Senators question Bush administration's openness

[sabra]

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/14755041.htm

Senators question Bush administration's openness
BY RON HUTCHESON AND ELY PORTILLO
Knight Ridder Newspapers

<snip>

At stake is the public's right to know what its government is doing versus the need for secrecy to protect national security. The tension between these principles is as old as the republic.

Senators from both parties vented frustration over the administration's lack of openness. Tensions erupted at the Judiciary Committee hearing when Matthew Friedrich, chief of staff of the Justice Department's criminal division, declined to answer questions about the effort to search Anderson's old files.

"I would think the department would send somebody up here to testify that could answer our questions, if they had any respect for this committee," complained Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

"They don't have any respect for this committee," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said to Friedrich. "Why on earth were you sent up here? ... Is there any question you're allowed to answer?"

[bluefish]

1. This is crucial

Snip

At stake is the public's right to know what its government is doing versus the need for secrecy to protect national security. The tension between these principles is as old as the republic.

[UpInArms]

2. The criminal enterprise occupying 1600 Penn. Ave has no respect

for the USoA, much less a mere "committee".

[young_at_heart]

3. Who pays their salaries?

We, the people, have been blocked from hearing, learning, debating, etc. etc. since Day 1. What label can we give this type of government? I first voted in 1960 and I can honestly say that this is not the same country I remember all those years ago!

[Mythsaje]

4. What's to question?

Seriously.

Is the Bush Administration open?

Is a bear Catholic?

Does the Pope shit in the woods?

Sheesh.

[chill_wind]

5. Well well...

For starters, they "question" about 6 years + a river of blood and hundreds of thousands of human deaths and mutilations too late.

I always think of Sherrod Brown's speech back in 2003. The subversion of democracy had started long before then, and they, Congress, have been wholly pliant, complicit participants.

"You can do a lot in the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness."

Never before has the House of Representatives operated in such secrecy:

At 2:54 a.m. on a Friday in March, the House cut veterans benefits by three votes.

At 2:39 a.m. on a Friday in April, the House slashed education and health care by five votes.

At 1:56 a.m. on a Friday in May, the House passed the Leave No Millionaire Behind tax-cut bill by a handful of votes.

At 2:33 a.m. on a Friday in June, the House passed the Medicare privatization and prescription drug bill by one vote.

At 12:57 a.m. on a Friday in July, the House eviscerated Head Start by one vote.

And then, after returning from summer recess, at 12:12 a.m. on a Friday in October, the House voted $87 billion for Iraq.

Always in the middle of the night. Always after the press had passed their deadlines. Always after the American people had turned off the news and gone to bed.

What did the public see? At best, Americans read a small story with a brief explanation of the bill and the vote count in Saturday's papers.

But what did the public miss? They didn't see the House votes, which normally take no more than 20 minutes, dragging on for as long as an hour as members of the Republican leadership trolled for enough votes to cobble together a majority.

They didn't see GOP leaders stalking the floor for whoever was not in line. They didn't see Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay coerce enough Republican members into switching their votes to produce the desired result.

In other words, they didn't see the subversion of democracy.

full text: http://democrats.house.gov/news/librarydetail.cfm?library_content_id=62

Spare us the far too belated public hand-wringing and faux outrage at this grim late hour, congressmen. You all just rubberstamped and swore in another Bush tool of the secrecy and subversion you pretend to lament.
This is garbage.


It is not just the Bush Junta, but this pervasive congressional cancer that has to go in 2008.

OUT with them. OUT!

[Mythsaje]

8. I don't think there's anything to question...

It's pretty damn obvious, I think.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Bears are omnivores ... you can't get more catholic than that. nt

[Mythsaje]

7. Small "C" as opposed to big "C"

but I get your point...

[lindisfarne]

9. "bush administration's openness" is oxymoronic. n/t