Stuck in the Muck

I promised you a short, recap-filled piece on current topics, as well as those that I missed while away. Busy days since my return have prevented that heretofore, but I’m going to put it together now. They will be short and sweet, but I’ll have links for any that you’d like to follow up on yourself. I’d close with “enjoy,” but with the topics that I cover, that isn’t likely.

Bradley Schlozman and the Cult of Personality

Schlozman, who is at the heart of the scandal at the DoJ, has had DoJ staffers come forward with new information about just how much he corrupted his departments during his time at Justice. It was not enough for him simply to have new hires be good Republicans. No, they had to be absolutely loyal to Bush himself. This test was also used to retain employees.

Arabic Speakers in US Baghdad Embassy

Out of 200 staffers at the embassy, only 10 speak and write Arabic fluently. This is just sad. We are the most powerful nation in history, with greater resources at our disposal than most of the rest of the world combined… and we can only muster 10?!? Perhaps the State Department should be going after gay translators who the military has fired? Yeah, that will happen under Bush. Morons!

Rudy Giuliani and Foreign Policy

It is one of the stranger facts in this presidential race that people see Rudy Giuliani as having any experience in foreign affairs. He doesn’t. He was the mayor of New York during the 9/11 attacks. However well or poorly he handled that situation, he has no other credentials. Later, he was asked to be a member of the Iraq Study Group. He agreed to join the group, but failed to attend a single meeting of this prestigious organization in its first two months of activity. At that point, its leader told Giuliani to either make it a priority or resign. He resigned. Why did he miss the meetings? They conflicted with private, paid-for speeches to corporate clients. The net to Giuliani from these speaking engagements over a 14 month period that included the two months in question was over $14 million. At least when Giuliani sells out his country, he doesn’t do it on the cheap.

Stevens the Most Corrupt Senator?

Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) has long been among the kings of pork in the Senate… and that is saying something. He has also generally thought to be crooked. Indeed, the taint spreads throughout his family, many of whom hold political positions back in Alaska. Now, it is all catching up with the Stevens clan. Several family members have already been investigated/indicted on corruption charges in connection with taking bribes from Veco Corp., an oil company. Now, Senator Stevens himself is being actively investigated in the unfolding scandal by the FBI. So, too, are grand juries convening in both Alaska and DC. I love the smell of napalm in the morning!

PBS Tilting to the Right under Bush

Bush appointees that run PBS have unabashedly been turning PBS programming into a political tool for the right. Fruitcakes such as Richard Perle have been creating programming for the network. Corporation for Public Broadcasting Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson, a close Karl Rove ally, is at the heart of these doings. /sigh

Trent Lott’s Own World

This one, I’m just going to quote from Steve Benen over at TPM.

In case you missed it, Trent Lott had one of the classic lines of the immigration debate this week.

Comments by Republican senators on Thursday suggested that they were feeling the heat from conservative critics of the bill, who object to provisions offering legal status. The Republican whip, Trent Lott of Mississippi, who supports the bill, said: "Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem." [My italics for quoted text within the quote.]

I see. A far-right senator believes the "problem" with the policy discourse is far-right radio for a far-right audience.

Keep in mind, this wasn't a stray comment for Lott, who seems to have been thinking about this. The other day, the Washington Post quoted Lott saying, "I'm sure senators on both sides of the aisle are being pounded by these talk-radio people who don't even know what's in the bill."

You mean right-wing blowhards like Limbaugh can rile up a large audience based on nothing but demagoguery? And that conservative audience will bombard Hill offices with whatever they last heard on the radio?

Welcome to our world, Trent.

Illegal Surveillance and Searches by FBI of US Citizens Continue

It is simply Orwellian how the Bush Administration tramples on the Constitution.

Office of the Special Counsel Continues White House Investigation

In one of the broadest investigations of possible political corruption of an administration ever, the OSC has been continually expanding its investigation as new allegations against the White House, and especially activities linked to Karl Rove, have come to light. Eighteen agencies – yes, 18 – are now spotlighted. Remember Bush’s first inaugural address and his promise to make his the most ethical administration in history? /cry

Private Companies Operating for US in Iraq

If you are uninformed on how the US is using private companies in Iraq to further Bush’s objectives, including in some cases for military-like work, you should read this story, which also contains links to other well-done pieces. This practice has received almost no coverage by the mainstream media, but we should all be concerned by many of the ethical questions raised thereby.

21 June 2007