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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (20599)	6/18/2003 10:49:56 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

sfgate.com Having some issues finding people Jon Carroll Monday, June 16, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am beginning to get worried about the men and women of the U.S. government. Oh, I know they're big boys and can handle themselves in a fight -- I'm just afraid that handling themselves in a fight is about the only thing they can do. They can't seem to find people. The most obvious example is Osama bin Laden, for whom we launched the most massive manhunt in the history of manhunts. Hell, we tore apart an entire country looking for him, but he slipped through our fingers. And now it seems as if we've stopped looking. The best guess is that he's up there in Weirdville, the rugged (I believe that's the traditional adjective) country on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, a place that doesn't even have a government. We can't bomb it, because we currently love Pakistan. And our general policy is that we never invade a territory until we've whomped the bejeezus out of it from the air. So, have a nice life, Osama, and good luck with that kidney. Then there's Saddam Hussein. We bombed another country to get him, but we didn't. Where is he? Syria? Iran? Something-istan? Maybe he's hiding with all those weapons of mass destruction that we also didn't find. Wherever, he seems to be safe for the moment. Still, we pulled down his statue. That felt good. But those are commonplace examples. Here's a more obscure one: Ken Lay. Remember him? He was the president of Enron back when it was cheating its own shareholders, many customers and the Internal Revenue Service. He used to be a good friend of President George W. Bush, but that stopped after the scandal broke. "Ken who?" said the president, or words to that effect. Maybe that's why we can't find him: Someone destroyed his Rolodex card. I'm assuming we can't find him, because surely by now he would otherwise have been required to answer questions before some judicial body or other. He might even have done a perp walk. I'm not asking for anything exotic like a conviction. I just want him to be compelled to show up somewhere. Are Ken and Osama and Saddam all hanging out together somewhere? Maybe they're staying with the guy who sent the anthrax letters. Remember those? That was 12 orange alerts ago. The FBI is currently dragging a pond in Maryland, but no one thinks the guy is in the pond. Maybe he left a signed confession in a waterproof jar. "Dear FBI: I did it. (signed) The Guy." If the U.S. government is looking for malefactors, maybe it should check around the office. Remember WorldCom? Little matter of an $11 billion accounting fraud and subsequent bankruptcy and more cheated stockholders and suppliers. The WorldCom story didn't get as much play as the Enron story because of scandal fatigue. (Last week, it was announced that Freddie Mac, the government- created home mortgage company, was being investigated for accounting fraud, and no one raised an eyebrow. So 2001, all that.) Anyway, WorldCom (or MCI, as it now wants to be called) was recently awarded a $45 million contract by the Defense Department to rebuild the phone system of Iraq. Isn't that lovely? Lying and cheating just don't have negative connotations anymore. WorldCom and the Securities and Exchange Commission have reached an out-of- court settlement for $500 million. See, all better now. We can go to the seashore. If only the president of WorldCom had been caught growing marijuana, then the Justice Department would have really thrown the book at them. Or if Ken Lay and Saddam Hussein had tried to get married in Texas -- man, they'd be behind bars so fast your turnstiles would blur. Maybe next time.

To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (20599)	6/18/2003 5:05:28 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Republican-Led International Relations Committee Failed To Exercise Congressional Oversight; Stonewalls Investigation IntoThe Truth Republicans Defeat Kucinich's Resolution of Inquiry In A Partisan Vote CONTACT: U.S. Representative Kucinich Doug Gordon (202) 225-5871 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 18, 2003 8:38 AM WASHINGTON - June 18 - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), today, rejected assertions by the Republicans on the House International Relations Committee that his Resolution of Inquiry should be dismissed due to an ongoing investigation by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). On June 5, Kucinich introduced a Resolution of Inquiry to force the Administration to turn over the intelligence that led to misleading and false claims made by Administration officials in the lead-up to the war in Iraq. "The Republicans on the International Relations Committee want to shun their congressional oversight responsibilities," stated Kucinich. "It is clear that the committee Republicans are stonewalling. They don't want the American people to know that the Administration may have lied to them. The proper place for an investigation into disinformation the Administration used to lead the US to war is the House International Relations Committee. It is Congress' responsibility to provide oversight. Today, the Republican-led committee failed to live up to this responsibility." The resolution, signed by 40 Members of Congress, sought to force the Administration to turn over the intelligence to substantiate claims by the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and the White House Press Secretary that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons and therefore posed a threat to the United States. The resolution was referred to the House International Relations Committee, which, today, rejected the resolution in a partisan vote. "This Congress and the American people have a right to know if our nation was led to war based on misinformation, half-truths and possible lies," continued Kucinich. "Today, Congress had an opportunity to begin this process. But, instead of seeking the truth the Republican-led committee decided to take the path of obstruction. I will continue the fight in pursuit of the truth." commondreams.org