I commend to your attention Professor Cole's summary

Top Ten Worst Things about the Bush Decade; Or, the Rise of the New Oligarchs
By spring of 2000, Texas governor George W. Bush was wrapping up the Republican nomination for president, and he went on to dominate the rest of the decade. If Dickens proclaimed of the 1790s revolutionary era in France that it was the best of times and the worst of times, the reactionary Bush era was just the worst of times. I declare it the decade of the American oligarchs. Just as the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union allowed the emergence of a class of lawless 'Oligarchs' in Russia, so Neoliberal tax policies and deregulation produced American equivalents. (For more on the analogy, see Michael Hudson.) We have always had robber barons in American politics, but the Neoliberal moment created a new social class. At about 1.3 million adults, it is not too large to have some cohesive interests, and its corporations, lobbyists, and other institutions allow it to intervene systematically in politics. It owns 45 percent of the privately held wealth and is heading toward 50, i.e. toward a Banana Republic. Thus, we have a gutted fairness doctrine and the end of anti-trust concerns in ownership of mass media, allowing a multi-billionaire like Rupert Murdoch to buy up major media properties and to establish a cable television channel which is nothing but oligarch propaganda. They established 'think tanks' like the American Enterprise Institute, which hires only staff that are useful agents of the interests of the very wealthy, and which produce studies denying global climate change or lying about the situation in Iraq. Bush-Cheney were not simply purveyors of wrong-headed ideas. They were the agents of the one percent, and their policies make perfect sense if seen as attempts to advance the interests of this narrow class of persons. It is the class that owns our mass media, that pays for the political campaigns of 'our' (their) representatives, that gives us the Bushes and Cheneys and Palins because they are useful to them, and that blocks progressive reform and legislation with the vast war chest funneled to them by deep tax cuts that allow them to use essential public resources, infrastructure and facilities gratis while making the middle class pay for them.

Read it all here.

--the BB

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals speaks

From AL-KIDD v. ASHCROFT

All seizures of criminal suspects require probable cause of criminal activity. To use a material witness statute pretextually, in order to investigate or preemptively detain suspects without probable cause, is to violate the Fourth Amendment.

...

CONCLUSION

Almost two and a half centuries ago, William Blackstone, considered by many to be the preeminent pre-Revolutionary War authority on the common law, wrote:

To bereave a man of life, or by violence to confiscate his estate, without accusation or trial, would be so gross and notorious an act of despotism, as must at once convey the alarm of tyranny throughout the whole kingdom. But confinement of the person, by secretly hurrying him to gaol, where his sufferings are unknown or forgotten; is a less public, a less striking, and therefore a more dangerous engine of arbitrary government.

1 WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES ON THE LAWS oF ENGLAND 131-32 (1765).

The Fourth Amendment was written and ratified, in part, to deny the government of our then-new nation such an engine of potential tyranny. And yet, if the facts alleged in al-Kidd’s complaint are actually true, the government has recently exercised such a “dangerous engine of arbitrary government” against a significant number of its citizens, and given good reason for disfavored minorities (whoever they may be from time to time) to fear the application of such arbitrary power to them.

We are confident that, in light of the experience of the American colonists with the abuses of the British Crown, the Framers of our Constitution would have disapproved of the arrest, detention, and harsh confinement of a United States citizen as a “material witness” under the ircumstances, and for the immediate purpose alleged, in al-Kidd’s complaint. Sadly, however, even now, more than 217 years after the ratification of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, some confidently assert that the government has the power to arrest and detain or restrict American citizens for months on end, in sometimes primitive conditions, not because there is evidence
that they have committed a crime, but merely because the government wishes to investigate them for possible wrongdoing, or to prevent them from having contact with others in the outside world. We find this to be repugnant to the Constitution, and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history.

I commend these portions of the decision to your attention. The author of this decision is a George W. Bush appointee confirmed in 2006. As Jay Elias, who brought this to my attention at Daily Kos, comments:

This is what honest evaluation of the legality of the methods of the Bush administration looks like.

The Bush Crime Family... a gift that keeps on giving

Susie Madrak provides the goods at Crooks and Liars:

WASHINGTON — Huge flood-control pumps installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina don't protect the city adequately and the Army Corps of Engineers could have saved $430 million in replacement costs by buying proven equipment, a federal investigation finds.
USA Today

And....

Meanwhile, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., asked the Government Accountability Office on Thursday to investigate the Corps and the contract it entered into with Moving Water Industries Corp.

MWI is owned by J. David Eller and his sons. Eller was once a business partner of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in a venture called Bush-El that marketed MWI pumps.
Washington Post, March 2007

At the end of Susie's post we read:

This begs a couple of questions: Why was a company under DOJ investigation for such serious charges given a major federal contract for New Orleans reconstruction in the first place? And why is the DOJ suit against MWI still unresolved after so many years?

Very good questions.

--the BB

Who can hear the truth? - updated

Lamentations 2:14

Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen for you oracles
false and misleading.

When the wooden horse was being delivered, all the Trojans were exultant, save one: "Cassandra cried, and curs'd th' unhappy hour;/ Foretold our fate; but, by the god's decree,/ All heard, and none believ'd the prophecy." Oh, how Cassandra must have suffered. Imagine: she could see it all, the deaths of everyone, even herself, but because she refused to fuck Apollo, she was damned with the gift of prophecy, of being right but never being heeded. Think about that hell for a moment. Think about seeing the destruction of your city before it happens and then having to live through the actuality of it. Think about telling everyone you love that it is going to happen and then being ignored. All because a simpering god didn't get his rocks off. Eventually, Cassandra got used to it, though. By the end of her life, she merely accepted her fate.
--the Rude Pundit

He is writing today of Tom Ridge's non-revelation that Homeland Security alerts were elevated before the 2004 election to help get Shrub elected. No shit, Sherlock.

During the Bush years many of us could tell what was going down but the world at large would not believe. One could well feel like Cassandra.

Contrary to the popular understanding of Schadenfreude, there is no joy in being able to say, "We told you, motherfuckers, but you wouldn't listen!" It is only painful, distressing, and sad.

Watching today's horrors - crowds of screaming people parroting the lies they have been fed by those in power and their minions, lies that will help keep these same crowds in economic bondage and anxiety and unhealth - one wants to cry out, "Can't you see? That way lies death!" But they do not believe you.

Ἄπολλον Ἄπολλον
ἀγυιᾶτ᾽, ἀπόλλων ἐμός.
ἀπώλεσας γὰρ οὐ μόλις τὸ δεύτερον.

"Apollo, my destroyer, for you have destroyed me - and utterly - this second time." (Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1080).

Cassandra, naked, cowers at the feet of the image of Athena;
Ajax grasps her hair to drag her away
Attributed to the Kleophrades Painter
Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale 2422
[Source]

Lamentations 3:17

My soul is bereft of peace,
I have forgotten what happiness is.

Clytemnestra kills Cassandra -
Athenian red-figure cup 430 BC
[Source]

O God of truth, deliver us
for we are surrounded by lies
and our own hearts deceive us.


UPDATE:
You may read more about the lies and deception at Informed Comment. The vileness has no end.

Why are they not behind bars?
--the BB

When the appatus of the state serves a political party....

Remember the Bush Crime Team? Ah, good times, no?

Papers have finally been released of testimony by Turdblossom and la Harriet. It seems Rove was very involved in attempts to fire the New Mexico US Attorney, David Iglesias. Imagine my surprise. Pressure from Pyjamas Pete Domenici and Heather "think of the children" Wilson and from the White House to fire someone who was not actively helping get Heather elected by pursuing scancals among Dems.

Anyone recall that the Department of Justice is supposed to operate in independence of the White House as a law enforcement agency for the nation and not as legal thugs for current incumbents and their party? No? I see. We can forget a lot in eight years, can't we? Of course, if the Supremes had stayed out of it and let the 2000 election proceed with all legitimate votes counted we would not have entered the eight years of the Bush Crime Team.

Poisoned water under a falling bridge.

Last time I checked some war criminals were still on the loose. Pity.



You can read sordid details at emptywheel and at TPM.

I really do want these motherfuckers behind bars.

And I am so proud that New Mexico turned solid blue last election.

--the BB

So, who called Mrs. Ashcroft?

Now we know. It was George W. Bush his own damned self.

I like the comment by Slothrop:

“Mrs. Ashcroft, we know your husband is near death, but before he dies, we need him to help us cover our asses…”

Vile bastards, every one of them: Bush, Card, Gonzo. That they are allowed to walk the streets with impunity stinks to the heavens.

--the BB

We get memos

"First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully"
--John Yoo, bad lawyer who evidently offered his soul up to some demonic force

AG Eric Holder and the DOJ released some Dubya-era memos indicating the depths to which legal ratiocination can sink. Just days before Bush left office the Legal Counsel added a memo saying the earlier ones do not reflect current thinking. Talk about a last-minute cover-your-ass move!

While I believe in academic freedom and discussion of a wide range of viewpoints, I do not understand why John Yoo has not been disbarred and why he is allowed to teach at Cal. I should think some knowledge of the Constitution as SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND ought to trickle into the brain of someone who teaches con law. He is a disgrace to his profession.

--the BB

Are YOUR senators aware of this? Are mine?

Marcy Wheeler, aka emptywheel, reminds us:

In particular, I believe, they are delaying Holder's nomination to shorten the time between the day Holder takes over and the day the statute of limitations on violations of FISA Bush committed on March 11, 2004 start to expire--that is, March 11, 2009, just seven weeks away.

Sort of puts it in perspective, doesn't it?

We need to confirm Eric Holder as Attorney General ASAP. America needs this. The world needs this. Justice demands this.



For more information, read Marcy's post here.

OK, I just sent my letter:

Dear Senator Bingaman:

I am writing to urge you to do all in your power not only to support but TO HASTEN the confirmation of Eric Holder as Attorney General.

It came to my attention today that the statute of limitations on violations of FISA Bush committed on March 11, 2004 start to expire on March 11, 2009.

This may have no bearing on efforts to obstruct Holder's confirmation or it may have every relevance. We cannot afford to take the chance. The restoration of rule of law in this great nation cries out for swift action in appointing a new Attorney General.

I believe we have come very close to losing our constitutional government altogether and we must not allow any chance to restore it to slip through our fingers now.


May I also ask you to remind the Junior Senator from our state to activate his e-mail at the Senate?


Thank you so much for your consideration of these matters and the service you give to our nation and to the citizens of New Mexico.

Sincerely,

Actually, I just received an e-mail today from Senator Bingaman thanking me for my views on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. This clearly meant it was time for another communication with my Senator.

--the BB

I am so glad to say this!

The all-crow diet for hubris-reduction is reputed to be less than tasty.

Nonetheless, I am very happy to say that I was wrong.

I really believed that the Cheney-Bush regime would attack Iran before we got to the next presidential term.

You can imagine the consequences of that level of reckless stupidity. Can we all say "Armageddon," boys and girls?

But they didn't.

Mind you, I do not retract my belief that they were evil enough to do that. But they didn't.

I am so very glad that did not come to pass.

Glad and relieved.

I am delighted to have been wrong on this one.

Could you pass the wine? Those ebon feathers are a bit dry.
--the BB

Staying in touch

Y'all know of my support for Martin Heinrich in the last election and that he won in the exciting "blue sweep" of New Mexico.

I can't really cheer his campaign and ante up a few hundred dollars for it and not keep in touch, now can I?

So I wrote:

Dear Rep. Heinrich:

First, I wish to congratulate you on your election. I was very happy to meet you the Saturday before the election in the SW ABQ headquarters near my home, and very pleased to have been part of your campaign through my donations. It is a cause of happiness and pride to see a progressive Dem in the NM-01 seat.

I am writing to inquire whether you have considered Rep. Conyers' bill HR104 (Draft Bill To Create Commission To Investigate Bush-Era Crimes 01-06-2008 ). I strongly believe that without some sort of Truth and Reconciliation efforts that we will not be able to move into the future. Like the incomplete responses to the Watergate-era crimes, granting free passes now (whether pardons or simply tossing crime into the memory hole) will only return to bite the American People in a place where we would rather not be bitten.

I realize that as a new member of Congress it would be uncomfortable for you to go where the House leadership is unwilling to go but this is one New Mexican who would like to feel proud of Congress once again, and there is lots of reparative work to be done before I can.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter. I will stay in touch.

Elena Schor writes about Conyer's bill at TPM:

It happens more often than you might think on Capitol Hill: a new bill is announced by a congressional office, with little fanfare and fewer co-sponsors than it deserves but a purpose so abundantly sensible that the plan cries out for more attention.

Such is the case with H.R. 104, a bill introduced on Tuesday by House judiciary committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and nine other lawmakers. The measure would set up a National Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties, with subpoena power and a reported budget of around $3 million, to investigate issues ranging from detainee treatment to waterboarding to extraordinary rendition. The panel's members would hail from outside the government and be appointed by the president and congressional leaders of both parties.

Sounds like a great idea. In fact, it sounds a lot like Senate armed services committee chairman Carl Levin's (D-MI) proposed interrogation-policy commission that has been kicking around since 2005. So why does such a good bill only have 10 co-sponsors?

You can bet that Pelosi and Hoyer aren't going anywhere near this one.

I should hope the American People will rise up and force their representatives to act on this.

And I know that is a fond hope, but I am a foolish fond old man.
--the BB

Waaaaaaaaaaaah! - updated

During a lunch meeting two blocks from the White House, where he served under his longtime friend, President George W. Bush, Mr. Gonzales said that "for some reason, I am portrayed as the one who is evil in formulating policies that people disagree with. I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror."
--WSJ

Sorry, Abou G, you were one of the enablers of the SCWOT. Its casualties are the Iraqi dead, the lost and wounded MNF troops, the US Constitution, and the Geneva Conventions. You also trashed the US Justice Department, leaving our legal system in shambles. You get no sympathy for having stood by W all those many years. If you'd let him go for jury duty and reveal his drunk driving charge decades ago, we all might have been spared the horror of Bush. Suck eggs.

UPDATE:
Helpful reminders for Gonzales' highly flawed memory can be found at Crooks and Liars where Jon Perr describes AGAG's numerous lies to Congress (which - does anyone pay attention any more? - is a crime).
--the BB

Following up a bit on the last post

Juan Cole deconstructs Bush's lies, distortions, and convenient amnesia in the "self-glorifying speech on his Middle East policy at the Saban Forum in Washington, DC."

At the end he writes this:

Bush turned the United States into an aggressor nation. He kicked off an orgy of violence in Iraq that has probably left a million dead. He destroyed entire cities. He left millions of widows and orphans, and millions more displaced. He lied, he destroyed habeas corpus at home and abroad, he tortured. It is too soon to know if American democracy will ever really recover from [this] lawless regime.

I haven't forgotten FISA

Granted, it has not been in the news much lately and when it has been mentioned I have done a rather poor job of passing on news for some time now.

Mcjoan, who does such a great job of keeping the public informed, has a long post today with updates on some cases in the courts dealing with FISA and warrantless wiretapping in general. Check it out.

It is so damned difficult to pursue justice when everything against you is deemed classified and everything that exonerates you is behind a government stonewall of secrecy. Major suckitude. You can't prove anything, answer anything, defend yourself properly, and the government can screw you over with impunity.

Alas, being a conscienceless narcissist, Bush is constitutionally incapable of self-awareness or remorse. We really need to get him hauled before the Hague since justice ain't gonna happen in the United States. Is he traveling outside the US after January 20?
--the BB

First degree murder

Vincent Bugliosi's opening statements during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the constitutional limits of executive power:



I found this on Juan Cole's Informed Opinion.

Hear what an experienced prosecutor has to say about the culpability of George Bush (euphemized as "the Bush Administration").
--the BB

We note with undisguised pleasure....

... that even some Republicans voted to forward the Kucinich articles of impeachment to the Judiciary Committee.

IAFT.

My personal fantasy is that if we kept Dubya busy defending his criminal ass he would be too distracted to start a war with Iran. Though I know that may be the very circumstance in which he would do something so unspeakably evil and stupid (both, by orders of magnitude) to distract Henry Waxman from uncovering the truth.

Meanwhile the narcissistic thug is, once again, claiming broad executive immunity to keep the truth about the Plame disclosure from coming out.

À bas la tyrannie!

--the BB