In this time of Palin diaries and convention rhetoric, I have been holding back writing this diary for the right moment. Everyone seems to be so concerned about what Sarah Palin has done in the past that they fail to realize that she really has no effect unless she gets elected. The people who got our country into the position that it is in are still at work, part of them trying to get McCain elected, and part of them still fleecing our society for every penny they can. I decided to write a diary to refocus on those people and give a little perspective on what is really going on right now besides the election.
In every endeavor, in every organization, there are “planning” people and “action” people. In my business, the Engineering people are the planners, and the Operations people are the action people. The normal dynamic is that engineers are horrible operators, and vice-versa. Upon looking at the Bush Administration, I noticed a similar dynamic and I found that most people have missed the clear definition of who the engineers are and who the operators are.
The” engineers” in the Bush Administration are very visible and very obvious. Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Alberto Gonzales are easily named examples of people who are actually creating plans for the things that the government is doing. They are outspoken, brute-force people who can lie to you without blinking an eye or giving a tell. It is a common misconception that Karl Rove is the master operative, in addition to being a planner. I have a different idea about who the “Operations Manager” is in the current administration actually is.
The people who have been put into action to further the goals of the Bush Administration are lawyers working in the Justice Department and in the Department of Homeland Security. These people have been hand-picked and groomed for their task by DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. They have been protégés of Chertoff when he was the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, a partner at Latham & Watkins, counsel to the Senate committee investigating the Clintons, or in charge of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. I believe you have probably heard of the four that I will highlight below.
In 2004, a company called CCA, Corrections Corporation of America, had a lobbyist on staff who lobbied the DHS for the ability to house illegal immigrants after they were apprehended by ICE activities. This would allow private companies to build detention facilities and lease prison space to the government. This change in policy would facilitate the prisoners from the new DHS plan ENDGAME, which was very similar to Oliver North’s controversial Rex-84 “readiness exercise” for COG in 1984. This called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to round up and detain 400,000 imaginary “refugees,” in the context of “uncontrolled population movements” over the Mexican border into the United States. This lobbying succeeded and privately owned prisons became the detention centers of choice for ICE. In 1996, CCA’s revenue from holding immigrants jumped 21 percent, to $95 million from $70 million in 2004.
This lobbyist’s name was Philip Perry, a partner with Chertoff at Lanham and Watkins, and works with him on the Whitewater investigation. He also happens to be Dick Cheney’s son-in-law, married to Dick’s daughter Elizabeth. Perry was later named the general counsel of DHS in 2005. Once he came to DHS, he continued his path for making money at the expense of illegal immigrants and their families by bringing in another Chertoff disciple and fellow Cornell grad Julie Myers.
Ms. Myers was recess appointed by President Bush to the post of assistant secretary for Immigration Customs and Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security on January 9th, 2006, despite the fact that Ms. Myers was only 36 at the time and had never managed a large department or dealt extensively with immigration issues. Ms. Myers is also married to John Wood, Chief of Staff to Mr. Chertoff, and is the niece of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers. In 2006, ICE ramped up the detention of immigrants. There were about 500 ICE workplace raids in 2002, and 3,600 in 2006. On average, ICE pays $95 a day per immigrant that it detains, yet research indicates that other, far cheaper, methods can work almost as well in making sure immigrants show up in court. These alternative methods are called intensive supervision. Using this method, almost 90% of immigrants showed up for their court hearings. This intensive supervision costs an average of $14 per detainee per day, according to congressional testimony by Julie Myers. But in fiscal year 2007, ICE spent only $44 million on intensive supervision methods and $1.2 billion on detention. Legislation sponsored in 2006 by representatives Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) and Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) in the House would authorize the agency to develop another 8,000 detention beds, which must be provided by private contractors such as CCA "whenever possible."
In January of 2006, The Army Corps of Engineers gave a contract to KBR (yes, that KBR) for $385 million to build “emergency detention centers”. From the Halliburton website, “the contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs." The number of immigrant raids and the profits of these private prison corporations have skyrocketed since. I guess we know the real reason behind "immigration reform" now.
Another Chertoff protégé, Alice Fisher, was nominated and recess appointed by President Bush to be Assistant Attorney General (Criminal Division) at the Department of Justice. Ms. Fisher was a Partner with Latham & Watkins, LLP. She previously served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. Earlier in her career, Ms. Fisher served as Deputy Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate Whitewater Development and Related Matters. One of the reasons Ms. Walker was not approved by the Senate due to questions about her involvement in the policy making concerning prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. She apparently had a role in overseeing the methods of prisoner treatment during intelligence extraction. Vermont Senator Patrick J. Leahy said in his May 12, 2005, statement. "I am somewhat concerned, however, that Ms. Fisher is nominated for one of the most visible prosecutorial positions in the country without ever having prosecuted a case, and she brings to the position minimal trial experience in any context," he said. Another reason for her unpopularity was her conflict of interest due to her involvement with the Tom Delay legal defense team.
One of her subordinates, Noel Hillman, was the lead investigator for the DeLay and the Abramoff cases. From Newsweek magazine, “The probe is being overseen by Noel Hillman, a hard-charging career prosecutor who heads the Public Integrity Section and who has a long track record of nailing politicians of all stripes. But politics almost certainly will creep into the equation. Hillman's new boss will soon be Alice Fisher, who is widely respected but also a loyal Republican socially close to DeLay's defense team. The larger question is whether Justice -- run by Bush's buddy Alberto Gonzales -- will aggressively seek evidence that could lead to DeLay or to other Republicans in Congress. "I just don't know that they have the stomach for it," said a lawyer close to the probe.” Hillman is also a Chertoff protégé, hired as a federal prosecutor by Chertoff when Chertoff was New Jersey’s U.S. attorney. He became the lead Justice Department prosecutor in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. His political ambitions had been thwarted when he had approached Bush about a federal judgeship and been turned down. However, the investigation into Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising turn when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down because he had suddenly been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush. Some claimed that Bush essentially "bribed" Hillman to look the other way concerning the Abramoff investigation and the White House, and that negotiations had been underway for this move for over a year, while Hillman was prosecuting the case. Hillman is currently a federal judge in New Jersey, and has been involved recently with the Don Siegelman case. He apparently was the hatchet man at Justice concerning Gov. Siegelman when he was the head of the Public Integrity Section, a position he was appointed to by Chertoff.
One more Chertoff protégé is Tim Griffin who was a special assistant to Chertoff, when Chertoff was the assistant attorney general at the Justice Department's criminal division. During five months on that job, Griffin "tracked" issues for Chertoff, such as extradition and provisional arrest, according to Griffin's résumé. There is so much I could write about Griffin, I won’t even start.
I guess the entire point of this long and tedious diary (hey, it is not a short one, so I guess I won’t be asked to please delete ) is that the wolves are still in charge of the hen house. The introduction of Sarah Palin and even the candidacy of John McCain have served as great distractions for the stuff that is still going on. Michael Chertoff has succeeded in poisoning our legal system for the benefit of “loyal Bushies”. He is definitely the sharp end of the stick in implementing the criminal policies and ideas of our current administration. We must remain vigilant, even with all the hoopla about teen pregnancy and mooseburgers.
I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; not enlightened enough to exercise their control with wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion. Enlighten the people generally and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day. -- Thomas Jefferson
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Legend of John McCain
The political career of John McCain has been made possible by a series of political maneuvers and a skillful public relations campaign, creating the juggernaut that I like to call The Legend of John McCainTM. There are many facets of The LegendTM, but the base of the entire concept lies in John McCain’s military service. The deification of his service and of his time in Vietnam as a prisoner of war has been constructed into a nearly impenetrable firewall against scrutiny, and have also served, along with media complicity, as rose colored glasses to the public throughout his political career. Up until recently, no one could ever think of questioning any part of The LegendTM without facing serious public backlash. Fortunately, his candidacy for President has allowed and demanded closer scrutiny of his history, and of the phenomenon that is The Legend of John McCainTM.
The Legend of John McCainTMstates that: John McCain is an honored Veteran, is always on the side of Veterans, and all Veterans admire him and will vote for him in the upcoming election.
Point 1: The LegendTM states that John McCain is always on the side of veterans.
Paul Lindsay, an Ohio-based McCain spokesman, said: "Veterans and our military men and women have always supported John McCain because he has always, and will always, support them." The fact of the matter is that John McCain has consistently voted against veterans while in the Senate. Nothing could be further from the truth.
McCain opposed the 21st century GI bill because said it was too generous. McCain did not actually vote on the new GI Bill that provides better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain opposed the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08)
McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)
Opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)
McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)
Voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)
McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)
McCain Voted in Support of Disabled Veterans Only 25 Percent of the Time from 2004-2005. While McCain claims he “has been a leading advocate” for veterans with disabilities, statistics show he supported the Disabled American Veterans’ interests only 25 percent of the time in 2004-2005. In 2006, that figure slipped to 20 percent of the time. (Project Vote Smart)
McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-ofliving adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)
Source: AFL/CIO
Point 2: The LegendTM states that John McCain is admired by all Veterans and all Veterans support his candidacy.
John McCain’s presidential aspirations have shined a light on how Veterans really feel about him. Veterans of two generations, emboldened by the window of opportunity to challenge The LegendTM afforded to them by his candidacy, are organizing and are vocalizing their disdain for John McCain.
Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain is a group formed by Vietnam Veterans and POW/MIA activists Jerry Kiley and Ted Sampley. From their website, their mission statement is :
“Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain was formed to dispel the myth of "Straight talkin’, principled, maverick war hero" John McCain. Through more than two decades of investigation of his behavior, through open-source documents, public statements of his colleagues, and personal conversations with other Vietnam POWs, we have come to the unavoidable conclusion that he is unfit by virtue of his temperament, character, dishonesty, and emotional instability to serve as President of the United States or in any other position of public trust.”
Their website includes a challenge to John McCain that if he can prove their statements about him to be incorrect, they will stand down. They even include their phone number on the website so he can call them. Contributors to the website include the late Col. David Hackworth, a Vietnam combat legend.
The warriors of this generation feel equally slighted and have similar oppositions to the thought of John McCain becoming the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
VoteVets.org, a group founded by Iraq War Veterans Jon Stolz and Brandon Friedman, campaigns actively against John McCain. It’s tagline is “The Voice of America’s 21st Century Patriots.” Their website includes video ads supporting Veteran candidates for public office, as well as support links for all veterans. Their organization is building grassroots support for Veterans' issues by helping returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans get elected to local and state offices. VoteVets has funded national ads opposing the policies of George Bush and of John McCain. Those videos are available for view at their website.
This week, a study by the Center for Responsive Politics reported that members of the military are giving more donations to Senator Obama than Senator McCain. The troops in the field are seeing first hand what the policies of the current Administration are doing to the readiness and morale of the military, and are contributing to the candidate who they believe will remedy the situation. Their support is absolutely contrary to The LegendTM, and was not a variable that was planned for by the McCain organization. When the donations of troops that are actually deployed are isolated for examination, Barack Obama attracts more donations by a 6 to 1 factor. The troops are looking out for themselves and for the future of our military, in direct contradiction to The LegendTM.
John McCain’s military service and his POW history have served him for decades as a shield against criticism and scrutiny. Until now, even taking a closer look at his Senate business and financial dealings have been considered a nearly traitorous act. Any question of his integrity or his intentions have been perceived as a direct attack against all Veterans due to the creation of The Legend of John McCainTM. We must shine the light on this false media creation that threatens the future of our American way of life.
“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” – Winston Churchill
“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” – Albert Einstein
Cross-posted at VetVoice
The Legend of John McCainTMstates that: John McCain is an honored Veteran, is always on the side of Veterans, and all Veterans admire him and will vote for him in the upcoming election.
Point 1: The LegendTM states that John McCain is always on the side of veterans.
Paul Lindsay, an Ohio-based McCain spokesman, said: "Veterans and our military men and women have always supported John McCain because he has always, and will always, support them." The fact of the matter is that John McCain has consistently voted against veterans while in the Senate. Nothing could be further from the truth.
McCain opposed the 21st century GI bill because said it was too generous. McCain did not actually vote on the new GI Bill that provides better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain opposed the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08)
McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)
Opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)
McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)
Voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)
McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)
McCain Voted in Support of Disabled Veterans Only 25 Percent of the Time from 2004-2005. While McCain claims he “has been a leading advocate” for veterans with disabilities, statistics show he supported the Disabled American Veterans’ interests only 25 percent of the time in 2004-2005. In 2006, that figure slipped to 20 percent of the time. (Project Vote Smart)
McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-ofliving adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)
Source: AFL/CIO
Point 2: The LegendTM states that John McCain is admired by all Veterans and all Veterans support his candidacy.
John McCain’s presidential aspirations have shined a light on how Veterans really feel about him. Veterans of two generations, emboldened by the window of opportunity to challenge The LegendTM afforded to them by his candidacy, are organizing and are vocalizing their disdain for John McCain.
Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain is a group formed by Vietnam Veterans and POW/MIA activists Jerry Kiley and Ted Sampley. From their website, their mission statement is :
“Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain was formed to dispel the myth of "Straight talkin’, principled, maverick war hero" John McCain. Through more than two decades of investigation of his behavior, through open-source documents, public statements of his colleagues, and personal conversations with other Vietnam POWs, we have come to the unavoidable conclusion that he is unfit by virtue of his temperament, character, dishonesty, and emotional instability to serve as President of the United States or in any other position of public trust.”
Their website includes a challenge to John McCain that if he can prove their statements about him to be incorrect, they will stand down. They even include their phone number on the website so he can call them. Contributors to the website include the late Col. David Hackworth, a Vietnam combat legend.
The warriors of this generation feel equally slighted and have similar oppositions to the thought of John McCain becoming the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
VoteVets.org, a group founded by Iraq War Veterans Jon Stolz and Brandon Friedman, campaigns actively against John McCain. It’s tagline is “The Voice of America’s 21st Century Patriots.” Their website includes video ads supporting Veteran candidates for public office, as well as support links for all veterans. Their organization is building grassroots support for Veterans' issues by helping returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans get elected to local and state offices. VoteVets has funded national ads opposing the policies of George Bush and of John McCain. Those videos are available for view at their website.
This week, a study by the Center for Responsive Politics reported that members of the military are giving more donations to Senator Obama than Senator McCain. The troops in the field are seeing first hand what the policies of the current Administration are doing to the readiness and morale of the military, and are contributing to the candidate who they believe will remedy the situation. Their support is absolutely contrary to The LegendTM, and was not a variable that was planned for by the McCain organization. When the donations of troops that are actually deployed are isolated for examination, Barack Obama attracts more donations by a 6 to 1 factor. The troops are looking out for themselves and for the future of our military, in direct contradiction to The LegendTM.
John McCain’s military service and his POW history have served him for decades as a shield against criticism and scrutiny. Until now, even taking a closer look at his Senate business and financial dealings have been considered a nearly traitorous act. Any question of his integrity or his intentions have been perceived as a direct attack against all Veterans due to the creation of The Legend of John McCainTM. We must shine the light on this false media creation that threatens the future of our American way of life.
“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” – Winston Churchill
“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” – Albert Einstein
Cross-posted at VetVoice
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