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CORRUPTION UPDATE 16 Previous Corruption Updates: Page 15 Next Corruption Updates: Page 17
Bush's use of signing statements criticized Charlie Savage, Boston Globe Thursday, October 5, 2006 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/05/MNGVULIE8C1.DTL “(10-05) 04:00 PDT Washington -- President Bush's frequent use of signing statements to assert that he has the power to disobey newly enacted laws is "an integral part" of his "comprehensive strategy to strengthen and expand executive power" at the expense of the legislative branch, according to a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. In a 27-page report written for lawmakers, the research service said the Bush administration is using signing statements as a means to slowly condition Congress into accepting the White House's broad conception of presidential power, which includes a presidential right to ignore laws he believes are unconstitutional.” “...the administration has suggested repeatedly that the president has exclusive authority over foreign affairs and has an absolute right to withhold information from Congress. Such assertions are "generally unsupported by established legal principles," the report said. “ “, for example, Bush signed the 2007 military budget bill, but then issued a statement challenging 16 of its provisions. “The bill bars the Pentagon from using any intelligence that was collected illegally, including information about Americans that was gathered in violation of the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable government surveillance.” “In Bush's signing statement, he suggested that he alone could decide whether the Pentagon could use such information.”
BUSH TRAINING CONGRESS TO OBEDIENCE PROBLEM TEACHING THEM TO ROLL OVER WHEN THEY ARE ASLEEP We can now see the full cost of our political corruption. When the President openly scorns the Constitution, and our Congress goes along, it is time for change. Political corruption is insidious; it starts by corroding elections, producing corrupt politicians, and corrupt parties. Law, and policy, have become subject to power. Corruption cannot stop when it reaches its immediate goals, because reaching its immediate goals, wealth and power, gives corruption the power to seek greater power, and it has turned towards seizing unchecked power. Today, America's political infrastructure, our Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches, have been captured by generations of corrupted elections, and are the trophies of corrupted political parties. Political corruption is so pervasive, it has gutted the heart of our Constitutional democracy. The Constitutional protections that prevented the political victors from imposing their moral, political and economic self-interest on the rest of our citizens are gone. Today, the corruption of the political parties has assured that whichever political faction wins, they will be able to impose their morals and values on the rest of us, without respecting the right of citizens to have privacy, private beliefs, or independent moral beliefs and values. The law, and the rights of our people, are now subject to the will and beliefs of whichever party wins, with little or no restraint on their power. Their victory is the product of a political auction.
The article above describes how the President has put himself above the law, claiming powers that were never granted by the Constitution. The Constitution, section 7, number 1, clearly states that, when Congress crafts “...a law, (it) be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that house in which it shall have originated,...and (the house shall) proceed to reconsider it...” The constitutionally mandated process leads to a law, or no law. The Constitution does not authorize “signing statements,” or any Presidential power to accept, or reject, part of a law. “Signing statements” are clearly Unconstitutional, and undermine the balance of Powers between the branches of Government, to the detriment of the rights of the people. Bush is using the illegal signing statements to claim he can ignore The Constitution and Law, and the Congress and Judiciary are so corrupted that they cannot do their duty to protect our country, or the honor of their offices, by objecting to these repugnant acts of the President.. Bush attached a signing statement to a law prohibiting
the Pentagon from collecting information in violation of the Fourth
Amendment. Bush also attached a signing statement to a law
prohibiting torture of prisoners in U.S. Custody. The Administration
has claimed exemption to the Constitutional prohibitions on searches
and torture, as well as the laws crafted to protect these
unalienable rights. Let's be clear on the issues: The specific words of the Fourth Amendment of The Constitution are: ...and No warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. The president has no authority to interfere with this Constitutionally mandated standard. Nor does Congress, nor the Courts. It is time for officeholders to protect and enforce the Constitution. Those that do have rendered themselves Constitutionally illegitimate, and must be removed from office and prosecuted for betraying our Constitution. The Congressional, and Court, deference to clearly illegal actions by the President, against the Constitution and laws of this country, are a galling testament to the extent corruption has eroded our political institutions. The Democrats and Republicans have both rejected the reforms required to restore honest democratic elections by and for the people. Both have failed to protect either the Constitutional rights of the people, or protected the general welfare of its citizens. The Democratic and Republican parties, and their politicians, have proved themselves to be nothing more than the illegitimate tools of wealth and power. Both parties are the enemies of the American Constitution, enemies of the rights of the American people, and promote interests that are antithetic to the general welfare of our country. Political corruption has produced a series of administrations, and Congresses, that have intentionally, and constantly, broken not just the law, but have consistently attacked the specific words, as well as the spirit, of the Constitution. Both parties feed from the same source of special interest wealth and power, allowing them create, and fight over, superficial distinctions in policy that conveniently mask the fact that both parties are controlled by the same special interests. The corporations do not care if you have any “rights” to abortion, guns, gay marriages, privacy, freedom of speech, or anything else: they fund both sides of the argument, and they win in every election, and they win every time American politics are used to take away our citizen's rights. Each extension of governmental power allows the special interests to expand their power. This generational expansion of political control by the special interest now has a stranglehold on our politicians, parties, and our government. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have the ethics, or the basic values, to reject, or even fight, the bribery and deception that is stealing the wealth and honor of our country. Both parties have rejected, sold short, and violently sacrificed, our basic values, for the rewards of illegitimate wealth and power. Both parties are equally complicit in these domestic and foreign crimes, and have backed each other up. The Democrats only difference with the Republicans, is that they claim they would have done a better job of committing these crimes. Americans have profited handsomely from this corruption, but we are going to pay a high price for the profits and luxury our corruptions have brought us. The most costly price we are paying, both domestically and internationally, is spiritual. We have lost the spirit of freedom. This is reflected in the character of the governments and leadership we support around the world. Our allies are dictatorial, and murderous. For our tardiness to attend to these ethical problems, we now have a spiritual disease that has corrupted the character of our people, and caused greed, corruption, and murder, to rise around the world. The vital interests of our country, and the world, demand that we curb the political criminals that have hijacked our democracy, and are using it to torture the world. We are duty-bound to restore democratic legitimacy to our government, control our greedy excesses, and craft foreign and domestic policy that truly reflects our democratic roots and values. Only after fixing our own house may we be able to fix
the world, and end these conflicts our greed and political
immorality have caused. But we must start at the beginning, by
restoring our own democracy. NOTE: We give it a 70% probability that Bush will extend war after the November elections, to Iran. Possibly through Syria. It will be the only way to rescue his Middle East policy. Otherwise, we lose Iraq and provide the means for ending our hegemony over Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. If Bush expands the Middle Eastern war, I give it a 50-50 chance that a “national emergency” will be found, or created, to “temporarily” put off the 2008 Presidential Election. The Corporations and political parties will go for it, and that should bring the Congress along, Especially if they get to keep their seats. The people have already accepted a government that breaks the law, and suspending elections is only a small jump from the elections we have now. This is the only way that Bush and the Democrats will be able to prevent their failed Iraq war and Israeli policies from leading to the rise of an independent Middle East which hates the United States. Otherwise, all is lost. Join us to fight these illegal acts by our corporate politicians: help us spread the word about the voter-only reform initiative. After we fix the foundation, we will be able to fix the house. Read more about the exercise of Unconstitutional Presidential Power Spouse of Lawmaker Agrees to Penalties By Greg Krikorian, Times
Staff Writer http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-duke7oct07,1,7506823.story?coll=la-headlines-politics
“The estranged wife
of disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham has
agreed to forfeit $760,000 to the IRS from the sale of the couple's
Rancho Santa Fe home, acknowledging that they had financed the
house, in part, with more than $1 million in bribe money,
authorities said Friday.” “Her husband, a former eight-term Republican congressman from Rancho Santa Fe, pleaded guilty in November to taking $2.4 million in bribes and evading more than $1 million in taxes. In March, he was sentenced to serve 100 months in prison.” “Coupled with the $1.2 million already turned over to the IRS from the home's sale, U.S. Atty. Carol Lam said the new court order "returns nearly $2 million to the public … and ensures that the Cunninghams in no way profit from the sordid conduct that occurred in this case.".”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS: IS CORRUPTION BEING REWARDED, AGAIN? THE TALE OF DUKE CUNNINGHAM CONTINUES: WIFE LET OFF HOOK WITHOUT FULL ASSESSMENT OF DUKE'S CORRUPTION If the above article was true, getting full restitution out of the Duke would be great. But history tells us to be wary of the Department of Justice. When Keating destroyed thousands of peoples' lives, after the special interests bought the “deregulation” of the savings and loans, Keating came out of prison a rich man. His victims died in poverty. When Milken, the king of junk bonds, got out of prison, he was a rich man. His crimes are still cutting down ancient redwoods. Neither of these thieves paid the full price for their crimes, and this encouraged others to take the chance. The question I have, but can't answer, is, has the full extent of Duke's illicit gains been accounted for? Does anyone know the true extent of what he stole from our country? Are the corruptions he was busted for the full extent of his crimes? Has every possession he, and his wife, obtained been purchased with the fruits of corruption? I think so. Have there been appropriate financial penalties assessed for his betrayal of the public trust, and not just restitution? I think not. “In exchange for her acceptance of responsibility in the case and continuing cooperation with an ongoing federal investigation, authorities say they have not filed criminal charges against Nancy Cunningham.” This is very unusual. The way these things work for the common people is that they charge you, and ONLY drop the charges if the cooperation is adequate. Why did this wife of a thief get any different treatment than the wife of Fastow? We will never know, as long as our politicians, laws, prosecutors, and judges, sit at the pleasure of the special interests.
Also see: Corruption Updates 1, 1st article on page, “Wilkes Tells All” Corruption Updates 2, 8th article, “Duke wife though he was just “normally corrupt.” Read more articles about The Duke Gov. Courts Black Clergy With Aid From Prop. 49 Aides urge ministers to apply for money under Schwarzenegger's Prop. 49. The approach may lure voters, but some pastors are skeptical. By Peter Nicholas, Times
Staff Writer http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-churches7oct07,1,1699570.story?coll=la-headlines-politics “SACRAMENTO —
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is using the same after-school aid
program that was a springboard for his political career to boost his
reelection chances, schooling black churches in how to secure
millions of dollars in state funds.” "It
sounds like it's walking right up to the line of buying endorsements
with public money," said Ned Wigglesworth, policy advocate for
California Common Cause. "It sounds like Gov. Schwarzenegger is
trying to smooth the way for approval. “Polls show the outreach is paying off. Although 9% of African Americans are registered Republicans, Schwarzenegger is supported by 20% of likely black voters, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll.” THE COMMITTEE SAYS: ARNIE MAKES BID TO BUY BLACK CHURCH VOTE CLASSIC POLITICAL CORRUPTION IN ACTION: I GIVE YOU MONEY-YOU VOTE FOR ME There is not a political reform that can cure the greedy of their greed, be they pastor or politician. Greed for money, power, and prestige will manifest itself. It is an internal force, beyond the reach of external reform. When we see politicians trading money for votes with churches, we know that the hand of greed and deception touches the hearts-and wallets-of politicians and pastors equally. But we can cut off the external hand of the special interests that feeds this weakness in the hearts of our politicians. We can change the electoral system so a small corruption, like churches and politicians buying each other, will be repugnant to our citizens. But first, we must stop the big corruptions. Our first task is to make buying votes unacceptable to the voters. The politician and pulpit will only act to higher standards when the people demand higher standards. It is time to impose higher standards on our political, as well as our religious leadership. Lets protect our political and religious institutions by once again separating them. Help us qualify the voter-only contributions initiative, to prevent the degradation of our religious, as well as our political institutions. Read more articles about Arnie U.S. Rules Allow the Sale of Products Others Ban Chemical-laden goods outlawed in Europe and Japan are permitted in the American market. By Marla Cone, Times
Staff Writer http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dumping8oct08,0,3535703,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines “OAKLAND —
Destined for American kitchens, planks of birch and poplar plywood
are stacked to the ceiling of a cavernous port warehouse. The wood,
which arrived in California via a cargo ship, carries two labels:
One proclaims "Made in China," while the other warns that
it contains formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical.” “Wood, toys, electronics, pesticides and cosmetics are among U.S. products that contain substances that are banned or restricted elsewhere, particularly in Europe and Japan, because they may raise the risk of cancer, alter hormones or cause reproductive or neurological damage.” “Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies have relied on voluntary steps from industries rather than regulations, saying the threats posed by low levels of chemicals are too uncertain to eliminate products valuable to consumers or businesses.” “Some
toys, nail polishes and other beauty products are made with plastic
softeners and solvents called phthalates that the EU has banned as
reproductive toxins. Several of U.S. agriculture's most popular
herbicides and insecticides, including atrazine, endosulfan and
aldicarb, are illegal or restricted to emergency uses in other
countries. And a few electronic items, including Palm's Treo 650
smart phone and Apple's iSight camera, were pulled off shelves in
Europe this summer because of lead components but are still sold
here.”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS: EPA STANDARDS WILL KILL YOU SPECIAL INTEREST BRIBERY BRINGS AMERICA DEATH The power of the government to protect the general welfare and rights of American Citizens has been broken by the pernicious influence that generations of political corruption and corrupt politicians have wrought. This article shows what happens when the corporations are allowed to buy our politicians: the industries get a free pass, and we get poisoned. The lack of appropriate regulation is a function of the purchase of our Congress by the Special Interests. The EPA, FDA, FERC, and the rest of the alphabet soup, when their letters are lined up, spell CORRUPTION. This is another consequence of allowing the special interests to bribe our politicians and run our elections. Killing Americans with Political Bribery: Corruption Updates 10, 5th article on page, “DO BRIBED POLITICIANS PROVIDE SAFE REGULATION OF PIPELINES, OR ANYTHING ELSE?” AP IN BEE. Corruption Updates 16, 4th article on the page, "EPA STANDARDS WILL KILL YOU: SPECIAL INTEREST BRIBERY BRINGS AMERICA DEATH" Corruption Updates 21, 9th article on page, “White House under Investigation for Censoring Science” Corruption Updates 24, 4th article on page, “ BIG OIL OWNS INTERIOR DEPARTMENT” Corruption Updates 24, 5th article on page, NYTIMES, 12-3-06, “LOBBYING BY TRUCKING INDUSTRY BRINGS DEATH TO NATION'S HIGHWAYS INSURANCE AND SAFETY LOBBIES HAVE INSUFFICIENT BRIBE MONEY TO STOP TRUCKING LOBBY FROM GUTTING SAFETY RULES” Corruption Updates 25, 5th article on page, AP, 12-6-06, “BATTERY LOBBY BRIBES ENDANGER HEALTH BUSH REPAYS BRIBES WITH OUR HEALTH AND WELFARE BY ATTEMPTING TO KILL LEAD STANDARDS” Corruption Updates 25, 6th article, AP, 12-6-06, “FARM LOBBY BRIBES ENDANGER HEALTH GRASSLEY (R-IOWA) REPAYS BRIBES BY KILLING EPA REGULATION OF FARMS Corruption Updates 32, 2nd article on the page, "BUSH TRIES TO KILL CHEMICAL RULES, SCIENCE, AND INTEGRITY IN ONE FELL SWOOP: INTEGERTY FALLS, RULES AND SCIENCE DAMAGED, BUT STILL STANDING How lobbying buys lawmakers and law: Corruption Updates 1, 2nd to last article on the page, “Big Oil Owns our Politicians” Corruption Updates 2, 6th article down, “Contribute to Win, Big Contribs try to Trump State Safety Laws” Corruption Updates 3, 2nd article on page, “Big Business Spends Lawmakers into Compliance” Corruption Updates 4, 1st article on page, “Checks in, Laws Out, It's that Simple” Check out articles about Big Oil
California: Governor Proclaims Prison Crowding Emergency By CAROLYN MARSHALL Published: October 5, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/05/us/05brfs-001.htm “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an emergency proclamation on prison overcrowding, the first legal step required before the authorities can contract with out-of-state prisons to house an overflow of state inmates. The proclamation states that all 33 state prisons are at capacity or above, with 29 so crowded that the conditions pose “substantial safety risks.” Risks cited include infection, potential harm to prison workers and the threat of excessive violence. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has estimated that state facilities will run out of beds as early as January 2007. The emergency act would allow prison authorities to sign three- to five-year housing contracts with out-of-state prisons. CALIFORNIA PRISONS INHUMANE AFTER DECADES OF ABUSE, CALIFORNIA STILL TAKES NO ACTION TO FIX OUR DISGRACEFUL PRISONS Society can be judged by how it treats its most unfortunate members. The deterioration of our prisons, the destruction of our schools, and the creation of vast slums filled with desperate strangers, during the last 30 years, tell us more about our government and politicians than any lying campaign ad. If our society does have a better character, it is hidden behind our undemocratic and inhumane polity and policies. Our politicians have been so busy creating irresponsible wealth for their masters, they have failed to measure, or deal with, the costs to our most powerless citizens. Or the changes to our country's moral and ethical character. Schools and prisons have a similar character in California, and a similar trajectory of decline. To restore honest policy, and humane prisons and schools, we must restore not just our democracy, but the ideals it was based on. Previous and subsequent prison articles reviewed in the Corruption Updates: Corruption Updates1, 8th article down: An Honest public official, We salute Hagar. LAT, 7-13-06. Corruption Updates 8: 9th article down: Hagar Bashed in Hatchet Job. Bee, 7-16-06. Corruption Updates 8, 5th article down: Prison union buys Angelides, “Mr. Clean Candidate”. Bee, 9-6-06. Corruption Updates 16, 5th article on page, “CALIFORNIA PRISONS INHUMANE” Corruption Updates 34, 3rd article on the page, "State Prisons in "tailspin" Later Abstracts on Prisons Ohio: Court Rejects Campaign Case By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: October 4,
2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/us/politics/04brfs-001.html THE COMMITTEE SAYS: This article brings us to the heart of the relationship between corrupt contributions and undemocratic, unethical, politicians. This article unwittingly describes the causes and effects of our corruption. Mr. Blackwell, as secretary of State of Ohio, is the judge on matters directly relating to his self, and political, interests, as he is running for governor of Ohio. His actions provide a textbook definition of malfeasance in office. But you would never know that from this article. Mr. Blackwell's actions demonstrate the height of unethical behavior by an elected official. Accepting gifts, money, ads, or any favors from any group having, or expecting to have, business before the government, must not be allowed. And using the power of political office to keep these corrupt bribes a secret is not just unethical and undemocratic, but in our Constitutional democracy this behavior should be a serious crime and severely punished. But, this behavior is allowed and is protected by our pathetic media and corrupt politicians. The public is unaware of the magnitude, nor costs of the political bribery and payoffs that dominate our legislature. Why? Because the overwhelming majority of the press fails to report honestly on the corruptions, draw honest conclusions about the corruptions, or honestly inform our citizens about the extent, depth, and effects of political corruption. Non of the political “contributions” described in the article above are suited to a “nonprofit” organization. This status and nature of this organization should be investigated to determine if an act of fraud was committed to cover political influence buying. Banning all outside money will require greater oversight of “shadow” parties, such as “fast boaters,” “move-oners,” and every “non-profit” that acts as a front group for a party or special interest. Read more about Judicial Corruption Times Publisher Johnson Forced Out By James Rainey, Times
Staff Writer THE COMMITTEE SAYS: Our press is past being in “trouble,” but this loss indicates a further decline in the ability of “newspaper people” to maintain journalistic integrity against the businessmen who own the media. The real cost will be to the public, who will lose
another portion of the free press as the Times declines. Also See: Reports on the Free Press At Reuters, a New Book and a Lost Job
He added: “When the political discourse has dropped to the unfathomable levels it has, someone has to say this is wrong.”.”
On Friday, the employee said, there was a meeting with Reuters management informing the workers there that Mr. Maguire would no longer be working there and that they “weren’t allowed to ask why.”...”
THE COMMITTEE SAYS: Judith Miller spoon fed the American public the lies that led to war, and was not fired, until it was publicly exposed. How many other lies and distortions has the NY Times knowingly reported, that will only be exposed by accident, if ever? Mr. Maguire's book is not near that high pinnacle of poor journalism represented by the Times, and Judith Miller, but he was fired even before his book came out. I realize that the NYT and Reuters are different organizations, but this contrast says a lot about our media: Lie for the big boys and get paid, criticize the big boys and get blown away. Ms. Coulter is unknown to me, but I can't imagine she is at the same high level of poor journalism that Ms. Miller represented, and deserving of such protection. Mr. Maguire is doing what journalists should do: Testing the statements and arguments of all participants in a news event, including the journalists. Don't you wish the NY Times did that? And he was rewarded for his good journalism the way our country rewards good journalism. For more Articles on the Sad Stae of our Free Press: Reports on the Free Press Previous Corruption Updates: Page 15 Next Corruption Updates: Page 17 Contact Us: Committeefordemocracy.org |
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