the more i've been reading about Obama's release of the torture memos and his decision not to pursue any legal maneuvers the more it seems that most people do not like his stand.
i don't either.
with all the talk during the campaign with emphasis on the Rule of Law, as a lawyer he is shirking his legal and ethical standards as an officer of the courts.
the best argument i've heard was Keith Olbermann's Special Comment last night. Olbermann lays out the argument succinctly bringing in historical reference that is quire indisputable, going all the way back to the Civil War.
you can watch and read Olbermann's Special Comment over at Crooks and Liars. it's really to the point.
one of the better round-ups of the flurry of pundits, newspeople and other media is over at Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish.
he has links to Greenwald, Coles, and others in a lot of posts he's done. one of the more telling post's title is We Are Now Indonesia.
IMO, Obama has surpassed all of the obfuscations over the last eight years in one fell swoop...
Showing posts with label corruption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corruption. Show all posts
17 April 2009
14 January 2009
i know where the $350 billion went...
most of the people that Mr. Paulson has running the bailout are from Goldman Sachs. it's obvious that this is their accounting system.
all explained now...
11 December 2008
the national media is having a field day...
and everyone with whom i'm talking here in Chicago is amused.
we shrug our shoulders because the idea of corruption in the city goes back well over a hundred years. the history of the city around the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries makes fascinating reading in books like The Devil in the White City and Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul, two of the more unique stories.
truthfully, Chicago can be blamed for the ascension of religion into politics that has had the country in a mess for the last 20-30 years. the stage was set right here. if you're familiar with the second book i mentioned, Sex in the Second City, you will discover just how that is the truth.
our biggest amazement is just how stupid Gov. Blago has been. real stupid! one local politician told one of the local TV stations that he is learning sign language to talk with colleagues because "You have to believe that everyone you're talking is wearing a wire." sad, but true.
Rachel Maddow last night pointed out that the media in Chicago was not focusing on what Blago did but on the possibility that he might just be loco. she seemed surprised with it. there are stories popping up about his delusions and behaviours all over the Chicago media. Check out this story in today's Chicago Sun-Times: Hairbrained? Is Blago's hair a sign of sickness?
or the Chicago Tribune: By Chicago standards, Blagojevich isn't crazy.
Illinois' Attorney General, Lisa Madigan [who i wouldn't trust as far as i can spit either] is talking about going to the Illinois Supreme Court to declare Blago unfit: What's next for Blagojevich? Removal?
Obama at his new conference this morning was asked what's wrong with politics in Illinois. he has two views of people involved in government, first as service to others and second as a business; a business that says, "What's in it for me?" he went on to say that there is a great history of Illinois politicians who have been of the former view, but you also have people with bad habits and a culture of politics as a means of self-aggrandizement. that has to change. the latter is the far end of the spectrum, but there are elements that are more subtle in the middle. he mentioned other governments even the federal that do things for political reasons. he hopes his campaign modeled and hi administration will model it. [the previous are more or less my notes while listening to Obama this morning.]
i would add another element - enriching your friends. Bush is using his pen and pencil to do all kinds of orders that Mr. Obama can't do anything about for at least a year. today he doomed polar bears by an order allowing more exploration for oil, gas, etc. and he is about ready to destroy the Utah Redrock wilderness for the same thing.
of course, this is the same thing as Blago did, but Tsar George was willing to wait the eight years to get all the money after he leaves the White House. Blago wanted the money now. it's all a matter of degree.
to paraphrase an old adage:
[for those of you unfamiliar with the original, the word politician was family.]
we shrug our shoulders because the idea of corruption in the city goes back well over a hundred years. the history of the city around the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries makes fascinating reading in books like The Devil in the White City and Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul, two of the more unique stories.
truthfully, Chicago can be blamed for the ascension of religion into politics that has had the country in a mess for the last 20-30 years. the stage was set right here. if you're familiar with the second book i mentioned, Sex in the Second City, you will discover just how that is the truth.
our biggest amazement is just how stupid Gov. Blago has been. real stupid! one local politician told one of the local TV stations that he is learning sign language to talk with colleagues because "You have to believe that everyone you're talking is wearing a wire." sad, but true.
Rachel Maddow last night pointed out that the media in Chicago was not focusing on what Blago did but on the possibility that he might just be loco. she seemed surprised with it. there are stories popping up about his delusions and behaviours all over the Chicago media. Check out this story in today's Chicago Sun-Times: Hairbrained? Is Blago's hair a sign of sickness?
or the Chicago Tribune: By Chicago standards, Blagojevich isn't crazy.
Illinois' Attorney General, Lisa Madigan [who i wouldn't trust as far as i can spit either] is talking about going to the Illinois Supreme Court to declare Blago unfit: What's next for Blagojevich? Removal?
Obama at his new conference this morning was asked what's wrong with politics in Illinois. he has two views of people involved in government, first as service to others and second as a business; a business that says, "What's in it for me?" he went on to say that there is a great history of Illinois politicians who have been of the former view, but you also have people with bad habits and a culture of politics as a means of self-aggrandizement. that has to change. the latter is the far end of the spectrum, but there are elements that are more subtle in the middle. he mentioned other governments even the federal that do things for political reasons. he hopes his campaign modeled and hi administration will model it. [the previous are more or less my notes while listening to Obama this morning.]
i would add another element - enriching your friends. Bush is using his pen and pencil to do all kinds of orders that Mr. Obama can't do anything about for at least a year. today he doomed polar bears by an order allowing more exploration for oil, gas, etc. and he is about ready to destroy the Utah Redrock wilderness for the same thing.
of course, this is the same thing as Blago did, but Tsar George was willing to wait the eight years to get all the money after he leaves the White House. Blago wanted the money now. it's all a matter of degree.
to paraphrase an old adage:
politicians - you can't live with them...
and you can't kill them.
and you can't kill them.
[for those of you unfamiliar with the original, the word politician was family.]
14 October 2008
could this be the dreaded "October Surprise" the Republicans are known for?
McCain Transition Chief Aided Saddam In Lobbying Effort
if it is, i think they got it wrong this time...
read the entire story at Huffpost.
William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.
The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.Murray Waas, Huffington Post, 2:49 pm EDT, 10/14/08
if it is, i think they got it wrong this time...
read the entire story at Huffpost.
11 June 2008
UPDATE 2: Article of Impeachment...
House votes to send impeachment resolution to Judiciary Committee
and, of course...
like i said in the first post on this, Pelosi [is she the tsarina?] should be impeached first...
this Congress is setting a very dangerous precedent. it is its duty to police the executive branch and it refuses to do so. it is not only shirking its duty but also turning the Constitution into more and more of a piece of paper and not a living document.
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send articles of impeachment against President Bush to the Judiciary Committee for review.The problem is the Judiciary Committee has had the Articles of Impeachment against VP Rasputin Cheney since November and they've done absolutely nothing with them.
The impeachment resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, requested a recorded vote on the motion around 3 p.m. Wednesday, and 24 Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in voting to send the impeachment measure to the committee. The Raw Story, 10 June 2008
and, of course...
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sticking by her earlier pledge to make sure impeaching Bush and Cheney is an option that remains strictly “off the table.”
like i said in the first post on this, Pelosi [is she the tsarina?] should be impeached first...
this Congress is setting a very dangerous precedent. it is its duty to police the executive branch and it refuses to do so. it is not only shirking its duty but also turning the Constitution into more and more of a piece of paper and not a living document.
02 February 2008
ummm, isn't this kinda, sorta like the FISA problem of retroactive immunity?
I have always been amazed that politicians, when they give back money that allegedly was ill-gotten, think that it absolves them of all blame, wrong-doing and questionable alliances.
The Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday had a front page banner, actually it was the entire page saying, well, read it for yourself:
If you read the story on pages 8-9 - Obama Cuts Rezko Ties, it gives the impression that since he gave $157,835 that is traceable to Tony Rezko to charity everything is all right.
Obama did this with the Hsu affair, as did Senator Clinton. So, he's not alone. They all seem to do it. Once they get caught.
The one part of the story that is interesting is the land purchase deal that Obama did for a piece of land next to his $1.65 million Kenwood, Illinois home for $104,500 from Rezko's wife who bought it originally for $625,000 at the same time Obama bought the house. Then, of course, Rezko raised money for Obama's campaigns also.
Yes, I admit, I am picking on Obama a little bit more than the others, but I also am more familiar with how Chicago politics work. This is nothing more than business as usual, from which Obama has claimed he is above.
I also am enraged by the audacity of the Chicago Sun-Times giving him a clear pat on the back and "job well done" for Obama breaking his ties to Rezko.
He still did it all. How does giving it all back turn into "everything is now all right?"
With that type of thinking, maybe we should give the big telecoms retroactive immunity.
So, again I ask, "ummm, isn't this kinda, sorta like the FISA problem of retroactive immunity?"
Oh, and here is another big question that pops into my head. It's about the full-page Sun-Times banner from the NEXT day's, February 1, 2008, paper:
maybe it isn't a real question...
maybe it's more like WTF?
The Chicago Sun-Times on Thursday had a front page banner, actually it was the entire page saying, well, read it for yourself:
If you read the story on pages 8-9 - Obama Cuts Rezko Ties, it gives the impression that since he gave $157,835 that is traceable to Tony Rezko to charity everything is all right.
Obama did this with the Hsu affair, as did Senator Clinton. So, he's not alone. They all seem to do it. Once they get caught.
The one part of the story that is interesting is the land purchase deal that Obama did for a piece of land next to his $1.65 million Kenwood, Illinois home for $104,500 from Rezko's wife who bought it originally for $625,000 at the same time Obama bought the house. Then, of course, Rezko raised money for Obama's campaigns also.
Yes, I admit, I am picking on Obama a little bit more than the others, but I also am more familiar with how Chicago politics work. This is nothing more than business as usual, from which Obama has claimed he is above.
I also am enraged by the audacity of the Chicago Sun-Times giving him a clear pat on the back and "job well done" for Obama breaking his ties to Rezko.
He still did it all. How does giving it all back turn into "everything is now all right?"
With that type of thinking, maybe we should give the big telecoms retroactive immunity.
So, again I ask, "ummm, isn't this kinda, sorta like the FISA problem of retroactive immunity?"
Oh, and here is another big question that pops into my head. It's about the full-page Sun-Times banner from the NEXT day's, February 1, 2008, paper:
maybe it isn't a real question...
maybe it's more like WTF?
14 June 2007
the saga continues...
and it keeps getting better and better or worser and worser depending on which side you butter your toast...
Not only is the House and the Senate investigating the case of the US Attorneys so is the Department of Justice - and its boss to boot!
oh, my! what is the honorable thing to do? be the Attorney General of the United States under indictment OR retired so as not to embarrass your boss?
and by your boss, i am not referring to mr. gonzales but his boss - you know who...
Gonzo Under Investigation by His Own DepartmentIn a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the two officials who are leading an internal Justice Department investigation of the dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys last year said their inquiry includes the Gonzales meeting, which was revealed during testimony last month from former Gonzales aide Monica M. Goodling.
"This is to confirm that the scope of our investigation does include this matter," wrote Glenn A. Fine, the inspector general, and H. Marshall Jarrett, counsel of the Office of Professional Responsibility.Washington Post
Not only is the House and the Senate investigating the case of the US Attorneys so is the Department of Justice - and its boss to boot!
oh, my! what is the honorable thing to do? be the Attorney General of the United States under indictment OR retired so as not to embarrass your boss?
and by your boss, i am not referring to mr. gonzales but his boss - you know who...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)