Today’s Topic: Resizing Government or Politicization?
As every firefighter will tell you, if you ignore smoke even in the most innocuous circumstances, then you will have to fight a fire in the near future.
So "where there is smoke, there is fire" isn’t some made up saying, it is a time proven observation about life circumstances, and to ignore smoke when seen is to invite a fire that may well burn beyond one’s ability to control it.
A Bush supporter, Grover Norquist has stated that he wanted government so small that you could flush it down the toilet, excuse the paraphrasing. For such a political supporter to somehow become a major player in the way this administration treats all forms of government isn’t necessarily visible, but how the implications become apparent are indications of the depths to which the administration has sunk to guarantee Republican success. And we are talking about a one party success that even overshadows the people because these political pundits, administration high ups and Republican functionaries don’t care a thing about what the Republican party is actually about.
The new Republican party, as I have oft said, has moved to the right so far that the center has now become the left. This allows the true left of American political discourse to be derided as so far left that they are out of the mainstream of America.
Nothing could be further from the truth. For if so, then perhaps the Republican agenda of unfettered governmental control through politicization of the Executive branch of government wouldn’t be the smoke we see today.
To date this administration has delved into avenues of deception as to inculcate themselves from investigation due to the very obviousness of their actions. All the while this administration was not only placing highly partisan political appointees into each and every administrative position as to present the non-political hires of the government with a choice of becoming political or losing their jobs.
If there is smoke, there is fire.
During Bush’s first term he appointed several members to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, ostensibly for the purpose of fulfilling positions about to become empty, but the fact is that those appointed were specifically appointed to change PBS into a political arm of the government.
If this sounds ridiculous, then blame it on Bush. Not only was the CBP corrupted by partisan politics, but it is now only a matter of time before all of the information comes out about just how deep this insidious plan has burrowed.
Today’s news about the GSA upper management being subjected to partisan politics suggests to the career people that their jobs are in jeopardy if they don’t play ball. The fact that the Hatch Act was implemented to stop just such levels of political partisanship into the professional levels of government administration seemingly means nothing to THIS Administration.
If there is smoke, there is fire.
Alberto Gonzales, current Attorney General of the United States and the person that approved John Yoo’s memo on how quaint the Geneva Conventions are is now subject to the scrutiny that all of Bush’s appointees need to have re-hashed. If not for the removal, which requires impeachment, then by exposure and hopefully resignation.
The idea of playing the part of Attorney General and still being a Presidential buddy is well beyond the scope of good government and simply smacks of politicization of governmental organizations.
The Supreme Court spoke on the fact that the EPA does indeed have a mandate to delve into any aspect of the environment and coming up with rulings that provide protections for the people of America is another evidence of political malfeasance in this administration.
Since President Bush has continually neglected real science in order to promote not only doing nothing to push the EPA into protecting the American people, this shows a marked effort towards protecting America’s Corporate entities from being responsible for the environment they contaminate.
By this President mercury in our drinking water isn’t a problem, although any heavy metal in our drinking water could have personal ramifications. If the person doesn’t matter than the people don’t matter. So what if only some thousand die from exposure to heavy metals in the drinking water? What reason for concern when hundreds of thousands die every day? Who is going to notice?
There are more examples readily available in the news if one want’s to look at it. Today my local channel news reported that Congress was responsible for delaying Alberto Gonzales’ testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee until the 17th of April, when the same Committee reported that Alberto Gonzales refused to accept any date under any conditions prior to the 17th of April. Once public opinion and the hairs on the back of the necks of Senators got up Gonzales approached the Senate with alternative dates, of which all were already filled with voluntary or incurred testimony.
Somehow the misrepresentation of the circumstances are even filtering their way down from the White House to disparage the Senate as a house and Congress as a whole. Lies have a way of being found out. Senator Patrick Leahy, D. Vermont, was given ample time on Meet the Press two weeks ago to speak to the Gonzales testimony and the time lines, and unless one wants to call the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee a liar, Gonzales chose the date and refused to accept any earlier date.
Well, that is until his legal counsel chose to invoke the 5th Amendment for possible future crimes to which she would not testify.
Now let’s just get this right. The 5th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States says, and I quote:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
The problem is with the "nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself…" to which one cannot apply the possibility of committing crime in honestly testifying to Congress as a criminal offense. No where else within the 5th Amendment does one surmise that honest testimony requires a level of protections that one need not testify.
Certainly one cannot suppose that Congress would purposefully subject a witness to bipartisan questioning in the attempt to garner false testimony with the purposes of charging anyone with perjury.
The legal arguments are specious at the least, and possibly criminal in intent, which is to deprive Congress of truthful testimony. The criminal intent not only would extend to the witness, but to the legal counsel if they supported such a dismal legal argument towards misdirection or dismissal of important testimony.
Where there is smoke, there is fire.
During Bill Clinton’s administration he was consistently embattled by legal actions brought about by the Republicans, some eerily resembling claims made today about the Bush administration and it’s policies. The difference is that the Clinton administration was only kept busy so that they couldn’t administer the Republic well, whereas the Bush administration has made every effort that their inability to properly administer the Republic would be ignored. They chose to achieve this with tactics from making all those who might question their efforts into anti-Americans to insidiously using the news media to forge a path towards true one party rule.
Anything in between is an effort on the part of one party rule. Politicization of governmental workers is just one of the avenues this administration has used to negate the people’s right to know what is happening in their representative Republic.
Without the ability of Congress to investigate and verify the quality of government by the Administration, the American people are nothing but shills in a game of three card Monty, often voting without their votes counting, and actually having nothing to do for which this country stands.
However, I have to admit. The stated use of the possibility of testifying falsely under oath might be a cause for invoking the 5th Amendment is possibly the most artistic use of bullshit I have ever seen, considering that the Amendment refers to crimes already created.
One only has the ability to suppose that said testimony is GOING to be false. And it appears that the Bush Administration is willing to accept the possibility that they can change the Constitution by declaring that future criminal acts are covered.
Since the Republican Congress already gave immunity from prosecution to any and all who broke the law in pursuit of terrorists, then obviously this administration now wants to set a legal precedent that one cannot testify against themselves for something they might do.
Laws don’t mean shit if ALL the people don’t have to abide by the laws.
2:00:35 PM 
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