so much for securing oil and pathetic democracy...

well then...now we are in some shit. turns out even the Bush family's favorite royals, the Saudis, have realized what countless worldwide already knew...the United States is not in Iraq legally. now they are even talking to such evil-doers as Iran. so the continued occupation of Iraq has now killed 3,245 American servicemen and women...another 700 or so civilian "contractors" (for a grand total of somewhere around 4,000) and god knows how many thousands of Iraqis (another couple dozen recently after the american-trained Iraqi "security" forces went a little trigger happy). and what do we have to show for it? (I mean besides the wonderful brutality of a civil war a long, long time in the making of course). we have secured American interests in the region of course...meaning we have enough oil to keep them hummers coming off the line and to keep ingoring the fact that my ski season has been reduced to about a month and a half, etc. well...we would have anyways...if the infrastructure of Iraq hadn't been dismantled and the place wasn't so unstable that there was no way to get their oil industry anywhere near up and running...and if we hadn't pissed off the entire arab world with our belligerent and baseless posturing to the point that now even the Saudis are calling us out. but there is no need to worry...a few british sailors will conveniently provide the excuse to go after Iran. afterall, if we destroy most of the world's oil pumping capacity, then at least a whole lot of others will go down in flames with us.

remember about a decade ago when the republican party had its collective panty in a hizzy over clinton telling a deliberately misleading technically true statement and wanted his ass out on the curb (not that it would have been bad to have clinton out on the curb necessarily)? oops. now it seems that alberto gonzales has tried to get out of some sticky situations by uttering statements that may not be outright falsehoods...but are deliberately misleading. and he even took it a step further by sending incomplete information to congress to avoid getting the boy king's rasputin in any danger. so this is where this country has gotten...we have gone from the chief executive commiting perjury to the leader of the justice department lying to congress. this is where the conservative movement has led us...government officials in charge of upholding the law that we can now all count on to do everything to subvert the law and try and dodge it. thank god for accountability and values...whereever would we be without it.

and so yes...our democracy is pathetic right now. and contrary to what a whole bunch of misguided and misrepresenting talking heads and pundits will tell you...the democrats aren't the answer to shit. they sold you out. they sold the country out. they sold everything they stood for out. don't buy their bullshit about how they care about the american people because they are offering a spending bill that would require the troops coming out of Iraq (knowing full-well that it won't ever be enacted into law anyways)...remember just two years ago they paraded around a man who once fought an unjust war before fighting against that unjust war as a war candidate. remember the last time people went into the voting booth they did not vote for anything the democrats stand for except for "not as bad as george bush" (a debatable point considering they sold us out on everything george bush wanted until they realized the public was sceptical...years too late). remember that they are proud that they raise plenty of money from corporate big wigs. remember that they sold you nafta...they kicked you off welfare...they destroyed your kids school with NCLB...they voted away your constitutional rights because it said "PATRIOT"...

impeach them all. start over.

one of the most un-American guilty plea proceedings we have ever witnessed...

david hicks pled guilty to providing material support to a terrorist organization. and this is where the talking heads come out and tell us all how wonderfully gitmo has worked and pat themselves on the back and proclaim how we have not been attacked again and it is because this tiny australian was being tortured in cuba for the last five years (because its pretty obvious that unless he were locked up long island would be a crater right now). of course these same talking heads will ignore the shame that any true american feels on this day...so let's examine the reality of what just happened, and how the conservative elite assholes have taken us one giant step closer to cheering on gladiators reenacting the battle of fallujah in soldiers field.

first off...look at what this man pled guilty to...working with a group in afghanistan that was attempting to thwart the american invasion. he never shot at american troops...which is probably good, because that would just make him a regular soldier and then we would need to take good care of him. he isn't an american...so treason is out. he was arrested by a foreign army in a foreign country and charged with crimes under federal law (then held and tortured for five years without access to the courts before his "arraignment" yesterday) that basically amount to "not throwing rose pedals at the invading american army." strip it down to its essence and the charges are this...assisting in fighting against a foreign army. something tells me a hell of a lot of americans were guilty of this over the years.

so the charges themselves are embarassing to a nation that holds itself out to be a "nation of laws"...the proceedings yesterday were a complete disaster, and as someone that believes deeply in the theory of our criminal justice system (not the practice), I am ashamed. the right wing fuckups will tell you that this validates everything they have been saying for so long...that holding people and claiming they have no rights and no law applies to them and making up the rules as they go along is a totally in line with what america is supposed to stand for and something of which we may all be proud.

but that would mean you would need to ignore that the judge presiding over hicks' case assigned himself to the case. you would need to ignore that two promiment civil criminal defense attorneys that had been working on hicks' case for years were booted out of the courtroom at the "arraignment" (in quotes because this was a sham) over technicalities when the prosecution objected to their presence because they had not jumped through the hoops with proper form. this alone is comically horrifying...typically these right wing schmucks are pissed off over "technicalities" that go in favor of the defense...little things like the fourth, fifth, sixth, eigth, and fourteenth amendments...and now, they actually design true technicalities to dismiss the most knowledgable and capable two-thirds of his defense team.

so after the judge who assigned himself to the case ruled against the defense on every issue at the "arraignment" and dismissed two of the three lawyers on the defense team for bullshit reasons...and after hicks' has been subjected to deplorable conditions and torture for five years...surprise, his only remaining lawyer (the lowest-ranking officer involved in the case) informed the court he would enter a plea of guilty to helping out a terrorist organization in afghanistan. (notice afghanistan is not cuba...or the united states...just a little "technicality" that apparently doesn't mean as much as not signing the correct paper).

under the circumstances, does anyone really put any credence in this plea? how voluntary could it be when for five years it is made plain to you that the system being devised will not be fair, and then your defense team is cancelled (perhaps because they are too good and might find a "technicality" or two...things like torture and illegal detention...you know, un-american things), and you have been treated worse than an animal for five years? this was an embarrassment to america, not a validation of all that is wrong with the boy king administration and his cronies. this was a tell-tale sign that the dream that was america may be lost forever...

those who would give up essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither. and no ben...we couldn't keep it.

why citizens must remember that a badge is not holy oil...

I am sure many of you have heard already (well, maybe not, which is why I feel compelled to share this)...but about a little over a month ago an off-duty Chicago police officer, Anthony Abbate (on the force for over a decade), weighing in at about a deuce and a half, repeatedly threw a bartender to the ground at Jesse's Short Stop, kicked the bartender and threw some haymakers to the head of the bartender for a rather frightening 45 seconds. here's the really disgusting part...that bartender is 115 pound Karolina Obrycka...a small-statured woman. her crime that Officer Abbate felt warranted such a severe beating? she wouldn't serve his drunk ass any more booze.

Abbate was finally arrested this week (even though the events were caught on video and have been plastered over the internet...but be forewarned, it is somewhat sickening) after having made it this long due to checking himself into a hospital (and we all know the odds of a black youth avoiding arrest for a month by heading to the doctor). even then, his arrest did not mean handcuffs or embarrasment or the perp walk or anything of the sort (its nice to be a large white cop sometimes)...just a pleasant "sorry we have to do this to you" affair. interesting, considering they knew when they showed up at his residence that there was atleast one firearm in the house (his service revolver) and anytime there is a known firearm in the house "officer safety" means they kick in the door and stomp on your head...but then that apparently does not apply if you are a white cop.

initially the officer had the book thrown at him...that's right, the district attorney decided to make an example of him and came out with charges of misdemeanor simple battery (again...we all know the odds of a black youth getting charged with simple battery for beating a much smaller woman). but then a funny thing happened...the media around town did not quite let this story go...surprise surprise, a burly CPD officer beating on a woman less than half his size because she wouldn't give him another beer was considered news worthy. and so the district attorney now was forced to upgrade the charges to a felony...go figure, throwing a small woman around like a ragdoll for no reason and then slamming her head with your fist multiple times being charges as a felony.

and the story just keeps on ticking...now it seems Abbate tried the ultimate CYA attempt by using his badge as a be-all-end-all trump card. of course this did not happen until after it became apparent that the bribery attempts to keep the folks quiet would not prevail...and so Abbate decided it would be best to inform the owner of the bar that illegal narcotics would be planted in his establishment if word got out and anyone wanted to see that charges were pressed. wonder which week they taught that at the academy...

and so here is my point...cops are no different than everyone else. there are plenty of them that are scumbags, lying sacks of shit, abusive, criminal, violent, etc. the big problem is that for some reason, adorning that badge makes some believe they have been dipped in holy oil and can do no wrong...and thus we get incidents like this, wherein the law thinks it is above the law (which we all know only applies if you are a Bush or one of the family cronies).

and too many people without the badge buy into the holy oil thing too...and it should never be that way. so if you are ever on a jury and it comes down to "he said, cop said"...remember this...cops aren't special, they just get a badge and a gun. they are just as likely to be assholes as the guy sitting at the defense table...they just won't get handcuffed and charged with a felony when they are.

the common senses have been dulled...

the frustration of a dead soldier: Kevin Landeck in his own words...

The following is a column printed in today's Chicago Tribune by Eric Zorn as a follow-up to a previous column concerning Landeck's father's pain at the senseless death of his son.

`It's all about survival," wrote 1st Lt. Kevin C. Landeck to his father in an e-mail from Iraq last Oct. 28.

"So I am doing my damndest to get me and all my guys home alive, cause this nonsense ain't going to be solved by us."

Tuesday in this space we heard from his father, Richard Landeck, 56, of Wheaton. I published passages from the pained, angry letter he mailed to President Bush on Feb. 4, two days after learning that Kevin, 26, had been killed when shrapnel from a roadside bomb tore into the military vehicle he was riding in just south of Baghdad. Today we hear directly from Kevin Landeck, who was posthumously promoted to captain:

Oct. 29: "I talked with a commanding officer about going out at night and using our night vision to watch for bad guys who are planting roadside bombs and `introduce them to my little friend.' But I was denied permission.

"I don't understand why they wouldn't let me do that. When we drive down the road there are IEDs going off and bullets bouncing off our Humvees and it scares us. I thought, why should we be the ones who are scared?

"I wish they would let us do our jobs. I am looking forward to coming home in April for my two-week leave. I will only have four months left in this hellhole and then I can be home with Bethany [his wife], my dog and pizza. I will call you and mom in a couple of days. Don't worry about me. I am doing OK. Love, Kevin."

Nov. 3: "The higher-ups like to run the war with a map and a radio. I am the guy on the ground and out front, so I do what I think is right and whatever is going to bring everyone home safe. Anyway, I am just venting. Life gets frustrating here sometimes but I am glad I have my buddies and Bethany to help me cope. My hair is like two inches long on top so they call me `Red' or `Crazy Red.'

"It is pretty cool to say I have led men in combat but like I say, I just try to get everyone home."

Landeck was a brave man and a hero by any definition. He was also an ordinary guy--a son, a husband, a brother, a friend. And to meet him in these edited e-mails is to get a sense not so much of the hows and whys of the occupation of Iraq, but of all that's behind the 3224 American military fatalities.

Nov. 27: "Thanksgiving was relaxing. No patrols for us that day and we did have some pretty good food. Not like home, but it's better than nothing."

Dec. 24: "Dad, I'm fine. Just when you asked [on the phone] what me and the guys think about all that is going on, you opened up a can of worms. It's easier for me to vent, and you got the venting. I just keep on keeping on, and taking care of the guys. Don't worry about me, Dad. Like I said, I'm all right I'm just great at bitching. I'll call you guys on Christmas. Love, Kevin."

Dec. 31: "I'm frustrated. The military wants us to be policemen and not soldiers. I don't feel like we're fighting terrorists or terrorism here. I guess [the commanders] feel like we are replaceable. Keep Mom busy because I know she is worried about me but I'm fine and as long as I stay focused, things should be OK. Happy New Year and hoist a glass for me. Love, Kevin."

Jan. 19: "Dad, you asked what I thought about Bush's plan to send more troops to Baghdad ...well, he can send as many as he wants but it won't make a difference until the Iraqis step up to the plate. It also means more of us guys are going to get cut to shreds by the bad guys. I don't understand the thinking of Bush and Cheney and the other geniuses running this war. It is senseless. Take care and thanks for everything. Love, Kevin."

Thanks for everything indeed, Capt. Landeck.

Support the troops...bring them back to each of their own Bethany's alive and now.

retaining the ability to misrepresent: flip-flopping and the truth about executive privilege...

"Evidently, [the President] wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything. He would have a constitutional right to cover up."

Those words were not written by any Democrat posing as a true liberal or any aspiring presidential candidate...they were written by Tony Snow (yes, that Tony Snow, White House propogandizer) in 1998 about Bill Clinton. Funny, now he is being sent out amongst his former colleagues to argue that this president, whose administration has made misrepresenting an art form, to be just that...impossible to hold accountable with a constitutional right to cover up. Snow went on to write this in the same piece...

"Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold, the rule of law."

My how times change for the elitist conservative assholes that have risen to the top of the Republican Party...now all they want is a president that will undermine the rule of law in any and every way possible. Of course they will blame the "war on terror" and claim it is different now, because we went to war by no fault of our own on September 11, 2001. But then they will merely forget to mention that "war on terror" was actually a term coined by the Clinton administration...and that the "war on terror" actually began many administrations ago. But reality and historical fact have never been much of a concern to these children posing as men.

Executive privilege is a sham, and it should be absolutely foreign to any nation that claims to be anything resembling a democracy (so don't give me your "we aren't a democracy, we are a republic" bullshit...I know my government and the history of its origins better than you). It is nothing more than an ability to lie to the people you supposedly represent, to keep the person who should be most accountable in our government from being accountable at all. What have we learned from executive privilege and claims of it? Nixon was involved in felony burglary with political motivations. Reagan was involved in illegal weapons sales and dealings with a member of the "Axis of Evil." Clinton perjured himself. And now Bush wants to avoid any accountability whatsoever...gee, think he might be hiding something?

So he offered up his cronies to give "interviews" to Congress, as long as no record is made of what they said. There is only one reason for this...to maintain the ability to effectively lie to Congress, and to hide the truth from the American people. Unfortunately, as Mr. Snow so eloquently put it ten years ago...Americans tend to want no part of unaccountable government officials. It is why Democrats swept both houses despite being completely useless in their own right. It is why Republicans swept both houses a decade ago despite being completely useless in their own right. It is why so many of us cannot stand to vote for either of these two incompetent and elitist parties anymore...they aren't accountable. It is why the boy in the Oval Office will fight so hard to quash the subpoenas...accountability is foreign to him (whether it be for ditching out on fighting a war, or ordering a war on misrepresentations to the American people, or overseeing the complete lack of adequate care for the wounded he sent to lose limbs, or pissing all over the Constitution he took a solemn oath to uphold, or drug use, or felonies...you get the point).

Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum...the thought that an entire branch of your government is claiming to be off limits to your scrutiny should be appalling. I have no doubt that child will tell you these people work for him and should be able to give him "advice" - like how to get away with politicizing the criminal justice system - without worry of scrutiny. Slight problem with that boy, they work for us. They work for you, they work for me, they work for that guy down the street, they work for the single mother across the tracks, they work every American...and they must answer to every American.

Wannabe Boy King...you have done enough damage in direct contradiction of your most solemn oath. As an American who still, somehow, miraculously believes this country has much to offer, and on behalf of all those in the past who looked to our laws as a guide to "freedom," and all those present who are horrified at losing the very essence of freedom, and all those in the future who will live in the gestapo state you are leaving in your wake...answer the damn questions.

If not, give them/him the Judy Miller treatment. Sit their ass in prison for contempt.

Bush killed his son...

Richard Landeck had a son, Kevin. I write "had" because Kevin became one of the more than 3,000 Americans to needlessly die in Iraq. About a month and half ago, Mr. Landeck sent Bush a letter. One would think, as much as Bush "cares" about our troops and their families, as much as Bush asked them to sacrifice for his political aspirations and imperial hopes, that he might take the time to acknowledge the cries of a family that no longer has a son, a brother and a husband. But we all know Bush never gave a shit about the men and women he was sending to die. To him they were toy soldiers sent to do the bidding of the conservative elite and fight the battles he himself never had the gonads to fight.

Well, Mr. Landeck, as countless other families who mourn the horrible death of their loved ones, is mad as hell. Having gone without a response from the boy that claims to honor the troops, he sought the help of Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune so that his voice may be heard.

The following is the text of Mr. Landeck's letter to the boy who would be king.

Feb 4, 2007

Dear Mr. Bush:

This will be the only time I will refer to you with any type of respect.

My son was killed in Iraq on February 2, 2007. His name is Captain Kevin Landeck.

He served with the Tenth Mountain Division. He was killed while riding in a Humvee by a roadside bomb just south of Baghdad. He has a loving mother, a loving father and loving sister.

You took him away from us. He celebrated his 26th birthday January 30th and was married for 17 months. He graduated from Purdue University and went through the ROTC program. That is where he met his future wife. He was proud to be a part of the military and took exceptional pride in becoming a leader of men. He accepted his role as a platoon leader with exceptional enthusiasm and was proud to serve his country.

I had many conversations with Kevin before he left to serve as well as during his deployment. The message he continued to send to me was that of incompetence. Incompetence by you, (Vice President Richard) Cheney and (former Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld. Incompetence by some of his commanders as well as the overall strategy of your decisions.

When I asked him about what he thought about your decision to "surge" more troops to Baghdad, he told me, "until the Iraqis pick up the ball, we are going to get cut to shreds. It doesn't matter how many troops Bush sends, nothing has been addressed to solve the problem he started."

Answer me this: How in the world can you justify invading Iraq when the problem began and continues to lie in Afghanistan? I don't want your idiotic standard answer about keeping America safe. What did Sadaam Hussein have to do with 9/11? We all know it had to do with the first Iraq war where your father failed to take Sadaam down.

Well George, you have succeeded in taking down over 3,100 of our best young men, my son being one of them. Kevin told me many times we are not fighting terrorism in Iraq and they could not do their jobs as soldiers. He said they are trained to be on the offensive and to fight but all they are doing is acting like policemen.

Well George, you or some "genius" like you who have never fought in a war but enjoy all the perks your positions afford you are making life and death decisions. In the case of my son, you made a death decision.

Let me explain a few other points he and I discussed. He said when he and his men were riding down the road in their Humvees, roadside bombs would explode and they would hear bullets bouncing off their vehicle. He said they were scared. He thought "why should we be the ones who are scared?" He asked permission to take some of his men out at night with their night vision glasses because as he said "we own the night" and watch for the people who are setting roadside bombs and "take them out." He said, "I want them to be the ones that are scared." He was denied permission. Why? It made perfect sense to me and other people who I told about this.

When he was at a checkpoint he was told that if a vehicle was coming at them even at a high rate of speed he could not arbitrarily use his weapon. He had to wave his arms and, if the vehicle did not stop, he could fire a warning shot over the vehicle. If the vehicle did not stop then, he could shoot at the tires. If the vehicle did not yet stop he could take a shot at the driver. Who in their right mind made that kind of decision?

How would you like to be at a check point with a vehicle coming at you that won't stop and go through all those motions? You will never know!

You or Cheney or Rumsfeld will never know the anguish, the worry, the sleepless nights, the waiting for the loved one who may never return. If the soldiers were able to do their jobs and the ego's of politicians like you, your "cronies" and some commanders had their heads on straight, we would be out of this mess which we should not be involved with in the first place.

My family and I deserve an explanation directly from you……not some assistant who will likely read this and toss it. This war is wrong.

I want you to look me and my wife and daughter directly in the eye and tell me why my son died. We should not be there, but because of your ineptness and lack of correct information I have lost my son, my pride and joy, my hero!

Again, you, Cheney and Rumsfeld will never understand what the families of soldiers are going through and don't try to tell me you do. My wife, my daughter and I cannot believe we have lost our only son and brother to a ridiculous political war that you seem to want to maintain. I hope you and Cheney and Rumsfeld and all the other people on your band wagon sleep well at night….we certainly don't.

Richard Landeck

Proud father of a fallen soldier

keep the car running...

ski season is drawing to a close (earlier and earlier every year)...sports illustrated reports that estimates show the season at taos will be three weeks shorter within my lifetime. but it's ok...I don't mind...really...go fill up the hummer and crank the air conditioning...

speaking of air conditioning, haven't been hearing much from the "there is no global warming" folks as of late. remember when they were all telling us "I told you so" when some storms (belatedly) hit the east coast. apparently they forgot that people were jogging through the streets of new york and boston in t-shirts in january. well...this has officially become the warmest winter globally on record. what is it about the human race that leads us to destroy so arrogantly?

and why is it that the people that are the most arrogant about destroying the planet and future generation's ability to ski, or even breath, are the ones that claim to so love god? if you truly were tight with god, don't you think you might just want to take care of his creation? not that I am a biblical scholar or anything...but somehow I doubt god would take aggressive war and environmental destruction well at the pearly gates.

news flash...the guy who for the last 10 years we have been told was a mastermind of attacks for al queda and for the last 5 years have been told was the mastermind of the 9/11 crimes...the government is now claiming he admitted to (gasp) being the mastermind of attacks and the 9/11 crimes. see...torture really does work.

of course we can't be sure of that because the hearings where his alleged statements were read by some joe were closed to the public, the press, and basically the accused themselves (because really...mere physical presence doesn't mean shit...good thing we "won" the cold "war"). but the government promises us that is what he really said...and we all know, that if the government tells us something it must be true...especially if it means we get to send poor kids to kill and die somewhere far away from home.

and I guess I shouldn't say "torture"...because in the statement (read by someone else) apparently he said that, while he had spent time in secret cia prisons (and they assure us they do not torture or do anything illegal) he was being pampered when he made the statements at gitmo. sometimes law "enforcement" folks tell the same lie so many times in so many cases, they really begin to believe it.

and of course the cia doesn't do anything illegal...its an extra-legal institution. technicalities always get in the way.

now that the presidential election is right around the corner and campaigning is in full swing...consider this...anyone able to get elected in an American presidential election should be banned from ever holding public office.

even obama is breaking my heart...is kucinich running again?

this saturday people will march on the pentagon...what are the odds makers saying about the administration ordering troops in?

oh...that's right...there aren't any troops available to send.

anyone with any semblance of an understanding of the beginnings of this country and the ideals that birthed must recognize how incredibly horrifying it is that our "leaders" are arguing with each other over who is the best militarist.

one wonders why the "evil-doers" don't just pay for mcdonald's and anheuser busch's marketing...

bush is "frankly not happy" with alberto gonzalez and the way he fired eight united states attorneys at bush's behest. this is what your presidency has become people...lies and half truths about anything and everything. afterall...if you can bullshit your way into a couple wars...it is nothing to bullshit your way out of responsibility for destroying the american justice system.

a teacher is in a lot of hot water because he used materials from a british website in a sex ed class that informed pupils about sex in a frank and honest manner. notice the source came from outside this country...because we all know that as good, god-fearing Americans...we don't fuck.

don't look now...but the housing market that was going to save the "economy" from a tailspin is having some issues...

...not that it matters since you lost your job and can't afford a house anyways.

but hey...the tax "relief" has given you 200 bucks back...

...not that it matters since you now pay a couple thousand a month on child care, health care, energy costs, and all the other nice things that tax money used to help you out on...

...of course now that you are jobless you don't need child care and you have time to study home remedies...

...except you just remembered you no longer have a home to study them in.

keep the car running...

family values for which family and American "justice" evolved...

newt gingrich admitted to focus on the family man james dodson (whose own family is a wreck) that he couldn't keep his dick in his pants while he was spearheading the impeachment effort against a president who couldn't keep his dick in his pants. but then all the "family values" folks seem to be confused on "family"...what with meth addictions and frequenting prostitutes and underage drunken daughters and illegitimate children...and maybe gingrich is an authority on "family values" - afterall, he has had three of them. first wife - former high school teacher of his. second wife - married months after the first divorce. third wife - former aide that could be his daughter. thank god marriage is so sacred and not being destroyed by the gays (except for the uber-religious meth-head ones). because if it weren't for good folk like gingrich showing us how wonderful marriage is by doing it three times over we might be have a society in danger of losing its "values."

American "justice" has come a long way since that nuisance of habeas, right to counsel, due process, warrants, etc. thank god we can finally rest safely knowing that the FBI has not been hampered by such "technicalities" when investigating brown folk in this country. the justice department is releasing a report that indicates the FBI used the "Patriot" Act to subvert the constitution (and the act itself) to spy on us without any check on power. big surprise...law "enforcement" in the age of conservative "values" spying on Americans without a warrant and for whatever reason they may like. but don't fret, because even though the action was techinically illegal, alberto gonzalez's team is assuring us that no criminal liability can be assigned. must be nice to have a badge and be immune from consequence for your unconscionable actions...must make you feel like the president.

but for those of you concerned that "justice" was moving in the wrong direction...here is your good news. gitmo will hold "hearings" for some "evil doers" to decide they will be tried in secret by military courts. so, if you actually want things like due process in a "free" society you can be happy. and if you are a fascist shitbag that focuses on the family you can be happy too...because there will be no defense counsel present and the hearings will be in secret. at which point the condemned will be held over for secret trial, without counsel or access to evidence or an ability to challenge their detention (habeas was such a nuisance anyhow). but then, if we have no use for them because there is no way to get reliable information out of a man you have driven insane we might as well have some fun with a kangaroo court or two.

after our heavy involvement in the establishment of so many banana republics, I suppose it is only fitting that the glorious republic meets its end as one...

Iglesias gets the OJ treatment, American decline, and broken "justice"...

former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico David Iglesias held a press conference recently to complain about the "pressure" he felt to get a certain political corruption case indicted (it just happens to involve some big-time democrats in this state...as Chicago has proved again and again, blue folk corrupt just as nicely as red folk) and that he was kicked out because he didn't get it done before the elections (amusing since one guy making the call - Pete Domenici - was never in any trouble of losing, even if he is one of the all-time great schmucks that brings out the right-wing in democrats and the other - Heather Wilson - had to know that her opponent was a useless moron who would sink herself, which, of course, happened). so Iglesias has now gone before congress and cried his little story about how he got a call at home from Domenici (entirely inappropriate and should be punished) and some outside pressure from Wilson, and then wound up fired.

here's the thing...Iglesias got fired for political reasons...but the man should have been fired for failing at his job anyways. so what are we to think? he was too slow on getting that case indicted (even when other federal officials were begging him for extra help to get it done - help that did not come until the impending resignation was coming). he was also too slow on a lot of things and hired a lot of hacks with borderline ethics and weak skills. so do I feel sorry for him? no...he was a political hack that, in the end, got treated like a political hack. am I appalled that politics so blatantly interfered with the criminal justice system? of course. am I surprised? not in the least.

the death of Captain America is prescient at this time...afterall, the death of "America" has been slowly (and now more quickly) occuring for some time. talking heads like to go on and on about how we are the most powerful country the world has ever scene, and the neocon numbnuts like to tell us that our military is second to none and can be used to dictate world affairs. but that makes me wonder...why is it that we haven't been able to pull of an impressive military victory since WWII? korean "rollback" became chinese ass-kicking and barely holding half. vietnam was a bloodbath that got us nowhere and never even close to victory. the first phase of the Iraq war maybe...except that Bush and his boys like to tell us how Iraq remained a threat, which lead to the second phase...which will likely end in a splintering of a faux-nation and us again shamed by "lesser" military might. even the Taliban is still kicking. face it folks...this ain't your grandfather's terrorism using, fascist ass-kicking, atomic bomb dropping, world strong-man anymore. just another has been. and it looks like our leadership (and I saw leadership not to imply that they are leaders, just the monied elite that controls politics in this country) has decided that if we are going down in flames, the rest of the world can burn with us. so enjoy the fireworks.

with the recent conviction of couey and john walsh riding with swat teams to arrest flashers who weren't home by 10 the night before undoubtedly some jackass will tell us that we are not tough enough on crime (again). and so, despite having an imprisonment rate that rivals the third world, being the only "civilized" nation with capital punishment, and a prison system that would make the likes of pinochet proud...we will call for more supermax prisons to house more "dangerous" criminals. and we will put them away without contact from other human beings, maybe an hour of natural light a day, and no stimulation but for the phantoms that begin to visit them. and we will say things like "they forfeited their rights when they did X" and "prison shouldn't be a nice place" and "it is time criminals had tougher times than their victims." and they will sit in these concrete boxes, alone, for a decade or two. and then their sentence will be up. and they will be out on the streets. and they will be completely mad. and we will all be less safe because of it. and the crime rate will rise even more. and we will put even more people into solitary. and the cycle will continue.

I recently talked to a federal prisoner about this mess of our "justice" system. bright kid. we talked about approaches in other nations that focus on rehabilitation and retribution (monetary). we talked about how he hates to be a drain on society and would love to be able to work and, if nothing else, pay some of the $30,000 a year we spend keeping him behind bars because he was born into the wrong neighborhood in Albuquerque. and I felt sad, because I knew this kid got it, and I knew nobody would listen to him.

I'm scared of the new pair of eyes you have...

the fall guy goes down and restoring my faith...

if I were "scooter" libby I would be a very, very angry man right about now. taking the knife in the back like a sad confused puppy dog, he is about to be convicted of lying to federal investigators and obstructing justice. expect him to see very little jail time, despite the reports that will tell you he faces up to 30 years...the man was a patsy, and the white house should be ashamed...cheney should be ashamed especially for sending such a loyal (remember the emphasis these bozos put on "loyalty" - from others of course, not their own) sheep to the slaughterhouse.

libby's conviction raises an interesting conundrum though...what the hell kind of "free" state jails you for basically not assisting in the prosecution of yourself? this ain't your great-grandfather's U.S of A. anymore...there are laws on the books (thanks to the fear-mongering asswhipes that run the political scene in this country) that make it a federal crime to say anything to any law enforcement personel that might end up not being true. not that it really matters...because without habeas they don't need a reason to give you to "Bubba" anyhow...

but in my rather lengthy break from venting via this medium my faith in the system was restored somewhat, perhaps because, in the end, there are still a handful of humans in black robes that will look at silly little obsolete things like the Bill of Rights and do the right thing by them. about 9 months ago a tractor/trailer was stopped for bullshit reasons by an overzealous shitbag of a "deputy" near gallup...of course he relied on the racial profiling of his buddies at the port of entry to give him the heads up that a truck being driven by a black guy was on its way down the road (and we all know a truck driven by a black guy must be up to no good). after a serious of unconstitutional acts by this "deputy" the two men in the truck were arrested and the largest land bust in state history happened...a couple tons of pot were discovered.

but a funny thing happened on the way to trial...everyone involved realized the cops were lying about the circumstances that led to the search and seizure. things were left out of reports that should not have been, stories did not make sense, and everyone already knew profiling was going on. in the end...three days of testimony made it fairly clear the "deputy" was lying and that his actions were unconstitutional...but what judge would have the gonads to throw out almost 10,000 pounds of marijuana? well...one did. a respected judge...one that does not simply roll over for defendants. he did the right thing...he knew the "deputy" was lying and he knew the stop and search were illegal...and he killed the government's case in the largest land bust in state history. and I thought maybe, just maybe, this country still has a chance.

if you want to read the story...check out this blog, which reprints an article about the ruling...

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=109567581&blogID=
237496548&MyToken=ab54ed90-ce6d-4d54-9808-e7a913ba548e

you're jumping someone else's train...