Day: January 23, 2006

Abramoff Gave Nothing to Democrats

Jon Ponder

Bloomberg:

U.S. President George W. Bush calls indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff “an equal money dispenser” who helped politicians of both parties. Campaign donation records show Republicans were a lot more equal than Democrats.

Between 2001 and 2004, Abramoff gave more than $127,000 to Republican candidates and committees and nothing to Democrats, federal records show. At the same time, his Indian clients were the only ones among the top 10 tribal donors in the U.S. to donate more money to Republicans than Democrats.

Did the president lie, or did he just misspeak — again?

Bush Blames His Victims — Congress

Jon Ponder

Bully boy: President Bush defended his illegal wiretap using a tactic common to schoolyard bullies: He blamed the wimps whose lunch money he stole:

“It’s amazing that people say to me, ‘Well, he’s just breaking the law.’ If I wanted to break the law, why was I briefing Congress?”

Answer: Because he knew the corrupt Republicans in charge of Congress had no interest in stopping him. They put their loyalty to ideology and the accumulation of power ahead of their constitutional responsibility for oversight of the Executive.

And this has to be pointed out: The administration did not “brief Congress.” Only a few members of the top leadership in both parties were informed, and only under the most top secret conditions.

At Least It’s Not Abramoffgate

Trish

Along with ridding Washington of Tom DeLay, the Abramoff scandal might have another positive effect: finally retiring the cliché, haggard, overused “gate” nomenclature. As columnist Cynthia Tucker points out, Abramoff is in a class by himself.

…the level of hypocrisy exposed by the Abramoff scandal is hall of fame stuff – the sort of outsized arrogance and disregard for law and decency that make it a benchmark against which other scandals will be measured for decades to come.

Wouldn’t that be great if it were? We’d finally be able to move out of the ‘70s and into the 21st century with something not gate-related.

So the question is, what will replace it? The Abramoff Effect, to describe the stigma associated with accepting his cash? DeLayism, to describe the willingness to sell legislation to the highest bidder? Jacking Off, to describe accepting clients with inherent conflicts of interest and playing one against the other? Time will tell.

Pensito Review: Off the Wires

Buck Banks

Canada Reports Positive Test for Mad Cow
TORONTO – A cow from an Alberta farm has tested positive for mad cow disease, officials said Monday. For those of you in Quebec: Une vache d’une ferme d’Alberta a examiné le positif pour la maladie folle de vache.

Iran Threatens Full Uranium Enrichment
VIENNA, Austria – Iran will immediately retaliate if referred to the U.N. Security Council next week by developing a full-scale uranium enrichment program. Let’s get this straight — we suspect the Iranians are developing a uranium enrichment program, so we’re considering referring them to the U.N., but if we do, they say they’ll develop a uranium enrichment program. Sounds like someone’s going to end up with a uranium enrichment program.

Russia Accuses British Diplomats of Spying
MOSCOW – Russia’s main intelligence agency said it had uncovered spying by four British diplomats — using electronic equipment inside a fake rock — and accused them of channeling funds to non-governmental organizations including one of the country’s best-known human rights watchdogs. Ah, the old fake rock trick. Can you blame the Russians for being pissed? Funding human-rights watchdogs is really sneaky.

Polls Open in Canada
OTTAWA – Canadians will determine Monday whether to send their Liberal Party packing after 13 years and give the Conservatives a shot. This, we believe, is the Canadian test for mad cow disease. Results tomorrow.

U.S. Navy Seizes Pirate Ship Off Somalia
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The U.S. Navy boarded an apparent pirate ship in the Indian Ocean and detained 26 men for questioning, the Navy said Sunday. Ten were forced to walk the plank, nine were keelhauled and seven hung from the yardarms. Arrrgh!

Bolivia’s 1st Indian President Inaugurated
LA PAZ, Bolivia – Leftist coca grower Evo Morales, a fierce critic of U.S. policies, was inaugurated Sunday as the nation’s first Indian president. Reports from La Paz say the coke-fueled inaugural disco rave is still going on.

Law Prof: Unwarranted Surveillance Impeachable

Buck Banks

Ramping up the response: Legal experts, privacy advocates and Democratic lawmakers are calling for investigations into whether the Bush administration broke the law when it authorized a secret program to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens without a court order.

According to GovExec.com, on Friday, seven Democrat representatives held an unofficial hearing to examine revelations that Bush ordered the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless wiretaps.

“I want to be absolutely clear, what the president ordered in this case was a crime,” said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University.

He added that he believes Bush’s order is an impeachable offense. “This type of violation should be a textbook example of an impeachment issue, because not only is it a federal crime but it violates the doctrine of separation of power,” he said.

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he sent a letter Friday to telephone and Internet providers, asking how and when they turned over customer content and records to the government.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday sent a 42-page letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., outlining the administration’s defense of the program.

“The NSA activities are supported by the president’s well-recognized inherent constitutional authority as commander in chief and sole organ for the nation in foreign affairs to conduct warrantless surveillance of enemy forces for intelligence purposes to detect and disrupt armed attacks on the United States,” Gonzales wrote.

He argued that Congress gave Bush the power to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance through the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which was enacted one week after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Critics of the program contend that Bush should have followed the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires the issuance of a warrant by a secret court before electronic surveillance can be conducted.