It's Good to Be a Dick!

We are gathered here today in memory of a great country. A country founded on the principals of freedom, universal human rights and the rule of law. We are here to pay our respects to a fallen country, the land of the free and the home of the brave, because it ultimately succumbed to the ravages of a long and drawn out illness. We saw it coming yet we were in denial. Perhaps had we intervened sooner, the patient could have been saved. Hindsight is a wonderful yet maddening tool. The choices are so clear when they are viewed through the prism of history. You see the price of freedom is eternal vigilance and it was a price that ultimately proved to large to pay. Had we remained eternally vigilant, we would have recognized sooner the abuses of our government and acted accordingly. If we only knew sooner, we could have stopped our elected leaders from trampling upon the very bedrock of our freedoms and draining the lifeblood from our country. Yes, these are very troubling times indeed. Consider the impact of the expanding powers of the President and the executive branch of government. Consider if you will the impact of the actions of this President and the inaction of this Congress. Ponder the reality that we live in a country where we are no longer truly free and that our rights are no longer guaranteed. No, we live in a country where the government can seize evidence without warrant, spy without authority, imprison without charge and kill without cause.

Once again the Administrations disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law is on full display in the developing confrontation over the illegal NSA wiretapping program. As you may know, Senator Arlen Specter, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Intelligence Committee, has been waffling on the subject of issuing subpoenas for telecommunications executives and members of the administration who are involved in the wiretapping scandal. There has been an escalating, public debate between Senator Specter and Vice President Dick Cheney over Congressional oversight of the NSA eavesdropping program and other related domestic spying issues. Last week, Senator Specter in his best attempt at saber rattling, sent the Vice President a strongly worded letter threatening the administration with a “constitutional confrontation” over the issue. Of course Vice Chancellor Cheney responded erroneously by stating that the NSA did not need Congressional approval to run the program, adding though the administration is willing to work with Congress in “good faith”, he didn’t feel there was a need for legislation authorizing the NSA to monitor calls between people in the US and terrorist suspects overseas without court order. Cheney cited that the resolution passed by Congress in the aftermath of 9/11 and the Presidents authority as Commander and Chief give him the power to authorize the NSA program. Wrong again Dick.

The program is clearly in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, governing wiretaps and counterintelligence probes. Senator Specter has suggested additional legislation requiring the administration to submit the program to a constitutionality review by a secret federal court set up to approve such warrants. Apparently Senator Specter finally developed the resolve to confront the Vice Chancellor only after learning that Dick had been secretly been lobbing fellow Republicans on his committee without his knowledge. According to published reports, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch told Specter that the Vice Chancellor had gone around him in an effort to influence members of the committee to block subpoenas for administration officials and telecommunication executives. Even though the legality of the NSA program and the administrations approval of NSA actions are currently under review, it is clear that the NSA program is in direct conflict with the law as outlined in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. However, the lack of support Senator Specter is receiving from fellow Republican committee members on the issue of subpoenas is appalling and caused Specter to tone down his rhetoric. Obviously the Democrats are crying fowl because they are seeking to politicize the issue rather than confront the legality of it. Regardless, the Senator is waffling on his pledge to fully investigate the NSA program and hold accountable those who have violated the law. What else do you expect from the man who developed the “magic bullet theory” as a plausible explanation establishing Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman responsible for the JFK assignation. Don’t get me started on that. Anyway, it appears that round 1 goes to the Vice Chancellor.

Of course Cheney defended his Senatorial “end around” as completely ethical, stating that it was just government at work…business as usual. That’s funny. When has the word “ethical” and the phrase “government at work” ever been used in the same sentence…that is with a straight face? Cheney stated that by forcing representatives of the telecommunications companies to testify, Congress could inadvertently disclose “extremely sensitive and classified information.” Really? Could it be the extremely classified and sensitive information that the VP is referring to are the names and identities of those ultimately responsible for breaking the law and violating our rights? I can understand can understand your desire to keep that a secret Dick.

Think about it.

Idiots

Representative Mel Watt from the great State of North Carolina is a complete idiot. Equally idiotic is the current leadership of the Democratic Party led by Representative Nancy Pelosi. Mr. Watt is on record implying that the FBI raid on the congressional office of Representative William Jefferson was racially motivated. Mr. Watt, the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, went so far as to say that black voters might ask themselves why action was sought against a “black member of Congress” when there was neither precedent nor rule for it. Watt continued, “you’ve got a whole base of people out there who believe that the Democratic Party takes them for granted” and if action is taken against someone who “is a black member of congress, then our community will legitimately ask what in the world they are doing?” On the flip side you have Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic pals who wish to see Mr. Jefferson resign from Congress or seek to remove him from his position on the House Ways and Means Committee, even though the Congressman has not been indicted of any crime and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. You talk about missing the forest for the trees.

As a refresher, Representative Jefferson is a Democrat from Louisiana. Jefferson is facing a number of Federal charges for accepting over $500,000 in bribe money. While it is true that Mr. Jefferson has not been indicted, two men close to Jefferson have. Brett Pfeffer, a former Jefferson aid, was sentenced to eight years in prison last month for conspiring to commit bribery and aiding and abetting the bribery of a government official (Mr. Jefferson). Vernon Jackson, CEO of iGate Inc., a Louisville based telecommunications company, pled guilty to paying over $400,000 in bribe money to Jefferson. The FBI claims to have videotape of Jefferson taking over $100,000 in bribe money which agents later found stashed in the freezer of his home. The FBI searched Jefferson’s congressional office last month, triggering an outcry from both sides of the political isle that the FBI had encroached upon Congress’ constitutional powers. The President in an effort at damage control, ordered the materials seized by the FBI be turned over to the Justice Department and that the FBI not be involved in the investigation. There you have it, the Readers Digest version. If ever there was an example of the inherent stupidity of our elected officials, this is it. This incident clearly and without question, demonstrates how self-serving our elected officials truly are.

Mr. Watt, you are an idiot because this is clearly not a racial issue. Ms. Pelosi, you are an idiot because it is clearly a bigger issue that the November mid-term election. Mr. Watt, I know that you represent a low income, black constituency. In fact, your district is not dissimilar from the one represented by Mr. Jefferson. I also know that you have been an ineffective leader in Congress and that your ineptness continues to manifest itself by dwindling poll numbers back home. Now I’m thinking, if I were an ineffective black leader needing to reverse voter perception at home, what better way to solidify my base than to play the race card in my own predominantly black district?

Ms. Pelosi, you did a great job criticizing the executive branches power grab immediately after the FBI raid, but your current politically motivated actions are a transparent attempt to ease Jefferson from his position before the November campaign really kicks off. Ms. Pelosi, it is no secret that the Democrats intend to campaign hard and heavy against the Republicans by accusing them of presiding over a “culture of corruption”. Of course you realize that Mr. Jefferson’s continued presence would allow the Republicans to blur the issue in the mid-term election. What a transparent, self-protecting and stupid thing to do Ms Pelosi, even Mr. Watt pointed out that you were acting out of political expedience and that it could eventually blow up in your face.

With all due respect, the issue is about a crooked politician remaining in office and about the executive branch of our government overstepping its legal bounds, further eroding the constitutionally designed separation of powers and its system of checks and balances. For the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus to speak as though this is a race issue is absurd. Hey Mel, the Congressional Black Caucus is by its very definition a racist organization. Established in 1971, the CBC was founded specifically to influence the course of events pertinent to African Americans and to achieve greater equality for persons of African decent in the design and content of domestic and international programs and services. I wonder how the CBC would react to the formation of a Congressional Caucasian Caucus, espousing the same ideals as the CBC only in this case for white Americans? Congressman Watt, if you really want to make a difference do your job. You are an ineffective congressman who is playing the race card because you don’t possess a record of accomplishment that would warrant your reelection. You should be ashamed of yourself. By the way Congressmen Watt, when Ms. Pelosi recently convinced Representative Alan Mollohan of West Virginia to step aside as senior member of the House Ethics Committee after questions were raised over some of his legislative actions, where were you and the Congressional Black Caucus? You get the point don’t you Mel?

Ms. Pelosi, your actions are indicative of just how far our government has veered from its constitutionally mandated responsibilities to the people. You should stand up for issues that are important to all Americans. You are bound by the law to defend and obey the Constitution and the directions it provides. As your party’s congressional leader you should insist on the temporary removal of Mr. Jefferson from any committee he currently is a member of until he is convicted or exonerated of any charges. However, the man is innocent until proven guilty and if memory serves me right, he has not been convicted of any crime to date…hence the word temporary. I know that Mr. Jefferson’s unresolved legal status can have a potentially mitigating effect on your party’s election strategy come November, but he has not yet been charged with any crime. Can you say presumption of innocence or due process? As members of Congress, if you are not going to ensure that these constitutionally guaranteed rights are protected who is? You are both examples of what is wrong with our government. Weak and ineffective people, placed into positions of power and responsibility by an uninformed electorate, whose sole purpose becomes not serving the public good, but serving themselves and their party. For people like Mr. Watt and Ms. Pelosi, this is not really about race, ethics or the Constitution. It is about survival of their species, the promulgation of the political animal. For them and people like them it is more about personal re-election and winning a congressional majority come November. That is what it is really all about. However what is so sad, is that in order to achieve their goals and satisfy their greed, they would gladly sell the rights of the people and the soul of our nation.

Think about it.