Day: August 27, 2007

Self Loathing: Voting Record of Secretly Queer Senator Is 100% Anti-Gay

Jon Ponder

The hypocrisy of the voting record of Sen. Larry Craig, the Idaho Republican who has outed himself by pleading guilty to naughty behavior in a men’s room, is just sad:

“Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad, naughty boy.” — Sen. Craig, in 1999
  • 1996: Voted YES on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibiting same-sex marriage.
  • 2000: Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
  • 2002: Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.
  • 2002: Rated 25 percent by the ACLU, indicating an anti-civil rights voting record.
  • 2006: Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.

And let’s not forget that Craig is very much married (to a woman), thus adding adultery to his catalog of sins. In 1999, he stated his feelings about the character of cheating spouses on “Meet the Press,” reacting to a question about the Clinton impeachment:

MR. RUSSERT: Larry Craig, would you want the last word from the Senate be an acquittal of the president and no censure?

SEN. CRAIG: Well, I don’t know where the Senate’s going to be on that issue of an up or down vote on impeachment, but I will tell you that the Senate certainly can bring about a censure reslution and it’s a slap on the wrist. It’s a, “Bad boy, Bill Clinton. You’re a naughty boy.” The American people already know that Bill Clinton is a bad boy, a naughty boy.

I’m going to speak out for the citizens of my state, who in the majority think that Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad, naughty boy. The question issue now is simply this: Did he lie under oath? Did he perjure himself and did he obstruct justice? And that’s where we’re trying to go now in this truth-seeking process.

In statement on his website today, Craig says he pleaded guilty too hastily:

“I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously.”

But go here to read the testimony against Sen. Craig by an undercover cop, and you’ll see that pleading guilty was the only option he had.

Ultra-Rightwing Sen. Larry Craig Sentenced for Lewd Behavior in Airport Men’s Room

Jon Ponder

Are any Republicans really heterosexual? Now we learn that Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June by a plainclothes cop who was investigating lewd conduct in the men’s room at a Minneapolis airport.

According to a report in Roll Call earlier this year, Craig was sending signals in the men’s room that he was seeking a sexual encounter:

According to the incident report, Sgt. Dave Karsnia was working as a plainclothes officer on June 11 investigating civilian complaints regarding sexual activity in the men’s public restroom in which Craig was arrested.

Airport police previously had made numerous arrests in the men’s restroom of the Northstar Crossing in the Lindbergh Terminal in connection with sexual activity.

Karsnia entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see “an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall.”

The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.

“I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, ‘fidget’ with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes,” the report states.

Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia’s and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door.

“My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall,” Karsnia stated in his report. “From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me.”

Craig was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes.

“At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moved his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area,” the report states.

Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that “I could … see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider.”

Karsnia then held his police identification down by the floor so that Craig could see it.

“With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, ‘No!’ I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet. … Craig said he would not go. I told Craig that he was under arrest, he had to go, and that I didn’t want to make a scene. Craig then left the restroom.”

In a recorded interview after his arrest, Craig “either disagreed with me or ‘didn’t recall’ the events as they happened,” the report states.

Craig pleaded guilty on August 8 to a disorderly conduct charge. The court dismissed the charge of gross misdemeanor.

Last year, gay activist Mike Rogers outed Craig, but the senator denied he is gay.

Roll Call on Gonzalez Resignation

Trish

George, Laura, Al and Becky on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007

Sad. So sad. I might just cry.

George Bush: “After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position, and I accept his decision. It’s sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.”

Edwards: Gonzales “oversaw a political purge of U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department, approved torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay and approved illegal spying on Americans. His leaving is a victory for all of us.”

Or not.

— The most concise reaction came from John Edwards: “Better late than never.”

Following the Bush press conference, Edwards expanded on that, saying Gonzales “oversaw a political purge of U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department, approved torture techniques at Guantanamo Bay and approved illegal spying on Americans,” and his leaving “is a victory for all of us.”

— Hillary Clinton: “This resignation is long overdue, and so is the appointment of an Attorney General who will put the rule of law and our Constitution above partisan politics…Time and time again, [Gonzales] demonstrated that his loyalties lie with the President and his political agenda, not the American people or the evenhanded and impartial enforcement of our laws…from warrantless wiretaps to the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

— Barack Obama: “I have long believed that Alberto Gonzales subverted justice to promote a political agenda, and so I am pleased that he has finally resigned today. The President needs to nominate an Attorney General who will be the people’s lawyer, not the President’s lawyer, and in an Obama Administration that person will first and foremost defend and promote the rights and liberties enshrined in our Constitution.”

— Bill Richardson: “The resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is long overdue. The President must nominate an Attorney General who is a lawyer for the American people not a political arm of the White House.”

— Rudy Giuliani: “Judge Gonzales served his nation honorably and I wish him well in the next phase of his career.”

— Florida Sen. Mel Martinez (R): Gonzales “is an honorable man has conducted himself always with honesty, dedication and integrity. He is my friend and he is a good man. He and his family have my thanks for their sacrifice for serving during difficult times, and my best wishes for the future.”

Good News and Bad News for Hurricane Victims — FEMA’s Outsourcing Emergency Relief

Buck Banks

One of the hallmarks of the Bush administration has been its willingness to outsource everything from IRS tax collections to intelligence agency functions to Social Security to the Iraq War. Now we find out that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is skipping down the outsourcing path as well.

The state of Texas has already given up on FEMA and has instead arranged for Home Depot and Wal-Mart to provide water, ice and other supplies in case of an emergency. And FEMA is OK with that, as it fits perfectly with the agency’s new approach to emergency management:

So, if it’s no longer handling disaster logistics or disaster planning, what do we need FEMA for?

The most salient change is an increased reliance on the private sector — the outsourcing of much of the agency’s logistics to a contractor or contractors that will be in charge of acquiring, storing and moving emergency supplies. This arrangement, known as third-party logistics, is common in many industries and should make FEMA’s supply lines shorter and quicker, says Marco Bourne, FEMA’s director of policy and program analysis. Companies that specialize in third-party logistics are very good at what they do.

Well in that respect — being good at what they do — third-party logistics firms have a leg up on the feds. But wait, what is the recurring challenge with subcontractors? Oversight. Right, and FEMA has proven none too swift about that, too.

“It doesn’t make sense for FEMA to store commodities when [Defense Logistics Agency] does it and in quantities far greater than what we’d ever need,” Bourne says. “They do in a month what FEMA might do in a couple of years.”

The same could be said for large retailers. Bourne says FEMA always has encouraged state and local governments and emergency responders to work out agreements with the private sector, as Texas has done. But he admits that Hurricane Katrina — during which Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other companies contributed supplies — highlighted that need.

So, if it’s no longer handling disaster logistics or disaster planning, what do we need FEMA for?

Gonzales Resigns, Could Be Replaced with Chertoff

Jon Ponder

We’re learning this morning that U.S. Attorney Gen. Alberto resigned on Friday, and the speculation has already begun about who Pres. Bush will nominate to succeed him.

The early favorite is Michael Chertoff, who currently serves as the secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Defense (DHS). Chertoff is a former a judge and a current loyal Bushie. Unlike fellow loyalist Condoleeza Rice, who got kicked upstairs from national security advisor to secretary of state as a reward for her incompetence in the planning of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Chertoff has yet to receive a promotion for the lack of supervision he provided former FEMA head Michael “Heckuva Job” Brown, his direct report, during the Katrina disaster.

Plus Chertoff has already been vetted. He underwent Senate confirmation to become DHS secretary, so it would make it harder for Democrats to challenge his nomination to AG, or so the thinking goes.

Chertoff received his first national exposure on cable news in the 1990s as an advocate of impeaching Pres. Bill Clinton. Earlier this year, Ted Olson, another figure from the Clinton wars, was floated for the AG job. A longtime friend of Clinton prosecutor Ken Starr, Olson served as the de facto chief operating officer of the Arkansas Project, a smear campaign against the Clintons that was funded by Pittsburgh millionaire Richard Melon Scaife. In 2000, Olson also successfully argued Bush v. Gore at the Supreme Court, for which he was rewarded with the post of solicitor general, a job once held by his buddy Ken Starr.