Friday, July 13th, 2007 (
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The Patriot Act should never have been passed.
We all saw the potential for abuse, but our
"trust us" government assured us that it would never happen. Yeah, right.
Now that the
inevitible abuses have come to light, it would be nice if someone would
face some consequences for a change. Like maybe
Alberto Gonzales who lied to congress saying that there were no abuses during the hearing for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.
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Tags:
George Bush,
Well Duh!
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 (
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The TSA is
failing more tests:
In one test, TSA inspectors hid the components of a fake bomb in carry-on luggage that also contained a bottle of water. The screeners at Albany International confiscated the water bottle but missed the bomb.
To which the TSA replied that the tests are unnaturally difficult and whine that it paints an "innacurate" picture of their work force. To which I wonder if the terrorists will not be so sneaky and mean as the TSA auditors. Perhaps they won't use
every dirty trick. They wouldn't want the TSA to look bad after all.
Last October, the Star-Ledger newspaper of Newark, citing unnamed federal security officials, reported screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport flunked 20 of 22 tests, including failing to detect bombs and guns in luggage at checkpoints.
The TSA responded to the report by launching an internal investigation in which federal employees were interrogated about whether they had leaked the results, the newspaper said.
That sounds like a perfect Bush-era response.
"These statistics are horrible!"
"Yeah, what should we do to fix them?"
"Fix them!? We should cover them up!"
Too bad the TSA doesn't get Nation Security as an excuse.
(Thanks to
The Consumerist for the link)
Tags:
Big Brother,
George Bush
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 (
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In an act of extreme courage and dedication, a current Department of Justice employee wrote
a devastating op-ed in the Denver Post which has been picked up by
Crooks and Liars.com,
Digg.com, and hopefully others.
Calling him a "National Disgrace", John S. Koppel, a 26 year veteran of the Department of Justice blasts Bush and his tenure as president.
The sweeping, judicially unchecked powers granted under the Patriot Act should neither have been created in the first place nor permanently renewed thereafter, and the Act - which also contributed to the ongoing contretemps regarding the replacement of U.S. attorneys, by changing the appointment process to invite political abuse - should be substantially modified, if not scrapped outright. And real, rather than symbolic, responsibility should be assigned for the manifold abuses. The public trust has been flagrantly violated, and meaningful accountability is long overdue. Officials who have brought into disrepute both the Department of Justice and the administration of justice as a whole should finally have to answer for it - and the misdeeds at issue involve not merely garden-variety misconduct, but multiple "high crimes and misdemeanors," including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Wow. This guy is my new hero.
Tags:
George Bush
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 (
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In a somewhat humbling article of human nature, Shankar Vedantam explains how people tend to villify wrongs done to them while minimizing wrongs done by them. What does this have to do with Bush?
It explains why he can be so wrong but believe he's so right.
Spoken about the Libby pardon:
He sees no inconsistency, just as we cannot see our own inconsistencies even though they are strikingly clear to everyone else," Tavris said. "He is protecting one of his own, but his reasoning is consistent with the way the mind works to preserve consistency."
Very true. I am sorry if I ever called him evil and despicable (which, for the record, I never have). But as I've
said before, it doesn't matter what he believes. He's a lead weight that is sinking our country and the rest of the world along with us.
Tags:
George Bush
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 (
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It looks like they're
not meeting any of the political, economic, or social targets for Iraq according to a report that's been leaked early and is making its way around the Internet.
What remains to be seen is what effect this will have on the senators who still support Bush and his Iraq strategy.
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Tags:
George Bush
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 (
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I really did wonder if
Bush would have the guts to pardon Libby which only furthers the image that he's cultivated over the years as being someone who completely flouts the law. To be straight, he didn't actually
pardon him, just commuted, but that still means that Libby won't be seing the inside of a jail.
He's left instead with a $250,000 fine and probation, but gosh if that 3 year sentance wasn't "excessive".
Bush couldn't allow that for a loyal lier. Torture is ok for people that look like terrorists, but
bushies remain ever safe.
The president noted Libby supporters' argument that the punishment did not fit the crime for a ''first-time offender with years of exceptional public service.
Oh really?
He was convicted of a "five-count indictment alleging perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements to FBI investigators" during an investiagation of presidential misconduct. His actions shielded the nation's highest criminal and this quote definitely applies:
"People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation to not do anything that might create a problem"
If ever someone someday pardons Bush and Cheney,
their career will die (I hope).
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Tags:
George Bush
Monday, July 2nd, 2007 (
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This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Hopefully, this will go to a full showdown between him and congress. But considering any kind of proceedings to force the information from him will take longer than he has in office, chances are that it may not mean much.
I wonder what kind of repercussions there are for someone who has been proven to abuse the office after the fact?
Tags:
Congress,
George Bush
Sunday, March 17th, 2019 (
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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.
Which paraphrased means he broke the law again.
Tags:
Congress,
George Bush
Sunday, March 17th, 2019 (
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One of the scariest developments of the Bush reign was the power to take any citizen, declare them an enemy combatant, and jail them indefinitely with no trial or evidence. That practice has been recently (finally) overturned.
"To sanction such presidential authority to order the military to seize and indefinitely detain civilians . . . would have disastrous consequences for the constitution -- and the country," U.S. Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz wrote for the majority.
Let me say this again, the problem is that Bush has declared that he alone gets to decide who the terrorists are and what laws to follow and which to ignore.
Tags:
Accountability,
George Bush,
Misconduct
Saturday, March 16th, 2019 (
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No stranger to using doctored data, Bush painted a rosy picture of the efforts of the US to slow greenhouse gas emissions that was totally false.
Tags:
Accountability,
George Bush,
Misconduct
