Thursday, September 29, 2005
Above the Law
The Bug Man has been indicted, Frist is being investigated by the SEC and a DA in New York. Karl and Scooter are waiting for the other shoe to drop in the Plame affair. Josh Marshall says there may be more to come out of the New Hampshire election phone jamming case.
And while it felt like Chirstmas in September yesterday, you have to wonder if they are all really that stupid. In particular, Duncan writes this about the Frist insider trading investigation:
But I think there is something else at play here. The Repulsives own all 3 branches of government, they get a shit-load of money from the big business lobbyists, and the wingnut churches carry their message to the faithful and tell them how to vote on election day.
After a while, those Repulsives in positions of power must begin to think that the rules don't apply to them any more. All those laws -- they are for the little people (and any Democrats they can sweep up in the dragnet).
They believe that pushing their "agenda" is more important than the rule of law.
Sort of reminds me of the guys who were running those "plumber" operations down in the White House basement back in the early 70s. What ever happened to those guys, anyway?
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And while it felt like Chirstmas in September yesterday, you have to wonder if they are all really that stupid. In particular, Duncan writes this about the Frist insider trading investigation:
But, still, look, if I'm a reasonably rich guy and I get elected to Senate and dream of running for president... I'm gonna put the goddamn stock portfolio in a goddamn blind trust. Aside from issues of ethics and legality (or issues of perception), I'd assume I'd have too much to worry about to spend my time day trading.One could say that we shouldn't confuse being rich and powerful with being smart (or at least, not really stupid).
But I think there is something else at play here. The Repulsives own all 3 branches of government, they get a shit-load of money from the big business lobbyists, and the wingnut churches carry their message to the faithful and tell them how to vote on election day.
After a while, those Repulsives in positions of power must begin to think that the rules don't apply to them any more. All those laws -- they are for the little people (and any Democrats they can sweep up in the dragnet).
They believe that pushing their "agenda" is more important than the rule of law.
Sort of reminds me of the guys who were running those "plumber" operations down in the White House basement back in the early 70s. What ever happened to those guys, anyway?
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
a matter of honor
A captain from the 82nd Airborne Division (who is currently in Special Forces training) is being interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Division and the 82nd's Inspector Genreal regarding allegations of abuse of detainees in Iraq.
Those interrogations are beginning to look like an inquisition. Captain Ian Fishback says the Army seems more interested in
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Those interrogations are beginning to look like an inquisition. Captain Ian Fishback says the Army seems more interested in
tracking down young soldiers who reported misconduct than in following up the accusations and investigating whether higher-ranking officers knew of the abuses.Via Kevin Drum, Andrew Sullivan reports a very disturbing if not surprising glimpse of the Secretary of Defense:
....Another source informs that the word is around that Rumsfeld has taken a strong interest in this. He is quoted as saying "Either break him or destroy him, and do it quickly." And no doubt about it, that is just what they are doing. Expect some trumped up charges against Fishback soon, similar to what they did to Muslim Chaplain Captain James Yee, whom they accused of treason with no solid evidence and then, when those charges evaporated, went on to accuse him of adultery.I think J.D. Henderson at Intel Dump has the correct appraisal of this situation:
If Captain Fishback is telling the truth (and his story sounds very credible) then there should be relief en masse for several officers - and, dare I say it, Mr. Rumsfeld. It was wrong to abuse detainees (period, non-negotiable, circumstances notwithstanding). It was wrong to ignore Captain Fishback's 17 months of attempts to do the right thing (the honorable thing). And it will be wrong to punish those who go against peer pressure and who have the moral courage to do the right thing. Any officer in the chain of command that doesn't have the moral courage to step forward and do the right thing needs to be relieved from command before he can do more damage, both to his unit and to the honor of the United States Army, the noblest of our institutions and the guardian of the republic. This is too important for partisan politics.Hoo Ah!
Paul Hackett may run for the Senate in Ohio
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