CIA or Cheney in a World of Trouble

Just for argument sake it is safe to say that what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas when it comes to personal entertainment. In the same respects, what happens at the CIA should stay at the CIA no matter who or what political party is in power. Currently, the U.S. Attorney General is opening an investigation into what happened with interrogations of enemies of the United States of America during the Bush Presidency. That would include the CIA and anyone that gave orders to the CIA to do that funky stuff that we could only hope that never could happen to you or I. That means looking into interoggation techniques used on people that would kill you or me in a heartbeat if given a knife, gun, rusty piece of steel pipe or whatever weapon their hands could reach. They don’t need a reason to kill you or I other than the fact that our birth certificate makes you and I an American citizen. Open and shut case or argument.

Eric H. Holder Jr. is putting his dogs on the scent of a suspected crime against American values and laws during the Bush administration and that is his job. If laws are broken by government employees no matter where they work, it is his obligation and the oath of office he swore to uphold to look into and investigate appropriately. That is what the U.S. Attorney General is supposed to do even if his boss, the President, suggests that he back off. Is this a case of what was decided in D.C. should have stayed in Langley, VA? Attorney General Holder appointed John Durham who by all means of the words fair and balanced is a fair and balanced investigator to find the truth of what happened when and if United States laws were broken by the CIA. This next quote is from the U.S. Attorney General himself on 8/24/09…

"Assistant United States Attorney John Durham was appointed in 2008 by then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations. During the course of that investigation, Mr. Durham has gained great familiarity with much of the information that is relevant to the matter at hand.

Accordingly, I have decided to expand his mandate to encompass this related review. Mr. Durham, who is a career prosecutor with the Department of Justice and who has assembled a strong investigative team of experienced professionals, will recommend to me whether there is sufficient predication for a full investigation into whether the law was violated in connection with the interrogation of certain detainees.” - ATTY Generals Office

I don’t see any issue with the CIA doing what they are paid and entrusted to do and that is to protect America from outside sources that can or could bring harm to our people. I do have to beg and plead with you to consider one thought to really think about concerning the article from the Washington Post and Carrie Johnson and that would be the outside CONTRACTORS that the CIA hired to do what the CIA is supposed to be trained and paid to do.

You hire a contractor to put an addition on your house, or rewire your house, or landscape your yard. Hell even businesses hire contractors to put a new roof on the building. When did the government outsource interrogation of possible enemies of the United States to a freakin’ outside contractor? What the hell are we paying the CIA for if we can just go to the Yellow Pages and dial up terrorist interrogators? Maybe even get a discount coupon for twenty or more people needing to be interrogated?

The truth needs to come out just like Dick Cheney wants to tell the world in his new book that his boss was a wimp and he was the real Czar on terrorist defense. History is funny and I’m thinking that my friends on the right side of politics may have been right. President Bush may not have been the dick (Cheney) after all.

Bring on the special prosecutor! It will be extremely interesting to see how far up the chain of command that the thought of our laws actually have no meaning. In the rear view mirror and looking at this situation, the CIA shouldn't be put on trial for following orders from a civilian government. Following orders at the CIA from the boss is no different than a Marine told to charge ahead in battle. Same mission, just a different objective. You do what you are told and that is what you do. The ones needing to be prosecuted are the people that said "No Matter What It Takes!"

Papamoka

Obama Changes Position On Torture Prosecution

I should start off this post that I am a firm believer that those that endorsed torture during the Bush AKA I’m really the President Cheney administration deserve no respect or gratitude from any American citizen. We live in a land of laws, and in those laws are protections of not only our citizens but our enemies. Believing in our nation comes with a price and that price is full respect of the law that we not only pass in this nation but laws we agree to as a nation with the rest of the world. That can get complicated but Prisoners Of War, POW’s, deserve fair treatment from every nation in the world. That may first sound ridiculous but how many Vietnam POW’s do you know that faced horrible torture? Just ask John McCain while he isn’t on the campaign trail on his true feelings and thoughts on torture.

President Obama today stated that he is now open to the justice department looking into prosecuting the people that authorized torture under the guise of US Government protection of America. With limitations? Over at MSNBC they have this video with President Obama explaining his change in position when it comes to prosecuting anyone involved with torture…

Video Link

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Freedom comes with a price, and that price is an understanding of what is right and what is wrong. It’s called the law of the land. In respect to President Bush and what part he and his co-horts played in this torture debate, I have to honestly think they deserve a full Presidential pardon from President Obama. President Bush swore to respect and defend America as best he could and that is what he did. He dropped the ball on respecting America but he did in fact defend America to the best of his sometimes incompetent abilities. How Bush defended America after 9/11 is up to historians to decide and not for lawyers, prosecutors, and courts to decide. An American President swears to defend America first above all else, how he or eventually she does that is for them to decide. I'm pretty sure that this Liberal is extemely controversial on this issue in asking for a pardon for President Bush. Screw Cheney though!

As for Dick Cheney, former Vice President, all of his talk on the networks is turning the tide of many moderates that used to be in the Republican Party against the Republican Party. People that have sons and daughters in the military want to know that if our government endorses torture, which Cheney denied originally, will not have their sons and daughters tortured. Parents want to know for sure that our sons and daughters will not face the same forms of torture today or in the future if their children serve proudly in America’s military. Any argument Cheney gives defending torture is an argument that has no weight to it. Go back to your hidey hole in Wyoming Dick and shut the hell up! America has grown up since the days of we must live in fear forever after 9/11. It just isn’t in our blood to do so.

The world is a much smaller place than it used to be and we need to work with our friends in the world to make it a better place to live, if not just for today but for decades to come.

Papamoka

Republican Slight of Hand

Hello Papamoka Readers! The news lately has been filled with both Republicans and Democrats screaming bloody murder over the completely unjust bonuses being paid by AIG. I agree there have been lots of mistakes made and that everything should be done to stop those payments, however, I also believe the right wing is driving the scandal to distract from the more important reforms.

Republicans haven't had a lot to crow about lately, so they're thrilled the Democrats dropped the ball involving something as controversial as bonus payouts to failing Wall Street bankers. Sure, AIG under the Obama Administration should have seen this coming, but it's still a GOP distraction.

The GOP operatives pushing this scandal are only interested in political gain. It's a scandal within a scandal. They are conveniently ignoring the fact that Bush and Paulson paid the first installment without any congressional involvement and without excluding bonuses the same way, because they too were afraid of employee lawsuits. Subsequent Capitol Hill and Treasury negotiators were also concerned about employee lawsuits. They were worried about increasing liabilities, something lawmakers care a lot about these days. They all had bigger fish to fry.

That's at the heart of the matter, yet nobody seems to have the balls to talk about it. It's all about politics now, and the Republican spin machine is doing its best to strum the last Democratic nerve. The only thing the Republicans are concerned about is a "gotcha" moment, and the Democrats on Capitol Hill are falling for it all hook, line and sinker. Only President Obama has had the nerve to take responsibility while asking us to focus on the big picture. I agree with him. Let's do it!

The AIG Financial Products Corporation, which is now being dismantled by government appointed executives, is the real scandal. The bonuses are horrible, but the real story is why the financial products division of AIG ever came into existence. Let's not forget the regulatory changes led by Senator Phil Gramm of Texas, Newt Gingrich, and the rest of the Republican Congress during the waning days of the Clinton Administration started this national nightmare. They know it, but for some reason rank and file Republicans ignore it, and average Americans never talk about it.

Sure, Clinton signed it under extreme pressure, and he was wrong to do it, but the real culprits were the Republicans who destroyed the walls that stood between banks, speculative investment brokerage firms, insurance companies, and the rest. Those protections were put in place after things went horribly wrong during the last Republican depression. They were designed to manage greed, PROTECT the free market from its darker side, and in the end keep the wolves out of the hen house. It was the REPUBLICANS WHO DESTROYED IT!

Of course, their deregulation was made worse by the fact that regulators were undermined by the Bush Administration. Oversight was weak at best. The Bush Administration was without a doubt a REACTIVE regulator. They didn't believe in the protections. They didn't do their job. I don't care what my right wing readers say, the Bush Administration could have done more to prevent the crisis. They had the data, they knew about AIG and the $50 TRILLION plus DERIVATIVES market, and they knew about the risk to the whole economy. They did NOTHING! They were at least negligent, and at worst conspiratorial.

My dinner party debates always feature a Republican blaming Congressman Barney Frank, Senator Christopher Dodd, and the usual Democrats for not reigning in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. What they never admit is how the Bush Administration had the authority, through dozens of regulatory agencies, to reign in the risk across the board. Many economists feel that most administrations would have done so. It was the Bush Administration, along with the Republican belief in small and unobtrusive government, that failed the American people.

Therefore, let's be angry about the greed on Wall Street, but I think it's more important to keep our eyes on the prize. Let's make sure the Democrats and the Obama Administration do everything necessary to reverse the regulatory changes that allowed the Bush Administration to look the other way. Let's FORCE future Republicans to regulate the risk by creating strong and principled new laws.

Let's reform until we can't reform any more. AIG is the critical patient that needs to be isolated and treated, but it's the Republicans and their broken philosophies about government and the market that represent the deadly contagion. Let's find a vaccine and a cure! Let's make sure we never become victims of their greed and stupidity again.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

US and Mexico Need to Find a New Way

Good Morning Readers! I thought I might be a little less angry today - compared to yesterday's rant - by discussing a topic and taking a position that may shock some of you, at least those who consider me a radical, Republican-Bush-hating menace to society. Believe it or not, I plan to defend a program created by the Bush Administration, and one that unions despise. I know, it shocks me too.

It involves the right of Mexican trucks to enter the United States. The program started under the Bush Administration and was bitterly opposed by many Democratic lawmakers and by the Teamsters Union. Lawmakers are preparing to cut off the money for the one and a half year-old pilot program that opened the way for up to 500 Mexican trucks from 100 operators to drive deeper into the United States.

Originally the U.S. has allowed only a few Mexican trucks to drive beyond a southern border buffer zone, although it agreed under the Clinton Administration, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, to allow Mexican trucks full access to U.S. roadways beginning in 1995. As far as I can tell from my research, Mexico allowed the same access for U. S. truckers. Fair is fair! President Clinton negotiated and signed the agreement, and unless they start to pick and choose NAFTA clauses too, it's up to us to keep it. Congress, especially Democrats, must give in on this one. Mexico can take retaliatory action by placing very expensive tariffs on U.S. goods.

Who knew, but after Congress announced its intention to kill the program last week, Mexico said it would increase tariffs on 90 industrial and agricultural goods, likely to include politically sensitive farm products. John Deere and the rest of agricultural America are already hanging by a thread. Congress can be so stupid some times.

You see, Mexico was smart and thought ahead by obtaining a judicial ruling in 2001 under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allowing it to impose sanctions, so Congress is playing with fire - an especially hot fire during this horrible JOB KILLING recession. How can you weigh the Teamsters against the farm workers? It doesn't work that way. We have to find a better solution.

We cannot afford sanctions from one of our LARGEST TRADING PARTNERS at this time! It's too risky for rural America. Thousands of jobs are at risk. (Btw, screw you Republicans who accuse me of being a West Coast elitist. I do care about the red states too, even if they don't know how to vote properly.)

The sanctions, which Mexican officials say are set to be imposed later this week, will be one of the largest acts of retaliation against US exports. US goods exports to Mexico totalled $151.5 BILLION last year. On Monday, Gerardo Ruíz Mateos, Mexico’s economy minister, said: “We believe that the action taken by the US is wrong, protectionist and in clear violation of NAFTA.”

The White House and U.S. trade representatives are supposedly examining all possible options, but but that won't help keep American JOBS when the Mexicans decide to make good on their threat. The only option is for Democrats to tell the unions that farm jobs are important too, and that sometimes one union has to BACK DOWN and try to solve this problem in a more creative win-win fashion - such as help the Mexicans improve their trucking industry, or negotiate benefits for our truckers in Mexico. There must be a better solution.

The Senate is considering a $410 billion House-passed spending bill that halts funding for the Mexican truck program. Two years ago, the Senate voted 74-24 to cut off the program's funding. Voting with the majority at the time were Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Interestingly, now that George Bush is gone, Senate Republicans don't even plan to continue supporting the program. It makes you wonder whether they only supported the program to get the Hispanic vote in the first place - I assume they had the Southern trucker vote in the bag. That would be my guess. They're hard to figure out when it comes to this issue. They hate unions, yet they also don't like the idea of Mexican truckers taking American jobs. They're sort of schizophrenic on this one. Border state Republican nut job Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, who tried to keep the money flowing in 2007 on behalf of George Bush, is now giving up and moving on.

The really weird open question for me involves the union claim that Mexican trucks are unsafe. The unions are claiming that most Mexican trucks entering the US are run by so-called “drayage” operations that use older vehicles more likely to fail inspection tests. Scary, especially on wet roads!

However, it's still an open, and political, question because a study funded by the US Department of Transportation - under George "he lies too easily" Bush found that when comparing like with like, Mexican trucks were often safer than their US counterparts. Can we trust that report? My gut tells me no, but who knows. US trucks are run ragged and can look pretty rough sometimes. Regardless, the issue of truck safety is important and should still be resolved.

The Mexicans have been extraordinarily patient on this issue, and I think we need to address it for the good of the economy, for the Mexican and American worker, for the safety of American roads, and to stop a ridiculous new trade war. President Obama and Democratic leaders should come up with a big picture solution fast, and stop this before it gets any worse. They are our neighbors, our friends, and they deserve a reasonable solution.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

The Republican "Patriots" Who Stole Billions from America

Good Morning Papamoka Readers! It's conspicuous by its absence in the media, but the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Army's criminal Investigation Command and the Justice Department NOW BELIEVE people in the US military and those in the BUSH Administration stole billions in cash that was sent to Iraq on pallets for reconstruction shortly after the fall of Saddam.

They're reporting that US military personnel and Bush appointees may have intentionally misspent or pocketed over $50 billion in American taxpayer dollars. $50 BILLION! That far exceeds the scope of the Wall Street bailout theft, making it potentially the "greatest fraud in US history."

They report the money is simply unaccounted for because many of the contractors and sub-contractors simply disappeared. They haven't been able to track it down! It's an INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF MONEY - enough money to bailout every broken state and local government in the US, and it's GONE!

What can we - the law abiding citizens of this nation - say except thank you once again to our Republican friends who SUPPORTED and STILL SUPPORT some of the greatest thieves in US history. George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the whole CORRUPT bunch of lying, scheming, scummy "patriotic" Republicans who raided the treasury over the past eight years!

What really bugs me is how ordinary Republicans continue to deny that Bush and his people were involved in any war profiteering or theft. They act like the whole Bush Administration was just a victim of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances, or they blame the Iraqis. When are they going to WAKE UP and SMELL THE SCUM for who they are? When are they going to start to use the brain God gave them? It's denial on a national scale.

More and more evidence hits the news every day about how the American people were screwed, and they still deny it. Instead, they spend all their energy whining and complaining about petty issues like how our elected officials are fulfilling their campaign promises by spending our money on us - hardworking Americans. Unless something changes soon, then the majority of Americans will begin to see them as nothing but loyal Republican WHACK JOBS!

When you add this possible theft to the long list of waste and war profiteering already proven during the BUSH YEARS, the Bushies and the Republicans will undoubtedly go down as the greatest thieves in the history of the republic. Republicans like to call themselves the "party of small government" or "low taxes." What a joke! If justice prevails, they will always be the "party of crooks," as law enforcement and historians begin to prove how they stole billions, if not trillions, from the American people.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Stop Talking! It's Time to Act!

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - I'm very happy this morning to rave about how House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), is calling for a "Blue Ribbon Commission" to fully investigate the Bush administration. That is GREAT NEWS!

Conyers published a 487-page report yesterday entitled, Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the presidency of George W. Bush. I know he's not a federal prosecutor, but it's a start. In it he makes 47 recommendations "designed to restore the traditional checks and balances of our constitutional system," along with the Blue Ribbon Commission to bring Bushies to justice.

"Even after scores of hearings, investigations, and reports, we still do not have answers to some of the most fundamental questions left in the wake of Bush’s Imperial Presidency," Conyers said in a release. "Investigations are not a matter of payback or political revenge – it is our responsibility to examine what has occurred and to set an appropriate baseline of conduct for future administrations."

On January 6th, Conyers introduced a bill that, if passed, would create the "Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties," which would seek to root out President Bush's abuses. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO SUPPORT THIS BILL! IT IS VITAL TO AMERICAN JUSTICE!

So, this will be my new cause, and call to action. I will contact my representatives today, especially my Congressmen Henry Waxman, and encourage everybody who agrees with me to please do the same. This is a very serious issue. It's not a left/right issue, it's about American justice.

We need to make sure Conyers gets the support he needs, along with his allies. I will be writing more over the next few weeks to make sure we keep focused. If Obama isn't going to take action, than we need to support those who will, starting with Conyers. I will volunteer, donate, and do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to make sure the truth comes out, and justice prevails.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Obama Needs to Be More Concerned About Justice

Hello Papamoka Bloggers - I was going to write about the lack of regret shown by George - "I never made a mistake as president" - Bush at this morning's official final press conference, but something else caught my eye that made me even more upset. So, after my rant about choosing Warren to speak at the inaugural, I now offer my second RANT against Obama.

Unlike Republicans, we're not afraid to criticize our leaders in public.

The Internet is filled with snippets of Barack Obama's interview on ABC with George Stephanopoulos yesterday, which I missed because I do try to get away from political news in favor of a life outside on weekends. I can't believe it, but Obama said that Guantanamo Bay is not a priority for him, and even more disturbing is how he doesn't seem very concerned about the crimes committed by the Bush administration.

"We have not made final decisions, but my instinct is for us to focus on how to we make sure we're moving forward, we are doing the right thing. That doesn't mean that if somebody has blatantly broken the law that they are above the law, but my orientation is going to be moving forward," Obama said. THERE IS PLENTY OF EVIDENCE ALREADY THEY'VE BROKEN THE LAW, so what the hell is he talking about? Start talking about BRINGING THEM TO JUSTICE!

Now, I'm aware that we have an economic crisis that needs to be THE priority, but that doesn't mean that his Justice Department is unable to begin investigations into the crimes of the past eight years. The statement worries me a great deal. HE NEEDS TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY TOO.

We understood how he might have avoided the issue during the election, but what is preventing him from letting justice take its course now? NOTHING! There will be a grassroots DEMOCRATIC PARTY UPROAR if the Obama Justice Department doesn't do their job of going after the lawbreakers of the past eight years. Core constituents will be VERY ANGRY!

Numerous human rights and civil liberties groups are calling for senior Bush administration officials to be prosecuted for a series of alleged abuses, and OBAMA KNOWS IT. There are too many to list, but a few major ones include lies related to Iraq, war profiteering, the illegal detention and torture of terrorist suspects, domestic spying, destruction of White House records, lying before Congress, obstructing justice, and on and on. There are Congressional Reports that clearly state where the lawbreaking occurred, and OBAMA KNOWS IT!

Obama criticized Vice President Dick Cheney for his public defense of "extraordinary" interrogation methods used against top terrorism suspects, including waterboarding. "Vice President Cheney, I think, continues to defend what he calls extraordinary measures or procedures when it comes to interrogations and from my view waterboarding is torture," Obama said. "I have said that under my administration we will not torture."

TALK IS FINE, but they broke domestic and international laws so GO AFTER THEM AND THROW THEM IN JAIL! If you don't do it Obama, then I believe the international community should do what we're obviously too pathetic to do ourselves. Unfortunately, that would be worse, and make us look very bad.

I will do everything I can to give future President Obama every benefit of the doubt, but we elected him to do many things at the same time, and that includes restoring real justice. So fix the economy while REESTABLISHING JUSTICE in the country. WE WANT INDICTMENTS, PERP WALKS, TRIALS, and CONVICTIONS! It is not negotiable. My message to the Obama team is that justice is not optional. Do the job we hired you for, and restore the nation to its former glory. Equal justice under law is its cornerstone.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Paulson Blames World for Our Mistakes

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - Well, it looks like the conservatives are trying to spin more webs to cover their butts after the economic downturn. I must admit though, the latest is one of their best. It's just complicated enough that might cause some people to believe it.

Unfortunately for them, it's also simple enough for others to dismiss it outright. Outgoing US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is now saying that "a failure to address the rise of emerging markets and resulting imbalances was partly to blame for the global financial crisis," according to a Financial Times interview published today.

Interesting! What failures? Who failed? The interesting part is that he leaves those answers to the reader; he is VAGUE throughout the interview. You're supposed to guess. He keeps saying "global" because he wants to leave the reader with the idea that it was a global mistake, and not due to our own domestic laws or decisions. In other words, Republican decisions.

Paulson told the Financial Times that "imbalances between fast-growing nations which save, such as China, and those who spent were at the root of the problem." What a fancy way to try and make us seem like an innocent victim! Paulson, you're a piece of work. I believe you no longer have credibility. You are now part of the problem and MUST GO!

Yes, we are the nation "who spent," and it's for that reason, along with extremely unregulated and overly-complex markets, WE are the culprits. WE created the worldwide imbalances due to our own laws and policies - or lack of them.

Name another nation on the planet that allowed for derivatives markets that gambled 50+ trillion dollars based on no real assets? I challenge anybody to come up with a better example of a more out-of-control, economically irresponsible country than us? I dare you.

WE didn't have to spend; WE were encouraged to spend based on changes to our legal and economic system. It was Republican "lazy capitalism" that created markets where people were ENCOURAGED to spend; that encouraged LARGE BUBBLES to grow, and eventually POP!

We became a nation of speculation, immediate gratification, and unsustainable returns. WE created the problem. "Global imbalances" is just another conservative Republican attempt to shift the blame. It's a FREAKIN SMOKESCREEN people!

"Excesses ... built up for a long time, (with) investors looking for yield, mis-pricing risk," Paulson told the Times. That's just DOUBLETALK people! Those were OUR "EXCESSES" created by a HUGE TRADE DEFICIT with the third-world (that politicians should have addressed long ago) and Republicans eliminating regulation creating highly capitalized and RISKY markets.

It was OUR FAULT no matter what Paulson says. WE LEAD THE CHARGE FOR EXCESS, no matter what Paulson says.

I'm tired of reacting to these people. I wouldn't have responded IF he had just described the WHO and the WHY! Instead, the whole interview was one big attempt to make the "deciders" look less culpable.

THEY are to blame, and they shouldn't get off the hook. They're trying to find ANY BS EXCUSE to escape it. Any reasonably intelligent person can read Paulson's interview and see the smokescreen.

One red flag is how the theory is only supported by the same conservative economists who got us into this mess, and who are also motivated to cover their butts and save their reputations. It's just one big elaborate SPIN!

None of it makes any sense. IF we had acted responsibly as a global market player there would NOT have been excesses. Not to mention, if the markets had been safe, the "excesses" would have been safe. It's as simple as that people.

The whole idea that global imbalances caused the crisis is just another example of conservative Republicans looking for a scapegoat for their own pathetic mistakes. It's a specialty of theirs. Pass the buck comes naturally to them. In other words, they're lying sacks.

It doesn't matter how "sophisticated" the argument sounds, it's BS!

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Americans Need to Know Why This House is Important?

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - I wish I could stop writing about Bush altogether, but it appears that he keeps doing things that deserve a response from WE THE PEOPLE! This time it's about respect, or the lack of it.

Generally historians credit the Clinton/Bush transition in 2001 as being relatively smooth, especially when you consider the bad blood. The Clintons were extremely cooperative at the time, despite the bitter impeachment battle and multiple other Republican attacks. It is true there was some damage by employees, but like any office move, few transitions end without some damage.

Today's transition seemed to be going relatively smoothly, except for one very important new development: BLAIR HOUSE! The Bush family, above most others, knows that Blair House - across from the White House - is ALWAYS RESERVED for the incoming first family.

IT IS THE RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT at the time of transition. Unfortunately, it isn't this year, during this transition. The Bush family has decided to slap the Obamas in the face, forcing them to check into a hotel.

I'm sorry, the corporate media may be ignoring it, but I need to point out just how RUDE and DISRESPECTFUL the Bush family is for denying the residence. It is outrageous! The Obamas arrive in Washington this weekend and are forced to book into a hotel because the Bush Administration said the "official residence was full." OUTRAGEOUS!

For those who think I'm overreacting and think there are more important things to focus on, I would like to say that I agree with you. HOWEVER, this is IMPORTANT too. The inaugural celebrations are designed to turn a candidate into a president, and they were created as a process, and the incoming first family's residence is an important part of that process.

We might not be hearing much about it, but in Washington circles the Bush Administration has effectively thrown the new first family on the street. A hotel does not show them much respect, not to mention it offers little protection during celebrations where security risks are everywhere. They at least should have offered the Lincoln bedroom.

The President-elect traditionally prepares for the inauguration and the transition while staying at Blair House. It is the OFFICIAL government mansion, second to the White House and RESERVED for heads-of-state and incoming first families.

Obama was told to look elsewhere because the building was booked up for farewell parties and events to mark the end of the Bush administration. I must admit, it gets me VERY angry. I doubt the Obamas can do anything, but I wish they could.

I think it's important for us - or the PRESS - to find out WHO is staying at Blair House during the time the Obamas require the residence. We should CALL THEM OUT and SHAME THEM for staying, knowing the president-elect and his family need the residence.

Again, for those unconcerned, it's also worthwhile pointing out that Blair House is considered a safety zone by the Secret Service. This is a very serious breach of protocol that proves once again the lack of respect Bush has for the American people, the inaugural process, and the safety of the next president.

Wow, I'm getting tired of slamming the OFFENSIVE MORONS now living in the White House. I need Obama to take office so I can begin to focus on more important issues. Despite my misgivings, I still think it's important to document the lawbreaking, worldwide destruction, and basic lack of respect shown by the Bush Administration. They continue to offend the American people and the world, and we will ALL rejoice when they are gone.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Courts Need to Do What Congress Failed to Do

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - One of the greatest battles fought against the despicable Bush Administration and the Republicans over the past few years involved immunity for the telecoms.

Earlier this year the Bushies sought to immunize people and companies who broke the law. They were being sued by many groups because they willingly gave our private customer data to US intelligence agencies before and after 9/11 WITHOUT a warrant. My own AT&T was one of the worst corporate "snitches," but there were others. I was a big supporter of those lawsuits.

For those who weren't aware of the battle, it involved a heated Congress where many fought very hard to keep it from passing. The domestic spying bill that angered so many of us passed in July. In a bold and unprecedented move, Congress voted to kill the lawsuits and grant retroactive amnesty to any phone companies that helped with the surveillance.

American history will never the same in my opinion. It was one of Congress' darkest moments. It reminded me of the Alien and Sedition Acts before the Civil War. Unfortunately, in one his darker moments, President-elect Barack Obama was among those who voted for the law.

Other Senate Democratic TURNCOATS who made speeches in favor of the bill and Bush were Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) and my own Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA). I wrote all of them over many months and none of them gave a good answer for domestic spying or why they believed the telecoms should receive immunity for breaking the law.

So, now the battle has one last test. David Kravitz of Wired is reporting that a federal judge today in San Francisco is deciding whether to hear a case to determine if the law is constitutional. It will affect the nearly four dozen lawsuits filed by civil liberties groups and class action attorneys against AT&T, Verizon, MCI, Sprint and other carriers - they claim the cooperation violated federal wiretapping laws and the Constitution.

I think we should all keep a close eye on this case if it proceeds. Congress trashed the Constitution, so it will be interesting to see if the courts help piece it back together. I believe that a Constitutional Amendment should have been necessary to make that kind of law.

They spied on Americans WITHOUT WARRANTS guaranteed by the Constitution BEFORE AND AFTER 9/11! That is a FACT! You Republicans can argue it all you want, but there is plenty of evidence supporting it. It's even accepted by the criminals at the Bush Administration.

We are supposed to be a nation of laws, not of whatever is convenient for a particular group in power at the time. Congress FAILED us, as usual. They should have voted against that law. Diane Feinstein FAILED me.

It should not be allowed to stand. We can't write any more letters to our Senators, for that time has come and gone. All we can do is HOPE that the courts do their job. All we can do is HOPE that sanity returns to those in power again.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Bush Admin Ignored Warnings Again, Leading to More Disaster

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and weekend. It was beautiful here in Southern California. I would like to talk about a new AP story this morning that is saying the Bush administration ignored plenty of warnings that the current economic MELTDOWN was on its way.

I know many of you Republicans out there like to say that 9/11 was not the Bush Administration's fault. Most historians disagree. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Bush national security team ignored plenty of warnings from the outgoing Clinton Administration and from intelligence agencies. Many historians blame them for the disaster. It happened ON THEIR WATCH.

Now there is evidence to suggest that the Bush economic team ignored warnings of the economic disaster. According to the AP, they "backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed." They supposedly "ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown."

"The administration's blind eye to the impending crisis is emblematic of its governing philosophy, which trusted market forces and discounted the value of government intervention in the economy. Its belief ironically has ushered in the most massive government intervention since the 1930s."

If you go back to the very beginning of this blog (Our Rants & Raves), you can read some earlier posts where I give my own first-hand exposure to the type of mortgage sellers described in the AP story. I worked across the hall from one - it launched months after Bush won the office. It was obvious to anybody watching that it was a new kind of mortgage business - it was obviously predatory.

So, it appears that the Bush Administration is not only going to be known for one of the worst and most deceitful foreign policy blunders in American history, the Iraq War, but it will also be proven over time that it could have prevented TWO OF THE WORST DISASTERS EVER TO HIT THE NATION - 9/11 and the 2008 Economic Meltdown.

I hope you Republicans understand exactly how much damage you caused. You elected a MORON! I know that you never admit it, but it's true. You caused more damage in eight years than any foreign power could ever aspire to. Your success at installing that IDIOT was the worst thing to happen to this nation since the Civil War. You devastated us.

Bush keeps saying in various recent interviews discussing his "legacy" that he never compromised his principles. He's like a broken record talking about his principles. SO THE HELL WHAT? Principles are important, but there's more to being a leader.

Why doesn't he regret his JUDGEMENT? He never regrets how he ignored relevant facts and made bad decisions. The man had/has NO INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY and HORRIBLE JUDGEMENT! I challenge any of you to defend the Bush Administration. Go ahead, I dare you. This is a blog, use it!

Incredibly, your support for McCain/Palin, two more bottom-of-their-class-bottom-dwellers, shows that you haven't learned your lesson. I only hope that you learn a thing or two about governance over the next four to eight years, and abandon that unbelievable willingness to elect fools as leaders.

Hopefully the majority of Americans, especially independents and fair-minded Republicans, will realize that voting based on fear, narrow moral views, or simple passion is not enough. We must always vote for the most qualified individual. We must always try to elect the person who understands the issues, subtleties and complexities of this very complicated world. I sincerely hope we never have to suffer through this again.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Good Men Should Not Be Destroyed Over Stupid Mistakes

Good Morning Bloggers and Happy Pre-Thanksgiving - After living in NYC for a while I admit that I'm a huge fan of Eliot Spitzer, but I also admit that a Governor should not be caught paying prostitutes - big time conflict of interest on many levels.

I also agree with many of the conspiracy theorists that he was a possible victim of a Bush Administration hit job.

I think they were trying to knock him out of power. I haven't been bothering to talk about it, but I am THRILLED to see the New York Times do a piece on it. It deserves to be investigated. The Times is reporting that a congressional panel will ask why an eight month federal investigation into a prostitution service led to the exposure of Spitzer, and then pretty much disintegrated. It looked like they were out to get Spitzer? Doesn't it?

The prosecutor has said that politics played no role in the pursuit of Spitzer, but that has not satisfied many of us. Spitzer spent his career pursuing Wall Street wrongdoing, and many of us believe that he created a few grudges. Many wanted him to fall.

Even though I believe there are many pressing issues related to Bush that should be investigated, I'm still happy to hear the House Financial Services Committee will be looking into it. They plan to hold hearings that could include testimony from the United States Treasury’s law enforcement unit, along with Spitzer’s bank, North Fork, and HSBC, a bank used by a company connected to the prostitution service. I've read a lot about the issues involve, and it sounds pretty good to me.

Of course, Republicans are screaming about how the Democrats are interested in political "retribution." What the hell are they talking about? What is wrong with exposing Bush Administration witch hunts? No government should be allowed to destroy good people over small issues (like Gingrich did to Clinton, which I still think was wrong) to wipe out their power.

What if Democrats, while in power, tried to expose Republicans who sleep around or hire prostitutes, just to destroy their power base? I think that would be wrong too. Law enforcement needs to expose those situations quietly. They don't need to destroy lives, careers, and families over something that amounts to rogue behavior, or a weak constitution. People make mistakes of the "heart." Do you feel comfortable casting the first stone?

The bigger question is whether the Bushies were trying to keep him from exposing larger crimes they were committing - in New York, on Wall Street? It sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

I'll be keeping an eye on this one. I think it will come out that the Bush Administration destroyed Spitzer to keep him from exposing their own wrongdoings in the financial sector. I wonder how many lives the Bushies destroyed over the past eight years to cover their tracks? I'm sure the number's very high. Hopefully it will eventually be revealed, and justice will prevail. Well, I can hope.

We pride ourselves on giving people second chances. He did so many good things to help New York and the nation. He deserves our respect, not our derision. Think about forgiving him this Thanksgiving, and let's try to bring him back.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Did Bush/Paulson Scam Us? Were We Fooled Again?

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - Raw Story today is pointing to a letter from CONSERVATIVE Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) where he tells his Senate colleagues that he "intends to push for immediate legislation that would require Congressional authorization for any further payouts" related to the recent bailout package.

According to my sources in DC, many in Congress are beginning to believe that Bush and Paulson bailed out their friends on Wall Street, with few conditions to lend the money out. Many now feel that's all they really wanted. There are rumors flying around DC that they needed to save specific institutions and markets before leaving office.

Since investing the money they have done very little to encourage lending, and they appear to be holding on to the rest of the funds just in case something else goes wrong - an emergency buddy fund I guess? They are supposed to be freeing up credit. They were supposed to be demanding that banks lend money. What the hell is going on?

The ultra-conservative Oklahoma Republican told the Tulsa World, "It is just outrageous that the American people don't know that Congress doesn't know how much money [Paulson] has given away to anyone. ... It could be to his friends. It could be to anybody else. We don't know. There is no way of knowing. ... He was able to get this authority from Congress predicated on what he was going to do, and then he didn't do it." I agree. I'm beginning to wonder if they know anything up there. What is wrong with them?

I never thought I would say this, but I think Inhofe is right! I, like so many others, came to believe that the government was trying to stop a disaster when they passed the legislation. Facts on the ground since are showing that things weren't as bad as suspected, and if anything it's beginning to look like Bush and Paulson created the panic based on very little data.

It's beginning to look like we might have been scammed again, just like with the Iraq War - another crisis that helped Bush and his buddies. What did Bush say, fool me once shame on me, or some perverted version of it? Maybe he's not the idiot we all took him for? Maybe he's just a much bigger CROOK! Then again, we're supposed to TRUST THE PRESIDENT when he warns us of a potential disaster. I don't know about you guys, but I feel sick!

Incredibly, our trustworthy Democrats in Congress - and center-right Republicans - didn't dig deep enough. I know they convinced many of us in the end, but aren't they supposed to know more than us? Then again, maybe they're not as smart as we think they are? Maybe we rely on a bunch of smooth-talking IDIOTS!

What in the hell is wrong with this government, especially our elected representatives? Nobody seems to know what they're doing. WE NEED ANSWERS NOW!

We need to FOCUS ON STOPPING THE BUSH CRIME SYNDICATE from plundering more. We need immediate investigations! We need action now! Unless something happens, this may be the first issue where I take a stand AGAINST OBAMA! Once in office, we need President-Elect Obama to support immediate investigations into possible Bush crimes, or we should take to the streets!

The American people voted for change, and we might not be able to wait until the inauguration. The Lame Duck Congress should act now! To protect our democracy for the future, we need to get to the bottom of what is happening to that money. I hope you agree.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Bush Administration Plans More Regulatory Damage

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - The Washington Post is reporting something VERY scary this Halloween. According to the paper, the White House is "working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January."

So, they haven't done enough damage. They need to inflict lots more before they leave office. "The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms," the Post says. That's just great.

Incredibly, the paper is reporting that the new rules would "ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining." How much more of this nightmare do we have to accept from these Republican crazies? I'm freaking sick of this crap.

The really BAD PART in the article is that once the new rules take effect, "they typically can be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis." So, it will be VERY hard for us to fix the damage too.

""They want these rules to continue to have an impact long after they leave office," said Matthew Madia, a regulatory expert at OMB Watch, a nonprofit group critical of what it calls the Bush administration's penchant for deregulating in areas where industry wants more freedom. He called the coming deluge "a last-minute assault on the public . . . happening on multiple fronts.""

I don't know what to say. I'm losing my mind with these people. I guess the nightmare will continue until January 20th of next year when Obama is inaugurated. As I always say, this is another example of WHY YOU SHOULD NOT VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN!

Happy Halloween!
Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

*****Pink Granite has linked in on this post.... Thank you!

Somebody Wake FDR From the Dead!

When the banks start listing billions of losses in one quarter then it is time to say for a fact that we are in a recession. President Bush is waiting for a milk carton to actually tell him that his economy is missing. I’m going onto the Wall Street Journal and buying the White House a prescription for the next year. Maybe if the President is lining the bird cage that is his advisor on the economy lives in he might absorb through osmosis the fact that our economy is past broken.

Articles and facts like this one on Bank of America writing off $5.26 Billion is not a good sign for our economy. Higher ATM fees will not cover this kind of short fall at BOA. Maybe if they raise the fee for a bounced check to $250,000 it might help. Don’t even think about stealing one of those pens chained to the deposit slip counter. That will cost you a billion in fines and the price of your printed checks go up to $100,000 for 200 of them.

Over at the New York Times they have this on the mismanagement of Bank of America and the latest loss statement…

Profit Off 95% at Bank of America

By JULIE CRESWELL
Published: January 22, 2008

Bank of America said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 95 percent because of huge write-downs of mortgage-related securities and higher provisions for future losses in credit card and home equity loans.

Net income was $268 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with $5.26 billion, or $1.16 a share, in the period a year earlier.

Like other banking giants around the world, which have written down billions of dollars worth of mortgage-related securities as prices for those assets have plunged in recent months, Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., wrote down $5.28 billion worth of mortgage-related securities in the quarter. - NY Times

Maybe the CEO, Kenneth D. Lewis can help his bank out and take a cut in pay. Then again maybe he could go back to school and learn what banking is really all about. Share holders of Bank of America should be screaming for his resignation! Common sense is in the banks favor when you ask for a loan and apparently that was tossed to the wind at Bank of America and the full responsibility of the record loss rests solely at the CEO’s desk. Then again let’s see what kind of bonus check or stock options he gets to cash this quarter.

This will not be the first or the last large bank to write off billions and the next quarter is just three months away. Who will be stepping up to the table next to declare the bank stock crap? Meanwhile the boys in the executive lounge are selling their stock options off by the millions of shares. No guts, no faith, no glory. Shame and larger than life checking accounts not in Bank of America will be their guilt. In the end they walk away clean and the stock holders pay for it. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a banker to know when to get out from under a house on fire with tons of explosives in the basement.

Ken Lewis can retire a rich man or he could pop up somewhere else where all of the bankers move over one chair. I’d prefer that he be prosecuted for negligence but the current White House and the Congress have no teeth. From the banking industry will come the largest OOOPS since the savings and loan crisis. Past mistakes of Kenny Lewis will be forgotten and the opportunity of screwing the customer that more provocative somewhere else will open up. One thing is certain, there is no bank in America that can just write off these kind of losses without paying it forward to the consumer.

Bank of America will survive simply because they are so huge but all the small town banks that invested in home loan bundles will have a vast difference of outcome. Huge difference!

This all comes down to a free market without rules and regulations that are adhered too. If the money was there to be raped and pillaged then guys like Ken Lewis did it and his reward for doing it is much the same as many businesses across our nation. Huge pay checks for screwing the nation over was good for him and bad for you. Long term repercussions just didn’t figure into the bonus checks. Check cashed, where is the opportunity to get the next big check is all that they looked at.

Tar and feathering should make a come back and we should start with the sell out of America on Wall Street! The street lined with gold if you can afford the entrance fee. Middle class and poor need not apply you disgusting infidels of America.

Common sense is not dead, it just has no place in the board room of corporate America.

Papamoka

Feel free to link to or borrow this post...

Cross posted on Michaellinnjones.com

*****Wall Street Journal Online has linked to this post...

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Great Depression, Recession, economy, elections 08, Bank of America, stock holders, Ken Lewis, corporate responibility, housing market, mortgage, foreclosure, bad loans, mortgage lenders, ceo, economics, signs of recession

Now It’s Working

The post featured below is from my newest friend BJ from South Carolina. She is a former Newspaper Editor and her political opinion writing can be found at I See My Dreams. Not many people can write like she does and I was so glad that she allowed me to cross post “Now, it’s working…” here at Papamoka Straight Talk. Thank you BJ!

Now, it's working ...

There’s a joke in upstate South Carolina about two Clemson University students riding around campus. The driver pulls over and asks his buddy to get out and tell him if his right blinker is working. The buddy yells back to the driver, “Now, it’s working; now, it’s not; now, it’s working, now it’s not.”

So, is the so-called U.S. troop “surge” in Iraq working – or not?

Can the surge be working when armed U.S. troops celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in the heart of a Muslim country?

Can the surge be working when a single American soldier looks into the camera and wishes his family “Happy Holidays” with tears running down his cheeks?

Can the surge be working when there are those who would have the United States become a fundamentalist theocracy while our soldiers are dying to prevent one in a Muslim country?

Can the surge be working when U.S. troops are fighting to liberate Iraqis from years of tyranny while the Bush administration has systematically chipped away at our own freedoms here?

Can the surge be working when major Iraqi factions cannot exist in harmony, and there are, quite literally, "warring" factions right here in America?

Can the surge be working as long as the neoconservatives who have shaped this administration’s foreign policy are building the world’s largest foreign embassy – a virtual fortress – in Baghdad with plans for a U.S. presence and U.S. bases protecting Iraq’s oil reserves for the unforeseeable future?

And, finally, you are hearing that the surge is working militarily, if not in terms of a successful Iraqi government. Is this true?

Examine six periods of this almost five-year war in terms of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, verified by the DoD:

20 March 2003 through 1 May 2003 (end of major combat operations): 140 in 43 days

2 May 2003 through 28 June 2004 (sovereignty turned over to Iraq): 718 in 424 days

29 June 2004 through 30 January 2005 (Iraq elections): 580 in 216 days

31 January 2005 through 14 December 2005 (Iraq general elections): 715 in 318 days

15 December 2005 through 31 January 2007: 933 in 412 days

Beginning of the surge – 1 February 2007 to date: 811 in 328 days

Total deaths: 3,897 U.S. troops (Total coalition: UK, 174; other, 133)

Check out I See My Dreams for other great posts by BJ…

Papamoka

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THE PATRAEUS/BUSH REPORT: A GRAIN OF SALT, PLEASE

Written by Michael Linn Jones

One cannot but notice the giant bubble quickly rising to the poltical surface in the form of the "Patraeus Report" due shortly. General Patraeus is to ascertain what effects the "surge" has had on the Iraqi mess.

There seems to be two basic lines of thought. One is that the report will have Gen. Patraeus' name on it but actually written by the White House. Therefore it is a sham before anything is printed.

The other approach seems to say that the surge is a huge success and that the general's report is superfluous; Kaite Couric can walk around a market and announce that everything has "improved" since....well, it was her first trip but she has to say something for $15 million a year.

What strikes me is the lack of analysis based upon common sense, rather than political wishful thinking. I am sure that with increased troop strength that many areas in Iraq are more "stable," as in less overt violence. This is testimony to the concept that the more troops we have there the greater control we (the U.S.) will exert upon everyone, including insurgents.

The problem with this is that one can extrapolate that here is a solid case for instituting a draft, raising the troop level in the armed forces considerably, and properly holding the hands of the Iraqis for decades. That would mean forcing young Americans to do something they don't want to do. It would also require more of the American population to sacrifice, in that paying for the war...really paying for the war will mean less money for consumer items. Yes, as horrible as it sounds, war interrupts lives. Or it's supposed to.

Since Vietnam there has been a silent compact between the American people and its government. Have any conflict you want, just make sure there's lots of "oohs" and "aahs" from great video footage, and it's over in less than a month.
The Iraqi conflict has violated that compact. I won't argue with anyone that a bunch of idiots got our nation involved in this, but warfare is also like a barbed arrow. You can't just pull it out without inflicting even more damage than it made going in.

The Patraeus Report cannot tell Congress the truth about one thing: American armed forces are burdened with the impossible task of permanently policing an entire nation afterhaving fulfilled its military mission within six weeks. Using the military to maintain civil order is like shoveling sand with a pitchfork.

What is needed is a firm committment by the Iraqi government (whoever they turn out to be) and the people it represents to take the training wheels off themselves.
Also, please spare me the "democracy" hub-bub. We are not concerned with democracy in China or Russia, or a lot of other places. Some areas of the world seem allergic to democracy, and Iraq is one big rash.

In the end, the Patraeus Report will do no more than once again place the mantle of Iraqi responsibility upon the U.S. military. Oddly, and sadly, the accounting to the families of our men and women in uniform in Iraq, those, living, wounded, or dead, must come not from Washington, but Baghdad.

The silence so far is deafening, if not offensive.

Michael Linn Jones
*****************************
This post also at Michael Linn Jones.com

*****Mr. Deal has linked to this post...

WHY NOT JUST NOMINATE HEDLEY LAMARR AS A.G.?

This CNN story, Bush: Gonzales' 'good name dragged through the mud'gives a glimpse into the bizarro world of the Bush administration.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Monday said he reluctantly accepted the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose "good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons."
After months of standing by his top prosecutor and "close friend," Bush spoke briefly in Texas to praise Gonzales, saying the attorney general endured "unfair treatment that has created harmful distraction at the Justice Department."
Bush said it's "sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person" is impeded "from doing important work."

While we're getting all ripped up about honorable people being impeded from doing important work...anybody ever heard of Valerie Plame? John McCain and John Kerry had THEIR names dragged through the mud by...somebody. It's hard to remember much any more what with all these rats leaving a sinking ship.

I just find it absurd for a president whose entire agenda has depended upon smear and fear and mud-slinging to be upset that his own tactics are used against him. I'm not going to say that Alberto Gonzales is an amoral robot without any scruples. I will say that like many in this administration, he placed loyalty to a man above his loyalty to an oath.

It's happened before....and with Democrats, too. But it makes it no more palatable that it is so. Whether Republican or Democrat; liberal or conservative, this nation deserves a LOT more than what it has received from George W. Bush and those loyal to him, and him only.

The idiotic genius of Karl Rove was his use of the smear long after a campaign ended. For, in the Bush years the campaign never really ended. Each day was a further advance of the offensive, common sense and the constitution be damned.

So I wouldn't be shocked if Hedley Lamarr, the egomaniacal and ruthless attorney general in BLAZING SADDLES had his name put forth to replace Mr. Gonzales.

But then, maybe not. Hedley would be too tame for this outfit.

Michael Linn Jones

Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones... an amazing read!