1 Boring Old Man

^{[I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again.]}

The most remarkable thing to me is how this Administration has been able to get away with the number of outrageous things they’ve done since coming to the White House in 2001. It’s tempting to blame the other side, and many do that. Raing at the Democrats in Congress seems like an exercise in futility, and frankly misdirected to me. I think that the way they’ve done it is two-fold, secrecy and careful planning. The secrecy is a matter of public record. Nothing’s up front, and when yet another abuse of power is revealed, they don’t come clean. They just deny things until they can’t bring it off any more, then they say it doesn’t matter, and deny their previous denials. Lately, their pre-planning has become increasingly apparent. The N.S.A. data-mining has it’s roots in the first days of the Presidency, and was pointed towards Americans in the month after 9/11 [at the first excuse possible]. The plans for Iraq were apparent in their first Cabinet meeting. The U.S. Attorney Plan – a complex scheme to seed the DOJ with U.S. Attorneys who would push voter intimidation programs – was put into place as soon as they had a puppet for an Attorney General. They had started with a shaky Attorney General, John Ashcroft, in the first place. As soon as he crossed them, he was on the way out. The replacement, Alberto Gonzales, was a rubber-stamping operative. Bush even tried to put another rubber-stamping operative on the Supreme Court. Appointment after appointment was made based on no resistance – John Bolton, "Brownie," Lurita Doan, the list is endless. They planned to avoid apprehension when they seized power after power. Even the "Signing Statements" that covered ignoring the Congress. Now they are trying to pass a Bill releasing Telecommunications Companies from liability for breaking laws at their request. Previously, they got Congress to release C.I.A. Agents from responsibility for agreeing to their secret torture program. I expect that they will try to put their military contractors above the law as well.

My point is simple. They set out to ignore our laws, to be above the law. It had nothing to do with 9/11. It probably didn’t have much to do with George Bush other than the fact that he is a spoiled brat. It has everything to do with David Addington and Dick Cheney. These two men become the absolute bottom line in almost every story. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if Cheney announced that he was going to succeed George Bush, and Addington found some twist of phrase to justify it. I think that one of the most important things on the table right now is to block the destruction or sealing of governmental records in the next year. I’m sure tons have already been destroyed, and that it will continue to go on until Bush and Cheney are away from Washington permanently. The Rape of America was premeditated…

^{[program pre-recorded on the back porch]}