Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Corporate News Network Watchdogs

Waiting for the interview, the nervous job applicant could have been quietly reassuring himself with these thoughts, “I have the education, experience and dedication to the rule of law. Since it is not a political appointment, I am more than eligible for this position.”

That would be when White House liaison for the Justice Department Monica Goodling, fresh out of Pat Robertson’s law school, would ask him some questions.

"What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?"

“Serve Bush?” The startled job seeker may have replied. “I thought that I would be employed by, and in service to, the people of the United States.”

Pursing her lips with displeasure at the response, Ms. Goodling would give him another chance.

“Why are you a Republican?”

At this point the job candidate might think he was in the wrong building and check to see if he was really at the Justice Department.

While he was leaving, his name was plugged into a data search, along with key words and phrases such as “guns,” “homosexual,” “sex,” “Florida re-count,” and “abortion”.

The better qualified candidate was always dumped in favor of the politically correct one. Loyalty always trumped competence.

If this sounds familiar, the identical “affirmative action” system was used for filling jobs in the critical early days of the Iraq occupation. It sure worked out well there, didn’t it?

What has happened to the United States Department of Justice?

It was being transformed into a politicized law enforcement agency. No longer was its mission to fairly enforce federal law; it was now in business to enforce the will of the ruling Republican Party. Their mission was now being directed by “Bush’s Brain”, Karl Rove and the sleazy Alberto (I-Don’t-Recall-Remembering) Gonzales.

The effects of this corruption were becoming more visible than ever.

U.S. Attorneys were fired for investigating and prosecuting crooked Republican politicians like California Representative Duke Cunningham. They were fired for not investigating trumped up voter fraud allegations targeting Democrats.

Rove was pushing for the framing and jailing of former Democratic Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman so the Republican would win.

Attorney Generals Ashcroft, Gonzales and Mukasey were keeping the Department busy blocking oversight of the Administration’s numerous wrongdoings.

Eventually Democrats gained the majority needed for congressional investigation.

After poor Al Gonzales proved incapable of remembering anything at the hearings, it was Monica’s turn.

“I believe I crossed the lines, but I didn’t mean to,” she told the committee.

When asked how often this type of hiring practice occurred she said, “I don’t think that I could have done it more than fifty times, but I don’t know.”

I hope you’re as reassured as I am. She “didn’t mean it,” around fifty times. That’s OK then, I guess.

This sordid tale is now all detailed in a Justice Department Inspector General’s report now released.

I bet the liberal media is going to take up this issue with a renewed zeal for the truth, and launch a series of probing follow up investigations, right?

Let’s look at what CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, from the “most trusted name in news,” had to say last week.

“The United States Justice Department is supposed to enforce U.S. laws, but a new investigation suggests that the Bush Administration may have violated those laws when it hung out the ‘help wanted’ sign at the Justice Department.”

We are told the investigation “suggests” they “may have” violated laws. There’s some tough, hard-nosed reporting for you. Or would that be brown-nosed reporting? The Corporate News Network could not admit the report STATED they DID VIOLATE the laws.

This isn’t the only case of right wing bias or editing going on at CNN lately.

On July 25th the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing investigating White House abuses of power.

Several people went on record testifying to the Bush Cartel’s long list of malfeasance and treachery.

Here are sample comments from Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.).

But I ask, would impeachment be a vehicle to restore life and vitality to the delicate system of checks and balances, which is the hallmark of our Constitution and which this administration has shattered--aided and abetted by the do-nothing, Republican-controlled, rubber-stamp Congress which failed to exercise its constitutional responsibility to oversee the operations of the executive branch of our government?

Warrantless wiretapping of Americans; torturing and kidnapping and detaining numerous prisoners, foreign enemy combatants, prisoners, whatever they could be classified as; the fact that we have become a severely surveilled population now with the abuses of the Patriot Act--all done under the cloak of government secrecy. Political spying; the attacks on academic freedom; the politicization of the Justice Department; selective prosecutions--so many areas fertile for inquiring by this Congress.

As you see, very serious issues were brought up; issues that could be easily viewed as highly relevant to the preservation of our Constitution.

Come on, liberal media, show us the outrage! Shine your light of journalistic integrity on the hopes of freedom loving Americans.

Oops, here comes Campbell Brown of CNN’s Election Center. That’s all right, just because her husband is Bush loyalist Dan Senor, former deputy press secretary, and spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, I’m sure she will be as fair and balanced as Senor’s new employer, Fox News.

Ms. Brown begins, "Believe it or not, there was a congressional hearing today about impeaching the president," adding: "It was all stagecraft, though." Brown introduced CNN correspondent Erica Hill by saying, "Tell us about this piece of Kabuki theater, Erica."

Hill explained: "From the beginning it was pretty clear this was all just stagecraft, for what one Republican lawmaker deemed impeachment light."

"The Democratic leadership made it clear impeachment is not on the table at this hearing today for two reasons. Not only is there not enough time left in President Bush's term, but also they know any real impeachment hearings at this point could cause a major backlash."

Thank you, Erica. We sure would hate to see the Constitution’s pesky and unpatriotic impeachment provision intruding here at this point in history. Please assure us that the President isn’t too concerned about this theatrical stunt.

She obliges, "As for the president today, clearly, not too worried about this hearing. He was in Peoria, Illinois. As you can see here, kissing babies, smiling, taking pictures."

That’s a relief. Now if Campbell could just wrap this all up and put it into perspective for us, we can focus on more important things.

She closed the report by saying: "All right. So this is really just stagecraft, not to mention a real waste of taxpayer money and Congress' time."

Wonderful. It’s a good thing we have watchdogs like you and your husband, making sure we don’t waste any taxpayer money in Iraq, too.

Americans can now move along. There’s nothing to see here, folks.

Say, let’s watch that clip again of McCain saying Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election.

10 comments:

Anne said...

Don't you know that John Edwards love child is the REAL news story, Dave? I mean, really. This is America.

Unknown said...

Excellent posting, Dave.

"What has happened to the United States Department of Justice?

What has happened to the United States Senate? What has happened to the United States House of Representatives? What has happened to the Supreme Court of the United States? What has happened to the United States Government, in general?

BTW--Get out your ladder, I put you on the pedestal at my place today.;)

Dave Dubya said...

Annie,

It's just more of those US Blues.

Brother Tim,

These are the questions too few ask.

D.K. Raed said...

Very good & true rant! We have no "corporate news network", merely "corporate network" will do, seeing as how they don't do news anymore. The Dept of Justice needs a by-line, something like "only rich white bush-luving republican evangelicals need apply".

ps, I really appreciated your kind thoughts on my Juna post.

Distributorcap said...

we do NOT have news in this country -- we have words between the commercials. and the more salacious the words, the more sneakers and soda and free credit reports are sold

ps - campbell brown sucks. she should be thrown off the air

libhom said...

The irony of "Keating Five" McCain's sound bite is that the Bush regime already has lost the Iraq war from any standpoint except the profit margins of war profiteers.

Weaseldog said...

A question I used to hear a lot when I was a kid was, "Why did the German People go along Nazification of their country?"

As I watch the USA slide down the path to full fledged fascism, I think I'm beginning to understand.

It's all about ignorance and apathy.

When I emailed Pete Sessions a while back on the Patriot Act and the warrantless wire tapping, he replied back that his lawyers all agreed that these things are Constitutional. I guess he was referring to Gonzales and Mukasey.

Much of the US public doesn't know if these things are constitutional. And they don't know how to find out. Nor do they care.

Our citizenry believes that only good and qualified people are allowed to run our government. And I think they come to this conclusion because we little people are subject to scrutiny when we rent apartments, or apply for jobs. People assume that the same scrutiny is applied to Congressmen and Senators. I know that people believe this, because many have told me so.

Our democracy is over. We are only allowed to vote for folks that have already been vetted by foreign corporations. So we can choose between Kang and Kodos. But both stand for the same people. And it ain't us.

Dave Dubya said...

DK and DC,
It's amazing, given the decaying state of our freedoms and economy, that the public is so eager to buy the lies and spin from their telescreens.

libhom,
Yup, power and profit were the purpose of the war to begin with. Mission accomplished. The rest is all merely "collateral damage".

Wease,
Thanks to a stacked Supreme Court and a crooked Justice Department, only the radical right tells us what is Constitutional these days.

Amerikaners are all becoming "Good Germans" now. Nicht wahr?

Unknown said...

Been over a week, Dave, it's time for new one.;)

Dave Dubya said...

OK, Tim.

Just for you.