What To Do With A Lawless Government

Not a damn thing....

August 24, 2007

What To Do With an Administration that Refuses To Follow the Law?

By Rowan Wolf

What do you do with an administration that refuses to follow the law? Apparently not a damn thing. We have a situation where the Constitutional balance of powers have been disrupted, and where the opposition party cannot even rally all of its own members - much less a majority - to institute its responsibility of checks and balances. Instead, we have an administration which has challenged constraints since its first day in office, which now blatantly states that it will not recognize any constraints on its actions. What country is this?

Like me, you are probably outraged that the Dems let the Protect America Act of 2007 (PAA) pass. While one could argue that it is only a 180 day authorization (6 months friends), it has already been argued by numerous pundits that it not only legalizes the illegal surveillance already being done, but radically expands it to include physical searches.

To add insult to injury, aside from telling his top aides that they don't need to even show up if they are subpoenaed by Congress, he uses his refusal to respond to subpoenas if Congress further expands The PAA, essentially giving hem a blank check for any kind of warrantless surveillance, search, and seizure he sees fit (Ward, Wa. Times).

Bush is also arguing that the White House Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. This is in spite of the fact that the White House web site says that they are (Eggen).

Want to see who was at a meeting? Screw you.
Want to have someone testify on a possible criminal act? Screw you.
Want to see documents? Screw you.
Want to change direction in Iraq? Screw you.
Want us to stop illegal surveillance? Screw you.

What does Congress do? They threaten to charge the White House with contempt. Oh DUH! Do ya think?

Should they be starting impeachment hearings? You better believe it. However, it does not look like they will, and there is every signal that the Administration is attempting to build a case for attacking Iran. They've been drooling for almost three years to do exactly that, and I have a feeling that if they can finagle it before Bush is out of office, they will.

Will the Dems act? Will Republicans look beyond party to country? Maybe or maybe not.

So what does that leave us? Well, there are various versions of a push for direct democracy. One is the Friends of the Article V Convention. Another is being pushed by presidential candidate Mike Gravel which is the The National Initiative for Democracy. Certainly, we should be pushing ALL representatives and candidates to step up to the plate and stop a rogue presidency.


8/05/07 White House press release. President Bush Commends Congress on Passage of Intelligence Legislation

8/07/07 Dan Froomkin, Wa. Post. Who's Afraid of George W. Bush?

8/08/07 Dan Froomkin, Wa. Post. Chief Spy or Chief Enforcer?

8/09/07 Paul Elias, AP. Eavesdropping Law Illegal, Lawyers Say

8/10/07 John Dean, FindLaw. The So-Called Protect America Act: Why Its Sweeping Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Pose Not Only a Civil Liberties Threat, But a Greater Danger As Well

8/16/07 David Kravets, Wired. Is Bush Administration Redefining New Spy Law?

Authors Bio: Rowan Wolf is an activist and sociologist living in Oregon. She is the founder and principle author of Uncommon Thought Journal, and a Senior Editor for Cyrano's Journal Online with her own page being CJO's Avenger.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.

Gonzo Needs To Be In Jail!

Gonzales's Long Record of Lawlessness
By Mary Shaw

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is under intense scrutiny these days over the firing of eight federal prosecutors, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for Gonzales's resignation. Not only does it appear that the firings were politically motivated (which is illegal), but Gonzales may have gone so far as to lie about it to Congress.Prior to this latest scandal, Gonzales was perhaps most notorious for his semantic gymnastics to justify the use of torture on detainees in U.S. custody and to protect the torturers from prosecution for war crimes - moves that paved the way for the abuses at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and elsewhere.

Later, so that other countries could do the dirty work for us, Gonzales defended the Bush administration's policy of extraordinary rendition, which is the practice of sending prisoners to other countries (most of which are notorious for their use of torture) for interrogation. Gonzales said that these other countries promised not to torture the people we turn over to them. Right.

But you don't have to be a Muslim to get a taste of the Attorney General's war on human rights.

Back in February, Gonzales went before the Senate Judiciary Committee and tried to justify his warrantless spying on American citizens. It's apparently too much trouble for Gonzales's team to get the required court warrant for wiretapping. (Getting one requires that you demonstrate reasonable cause.)

Now let's go back farther, to the 1990s, when Gonzalez served as legal counsel to Texas Governor George W. Bush. According to a statement by the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), Gonzales's track record on death penalty cases in Texas failed to demonstrate a commitment to fairness, due process, and equal protection under the law. "Time and again," reads the statement, "the legal analysis he provided to then-Gov. George W. Bush on the eve of executions failed to include any discussion of the most salient issues, including severe mental retardation and mental illness, abysmally poor legal representation and, in more than a handful of cases, even credible claims of innocence."

So there you have it: Gonzales failed to disclose evidence that may have prompted then-Governor Bush to commute the death penalty for a possibly innocent person.

In short, Gonzales's long-term track record has proven him to be an eager participant in George W. Bush's culture of death, disregard for human rights, and disdain for the rule of law.

The federal prosecutor scandal resulted in eight lawyers losing their jobs for no good reason. That's bad enough. But Gonzales's previous transgressions have resulted in unlawful detentions, torture, and death.If this latest scandal is what finally calls Gonzales to accountability, then it's a positive step towards restoring true justice in the U.S. But we must not lose sight of Gonzales's other offenses, and he should be held accountable for all of them.Gonzales's position is that of the nation's highest law enforcement official. As such, he was entrusted with the responsibility of protecting our rights and freedoms, and defending the Constitution. Instead, he has built a career on finding creative ways of ignoring or undermining the rules while evading accountability for himself and for those he served.

It's time to give Mr. Gonzales a refresher course on U.S. and international law, and the consequences of breaking them.

-----Authors Website: http://www.maryshawonline.comAuthors

Bio: Mary Shaw is a Philadelphia-based writer and activist. She currently serves as Philadelphia Area Coordinator for Amnesty International, and her views on politics, human rights, and social justice issues have appeared in numerous online forums and in newspapers and magazines worldwide. Unless otherwise noted, the ideas expressed here are the author's own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Amnesty or any other organization with which she may be associated.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.