South by Southwest: Behind the links: Republicans and scandal

Monday, February 02, 2009

Behind the links: Republicans and scandal

[2/2/09] Republicans have had a way of getting in the neighborhood of scandal and troubles. Today's post is a round-up of good links sent to me in e-mails. We start where it always starts for me here at South by Southwest, with politics.

Republican politics -- The choice for Senator Judd Gregg's successor might be an Independent, according to CQ Politics: "Gregg Replacement may not alter the Senate balance" (2/2/09). Says Newser: "the GOP is desperate to keep Gregg in the Senate#" (1/31/09). Alaskans may not be desperate to keep Sarah Palin as their governor. Yahoo! News: reported that "Alaska lawmakers question Sarah Palin's focus#" (1/31/09), perhaps not enough on Alaska. Headlining also at the Huffington Post: "Palin agonistes: Governor's aides are charged with new ethics violations#" (1/24/09). In New York, Think Progress reports that, "Giuliani defends Wall Street bonuses while slamming tax cuts for the poor#" (1/31/09). Back in Washington, D.C. we see from Think Progress: "Senate Republicans are gearing up to filibuster the recovery package, despite promises to the contrary#" (1/30/09). Good congressional source, CQ Politics: fills us in regarding several pieces of news: "The House GOP hopes to continue a united front" (1/29/09). Also, Senate Minority Leader "McConnell calls on Republicans to maintain core values but rethink the sales pitch." And finally, "the bailout watchdog panel calls for a financial system overhaul, but the GOP dissents." From Think Progress comes the headline,"Unable to come up with real reasons to oppose economic recovery, Hutchison (R-TX) goes into auto-attack#" (1/27/09). And from ProPublica we learn that "The TARP recipients are lending less" (1/26/09). To gain some good perspective read this from Buzz Flash: "Thank You Paul Krugman: The Nobel Prize Winning Economist Takes An Axe To GOP Talking Points*" (1/26/09). Returning to the Right Wing perspective, see News With Views - Brother Gregory: "Lacking legitimacy#," (1/23/09) is the claim regarding the second presidential oath of office not involving a Bible. Jon says, "Brother Gregory is some wingnut whackjob! He fails to mention that Roberts screwed it up!"

Republicans and the rule of law -- Far too many Republicans chafe at living under what we would call the normal rule of law. For example, at The Raw Story: "Days before leaving office, Bush's lawyer told Karl Rove not to turn over any documents#" (1/30/09). Jon continues, "I look forward to seeing rove and others that broke the law, wearing the orange jumpsuits used at guantanamo." Quoting from the story, "Four days before leaving office, and ten days before House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) subpoenaed him to testify, President Bush's White House Counsel instructed Karl Rove not to appear before Congress or turn over any documents relating to his time at the White House." Do you want to help? Read this from AfterDowning Street: "New website lets you contact your local prosecutor to ask for the prosecution of Bush*" (1/26/09). The big question is articulated by AlterNet: "Are we civilized enough to hold our leaders accountable for war crimes? The world is watching#." (1/24/09) Jon adds, "This needs to be done. We need to pull Bush's passport so he cannot escape to his ranch in Paraguay." This was reported by CREW: "Missing White House E-Mails Traced, Justice Aide Says*" (1/15/09) Also this is from The Public Record: "White House Finds 14 Million 'Missing' E-Mails, DOJ*" (1/15/09).

Scandals -- A very good resource with solid news about scandals is the independent non-profit news organization ProPublica. This is a regular feature: "This week in Scandals: Wall Street's Bonus bonanza, Gitmo's file fiasco and more" (1/30/09). While this may not be a real scandal, my regular contributors and I agree that it is indeed scandalous: at Think Progress: we learn that "The 400 richest Americans incomes doubled under Bush#" (1/30/09). Here is an expose from AfterDowningStreet: "Torture at Angola Prison*" (1/28/09). And from McClatchy, we see that a "Mississippi mayor [is] indicted in Hurricane Katrina fraud scheme*" (1/28/09) To quote:

Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr and his wife, Laura, quietly cried in the corridor of the U.S. District courthouse mere blocks from City Hall after they were each indicted on 16 charges, including conspiracy, fraud and making false statements to obtain a total of $222,798.10 in federal Katrina relief and insurance funds.

And in two little known stories, Buzz Flash reveals, "Report faults treatment of women held at immigration centers*" (1/21/09). Betmo says,

mr. obama has decided to get rid of secret prisons and not so secret prisons around the world. to my great relief. now, he needs to get rid of the detention centers here in this country. they are akin to the roundup centers japanese americans were forced into and many folks have already died there due to maltreatment and whatnot.

This story from Buzz Flash is very strange: "Military Youth Ministry Stalks Students on Public School Buses for Jesus*" (1/19/09).

Consumer protection -- One of the most far reaching effects of the inept Bush administration was the loss of consumer confidence in the government's consumer protection efforts. The most recent story makes headlines every new day: Yahoo! News reports "FDA: U.S. peanut plant shipped salmonella-tainted products#" (1/28/09). This from ABC News caught Betmo's eye: "Studies Find Mercury in Much U.S. Corn Syrup*." 'Corn Syrup Industry Attacks Findings, but Researchers Stick by Studies" (1/28/09). This is horrible from BuzzFlash: "Bayer Knowingly Sold HIV-Contaminated Vaccines, Say Internal Documents*" (1/8/09). And this is also an important question that is not yet settled: BuzzFlash: asks are "modern meat:is your meat safe?: antibiotic debate overview*" (1/7/09).

Environment -- Closely related to consumer protection are a couple of stories about the environment. At-Largely: reports that "Chemicals (PFCs) may reduce women's fertility a study shows*" (1/29/09). And
Common Dreams reveals thatRegulators OK Disposing Radioactive Waste in Texas*" (1/15/09)