Why I Hate Him So, Part the Umpteenth

"The only thing worse than a politician is a child molester."
-- Rip Torn, in "Extreme Prejudice"

For those of my Gentle Readers who may still support Bush - and by extension his appointees such as Alberto "Gonzo" Gonzales - and wonder why I rant and rave about his incompetency (and obviously despise the man), it is fruitful to dig into the actual workings of his administration. This is not accomplished by watching Fox News. One is forced to seek alternative news outlets, even if they might seem a little, well, leftish. But leaving no stone unturned in the search for the truth about the corruption of this administration, I bring you this cut-and-paste from the decidedly left-wing blog, DailyKos. Draw your own conclusions.

The Chart of Injustice
by Devilstower
Sat Apr 14, 2007 at 04:20:16 AM PDT

Kos readers got a preview of this story in drational's diary, and now that chart for selecting US attorneys is getting some scrutiny from the Associated Press. Far from being the kind of politics-free evaluation of prosecutorial competence that Bush, Gonzales, and crew had maintained, the document encapsulates the real motivations behind the firings.

The Justice Department weighed political activism and membership in a conservative law group in evaluating the nation's federal prosecutors, documents released in the probe of fired U.S. attorneys show.

The political credentials were listed on a chart of 124 U.S. attorneys nominated since 2001, a document that could bolster Democrats' claims that the traditionally independent Justice Department has become more partisan during the Bush administration.

To sharpen the damage caused by this document, there's an accompanying note that completely demolishes the argument that Gonzales was either duped by his underlings or merely asleep at the wheel.

"This is the chart that the AG requested," Monica Goodling, Justice's former liaison to the White House, wrote in a Feb. 12 e-mail to two other senior department officials. "I'll show it to him on the plane tomorrow, if he's interested."

Alberto Gonzales requested a chart showing the political activism of the USAs and their membership in the Scaife-funded Federalist Society. Any notion that he was only interested in their success in prosecutions is now completely lost. Explaining that when Gonzales gets on the stand next Tuesday should be very, very interesting. In fact, a better question might be whether Alberto Gonzales will actually be AG by Tuesday.

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[An interesting companion piece is here, concerning an interview with former career Justice Department attorney Daniel Metcalf.]

This seems to be typical of the Bush administration and everybody, and I mean everybody, that he has appointed or had appointed. Every one of them is driven by an agenda that is definitely partisan to a degree not seen since Louis XIV said, "L'etat, c'est moi."

That's French, a vile language, but very poetic. Translated, the expression means, "The nation, that's ME."

One of the problems that I have with Bush and all his buddies is that they have this idea that the authority of the government - their idea of government - that that authority and power flows from the Constitution, from the institution, in other words.

This is why they feel comfortable in trying to establish Republican rule in America, with all their actions designed to establish a one-party stranglehold on the reigns of power. Gonzo made this clear a short time ago when he was testifying before the senate Judiciary Committee. He is on record as saying, (in reference to Habeas Corpus"), “There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution..."

Whoa, there, Gonzo! This is upside down.

The Constitution is a legal document designed to prevent the usurpation of the authority and rights of the sovereign people, and doesn't grant anything to anybody. Rather, it limits the government's authority over the people.

As the Founding Fathers made plain (in writings, speeches, and action) all rights derive from the people. The people are sovereign (as in self-ownership, a concept also referred to as the sovereignty of the individual). The elected officials work for the people, fulfilling as best they can the wants, needs, and desires of the people.

As any reasonable person can quickly discover upon entering a neighborhood bar of a Friday after work, the people have a lot of differing points of view about the issues of the day.

Most recently, an overwhelming majority of the people decided that they had had enough of the President's war, whether it is right or wrong makes no difference, and they elected a new Congress to get them out of it. The Congress is directly elected by the people, as the President is not; as Chief Executive it is his job to fulfill the desire of the American electorate and Execute a speedy exit from Iraq.

But fire Gonzo first.