John Ashcroft

[codebuster11]

Hey everyone. Soon, I will be in an small group where John Ashcroft will be speaking to us. I was wondering if any of you had any good suggestions for questions.

I'll take any suggestion for any type of question. Thanks everyone!

ps: I hate Ashcroft

[Selatius]

1. Make a banner with several people

It should be large enough to fit this quotation from Benjamin Franklin:

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

[hlthe2b]

2. Yes...

Ask him what his legal view is on the NSA spying and if he disagreed with the administration (as has been reported), doesn't he think he is obligated to the consitution? Why hasn't he spoken out?

Or, you could just ask him why he thinks calico cats are evil?

[muntrv]

3. Bring a gallon of Crisco.

He loves to rub that stuff on his body.

[niyad]

4. welcome to DU--kudos for being strong enough to be in the same room

with that sanctimonious, hypocritical theocratic little fascist.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. Just hold up a banner that says,

"YOU LOST TO A DEAD GUY!"

Never hurts to remind a loser that he's a loser.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

6. ask him if he has any regrets re:bush administraton

[MADem]

7. I'd ask him what REALLY happened in that hospital room

...and I wouldn't be rude or snarky. I'd ask him politely and sincerely. That's some important history, there, and it would be good to hear it from the horse's mouth.

Ashcroft did one good thing: He recused himself, resulting in Jim Comey appointing Patrick Fitzgerald as Special Prosecutor.

Now, on to the hospital room...a bit of background: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/1/12101/34146 (best link, because ya gotta pay for the NYT story now if ya don't subscribe)

If you recall, President Bush has repeatedly stated the program requires the authorization of the Attorney General and the White House counsel every 45 days or so. Why did the administration approach Comey rather than Ashcroft in March 2004? Perhaps because Ashcroft was in the hospital for about a week having his gallbladder removed.

With the Attorney General unavailable, the administration turned to Comey, who refused to sign off on the program because of "concerns about its legality and oversight." So Andrew Card (then Bush's chief of staff) and Alberto Gonzales rush off to Ashcroft's hospital bed. Ashcroft just had surgery, he's in intensive care all hooked up to monitors and shit, when Card and Gonzales come busting in and beg Ashcroft to give his approval. I say "beg" because the article says Ashcroft was "reluctant" to give his authorization, and because I like the image of Gonzales and Card on their knees at his bedside, holding Ashcroft's IV-laden hand, pleading with him while Ashcroft awakens from a drug-induced slumber long enough to mumble "What the fuck are you guys doing here? I just had my goddamn gallbladder removed...I've got more painkillers in me than Rush Limbaugh during the Republican Convention, and you're here asking me to do what..."? The article was skimpy on the details, but I like to think it went something like that. I digress.

Whether Ashcroft gave his authorization or whether Card and Gonzales left the hospital room disappointed is unclear. What is becoming clear is the scope and nature of Bush's royal edict.

So far, we know from the President's own words that the program need approval every 45 days or so from the Attorney General and the White House Counsel. Today's article gives us two critical new details. The Justice Department was so concerned about the lack of oversight and the program's implementation, it conducted a secret audit:


"Among other things, it looked at how agency officials went about determining that they had probable cause to believe that people in the United States, including American citizens, had sufficient ties to Al Qaeda to justify eavesdropping on their phone calls and e-mail messages without a court warrant. That review is not known to have found any instances of abuses."

[OldLeftieLawyer]

8. Oh, and ask him

why he and Frist both have those weird walleyes.

Find out if they can see around corners.

Ask him if he thinks they're the result of too many cats or too much masturbation.

I'm betting it wasn't the cats ..............

[mb7588a]

9. ask about:

TEN good subjects for you to check out:

1. Warrantless wiretapping while he was AG, and now
2. Counterterrorism prior to 9/11 in the Justice Dept (spec. FBI)
3. The search for Osama Bin Laden before, and after 9/11
4. His thoughts on the new version of the PATRIOT ACT
5. The Gitmo detainees
6. The FBI search of a Congressional office and Gonzales's resignation threat
7. Why he opposed desegregation early in his career.
8. The proposed Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003
9. Thoughts on Patrick Fitzgerald and his investigation of the Bush Administration
10. His resignation letter which stated: "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved."

[newyawker99]

10. Ask him to sing.....

:evilgrin:

[jeff30997]

11. Let the eagle soooooar!

:evilgrin:

[nealmhughes]

12. Is he still alive?

I thought he and Lamar Alexander had expired recently...

[Postman]

13. How does it feel to lose an election to a dead man?

eom

[Jeanette in FL]

16. Damn you, that was my first question

That was the first thought that came into my mind. Good for you getting here first.

[Demeter]

14. Be Sure To Thank Him For Picking Patrick Fitzgerald!

And stand back while the erruption occurs!

[durrrty libby]

15. Ask him if he ever sought psychiatric help in order to

overcome his fear and loathing of female breasts?

[bobbieinok]

17. questions

--how long did it take to prepare the 'patriot' act??....remember it was ready to go almost immediately after 9-11

--was he told to stop flying commercially late in the summer of 2001??....remember it was claimed that he was one of several told this

--what happened to the anthrax investigation??....why didn't any cabinet members attend the funerals of postal workers killed?? (I remember hearing that none did)

--did he pray for people in his atty gen office?? (I heard from a pentecostal minister who loves W + Ashcroft that it was so wonderful that god was finally in the WH/administration and that Ashcroft conducted healing prayers for people on his staff and for visitors)

--does he really believe that environmentalists like GreenPeace are terrorists???.....wasn't there a fed trial in FL that claimed this??

[bobbieinok]

19. more questions

--what did he talk about with Timothy McVeigh????.....I remember that he had a conversation with him before his execution; I think it had something to do with info that had not been released

--why did he unilaterally decide to trash previous rules and state that prison officials could listen to conversations between lawyers and clients......this destroyed lawyer-client confidentiality

[NNadir]

18. Ask him if he really believes the US has enough strength to prevent

him and his pals from being dragged off in chains to The Hague for trial.