There was disheartening news yesterday on a couple of fronts, both of which involve the Obama administration justice department and its schizophrenic behavior in deciding what position it wants to espouse and how much of what Obama promised during the campaign they want to try to defend.
In 2010 the federal government decided that the Western Sage Grouse deserved protection across its range of 11 western states, a decision that is yet to be implemented because the Interior Department has sought to delay an actual designation of “endangered” until 2015, saying other species have priority. A cynic might say that the Interior Department is stalling around because this simple decision “endangers” another group of animals – western ranchers, oil and gas exploration companies and home builders across the west. By putting off the decision on whether to give more protections, administration officials are buying time to avoid prohibitions on grazing, limits to future drilling and possibly curbs on residential and commercial construction. It almost seems like the administration is comfortable arguing high minded ideas like global warming but when the rubber meets the road in a real time practical situation they fall back on time honored practice of siding with the money and against the lonely bird with the flamboyant feathers.
In another case where the justice department seems to be on the wrong side of popular sentiment, they have suddenly announced that they are going to aggressively prosecute marijuana growers supplying medical marijuana dispensaries even in states where they are legal per state law because growing marijuana is against federal law. Now as a candidate, Obama said he was going to take a laissez faire attitude towards marijuana, marijuana growers, marijuana consumers and Phish concerts. In what again appears to be a transparently cynical effort to sway independent voters, they are suddenly concerned about the devil drug and its pernicious effects on troubled youth or some such bullshit, and buckling under to the religious right, who seem to think – at least in public – that anything that feels good or makes you happy is suspect and against god’s will. Never mind that they would sooner vote for Satan than Obama – I guess his genius advisors think this move will poll well in the bible belt. But seriously; you’re reduced to chasing pot heads willy-nilly like some hyperactive Elliot Ness when the fucking criminals that brought the country to the brink of financial ruin sit in the Hamptons this weekend grilling burgers and sipping sauvignon blanc? On our dime? Seriously???
The Obama justice department has been one of the key disappointments of his administration; they chose not to pursue any indictments against blow-hard republican criminal, Tom Delay, who was subsequently convicted by a Texas court – a TEXAS COURT - and sent to the pokey for three years for a number of brazen crimes, including money laundering and conspiracy. Nor did they chose to pursue criminal indictments against any other Bush administration figures, including those involved in the clearly political mass firings of various US Attorneys, declaring blithely that they wanted to move forward into the light and not dwell on the past. This is, of course, bullshit, and a calculated political move to minimize the scorched earth after his election and a policy he can only hope the republicans will emulate should they win in 2012. It wouldn’t surprise me if they chose to go after him then for having a shitty jump shot or being left handed. The nuns always did have a deep down secret superstition that left handed people were the work of the devil and that would fit nicely into a President Bachman’s to do list.
There has also been bleatings from the elephant side of the aisle over Justice’s belated attempts to hold anyone connected with the CIA accountable for the enhanced interrogations of the Bush inquisition in spite of what many legal scholars point to as a horrific and ultimately damaging practice during which a couple of hapless chumps died in captivity under barbaric conditions. Various republican Bush / Cheney apologists have come out – Faux News, the propaganda arm of the republican party prominently among them – sputtering about how prosecuting CIA operatives who were ”only following orders” would devastate moral, never mind the legal niceties and technicalities. Mike Hucksterbee, a dismal failure as a republican candidate for president himself – has worked himself up into a froth about this when the reality is they took 3 years to decide to go after two guys who might as well have been wearing black hoods on the guillotine platform. While they may have only been following orders, let’s not forget so was Herman Hess.
The republicans also are guilty – as they were during Clinton’s presidency – of obstructing the nominees to the very department that they hold accountable for a poor performance. In the most recent show of political grandstanding, they are blocking the vote of making permanent the appointment of James Cole, a deputy director who got his job via recess appointment and who by all accounts has been doing fairly well. According to the opponents of his appointment, however, he is guilty of seeing the various sad-sack captives in Guantanamo and those who were subject to special rendition and who are probably rotting in Egyptian jails alongside Mubarak thugs wondering what year it is, as human beings worthy of a trial. Coddler of terrorists! Senator Grassley of Iowa has suddenly found his guidebook on proper institutional etiquette and decided that he is against recess appointments and that, had he been thinking clearly he would have opposed the 171 that Dubbya made and find fault with King Ronald Reagan, who made well over 200.
No, I’m afraid that in spite of the partisan criticism Obama’s justice department has been very much status quo and right in the political mainstream, to the disappointment of his supporters who had high hopes that justice would indeed be forthcoming on a number of fronts only to watch them chase wikileaks whistle blowers and pot heads and continue to kneel before the moneyed interests of this country. Sadly, that never seems to change no matter who is elected…
In 2010 the federal government decided that the Western Sage Grouse deserved protection across its range of 11 western states, a decision that is yet to be implemented because the Interior Department has sought to delay an actual designation of “endangered” until 2015, saying other species have priority. A cynic might say that the Interior Department is stalling around because this simple decision “endangers” another group of animals – western ranchers, oil and gas exploration companies and home builders across the west. By putting off the decision on whether to give more protections, administration officials are buying time to avoid prohibitions on grazing, limits to future drilling and possibly curbs on residential and commercial construction. It almost seems like the administration is comfortable arguing high minded ideas like global warming but when the rubber meets the road in a real time practical situation they fall back on time honored practice of siding with the money and against the lonely bird with the flamboyant feathers.
In another case where the justice department seems to be on the wrong side of popular sentiment, they have suddenly announced that they are going to aggressively prosecute marijuana growers supplying medical marijuana dispensaries even in states where they are legal per state law because growing marijuana is against federal law. Now as a candidate, Obama said he was going to take a laissez faire attitude towards marijuana, marijuana growers, marijuana consumers and Phish concerts. In what again appears to be a transparently cynical effort to sway independent voters, they are suddenly concerned about the devil drug and its pernicious effects on troubled youth or some such bullshit, and buckling under to the religious right, who seem to think – at least in public – that anything that feels good or makes you happy is suspect and against god’s will. Never mind that they would sooner vote for Satan than Obama – I guess his genius advisors think this move will poll well in the bible belt. But seriously; you’re reduced to chasing pot heads willy-nilly like some hyperactive Elliot Ness when the fucking criminals that brought the country to the brink of financial ruin sit in the Hamptons this weekend grilling burgers and sipping sauvignon blanc? On our dime? Seriously???
The Obama justice department has been one of the key disappointments of his administration; they chose not to pursue any indictments against blow-hard republican criminal, Tom Delay, who was subsequently convicted by a Texas court – a TEXAS COURT - and sent to the pokey for three years for a number of brazen crimes, including money laundering and conspiracy. Nor did they chose to pursue criminal indictments against any other Bush administration figures, including those involved in the clearly political mass firings of various US Attorneys, declaring blithely that they wanted to move forward into the light and not dwell on the past. This is, of course, bullshit, and a calculated political move to minimize the scorched earth after his election and a policy he can only hope the republicans will emulate should they win in 2012. It wouldn’t surprise me if they chose to go after him then for having a shitty jump shot or being left handed. The nuns always did have a deep down secret superstition that left handed people were the work of the devil and that would fit nicely into a President Bachman’s to do list.
There has also been bleatings from the elephant side of the aisle over Justice’s belated attempts to hold anyone connected with the CIA accountable for the enhanced interrogations of the Bush inquisition in spite of what many legal scholars point to as a horrific and ultimately damaging practice during which a couple of hapless chumps died in captivity under barbaric conditions. Various republican Bush / Cheney apologists have come out – Faux News, the propaganda arm of the republican party prominently among them – sputtering about how prosecuting CIA operatives who were ”only following orders” would devastate moral, never mind the legal niceties and technicalities. Mike Hucksterbee, a dismal failure as a republican candidate for president himself – has worked himself up into a froth about this when the reality is they took 3 years to decide to go after two guys who might as well have been wearing black hoods on the guillotine platform. While they may have only been following orders, let’s not forget so was Herman Hess.
The republicans also are guilty – as they were during Clinton’s presidency – of obstructing the nominees to the very department that they hold accountable for a poor performance. In the most recent show of political grandstanding, they are blocking the vote of making permanent the appointment of James Cole, a deputy director who got his job via recess appointment and who by all accounts has been doing fairly well. According to the opponents of his appointment, however, he is guilty of seeing the various sad-sack captives in Guantanamo and those who were subject to special rendition and who are probably rotting in Egyptian jails alongside Mubarak thugs wondering what year it is, as human beings worthy of a trial. Coddler of terrorists! Senator Grassley of Iowa has suddenly found his guidebook on proper institutional etiquette and decided that he is against recess appointments and that, had he been thinking clearly he would have opposed the 171 that Dubbya made and find fault with King Ronald Reagan, who made well over 200.
No, I’m afraid that in spite of the partisan criticism Obama’s justice department has been very much status quo and right in the political mainstream, to the disappointment of his supporters who had high hopes that justice would indeed be forthcoming on a number of fronts only to watch them chase wikileaks whistle blowers and pot heads and continue to kneel before the moneyed interests of this country. Sadly, that never seems to change no matter who is elected…
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