Well, well, well, is this one more isolated incident, under the command of one george w. bush, and with only one State National Guard or were similar incidents taking place in the lead up to the ‘surge’, i.e. escalation, and during other times, in Iraq to make sure there were enough needed warm bodies or were recruiters trying to keep their numbers up for their bonuses!
Tag: accountability
Mar 16 2010
HCR – Tiny whispered question in the dark.
This might be a short diary, and I hope you will forgive me.
You see, one thing bothers me. Columbo style, you might say. You might say it sticks in my craw. Makes me scratch my head in puzzlement. But in order for me to ask it in the most expansive possible fashion you might have to bear with me while I circle, apparently aimlessly, around to my question..
We see these problems in our country. Some of these problems revolve around accountability, others account to a systemic shafting of the middle class, and still others revolve around political will.
We have a country in which a Democratic Senator backtracks endlessly on basic oversight regulation for people who potentially stole or defrauded the American Middle Class out of billions or perhaps trillions of dollars. Yet this is the same country that will have bespectacled IRS Agents showing up at a car wash with threats and demands for 4 cents in back taxes.
(HT/Colorado Is the Shiznit).
We have a country in which the Attorney General’s Office of the United States of America will spend lawyers, briefs, and endless uncounted dollars making sure that two people with the same dangly bits can’t possibly join their lives together in a manner that might make them eligible for one cent of government benefits — benefits their taxes paid for.
Yet we have this SAME country where, when even supposedly “respected” mortgage companies defraud millions and millions of home owners, nothing, apparently can be done — our government, we are led to believe, is utterly helpless to hold them accountable.
We know that accountability does still exist in this country, for some people.
We know, for example, that if I were to go out, with a finger in my jacket, and hold up a liquor store for $50, I would be going to prison for a long long time.
Yet we have this country, that whispers, siren like in our ear — “Just be a BIGGER criminal. Steal MORE. Then they won’t put you in prison, they’ll promote you to Secretary of the Treasury.”
So, to my question .. I almost forgot!
Feb 01 2010
President Palin renews and expands enhanced interrogation program
Crossposted at Daily Kos
Jan 30th, 2017
Just days after being inaugaurated as America’s 45th President, Sarah Palin has announced that her administration will renew the enhanced interrogation programs that began after 9/11.
“We take very, very seriously the threat that potential terrorists expose upon our freedoms, so I decided that we shouldn’t take any options off the table. Now every police station in the country will be equipped to interrogate the thousands and thousands of terrorists that are hiding in our country. Until we know how many terrorists there really are in America my baby Trig and the rest of America can never be really safe, doncha know. And we can never really know until we start interrogating random Americans, who should have nothing to fear if they aren’t involved with the terrorists. Also, just think of all the new jobs this will create, since we are gonna need a lot of new police officers to deal with all the new terrorists we have to find. Today is a great day for freedom.” President Palin said with a wink towards the cameras.
Feb 01 2010
Accountability?
Andrew Sullivan has a funny sense of accountability. Essentially, because the Chilcot Inquiry forced Tony Blair to be “answerable,” in words only, and defiant words at that, for his role in a war of aggression, the most heinous criminal acts imaginable, the “most serious crimes of concern to the international community,” crimes against peace, including
(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;
(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
Sullivan thinks a score has been settled? An account has been balanced? A debt has been paid? Tony Blair is no longer in arrears?
Jan 24 2010
Charge a President with Murder
Crossposted at Daily Kos
If accountability is off the table, so is Democracy.
In an age when the rich and powerful have more control over the creation of the law than ever we face the greatest threat to our Democracy we have ever known. We have met the enemy, and he is us.
If the rich and powerful can bribe lawmakers to do their bidding AND those lawmakers are not subject to the same laws they are supposed to uphold than there is no freedom, there is no equality, there is no justice. The biggest threat to our democracy is not a man with a bomb in his pants or a hijacker flying a plane, it is a man with unlimited power and no one that he must answer to. If that man is an American he is capable of doing more damage to America than any terrorist could ever dream of.
If you love freedom and Democracy please join me below the fold.
Dec 11 2009
Banksters get Tagged in the UK, Only to Flee to, Guess Where?
Finally a Representative body, that knows WHO they work for …
Class war breaks out in the U.K.
The Labor government announces a tax on exorbitantly-paid bankers. American populists gnash their teeth in envy
By Andrew Leonard, Dec 9, 2009
Unsurprising headline of the year: “U.S. Probably Will Avoid Matching U.K. 50 percent Bonus Tax.”
Alistair Darling, the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the tax — aimed squarely at overpaid bankers
[…]
From Bloomberg:
“There are some banks who still believe their priority is to pay substantial bonuses,” Darling said in Parliament. “I am giving them a choice. They can use their profits to build up their capital base. If they insist on paying substantial rewards, I am determined to claw money back for the taxpayer.”
Paul Krugman says the move is “entirely reasonable.” Justin Fox asks, “why the heck not?” Felix Salmon says “well done.”
But don’t expect a repeat across the pond.
http://www.salon.com/technolog…
Interesting … maybe the People CAN Fight back?
Nov 29 2009
Iraq War Inquiry: Analysis and Push Back Grows Against any Coverup
But first we have the release of a scathing report from the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, {46 page PDF} How we failed to get bin Laden and why it matters today
As I’ve said in a few posts, the past week of the hearings, the picture coming out was our administration then especially, and others, weren’t focused on bin Laden, al Qaeda nor the Taliban who were harboring them in Afghanistan, their almost complete focus prior to 9/11, as to that region, was a growing want to have regime change in Iraq, that became the total focus on the same day as 9/11, as has been noted by Condoleezza Rice mentioning Saddam as a possible suspect behind the 9/11 attacks or supporter of al Qaeda, which he never was.
Here is an analysis of the released report:
Nov 21 2009
Grayson on: Secret Bailouts, Fed Audit, and Rewarding Failure
If you DON’T Study, DON’T play by the Rules, and DON’T CARE who is hurt by your careless actions — would you expect an “all expenses paid” Scholarship? … or record Bonuses? … or more free Mad Money than you know what to do with?
Hardly!
Yet that is exactly what the reckless Wall Street Bankers got — HUGE Rewards — FOR BEHAVING BADLY!
In some circles, this is call Co-dependency and “Enabling” …
In America we call it “Too Big to Fail”.
Well Alan Grayson and Ron Paul, are about expose this Trillion Dollar “reward for failure” system, for what it is …
Rep. Alan Grayson on the Fed Bailing Out Big Banks:
“You Don’t Give Scholarships to Kids Who Fail”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
Oct 26 2009
Bush Torture = Obama Torture unless War Crimes are Prosecuted
Crossposted at Daily Kos
For those who will automatically balk at the Obama = Bush charge, I submit to you the fact that by Geneva Law, if Bush/Cheney is not held accountable for the War Crimes they have committed, than the Obama Administration is complicit in those crimes and guilty of covering them up.
The Obama administration has clung for so long to the Bush administration’s expansive claims of national security and executive power that it is in danger of turning President George W. Bush’s cover-up of abuses committed in the name of fighting terrorism into President Barack Obama’s cover-up.
Bold text added by diarist
Oct 24 2009
Ratigan reviews Frontline’s Warning, labels Wall Street as Legalized Gambling
If you missed Dylan Ratigan’s interview today with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) — well you missed a lot!
They spell out in stark relief the very REAL need for serious Wall Street Regulation — NOW! (and still!)
Or we risk a repeat of the same Bubble-driven collapse of Trillion Dollar Derivative Bets, that occur in the dark, beyond the reach — or even the Watch — of any Govt Regulator, or even the Public scrutinity.
Nothing has changed, they can STILL Gamble Trillions in Derivatives, and let US the Taxpayers pick up the Tab, whenever their Bets GO Bad!
Link to MSNBC Clip to the Ratigan Cantwell Interview
Definitely a “Must See”, in my opinion.
So much so, I transcribed much of it, to help peak your interest …
Oct 23 2009
Drop Dead Dick Cheney Day
I don’t know if this is going to get me in trouble or not. I suppose on the one hand it’s advocating murder on some level, though we can argue the word-smithing later. On the other hand, this proposal isn’t anything more than a scientific experiment and if it works it can easily be argued Dick Cheney gave his life for science.