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In
less than ninety days the Pelosi Democrats have proven that their campaign
promises are nothing but that-empty promises! The impetus was to stop the
War-in-Iraq, and bring the troops home. Even before the election Pelosi
began by throwing monkey-wrenches into the fray. She began by taking
impeachment off the table, which was not her call to make: as
impeachment is the lawful and constitutional remedy for corrupt government
officials.
The election proceeded and the
democrats gained tentative control over both houses of Congress. They
promised "action" within the first one-hundred hours: They
delivered "action" but not on the War-in-Iraq, or on bringing the troops
home. Instead they gave us the National I.D. Card. This was followed by a
new Bush-directive, called "the Surge" - that would increase the
number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress continued to dither and
quibble but did nothing to stop the war, to bring the troops home, or to
address the Surge, which Bush had implemented immediately after he
announced it: and throughout it all, the newly formed "congress" did
absolutely nothing.
Yesterday these same Pelosi-democrats
caved-in on their pending legislation that would have forced Bush to get
permission from the Congress before attacking Iran (war number 3). Where
does all this Double-Speak leave the voters and that 70% of the population
that wants to stop-the-war and bring the troops home?
Without a doubt, this leaves us
high and dry-frustrated once-again by the same system many
"looked-to" to change the course that "the Decider" has sworn to
maintain. Now the world is looking at thirty days till Pandora's box gets
opened in the Middle East, and all of the above will "Beyond a Doubt"
become nothing but another damning footnote to this "ancient history,"
that will underpin the run-up to World War III. (1)
On the home-front things are not
looking much better. It seems the White House, in the personages of Karl
Rove & "the Decider," had initially decided to fire all 83
US Attorneys, in a huge re-visitation to Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre"
that only involved some Special Prosecutors, back in Nixon's Watergate
Days. Here's some of what's been unearthed on the US Attorney's plight
now:
 "
'The president did not call
for the removal of any specific United States attorneys,' said Dana Perino,
a White House spokeswoman. She said she had 'no indication' that
the president had been personally aware that a process was already under
way to identify prosecutors who would be fired.
Earlier in this New York Times
story, officials had said that the White House was 'deeply
involved' in the dismissal of the US attorneys. In fact, Bush even
went to Gonzales to discuss the matter. But if Bush didn't talk about
specific attorneys, then just how was the decision made?
But Ms Perino disclosed that
White House officials had consulted with the Justice Department in
preparing the list of United States attorneys who would be removed.
See? They weren't specific
attorneys, because they were on a list. It's only a vendetta when you go
after them one at a time.
Does the idea that the list was
created in 'consultation' with the Justice Department leave some
doubt that this was a top down purge? Let's clear that up.
The idea of dismissing federal
prosecutors originated in the White House more than a year earlier, White
House and Justice Officials said Monday.
The admission that the list of US
attorneys to be canned came from the White House to justice flies in the
face of previous statements. Rather than responding to reports of attorney
performance, the White House had been sharpening their knives for more
than a year before the orders went out." (2)
 The above obscenity was designed
to convert the Offices of the U.S. Attorney's into a de facto political
branch of the Republican Party. Behind the scenes, there are also calls
for the resignations or firings of current Attorney General, Alberto
Gonzalez, and Robert Mueller, the continuing director of the FBI for gross
incompetence, and for exceeding their lawful authority - in obtaining
Justice Department letters to seize the private information of over
142,000 people surreptitiously: Thanks to "their interpretations" of
the USA Patriot Act, which they saw, as allowing individual agents to act
on their own authority, to seize private information.
This fiasco is typical of the
number and kind of actions that the overly broad USA Patriot Act II
created. The actions of the US Department of Just-Us, under the Decider
has exceeded all bounds, when it comes to hunting for "whatever" in the
private lives of American citizens without "just cause." I
worked with the Reagan administration, and the National District
Attorney's Association way back in the late 1970's - when these egregious
and then criminal excesses were first being thought about. The goal then
was to do away with all the protections of the First Amendment, whenever
there was a conflict between law enforcement's "right to know,"
versus the citizens' Fourth Amendment right to protection from unlawful or
unwarranted search and seizure by the government. It's taken them 28
years, but apparently they finally got what they have for so long
desired-a fully funded police-state where there is no appeal to what the
government can now do to the public in their fascistic zeal "to know
all" about anyone they might deem to be some kind of risk -
regardless of constitutional proscriptions, then, against just such
"illegal-excesses now."
It is the job of this
disappointingly spineless congress, to stop these invasions of privacy,
and to place limits on Total Information Access (that is still functioning
in collusion with the phone companies & the banks), to strip all
Americans of any right to their own private information concerning their
accounts, their conversations, their medical & financial information,
and their personal relationships with people that they know or do business
with. If and when there is a legal reason to investigate anyone-then there
should be no problem with getting a judge to approve of these kinds of
intrusive searches: But to give that "authority" to a
rogue-field agent of the FBI is illegal and ridiculous! The current
situation is one that law enforcement has dreamed of for years on end (28
years that I know of). However; observing the constitutional rights of
citizens is not something that should be taken so lightly-and while
observing the protections guaranteed by the constitution might make things
difficult for "law-enforcement:" It should be remembered that living in a
democracy should not an easy thing for those who want to create a
police-state here. And with these latest revelations it seems clear, that
this is the agenda being followed in Washington by all three branches of
this government.
 If congress were not so consumed
with meeting the immediate needs of Israel, perhaps they might find a few
moments to spare, for the citizens of this country and for our legitimate
concerns; for protections from this outlaw spin-off that got its start by
stealing the nation on 12-12-2000. Maybe if Nancy Pelosi had spent as
much time on these problems, as she did in preparing to speak to AIPAC
over the last weekend-then perhaps some of our current problems might not
be quite so real and pressing.
However that obviously did not
happen - which is why there is now "No Doubt" about the ability, of our
new congress to stop any of the huge transgressions (whether here or
overseas) that this administration is pushing for!
It is not too late to for the
congress to stop these high-crimes and transgressions against the people
of this nation. However Congress will have to come together and form a
consensus, unlike their most recent fiasco over the Wars, and their
failure to stop the Surge-if there is to be any real change made, in
holding the government to account for its actions in the immediate and
potentially horrifying future. The time for the idle-palaver that congress
loves to engage in - is over. If there is anyone in the 535 Club that
aspires to anything resembling "real leadership," then the time
to display that "leadership-beyond all doubt" is NOW!
Jim Kirwan
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