Tag: Conservative Values

Okay, nothing to see here, folks. Move along, move along :

Senior Education Department officials showed poor judgment in hiring conservative commentator Armstrong Williams to promote agency programs, a department investigation found Friday.

However, the department’s inspector general said there was no evidence of legal or ethical violations. (Empasis added.)

The department paid $240,000 to Williams, a commentator with newspaper, television, and radio audiences, to promote President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” law. The deal was part of a $1.3 million contract the department had with Ketchum, a public relations firm.

Williams, who is black, was hired to conduct “minority outreach” about Bush’s law by producing ads with then-Education Secretary Rod Paige. Records show Williams was also hired to provide media time to Paige and to persuade other blacks in the media to talk about the law.

“We did find that department officials made some poor management decisions and exercised poor judgment and oversight,” the inspector general said. “As a result, the department paid for work that most likely did not reach its intended audience and paid for deliverables that were never received.”

The fact this story broke on a Friday afternoon is a major clue that there’s more here than meets the eye. It is illegal for the government to create propaganda, for one thing.

What is unsaid about the scandalousness of this payout is that Armstrong Williams, who is nothing but a tool of the Republican Party, was paid nearly a quarter million dollars in taxpayer funds to do and say things he would have done and said without being paid.

Bottom line is, this investigation accomplished nothing – except to demonstrate the skill and remorselessness with which this administration tells its lies. The cost of this purported investigation by the Education Dept. – and no doubt it’s in the millions – should be added to Armstrong’s $240,000 when the costs to the taxpayers in the scandal are aggregated.

Now Tom DeLay is accused of taking a luxury trip to Saipan paid for by a DC sleazebag lobbying to stop a bill that would end sex slavery and sweatshops in the Mariana Islands, which is United States territory.

Three new potential scandals in one day? Remember in the 1990’s how the Gops kept saying about the Clintons – “if there’s smoke there’s fire?” Funny how you don’t hear them saying that now about the Bugman.

What will we tell the children?

A Washington lobbyist under federal investigation for his lobbying activities arranged a lavish overseas trip to the island of Saipan for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, over the New Year’s holiday in 1997.

DeLay, his wife and daughter, and several aides, stayed for free at a beachfront resort. The DeLay trip to the South Pacific island, originally reported by a “20/20” investigation, was part of an effort by former aide Jack Abramoff to stop legislation aimed at cracking down on sweatshops and sex shops in the American territory, which is known as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

But don’t expect anything to come from these two new scandals – or anymore than has come from the umpteen past scandals related House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-East Hades). In fact, the way the Bug Man has de-fanged and re-arranged the House Ethics Committee, he probably won’t even receive a rebuke.

Still, maybe there is lemonade to be made out of these new lemons. DeLay will continue to hang onto power, just like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich did after he took heat for closing down the government – and even after it became common knowledge on the Hill that he was boinking an aide at the very moment he and his minions were going after President Clinton for boinking his aide, Monica Lewinsky.

In 1996, the Democrats used Gingrich’s unpopularity with the public to run against him as a shadow candidate on the Dole-Kemp-Gingrich presidential ticket. If DeLay hangs on through next year, the Dems could deploy a similar tactic in the ’06 Congressionals – make the entire GOP House delegation defend not only their seats but their allegiance to their corrupt leader.

Well, we can dream, can’t we? For what’s worth, here are links to details about les Scandals DeLay dejour:

Washington Post:

A six-day trip to Moscow in 1997 by then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was underwritten by business interests lobbying in support of the Russian government, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the trip arrangements.

DeLay reported that the trip was sponsored by a Washington-based nonprofit organization. But interviews with those involved in planning DeLay’s trip say the expenses were covered by a mysterious company registered in the Bahamas that also paid for an intensive $440,000 lobbying campaign.

New York Times:

The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by Mr. DeLay’s political action and campaign committees, according to a detailed review of disclosure statements filed with the Federal Election Commission and separate fund-raising records in Mr. DeLay’s home state, Texas.

Most of the payments to his wife, Christine A. DeLay, and his only child, Dani DeLay Ferro, were described in the disclosure forms as “fund-raising fees,” “campaign management” or “payroll,” with no additional details about how they earned the money.

Gee, I thought the judiciary’s “lack of accountability” – ie. that judges are appointed not elected – was set forth in the Constitution. Why do corrupt conservatives like Sen. Cornyn hate our Constitution?

At 5PM today on the Senate floor, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) gave an astounding account of the recent spate of violence against judges, suggesting that the crimes could be attributed to the fact that judges are “unaccountable” to the public. Sources on the Hill went and pulled the transcript of what Cornyn said, and it read:

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN: “I don’t know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that’s been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in – engage in violence.” [Senate Floor, 4/4/05]

We now have Republican Senators making excuses for terrorists. Explaining why terrorism is understandable. Why terrorists have legitimate concerns. Justifying why the victims of terrorism are really to blame for these heinous crimes. Wonder what Senator Cornyn thinks of rape victims?

This is utterly outrageous. Outrageous. The GOP is now embracing domestic terrorists who are trying to undermine our democracy. And they’re doing it so they can take down the judges who “killed” Terri Schiavo, and instead impose some Pat Robertson-like theocracy on our country. This is absolutely utterly beyond contempt. Tell Judge Lefkow in Chicago that her mother and husband are dead because she brought it on herself.

And the ultimate irony is that it is people like John Cornyn who now risk inciting violence against judges by giving aid and comfort to these homicidal maniacs. Cornyn should resign immediately.

“They Sow the Wind, and Reap the Whirlwind” – Hosea 8:1-14

Last year, Bush, Cheney, DeLay & company used “cultural values” – ie., fear of gay marriage – to convince millions of folks in rural America to vote for them, even though it should have been obvious that voting for these tools of corporate excess was contrary to their own self-interests. Now thousands of these voters are waking up to realize they face financial ruin as a result.

[Owen] Olson [of North Dakota], who farms 1,400 acres near [Medina], is among the men and women who sow the seeds, harvest the crops and oppose this year’s attempt by President Bush and Congress to cut federal farm assistance. They speak of hardship and fairness while questioning the votes cast for a president who scored big in the Midwest, in part by promising to do well by farmers.

“If it wasn’t for the federal government here,” said Olson, 39, “nobody would be farming.”

No one is talking about eliminating federal subsidies, just reducing them. But in North Dakota, where more than three in four farmers receive payments — the highest percentage of any state — the proposals working their way through the hearing rooms on Capitol Hill are big news.

Bush proposed cuts of $5.7 billion from agricultural programs over the next 10 years as part of a deficit reduction package. The House Budget Committee set the figure at $5.3 billion, while its Senate counterpart said $2.8 billion should be trimmed…

“Across-the-board cuts always hurt the person at the bottom more than anybody else,” said [farmer Ellen] Linderman, who expects the cuts to come. “I think it’s going to happen. This president has put us so deeply in debt. We’re not his powerful friends, out here in the countryside.

There is one glimmer of good news for rural Red Staters who voted for Bush and the GOP: There won’t be gay marriages in their states anytime soon. That ought to provide a modicum of comfort while they file for bankruptcy.

A friend writes:

We want to welcome you to BuzzFlash.com’s latest website, GOPHypocrites.com!

As we’ve mentioned before in our e-mail alerts, BuzzFlash.com is expanding this year and our first affiliated site is one of our long-term features, our weekly award to a noteworthy GOP Hypocrite. It’s not easy, because there are — as the site notes — “So Many Republican Hypocrites, So Little Time.” There is much more to come from BuzzFlash as we move toward becoming an even larger Internet presence — as well as branching out to other media.

First Gop up is Sen. Rick “the Beast” Santorum. Check it out: GOPHypocrites.com .

From Daily Kos:

It’s been really quite interesting how the rightwingosphere has just about completely ignored Tom DeLay’s corruption and utter perversion of the very values that brought the GOP to power.

Now that the WSJ has greenlighted attacks on DeLay, that might change, but the silence over DeLay’s perversions of democracy has been deafening.

Now everyone knows that I have never been afraid to take on Democrats when I think they are doing the wrong thing. But then again, this is a different place than the mindless automatons taking their talking cues from Limbaugh and company.

But I need a favor: when Democrats take power and become the majority party, and some of them start acting like DeLay (which is inevitable — power corrupts), please make sure I’m speaking out against such corruption. And if I don’t, line me up against the metaphorical wall and shoot me.

I don’t ever want to become what they are.

Have you noticed how these Chicken Little sanctimonious hypocrites shriek that being homosexual and showing religious tolerance are signs of the apocalypse but pedophilia and internet porn are no big deal – at least when they’re the ones with their pants down.

From CNN:

A former top official of the Boy Scouts of America [Note: he only stepped down in February, once the investigation was public knowledge] faces federal Internet child pornography charges and is expected to plead guilty Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office said…

The U.S. attorney’s office in Fort Worth, Texas, filed the charges after federal investigators found images of children engaging in sex acts on Smith’s computer.

Whew. Sounds pretty bad, huh? Aw, not really. No biggie.

Smith’s lawyer, Jack Strickland, told The Associated Press that his client is “not taking this well. I’ve got to tell you, this is a good man, and I would hate to see the entirety of his life and the good things he’s done defined by one incident.”

Yeah, you know, it’s just one little part of his life and he’s a good man. Cut him a break, will ya? His real life is all about children. Scouts, that is.

And how about the national spokesman for the BSA, the guy who defended their right to kick gay butt all the way to the Supreme Court? In 1999, when the BSA was seeing one departure after another from Unitarian-sponsored troops and others (even some Mormon troops!), Gregg Shields pursed his lips and made this pronouncement :

“Since 1910 the Boy Scouts have taught basic traditional family values and continue to do so. We feel that an avowed homosexual does not fit these values and is not an appropriate person to be in a leadership position.”

No, a gay adult who maintains a stable, consenting relationship with another gay adult is beyond the pale but some mouth-breathing, child porn consuming nut case is A-OK.

Well, not completely. Being arrested is pretty racy stuff, evidently.

Shields said the Boy Scouts are “shocked and dismayed” by Smith’s arrest, but the group has cooperated with investigators in the case.

“We surrendered his work computer to authorities,” he said.

Notice, Shields isn’t concerned about Smith’s conduct, just his arrest. But the BSA is “cooperating” so what else can they possibly do?

Climb down from the judgmental high horse and stop trying to make decent people feel ashamed while they put closet cases in charge? I don’t know, but it would be a start.