“I’m absolutely thrilled," Busansky said from her home Thursday night. "I ran on restoring confidence in this office and that’s what we’ve done.” When asked what she planned to do her first day in office, she said, "I have no idea. Until two minutes ago I wasn’t at all sure I was going to win.”
"You may not have seen the last of Buddy Johnson," said the current office holder.
My hunch is seeing Johnson, in the political arena, will be as rare as Elvis sightings.
In related news: Kathy Castor asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate Johnson's handling of the election.
"The problems I witnessed firsthand and supervisor's inability to count the votes in a timely manner have shaken the public's confidence in fair elections," she wrote.
Even if Johnson won his race, it is hard to envision a scenario that would allow Johnson to keep his job. Johnson could not be found on the night of the election. That doesn't instill confidence.
Senator Dianne Feinstein asked if the Fourth amendment applies to the military on domestic searches. The fact that Congress needs to ask the question is fucking scary. John Yoo and other past and present Bush administration officials viewed the Constitution as a minor hassle to their Orwellian-style of governing.
"This isn't a question of oversight," Feinstein said. "I'm just asking you, 'Is this memo in force that the Fourth Amendment does not apply?"
"The principle that the Fourth Amendment does not apply in wartime is not in force," Mukasey replied.
"That's not the principle I asked you about," Feinstein countered. The memo referred to domestic military operations, she said.
"There are no domestic military operations being carried out today," Mukasey replied.
"I'm asking you a question. That's not the answer."
"I'm unaware of any domestic military operations being carried out today," he repeated.
Conpassionate Conservatism: Bushies Say Go Pound Sand To KBR Victims
Senator Bill Nelson sent letters to Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice and Attorney General Michael Mukasey about new rape allegations against Kellogg Brown and Root. KBR has come under intense scrutiny after Jamie Leigh Jones went public about her rape. Nelson's website states that a Tampa, Florida woman and two Houston, Texas women have accused KBR employees of raping them. Nelson wrote letters to Rice and Mukasey asked what investigations have the State Department and the Pentagon done. He has yet to receive a response.
Nelson gave Rice a Dec. 21 deadline to respond. Rice missed the deadline and didn't even bother asking for and extention. That takes serious Chutzpah, even more shameless was a State Department spokesman's spin: "If the senator has asked questions, I’m quite sure we will provide answers. But it’s not something I could discuss with you." Or with Nelson.
The only course of action is issuing subpoenas. Nelson is better known for taking his own party to court than standing up to the Bush administration.
The Justice Department has already decided not to press charges in the Jones case. All American citizens in Iraqare exempt from prosecution. A Blackwater contractor literally got away with murdering the bodyguard of Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi. It is unlikely the State Department, DoJ and Pentagon will budge an inch for the new women whom came forward. What makes matters worse is that the story is fading from the political landscape. It is hard to force the Bush administration to move contractors under the Department of Defense (which would make contractor liable under military law) and retroactively change the State Department's Iraq contracting law if there is no outrage from the public.
The Blotter reports an unidentified woman has been raped by by KBR employees in Ramadi, Iraq. Senator Bill Nelson's web site reports two woman from Houston and Tampa as rape victims. Nelson wrote a letter to Sec. of Defense Robert Gates.
I am deeply troubled by recent reports that at least two women who worked in Iraq under contractors for the Department of Defense were sexually assaulted by male coworkers. Both women have filed lawsuits partly because they feel the criminal justice system has failed them.
I am enclosing a recent press report suggesting that in a 2005 case involving a Texas woman the U.S. Army turned a rape kit over to private security officers rather than to the proper authorities. In addition, the alleged victim in that case published a journal on the Internet suggesting that many other women have been raped in Iraq.
The Inspector General should immediately launch an investigation that thoroughly examines: 1) whether and why the results of the examination in question were turned over to a private company; 2) whether and how many other rape examinations were performed by military doctors in Iraq; and, 3) what steps the Department of Defense has taken, in conjunction with victims and the Departments of State and Justice, to ensure the full investigation and prosecution of these cases under all applicable U.S. laws.
We need to know that there is a thorough and vigorous investigation of any and all of these cases. I also would appreciate a detailed briefing on the Department of Defense's role in investigating, prosecuting and resolving any such cases.
Surely the Defense Department is not going to use the lack of internet access as an excuse for not being aware of Jamie Leigh Jones's diary. With this administration it wouldn't shock me.
Nelson wrote another letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
1) Is it true that a Dallas U.S. Attorney has been investigating the case?
2) Is it true that NCIS conducted it's own investigationof this case?
a. If so, when did NCIS make its findings available to the Department?
b. Are you aware of any other investigation of the Florida woman's allegations by any other entity, such as the State Department or Halliburton/KBR or one of its subsidiaries?
d. Have you instructed NCIS or any other agency that has conducted an investigation to withhold any reports that they have prepared from being released publicly, or have you instructed them to desist from conducting their own investigation?
3) Is the Department of Justice aware of any other allegations of sexual assault reported by women who worked for government contractors in Iraq?
a. If so, is the Department conducting a more Wide-ranging investigation?
b. What type of coordination has taken place among the Departments of Justice, State and Defense regarding any investigation into the various allegations of sexual assault that have been made?
"What type of coordination" is the wrong question. Rape caees need to be prosecuted immediately. The only DNA sample from Jones's rape that match was from a man using her bed. Kellogg Brown and Root were never legally forced to submit samples. Two years have past. The fact that the Justice Department and Pentagon have been these cases to rest says much about their collective commitment.
Hillary Clinton calls for an investigation of Jamie Leigh Jones's raped by KBR employees.
"These claims must be taken seriously and the U.S. government must act immediately to investigate Ms. Jones's claims," Clinton said in the letter released Wednesday.
Here is the Clinton letter to Condoleezza Rice and Michael Mukasey.
The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the matter for December 19th.
Now Congress is going to get involved in this in the public forum and find out what’s going on? What’s happening to these employees," said Congressman Ted Poe. "Is their corporation involved in securing their safety or looking the other way?"
Now there is new four women have filed lawsuits against Kellogg, Brown & Root. These woman alleged they were raped or sexual harassed. A Houston attorney will file lawsuits six new lawsuits for women against KBR.
Jason Whitely did some muckraking a found a disturbing pattern of sexist behavior from KBR employees.
Searching through a federal database, we found a second federal lawsuit in Oklahoma, another in North Carolina, and a fourth in Florida, all from women who said they were either sexually harassed or raped while working as contractors for KBR in Iraq.
In a sworn affidavit in the Jones case, SSG Kevin Rodgers, a Texas National Guard Soldier said:
“During my tour in Basra I encountered many unprofessional acts by the employees of KBR and the U.S. State Department.”
Several others concur.
“During my time as an HR (Human Resources) supervisor, I was aware that a lot of sexual harassment went on - it was our major complaint,” admitted Letty Surman, a former KBR employee.
Finally, here is what Linda Lindsey, a former KBR employee said in her affidavit: “There was a lot of promotion based upon who was sleeping with the boss.”
This story is blowing up. KBR has much to answer for.
I have pondered what exactly did Dianne Feinstein hope to gain by confirming Michael Mukasey. She is in a blue state and a safe seat. The only effect I see is Feinstein pissing off the base.
The Justice Department is in desperate need of effective leadership. It is leaderless, and 10 of its top positions are vacant. Morale among U.S. attorneys needs to be restored, priorities reassessed and a new dynamic of independence from the White House established.
Feinstein is incredibly naive if she thinks Mukasey is going to prosecute members of the Bush administration. Mukasey refuses to say that waterboarding is torture to protect the administration. The White House will never nominate an Attorney General that that would tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others have committed war crimes. Mukasey is "effective" leadership only for administration officials wishing to stay out of prison.
Scott Horton reported Mukasey all but guaranteed to the Federalist Society no special prosecutor would be appointed for the torture or U.S. Attorneys scandals. Effective leadership, indeed.
Democrasy For America has launched a campaign to have Feinstein removed from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on a rework of the FISA Act -- the law that's supposed to protect us all against illegal wiretapping.
When the Bush administration didn't want to follow this law, they asked major telephone companies like AT&T and Verizon to help. Several phone companies broke the law to help Dick Cheney read our emails and listen to our phone calls.
They knew it was illegal. But they didn't expect to get caught.
Now that they did, the Bush administration is trying to protect AT&T and others from lawsuits by granting retroactive immunity for breaking the law. The Senate Judiciary Committee can kill this bill if all ten Democrats vote against it.
Senator Feinstein is the only Democrat who says she'll vote for it.
Please call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid right now and demand he remove Senator Feinstein from the committee and replace her with a Democrat who will stand up to President Bush's abuse of power.
Feinstein ignored civil and human rights, alienated the base and gave Republicans a victory. This is a horrible political and policy decision. The question is why did she vote for Mukasey? The answer is Feinstein really is naive. She hasn't learned anything about how the Bushies.
Senate Judiciary member Russ Feingold will vote against the Michael Mukasey nomination.
I will vote against the nomination of Judge Mukasey to be the next Attorney General. This was a difficult decision, as Judge Mukasey has many impressive qualities. He is intelligent and experienced and appears to understand the need to depoliticize the Department of Justice and restore its credibility and reputation.
At this point in our history, however, the country also needs an Attorney General who will tell the President that he cannot ignore the laws passed by Congress. Unfortunately, Judge Mukasey was unwilling to reject the extreme and dangerous theories of executive power that this administration has put forward.
The nation's top law enforcement officer must be able to stand up to a chief executive who thinks he is above the law. The rule of law is too important to our country's history and to its future to compromise on that bedrock principle.
That is good news. Senate Democrats shouldn't be a rubber stamp for Bush. If Mukasey can't give a straight forward answer about waterboarding then he doesn't deserve to be the nation's top law enforcement attorney.
The White House knows the Michael Mukasey nomination is in trouble. President Bush is forced to stooping to attempting to woo the media. Journalists were invited into the Oval Office for a private chat. The President doesn't consider the New York Times an ally.
What is interesting is Bush refusing to say whether or not waterboarding is torture. It's painfully obvious Mukasey was trained to parrot the same line as the President.
When Mr. Bush was asked whether he considered waterboarding illegal, he said he would not discuss specific methods used in the interrogation of suspected terrorists. “It doesn’t make any sense to tell the enemy whether we use those techniques or not,” he said.
“And the techniques we use by highly trained professionals are within the law,” the president said. “That’s what’s important for America to know.”
Bush's statement is a crock of shit. Everybody knows the United States waterboards. For him to confirm the truth would not be revealing to Al-Qaeda they haven't already figured out. Bush doesn't want to make a statement about waterboarding because he is terrified about potential prosecution.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Karl Rove divulged Valerie Plame's identity to the media and he never fired them. Bush uses national security to scare voters or hide the truth behind warrantless wiretapping and torture. The problem with America' security is Bush's utter unseriousness. Bush had the audacity to use the war on terror as why the Senate must confirm Mukasey.
"People who say we are not at war are either disingenuous or naïve," Bush said.
Bush can't answer if waterboarding is torture and he is calling his opponents "disingenuous." I hope he doesn't get hit with a flying pot or kettle.
"To reject the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey because he refuses to say what some members want him to say on this question, and he refuses as a matter of sincerely held legal belief...would be grossly unfair, an unjust act to this judge. May I suggest an alternative course...confirm him!"
Joe Lieberman, on Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey refusing to say on-record if waterboarding is torture.
""I am confident he would not condone such practices. I have been briefed enough to know we are not doing that today anywhere in America's government."
John McCain, stating the United States does not use waterboarding and that Musasey would not allow the practice.
The fact that we are even debating if waterboarding is torture say much about how polluted public discourse has become in the Bush/Fox News years. Strapping a man to a board and drowning him is most certainly torture. The Spanish Inquisition and Khmer Rouge used the practice. Malcolm Nance trained Navy recruits in the SERE program to withstand torture. He wrote definitive article destroying the "waterboarding is not torture," nonsense.
Waterboarding is not a simulation. Unless you have been strapped down to the board, have endured the agonizing feeling of the water overpowering your gag reflex, and then feel your throat open and allow pint after pint of water to involuntarily fill your lungs, you will not know the meaning of the word.
Waterboarding is a controlled drowning that, in the American model, occurs under the watch of a doctor, a psychologist, an interrogator and a trained strap-in/strap-out team. It does not simulate drowning, as the lungs are actually filling with water. There is no way to simulate that. The victim is drowning. How much the victim is to drown depends on the desired result (in the form of answers to questions shouted into the victim’s face) and the obstinacy of the subject. A team doctor watches the quantity of water that is ingested and for the physiological signs which show when the drowning effect goes from painful psychological experience, to horrific suffocating punishment to the final death spiral.
Waterboarding is slow motion suffocation with enough time to contemplate the inevitability of black out and expiration –usually the person goes into hysterics on the board. For the uninitiated, it is horrifying to watch and if it goes wrong, it can lead straight to terminal hypoxia. When done right it is controlled death. Its lack of physical scarring allows the victim to recover and be threaten with its use again and again.
Call it “Chinese Water Torture,” “the Barrel,” or “the Waterfall,” it is all the same. Whether the victim is allowed to comply or not is usually left up to the interrogator. Many waterboard team members, even in training, enjoy the sadistic power of making the victim suffer and often ask questions as an after thought. These people are dangerous and predictable and when left unshackled, unsupervised or undetected they bring us the murderous abuses seen at Abu Ghraieb, Baghram and Guantanamo. No doubt, to avoid human factors like fear and guilt someone has created a one-button version that probably looks like an MRI machine with high intensity waterjets.
Mukasey's exchange with Senator Shelton Whitehouse was an Alberto Gonzales moment. He is too smart of a man to not understand if waterboarding is torture.
Mukasey used covert operatives as a shield by saying, "When there are people who are using coercive techniques and who are being authorized to use coercive techniques. … And for me to say something that is going to put their careers or freedom at risk simply because I want to be congenial—I don't think it would be responsible of me to do that."
What is clearly implied is Mukasey will disreregard the Constition and Geneva Conventions to save a few careers. Including people in the Bush administration.
Waterboarding is being used because it leaves no longterm physical damage on detainees. The Bushies learned their lesson from Abu Ghraib. No more dog bite marks or detainees strung up on razor wire. The Bushies hide the evidence as well as the Corleone family.
