uncle osbert: February 2008 Archives

It's easy to lose track of just how much information has disappeared into the White House. Fortunately, Paul Kiehl over at TPMmuckraker.com has been doing it for us, for over a year now. Check it out, and imagine what a fantastic job the administration must be doing.

Some highlights:
...In October 2007, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell reversed the practice of declassifying and releasing summaries of national intelligence estimates."
...A rule change at the U.S. Geological Survey restricts agency scientists from publishing or discussing research without that information first being screened by higher-ups at the agency.
...After the Bureau of Labor Statistics uncovered discouraging data about factory closings in the U.S., the administration announced it would stop publishing information about factory closings.
... In a related effort to prevent the release of information about his office, Cheney has also instructed the Secret Service to destroy copies of visitor logs.

I especially love imagining who Cheney isn't meeting with. Aliens? Bilderbergs? Lincoln's ghost? It's all up to you now, America. Now that's freedom.

I would like to thank Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, for clarifying the administration's understanding of the constitution. We've had it wrong all these years...

In the interview with the Law in Action programme on BBC Radio 4, he said it was "extraordinary" to assume that the ban on "cruel and unusual punishment" - the US Constitution's Eighth Amendment - also applied to "so-called" torture.

"To begin with the constitution... is referring to punishment for crime. And, for example, incarcerating someone indefinitely would certainly be cruel and unusual punishment for a crime."

Yes, you read that right. If you haven't committed a crime, it's not cruel and unusual to incarcerate you indefinitely.

"I suppose it's the same thing about so-called torture. Is it really so easy to determine that smacking someone in the face to determine where he has hidden the bomb that is about to blow up Los Angeles is prohibited in the constitution?" he asked.

Apparently it's pretty easy after the fact, when someone realizes how valuable the videotapes might be.

Republican Assemblyman Guy Houston "cannot stand by and do nothing while the City of Berkeley declares war on the United States Marine Corps."

So he's prepared to charge them 3.3 million dollars for exercising their rights, from state money intended for roads. This money is in addition to over 2 million in federal funds Senator Jim DeMint is threatening to withhold that we saw just last week.

It's like a swear jar. Criticize the government or fail to support the troops and they get more money to fund the war. But it sure makes you curious about one of Houston's opinions:

"One of the most important duties of government is to ensure that we are prepared for the unexpected. Natural disasters, emergencies, and terrorist attacks are realities and possibilities that we must be ready for."

Right... by withholding funds for our roads. We're ready for anything now.

In the expanding fronts of the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, the government can report one clear victory: Amy Winehouse was denied a Visa.

We can all rest easy.

Fish Lake Valley High School ( I feel sorry for these kids already) parents received an odd letter in January. County Superintendent/Principal Robert Aumaugher has taken it upon himself to ban speaking Spanish not only outside of class when at school, but on the bus as well. It's not totally clear what he hoped to accomplish for his students; in the opening paragraph of his letter he regrets not speaking Spanish himself and proudly states that his grandson is being raised bilingual. But what really threw me was this rather Zen, Orwellian weirdness...

A second reason for encouraging English to be spoken on the bus is for bus drivers who are not bilingual to maintain order and discipline. I was a kid and all of us can remember times when we were disrespectful to others. It is our belief that when a different language is being spoken and not understood by the driver it opens a door for a few to take advantage of the situation and exhibit disrespect. That we will not tolerate.

That's right; we're not tolerating any insults we can't understand. Even if you agree with his sentiment that "English is a power language", just imagine the uproar for a minute, if a principal were to ban prayer outside class or on the bus. And how are they going to do their Spanish homework? That's the door I'd take advantage of, "Ma'am, the principal said English is a power language, so I did my Spanish in English..."

I'm all confused. I thought we sent the troops to Iraq to defend our rights, like the right to free speech. I think we should bring them back to defend us from Senator Jim DeMint, who is bravely defending the budget from three Berkeley activists who chained themselves to the downtown Berkeley Marine recruiting office. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

DeMint began drafting legislation Friday to cut $2.1 million in federal funding to Berkeley in a current congressional budget bill and transfer the money to the Marine Corps. The funding would include $750,000 for prospective ferry service, $87,000 for the Berkeley Unified School District nutrition education fund and $243,000 for the Chez Panisse Foundation, which promotes nutritional awareness in school lunch programs.

There is no right to speech, if they can punish your community for exercising it.

Montel Williams refused to discuss Heath Ledger on Fox and Friends, and Fox owned stations refused to renew his show for the 2008-2009 season. Coincidence? The Daily Kos has more, including the clip. Airtime is for authorized opinions only.