pattern of investigation, proclaimed innocence, indictment, resignation from House committee while proclaiming innocence, conviction, and finally, resignation from Congress with apology for crimes they committed. This was the case with Bob Ney and Duke Cunningham. They kept denying and denying and denying, for months, that they are guilty, then all of a sudden, almost overnight, they admit that they were guilty all along.

I wish that we could skip all that with Jefferson. If he is guilty, he should resign from Congress now yesterday, plead guilty, and stop wasting our time. We should not have to endure this prolonged process every time a member of Congress gets caught being corrupt. Additionally, if we do go through this process and Jefferson is found guilty, Jefferson will be a tool of the Right to counter our claim that we are fighting corruption in Congress. In fact, they are already using him to do just that.

If Jefferson is guilty, (and considering the trend, the fact that he was hiding money in his freezer, and that some of his former aides have already pleaded guilty, he probably is guilty) after doing so many things wrong, he should do the right thing and end this now.

Paul Wolfowitz Scandal

I would write something about the Paul Wolfowitz scandal, but I could not possibly do a better job than this post on DailyKos:

Sex, Lies, and Wolfowitz

by Devilstower
Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 07:23:39 AM PDT
Even the most hackneyed of Hollywood schlockmeisters wouldn't dare to reuse a plot so often. Iraq. Katrina. The story is always the same. It starts with some vaguely formed plan that, while it may be packed in words we usually think of as good (freedom, democracy, etc.) lacks any real substance or detail. Said plan is then executed with blind arrogance, and a stiff-necked insistence that reality must be ignored until it can be made to conform with the goals. And while the rest of the world is forced to smash its nose against the fantasy, those in charge bumble on with the confidence that their vision is so innately superior that they can act as they will.

No one executes this script like Paul Wolfowitz. As the chief architect of Iraq policy, Wolfowitz was "certain we will be greeted as liberators." His plan called for us to march along flower-strewn streets wearing crowns of laurel leaves, watch as Iraqi's renamed their capital Georgebushdad, and ride the tidal wave of freedom that would sweep the Middle East. Funny thing is, that's still the plan. One of the core concepts of any neocon fantasy is that if at first you fail, just keep putting more people in harm's way until the bad guys tire of killing them. 100,000 U.S. casualties, maybe a million dead Iraqis. Then comes the flowers, just you wait and see.

After failing upward into the leadership of the World Bank, Wolfowitz launched a crusade against corruption.

The rest of the post goes on to dissect the neo-con way of thinking and how Wolfowitz abused his power to benefit his girlfriend.

[...]Having secured for his girlfriend a job at the State Department where the World Bank treated her to a $193,000 tax free salary (which is, by the way, greater than that of Condoleezza Rice), Wolfowitz's credentials as a fighter of corruption are now on par with Kim Jung Il's bona fides for pushing democracy.

He's followed the neocon script to the letter. Launch a quixotic but laudable-sounding quest, disregard how your actions may be harming the people you are supposedly helping, and demonstrate your disdain for the rules as they apply to yourself. Truly, nobody does it better.

I strongly recommend reading the whole post. ThinkProgress.org also has some good stories on Wolfowitz.

And can I just mention how much it sickens me that Wolfowitz got his girlfriend a raise of over $60,000 (from $132,660 to $193,590 tax free). I wish I could make $60,000 a year, but this woman got a raise of $60,000! That's almost a 46% raise! I am not gay nor am I remotely attracted to Wolfowitz, but I can understand why it would be tempting to date him.