THE LONG DARK ROAD
by Malik Isasis
Recently, eight federal prosecutors were fired from their posts by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales due to ‘performance-related issues.’
The nation's 94 U.S. attorneys, the chief federal prosecutors in their respective cities or geographic regions, are generally appointed at the beginning of a president's term, and barring serious misconduct, serve until the end of his tenure or until they choose to leave voluntarily.
The rash of firings of US Attorneys by the Bush Administration has brought attention to the fact that politicians do not read the laws in which they pass. The Democrats were ruefully awakened upon discovering that the Republican 109th Congress and the White House slipped in a little amendment [Public Law 109-177, Title V Miscellaneous Provisions; Section 502, Interim appointment of United States Attorneys] in the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act that allows Bush to fire US Attorneys and replace them with interim political appointees, indefinitely—circumventing the senate confirmation process. Since the passage of this bill, some reported, 12 US Attorneys have been fired by the Bush Administration.
As per usual with this Administration, their response to Democratic Senators in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing was the middle finger. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty stated, "U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President-- they come and go for lots of reasons… We don't really believe we are obligated to set forth a reason or cause."
The ‘performance-related’ issues that Attorney General Gonzales cites as the reasons for the mass firings, interestingly enough, involved the prosecutors, prosecuting corrupt Republican politicians (see here).
Randy Duke Cunningham, Republican Congressman, was prosecuted by Carol Lam for bribery.
A senior Justice Department official acknowledged yesterday that a top federal prosecutor in Arkansas was removed to make room for a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove, but he said that six other U.S. attorneys were fired for "performance-related" issues -- either gracious or taking one for the team, H.E. "Bud" Cummins said, “It’s been a great honor to serve.... I appreciate President Bush giving me this opportunity to serve in this exciting time.”
The fired attorneys are all unusually silent, resigning with dignity, or is it fear of retribution by the Bush Administration?
How are Attorney Gonzales and the Justice Department measuring performance? All the attorneys were appointed by Bush and approved by the Senate. Did the attorneys break an unspoken rule by going after corrupt Republican officials?
The Washington Post cited, “Nearly all of the dismissed prosecutors had positive job reviews, but many had run into political trouble with Washington over immigration, capital punishment or other issues, according to prosecutors and others. At least four also were presiding over high-profile public corruption investigations when they were dismissed.”
This story went almost completely unnoticed in the corporate news; it was stillborn upon the onslaught of the love-lorn astronaut, Britney Spears, and Anna Nicole Smith, around-the-clock coverage though out January and February.
The Sickness
The neocons had built up political immunity around the perception that they were the party of national security; sure it was folklore, but it worked; this immunity protected the Republicans and the neocon cabal for six years of their absolute power grab in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government. Hurricane Katrina, the collapse of the Iraq Occupation, and the recent discovery of the treatment of injured soldiers at the Walter Reed Medical Facility, has ended that immunity George Bush and the Republican Party enjoyed, but at this point, it really doesn’t matter because they really don’t really give a shit. Do they?
I have written in past columns that Bush grew up in a household that relieved him of personal responsibility--in fact, rewarded his failures and social pathologies with unparalleled business and political opportunities.
This narcissism forms the basis of his governance. Bush knocks over an expensive vase and then blames it on gravity. In the Iraq Occupation, Bush blames terrorists, the Democratic Party, Iran, and Syria for the failure of the occupation—everyone but himself. This inability to acknowledge failure or mistakes is in line with his upbringing and privileged life as an aristocrat, who’s fronting as a cowboy.
The corporate media has taken over on the enabling role by allowing George W. Bush to play dress up.
I have also written in past columns the destructive flaw in the Republican Party’s top-down, hierarchical structure, unlike the Democratic Party, which is more of a fractured coalition. What makes Republicans dangerous is their willingness to fall in line when ordered. It is a militant party, which is why they are able to stay on message so succinctly. They listen, even if it’s against their own interests. They vote, even if it is against their own interests. The elders of the party has elevated ideology to religiosity, where members blindly follow orders, regardless of reality.
A man, who takes no responsibility, and a group of political sheeple, makes for an incredible disaster, which is what we have now, an incredible disaster and a Constitutional crisis.
An Incredible Disaster
"'If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country? And how do you, then, enforce a quarantine?' Bush asked at a news conference. 'It's one thing to shut down airplanes. It's another thing to prevent people from coming in to get exposed to the avian flu. And who best to be able to effect a quarantine?' Bush added. 'One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. So that's why I put it on the table. I think it's an important debate for Congress to have.'"
Notice how Bush stressed the use of the military? It is apparently the only diplomatic tool he is comfortable in using.
That speech was the basis of George Bush asking for more power back in 2005;the power was to give him the ability to commandeer the federal and state National Guard to use inside of the United States. Bush’s request gathered more steam after Hurricane Katrina and the media began repeating rumors of sniping and looting.
Last October, the 109th Republican Congress gave George W. Bush his wish by passing the John Warner Defense Appropriation Act for Fiscal Year 2007, which effectively gives George W. Bush the ability to use the United States Military against United States citizens.
This bill, entitled the John Warner Defense Appropriation Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (H.R. 5122.ENR), contains a provision, (Section 1076) which allows the President to:
“...employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to...
restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States..., where the President determines that,...domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order; suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy...”
The Republican Congress has effectively ended a law past just after the Civil War in 1878 called The Posse Comitatus Act which generally prohibits Federal military personnel and units of the United States National Guard under Federal authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress.
Read the Rise of Hitler, note that Hitler rose to power using democracy, through the political and legal institutions of Germany. How could Nazi Germany happen? We are witnessing the seeds of despotism, right here in America.
Why did Bush ask for more power to maintain public order? Is it to suppress protestations and put down insurrection for when he does something illegal?
The words president determines in the Warner Act should give us all pause. Bush has made good on every power he has asked for, from the 2002 authorization to invade Iraq, the ability to bypass the Congress for recess appointments, to the USA Patriot Act.
Will the Real Democratic Party Please Stand Up?
Apparently, the Republican Party is willing to sell off our Democracy for ideology and corptocracy.
The past six years have been a long dark road for the United States; a lot of damage has been done to this country by a handful of cultists who have raped and pillaged. More than ever, we need the fractured coalition that is the Democratic Party to grow up and take charge of the political infrastructure. We gave you the power in November 2006 to take control, so it’s okay, to do what we sent you to Washington, D.C. to do, without timidity.
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BUSH FAMILY'S PROSECUTOR GAMES
by Robert Parry
George W. Bush learned at least one lesson from his father: You want your federal prosecutors to be team players who will throw a political elbow or two when the White House needs some help.
When George H.W. Bush faced a tough reelection battle in 1992, his administration tried to destroy Bill Clinton by implicating him in criminal investigations. But those plans collapsed when federal law enforcement officials, including a U.S. Attorney in Arkansas, resisted what they saw as improper White House political pressure...read more.
posted by Malik Isasis at
3:15 AM
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