Duty to Warn
The national distraction known as March Madness is upon us and not a minute too soon for President Bush. Currently the Bush administration is embroiled in an unpopular illegal war started on the false pretense of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, his attorney general Alberto Gonzales, who was previously best known for supporting the torture of prisoners of war, is under fire for sacking eight federal prosecutors for allegedly political purposes. Bush’s political advisor Karl Rove has also been linked to the scandal as has Bush’s former Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. Democrats have asked that Rove, Miers and other White House officials appear before Congress for questioning and are considering subpoenas if they refuse to.
Add to all of that drama the conditions of the Walter Reed Medical facility, alleged DC-madam Deborah Pelfrey turning over the names of up to fifteen thousand DC-based high profile johns, and the conviction of Scooter Libby and you have an administration that is almost as rife with scandal as it is incompetence, but forget about that.
Add to all of that drama the conditions of the Walter Reed Medical facility, alleged DC-madam Deborah Pelfrey turning over the names of up to fifteen thousand DC-based high profile johns, and the conviction of Scooter Libby and you have an administration that is almost as rife with scandal as it is incompetence, but forget about that.
I spent the final paces of my walk back to the hotel with my head in the clouds, in awe of the city. I had gotten it. My spirit connected with the city and I found out on a very personal and internal level what makes this city important and great. It’s the people and the palpable spirit you feel here that makes this place like no other. The soul of New Orleans is absolutely enchanted. Imagine a modern day Stonehenge. The Druids and other mystical folk of yesteryear aren’t readily apparent on these streets, but behind the plain clothes of today’s average citizen the spiritual DNA is very close to those sages of times past, of that I have no doubt.
Remarks on the floor of the U.S. House, March 15, 2007
This House cannot avoid its Constitutionally authorized responsibility to restrain the abuse of Executive power.
The Administration has been preparing for an aggressive war against Iran. There is no solid, direct evidence that Iran has the intention of attacking the United States or its allies.
The US is a signatory to the UN Charter, a constituent treaty among the nations of the world. Article II, Section 4 of the UN Charter states, "all members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. . ." Even the threat of a war of aggression is illegal.
Article VI of the US Constitution makes such treaties the Supreme Law of the Land. This Administration, has openly threatened aggression against Iran in violation of the US Constitution and the UN Charter.
This House cannot avoid its Constitutionally authorized responsibility to restrain the abuse of Executive power.
The Administration has been preparing for an aggressive war against Iran. There is no solid, direct evidence that Iran has the intention of attacking the United States or its allies.
The US is a signatory to the UN Charter, a constituent treaty among the nations of the world. Article II, Section 4 of the UN Charter states, "all members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. . ." Even the threat of a war of aggression is illegal.
Article VI of the US Constitution makes such treaties the Supreme Law of the Land. This Administration, has openly threatened aggression against Iran in violation of the US Constitution and the UN Charter.
Don't blame Kyle Sampson for the administration's decision to fire seven United States Attorneys in the middle of their terms. The Attorney General's chief of staff may be this week's fall guy in the investigation of the firing of the prosecutors, but he was only doing what he knows how to do: He was doing politics.
Kyle Sampson never worked as a prosecutor. He was barely out of law school when he came to Washington in 1999 to work for Sen. Orrin Hatch on the Judiciary Committee as a junior aide. From there, it was just a short step to the transition staff, where he put his newly gained knowledge of the nomination process to work in screening candidates with far more experience than he for jobs in the judiciary and the Justice Department.
Kyle Sampson never worked as a prosecutor. He was barely out of law school when he came to Washington in 1999 to work for Sen. Orrin Hatch on the Judiciary Committee as a junior aide. From there, it was just a short step to the transition staff, where he put his newly gained knowledge of the nomination process to work in screening candidates with far more experience than he for jobs in the judiciary and the Justice Department.
“I just look around and see people mowing their lawns on the same day we start to bomb Iraq and it drives me wild.”
--Mike Palecek
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed three of Mike Palecek’s novels, I felt particularly fortunate that he agreed to engage in a cyber-interview with me. His irreverent satirization of the myriad of ills plaguing the United States is unparalleled amongst current authors of sociopolitical fiction. Palecek may hyperbolize, but his fertile imagination has afforded US Americans a priceless opportunity to stop and examine what we are becoming as a nation. And he has done so in a fashion that is both absorbing and entertaining.
In some ways Palecek’s offerings are analogous with Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here. Though in Lewis’s case, he was prognosticating. Palecek is documenting what has already transpired.
Without further adieu, I give you the interview with Mike Palecek:
1 Readers will note with interest that you went from being a seminarian to being incarcerated in federal prison. How would you explain this ostensibly glaring contradiction?
--Mike Palecek
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed three of Mike Palecek’s novels, I felt particularly fortunate that he agreed to engage in a cyber-interview with me. His irreverent satirization of the myriad of ills plaguing the United States is unparalleled amongst current authors of sociopolitical fiction. Palecek may hyperbolize, but his fertile imagination has afforded US Americans a priceless opportunity to stop and examine what we are becoming as a nation. And he has done so in a fashion that is both absorbing and entertaining.
In some ways Palecek’s offerings are analogous with Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here. Though in Lewis’s case, he was prognosticating. Palecek is documenting what has already transpired.
Without further adieu, I give you the interview with Mike Palecek:
1 Readers will note with interest that you went from being a seminarian to being incarcerated in federal prison. How would you explain this ostensibly glaring contradiction?
I'm glad Ann Coulter used the word ''faggot'' the other day. It's about time we talk about this word and the power it holds over us, both young and old.
Despite Coulter's assertion that it ''has nothing to do with gays,'' trust me, it does. And ignoring it is dangerous.
My first job out of college was in the classroom. I taught junior high students, an exercise that I feel has prepared me for virtually any challenge. Day after day, my goal was to balance subject matter with socialization. I was able to successfully manage a classroom surging with hormones, nascent egos, and escalating bravado that thinly covered these kids'' fear. All teens are governed by self-doubt and vulnerability. I viewed each of my students as a child trapped in an adult body and my most important responsibility was to maintain a safe space where they could successfully grow into their new identities.
Despite Coulter's assertion that it ''has nothing to do with gays,'' trust me, it does. And ignoring it is dangerous.
My first job out of college was in the classroom. I taught junior high students, an exercise that I feel has prepared me for virtually any challenge. Day after day, my goal was to balance subject matter with socialization. I was able to successfully manage a classroom surging with hormones, nascent egos, and escalating bravado that thinly covered these kids'' fear. All teens are governed by self-doubt and vulnerability. I viewed each of my students as a child trapped in an adult body and my most important responsibility was to maintain a safe space where they could successfully grow into their new identities.
BBC Television had exposed 2004 voter attack scheme by appointee Griffin, a Rove aide. Black soldiers and the homeless targeted.
There's only one thing worse than sacking an honest prosecutor. That's replacing an honest prosecutor with a criminal.
There was one big hoohah in Washington yesterday as House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers pulled down the pants on George Bush's firing of US Attorneys to expose a scheme to punish prosecutors who wouldn't bend to political pressure.
But the Committee missed a big one: Timothy Griffin, Karl Rove's assistant, the President's pick as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin, according to BBC Television, was the hidden hand behind a scheme to wipe out the voting rights of 70,000 citizens prior to the 2004 election.
Key voters on Griffin's hit list: Black soldiers and homeless men and women. Nice guy, eh? Naughty or nice, however, is not the issue. Targeting voters where race is a factor is a felony crime under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
There's only one thing worse than sacking an honest prosecutor. That's replacing an honest prosecutor with a criminal.
There was one big hoohah in Washington yesterday as House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers pulled down the pants on George Bush's firing of US Attorneys to expose a scheme to punish prosecutors who wouldn't bend to political pressure.
But the Committee missed a big one: Timothy Griffin, Karl Rove's assistant, the President's pick as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin, according to BBC Television, was the hidden hand behind a scheme to wipe out the voting rights of 70,000 citizens prior to the 2004 election.
Key voters on Griffin's hit list: Black soldiers and homeless men and women. Nice guy, eh? Naughty or nice, however, is not the issue. Targeting voters where race is a factor is a felony crime under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Black soldiers and the homeless targeted
There's only one thing worse than sacking an honest prosecutor. That's replacing an honest prosecutor with a criminal.
There was one big hoohah in Washington yesterday as House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers pulled down the pants on George Bush's firing of US Attorneys to expose a scheme to punish prosecutors who wouldn't bend to political pressure.
But the Committee missed a big one: Timothy Griffin, Karl Rove's assistant, the President's pick as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin, according to BBC Television, was the hidden hand behind a scheme to wipe out the voting rights of 70,000 citizens prior to the 2004 election.
Key voters on Griffin's hit list: Black soldiers and homeless men and women. Nice guy, eh? Naughty or nice, however, is not the issue. Targeting voters where race is a factor is a felony crime under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
There's only one thing worse than sacking an honest prosecutor. That's replacing an honest prosecutor with a criminal.
There was one big hoohah in Washington yesterday as House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers pulled down the pants on George Bush's firing of US Attorneys to expose a scheme to punish prosecutors who wouldn't bend to political pressure.
But the Committee missed a big one: Timothy Griffin, Karl Rove's assistant, the President's pick as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Griffin, according to BBC Television, was the hidden hand behind a scheme to wipe out the voting rights of 70,000 citizens prior to the 2004 election.
Key voters on Griffin's hit list: Black soldiers and homeless men and women. Nice guy, eh? Naughty or nice, however, is not the issue. Targeting voters where race is a factor is a felony crime under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
If I have my facts straight, George W. Bush has never killed a single person in his life. All the torture and death that people attribute to him has been carried out by people who were "only following orders."
Psychologically, I find this quite interesting. As a person, it doesn't appear that Bush would or could hurt anyone, especially not innocent people. But, as "commander-in-chief," he can order and oversee actions that result in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents without even batting an eye. A friend and critic of mine believes that leaders such as Bush assume full responsibility for the actions of a nation's military. I strongly disagree.
Psychologically, I find this quite interesting. As a person, it doesn't appear that Bush would or could hurt anyone, especially not innocent people. But, as "commander-in-chief," he can order and oversee actions that result in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents without even batting an eye. A friend and critic of mine believes that leaders such as Bush assume full responsibility for the actions of a nation's military. I strongly disagree.
On February 11th, the corporate media woke up to the fact that many Democrats have a big problem with Senator Clinton. That was the day after some New Hampshire Democrats criticized her continued denial of her worst failure as a US senator - voting to allow Bush to have his war.
The topic continues with corporate media either missing the point or compliantly repeating Clinton's Fifth Amendment defense - ”I'd rather not talk about it.”
CBSnews.com, ever following the conventional wisdom, or perhaps creating it, published “Why Should Hillary Apologize for Iraq?” on February 22nd. It was an opinion piece written by Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs which was disguised as a story under the Politics header. It scolded Democratic activists to stop insisting on “purity” in the candidates and worry more about appearing “strong” on national security. The really absurd part was his suggestion that when Democrats say the war was a mistake they lose the respect of middle America. Like they have a lot already.
The topic continues with corporate media either missing the point or compliantly repeating Clinton's Fifth Amendment defense - ”I'd rather not talk about it.”
CBSnews.com, ever following the conventional wisdom, or perhaps creating it, published “Why Should Hillary Apologize for Iraq?” on February 22nd. It was an opinion piece written by Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs which was disguised as a story under the Politics header. It scolded Democratic activists to stop insisting on “purity” in the candidates and worry more about appearing “strong” on national security. The really absurd part was his suggestion that when Democrats say the war was a mistake they lose the respect of middle America. Like they have a lot already.