The Git 'Er Done Presidency

Ol' Dubya was disregarding legal and moral guidelines long before he got to the White House, so once he was there it was almost second nature.

From starting wars under false pretexts and redefining torture when it suited the end results, perhaps the worst abuse was during the run-up to the 2006 midterm election where Republicans lost control of the House. During that time, the Bush administration repeatedly broke the law by using federal funds to send Cabinet secretaries and other high-level political appointees to congressional districts of GOP candidates in tight races.

How'd he do it? "Because those trips were classified as official, funds from the U.S. Treasury were used to finance the trips and reimbursement from the relevant campaigns was never sought," stated the report by the Office of Special Counsel, the independent federal agency that enforces Hatch Act restrictions on partisan political activity inside the federal government. "In other cases, even when trips were correctly designated as political, agencies used U.S. Treasury funds to cover the costs associated with the trips and did not recoup those funds as required by the Hatch Act and its regulations."

OSC found that 10 agencies used federal funds to pay for political appointees to travel to events supporting Republican candidates in 2006 and were monitored closely by the White House Office of Political Affairs. That means there was White House oversight in breaking the law. Its one thing to mislead the American people to invade foreign nations for their oil, but this was a deliberate breaking of the law. The report says that aspects of OPA that came in conflict with the Hatch Act during the Bush era "have apparently existed for decades."

Unfortunately, Hatch Act violations are punishable with a maximum penalty of dismissal - and that's unavailable now that all involved have left the government. The 10 agencies that used federal funds to pay for political appointees to travel to events supporting Republican candidates in 2006 were the departments of Transportation, Interior, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Energy, the Veterans Administration, the Small Business Administration and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Technical Weekend

Gonna be screwing around with computers and software and mixing this weekend while Scarlett hits the big events around town...kinda appropriate if you ask me.

Best of the week: An applicant was been rejected in his bid to become a police officer for scoring too high on an intelligence test. Dumb cop jokes about to replace the long time go-to "Policeman's Ball"?

Robert Jordan (49), who is a college graduate, took an exam to join the New London police (Connecticut), in 1996 and scored 33 points, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training. So Mr. Jordan did what most people would do - he launched a federal lawsuit against the city. And lost. If he was as smart as I (and I have the scores to back it up), he'd have retaken the test and deliberated scored lower to make the cut.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision that the city did not discriminate against Mr Jordan because the same standards were applied to everyone who took the test. He said, “This kind of puts an official face on discrimination in America against people of a certain class. I maintain you have no more control over your basic intelligence than your eye color or your gender or anything else.” I disagree. You have the capability, but reaching that potential is up to you.

He said he does not plan to take any further legal action and has worked as a prison guard since he took the test, so I guess it all worked out. He still got his uniform and can cavity search or beat felons. BTW, the average score nationally for police officers is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104, or just a little above average. Now are you glad they're the ones with the guns and law on their side?

Worst of the week: And speaking of guns, about a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among protesters outside the convention center where President Barack Obama was giving a speech earlier this week — the latest incident in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president. Since when was this a good idea?

Gun-rights advocates say they're exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest, while anybody else with an IQ above a shell casing see it as a disaster waiting to happen.

Phoenix police said the gun-toters at Monday's event, including the man carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, didn't need permits. No crimes were committed, and no one was arrested. Which is the problem. Not the lack of arrests, but the legality.

The man with the rifle declined to be identified but said that he was carrying the assault weapon because he could. "In Arizona, I still have some freedoms," he said. Yes sir, you do...but do you believe for a second that this would have gone on or been remotely tolerated when the Bush / Republican White House was running the show? He'd have been making that statement from Guantanamo.

Phoenix police who monitored the man at the downtown protest also wanted to make sure no one decided to harm him. "Just by his presence and people seeing the rifle and people knowing the president was in town, it sparked a lot of emotions...We were keeping peace on both ends." Try to keep more of it on the presidential side.

Last week, during Obama's health care town hall in Portsmouth, N.H., a man carrying a sign reading "It is time to water the tree of liberty" stood outside with a pistol strapped to his leg. How the fuck is that not a threat? "It's a political statement," he told The Boston Globe. "If you don't use your rights, then you lose your rights." Police asked the man to move away from school property, but he was not arrested. Are you ready for President Biden?

Arizona is an "open-carry" state, which means anyone legally allowed to have a firearm can carry it in public as long as it's visible. Only someone carrying a concealed weapon is required to have a permit. A Secret Service spokesman said armed demonstrators in open-carry states such as Arizona and New Hampshire have little impact on security plans for the president, but plans don't mean shit once somebody fires a few rounds. Representatives of the National Rifle Association did not return calls for comment, because how do you spin the 2nd Amendment to cover your right to assassinate the president?

Runner up: On Monday, the always awful OMG! had this to report:

So imagine the surprise when you follow the link and discover:


You idiots wouldn't even make it in Connecticut as a cop. Try not to act shocked - their idea of big news story is "Jon Gosselin to Throw a Las Vegas Pool Party", and report "Heidi Pratt Claims to Have Had "20-30 Orgasms" in a Single Day" I think they mean oranges...sounds about right.