Who's Watching Your Back?

Buried on the bottom of the eighth page of the Sunday Chicago Tribune is an article entitled U.S. proposes to ease domestic spying rules.I caught the story as a blurb on MSN's online news on Saturday and thought that it would drop into obscurity like most of these sorta dry administrative manoeuvres. The Times story was a slightly more informative than MSN, but below the fold on page eight does not a raise even a ripple.
The gist of the story is that The Bush administration has redefined the role of local police departments in the Global War On Terror. Now, any local police department that receives federal aid (over 18000 state and local) will be allowed to collect intelligence on groups and individuals that they believe to be engaged in terrorism or supporting any group that helps terrorists. This information will be held for up to ten years and forwarded to Homeland Security. Effectively, local police departments will be required to spy on citizens on the basis of any type of suspicion. Not since the sixties and seventies have we had the spectre of local police becoming "Red Squads" and combing the activities of anti-government groups and individuals. Except today we have "Enemy Combatants" and Gitmo.
As I was mentally composing this post, Keith Olbermann on Countdown covered this story. I was glad that it is getting wider distribution, but both KO and the Trib believe that this is a move by the Bushies to institutionalize domestic spying. Certainly you can't have a hard time believing that the administration that wipes it's butt with the constitution would have any compunction against wider domestic spying but I have one little problem: There appears to be a very good chance that the next President of the United States is going to be a colored guy named Barack.
I somehow have this really tough time imagining that the Bush handlers really want to leave this police state to a Democrat. Particularly this Democrat. So what does this lead you to believe? That the Rethugs think (or worse, know) that they are going to win in November.
Occam's razor says that this is just another of this crowds' ongoing movement towards the police state and that it's just part of the momentum that's been built up over the last seven years but I just can't shake the fear that this election is going to make the last two look fair. Only November will tell.

I Solemnly Swear...

I viewed a recording yesterday of Nancy Pelosi at a book event in California. This was a pay-to -get-into event which should have been filled with the faithful and of little notice the world at large. What made it noteworthy was that about thirty protesters attended the event along with the supporters. As protesters, this group broke the pattern of chanting and disrupting the event and went right to the heart of the matter and demanded that Pelosi justify her position vis-a-vis the prosecution of crimes by the executive branch. At one point Pelosi states: "I take an oath of office to uphold the constitution of the United States and don't tell me that I don't do that,” A fuller account can be seen at Democraticunderground

I will pause here to offer this: The oath Nancy Pelosi swore to when she took office as a member of the House of Representatives.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

The central, nay only, requirement of this oath is the preservation of the rule of law, to defend the constitution of the United States. This is what Americans have fought and died for since it's ratification. And note that it includes domestic enemies, a phrase that was added after the civil war to remind members that not just foreigners can endanger the liberties that the constitution promises us all.

As long as Nancy Pelosi hold the office of Speaker of the House, every time she appears in public someone needs to stand before her and say:

Madame Speaker, The President of the United States and the Vice-President of the United States have, by their own admission, broken the laws of the United States to a level which may be construed as Treason. They have admitted to actions which the world has deemed War Crimes. Why have you not followed the oath of office to which you swore, and brought these crimes before the body of which you are leader? Why have you shirked your duty and ignored your oath and not sought the impeachment of these officials as is required by the Constitution? Why have you stated that you will not even consider impeachment even though the oath you swore requires you to? How can you stand before the people of the United States and the world and refuse to do that to which you swore?

If Nancy Pelosi finds that she can not appear in public without someone asking her these simple questions maybe the time will come where she actually has to answer these questions.

Sign of the times

I saw an ad tonight on MSNBC. I assume it is running elsewhere but it particularly struck me that it was on a supposed liberal news show. The ad was for American Express Card. The gist of the ad was a man going to an airline counter to purchase a ticket to San Francisco. He goes to pay for the ticket with a card that has kittens on it. The agent looks annoyed and the next shot is two TSA people standing behind him putting on latex gloves and telling the traveler that they need to question him. The next person uses an Am Ex card and sails through.

I watch enough (too much?) TV to get all the references and the ad does exactly what it was targeted to do: Make you think that AM EX has credibility that other cards do not. What frosts me is that it we are so conditioned to this constant state of war that we believe this is a normal way for people to behave. If there is the slightest hint of anything that low-level functionaries don't like or even if there is no rational at all, then an ordinary citizen is subject to the most demeaning treatments you can imagine. Treatment that 8 years ago would have gotten these minimum wage Brownshirts a punch in the nose to the applause of other travelers. To attempt that today would get you a minimum of two days in a TSA sweat box with hand and leg irons and most likely some time in a real prison.

You could not have written a story about this happening to America 8 years ago and sold it anyone. They would have laughed you out of the room. And yet 8 years later we accept it so completely that it becomes a "cute" ad. With my perspective of 50 some years, this stands out to me but imagine a young person just coming to voting age. This has been how things are done for all of their adult life! I only hope that in the upcoming election we can bring some sensibility back to this country and maybe spend the next 8 years fixing some of what we have broken. If we don't, all I can say is "Show me your papers!".

Some things just aren't funy

I really like Jon Stewart and the Daily Show. It's usually a must watch for me and Mrs. d. Sometimes I find the bits a little boring but he usually has a great comedic sense and some of his interviews are fantastic. Tonight, though, I think he went to a place where comedy shouldn't go.
The opening bit had a Muppet like hand puppet called Gitmo. Gitmo was, of course, a prisoner of Guantanamo Bay. Stewart worked in numerous torture references and even did a take-off of the ventriloquist trick of drinking a glass of water. Water boarding of course. It was clever. It just wasn't funny.

I like comedians that work blue. I like comedy that pushes the boundaries of good taste. But I just can't laugh at this on the week where we are starting the show trials (one of which is for a man who was 15 when we dragged his half way around the world and tortured him for 5 years) and when the Bush War Criminals are getting ready to use the execution chamber they built there.

Somehow I don't think Jon would do a bit about the Birkenau Easy-Bake Oven, but then there's concentration camp humor and then there's concentration camp humor.

Article XX

Rep Dennis Kucinich spent five hours last night reading a 35 count article of impeachment against President Bush. It's a 63 page document that details the high crimes and misdemeanors of the most dangerous threat to America since the Civil War. The crimes include lying us into war, misuse of funds, torture, illegal wire tap, and failure to sufficiently supply troops in combat. It's like a laundry list of how this administration has abused the power with which the people of America had entrusted them.

Reading through them you find yourself nodding and agreeing. Some of them are heinous, others almost petty. Until you reach Article XX. It has the shortest heading of the entire document.

ARTICLE XX: Imprisoning Children

Imprisoning children. Imprisoning children. The mind boggles at the thought that people with the American flag on their shoulder bind, blindfold, drug, interrogate and hold for years without hope for release, children! And remember: This is being done in your name.

The saddest part of the whole thing is that Rep. Kucinich's efforts will come to nil. His bill was introduced to almost no notice within the mainstream press. Most Americans don't even know it happened and those that do hear about it are told it's another move by that goofy guy who ran for President. For those of you who do care, I can only say call your Congressperson and ask them to support Dennis's bill. It won't help, but at least you can say you tried and I recommend that you look at who does support him and that will tell you who you can trust in this Congress.

And the winner is.......

With Obama finally getting enough delegates to clinch the nomination the debate goes to who's going to be the vice-presidential candidate. No this is not about Hillery. I think the great overlooked question is who will be McCains VP running mate. On the face of it it seems pretty mundane. Do you pick Mitt who was a strong competitor to McCain? Maybe Bobby Jindal to off-set Obama's ethnicity. Or you could pull someone less known who will bring a swing state?

My take is that the powers that be are going to do this more like it was done for GW. Cheney was originally the head of the search for the vice-presidential candidate for the 2000 election. I think midway through he realized that GW was an OK candidate in terms of electability but there needed to be a real manager behind him. Hence the Cheney vice-PRESIDENCY. Many have written of their fears that this administration will not leave office willingly and believe that some non-constitutional trickery is afoot but I think that the real powers behind the throne will find a VP who will be waiting in the wings. The smart bet is that McCain doesn't have two terms in him and possibly not even one. Look for the dark horse VP candidate to be the real inheritor of the Bush Neo-Con power play. These guys are tricky and really, really hate to lose.

Anyone got any bets on who it's gonna be?

Plug The Meter

I seem to be focused on the CrapTimes lately. Weird article tonight about Baltimore converting old parking meters to "homeless meters". The idea is that you will give your spare change to the meters rather than to panhandlers. The money is given to Homeless Health Services. The take appears to be about $100 a month. Tom Yeager, vice president of clean and safe programs at Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. (I love the title), says:

"People love it... because it is not degrading to the homeless and it's anti-panhandling. It also educates the public to put their money where it can make change. So, it's not about money- it's a message."

Why do I suddenly have a vision of Papal Indulgences? You know, where you gave the church money so that you could go ahead and sin? Throw a few coins in the old meter and you can walk by that beggar knowing that you have helped to save him. It's a great idea and dog knows it's perfect for State St. Needless to say Mayor Dave is already on it.

All I can say is that I feel like I should go buy a case of 40's and drop them off at Peace Park.
To quote the late great State St regular Brian "Gotta quarter?".