Denny Hastert-- A Tough Act to Follow?

[jen4clark]

Permission granted to repost -- Originally submitted by ms in la to CCN on April 7, 2007 - 10:57pm.


First, Ellen posted the WaPo editorial hit piece on Ms Pelosi's shuttle for diplomacy.

Here's a spoonful of that bad medicine:

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Pratfall in Damascus

Nancy Pelosi's foolish shuttle diplomacy

Thursday, April 5, 2007;

HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.

"We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace," Ms. Pelosi grandly declared.

Never mind that that statement is ludicrous.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040402306.html
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Next, Jen posted Suzanne Malveaux’s / “Bad Veal”s pejorative commentary and outlandish assertions on CNN that Pelosi’s trip was an attempt at “political theatre”....or a “stunt”. Seems rather ironic to have the puppets accusing the actors of political theatre. Malveaux needs to stop posing as a journalist and get a real job that utilizes her skills in stenography and recitation.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200704040010
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And it went on.

I am sick of them eviscerating my duly elected public servant who went to the Middle East on a mission of peace, friendship and hope-- even if that does collide with the Bush regional goals of war, enmity, and hegemony. And then, calling her a ‘felon’?

It leads one to pause and wonder... If they're this disturbed with the nascent performance of Madame Speaker thus far-- is it maybe because, following in the illustrious footsteps of former Speaker Dennis Hastert, they feel Nancy just can’t hold a candle to the dazzling foreign policy crafting wielded by Denny during his endless term? Maybe? A case of the proverbial “tough act to follow”.

To find out, I let my fingers do the Googling to see what kind of foreign policy the Denny was serving up, by comparison. Admittedly, it was dim in my memory amidst all the other superb public service Mr. Hastert had rendered the nation.

I mean, just because Rolling Stone magazine knighted Hastert "Worst Congressman" in 2006, I wasn’t about to let that liberal rag’s smears cloud my unbiased investigative journey into Hastertville vs Pelositown.

Just because some FBI analyst-turned-whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds, swore under oath that she’d listened to FBI wiretaps in her capacity as a translator in which Turkish nationals boasted that Denny Hastert had accepted bribes... tens of thousands of dollars in surreptitious payments in exchange for political favors and information. Well, he denied it. And she’s been gagged. So, case closed. Get over it.

http://infowars.com/articles/sept11/sibel_edmonds_interview.htm

And just because a senior congressional aide revealed that Speaker Hastert knew for over a year, possibly up to three years, about the sexual predatory emails of Rep. Mark Foley to a 16 yr. old congressional page-- and did nothing, said nothing, investigated nothing. Well, he denied that too. And everyone who swore that they’d told him about it... they were just big, fat liars.

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TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT BIG SHOES NANCY PELOSI HAS TO FILL

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Heeeere’s Denny!



Whoa---What a whopper!

Here’s Denny on his annual $1000/day Alaskan fishing expedition he’d attend with high-ranking executives from British Petroleum, Amoco, Marathon Oil and dozens of other firms. Oh, and with Red Cavaney. Red is the President and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's lobbying group in Washington.

Because nothing says The Great Outdoors like Denny Hastert and the Oil Lobbyists. And a dead fish.

Let's take a peek at some of Denny's more memorable foreign policy forays and the vision he exemplified therein. First, we’ll go back to just last summer...

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 20, 2006

Speaker Hastert Selects Renzi to Serve on Congressional Mission to Middle East

House Intelligence Committee Member set to participate in official discussions with Israeli and Palestinian

(WASHINGTON, D.C) - House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) today announced that he has tapped House Select Committee on Intelligence Member Rick Renzi (R-AZ) to serve as one of four members of a Congressional Delegation to travel to Israel to assess the current conflict in the Middle East. The delegation is the first and only congressional delegation that has been cleared to travel to Israel since the conflict in the region began earlier this month.

“The United States is a beacon of freedom and hope, and I am confident this delegation will reinforce our country’s steadfast resolve against terrorism and tyranny around the world,” said Rep. Renzi. “I am honored to be selected by Speaker Hastert to participate in this official visit, and look forward to meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials to explore ways to bring this conflict to an end.”

“Congressman Renzi’s distinguished service on the House Intelligence Committee and his deep understanding of national security issues (cough cough cough- see more on that distinguished service below) made him a clear choice for this critical congressional mission to the Middle East,” said Speaker Hastert.

Joining Rep. Renzi (R-AZ) on the congressional delegation are House Intelligence Committee Chairman and Congressional Delegation Leader Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member (and token Democrat) Jane Harman (D-CA), and House Intelligence Committee Member Darrell Issa (R-CA).

While there, the group will meet with American, Israeli and Palestinian officials about the ongoing confrontations and discuss efforts to end the crisis and establish democracy and peace in the region.

http://www.house.gov/list/press/az01_renzi/RenziCODELAnnouncement.html

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That was in July ‘06 -- Denny the Hut appoints Rick the Renzi, “the clear choice”, to iron out some sticky wickets brewing between Israel and Palestine. Rick Renzi-- who has a mysterious 11 yr hole in his bio wherein no one really knows where he was, or what he did,( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Renzi ) -- was an Italian-American insurance agent from New Jersey before becoming a Congressman in 2002.

Read on about Renzi's distinguished service, about his defense contractor Daddy, and about the role the fired US Attorney's played in the Hastert/Renzi Frenzy.

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Two months after the Middle Eastern Congressional Junket:

Renzi Makes the Top Twenty!

In September 2006, Rep. Renzi had the dubious honor of being named one of the "20 Most Corrupt Members of US Congress" in a report by CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Renzi was also listed in CREW’s first report in January 2006, when he was one of 13 named members. (*Yes, January--, as in 6 months prior to Speaker Hastert sending him to Israel as the ‘clear choice’)

Lookie! Daddy's a War Profiteer!

Renzi has been criticized for consistently introducing and voting in favor of bills benefiting his father's defense company, ManTech International Corp., a Fairfax, Virginia-based defense contractor. Renzi’s father, Retired Major General Eugene Renzi, is an executive vice president of the firm. ManTech had $467 million in contracts at the Army's Fort Huachuca with options for an additional $1.1 billion between 2004 through 2008. In 2003, Renzi sponsored legislation that dealt hundreds of millions of dollars to his father’s business while, according to environmentalists, devastating the San Pedro River. The provision exempted the Fort Huachuca, in Sierra Vista, Arizona, from maintaining water levels in the San Pedro River as called for in an agreement made in 2002 with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In addition, the father’s company, which has an office in Sierra Vista, Arizona, was the largest contributor to Renzi’s 2002 congressional campaign and the second largest in his 2004 campaign.

And that’s not Renzi’s only controversial contributor-- He also received $30,000 in campaign contributions from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ARMPAC. After DeLay was indicted in 2005, Renzi was criticized for not returning the money or donating it to charity

US Attorneys Investigate Renzi

In October 2006, (a mere 3 months after the Israel trip) the Associated Press reported that the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona has opened an investigation into corruption and fraud involving Renzi and a land swap deal. Sordid details here:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2006-10-12/news/deal-breaker/

According to a law enforcement official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity while the inquiry was ongoing, the investigation had been under way for a few months and was still in its very early stages. (Oops! You mean, he may have been representing the United States in a diplomatic shuttle to Israel while under investigation by a US Attorney?! ) The US Attorney for Arizona, Paul Charlton, however, had formally initiated the investigation in September 2006.

Weeks after initiating the investigation of Renzi, the US Attorney for Arizona, Paul Charlton, was added to a list of US attorneys the Justice Department wanted to remove, in an effort that would become the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.

In February 2005, Charlton had been on the "retain" list of Kyle Sampson, Attorney General Gonzalez's chief of staff, but by September of 2006 — just a few weeks after it became clear that Charlton had launched an investigation of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) — Sampson included the Arizona prosecutor on a hit list of U.S. attorneys 'we now should consider pushing out’. On December 7th, 2006, the White House demanded Charlton’s resignation without explanation.

Must’ve been a real slacker US Attorney, right? Let’s look:

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2006/2006-270(Charlton).pdf

OK, so- big deal- he established the Anti-Terrorism Task Force after 9/11 to improve law enforcement communication and coordination, and explore how to better secure nuclear power plants, water supply, air and rail travel and computer security from terrorist threat. Like we need that stuff.

And, yeah-- just before “stepping down” he did establish a National Security Division within the US Attorney’s Office to work with law enforcement on terrorism related criminal cases. Pffft.

Then there’s this from the Nation magazine: “Charlton's office was honored with the Federal Service Award and hailed by the Justice Department as a ‘Model Program’ for its protection of crime victims--” Yawn.

Charlton lacked loyalty. He had ceased to serve “at the pleasure of the President” it would seem. He had looked beneath Rick Renzi’s rock and therefore he had to go. But Renzi, the clear choice, could stay.

Then I found something funny. My Google finger stops tapping to digest a discussion wherein Goody Gonzales, Goody Sampson and Goody Rove are trying to come to agreement on just which lie they would use as to why Charlton was placed atop their Witch burning list. See, Rove had told a group of journalism students that Charlton had to go because he’d failed to produce the death penalty in a murder case where they had no body, no weapon, and the evidence came from drug dealers and drug addicts. (Rove gets riled when there are no public hangings)

Then a Justice Dep’t email from Brent Ward, the rabid porn prosecutor who took the Girls Gone Wild producer to court, mentions that Charlton was targeted for failing to prosecute obscenity. And then... Aha- here it is! Another DOJ interoffice email written by a Justice Department aide, noted that then Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert had criticized Charlton's policy on prosecuting marijuana cases. Yes! That’s it.

Recap: Denny sends Renzi et al on a critical mission to Israel, knowing he’s topping the 'Corrupt Congressman' list, possibly already under investigation for several underhanded dealings, then when US Attorney Charlton’s office announces their investigation of Renzi for the above and more-- Denny claims that the US Attorney hasn’t sent enough pot-heads to jail and Charlton ends up on the DOJ hit list for job termination.

If he’d only collared Tommy Chong he might have been spared.

If we are to believe our government: It was either (A) failure to sentence a man to death, (B) failure to prosecute porn, or (C) failure to prosecute pot smokers that brought down Paul Charlton, exemplary US Attorney. So much for the War on Terror that he actually was helping to prosecute... Gives you a glimpse into our government’s working priorities list.

Kudos to Mr. Speaker on the obvious good judgment calls nominating Renzi for key diplomatic assignments. But hey, it was only Israel and Palestine.... What could go wrong?

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070402/blumenthal

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Denny’s Chainsaw Diplomacy:



According to documents posted online by the National Security Archives at George Washington University-- in1997, Hastert led a Congressional delegation to Colombia at a time when the Clinton administration was concerned about human rights abuses by the Colombian military. Hastert urged Colombian officials to "bypass the U.S. executive branch and communicate directly with Congress.” He secretly told Colombian national police to ignore the human rights requirements that were attached to US military aid to Colombia. Those requirements called on the Colombian police to cut their extensive ties to paramilitary death squads with a long history of civilian massacres (sometimes with chainsaws) intended to seize farm land for right wing control over the drug trade.

So of course it stands to reason that the good Christians worship and adore him.

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From the Executive Director of the Christian Coalition Randy Tate:

"Denny Hastert is a man of true principle and integrity. He is a true conservative. Denny received a "Friend of the Family" award and only 80 members out of the 435 members in the House received that award.."

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Hanoi Hastert



See Denny Hastert, last year, as Speaker of the House visiting a ”Country of Particular Concern” or CPC...a list of countries designated annually by the US Department of State. According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom Website, Vietnam was and still is a CPC.

http://www.uscirf.gov/countries/countriesconcerns/index.html

Oh yeah, and did I mention it’s also a Communist country of concern?

From Wiki: The Communist Party of Vietnam is the currently the ruling, as well as the only legal political party in Vietnam, and it has claimed Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh ideology to be the ideological basis of the Party.

Q: What does being designated a "country of particular concern" mean and how is it decided which countries to designate?

A: The International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) requires an annual review of the status of religious freedom worldwide and the designation of countries that have "engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom" during the reporting period.

The IRFA defines particularly severe violations of religious freedom as systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, including violations such as torture,(ooh, ick, who would do that?) degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges (what? No habeus corpus?), abduction or clandestine detention (get outta here! You mean like extraordinary renditions? Yikes!), or other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons. In those cases where the Secretary of State designates a "country of particular concern," Congress is notified, and where non-economic policy options designed to bring about cessation of the particularly severe violations of religious freedom have reasonably been exhausted, an economic measure generally must be imposed.

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Suddenly, Wes Clark’s argument about our loss of international legitimacy is starting reverberate in my left brain about now. The sector that connects dots. Where do we come by this ‘ordained’ authority to impose punishments upon other nations-- for the very same violations we have blithely been committing ourselves for the past 6 years?
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Back to Vietnam.

In September 2004, then secretary of state Colin Powell designated Vietnam a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

In November 2005, Secretary of State Rice renewed Vietnam's CPC status but noted significant positive changes in religious freedom during the year. Changes included a May 2005 exchange of letters with the United States in which the Government set forth a number of commitments to advance and protect religious freedom.

(** Changes might have also included Vietnam becoming the world’s second fastest growing economy behind China... about to jump into the deep end of the WTO pool. Thing is – they were also number 2 in the “most corrupt Asian economy” contest, right behind Indonesia, per the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy. Oh, another “significant, positive change” might be that their largest foreign currency earning product is ... oil.)

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/11/13/8393174/index.htm

And Denny, longtime friend of Christian Coalition, was not only visiting a bastion of communism, and a country of Particular Concern to the US, but also a country who appears to have fired the first shot in the WAR on CHRISTMAS! Say it isn't so Denny!!! How could you? It's nearly treason.

From the Dept of State: Protestants in Bao Thang District of Lao Cai Province, Vietnam, have not been allowed to celebrate Christmas since 1990. In 2005 they were required to seek permission from local authorities for their Christmas celebrations, but just before the holiday, local authorities ordered the congregation to take down all decorations.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71363.htm

Somebody please alert Bill O’Leilly to this scandal. We need to demand a formal apology from Denny Hastert.
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Hawaiian Hastert

http://govarchive.hawaii.gov/ltgov/Members/rhonda/Lt.%20Governor/Members/rhonda/Folder.2004-02-11.3542/LG-and-Speaker-Dennis-Hastert-3.03.04?size=medium

(This is the only photo I couldn't get to copy... - jen)

I couldn’t find anything to say about this. It speaks for itself.

Summing it up, we’re forced to conclude that Denny Hastert-- the man, the fisherman, the congressman, the former Speaker of the House.... is indeed one tough act to follow for Nancy Pelosi.

Now lay off my Madame Speaker, CorpPress!

[Monkeyman]

1. HMM I have seen this before oh ya John Leasch web site

The Vet who ran against Hastert

[jen4clark]

2. I'm sorry?

What have you seen before? John Leasch's website is down so I couldn't see what you meant, but this is a pure ms in la creation -- no plagiarism if that's what you mean?

[Monkeyman]

3. Yep it's all good here

And your right leave the Lady of Class alone

[Donna Zen]

4. Hastert the weasel

It sure would be nice if the MSM could figure out how to Google. They could then report how hypocritical the republican crack-pots are, but they'll never write this well.

BTW, the pictures and the coverage are all recent, so I believe this was just composed.

Thanks Jen for posting this.

[jen4clark]

5. I KNOW, Donna Z!

We are so blessed in the blogosphere to have so many brilliant, investigative journalists. I can't even imagine what we'd all be doing if we had only Corporate Press to count on. Probably a whole bunch of us would have left the country by now in utter anguish and frustration!

[Monkeyman]

6. Did you ever see any of the Truth about Hastert out

Now it's all lies about Nancy.

[jen4clark]

7. Exactly!!

That's what got ms in la's googling fingers going. Enough is enough!! The man is a pure thug and Corporate Press ignores it ALL. That's one of the major issues that needs to be addressed.

I don't know why our Dem reps don't see what a major major problem it is having the mainstream press be owned and controlled by a few corporations who favor Publicans/Endless War.

I do remember reading about General Clark addressing the problem when he threw his hat in the ring in 2003 -- then next thing you know he was invisible to MSM...

[Donna Zen]

8. Not one word about Hastert from the Gasbags

And those chuckle-heads all just nodded in total agreement that Pelosi had gone too far. I am forced to believe that the MSM, their owners, and assembled liars, don't give a damn about the future of our country. To them death and destruction is just a game.

Tomorrow Krugman's column will talk about their dirty tricks. Well that's one truth teller.

[jen4clark]

9. Krugman

I used to have a bookmark of a blog that posted his articles. I'll have to go see if I can find it. Do you have Times Select?

[jen4clark]

10. Ah. Here it is!

Paul Krugman: Sweet Little Lies

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/04/paul_krugman_sw.html

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

11. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

A much needed service!

[jen4clark]

12. I love your screen name!!

And thanks for reading. I wish more would read it - I thought it was such a brilliant piece of investigative journalism that our mainstream media so sorely lacks these days!