Tag: White House

Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money, Mo’

No, not THIS Michael Jackson, but the one from homeland securitySo, another top, highly paid official is leaving the Bush Administration, because he needs to make more money. This is on the heels of Tony Snow, recently White House Press Secretary, who left earlier this month because he “ran out of money.” He said he took out a loan to make ends meet, and can’t support his family of five on $168,000. That’s more money than 93% of U.S. households earn each year.

So now, another public servant who has been sucking $168,000 out of the federal trough has also had to give up public service.

“The simple truth, however, is that after over five years of serving with the president’s team, I am compelled to depart for financial reasons that I can no longer ignore.”

What is this guy saying? He is compelled to depart for financial reasons he can’t ignore? Hunh? Can’t live within his significant means? This is a guy that was called “whip smart when it came to budget and operational details, a real manager.” Yet he can’t figure out how to live on a salary higher than 9 out of 10 Americans. Like does he gamble? Lose a bunch of money in the stock market? In over his head with a subprime mortgage? Owe money to a loan shark? Bought alot of travel on his credit cards?

Or maybe he lost everything in Katrina and is suffering from a slow recovery process. Oh wait, it was his department that caused that whole mess. Enough worry about Katrina victims when you are having your own money trouble. Yeah, go get another job.

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So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

Oh, what a long, strange trip it’s been. Finally, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (gonzo), has resigned.

He was called “dead man walking,” and his imminent resignation has been foreshadowed and predicted for months–frequent reports of his demise rivaled those of Mark Twain and Paul McCartney.

And now, another of the most divisive characters from the Administration is packing his bags, and leaving D.C. I have been looking for him to get the message since March.

He might be a good man–the Prez thinks so–but he sure was a lousy attorney general. Beleaguered or embattled, he was the lightening rod that replaced Rumsfeld and then Rove. Unknown is who will be the next whipping boy for this group. They have another 18-months, and it seems prudent to have a target rod in place. To protect the Executive.

Not to be mean, Mr. Gonzales, but, “buh-bye!”

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Remains Of A Three Legged Stool

Dear Members of Congress,

Thank you for taking the time to fight over the renewal of the terrorist surveillance law. You know, the one that gives all oversight for executive branch spy agencies eavesdropping to the executive branch (seems a bit circular, no?). The Senate guys among you have decided to agree with the Exec that it takes too long to get an emergency court order to spy on people in the U.S. Despite the lack of any real examples that support that assumption. Maybe just a gut feeling?

We know that the executive branch thinks this is a good idea–heck, they proposed it! And the judicial branch doesn’t have a say. So, it’s up to you in the legislative branch to do your job and provide a check and balance to the executive branch by letting the judicial branch do their job.

I know, when the President says TERRORIST the knee-jerk reaction is to buckle to whatever formula he proposes. But you guys need to remember that the Prez is not boss over you.

According to the first three articles of our nation’s founding rules, there are three equally powered branches of our government. And, through the separation–and interleaving–of powers as conceived by James Madison and Co, there exists a precarious balance of power.

I believe Madison when he says it’s pretty important to have judicial oversight of the executive branch. It’s the legislative branch can see that this happens. My dearest Members of Congress, any abdication of your constitutional role–to the manipulations of an increasingly imperial president–means that you are weakening the judicial leg of the stool, as well as your own.

Our government can’t stand on only one leg. So stand up yourselves and prop up the wobbly judicial checks on the executive before the stool collapses.

Sincerely,
Doc Think

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$outhwe$tern Whitehou$e

Did you know that the President has spent 416 days (like one-sixth of his tenure) at his Ranch in Crawford (pop 705) , Texas? I know that in addition to clearing brush, biking, clearing brush, hiking and clearing brush he does alot of work. It’s not like the President of the Free World can just duck out. He really doesn’t get a “day off.”

Did you know that in order for him to be able to do this we–American taxpayers–have paid for a SxSW WhiteHouse that includes:

  • a carpeted conference room in a trailer equipped with videoconference equipment
  • secure telephones installed in his home office
  • A cluster of double-wide trailer homes, including 5 bedroom trailers (without formaldehyde) outfitted with secure phones, two-way radios and backup generators
  • Newly constructed tornado bunkers to protect staffers in the case of serious storms
  • BlackHawk helicopters to protect the air space
  • Lots of hotel rooms 20 miles away for the president’s large entourage of personal, military, security and press aides. (Source Wash Post)

I don’t think that the President can do without this level of technology and personnel and their costs when he is in Crawford. If he is going to be there so much, this is required.

This begs the question, though, why we have to spend the money so that he can indulge his desire to be there so much. At least that’s the question that I’m thinking.

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If It Walks Like a Duck

From the Washington Post

Throughout [his 34-year career], Wolfowitz built a reputation as a foreign policy iconoclast, a mild-mannered intellectual with a steely ideological core, and an inept manager.

and

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source voiced admiration for his intellect but said Wolfowitz “couldn’t run a two-car funeral.”

and

After Bush’s [43] election, …Wolfowitz wanted to return to the State Department, but…secretary of state, Colin L. Powell, turned him down as his deputy. They weren’t “ideologically in sync,” Powell later said, and Wolfowitz was notoriously lacking in the required administrative skills.

Is anyone else seeing a pattern here? So, okay, if Paul Wolfowitz was known to be a lousy administrator, why would he be put in charge of a multinational institution owned by more than 180 governments, with 10,000 employees, and $14.6 billion (U.S.) in loans in 2006 (World Bank, Annual Report 2006)?

Is it for the same reason that we suffered internationally with John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations? That we think we know the best? That other countries can be ignored or insulted? That international institutions should be dismantled? That America’s interest du jour trumps all?

While I strongly support George Washington’s postulate that every nation works to protect it’s own interest, we need to see those interests in 21st century terms. We are no longer bound by oceans or mountains. We are joined by instantaneous communications, rapid travel, and a global economy.

I am constantly trying to get the 12-year old and the 15-year old to look beyond the noses on their faces, to extend their vision toward the horizon, to move beyond the here and now.

It’s not us against the world. It’s us AND the world.

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In or Out?

It’s like the cool kids. The “in” crowd. The OC or Beverly Hills 90210. The ones that the high-school Alphas take into their circle. You know, like the Bushies.

Between shutting out career Justice Department lawyers, inexperienced appointees at NASA telling scientists what to say, putting political appointees in charge of all regulatory policy undercutting career staff and experts, and, overall, increasing the number of Schedule C–political appointments the wagons are circled tightly.

Today’s WashPost and others report that Monica Goodling–former Justice Department official and of the 5th Amendment fame–may have questioned applicants for career jobs about their political affiliation. I guess she was thinking, “If you’re not with us, you’re against us.” Or something.

It’s very discouraging for career civil servants to be ignored. Not invited to meetings. Not consulted or overridden in their areas of expertise by inexperienced political hacks. To be told by a senior agency official, “I don’t know you [federal worker], but I trust the political appointee to my right” really makes for a bad meeting.

Lots of the Politicals are terrific public servants. But if the main qualification for critical jobs, like rebuilding Iraq, is ties to the Bush-Cheney campaign, something is amiss. If leaders in political jobs do not trust career staff, if career staff are seen as lazy bureaucrats, if career staff are outside of the decision making process we have government by the seat of our pants and government being pulled out of a youthful buttocks. Oh, and wasting a bunch of resource$$.

Ultimately, the important work of governing suffers. The Bushie A-Team is long gone, and many agencies are being led by the 5th stringers or vacancies. Yet there is work to be done–in education, health care, terrorism response, information sharing, the environment, poverty eradication, immigration reform, international relations, support for returning and especially injured veterans and much more.

But it looks like we might have to wait for the remaining Bushies to vacate their posts. What a shame when there are so many good people–many of them career civil servants who are also Democrats, Republicans, Independents or Other –who are so ready to do real work.

High school is over! The OC and Beverly Hills 90210 have been cancelled.

Toles Cartoon (c) Wash Post

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Parsing Words

Here’s what got to me today.

Scolinos (Communications Director for Justice) also said there is no evidence that meeting participants reviewed a draft memo on the firing plan…….According to Scolinos and her deputy, Brian Roehrkasse, there is also no evidence that individual U.S. attorneys were discussed at the meeting. (Wash Post, 3/24/07)

There is no evidence that has been produced by the source under investigation–AKA the Department of Justice. Are they saying that there are no written records from that meeting? People at the meeting don’t know what they said? There is evidence, but it has not been forthcoming.

Enter the White House, unwilling to provide testimony, under oath, with a transcript which provides a record of “evidence.” Just have a little discussion in a room, off the record, no note-taking to clear up any misunderstanding.

Here is where we are. (1) There is no evidence, and (2) The Administration is not willing to provide evidence.

Doesn’t seem right to me.

This administration, as previous and future administrations, needs to be accountable for its decisions. Between “no evidence” and people not being able to recall what went on at a meeting, who knows? Who knows how decisions are made in our government?

Doesn’t seem right to me.

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Under International Scrutiny

According to China View–or Xinhua.net–The Hindu, and news websites world wide, Americans want the Bush presidency to be OVER. So now everybody in the world knows.

Enough! No mas! We say, “Uncle!”

But darn it, we got 721 days, 13 hours and counting, until the new guy* comes in.

So, it doesn’t matter if the people are sick of the administration. It doesn’t matter if a bit more than two-thirds think that the president disregards facts when making decisions. It doesn’t matter if 7 out of 10 Americans disapprove of the job President Bush is doing.

And the whole world can see that we–in this great democracy of ours–need to figure out within our laws how to make this president respond to the will of the people.

And it’s hard work. The president and his henchmen continue to spew their dream state point-of-view. We will march; we will protest; we will write letters to the editor, and to Congress. All the while, Congress is trying to figure out how to move this intransigent President away from bad policy and still support the troops we have asked to fight this war.

And as I write this, I find myself getting all patriotic. Standing up on a soapbox and saying,

“Look World! This is how we disagree in a democracy. It isn’t instant. It doesn’t happen in a coup. It happens according to the rule of law, the rule of our constitution.” And THAT’s how we do it downtown.

* “Guy” like in a generic, genderless sense.

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Family Affair

That “great” expert, Liz Cheney (aka daughter of the VP), is sniping at Hillary in the Post today. I will wait a second while you read it.

Liz, like her dad, uses redirection and name calling to make her point–that anyone who disagrees with the White House Iraq policy is spineless, chicken, misinformed, cowardly, anti-patriotic, and wants to support terrorists on our shores. Whatever!

[Aside: I am tired of supporting the Cheney family. Liz is “former principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs,” and has been at the high-end of the political appointee trough since 2000–with time out for the 2004 campaign and to birth her fifth child. Add up hers and the top federal salary of her husband, #5 at Homeland Security, and we can see how a doting grandmother can keep her five grandchildren close to her in financial security. They had to pull in at least $300K.]

And for all that experience and know-how, we get the regurgitation of the worst, least sophisticated “stay the course and WIN!” arguments.

But why Liz? Why now?

Looks like the Republicans are terrified of Hillary Clinton. A few short days after Hillary throws her hat into the presidential ring, the Republicans trot out a working mother to tell us how awful it would be to have the Senator-mother as the President-mother. Hillary’s favorable numbers were especially good with women. The Clinton campaign must be crowing since they got this early, full-frontal attack.

But back to the issue at hand. Liz, I know you didn’t write the “op-ed,” but let me pose a question. Despite the lack of military service in your family, would you encourage your two sons to fight in Iraq when they grow up? C’mon Liz, break the mold. Be authentic.

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Truth or Dodge

You all may have realized that I am no legal genius–let’s leave discussion of other areas of my potential genius murky–but here is my thing: Sam Alito is going to be a Supreme Court Justice for the rest of his life. Like maybe 25 years? And for some reason some folks think that he doesn’t have to be forthcoming about himself.

He spent the hearings ducking–not so much weaving. He was like a sullen teenager with those monosyllabic answers. You know, “Yes.” “No.” Gave alot of time for the bozos questioning him to either pontificate on his merits or lack thereof.

The reason given is that if we know about a judge and their proclivities then there would be fodder from the reaches of either party to create political chaos. Instead we muzzle any debate on issues that are important to our country–or maybe are less important to a bunch of people but really important to a small group with noisemakers and dollars.

I don’t know if Alito is qualified to be a judge–he has been a judge so I guess that’s evidence. But I really don’t know if he is the type of man or woman for the Supreme Court. Robert Byrd (D-WV) might say so, based on his private confabs, but the rest of us just don’t know. I certainly learned very little from the hearing process (other than Biden must be high to think that he is a contender).

Is it that we just can’t handle the truth? Should we hide from a debate over important issues? Just to avoid a political snarl? More importantly, how can we have a debate and avoid the snarl?

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