Morals and values…? They’re certainly not mine.

When Republican operatives aren’t busy stealing elections, they’re apparently occupied robbing Native Americans.

Jack Abramoff, a fundraiser for the Bush/Cheney campaign, and Michael Scanlon, former press aid to Tom DeLay (now where have we heard that name before) are under investigation by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. These two apparently took a number of tribes to the cleaners to the tune of around $66million with promises of access and influence in Congress.

A case in point is that of the Tigua Indians. Their casino was closed down after a successful anti-gambling campaign was waged in Texas. Heavily involved in this campaign was Ralph Reed. Scanlon and Abramoff paid Reed $2.4 million for his involvement. After the Casino was closed down, Scanlon and Abramoff went to the tribe, claiming to be their saviors. They convinced tribal leaders that they had sufficient influence with both Dubbyuh and DeLay to get the restrictions on gambling in Texas lifted. Of course, there was a price tag attached…$4.2 million in fees as well as several hundred thousand dollars in political contributions.

Tigua representatives told the Senate Committee that Scanlon and Abramoff would be able to get Representative Bob Ney, R-Ohio, and Senator Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, on board. Ney’s assistance came at the price of $32,000 to campaign fund raising groups he supported. Ney inserted language into the election reform bill that would have authorized the re-opening of the Tiguas casino. That particular bill failed.

Opponents of campaign finance reform say that there is no demonstrable quid pro quo between campaign contributions and legislative action. And while the language inserted by Representative Ney and the bill that contained it ultimately failed, there is a demonstrable link between the campaign contributions and the legislative action here.

The irony of the revelation of these activities is that the perpetrators have ties to both the Bush White House and to Tom DeLay. And this in an election that was decided on the apparent moral superiority of the Republicans. Well, hypocrisy is as hypocrisy does, and morals and values are obviously meaningless to this administration unless, of course, they refer to the moral short-comings of their opponents.

A long four years

November 17, 2004

AUSTIN, Texas -- My, my, gonna be a long four years. House Republicans have rewritten the ethics rules so Tom DeLay won't have to resign if indicted after all. Let's hear it for moral values. DeLay is one of the leading forces in making "Republican ethics" into an oxymoron.

The rule was passed in 1993, when Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was being investigated for ethics violations. And who helped lead the floor fight to force him to resign his powerful position? Why, Tom DeLay, of course. (Actually, it's sort of a funny story. The D's already had a caucus rule that you had to resign from any leadership position if indicted. The R's changed their rules to match the D's, except they deliberately did not make their rule retroactive, so the highly indicted Rep. Joseph McDade, senior Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, could, unlike Rostenkowski, retain his seat.)

DeLay has already been admonished by the House ethics committee three times on separate violations of ethics rules. Please note, that is the Republican-dominated ethics committee. The hilarious rationale offered by the R's for the new rule to exempt DeLay is that no one can accuse them of taking the moral low road here because, "That line of reasoning accepts that exercise of the prosecutor in Texas is legitimate."

Uh, that would Ronnie Earle of Austin, who is a known Democrat. One the other hand, Earle is quite noted for having indicted more Democratic officeholders than Republicans, so it's a little hard to argue that this is a partisan political probe. Or it would be, if facts made any difference these days to talk-show screamers. - Molly Ivins

Yep...A long four years indeed. And you gotta love the unmitigated gall of the House Reichpublicans for their dazzling display of ethical and moral behavior. Hypocrisy never entered into the conversation or the equation.

It's beginning to look more and more like one party rule in the next Congress. Of course, Tom DeLay might be incovenienced, what with having to attend sessions of Congress in an orange jump-suit and wearing shackles and leg-irons. But hey, its a small price to pay for bringing ethics and values back to Congress.

Debate over Modern Uses of Torture

Why is this debate even occuring? Study after study has shown that torture provides no useful information, and serves no other purpose than to strike fear into a population targeted for torture.

Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Th Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed by the United States in 1948. Thus it has been the law of the land ever since. The Administration has willingly flouted its provisions. The administrations actions have left our own troops open to the same, or worse, treatment at the hands the enemy in the event of their capture.

The Bush administration abandoned the moral high-ground when it sought legal advice from Mr. Gonzales regarding the circumvention of the Geneva Convention and international law with regards to torture. Dubbyuh, and his merry band, have brought us down to the level of the terrorists, and the attrocities revealed at Abu Ghraib only served to fuel anti-American sentiment in the region. This, in turn, has provided Al Qaeda and similar organizations with throngs of new recruits willing to sacrifice their lives in an effort to drive the invaders from their soil.

We see the consequences, a barely contained Fallujah...Rebellion threatening to boil over in Mosul...Terrorists striking with impunity throughout Iraq, this despite a declaration of martial law. These are the bitter fruits of the Bush doctrine in Iraq, and the harvest has only begun.

Ohio hearings show massive GOP vote manipulation, but where the hell are the Democrats & John Kerry?

November 17, 2004

Columbus, Ohio---Hour after hour the testimonies are the same: angry Ohioans telling of vicious Republican manipulation and de facto intimidation that disenfranchised tens of thousands and probably cost the Democrats the election.

At an African-American church on Saturday and then at the Franklin County Courthouse Monday night, more than 700 people came to testify and witness to tales of the atrocity that was the November 2 election.

Organized by local ad hoc groups, the hearings had a court reporter and a team of lawyers along with other appointed witnesses. At freepress.org we will be making the testimonies available as they're transcribed and organized, and we will present a fuller accounting of the hearings, along with a book that includes the transcripts.

But one thing was instantly and abundantly clear: the Republican Party turned Ohio 2004 into an updated version of the Jim Crow South.

Indeed, just where are John Kerry and the Democratic party on this issue? Why haven't they made their voices heard? John Kerry and John Edwards did, after all, prominse not to give up until every vote was counted. Yet, after some people stood in line for up to 11 hours on that rainy election day, Kerry conceded the election not even 24 hours after the last vote was cast in Ohio.

Thanks for nothing Senator Kerry.

Morals...? Values...? We don't need no steenkin' morals and values!

The irony of the party, which swept into office on a rising tide of 'morals and values', setting itself above the moral and ethical standards THEY set for THEMSELVES is almost too much to bear.

House Reichpublicans decided to change their own ethics rules to allow their leadership to remain in their leadership roles should they be indicted, tihs on behalf of one of their more ethically challenged members...Tom DeLay. Such hypocrisy is, apparently, becoming part and parcel of the Reichpublican ethos.

Given their leader, George W. Bush, this should come as no surprise though. In Dubbyuh we have the embodiment of a man who has never been held accountable for his actions. From his arrest on charges of disorderly conduct to his insider trading at Harken Energy, Dubbyuh has been bailed out by family and family friends, absolved of all wrongdoing by the mere mention of his family name. Were he not the son of George H.W. Bush and grandson of Prescott Bush, he would be pumping gas in some dusty little Texas hell-hole, drinking his brains out and beating his pit-bulls every night.

Instead, though, he has America bent over the proverbial brass-rail, it knickers around its ankles, its skirts over its head, suffering the humiliation of his unwanted attentions.

The Artful, but Tactless, Dodgers

With any and all who have failed to toe the Administration line, or embarrassed the Administration in any way, dropping like flies, it behooves us to examine just what Dubbyuh is up to.

What he is doing, is further insulating himself from the real world. His appointments to his cabinet are based, not upon ability, but upon personal loyalty to Dubbyuh and his policies. This will squeeze the last vestiges of dissent out of his administration, and leave him in an ideologically pure vaccum.

This new cabinet will only serve to further isolate Dubbyuh from the consquences of his actions. But its nothing more than the logical extension of Dubbyuh's dodging of responsibility since he was a teen-ager.

Speaking of dodging responsibility, it appears that House Reichpublicans...er...Republicans are about to change their own rules of conduct to protect one of their own from certain leagal entanglements. I'm speaking, of course, of the the head of the GOP's Committee on Gerrymandering, Tom DeLay.

Apparently, if the leader of the House Reichpublicans is indicted for a felony, he/she must give up his post. Since three of DeLay's staffers have been indicted in Texas, and Tommy seems to be next on the list, the House GOPers are taking pre-emptive action. They are seeking to change the ethical guidelines which would require Tommy to give up his position as Majority Leader, should he be indicted. They're calling the investigation into his fund raising activities "politically motivated". I think it's up to the courts, and not the House leadership to make decisions as to Tommy's guilt or innocence.

The utter hypocrisy of this stance should be obvious...The Reichpublicans swept to power this year on a wave of concern for "values and ethics". Apparently they have neither of these qualities.

Colin and Condi-mima

So, Colin Powell resigns. No surprise that, but he should have done so when it became clear that Dubbyuh was up to no good in waging war on Iraq. But no...He sat before the United Nations and lied, and you could tell he was pissed off at having to repeat the bullshit the Administration was spewing. But did he do the right thing...? Did he resign in protest...? No. He played the "good soldier" and followed his marching orders without question. But you know what...? From Nuremberg forward, obeying orders hasn't shielded war criminals from responsibility for their actions.

Yes, Colin turned to the dark side. He, not always quietly, lapped up the excrement the Administraion put forth as manna from heaven and did nothing to stem its abuses of power.

But now, we have the "New and Improved" Condi-mima as Secretary of State. And we thought Colin was Dubbyuh's lap dog.

What Price Security?

For those of you who remain unconvinced as to Alberto Gonzales' willingness to ignore, not only the Constitution, but also international law, I suggest you goto "Alberto Gonzales: A Record of Injustice". It provides a full disclosure of his past actions with links to the memos(pdf) in question.

Now, let me ask you...Why are you willing to give up the freedoms, paid for by the blood of our forefathers, so easily? Why so eager trade these hard won freedoms for a small measure of illusory security? If it's for fear of further attack, that is the price of living in a free and open society. Unless you are willing to live in a closed and tightly controlled state, you should be careful what you wish for.