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The Word "Truth" Is Nowhere In The Constitution - Tom Tancredo, Colorado's American Constitution Party Candidate for Governor.



Hair styling was not a concern of the Framers.

 Circa 2008. Then presidential primary candidate Barack Obama somewhat infamously told a San Francisco crowd:

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years. . . And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." [Italics added]

"What is truth?" asked jesting Tancredo, but would not stay for an answer.  Yesterday, Colorado gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo disastrously paraphrased those words whilst maintaining Obama was one of his gubernotorial opponent's "mentor[s]," Democrat John Hickenlooper.

Denver Post writer Jessica Fender reported:

Just one problem: The few extra words Tancredo put into Obama’s mouth made the misquoted comment race-specific.  

A young Constitutionalist, on his
birthday, Dec. 20, 1952.

"(Democrat John Hickenlooper’s) mentor, the guy who talked him into running, a guy by the name of Barack Obama, remember what he said about those folks. ‘When the going gets tough, when economic times get tough, these bitter white people cling to their guns and Bibles,’ Tancredo said to more than 125 people in a Montrose Holiday Inn. 'If you’re going to cling to something, those are damn good things to cling to.'"

Show Me the Word "Truth"!!!   Perhaps surprisingly, the word "truth" is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution.  But American Constitution Party candidate Tancredo undoubtedly knows that, given his reaction to misquoting Barack Obama's 2008 comment in San Fran.  The fact is that primary candidate Obama did not name "white people" in his San Francisco speech, as you can plainly see above. Surely one can cut Tancredo some slack here, gaffes on the campaign trail are commonplace and easily corrected, and the Constitution is, as I've shown, silent on "truth" so an American Constitution Party member may ignore it, black letter and spirit. 

Fully functioning Constitutionally.



Thus, when informed of his misstatement, the inimitable Tom replied in a surprising way: he accidentally told the truth, revealing character traits that most better tethered candidates would take extreme care to hide. 

“I probably should have checked it out,” Tancredo said, laughing. “I was being corrected all over the place. I said, ‘Okay, I’ll just take the most inflammatory one I can think of and accept that it’s true. . . .  White people. He’s talking about white people.'” [Italics added]

Whoops, I Told the Truth!  Constitutional scholarship aside, the "accidental truth telling" by the former Congressman was, of course, his implicit admission that truth is simply one choice among alternative lies. That's not surprising when one checks Tancredo's history. For example:





And these gems, from The Ed Schultz "Psycho Talk" segment:




Had enough?  [If not, see Talking Points Memo] Well, here's one more, from his speech at the Tea Party convention 8 months ago:




Will He Win?  Aside from Rasmussen's October 15th poll and one by Magellan Services released on the 22nd, other polling organizations show Hickenlooper with a substantial lead, in the 10-12% range.  The GOP candidate, Dan Maes, is polling in single digits. 

It's unlikely that we'll be addressing the former congressman as "Mr. Governor." Yet one can still be amazed and, candidly, freaked out that a man like Tom Tancredo got as far as he did, and as a member of a political party having "Constitution" in its title. Perhaps, as of November 3rd, he can find work as a National Constitution Center scholar, and sniff out any illegal immigrants, jihadists, Marxists, Socialists, gays, or even the "racist" Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, should any of them show up for the walking tour . . .

Alaska's Senate Contest - Still More Ethical Problems For GOP/Tea Partier Joe Miller . . . Likely Voters Deserting.

[On October 26th,] the campaign of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski put out a statement last night following release of documents regarding rival candidate Joe Miller’s employment at the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The brief statement from Murkowski is as follows:


“Joe tried to brush off his unethical behavior while he was a public servant at the Fairbanks Northstar Borough, calling the issue ‘petty.’ I believe Alaskans disagree with the severity of his actions and they expect more out of all employees serving in government positions – especially out of someone running for the United States Senate. The bottom line is Joe cheated, he lied, tried to cover it up, lied again, then finally got caught and had to admit it, just as he lied to Alaskans when he initially denied any problems with his employment at the borough, claiming his record was 'exceptional’ and ‘second to none.’”
—Rod Boyce, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner managing editor

Miller Heavy. We now know conclusively why Senate Tea Party/Republican candidate Joe Miller fought to delay Tuesday's court ordered document dump of relevant portions of his personnel records from his legal work at Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB). The documentary evidence gives the lie to his repeated dodging of the issues about his March 2008 misuse of FNSB computers for political purposes. [For background see TWSA! post of Oct. 20 and Oct. 26.]  Will all this actually hurt his chances on November 2nd?  I'll take a guess later on.

On the campaign trail, in a toss-up election, Miller repeatedly ducked the questions, particularly whether he had been fired or disciplined for his violations of the FNSB employee Code of Ethics. The documents reveal that he was disciplined, had lied repeatedly to FNSB supervisors, had also abused FNSB's leave policies, but had not been dismissed, although the circumstances of his sudden resignation suggest that his termination appeared imminent. [For an excellent report, see here.] 

Miller's personnel records -- E-mails, memos and other records detailing Miller's ethical lapses and punishment. -- List of the documents -- Alaska Dispatch complaint Who's Joe Miller? Glance through Alaska Dispatch's coverage of Joe Miller.

Lately, with the personnel document release a possibility, Miller admitted the misuse of FNSB computers, calling the issue "petty," of no importance to the election.  He denied that he resigned from his FNSB job on September 1, 2009 due to the 2008 ethics scandal. To buttress this, Miller released some of his own records from that period, (Attachments 6 & 8), and, at first, they seemed to show he resigned for purposes related to a variety of issues with FNSB, including FNSB's cancelling of his leave time in August 2008. 

So, in a way, he told the truth;  however, the truth about the question he chose to address. That "truth", however, is subject to revision in light of the documents released Tuesday.  They reveal Miller was essentially dogged by his past at FNSB and, in the end, he had also abused and misused FNSB's leave policies. For example, on September 1, 2009, the day of his resignation letter, Miller had cancelled a pre-approved medical procedure that FNSB had approved for three and a half weeks total leave, with time for recuperation included. Then, later that day, when he was found out by FNSB, Miller refused to come back to work for the remainder of the day. Next up? Miller's "resignation" letter.

As summarized by the Alaska Dispatch, FNSB personnel records revealed:

Miller called the line drawn by the borough over the technicalities of his time off as a "retaliatory act due to our differences," but [supervisor] Dolan refused to budge.

"You cannot obtain leave on the basis that you need [redacted] immediately and keep the leave when that circumstance changes significantly. Instead you did not show up to work today and when requested to do so you resigned effective immediately. What exactly am I missing here," she wrote in an e-mail to Miller about two hours after accepting his resignation.

By that time, Miller's supervisors were already wary of the part-time attorney who clearly was on his way out. E-mails in his personnel file show colleagues and other outside attorneys had been told not to copy him on documents or correspondence having to do with what was once his biggest case -- the trans-Alaska oil pipeline valuation matter.

"So do we just consider him to have quit without notice today then?" Dolan wrote to Broker.


"That's how I read it," Broker replied.


His personnel file includes the notation that he is not eligible for re-hire for at least three years.

Miller Lite. Here's a taste of how candidate Miller has viewed this controversy during the campaign, for example, in an interview with Real Clear Politics' John King:

[All emphasis added]

KING: He [Alaska Dispatch reporter Joe Hopfinger, for background , see my October 10, 2010 post] says what he was trying to do is ask you some simple questions about your past work for the Borough (FNSB), for the Fairbanks North Star Borough. You have said that you don't want to talk about those things. . .  

MILLER: Well I think that there's been a real effort here in Alaska to basically take away from the Alaskan voter the opportunity to see the issues that are before them. There's been a concerted effort to cloud it with things from the past that really have nothing -- they're petty issues and that's all they are. They aren't things that have anything to do with where we are as a state. . . And as long as we talk about petty issues or we talk about you know a reporter that assaulted somebody, we aren't getting at the issues.

KING: I think a fair issue for any voter to make is can I trust somebody that I'm going to send to Washington for a six-year term to deal with these big consequential issues, and the question Mr. Hopfinger says he was trying to ask you was this. Were you ever disciplined when you worked for the Borough for improperly using essentially public taxpayer computers for political purposes?


 [Dodging interviewer King' direct question, Miller continues, TWSA! writer comment]


MILLER: What he [Alaska Dispatch reporter/editor Hopfinger] asked me was I ever threatened with termination from the Fairbanks North Star Borough and I answered him directly and I said no and that's the straight truth. That's exactly what we've said consistently throughout this campaign and that was the answer that we gave him and again, yet another attempt to look at something from years ago to dissuade the voters from the issues that are at hand. Yes, our perspective is, is the record speaks for itself. The work I did there as a part-time Borough attorney speaks for itself. 

KING: The mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Mr. Whitaker, was quoted in a newspaper saying you were disciplined for violating the ethics policy. Is that true?

MILLER: I will answer that correctly that it was in fact a case that happened while I was at the borough. There were a myriad of things that happened over time and this was something back in 2008, but the fact of the matter is the performance of the borough at the time that I left had absolutely nothing to do with anything that happened two years before then. This is an attempt again to take away from the voters an opportunity to see where we are at as a state, an opportunity to take a choice that is not based on the past which is the Scott McAdams Lisa Murkowski path, but one that is designed to look at the petty issues and say that really is what matters to voters. I don't think it's fair to Alaskans. . .

Is he actually saying that his resignation without notice (Sept. 1, 2009) was due to "the performance of the bureau," and not his own new violations of FNSB leave policies?  In fact, Miller had been warned for previous violations of the leave policy. So his implication that on September 1, 2009 he suddenly quit his FNSB job due to conditions at FNSB runs hard aground on the facts of his leave policy violations, and the likelihood that FNSB would soon discipline him or terminate his employment.   

Quo Vadis Alaska? So, given the new revelations about Joe Miller - especially his attempted manipulation of FNSB's leave policy - will any of this affect his election prospects?  And if so, will the effect be negative or positive?  His far right and further right Tea Party support is thought to be glacier solid, but will the sudden glaring light of his personnel records pack enough heat to melt it a bit?  Since the beginning of October, incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski has gained a bit of ground, to be sure, yet, although Miller has lost a small amount of support over time, he's still maintained a lead of from 2 to 9 points, depending upon whose polls you believe, as of this October 27th post.

CNN/Time Poll Shows Possible Miller Weakness.  Only a CNN/Time poll has yet measured the preferences of likely voters since October 17th's "debacle at Central High," the Miller Town Meeting where Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger was handcuffed and "arrested" by Miller's security detail.  On October 19th,  however, a CNN/Time poll found the race to be a dead heat among likely voters with Miller and Murkowski both pulling 37%, with Scott McAdams (D) at 23%. So perhaps Murkowski's gain was due to the events a the Town Hall meeting blowing back on Miller. I believe it was.

Generally, a significant number of voters make no decision until the week of the election.  Although the polls indicate relatively few undecideds in Alaska, Miller, I believe, is stuck in the mud, permanently.  His months long record of deflecting  FNSB issues suggests he's consistently played a shell game with the voters and the press that informs them.  He also was suspiciously late reporting his financial records, and within the last week questions have arisen regarding legal status of some 1,000 acres of Willow, Alaska property that Miller allegedly illegally failed to disclose in 2004 while serving as a federal magistrate. 

The full weight of these disclosures will, I think, cause Miller's campaign to sink further into the mud, and benefit both Murkowski and Democrat Scott McAdams.  Will McAdams gain enough to contend?  Will Murkowski gain the lead in time for the election?  I'm guessing that by next Tuesday the toss up will be McAdams vs. Murkowski, with Miller consigned to the mud.  Well earned all.

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Alaska's Tea Partier Joe Miller's Day of Wreckoning for His U.S. Senate Bid?

In summary, Joe Miller would like to make an unequivocal statement about the circumstances surrounding his resignation from public service with the Borough: 

“There was no personal scandal, nor were there any negative performance issues relating to my voluntary resignation. I resigned voluntarily and, as demonstrated by the attached documents, there is no truth to any of the charges, salacious or otherwise, being spread by the opposition's whisper campaign against me. It is time for the slander and lies to stop. Saul Alinsky has no place in a Republican primary.” Joe Miller, candidate for U.S. Senate-Alaska - from Miller Speaks to FNSB Issues, 7-14-2010 

North to Alaska.  Tea Party U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller probably hoped he could put this off until November 3rd, the day after the midterm election, but tomorrow, under a court order, the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) will release some of his personnel files, with some documents redacted. 

Though Miller fought to delay the court order, on Sunday, Superior Court Judge Winston Burbank ordered their release Tuesday afternoon (to allow the parties to appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court).  The files may disclose facts related to his disciplining for a 2008 ethics violation while he served as a part-time attorney for FNSB from 2002 to 2008.

During an October 19th CNN interview, and again during a public debate Sunday night, Miller admitted to violating the FNSB Code of Ethics in 2008. His ethical faux pas:  a one-time use of FNSB computers for political purposes (an attempt to vote in an online opinion poll regarding the Chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, about whom Miller disapproved).  [For more background on this issue see my post here.]

How this yet unresolved scandal will play out - and whether, in the end, it will be viewed as a scandal at all - depends, of course, on what is revealed in Tuesday's release of Miller's FNSB personnel records.  Since polling data has not yet truly reflected the controversy, unknown is the affect on the campaign, which appears to have narrowed the race to a toss up between incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski  (running as a write-in) and Joe Miller. Democrat Scott McAdams trails by double digits, but is perhaps in a spoiler's roll. (Miller 37% to Murkowski 37%  to MCAdams 23% with 2% "no opinion," and 1% indicating "neither," as of Oct. 19, via a CNN/Time poll [likely voters]).

Which, What and Where? Which FNSB Code of Ethics rule did Mr. Miller violate?  What's the wording of the code section(s)?  And where is it written? Well, here's the link to the FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH CODE website where you can investigate.  Once there,

• go to the sidebar on the left and click the plus (+) to expand the entries;
• then go to and click on Chapter 2.25: CODE OF ETHICS FOR MAYOR AND BOROUGH EMPLOYEES
• Have a look at the subsections, browse around, but see the sections below:

2.25.120 Misuse of official position.   A. The mayor or a borough employee may not use, or attempt to use, his or her official position for personal gain, and may not intentionally secure or grant unwarranted benefits or treatment for any person.

[Section] B. The mayor or a borough employee may not:

(Unrelated subsections omitted, notes in brackets [ ] are mine)

3. Use borough time, property, equipment, or other facilities to benefit personal or financial interests; [Miller admitted to using FNSB computer equipment for personal interests, as defined below]

7. Use or authorize the use of borough funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource to include borough letterhead or logo with the intent to differentially benefit or harm a candidate or potential candidate for elective office or a political party or group. [At Sunday night's debate, Miller admitted that he had participated in a "private [political] poll during his lunch hour," allegedly to harm the reelection prospects of the then Chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.]

[Unrelated subsections in section B omitted]

[Section] C. A borough employee who, during his scheduled work hours, engages in political campaign activities shall take approved leave for the period of campaigning. [Arguably, Miller's actions may be construed as "campaign activities," although, as to "during his scheduled hours" in section C above, he maintains he did so during a single lunch hour in 2008.] 

From the Definitions section:  “Personal interest” means an interest held or involvement by the borough mayor or employee, or his immediate family member or parent, including membership, in any organization, whether fraternal, nonprofit, for profit, charitable, or political, from which, or as a result of which, a person or organization receives a benefit; [Bolding added]

We can expect to hear much of this tomorrow afternoon after the documents are released, unless one of the parties dicides to appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court, in which case we'll hear a lot about that. In any event, it'll be an especially cold day in Alaska for someone.

Former President George W. Bush's Memoirs: Book Cover Leaked.

"I have written a book. This will come as quite a shock to some. They didn't think I could read,
much less write."  Former President George W. Bush, Chicago book tour, October 20, 2010

The Decider Can Write Too.  In my post of a few days ago, George W. Bush Regrets His Failure To Accomplish Even MORE Damage, I alluded to his upcoming memoir, on sale November 9th. With the release date speeding towards us like a freight train, and us stuck  in our cars on the track, the former president is off-ranch  promoting, promoting, promoting, until an appearance on Oprah November 9th. Here's the cover I liberated from Crown Publishing:

(Available November 9, 2010 Abridged, Unabridged, and Randomly Abridged:
Hardcover, CD, Kindle, Download, Large Text, Small Text, No Text,
Scroll, Graphic Novel, XXX Rated, and Coloring Book)

According to Crown Publishers, the 512 page hardcover version will be structured around a dozen or so "critical and historic" decides (sic) made by the former president, both political (his response to the Sept. 11 attacks and the contentious 2000 election) and personal (his decision to quit drinking and "discovery of faith").

Until the release date, publishers traditionally hold close many of the details about a sure-to-be-controversial memoir, especially when a contemporary political figure is the author.  Crown Publishing is no different.  There were even reports that Crown, at Bush's behest, changed the release date from September to November 9th so as to not interfere with the midterm elections (Nov. 2nd).  Though these reports were quashed by Crown execs, some Republicans felt otherwise, not wanting the entire Bush presidency to be rehashed and deconstructed during a book tour of several weeks.

Janitors Sense My Power.   Through careful and highly secretive employment of certain individuals within the Crown/Random House publishing empire, however, I was able to acquire a copy of the former president's memoirs.  Although initially derailed by an incompetent but enthusiastic member of the Random House janitorial service who presented me a copy of George H.W. Bush's 1999 memoir, All My Best, a spirited and thorough thrashing restored our relationship.  As a result, the next morning I happily embraced the correct Bush tome, the one whose cover you see above. 

I shall report, from time to time prior to the November 9th public release, my reactions to the text, although its length at 512 pages does present my 10 minute per page reading speed an unprecedented challenge. Not to mention my comprehension level.  In any event, stay tuned.

 

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9/11 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton Book Indicts Neocons for Iraq Lies, But Eases Up On Bush.

"President Bush and his team got us enmeshed in Iraq based on

extraordinarily poor intelligence and a series of lies purporting that

we had to protect American from Saddam's evil empire

because it posed such a threat to our national security."

Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior (pgs. 474-475)

"Spinning the possible possession of WMDs as a threat to the

 United States in the way they did is, in my opinion,

tantamount to intentionally deceiving the American people." (page 488)

"And there was the McNamara-Rumsfeld model, based on deception, deceit,

working political agendas, and trying to get the Joint Chiefs to

support an action that might not be the right thing to do for the country

 but would work well for the President from a political standpoint." (page 401)

A Rummy Time For All.  Those quotes above are pretty straightforward, precise, like the crease in a general's pants leg.  Such is the mood of former Joint Chiefs of Staff Hugh Shelton's just released autobiography, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior. I downloaded the book from Audible.com and, forgive me Gen'l., skipped merrily ahead to the period between 9/11 and 10/11, particularly because at that time General Shelton was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and thus was relating direct, firsthand knowledge. 

Without having to listen for very long, it became clear that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and the inimitable Co-President Dick "Dick" Cheney were three of the Four Horsemen, whip hands beating us again and again to war in Iraq. 

Bush Looked Good, By Comparison.  Somewhat surprisingly, and contrary to the accepted truth, President Bush (alas) - at least according to Shelton - was  unimpressed by the Three Horsemen.  Shelton, in the passages excerpted below, makes that quite clear, bluntly and with a certainty I find credible. One must recognize Bush's achievement and not, in his iconic words, "misunderestimate" him: he actively resisted the onslaught of the neoconservative mandate, a virtual force of nature. Led as it was by the abrasive-on-a-good-day Donald Rumsfeld, this was no easy task.

During the initial days following the 9/11 attacks, Shelton portrays a commander in chief acting like a commander in chief, rejecting half-baked arguments to invade Iraq. He kept firmly to his focus on Afghanistan, Bin Laden, and Al Qaida.  Well, obviously that determination wilted, to say the least - after all, Bush did say (below) that "We're gonna get that guy," but not just yet. We all know now that Bush fairly quickly joined the neocons, heart and soul, but initially, he accepted Shelton's and Secretary of State Colin Powell's urgent pleadings that there was simply not an iota of evidence hinting at Iraq's of Saddam's involvement in 9/11.

In the General's Words.

[All italics and bolding added]

"What we're proposing is an aggressive covert-action plan directed primarily toward al Qaida and the Taliban, and to achieve this we will insert a CIA paramilitary team into Afghanistan to work closely with opposition forces -- primarily the Northern Alliance -- to prepare the way for Special Operations forces."


It was an aggressive plan, and Cofer presented it with a dynamic enthusiasm that completely captivated the President; he was totally on board. The plan would be refined in the days to come, but it would be the foundation of the CIA's Camp David presentation over the weekend.

[Then, on September 13th the group met at Camp David and the meeting took a quick Rumsfeldian curve:]

In spite of the setting, it didn't take long for the meeting to turn ugly, with Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz pushing hard to invade Iraq, Colin Powell and I countering that we should go after bin Laden at this time.

At one of the breaks, President Bush pulled me aside and asked, "What am I missing here, Hugh?"

"You've got it exactly right, Mr. President," I told him. "I have neither seen nor heard anything from either the CIA or the FBI that indicates any linkage whatsoever to Iraq. Stand firm, because it will destroy us in the eyes of the Arab World if we go after Iraq under the guise of Saddam somehow being tied to this when the facts show otherwise. What you'll have is the extremists and the fundamentalists painting it as the Americans are going after their Arab brothers just because they want to."

Add your own caption

Earlier both Colin and I had reiterated that there was not one shred of evidence that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attack -- it had all the earmarks of bin Laden, but no link whatsoever to Saddam. By the time I was finished stating my case, the President seemed to have made his decision.

"We're going to get that guy [Saddam], but we're going to get him at a time and place of our own choosing," he said, nailing the lid on any further discussions about Iraq for the moment.

The meeting reconvened, and the President went around the table for opinions, much as he had in the Cabinet Room."General, what have you come up with?" he asked when he came to me, referring to our plans to attack the al-Qaida in Afghanistan, as well as the Taliban. I presented three escalating options: The first entailed TLAM strikes, cruise missiles -- that most likely, would hit a few vacant training camps and cause some very expensive craters in the ground. The second option involved the TLAMs supplemented with manned bomber attacks on additional targets -- an escalation from the first option, but still, most likely, not of the intensity we were after at this point.


Before I could get to option three, a voice from behind the SECDEF and me interrupted. It was Wolfowitz again. "But we really need to think broader than that right now; that's not big enough.We've got to make sure we go ahead and get Saddam out at the same time -- it's a perfect opportunity."


The President became irate. "How many times do I have to tell you, we are not going after Iraq right this minute, we're going to go after the people we know did this to us. Do you understand me?" Colin and I just looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

So perhaps some further downgrading of Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Cheney is needed - their hunger for Iraq is clearer in Shelton's prose than I've encountered in a credible source.  Yet, too, President Bush needs some more positive reassessment.  At first, he acted Presidential in parrying the punches of the neocon cabal.  At first.  What happened?  With President Bush's memoirs due out on November 9th, will we learn more . . .?

----------------------------------

Below is an interview of General Shelton by ABC's Christiana Amanpour that has other revelations and biographical goodies:

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In The Delaware Senate Race: The Separation of O'Donnell and Coons.

Note: All links will open in a new tab or window.

A friend (whose excellent blog is here) emailed this Gawker link and I couldn't resist sharing it and the video. It's another demonstration of just how much basic high school civics information escaped the notice of  Christine O'Donnell,  RTP (Republican Tea Party) candidate for a Delaware U.S. Senate seat. Fortunately, her poll numbers rest at a steady 37% in her race against Democrat Chris Coons.

Should O'Donnell win, however, she'd be entitled, for example, to place a "hold" on legislation and judicial or executive branch nominations thereby halting consideration of the measures for any reason she chooses. All that without having to disclose any of her holds or state her reasons. Additionally, she'd be able to do everything else that a real senator may do, including such things as vote and speak.

So, to get an idea of where she stands on the 1st (particularly the separation of church and state), 14th, 16th, and 17th Amendments, the video needs no preface. Just listen.

A guide:

at 2:47 - O'Donnell on the "separation of church and state"

at 3:06 - 14th, 16th, and 17th Amendment discussion

at 5:42 - 1st Amendment (Separation of church and state redux)]

What does this kind of dialogue accomplish, particularly the church-state issues?  I'm hoping O'Donnell's boffo performance will create a "separation of O"Donnell and Coons" in the polls and the election.


Further Reading (all links will open in a new tab):

Library of Congress:  'A Wall of Separation'

A Tea Partiers Take on Separation of Church & State

Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing, 301 U.S. 1 (1947)

U.S. Senate Doc. 108-17 (2002 ed.)
Analysis and Interpretation of the Constitution: Annotations of Cases
Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States

U.S. Senate Doc. 108-17 (2008 Supplement)

Library of Congress Guide to Law Online (U.S. Constitution)



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George W. Bush Regrets His Failure To Accomplish Even MORE Damage.



Here's how I looked when I was being the decider.

 They Really Will Say Anything. In Chicago on Thursday, former President George W. Bush was touting the November 9th publication of his his book, Decision Points. In a moment of  accidental truth telling, he revealed that his "greatest failure" as president was his inability to "reform Social Security" (code for privatizing it and handing retirement savings to Wall Street).   At Huff Po's website, the story (first reported by the Chicago Tribune) has garnered 13,425 comments in its first 12 hours.

No surprise. Bush, you'll recall, wanted to privatize the Social Security program.  That's the highly successful primary safety net for older Americans of retirement age - yes the one having "security" in its title.  Many believed, and still believe, that privatizing the program would transform it into a gamble untethered to anything consistently secure, i.e. the stock market.

Tellingly, by picking Social Security, Bush dodges greater regret for the morass of lies and distortions that led to our invasion of Iraq, and its mismanaged and corrupt occupation.  He apparently doesn't consider the bumbling response to Hurricane Katrina as a candidate for "greatest regret." The scandalous way in which the Justice Department was converted into a political campaign organization? Nope. Nor was the trashing of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to subvert the voting process. Greatest regret?  Not for a financial cataclysm caused in largest part by Bush administration indifference to oversight. All of these, and more, it seems, did not strike Bush as candidates for "greatest regret." Perhaps he was overwhelmed by the competition for the title.

It Gets Worse.  The record of the financial success of the stock market is chequered. One may predict - without partisanship - that some future retirees would, indeed, make out fairly well; however, if the past is prologue, and economic and market performance cyclical, more future social "security" recipients would suffer than those who would flourish. People do not fully understand that equity prices can stay depressed, even yield negative returns, for long time periods.  The risks are many.  About the risk, a 1999 Brookings Report concluded what - in light of Wall Street's recent and continuing shenanigans - is even more accurate today:

The risk that asset prices will decline around the time workers begin to retire; The risk that annuities will be expensive to buy when the worker must convert his retirement nest egg into a level annuity; And the risk that price inflation during the worker's retirement will seriously erode the value of his annuity. The existence of these kinds of risk means that there is a continuing and crucial role for traditional Social Security, even in the case of workers who earn middle-class wages throughout their careers.



SOCIAL INSECURITY: Yes, some win; but far more
lose, and often disastrously. Do you want to tie your
retirement income to a gamble on whether you'll be
above or below the break even line when you retire
and have to then convert the principal to an annuity?



Still Paradoxical After All These Years.  Something else is even more startling about Bush's choice of greatest regret than his actual choice of his failure to "transform/reform" Social Security:

After all the havoc he perpetrated in so many areas domestic and international, he chose as his greatest regret something that, if he had succeeded, would have caused substantially more suffering for many future retirees.

So, in effect, Bush chose as his greatest regret something other than the damage he actually accomplished.  In his failure to "reform/privatize" Social Security, he regretted not having perpetrated additional damage. 

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Tea Party On The Constitution!

How the United States might look were the Tea Partiers to "revolutionize" the federal government: everybody boogey!!!

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Alaska Senate Candidate Joe Miller's Website Billed Disasterous Town Hall Meeting As A Public Event.



Why is this Tea Partier smiling?

Redefining "Private Event!" Miller Style.  It's been all over the media: the controversial "private" Town Hall Meeting of October 17, where Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger was handcuffed and detained by candidate Joe Miller's (TP-AK) DropZone security detail.

The Miller campaign has pinned its explanation of this by maintaining the event was a "private" one.  Indeed, William Fulton, of DropZone, the security firm hired by Miller's campaign to work the event, indicated, “They leased it for a private event,” he said, “It wasn’t a public place.” And that belief, perhaps honestly held, led to Mr. Hopfinger's "arrest," and detention.  Finally, some reports indicate that Fulton believed that only Facebook and Twitter friends had been invited to the event.

In any event, I decided to investigate what was advertised at Mr. Miller's own website. Here's the announcement on the Miller for Congress website's Calendar of Events. I ask you, does this describe a "private" event?

"Event: Town Hall Anchorage

When: Sun, October 17, 3:00pm – 4:30pm

Where: 1405 E Street - Central Middle School

Description

Why:

Because your friends, colleges, family, acquaintances, neighbors, need to be informed and hear Joe Miller speak for himself. Don't let the media skew your views. Make the decision for yourself. Help send Joe to DC!"

Site accessed on 10/19/2010.

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D.A.D.T. is D.E.A.D. (for now)

"These soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines sacrifice so much in defense of our nation and our Constitution. . . This decision is also a victory for all who support a strong national defense. No longer will our military be compelled to discharge service members with valuable skills and experience because of an archaic policy mandating irrational discrimination."

Christian Berle, acting Executive Director,

Log Cabin Republicans

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Goes Silent.

(AP) A federal judge issued a worldwide injunction Tuesday stopping enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, ending the military's 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops.  

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips' landmark ruling was widely cheered by gay rights organizations that credited her with getting accomplished what President Obama and Washington politics could not.

"This order from Judge Phillips is another historic and courageous step in the right direction, a step that Congress has been noticeably slow in taking," said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and the sole named veteran plaintiff in the case along with the Log Cabin Republicans. Servicemembers United is the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans.

Questions, As Always, Remain and Remain.

The possibility of appeal of Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S. partially overshadows the future of the court order since DOJ has 60 days to decide whether to appeal. Already, Attorney General Eric Holder has a letter from 21 senators requesting that DOJ walk off the field and thus let the injunction stand.  As for those who are disgruntled with the injunction, the LA Times reported that "Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, called on the administration to immediately appeal . . . Otherwise, he said, it would 'only further the desire of voters to change Congress' out of anger at 'activist judges and arrogant politicians.'"  In any event, with the midterm elections a little more than two weeks away, it will be very interesting to see how the court's ruling is "played" by the contenders.

In addition, an issue related to the scope of the injunction arose quickly as well. The L.A. Times reported that Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law, observed, 

"A federal judge always has the power to declare a law unconstitutional," but the Log Cabin Republican case raised an "interesting question [that] concerns a nationwide injunction. On the one hand, I think, [the court] is on strong ground in doing so. On the other hand, one district judge doesn't have the authority to bind judges in other districts or circuits. They can decide for themselves. The key question is whether the Obama administration will appeal."

How About We All Think Of It This Way? 

Florida's Chan Lee, political cartoonist extraordinaire, enlightens best:

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

DADT Injunction Text

Related Articles.

-- Los Angeles Times - Judge Orders Halt to DADT

-- New York Times - At War - (Servicemens) Reactions

to DADT Injunction

-- Washington Post - Federal Eye - DADT Enforcement Struck Down

-- 21 U.S. Senators Join in Letter to AG Eric Holder

(urging that DOJ not appeal the DADT injunction)

-- Log Cabin Republicans

-- Servicemembers United

 

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Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis Visualized

Not many words required . . . (although I reserve my right to comment. Sorry.)

1.  Here's the growth of the foreclosure crisis, the demon spawn of the financial system's brilliant inNOvation called Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS).

(click for larger view)

2.  The "REO" referenced above is Real Estate Owned by banks (the original lenders) after the home fails to sell at a foreclosure auction, such as when a home is "under water" relative to the amount owed on the home. The bank then owns the home and carries it as a "nonperforming asset" on its books. Is it just me or does the green line seem to be exploding upwards style?

(click for larger view)

3.  So, more and more of us are furtherer and furtherer behinder.  Of course, most of us have often heard of the marvelous mortgage modification programs that are available for one and all, so, "What me worry?"  Unfortunately, there are very few mortgage mods being approved due to the banks' now obvious disinterest in following through on the promises made.  Basically, many homeowners have, through bank delays and disinclination in processing paperwork, U.S. homeowners are being "modified" into foreclosure.

In any event, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston provides the handy little graphic below.  It describes what some call the "lender's calculus" of mortgage mods.  It's distressing. One doesn't need to have mastered calculus to see this.  Just talk to you next door neighbor . . .

Roll tape!

(click for larger view)

4.  Enter MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems).  How convenient, and a nifty Internet inNOvation thunk up by the rhesus geniuses that created mortgage backed securities and have been wrong about everything for a very long time.  MERS  has, by actually living up to their promise - "Process Loans, Not Paperwork" - ineptly created a Mount Rushmore sized pile of legal paperwork for themselves and the banks (like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Ally (formerly GMAC), Fannie and Freddie). 

MERS was designed by the financial industry to eliminate keeping track of that nasty legal title paper trail that developed as one of the red-headed stepchildren of mortgage backed securities (MBS). It used to be that a bank would hold onto its own mortgages until they were paid out, or foreclosed upon, etc.  The MBS revolution changed that and "bundled" mortgages of all kinds into an MBS bond - see the chart below, sections 1 through 3.  Seemingly this worked well - at least until recently, when the entire MERS inNOvation imploded and exploded simultaneously (neat trick, eh?).  The second half of the chart describes the process. 

Without being able to either locate or demonstrate legal title to a property, a bank cannot foreclose.  Have we all been raptured to Heaven?  Anyway, to see the huge amount of distressed home loans outstanding (and growing), have a look at the first chart again. 

Roll Tape!

(click for larger view)

Imagine, all this fuss about simply misplacing the TITLES (!) to those mortgaged-to-the-hilt homes . . . Certainly, the mortgage industry will now understand when we misplace our check books when a payment is due . . . you know, all that paper to keep track of . . .

Perhaps the Fed, having lately announced its plan to engage in quantitative easing, will buy up (and honor) all those toxic MBS's . . . creating new money for the sellers (the very banks that caused this new crisis) to bury in tomato cans in the back yard. . .

Related Articles:

---  MERS Website

---  REO Explained

---  Mortgage Backed Securities

---  Foreclosure Basics

---  State Foreclosure Laws

--- Quantitative Easing

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Federal Statute Writing Lesson #1 - How to Clarify Clearly

The United States Code (Title 26 Section 509) defines "Private Foundation" that are exceptions to typical "501(c)(3)" non-profit entities.  At the end of a longish four paragraph general rules section, the statute makes a friendly attempt to clarify:

"For purposes of paragraph (3), an organization described in paragraph (2) shall be deemed to include an organization described in section 501 (c)(4), (5), or (6) which would be described in paragraph (2) if it were an organization described in section 501 (c)(3)."

Hope that helps!

 

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Congressman Grayson (D) on Massive Foreclosure Fraud at MERS and Elsewhere

Foreclosure's Not So Much Fun Anymore. Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL)[Central Florida] recently spoke of a foreclosure controversy that is crawling to the top of the news cycle.  The subject is the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) . . .

"Nationalize" W/4 "Banking Industry"   MERS may be incubating new Decession lifeforms that just might feed on what's left of the banking industry, and, in turn, the stock market, the bond market, etc. Will we again hear the word "nationalize" in close proximity to "the banking industry"? (I'll follow with a post on this soon.)

Of course, the congressman was reviled by the "all truth none of the time" network, FOX, so he, and many others, must be onto something. I tend to believe a man who titles his proposed legislation like these:

H.R.4431 : Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act

H.R.4432 : Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act

H.R.4434 : End Political Kickbacks Act of 2009

H.R.4444 : Defund the Crooks Act

H.R.4487 : End the Hijacking of Shareholder Funds Act

H.R.4511 : Pick Your Poison Act of 2010

H.R.5353 : War is Making You Poor Act

and my favorite, the 11th Commandment:

H.R.6000 : Thou Shalt Not Kill Thy Customers Act

(To find out more about these, none of which, unfortunately, has gone anywhere in this Congress, click here)

Related & Supporting Stories
Rep. Grayson's homepage

Economic Shock Therapy for Wall Street: Mortgage Lenders Could Soon be Falling like Dominos

BANK OF AMERICA, COUNTRYWIDE, MERS, AND BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON FORECLOSURE BLOWN AWAY BY JUDGE SCHACK FOR LACK OF STANDING BASED ON ASSIGNMENT FRAUD REPOST BY POPULAR DEMAND

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