Tag: Fox News

A New Online Compendium of Republican Sleaze

Jon Ponder

A Review:Tommy Korioth at Basket of Puppies deserves kudos for the hard slogging he did in putting together the Republican Culture of Corruption – An Extended List.

During divorce proceedings, one Focus on the Family physician and Bush FDA appointee was accused of anally raping his wife for eight years. When asked about it, he said, “I missed.”

There are around 200 entries categorized by high profile crimes (espionage, corruption and bribery and perjury), sex-related offenses (child rape, child pornography, rape, sexual harassment, lewd conduct and prostitution) and lesser offenses including drugs and DUI.

The list also looks at specific cases, including those of Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, the Merit System Scandal in Kentucky and the incredibly under-reported White House gay prostitution ring in the George H.W. Bush administration.

Talk show hosts get their own break-out as do Republican serial killers. There were at least two: Dennis Rader, the BTK killer, and Ted Bundy.

As extensive as the list is, there is so much Republican sleaze out there that no one person could list them all. A couple of notable omissions here include the DUI of George W. Bush at age 30, and Dick Cheney’s two arrests in the 1960s.

(Korioth’s list also does not cover adultery, per se, however for a review of the most egregious cases, we put together The Real Threat to Marriage: Top 10 GOP Adulterers last year.)

A few notable from the Republican Culture of Corruption that were news to me or that I’d forgotten:
[…]

Republicans Painted Themselves Into Gay Corner

Trish

When the Karl Roves and Andrea Laffertys of the world decided that the best way to get out the vote was to fire up the masses about gay rights, they never considered that some of their own were gay too. It’s kind of like forgetting that some Republicans are black, and one or two are poor. Easy to do, but a mistake nonetheless.

Houston Chronicle: “A party that harps on sexual orientation, as the Republicans now do, forces many of its own into furtive, destructive behaviors”

When reality intrudes into their rhetoric, the dissonance stings — hard. The Houston Chronicle notes the consquences for a party, “which since the 1980s has, culturally and legislatively, demonized gay men and women.”

By preoccupying the party with homosexuality…Republican strategists have helped force out or into hiding numerous lawmakers who served the party well. Instead of disclosing their orientation and getting on with their work, gay or bisexual Republicans typically have felt compelled to choose between personal integrity and political survival.

Yet heterosexuality is hardly a bedrock Lincolnesque value. [Sen. Larry] Craig’s own constituents happily re-elected him for years — despite rumors about his orientation — before he began opining on others’ sexuality.

An even better example of this dynamic is the successful career of former U.S. Rep. Steve Gunderson, a Wisconsin Republican who told voters he was gay while still in office. Then he continued working diligently for the causes they cared about most.

…Gunderson backed the balanced budget amendment. He supported President Ronald Reagan’s tax cuts, approved the first Gulf War and promoted the dairy industry. Rural, conservative voters re-elected him eight times in a row for his conservative values before he chose not to run again in 1996…Gunderson never betrayed voters or himself.

In contrast, since 1980 the Republican Party has lost at least three once-closeted House members to scandals…But the scandals were at least partly fueled by each congressman’s need to deny his sexuality. Craig, now frantically trying to deny his guilty plea, may be the latest on the list.

…a party that harps on sexual orientation, as the Republicans now do, forces many of its own into furtive, destructive behaviors.

So while those caught are passing around blame — in Craig’s case to newspapers, lying cops, and wide stances — they should examine their own willingness to jump on the hate train, and partake of the payoff at the end of the line.

Homophobia Inc.: Message of Hate Raises Hundreds of Millions of Dollars – Tax-Free

Jon Ponder

Homophobia has flourished in the Bush era, both as a potent political tool — many people believe George Bush would have lost Ohio in 2004, and thus a second term, if Karl Rove hadn’t made sure there was an anti-gay initiative on the state ballot — and as an industry unto itself. In just one year, the top 10 Christianist groups that promote homophobia raised over $400 million in tax-free dollars:

  • Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN)
    Founder, CEO and Director: Pat Robertson
    2004 Revenue: $186,482,060
  • Focus on the Family
    Founder and chairman: Dr. James C. Dobson
    2005 Revenue: $137,848,520
  • Coral Ridge Ministries
    Founder and President: Rev. D. James Kennedy
    2005 Revenue: $39,253,882
  • Alliance Defense Fund (ADF)
    President, CEO and General Counsel: Alan Sears
    2004 Revenue: $17,921,146
  • American Family Association (AFA)
    Founder and Chairman: The Rev. Donald Wildmon
    2005 Revenue: $17,595,352
  • American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ)
    Founder and President: Pat Robertson, Chief Counsel: Jay Sekulow
    2005 Revenue: $14,485,514
  • Family Research Council (FRC)
    Founder: James C. Dobson, President and CEO: Tony Perkins
    2005 Revenue: $9,958,115
  • Jerry Falwell Ministries
    Founder and Director: Jerry Falwell (deceased)
    2005 Revenue: $8,950,480
  • Concerned Women for America (CWA)
    Founders: Tim and Beverly LaHaye
    2005 Revenue: $8,484,108
  • Traditional Values Coalition (TVC)
    Founder and Chairman: The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon
    2005 Revenue: $6,389,448

All of these groups use homophobia as a fundraising tool, but while some address a wide range of social issues, four of them — Focus on the Family, AFA, FRC, TVC — are one-trick ponies that focus all or most of their activities on promoting homophobia. (The late Falwell and CWA arguably could belong to this group too.) These four groups raised $169 million of the revenue in 2005.

If fundraising for these four hate groups remains flat each year from 2005 through the end of 2007, they will have raised about $500 million among them in three years.

Tax free.

Ryan Skipper’s Death Inspires New Awareness of Hate Crimes

Trish

It’s been a long time since we had any news about the murder of Ryan Skipper, a gay Florida man who police believe was the victim of a hate crime.

In that time, another man was slain because his murderer wanted to kill a gay man — any gay man. In both deaths, investigators immediately arrested and held suspects, awaiting trials that might still be a year or more away. And while we — and especially the friends and families — wait there is silence.

At least there was. A new organization, inspired by Ryan’s brutal killing, is trying to raise awareness of the consequences of mindless hate. Gay American Heroes seeks:

To honor and remember LGBT victims of hate crimes
To engage and inform the public about hate crimes against LGBT persons
To inspire compassion and greater appreciation and acceptance of diversity

The group is putting together a traveling memorial for display at colleges, gay pride events, and other public venues including communities where hate crimes have occurred or been threatened. The exhibit will honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who were murdered because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

[…]

Another Man Killed for Being Gay; Murderer Says He Was Serving God

Trish

We wish Ryan Skipper’s death were the last one we ever had to hear happened because someone was so threatened by the idea of homosexuality that they killed. But it wasn’t.

Mangum, who described himself as “definitely not a homosexual,” said God called on him to “carry out a code of retribution” by killing a gay man because “sexual perversion” is the “worst sin.”

A Texas man said he was doing God’s work when he randomly targeted and brutally murdered a 46-year-old Southwest Airlines flight attendant named Kenneth Cummings Jr. earlier this summer.

Terry Mark Mangum, 26, told [Brazoria County newspaper] The Facts in a jailhouse interview Friday that he had targeted and killed Cummings because he was homosexual and that he stabbed him in the head. He called his actions “God’s justice.”

…Mangum told The Facts he went to a known gay bar in Houston that night to specifically target a homosexual and said that Cummings, “just happened to be the one that I bumped into.”

…After 600 volunteers spent several days searching through high weeds, dense brush, dump sites and even an abandoned golf course, a bone was found in a dried-up pond. Searchers originally thought the bone belonged to a cow, but after looking at it again, searchers dug around it and found charcoal, Miller said. As they dug deeper, they found a burned body that later was confirmed to be Cummings, Miller said.

The murderer in this case was obviously not only hate-filled but deranged.

“I believe I’m Elijah, called by God to be a prophet,” said 26-year-old Terry Mark Mangum, charged with murder June 11. “…I believe with all my heart that I was doing the right thing.”

[…]

After Railing against DailyKos, O’Reilly Finally Goes after Rightwing Hate Postings on Free Republic

Jon Ponder

This video was edited by Freepers, so who knows what was omitted

Update: This story was originally about Bill O’Reilly’s hypocrisy in going after random comments left on DailyKos while ignoring hate-filled comments left on the Free Republic site. Last night, O’Reilly did half-heartedly criticize Free Republic for the hateful postings in its comments section, but really just focused on them briefly in order to provide himself with the opportunity to go through his litany of comments from DailyKos.

Freepers are already claiming that the quotes O’Reilly read from their site were fabricated. And not all of them are O’Reilly fans, which is ironic since he is first and foremost a righwing tool:

Bill O’Reilly has a really silly, pathetic hatred for any site that criticizes him. that is what it is really all about.

And:

I can’t believe O’Reilly is going after Free Republic. Any vile or inappropriate comments on this site seem to be removed within a split second – the moderators here are the best! And I also feel like a dope for all the defending of O’Reilly that I’ve done on this site.

The excerpts that follow are from Free Republic’s comments, with links back to the original sources.

Here’s my original intro from yesterday, followed by the Freeper comments.

Bill O’Reilly has ramped up his fake outrage over DailyKos again yesterday, calling it “that hate site,” “vicious,” “beyond shameful … very offensive” and “haters.”

ALL dims [Democrats] are allies of bin laden and worshipers of satan… no exceptions… they are pure evil and motivated by a hate of GOD and Country!

It strikes me that O’Reilly is purposefully ignoring the granddaddy of all hate sites, Free Republic. But then he could hardly be expected to criticize his core audience.

As usual, O’Reilly’s hypocrisy in going after DailyKos while giving a pass to Free Republic is never mentioned by the “liberal media.” One of his tactics is to have an intern read the DailyKos comments and cherrypick inflammatory excerpts to read on the air.

Taking a cue from Pam’s House Blend‘s regular feature “Actual Freeper Quotes” (see specific examples here and here), I rounded up a small sampler of comments from the Free Republic site.

Keep in mind that Free Republic is heavily moderated, so these comments have been given a pass by the site’s operators:

[…]

Jail Cells in U.S. Capitol Building Could Be Reopened for Rove, Miers and Bolten

Jon Ponder

Inherent contempt: Based on his behavior in the past few weeks, Pres. Bush must be hiding something really nefarious. He has forbidden his aides — including former legal counsel Harriet Miers, current chief of Staff Josh Bolten and now Karl Rove — from even showing up to testify about the firing for political reasons of U.S. attorneys.

“Perhaps it is time for Congress to dust off its rusty inherent contempt power, reopen the Capitol hoosegow, get some of the Capitol Police’s finest, and put a couple of people behind bars for a few days.”
— Norm Ornstein

When Democrats in Congress threatened the aides with contempt of Congress, Bush announced that the Justice Dept. would ignore the charges. In other words, his is an imperial presidency, and Emperor Bush is accountable to no one.

This leaves the Democrats with one option: charging the White House aides with inherent contempt:

Under this process, the procedure for holding a person in contempt involves only the chamber concerned. Following a contempt citation, the person cited for contempt is arrested by the Sergeant-at-Arms for the House or Senate, brought to the floor of the chamber, held to answer charges by the presiding officer, and then subject to punishment that the House may dictate (usually imprisonment for punishment reasons, imprisonment for coercive effect, or release from the contempt citation).

So assuming Rove, Miers, Bolten and other White House aides are found guilty, they would not be remanded into the federal justice system, which is overseen by the president, but rather would be jailed in the U.S. Capitol Building under the jurisdiction of the Legislative Branch.

Yes, there are jail cells in the Capitol Complex, and they once used quite frequently, according to congressional expert Norm Ornstein:

[…]

Hate Crime Victim Ryan Skipper’s Rep, Tom Feeney: No Need for Hate Crime Bill

Trish
Let the party begin! Rep. Tom Feeney rings the bell opening the American Stock Exchange.

This just in from Vicki Nantz, an independent film maker planning a documentary on Ryan Skipper, whose March murder in Central Florida is being investigated as a hate crime.

I recently wrote U.S. House Representative, Tom Feeney, Republican of Central Florida, and asked him why he does not support federal hate crime legislation that includes the gay and lesbian community. Why are acts of brutality, physical assaults and murder, which are meant to intimidate and terrorize the LGBT community, not included in our current, or likely-to-be-passed federal hate crime laws – the legislation that President Bush has promised to veto. I received written correspondence yesterday from Feeney that included the following:

…”I do not support specialized punishment for particular mentalities. This idea singles out groups for special treatment…When someone is murdered because the killer does not like the color of their skin, that killer deserves harsh punishment; but the killer deserves it because the victim is a human, not because of the killer’s hateful thoughts…Justice ultimately ought to be based on the fundamental worth of a human being and not the thoughts of the specific criminal…I hope in the near future crime legislation can be voted on that protects all equally and punishes the offender for the crime committed and not the thoughts in his mind.”

And yet Feeney and the other overwhelmingly Republican, antigay hypocrites like him have voted in support of federal legislation that does punish people for the thoughts in their minds. The following is part of the U.S. Code, federal law currently being followed in this country:

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 113B

CHAPTER 113B—TERRORISM

(1) the term “international terrorism” means activities that—

(A) involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State;

(B) appear to be intended—

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and…

(5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—

(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;

(B) appear to be intended—

(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping…

Clearly, hypocritical Representative Feeney, President Bush and the American religious extremists who decry inclusive hate crime legislation as being “thought crime” legislation reveal much behind their own selective, hate-filled thoughts. It is that same base thinking that led to the murders of Matthew Shephard and Ryan Skipper, and the dozens more LGBT murders and innumerable of acts of brutal violence that most people have never bothered to know about.

Use your voice. Use your votes.

Thanks Vicki. We agree with everything you said and find it particularly upsetting that Ryan’s own representatives, and those of his family and friends, can’t see the need for hate crime legislation.

But Tom Feeney’s words mean nothing. Feeney was among a group of fellow members of Congress investigated by the FBI because they were known by jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff to be for sale.

Feeney, former speaker of the Florida House, is one of three men who were U.S. House members when they accompanied Abramoff to Scotland on trips that included rounds of golf at the legendary Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews.

The others: former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who is serving prison time for corruption related to his Abramoff relationship, and former House Republican leader Tom DeLay, who was indicted in an unrelated Texas fundraising case and is under investigation in the Abramoff case.

What If the US Was Commandeered by a Rogue Elements – And Nobody Cared?

Jon Ponder

By any objective measure, rogue elements at the very top of the Executive Branch have seized control of the United States government:

  • For all we know, Dick Cheney is using a frontloader to deliver state secrets to the Saudis, or the British or Israel. Since 2003, he has refused to accede to security oversight regarding secret documents from his own administration.
  • If you think Cheney wouldn’t do anything to harm the country, you are wrong. In 2003, he instructed his minions, including Scooter Libby, to unmask a CIA agent who was working on a covert project tracking blackmarket sales of weapons of mass destruction. There is no reason not to expect that one of the weapons that the agent, Valerie Plame Wilson, would have otherwise helped capture will be set off in Times Square one day.
  • Late yesterday, the White House confirmed that Pres. Bush has also refused oversight on documents.
  • For years now, when Bush has signed a bill into law that he doesn’t like, he has simultaneously countermanded it with a “signing statement” indicating his intent to break the very law he just signed. He has done this over over 700 times.
  • Pres. Bush has admitted violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act over 1,000 times.
  • The United States Dept. of Justice is being run out of a a boiler room at the RNC.
  • To further his party’s political ends, Bush divided the country and then took us to war using an indictment against Iraq that was full of lies.

And yet what this state of affairs evinces from a wide spectrum of the American public is a shrug. “What can ya do?”

For many people, shrugging off the outrage comes from fatigue. While the Republicans controlled everything, it seemed it would never end. When the Democrats took over last year, their margin in the Senate was too slim to fully take control. The conventional wisdom now is that Bush will serve out his term, albeit under constant barrage from his critics.

But this could be changing. If action is taken against the rogue elements at the top of our government before they are scheduled to step down in January 2009, it will only be with the blessing of the Republican minority.

Bush has polled under 30 percent in four polls this year. A majority of Republicans continue to support him, roughly 60 percent in a recent poll. But this number was 20 percentage points higher six months ago.

If it continues to go down, we may find that despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s assurances last year, impeachment is on the table.

Liz Cheney to Join Fred ‘K Street’ Thompson’s Campaign

Jon Ponder

On MSNBC just now, Tucker Carlson said an announcement will come soon that Liz Cheney, the vice president’s not-gay daughter, is joining the as-yet unannounced presidential campaign of former Washington lobbyist Fred Thompson.

If he were to win in 2008, Thompson would be the first lobbyist elected president.

Since 2005, Cheney has served in the specially created job of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Near Eastern Affairs, in the U.S. State Dept. Assuming Carson is correct, at the Thompson campaign, she will join other GOP operatives said to include Cheney-family lackey Mary Matalin and U.S. attorneys scandal figure Tim Griffin, the former Bush White House official who recently resigned as the federal prosecutor in Arkansas after evidence implicated him in Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign voter suppression activities.

If he were to win in 2008,Thompson would be the first lobbyist elected president. During his 18 years as a lobbyist, his clients included General Electric and Westinghouse, and he successfully pushed the passage of the deregulatory legislation that led to the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s.

Thompson also briefly served as a U.S. senator representing Tennessee.