Turn Left @ hypocrisy.com

Just to prove I’m a bipartisan critic, let me tell you how disgusted I am by the lowlife character of Senator Dianne Wilkerson. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Wilkerson, she became the first African American woman ever elected to the Massachusetts state senate back in 1993. In spite of having a long and suspect history (federal tax evasion, ethics violations and perjury), Wilkerson managed to serve eight terms before losing this year to Sonia Chang-Diaz. Here in Massachusetts, we simply thought her past had finally caught up with her. That was before October 28, however. What we have learned from her latest brush with the law is that there’s no limit to Wilkerson’s level of greed.

On Tuesday, October 28, Wilkerson was arrested by the FBI on public corruption charges. Wilkerson was caught on tape accepting a bribe and stuffing it in her bra (not only greedy, but tasteless as well). She has apparently accepted $23,500 in bribes in connection with the use of her office as State Senator. Unfortunately for Senator Wilkerson, those she was working on behalf of over the past 18 months just happened to be undercover agents.

The FBI, in conjunction with the Boston Police Department Anti-Corruption Unit, began the investigation into Wilkerson’s alleged activities in the spring of 2007. Between June 2007 and March 2008, Wilkerson accepted $8,500 in cash payments from undercover agents (and a cooperating witness) for her assistance in obtaining a liquor license for a Roxbury nightclub. In exchange for this payout, Wilkerson pressured the Boston Licensing Board, the Mayor and the City Council. She also held up pending legislation in the State Senate.

Even though I’m a Democrat, I believe that Wilkerson should be removed from office. I fully expected that to be the outcome. Yet even I am amazed at how quickly the ceiling fell in here. It took maybe a day or two for her Democratic colleagues and prominent black clergy to fully abandon her. Since October 28, Wilkerson has already been censured, stripped of her committee positions and asked to resign. At the time of her arrest, Wilkerson was mounting a write-in campaign to try to win back her seat. At first, she refused to give it up, but she was soon beaten down. However (and you knew this was coming),there is at least another political figure - on a national level - who has not been censured, asked to resign, or told to stop his re-election bid. Any idea who I’m talking about? Here’s a hint: He’s not black and he’s not female. Yes, I’m referring to none other than Senator Ted Stevens, who has already had a jury conviction in his corruption trial and may spend time in prison for his crimes.

Even now most of Stevens’ Republican colleagues speak fondly of him and seem content on giving him a pass. While he has given up his co-chairmanships and ranking member positions (according to Republican rule), Stevens is allowed to vote in the Senate, speak on the Senate floor and participate in committee work. He’s even back on the road trying to get re-elected to yet another term! So, what’s the difference between Wilkerson and Stevens?

Aside from race, gender and Stevens’ conviction, there’s scale and the fact that Wilkerson took cash while Stevens received gifts and services. In fact, Stevens received roughly $250,000 in gifts and services from Veco Corporation, an energy company and the state of Alaska’s largest employer. Veco provided renovations to Senator Steven’s home (gratis, of course) that more than doubled its size. The work involved a new first floor, a new garage, a new first- and second-story wrap around deck, new plumbing and new wiring. Senator Stevens, of course, neglected to report this substantial gift. Have you seen any of the before-and-after pictures? Although Stevens was never actually charged with ‘bribery,’ the indictment states that Stevens “could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of VECO.” Now, if that doesn’t spell bribery, what does?

Perhaps it’s not all race and gender. Perhaps one could argue that it’s also the difference between corruption’s effect on local vs. national politics. However, there does appear to be just a hint of disparity here.

The election is just days away and pace is picking up, particularly around the Republican party. You’ve just got to wonder what side of the rainbow they’re working, though. Here’s what I’m talking about:

• In spite of being found guilty on all seven felony corruption counts, Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) has vowed to fight on in his bid to win reelection against Democrat Mark Begich. The guy should just step down. What ever happened to that slogan… you know the one…isn’t it Country First? Where have I heard that one before?

• Sarah Palin, herself recently found guilty of abuse of power, actually suggested that Ted Stevens resign. Why doesn’t she take her own advice? In fact, it seems that Sarah is in hot water again. A new ethics complaint accuses the governor of using her official position for personal gain. This time, she is accused of charging the state of Alaska $21,000 for her three daughters’ commercial flights since taking office in December 2006. Her daughters were not invited to the events and their attendance served no legitimate state business. Talk about the ultimate in hypocrisy. Between Stevens and Palin, you’d swear there was something in the water up there.

• Earlier this week John McCain finally addressed the economy. He took a few moments to warn the voting public that the Democrats would ruin the economy. Forgive me, but hasn’t eight years of Republican rule already done that? If this isn’t “ruined,” what is? While we’re at it, let’s address the McCain notion that Barack Obama’s tax plan is nothing but Socialism. Guess what? Socialism is part of the fabric of American life. We’ve always had a graduated tax plan in this country. In Obama’s plan, there’s nothing new under the sun.

• In yet another ‘hail Mary’ attempt to destroy Obama’s image, the pit bull with lipstick is now accusing the Democratic presidential candidate of having PLO ties. This time, it’s about Obama’s association with Rashid Khalidi, a leading scholar of Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University. Yes, he is a contemporary of Obama. He has also been an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and of our policies toward Israel. Know what? So what? I’m also critical of our policies toward Israel. This is AMERICA. We’re supposed to be able to disagree with our government without being called traitors or terrorists. This all or nothing notion about patriotism has been concocted by the Republican party. In the Constitution, it plainly states that we have a right to a redress of our grievances. It’s called FREEDOM, people. What the Republicans want is a dictatorship.

• John McCain has built his campaign around this fictional Joe the Plumber character. You know, the guy who wants to buy a plumbing business but cannot. I say fictional because the guy isn’t even a licensed plumber and he hasn’t paid his taxes. His real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher. Here’s what Joe (Samuel) has to say: ” I know just enough about foreign policy to probably be dangerous…I have no idea where John McCain’s position is…I honestly want people to go out and find their own reasons. I tell people not to listen to everyone else’s opinion. I’m not going to have them start listening to mine.” I could be wrong, but building the campaign around Joe the Plumber might be a strategic mistake on Senator McCain’s part. No?

• And finally, we’re back to Sarah Palin again. In an October 24^th speech on autism, she proved once again she doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about most of the time. This time, she mocked “fruit fly research” as a big waste of money that has “little or nothing to do with the public good.” Had Palin done her homework, she’d know that the exact opposite is true. This gets back to my accusation that she’s intellectually non-curious. She really is. If she’s going to talk about a subject, she should know about the subject. Palin should have known that a recent study of Drosophila fruit flies showed that a protein called neurexin is essential for proper neurological function, making it clearly relevant for autism research. In fact, fruit flies are the foundation of much of modern genetics. They have helped us to learn about heredity, genome structure and congenital disorders. (Yes, Sarah, they’ve even helped us understand the “e” word - that’s evolution.)

Well, that about wraps it up for tonight. I’m not sure I can handle much more of this intellectual stuff anyway.

Time is running short for John McCain, so the looneys are out enmasse. The latest Republican figure to walk off the deep end is Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn) who appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews this past Friday. Her latest allegation is that Barack and Michelle Obama are anti-American and cannot be trusted in the White House. Sound McCarthyesque to you? I’d suggest she rethink that and be one of the party faithful who shows up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to count the silverware after W leaves office. If anybody is anti-American it’s our present imperial ruler, who has just about gutted the US Constitution, spied on his own citizens, and has slaughtered literally millions in Iraq and Afghanistan all on this shadow “war on terror.”

She referred to Obama’s friendships with William Ayers (which Senator Obama explained sufficiently during the third and final debate) and the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Isn’t it funny that John McCain is never called upon to explain his friendships, like the one he has with G. Gordon Liddy. As recently as March of this year, McCain referred to Liddy as someone who upholds the ideals that make our country great. Really? Someone who served time for the Watergate break-in, plotted murder, kidnappings and terrorist bombings upholds the American ideal? So, why are we worried about Obama’s friends? Or perhaps we should talk about the fact that McCain has allied his campaign with the Cuban Liberty Council, some of whose members have committed terrorist attacks. In fact, Senator Joseph Lieberman met with the wife of convicted serial bomber Eduardo Arocena on July 20th of this year prior to speaking at a McCain event. Lieberman promised to pursue a presidential pardon for her husband.

Or perhaps we should talk about the fact that Sarah Palin has actively courted the Alaska Independence Party, a secessionist group whose leader, Joe Vogler, is decidedly anti-American. Vogler stated, “My government is my worst enemy. I’m going to fight them with any means at hand.” This is the group that the “first dude,” Todd Palin, belonged to for seven years. Sarah Palin spoke at their convention in 2008, telling them, “Keep up the good work. And God bless you.” While Palin criticizes Obama for wanting to engage Iran in conversation and negotiation, let’s remember that in 1993 Joe Vogler persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American efforts.

Oh, and by the way, in spite of the fact that Sarah Palin lives with the illusion that the Troopergate report exonerated her, did I mention that Mr. and Mrs. Palin will be deposed this week by investigators determining whether or not she violated state ethics laws? I suggest that abuse of power might be considered un-American as well.

So, the next time Michelle Bachmann wants to raise the issue of un-American activities, I suggest she investigate her own party. Or keep her mouth shut.

Sarah Palin declared during her debate with Joe Biden that she was going to take her message directly to the American people. I’ve decided to do the same tonight. I’m not writing about John McCain in the third person. I’m taking my case directly to the Senator himself after watching the third and final debate.

Senator McCain, I’m here to tell you why you do not deserve to lead this nation. You are simply not worthy of the task. Now, of course, the Republican pundits have you winning the third and final debate. Unfortunately, the American people didn’t quite see it that way, and they are all that matters in the final analysis. While you were indeed more aggressive than Barack Obama last night, the fact is that you have no plans. All you do is keep repeating over and over that you are going to bring about change in Washington. What change? Where are your plans? Let’s hear some specifics. You seem to have picked up some of your running mate’s bad habits. Instead of answering the moderator’s questions, you talked around them. It’s a case of Creeping Palinitis. There is no cure for this short of transporting Sarah Palin back to Alaska and obscurity.

Now, let’s address this “Joe the Plumber” guy. It’s all a lie, Senator McCain. You invented him so that you could use him to make your point during the debate. I can never figure out how people like you think you won’t be found out. Today I decided to find out more about Joe the Plumber. I found that he is a registered Republican who just happens to think that Barack Obama is a Socialist. He is also the brother of Charles Keating’s son-in-law. He owes the government back taxes, and he doesn’t even have a plumber’s license. It’s pretty apparent that you are a fraud, Senator McCain. There’s no way to spin it.

There’s also that matter of how low your campaign has gone. Now, you said that there have been some attendees at Senator Obama’s rallys that have worn offensive T-shirts. Let’s talk about your crowd. They yell things like, “kill him,” “terrorist,” or “off with his head” when referring to Senator Obama. Your crowds, Senator McCain, call for blood. Your campaign is out of control, yet you lied during the debate and said you repudiated every attack on Barack Obama. You have not. In fact, you have participated. Today, the day after the debate, your campaign released a ‘robocall’ linking Obama to William Ayers, even after vowing to return to a respectful campaign. At least two of your supporters have spent a considerable amount of time linking Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden, even going to the extreme in suggesting that the campaign should waterboard Senator Obama. And a California group has released a racist, tasteless cartoon of Barack Obama on the face of a food stamp (as opposed to actual currency). Pictured with Obama is some watermelon, a carafe of Kool Aid, some barbecued ribs and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Of course, the perpetrator insists she meant nothing racist by it. I believe she said, “It’s just food to me.” Right. Senator McCain, you are the commander of the ship. Therefore, you are fully responsible for spreading the fear that has dredged up the worst in our society. These people take their cue from nobody but you and your running mate.

Senator McCain, the lowlife campaign you have run in desperation for a win is quite convincing. It’s clear that you are not the right choice to lead this nation back to greatness.

*For those of you who do not know about the Keating Five, It’s unlikely that Senator McCain will fill you in. Please click here for details!

I hate to disappoint Pit Bull Palin, but I’m taking one day off the campaign trail today to take a look back. (You will remember, of course, that she reprimanded Joe Biden for looking back instead of looking forward.) At the time of this posting, there are 98 days, 16 hours, 45 minutes, and 11.5 seconds left in George Bush’s disastrous turn. That’s plenty of time to do more harm to this country. Nevertheless, it’s not too soon to outline the events that make George Bush the worst president in American history. While there are many, many reasons to label Bush the worst, there are four watershed moments in his administration that cement his place in infamy: The 9-11 terrorist attacks, the ill-advised wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the government’s handling of Hurricane Katrina, and the economic meltdown presently taking place in America (and spreading around the world).

September 11, 2001

First, the 9-11 attacks. No matter how Bush tries to blame the Clinton administration, this attack happened on his watch. George Bush assumed the presidency on January 20, 2000 and the terrorist attacks happened on September 11, 2001. The Clinton administration had left the Bush administration a comprehensive report on the subject of al Qaeda, including a plan to thwart its efforts. George Bush ignored it. It’s now common knowledge that he also ignored repeated warnings between April and September of 2001. Not only was he warned of potential terrorist attacks taking place on our soil, but he was warned that the terrorists might use airplanes as weapons. The administration was warned by Israel’s Mossad, as well as by Jordan and Moroccan intelligence. How did he spin his administration’s failure to act? Bush and Cheney stated that, had the domestic wiretapping authorization been given in 2001 instead of 2002, it would have prevented the terrorist attacks. As usual, this is a bald-faced lie. The memo he received a month before the attacks warned that Bin Laden was determined to hit targets inside the United States. He didn’t need wiretapping. If the memo could not move him to action, there is no way that wiretapping would have prevented the attacks. You simply have to question why he ignored it. In fact, you simply have to question the official version of 9-11 being fed us by the Bush administration.

You have to wonder why the US military was on “stand down” that day. Why were 140 Saudis safely flown out of the United States during the week after 9-11, when even Bill Clinton and Al Gore, both out of the country at the time of the attack, were not even allowed to fly back home? Many were members of the royal House of Saud, and at least 24 were direct members of bin Ladens family. Why weren’t they detained for questioning instead? This would have been a logical step, given the fact that 14 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis and it was Saudi money backing al Qaeda? In fact, Osama bin Laden is a Saudi national.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Then, we have two ill-advised, ill-planned wars, one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. The justification for these two wars, of course, was to fight terror. In fact, the 9-11 terrorist attacks became the excuse for just about every crime the Bush administration has committed. According to our truth-challenged leader, we were going to take the war to the terrorists by invading Afghanistan and capturing Osama bin Laden. In fact, George Bush vowed we would get him “dead or alive” during one of his post 9-11 speeches. New information from former US officials, however, shows that George W. Bush never had any intention of bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. The only question that remains is why? Is this because of the close business ties between the Bush and bin Laden families? Or is it because bin Laden had nothing to do with the attacks at all? According to sources, George Bush was more interested in attacking Iraq than finding Osama bin Laden. Of course, President Bush justified the invasion of Iraq by lying to Congress and the American people about Saddam Hussein being involved in the 9-11 terrorist attacks. We now know that was a lie and that George Bush invaded a sovereign nation under false pretenses.

The president landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003 and announced that the Iraq war was over. There was a huge ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner behind him. It is now 2008 and there’s no end to the war in sight. In fact, our Republican presidential wannabe (John McCain) says he’ll stay in Iraq for 100 years if that’s what it takes to win the war (whatever ‘win’ means). At the five-year mark, we have lost 4,180 US troops. More than 1.2 million innocent Iraqis have died. At a cost of $12 billion per month, the mission is anything but accomplished. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, it remains a black hole for the mainstream media. Nobody even talks about it. Estimates from one web site provide these numbers: 8,587 Afghan troops killed; 3,485 Afghan civilians killed; 513 US troops killed; and 433 other coalition troops killed. Either way, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff predict a gloomy future for the Afghanistan war: Next year will even be worse than this year.

Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005

The third watershed event was Hurricane Katrina and our government’s disgustingly feeble efforts both before and after the storm. Katrina first made landfall at 7 a.m. on August 29 as a category 4 hurricane. At 7:30 a.m., the White House was warned that the levees were failing. In fact, before the storm was over, nearly all of the levees would be breached. Documents show that the White House had ample warning about the severity of Katrina, even though George Bush went on Good Morning America on September 1, 2005, to state, “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” There’s yet another outright lie. While still on a month-long vacation in Crawford, Texas, George Bush was told about the levees and then some. He had a report that predicted that the levees would be breached and that Katrina could potentially destroy 90% of the city structures. It also described the depth and breadth of the search and rescue effort that would be required, and predicted the displacement of more than 1 million residents. The president asked no questions. Instead, he told New Orleans officials, “We are fully prepared.” That, too, was a lie.

Washington was anything but prepared. Why is that? Because, our government officials were all on vacation when Katrina hit. George Bush, in spite of the warnings, stayed on vacation in Crawford, Texas. Meanwhile, Dick Cheney stayed on vacation in Jackson, Wyoming. Condoleeza Rice went to New York during the storm to see a Broadway play and buy herself some expensive new shoes. In spite of the devastation overwhelming the Gulf states on August 29, President Bush did not rush back to Washington. Instead, he spent his Tuesday playing golf. After that, he played guitar with some country and western singers. Think Progress has put together an incredible time line documenting Katrina’s devastation and our president’s response. It’s clear that Bush had other business on his mind.

Unfortunately, President George W. Bush showed no greater leadership after the disaster than he did before and during the disaster. Two weeks after the storm, Bush pledged a homesteading plan to help residents of New Orleans. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a complete plan and left many homeless people without assistance. The Baker Plan (named for its Republican sponsor Representative Richard Baker) was a much more complete plan, and it received the backing of Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat.. It would provide compensation to victims right away and give them a choice of how to rebuild their homes. It even allowed people to walk away with compensation without rebuilding if they wished. The White House, of course, opposed the plan, mostly because it made George Bush’s plan look as anemic as it actually was. The most decisive action President Bush took was to make sure he helped businesses profit from the Katrina disaster. First, he suspended federal rules and authorized FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to extend no-bid contracts to corporations participating in the rebuilding. He also suspended the federal Davis-Bacon Act which requires contractors utilizing federal funds to play local prevailing wages on construction projects. You’ve just got to love those compassionate conservatives.

The Economic Meltdown of 2008

George Bush isn’t the only Republican proponent of deregulation. Our ‘deregulation nation’ was actually launched during the Reagan Administration. However, it was carried to new heights under the Bush administration. Over the last eight years, corporations of all types have been given unprecedented powers to police themselves. Take a look at Wall Street. It’s much more than a ‘free market’ playground. It is synonymous with corruption, deception and greed. How does the Bush administration respond? By giving the perpetrators a $700 billion infusion of new monopoly money to play with, ignoring Americans facing foreclosure and fleecing the American taxpayer. The White House employed its usual fear-mongering and strong-arm tactics to get the bail-out package passed, telling members of Congress that the stock market would suffer a devastating drop. When that didn’t work, several Senators were threatened with martial law, the final step of our descent into fascism.

The package has finally passed, and Wall Street continued its free fall. Credit is pretty much frozen. People are losing their homes and their jobs at an alarming rate. According to Robert Reich, former secretary of labor under Bill Clinton, and now at UC Berkeley, the US has lost 1 million jobs since last year. In the meantime, some of the bail-out money has been used for, of all things, pleasure junkets. The AIG sales force, for example, took a trip to a resort in California where they spent $120,000 alone on spa treatments. Another $150,000 was spent on food. This is what happens when there is no oversight, a little detail left out of the plan. In the meantime, state governments are trying to get financial help from the federal treasury just to meet payroll. What’s wrong with this picture?

It Doesn’t Stop Here

I’m mystified by those who consider George W. Bush a good president. I’m wondering what channel they’ve been watching for the past eight years. The four events featured in this article are huge, but there are so many more that have been left out. For example, the Bush administration has turned the United States into a torture state. Condoleeza Rice recently revealed that ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ (a polite term for ‘torture’), including waterboarding, were discussed at the White House among the highest officials of the Bush administration. Bush has approved the imprisonment of scores of ‘enemy combatants’ for years without bringing specific charges or allowing prisoners access to lawyers. He has sent others to countries where torture is routinely practiced under his ‘extraordinary rendition’ program. In short, he has violated articles of the Geneva Convention and he has broken both US and international laws.

George Bush has run roughshod over the US Constitution. Many view the illegal wiretapping of American citizens as his most egregious Constitutional violation. However, he also took advantage of a nation in shock from the 9-11 terrorist attacks to rush through passage of the USA Patriot Act, specifically designed to diminish our rights and expand the powers of the executive branch.

I could go on and on, but this article would become a tome. I’ll save the fine points for my online George Bush Library. In closing, do not to get comfortable just because his reign is coming to an end. With just slightly more than three months left to go in this regime, there’s plenty of time to do more damage. George Bush isn’t just any lame duck president. He wants his name to go down in history, even if it is as the worst president this nation has ever seen.