Something stinks in America - Guardian/Observer

[rndmprsn]

a stinging indictment of our repubs from across the pond...re-read that underlined section...

--

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1582977,00.html

The most important political event last week for Britain did not take place at the Labour party conference in Brighton, but in Travis County, Texas. District Attorney Ronnie Earle charged the second most powerful man in the United States, Tom DeLay, with criminal conspiracy. DeLay resigned as the majority leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives while he fights the case, a stunning political setback.

American conservatism that has shaped American and British politics for 20 years has been holed below the waterline. It will take a lot more to sink it, but DeLay's indictment is symptomatic of a conservative over-reach and endemic corruption that will trigger, at the very least, a retreat and maybe even more. One-Nation Tories and honest-to-God Labour politicians can take some succour; the right-wing wind that has blown across the Atlantic for nearly a generation is about to ease. Hypocrisies have been exposed. The discourse in British politics is set to change...

...If DeLay were another Republican politician or even a typical majority leader of the House, the political world could shrug its shoulders. Somebody got caught, but little will change. But DeLay is very different. He is the Republican paymaster, one of the authors of the K Street Project and the driving force behind a vicious, organised demonisation and attempted marginalisation of Democrats that for sheer, unabashed political animus is unlike anything else witnessed in an advanced democracy. Politicians fight their political foes by fair means or foul, but trying to exterminate them is new territory...

...But DeLay's indictment breaks back the dam. US politics moves in cycles. Once it was Republicans who were going to clean up corrupt Democrat Washington; now Democrats can champion the same cause. Nor can the media afford to be on the side of the Old Corruption; it's bad for business. The wheel is turning, an important moment both sides of the Atlantic.

[Straight Shooter]

1. The wheel is turning, and we should break DeLay on that wheel.

The man deserves no less than the optimum "frat boy at Abu Ghraib" treatment, eh?

[rwenos]

2. Finally, Clarity

The great unspeakable truth about Tom DeLay and the militant RW Pubs has been stated.

Pity an AMERICAN press organ couldn't have been the one to say it.

[newswolf56]

13. Actually the American press did break this story:

The New York Review of Books, June 23, 2005:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18075

(Another example of why New Yorkers are the best informed people in the United States: New York is the only U.S. city left where there actually remains some semblance of a mass-circulation free press. But even allowing for the magnitude of corporate censorship, there's no excuse for the suppression of this story by all other U.S. media -- including allegedly "alternative" publications. Especially since it was widely circulated via the Internet at the time, particularly throughout the organized labor community, but not a word of it ever reached the public at large, whether via broadcast media or outside-NYC print.)

[babylonsister]

3. Too bad our press can't be as forthright, and right! But

I hope the Dems read this and start the clean-up!

[highplainsdem]

10. The US media are just too fearful, as Will Hutton said:

So far, the US media have been supine. DeLay's tentacles, and those of Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, have cowed media owners into the same compliance; if they want favours, best advance the Republican cause like Murdoch's Fox News. American newsrooms are fearful places.


What a brilliant, hard-hitting opinion piece! Thanks for posting it here, rndmprsn!

[melody]

4. Thank heavens for our cousins across the pond

We'd all be toast without them.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

39. Yup. eom

[TallahasseeGrannie]

5. Wow... words to remember

....and the driving force behind a vicious, organised demonisation and attempted marginalisation of Democrats that for sheer, unabashed political animus is unlike anything else witnessed in an advanced democracy.

[liberalla]

20. or for short -

... the vast right wing conspiracy!

[Joe Chi Minh]

38. .. or, as Hilary insisted, "coalition"; they were too

arrogant and shameless to be secretive about their putrid animus towards Bill.

[IndyOp]

6. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you....

I NEED optimistic predictions. I want the truth, unvarnished & I need optimistic predictions.

:kick:

[Jack Rabbit]

7. Will Hutton is one of the reasons I say . . .

If you want to know what's happening in America, read the British press.

[Nikki Stone 1]

14. I second the motion. The British press isn't totally muzzled.

:kick:

[Joe Chi Minh]

37. Will Hutton's analysis of

British society in his book, "The State We're In", particularly in terms of the aspirations and goals of its ruling class, and also the different economic models, Rheinland and Anglos-Saxon, was it? was absolutely fascinating, and explains a great deal.

I wonder how he and Robert Reich would get on. Also, of course, John Kerry. Very well, I should think. He seemed to have a very progressive view of what's needed in our economies, not least in terms of the way our banks are run, particularly in comparison with Germany.

I got the strong impression that he'd been taken in by Blair, conned into thinking that he shared much of his economic philosophy and intended to pick his brain. Far from it, it turned out.

[bonito]

8. Got my vote!

[highplainsdem]

11. And mine.

[bpilgrim]

9. and it's not, just, my septic tank

"unlike anything else witnessed in an advanced democracy"

yeah, nazi germany and imperial japan were just rookies when they came into their own funks, now left wafting from the dustbin of history.

the neoCONs already prepped the masses to suspect our gov for decades... it should be easy to reform, now :evilgrin:

when you got your 'leaders' call'n to RUSH/Goebbels talk show, repeatedly, something stinks real bad, problem is some on our side thrive on the corp teat as well, lucky for us they're EASY to smell nowadays, too bad they don't know they smell yet and take a much needed BATH ;->

peace

[Binka]

36. These girls are fighting for tomorrow's fresh air

Madison Sarah and Peyton. Fight Club Guuurls! Gotta love Miss P's Chuck Taylors.

[Sydnie]

12. Interesting choice of words

Politicians fight their political foes by fair means or foul, but trying to exterminate them is new territory...

:rofl: seems like a body slam to me ... and I LIKE it.

[longship]

15. NIce.

Nomi-knighted.

[niallmac]

16. Freedom of the Press is spelled BBC n/t

[mcctatas]

17. Well here's the flaw in their reasoning...

"for sheer, unabashed political animus is unlike anything else witnessed in an advanced democracy"

They are applying the same standards that they would use for an advanced democracy. We ceased being advanced in 2000:evilgrin:

[Taxloss]

27. On the contrary.

So advanced, now computers do the voting!

[jazzjunkysue]

18. Amen, and kick.

[Kurovski]

19. Kick---n/t

[liberalla]

21. I SO enjoyed reading that article!

THANK YOU for posting it!

[Perky]

22. 90% of the population does not care about DeLay

Untill heis hauled off to Jail he is still the power behing the throne

[ClayZ]

23. This one is a KEEPER!

The wheel is turning, an important moment both sides of the Atlantic.

[bpilgrim]

24. kick

[buzzsaw_23]

31. More on Abramoff

Just to refresh everyone's memory about what happened last week, three reputed mob soldiers were arrested in Florida for the February 2001 gangland-style murder of Gus Boulis, founder and one-time owner of Sun Cruz, the Florida casino boat line. Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan muscled Boulis into selling them Sun Cruz. And it is for fraud in that acquisition that both were indicted last month. That's all known.

<snip>

 Articles on this subject almost always throw in a line to the effect that no one suspects Abramoff himself of knowledge or involvement in Boulis's death. And I know of little tangible to contradict that. But he was the co-owner, with Kidan, of the company which made the tainted payments. And Abramoff and Kidan were in pretty close and regular contact in how they used Sun Cruz's money for the DC lobbying operations. At a minimum Abramoff might be able to shed some light on whether there is some innocent explanation for the money that went to the guy who's been indicted for Boulis's murder.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_...

And This:


In the case of Abramoff's work for Flanigan and Tyco, Abramoff ended up sending the greater part of their $2 million lobbying fee to an astroturf outfit called Grassroots Interactive -- an outfit allegedly controlled by Abramoff and run by a guy who now works as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor of Maryland.

<snip>

The Republican machine built by DeLay, Norquist, Abramoff, et al. and pulled into high gear after 2001, is a pay-for-play political machine. This is just another part of the operation, like the diktat for trade associations to hire only Republicans. Big political machines need their soldiers taken care of -- jobs on K Street which also discipline the trade associations under Hill leadership. Just so, they need big sums of money to move around off the books. How does Rove keep the millions moving to Norquist? To Reed? To all the other operatives whose names you don't know about?

Indian tribes bursting with millions who need very focused sorts of legislative intervention -- that's one good source of money. Corrupt Pacific Island governments who need similar help -- another good source.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_...

[ClayZ]

35. Perhaps the "trail of tears" will end here!

Is the dominant paradigm is finally about to subverted!

[bloom]

25. That is a great article on the subject... eom

[Patsy Stone]

26. That made me happy... and sad

Great clear statement of the shape of things. Glad to see someone is watching, even if it is from across the pond.

[I Have A Dream]

28. Kick

:kick:

[buzzsaw_23]

29. Call it for what it is-Organized Crime

Organized crime in Washington

It appears to have been a rough week for the Republican Party, with DeLay's indictment, Miller talking, Larry Franklin's plea bargain, the forcing of the release of the worst of the Abu Ghraib photos, more revelations on the Abramoff and Safavian scandals, continued fallout from the debacle of the non-response to Katrina, more problems in Iraq, and on and on. People are starting to notice a pattern. From Sam Smith:

"WITH the indictment of Tom DeLay there can no longer be any doubt that with the Bush regime we are observing not a variation on politics but chronically criminal and corrupt behavior parading as ideology. This is not a movement but a mob and a disservice as much to conservatives as to progressives and moderates. The whole purpose of the Bush machine is to line its own pockets, increase its own power, and suppress any who would complain about it. For the media to treat what is happening as just another political discussion merely makes it a tool of the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on the American public. It is time the press learned to distinguish clearly between a con and a concept."

<snip>

The Republicans like to talk about how the Bush Administration brought MBA management techniques to the American government, but what they really did was discover the method of applying the most advanced management techniques to using the government as a source of personal wealth. The Katrina reconstruction, where they salivated like a wolf watching a lamb as they awarded huge no-bid, no-limit contracts to the usual select group of cronies, just provided the final proof of what they are really up to. The only difference between this American government, and corrupt governments at other times or in other countries, is that the current Republicans are better at it. Strangely enough, the Republican Party reminds me most of old revolutionary organizations, like the IRA or the Palestinian Authority, or even the original mafia itself, that start out with ideological purpose and descend into groups which use their power as the monopolists of violence to live off the avails of organized crime. Dick Cheney is just like Tony Soprano with an MBA.

<snip>

The Republicans like to talk about how the Bush Administration brought MBA management techniques to the American government, but what they really did was discover the method of applying the most advanced management techniques to using the government as a source of personal wealth. The Katrina reconstruction, where they salivated like a wolf watching a lamb as they awarded huge no-bid, no-limit contracts to the usual select group of cronies, just provided the final proof of what they are really up to. The only difference between this American government, and corrupt governments at other times or in other countries, is that the current Republicans are better at it. Strangely enough, the Republican Party reminds me most of old revolutionary organizations, like the IRA or the Palestinian Authority, or even the original mafia itself, that start out with ideological purpose and descend into groups which use their power as the monopolists of violence to live off the avails of organized crime. Dick Cheney is just like Tony Soprano with an MBA.

<snip>

As the American public s-l-o-w-l-y wakes up to the fact that their government is being run solely for the purposes of thievery, there is not a damn thing they can do about it. That's because the first thing the Republicans stole was the voting system itself. It's telling that the only resistance to the thievery - not the media, not the 'moderate' Republicans, and certainly not the Democrats - is coming from what is left of the judicial system, and Bush is in the final stages of permanently fixing that final problem. Why do the Democrats not take the obvious anti-war stance supported by the majority of Americans? Because they know they can't possibly win an election on the basis of their policies, so they might as well continue to line their pockets with the money from the same military lobbyists who are paying the Republicans. The entire adversarial nature of the voting system has been toppled by the fact that only one party has any chance to win. The Republicans may act a little contrite about the most blatant corruption, but as long as Diebold and similar Republican cronies are running the computer voting system, there is no chance that the Republicans will lose control of Congress or the White House, no matter how much they steal, and no matter how much they are caught. As the legal system is slowly worn down, there will be absolutely no checks on the thievery whatsoever.

http://www.xymphora.blogspot.com /

Go here for more:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4949490&mesg_id=4949490

[rndmprsn]

30. great read...thanks for that.

[buzzsaw_23]

32. Check this out also- on same topic

There are numerous links that go into detail on Abramoff's shady dealings and his connections to it all. More links go into Norquists role. I think we will find that Groveller norquist is the real money man behind ALOT of this mafioso style corruption. Money grubber extraordinaire.

Just to refresh everyone's memory about what happened last week, three reputed mob soldiers were arrested in Florida for the February 2001 gangland-style murder of Gus Boulis, founder and one-time owner of Sun Cruz, the Florida casino boat line. Jack Abramoff and Adam Kidan muscled Boulis into selling them Sun Cruz. And it is for fraud in that acquisition that both were indicted last month. That's all known.

<snip>

 Articles on this subject almost always throw in a line to the effect that no one suspects Abramoff himself of knowledge or involvement in Boulis's death. And I know of little tangible to contradict that. But he was the co-owner, with Kidan, of the company which made the tainted payments. And Abramoff and Kidan were in pretty close and regular contact in how they used Sun Cruz's money for the DC lobbying operations. At a minimum Abramoff might be able to shed some light on whether there is some innocent explanation for the money that went to the guy who's been indicted for Boulis's murder.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_...

And This:


In the case of Abramoff's work for Flanigan and Tyco, Abramoff ended up sending the greater part of their $2 million lobbying fee to an astroturf outfit called Grassroots Interactive -- an outfit allegedly controlled by Abramoff and run by a guy who now works as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor of Maryland.

<snip>

The Republican machine built by DeLay, Norquist, Abramoff, et al. and pulled into high gear after 2001, is a pay-for-play political machine. This is just another part of the operation, like the diktat for trade associations to hire only Republicans. Big political machines need their soldiers taken care of -- jobs on K Street which also discipline the trade associations under Hill leadership. Just so, they need big sums of money to move around off the books. How does Rove keep the millions moving to Norquist? To Reed? To all the other operatives whose names you don't know about?

Indian tribes bursting with millions who need very focused sorts of legislative intervention -- that's one good source of money. Corrupt Pacific Island governments who need similar help -- another good source.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_...

[Tomee450]

33. What would we do without the

foreign media. I was unaware of much of the information contained in the Guardian's article. It almost seems as if the American media is engaged in suppression of information. The extent of the corruption is truly shocking.

[rndmprsn]

34. one line said something like...

you remove one rat and you can see dozens of other vermin underneath...these ppl are so corrupt the truth is a commodity to be used, not something that would indeed set you free, to them.

[FizzFuzz]

40. Wow! Thanks! Maybe THIS is the article I should pass around work.

I'm a little obsessed with wishing I could break through the Kool-Aid fog the sheeple love to hang on to.

[buzzsaw_23]

41. kick n/t

[Independent_Liberal]

42. Kick!

[buzzsaw_23]

43. kick n/t