Prosecutorial misconduct

This week, the President has opened the door for the prosecution of lawyers and CIA personnel who were consulting on the interrogation techniques used in Gitmo. The issue here is that they were advising on to what could be legal to use in interrogations, not acting arbitrarily. All the techniques were reviewed by many personnel and even scrutinized in Congressional and Senate subcommittees. Yes, that means that our elected officials knew and approved all forms of interrogation used, yet they seem to be acting as if all this information is new to them and they had no hand in approving it.

I would like to know why they are not on the hot seat for allowing these activities to happen, when they are the ones who were in "charge" at the time. Personally, I don't think what we did was wrong, but if you are going to hold the lawyers and agents up to task for it then their bosses (Congress) need to be held to task as well.

The thing that frightens me is that there is evidence that the enhanced techniques produced information that prevented an attack on Los Angeles a few years back. The question you have to ask is this, what would the response had been if the attack had succeeded and thousands more were dead, and it was found out that someone in custody knew about it, yet we did not do enough to extract the information. How loud would the press and Democrats be screaming for Bush's head then?

To me this is another example of the long line of abuses by our Federal government where they are acting as if the rules do not apply to them. They have their own retirement, yet want you to live on Social Security. 40 percent of their kids are in private schools, yet they force you to go to under performing schools because vouchers would be wrong. They call for universal health care taking the choice of who you see away from you, yet Ted Kennedy flies around in his private jet to the best doctor in the land. Do you think you will get that kind of treatment?

Many of the high ranking congressional leaders had this information, knew what we were going to do, approved it, and now are acting like the ostrich with the head in the sand. The " I knew nothing until I knew it now" syndrome. This kind of arrogance needs to stop. People claim that Americans have a short attention span, and Congress counts on it so that you will only remember the name and the last speech, not the action of the last few years when you go to vote. Try and show them different.

Politician in bed with Fannie Mae...

literally

WASHINGTON — Unqualified home buyers were not the only ones who benefitted from Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank’s efforts to deregulate Fannie Mae throughout the 1990s.

So did Frank’s partner, a Fannie Mae executive at the forefront of the agency’s push to relax lending restrictions.

Now that Fannie Mae is at the epicenter of a financial meltdown that threatens the U.S. economy, some are raising new questions about Frank's relationship with Herb Moses, who was Fannie’s assistant director for product initiatives. Moses worked at the government-sponsored enterprise from 1991 to 1998, while Frank was on the House Banking Committee, which had jurisdiction over Fannie.

Both Frank and Moses assured the Wall Street Journal in 1992 that they took pains to avoid any conflicts of interest. Critics, however, remain skeptical.

"It’s absolutely a conflict," said Dan Gainor, vice president of the Business & Media Institute. "He was voting on Fannie Mae at a time when he was involved with a Fannie Mae executive. How is that not germane?

Introduction

Hello,

In the great scheme of the things the writings and comments that will be posted here may not mean much to you, but I believe they may come to mean something to someone. I am a stay at home dad and a Republican. More of a conservative, because some of the things that have been done by current Republican "leadership" are not what I would call governed by Republican values.

What does it mean to be a Republican, you may ask? What it means to me is that you are for limited government. Not just in business, but in all facets of life. You believe that the first question that should be asked after a crisis, or natural disaster is; what can I do to fix this? not what can the government do. You are a do it your-selfer, a self-starter, and a fixer. You do not wait for a bureaucrat to tell you what you need to do, you roll up your sleeves and get started on making things right. You leave things better than you found them.

You have a strong faith. Faith in your friends, faith in yourself, and faith in a strong family bond. You also have a strong faith in a higher power. Knowing that you are his instrument. Your speech and actions demonstrate to everyone the love he has for all. His words guide you through life and make you fulfilled. No parting of waters, or miracle is needed to confirm his existence to you.

You believe in equality. Equality of sex, and race. Because of this equality, you believe we should all have an equal opportunity, but that opportunity must be siezed, not given. Only things earned are worth having.

Lastly, you believe that America is one of the greatest countries to exist. We are an exceptional people because of our compassion. That our democracy is an exception in this world of dictators and despots. That many take for granted the freedom and choices we have that so many are denied around this globe. You know that this freedom and this country must be protected from all enemies that seek to destroy our precious way of life. That due vigilance, and defending her here and abroad is everyone's duty. This Grand experiment we call democracy, can be snuffed out in a moment if we allow our guard down.

These are a few of the things I believe make up a Republican. You may have more, and I am sure I will think of more. Please feel free to comment.