Author: Trish

Playing Bush’s Get Out of Jail Free Card

Trish

Leonard Pitts can just quit writing now because I don’t think he will surpass this essay.

Remain true to the ideals that have guided us for 230 years or surrender them on the altar of expedience because we were too scared to live up to them

Karl Rove said in a speech last week that this year’s midterm election will be about security. So you know it will be about fear…

Hurricane Katrina has shown that the government could not effectively manage a catastrophe whose place and time it knew in advance…So yes, a national conversation about security could hardly be more timely. But it would be naive to think that’s what Rove meant.

…Experience tells us that with this crew, ”security” is just a code word for fear. So this election will hinge on making people think terrorists are going to get ’em if they don’t vote Republican.

A ruinous war fought under false pretenses? Sept. 11.

Indefinite detention of alleged terrorists? Sept. 11.

Torture? Sept. 11.

The right of the people to dissent? Sept. 11.

Spying on Americans in violation of federal law? Sept. 11.

A growing record of incompetence and lies? Sept. 11.

Fear is the president’s Get Out Of Jail Free card.

…what is at stake this year is not the fortunes of a party but the character of a nation. The choice is simple: remain true to the ideals that have guided us for 230 years or surrender them on the altar of expedience because we were too scared to live up to them.

Make no mistake: America is not for wimps. It takes guts to be an American, to believe in the rule of law, the freedom of dissent, the dignity of woman and man even when — especially when — it is more expedient not to. To be an American is to commit a daily act of faith.

NSA Stayed On-Task Under Clinton

Trish

The Week Magazine:

Every three hours, the agency’s spy satellites pull in enough information to fill the Library of Congress

The National Security Agency — so secret it is jokingly referred to as “No Such Agency” — has “wrapped the earth in a spectral web of electronic surveillance,” says Patrick Radden Keefe, author of the book, Chatter. Every three hours, the agency’s spy satellites pull in enough information to fill the Library of Congress. Its main antenna farms — one in West Virginia and the other in Washington state — can capture all international communications with the U.S. The NSA, which is the largest employer of mathematicians in the world, can then “mine” the data to detect suspicious patterns of communication that indicate the possibility of terrorist ties or activity. During the Clinton administration, the NSA reportedly inaugurated a sophisticated electronic eavesdropping system called Echelon. Though the NSA has never acknowledged Echelon’s existence, numerous press reports indicate that the system monitors telecommunications all over the world for words that might signal discussion of terrorist plots.

So what you’re saying is the last time anyone took effective action to defuse terrorism was during the Clinton administration?

In Florida, You Can Get Your Gun, Bait, and Voter’s Registration in One Easy Stop

Trish

Those wacky Florida legislators, with their favorite lobby the National Rifle Association, are at it again. The same folks who proposed “Bring Your Gun to Work Day” and passed “Shoot First” legislation that allows anyone in Florida who feels threatened to blast away, have really capped it this time. So to speak.

Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, tried to broaden the bill to include beauty shops and day care centers.

Now they want to force gun and bait shops to perform voter registration. Hmmm…I wonder what kind of voters they’ll sign up? St. Petersburg Times:

Some shop owners say the mandatory requirement would be a burden while some Democrats accused Republicans of trolling for votes.

Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, tried to broaden the bill to include beauty shops and day care centers. But [bill sponsor Rep. Greg] Evers rejected the move.

Greg and his NRA pals must have stayed up all night cooking up this one. The idea is that since places like Wal-mart sell hunting and fishing licenses, they are quasi-government institutions. Therefore they must offer more government services, like voter registration and filing your homestead exemption. Actually, you can’t file your homestead exemption but you can renew your license tag. Well, no, you can’t renew your license tag but you can pay your property taxes. Sorry, no, you can’t pay your property taxes but you can register to vote. I knew it was something.

Supporters say this is just one more way to spread democracy. Sun Sentinel:

Pollsters say hunters and anglers are more likely to support Republican candidates. And the measure would take effect just months before Florida voters elect the state’s next governor.

Pure coincidence, no doubt. And if you’re worried about how gun shop owners will be prevented from influencing potential voters about what party to register for or what amendment to support, don’t. These smart guys have already thought of that and it sounds like a surefire (no pun) plan.

The proposal would prohibit businesses from helping a customer fill out an application or collecting completed ones, but it does not call for the state to monitor the process.

Just trust us.

Government Considers Retrying Bush Supporter Sami Al-Arian on Terror Charges

Trish

Another picture Bush doesn’t want you to see: The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the government to give it a rest in the case of recently acquitted terror suspect Sami Al-Arian. But Bush pettiness and pandering probably won’t allow that. St. Petersburg Times:

Al-Arian campaigned in Florida with Bush during the 2000 presidential campaign and had his photo taken with Bush at the Florida Strawberry festival in Plant City.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida urged the government Monday not to retry Sami Al-Arian, who was acquitted in December on eight counts of terrorism-related charges in a federal trial in Tampa. The jury hung on nine counts, with 10 jurors favoring total acquittal on all but an immigration charge.

In a letter to federal authorities, the director of the Florida ACLU wrote: “In light of the jury’s acquittal … on the most serious charges and in light of reportedly spending millions of dollars in a trial that led to no convictions, a decision to retry (Dr. Al-Arian) would appear to be pointless and vindictive.”

But “pointless and vindictive” kind of sums up the Bush approach to fighting terror. Why, you might ask, does Bush Co. have a personal stake in this trial? The real Al-Arian/Republican story is pretty juicy. […]

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.

Florida Repugs Sic Goons on Reporters During Jeb Speech

Trish

Florida Governor Jeb Bush is learning from his big brother. “If you have anything to say,” W. must have told him, “never say it in front of unbiased people. Make sure they’re all on your side first.”

Reporter: “How ludicrous was it? Picture this: Before Jeb spoke, half a dozen young men in dark suits frantically looking through the ballroom, as if Osama himself might be lurking…”

St. Petersburg Times:

The Florida Republican Party on Saturday called security to eject reporters listening to Gov. Jeb Bush tout his party’s accomplishments in Tallahassee.

The unusual scene – five hotel security staffers and a sheriff’s deputy escorting reporters away from where they could hear the governor – occurred in the middle of a speech in which Bush exhorted party activists to spread the word of Republican successes in Florida.

“I apologize for that if I’m indirectly responsible, which I’m not,” Bush said after addressing Republican activists gathered at Disney for a party meeting…

Way to accept responsibility like a grown-up, Jeb.

Eyewitness reporter Adam Smith had more to say about the event on his blog.

How ludicrous was it? Picture this: Before Jeb spoke, half a dozen young men in dark suits frantically looking through the ballroom, as if Osama himself might be lurking: “Find Bill Cotterell! Has anyone seen Bill Cotterell?! He could still be in there!”

Or this: An overwrought reporter (yours truly) accosting legislators in the hall, demanding they explain why their party would bar the press from hearing the governor. “No comment. I have no comment on that,” poor Sen. Durrell Peadon said, looking like he could have been leaving a grand jury proceeding.

The Lake Buena Vista Four included Windy March of the [Tampa] Tribune, the [Tallahassee] Democrat’s Cotterell, Jeremy Wallace of the [Southwest Florida] Herald-Tribune, and your Buzz correspondent.

ACLU to Argue ‘Chilling Effect’ of Domestic Spying

Trish

Sign me up: Slate reports the ACLU ‘s strategy in suing the government for spying on us.

[The ACLU] filed suit against the National Security Agency with a collection of litigants that reads like the guest list of an Arianna Huffington dinner party.

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union…filed suit against the National Security Agency with a collection of litigants that reads like the guest list of an Arianna Huffington dinner party.

Begin with Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens, an Iraq war booster who holds the distinction of being the only person to condemn both Mother Teresa as a fraud and Henry Kissinger as a war criminal. Then add Larry Diamond, a Stanford academic who advised the Bush administration on democratization in Iraq, and James Bamford, an Iraq war opponent who has written extensively about the National Security Agency. Tara McKelvey, a writer on military torture for the American Prospect, makes an appearance, as does Barnett Rubin, a New York University professor who advised the United Nations on the formation of a new Afghan government. And for good measure, the litigants also include Greenpeace, an activist environmental group, as well as several other lawyers.

The glue that binds this motley crew of pundits, scholars and activists was a legal theory that the ACLU hopes will convince federal courts to declare the wiretap program unconstitutional…they argued the mere disclosure of the hitherto secret program has had a “chilling effect” on the plaintiff’s willingness to communicate openly on international phone and data lines, violating their privacy and First Amendment rights.

I can dig it. The last time I checked out a book on Islam was shortly after 9/11 and before I realized the full sweep of the Patriot Act. But I’m not sure the “chilling effect” argument works here.

The fourth amendment, as we know, is the one that any potential Supreme Court nominee has to believe carries no promise of a right to privacy. The wording is this:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

I’m not sure that says you have to be able to feel O.K. about who you talk to, and if you find out you should worry about who you talk to (or what books you check out, for that matter), then you don’t have freedom of speech. I don’t know if it says it, but we all know that’s how it works. The challenge will be winning a Supreme Court appeal on this basis. After all, Alito will probably be on the bench by then, and he already denies that Americans have a right to privacy.

How the Headlines Didn’t Read: ‘New Jersey Racist Nominated to Supreme Court’

Trish

Just asking: The question, of which I never tire (just ask my cousin Jon) is, “Why do people only see racism in the south?” When it crops up elsewhere, or is manifested by somebody from elsewhere, it’s not called racism.

Had he been a member of the Concerned Alumni of Auburn,* a group dedicated to keeping Auburn University free of blacks, women, and Latinos, would there be more outrage?

Take the case of one Samuel “Conservative Not Racist” Alito. Had he been a member of the Concerned Alumni of Auburn,* a group dedicated to keeping Auburn University free of blacks, women, and Latinos, would there be more outrage? As it is, not many people are concerned about Alito’s concern for Princeton. After all, it just shows he’s a conservative. Nothing wrong with that.

At least columnist DeWayne Wickham is paying attention.

In 1985, when he applied for a job in the Reagan administration’s Justice Department, Alito burnished his conservative credentials by touting his membership in CAP: “I am a member of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy … and a member of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton University, a conservative alumni group.”

…When questioned about CAP’s opposition to the enrollment of women in the once all-male university and an article in its magazine that complained that blacks and Hispanics “don’t seem to know their place” in this country, Alito distanced himself from such talk. Alito said he joined CAP because he objected to a school policy that banned the ROTC, even though that decision was reversed in 1972.

“I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philosophical views that I believe are central to this administration,” Alito boasted in his application. He was talking about the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who launched his 1980 campaign for the White House in Philadelphia, Miss., with a speech in which he declared his support for states’ rights…

Ah ha! I knew sooner or later, we’d get back down south, where everyone feels noble calling a racist a racist. […]

Jeb’s Privatization Dream is a Nightmare for Florida Employees

Trish

Florida saved a nickel per page by axing state workers and contracting instead with Convergys to scan and digitize government employee personnel files. The price tag for offshoring that task — and spreading around social security and bank account numbers — could be considerably higher. Tallahassee Democrat:

People First employees were able to leaf through personnel files for their own amusement, download data to disks, e-mail it or print it out – often without leaving a computer trail.

Lawyers for state employees urged Attorney General Charlie Crist’s office Tuesday to make Convergys warn tens of thousands of state workers that their confidential personnel data – including Social Security and bank-routing numbers – may have been illegally sent to computer companies in India, China and Barbados.

A lawsuit is in the works, for among other things, failing to notify the affected employees so they could try to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft. But it gets even better. Looking for something to read in the break room? How about my personnel file?

GDXdata has said it will vigorously defend against the suit, which was reported Dec. 25 by the Tallahassee Democrat. On the same day, the newspaper separately reported on an investigation by Department of Management Services Inspector General Steve Rumph, who said People First employees were able to leaf through personnel files for their own amusement, download data to disks, e-mail it or print it out – often without leaving a computer trail.

People First is Gov. Jeb Bush’s biggest privatization project – a $350 million, nine-year contract for Convergys to provide online personnel services. The system has been haunted by big and small glitches for three years, but the Department of Management Services has recently said it is running much better.

“This is why privatization is a failed experiment,” Gonzalez said. “Ultimately, when you’re trying to get accountability, you can’t get anybody to take responsibility.”

Crist, who is running as a Republican candidate for governor this year, doesn’t seem anxious to get involved but his deputy AG, Clay Roberts, says he’s a victim too.

“My boss was among those people who, according to one of the news articles, had employees looking up things in his file for grins.”

Most state employees haven’t forgotten that when Jeb was sworn in, he surveyed all over which he now had dominion and proclaimed his greatest wish was that there was no government in Florida to run. You’re doing a heckuva job there, Jebby.