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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zoltan! who wrote (13751)	2/1/2000 9:16:00 AM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13994

The bridge to the 21st century - off-limits By Lewis J. Goldberg web posted January 31, 2000 While we have been told that the 'era of big government is over,' we, nevertheless seem to have too much freedom on our hands, thus the new usurpations. On December 31, 1999 the documents of martial law were drafted and laid out on a table in the White House, ready for Clinton's signature. Y2K turned out to be the biggest dud-of-a-New-Year's-eve there ever was, and our dictator-in-waiting went to sleep, downtrodden and dejected. Even the spin-meisters of the regime could not make anything out of the non-disaster. Not one to be put down for long, Clinton went to work on his 'Plan B,' to take over a little bit at a time. President Clinton has oft-spoken about his mythical "bridge to the twenty-first century" and the building thereof...as if it were his, and only his, to build. We come to find out in these first few weeks of 2000 that this bridge will be on 'off-limits' federal land, with BATF agents at the entrance to make sure no one takes a gun on it. Of the 17 new spending proposals introduced by Clinton since January 1, the declaration of 40 million acres of National Park as 'off-limits to everything' and the proposal for 500 new BATF agents are among the most heinous. Environmentalism has its origins with conservative politics. We all know that Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, started the National Parks System as a way to preserve our wilderness heritage, but never did he envision that his parks would be used as a tool to limit freedom. The original intent was that we do not turn the entire nation into a parking lot (or its contemporary equivalent.) The 40,000,000 acres recently moth-balled will never be available for road-building, natural resources, or even a snack-bar for tourists...in fact, there will be no tourists. If you want to see this land you'll have to take an airplane. Even so, it's not these 40 million that are the real concern, it's the land owned by ranchers, farmers, speculators, and anyone else...right down to the retired couple with 5 acres and a trailer that should be worried. The feds have the capability to seize and regulate any piece of land in the nation, and take it at the point of a gun if you resist. The fact that they can do this goes largely unchallenged by the public and Congress. We do not worry until itis us that suffer, and when we cry out, no one hears because not enough people care to join the fight. Mentioned also is the proposed addition of 500 new BATF agents to fight gun crime, which is dropping like a rock anyway. We have not had such low crime rates since the sixties (...guess we have to say 19-sixties, now) that it will cease to be an issue. Clinton needs to get his bureaucracy in front of the downward trend so he can take credit for it, thereby justifying more government intervention. Part of this proposed new spending for gun crime is a plan to create 'smart' weapon technology...a mechanism that prevents a gun from being fired by someone besides the owner. This will cause several things to happen. First, if the government can decide who fires a weapon, they can also decide to turn it off. Second, the black market for 'dumb' weapons will be tremendous, and only criminals will have them...'criminals,' as defined by the government. he detailed registration information kept by the government will be used to track down all owners of weapons with no 'smart' device and the outdated gun will be confiscated, since it would be too expensive to retro-fit the device. Perhaps the owner would be compensated with a check for 20 or 50 dollars for the trouble, and told to buy a new gun with it; one which will not fire unless the owner were 'cooperative' with the agents who tracked him down. The Founding Fathers did everything they could to ensure that we had the right to private property and the right to defend it against invaders, both foreign and domestic. Thomas Jefferson once said that the beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until someone tries to take it away. (cont) enterstageright.com

To: Zoltan! who wrote (13751)	2/14/2000 7:12:00 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 13994

Hillary -- Closet Attorney General Janet Reno -- Spinster in Bondage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By JERRY ZEIFMAN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- President Clinton promised, "The most ethical administration in history." Yet the questions now arise: Has Hillary Clinton been the closet Attorney General? Has Janet Reno been a disreputable figurehead? Reno was the Clintons' fifth choice. One of her key sponsors was Hillary Clinton's brother. Hugh Rodham. The third and fourth choices (Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood) had been disqualified for not paying social security taxes for their house maids -- scandals known in the media as "Nannygate." The second choice was Shirley Hufstedler, a former Secretary of Education under President Carter, who had declined -- purportedly because of her advanced age. The first choice was federal Judge Patricia M. Wald of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. Wald had served as Assistant Attorney General during the Carter administration. Carter eventually appointed her to the bench. Remarkably, after the Clintons chose her, she too had declined She explained to the press simply that she preferred to stay in a secure judicial office until retirement. However, she had other good reasons to refuse to be A.G. Wald abhorred the prospect of becoming a figurehead -- under the domination of Hillary Clinton The President had not given Wald the freedom to choose her own top deputies. He had selected then-Harvard Law professor Philip Heymann to be Deputy A.G., and Hillary's former law partner, Web Hubbell, to be the Associate Deputy. Although Wald knew little about Hubbell, she was suspicious of him. However, she knew a great deal about Heymann -- and regarded him as a "political animal." When Wald became Assistant A.G. in the Carter administration, she was in charge of Congressional relations. Heymann was then a prosecutor in the criminal division. In an effort both to ingratiate himself with President Carter and capture media attention, Heymann launched a "sting" operation that became known as "Abscam." Heymann used FBI agents disguised as Arab sheiks to ensnare and indict six House members and one Senator for accepting bribes. All but one of the defendants were pro-labor liberal Democrats who were supporting Senator Ted Kennedy's efforts to defeat Jimmy Carter in upcoming Democratic Primaries. One of the anti-Carter liberals was Frank Thompson of Princeton, New Jersey, then-Chairman of the House Committee on Administration. Wald knew him on a first name basis -- and was fond of him. She knew that he had two personal problems. One was his recovery from open-heart surgery. The other was alcoholism, which he was struggling to overcome. Wald became irate when she learned that under Heymann's guidance the FBI lured "Thompy" to come alone to a mansion in Georgetown, plied him with liquor, and set him up on a bribery charge. Wald regarded Abscam as an unconstitutional "entrapment." She let it be known to President Carter that she was considering resigning in protest. According to one reliable source, Wald was then "given an offer that she could not refuse. She was kicked upstairs to the bench." When the history of Janet Reno's two-term tenure as A.G. is finally written, a comparison between Wald and Reno may well be relevant. Wald has an unblemished record for integrity. In contrast, Reno's entire career in law enforcement now appears to have significant flaws. As was noted at Reno's confirmation hearing, she had no prior federal experience. During her tenure as prosecutor in Dade County Florida, crime increased 50%. In addition, as was mentioned specifically by Senators Hatch and Cohen, the Judiciary Committee had received "rumors" of character flaws. After her confirmation hearings she said of herself "I'm just an awkward old maid with a great affection for men." The rumors persist -- and have increased. Although largely unreported in the mainstream media, the gossip at the National Press Club's "Reliable Source Bar" is that she has personality disorders related to her gender preference and drinking. Currently, it is being reported that early in Janet Reno's tenure as A.G. the FBI had intentionally fire bombed the Branch Davidian compound at Waco -- and later the Department of Justice had failed to disclose the truth to Congress and the public. It also appears that the plans for the assault at Waco had been laid by the Clinton administration even before Reno's nomination. These days Reno continues to assume the blame, stating, "The Buck Stops here." (Ironically, that's a notion that contradicts a sign on Harry Truman's desk assuming the final responsibility to himself for the acts of his cabinet members.) The unanswered question now is: Do the Clintons have something "on" Janet Reno -- something that compels her to divert the slings and arrows of outrageous politics away from Bill and Senatorial candidate Hillary into her own bosom? If the rumors are based on true facts, the answer may well be "Yes." [Jerry Zeifman ( jzeifman@yahoo.com ) served as Chief Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the Nixon impeachment proceeding.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Published in the Feb. 14, 2000 issue of The Washington Weekly. Copyright ¸ 2000 The Washington Weekly (http://www.federal.com). Reposting permitted with this message intact. federal.com