HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Feb. 11, 2005 In 1999 the Hughes Brothers produced and directed a film called “American Pimp,” a documentary on the pimp lifestyle and the supposed demise of “da game.” But those who were interviewed for that film have nothing on the “gentlemen of leisure” who work on Capitol Hill. Compared to the lobbyists and Congressmen in Washington, the average street pimp looks like a monk. When Nancy Pelosi labeled the GOP a “culture of corruption,” she was partly right. Politics itself, spawns corruption and in fact, rewards it. Republicans used Bill Clinton’s lies to a grand jury to raise the issue of impeachment. While Clinton survived the onslaught, you knew the Democrats were licking their chops and waiting for what James Brown called, “The Big Payback.” Now it seems that the GOP is determined to give them just that, served on a silver platter that was paid for by Jack Abramoff and chef Tom DeLay. Bridget Gibson of the Democratic Underground personifies this looming shark attack when she writes, “When a scandal appears to be connected with a member of the Republican Party, it is not reported as a "scandal." (But) after an eight year-long investigation of William Jefferson and Hillary Clinton was concluded with "no evidence," it is still reported as a ‘scandal.’ One that has to be lied about and drummed constantly into the psyche of the American public until something resonates. There was no "scandal" when an intern was found dead of mysterious causes in Florida Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough’s office. There was no "scandal" when Republican Mayor Philip Giordano of Waterbury, Connecticut was caught and charged as a sexual predator of young girls.” Semantics aside, the GOP has cooked its own goose and could very well lose control of both houses in this year's elections. Every few months the GOP finds a way to shoot itself in the foot. Some of the more notable GOP scandals, all of which involve illegalities or ethics code violations, have occurred within the last four years: They are summarized by Peter Dixikes as follows: “(1) Memogate: The Senate Computer Theft--The scandal: From 2001 to 2003, Republican staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee illicitly accessed nearly 5,000 computer files containing confidential Democratic strategy memos about President Bush's judicial nominees. (2) The DOJ's Bungled Terrorism Case, (where) they completely botched the nation's first post-9/11 terrorism trial, as seen when the convictions of three Detroit men allegedly linked to al-Qaida were overturned in September 2004. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft had claimed their June 2003 sentencing sent "a clear message" that the government would “detect, disrupt and dismantle the activities of terrorist cells." The problem: The DOJ's lead prosecutor in the case, Richard Convertino, withheld key information from the defense and distorted supposed pieces of evidence. Convertino says he was unfairly scapegoated and has since sued the DOJ, which has also placed him under investigation. (3) The Energy Task Force The scandal. The Federal Advisory Committee Act says the government must disclose the work of groups that include non-federal employees; the suit claims energy industry executives were effectively task force members. (4) Halliburton's No-Bid Bonanza The scandal: In February 2003, Halliburton received a five-year, $7 billion no-bid contract for services in Iraq. The problem: The Army Corps of Engineers' top contracting officer, Bunnatine Greenhouse, objected to the deal, saying the contract should be the standard one-year length, and that a Halliburton official should not have been present during the discussions. The FI is investigating. The $7 billion contract was halved and Halliburton won one of the parts in a public bid. For her troubles, Greenhouse has been forced into whistle-blower protection.” Are members of the GOP simply scofflaws, or encouraged by the apathy of American voters, who have come to accept corruption as part of the political reality? I suspect that it is the latter, which is the reason why organizations such as The Rendon Group and PNAC (Project for a New American Century) are allowed to prosper and continue their work unchecked. Jack Abramoff is no worse than the other Capitol Hill pimps and vultures working the halls of congress for favors. His mistake was getting caught and confessing, and like any pimp who gets busted, he’s willing to cut a deal and finger several of his "hoes" (no pun intended). On January 3, The 47-year old Abramoff pled guilty in federal court to conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion on past due taxes of $1.7 million related to the defrauding of Native American tribes. The next day he pled guilty to two criminal felony counts in a different federal court related to fraudulent dealings with SunCruz Casinos. In the first case he agreed to testify in related investigations. Bush denies knowing Abramoff. But according to USA Today, “In President Bush's first 10 months…Abramoff and his lobbying team logged nearly 200 contacts with the new administration as they pressed for friendly hires at federal agencies and sought to keep the Northern Mariana Islands exempt from the minimum wage and other laws, records show. …records from Abramoff's firm, obtained by The Associated Press from the Marianas under an open records request, chronicle Abramoff's careful cultivation of relations with Bush's political team as far back as 1997. The documents show his team also had extensive access to Bush administration officials, meeting with Cheney policy advisers Ron Christie and Stephen Ruhlen, Ashcroft at the Justice Department, White House intergovernmental affairs chief Ruben Barrales, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles and others.”” Abramoff, in correspondence to Ken Eisler of The Washingtonian magazine, insisted that “(Bush) saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows." However, Abramoff told Reuters News Agency that he had not planned for the letter to become public. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are panicked, particularly those of the GOP. Abramoff has ties to Tom DeLay's K Street Project. He has also raised $100,000 for George W. Bush’s reelection. Furthermore, Abramoff’s wife gave $10,000 to the Bush-Cheney Recount Fund. Abramoff is alleged to have bribed public officials, including Bob Ney, R-Ohio. He also is said to have bribed congressional staffers and conspired with them to lobby their former employers. I haven’t seen this much high-profile sweating since Heidi Fleiss was busted. Tom DeLay, unceremoniously kicked to the curb from his post as Congressional Majority Whip, is the poster boy for political scandal. DeLay has issues in his home state (Texas), where he sety up TRMPAC (Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee). The goal was to help the Texas Republican Party obtain control of the state legislature. The group is accused of illegally shuttling corporate money to use in state races. DeLay claims he didn’t know what was going on. Furthermore, the Ethics Committee has reprimanded DeLay for what appeared to be bribery of fellow Republican Rep. Nick Smith in an attempt to gain support for a Medicare reform bill. DeLay also got in hot water when he used resources from the Federal Aviation Administration in an effort to locate Democrats in the Texas Legislature when they left the state to stifle a redistricting plan. DeLay also accepted illegal gifts and trips from Abramoff. Abramoff allegedly solicited checks from two Indian tribes to finance the trip. Later DeLay was said to have successfully thwarted legislation that was opposed by the tribes. However, the height of hypocrisy was reached as both parties developed proposals to tighten regulations on lobbyists. However, the Democratic plan is more stringent and seeks to “end the K Street Project, under which Republicans in Congress pressure lobbying organizations to hire only Republican staff and contribute only to Republican candidates.” (“Probe of Abramoff and Nonprofits’ Money Opens; Senate Finance Committee Seeks Records on Trips by Reps. DeLay and Ney, Donations to Indian Tribes,” The Washington Post, March 17, 2005). Sadly, the end result of all of this will be slaps on the wrist for the playas involved. Do you really think Bush will be impeached? Do you believe Cheney will ever turn over the requested data regarding the administration’s menage a trois with energy industry heirachy? Think DeLay won’t walk? The truth is, we are faced with crooks & liars policing one another. It will always be “business as usual” in Washington, which is bad business for voters, the two-dollar whores of the pimp game pecking order. Sources: Dennis Cook, “Controversial lobbyist had close contact with Bush team,” USATODAY.com, May 7, 2005 Andy Sullivan, “Abramoff Says He Met Bush 'Almost a Dozen' Times,” February 10, 2006 AOL News/ Reuters Jack Abramoff - The friend Tom DeLay can't shake. By James Harding, The Washington Post, April 7, 2005 Jonathan Weisman, “WP: Democrats Assail Republican 'Culture of Corruption,” The Washington Post, January 18, 2006 Bridget Gibson, “Scandals and Lies,” Democratic Underground, March 29, 2002 Peter Dizikes, “The 34 Scandals of George W. Bush,” Salon.com, January 18, 2005 Nicholas Thompson, “The Tom DeLay Scandals—A scorecard,” By Nicholas Thompson, The Washington Post, April 7, 2005 ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is a 46-year old California native with a wide variety of interests-from fishing to politics, which have a lot in common: Both require you to deal with worms and most of your time is spent idling. He is a former Democrat, believing that Party represents outdated ideas. He is officially registered as an Independent, choosing to keep his options open. Timothy is also the author of more than 80 screenplays and novels, two of which have been "published": "Tempest In The Stone" and "The Malice Of Cain", both available through PublishAmerica. He defines his writing style as "Hip-hop fiction; a cross between Richard Pryor and Richard Wright." His UK columns is written in a hard-edged style, but he is not yet a curmudgeon or a conservative. (Is that redundant?) After all, one of his favorite movies is "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
