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Thursday, September 29, 2005 |
TheNation: Earlier this year Republicans tried to eliminate the rule that people who have been indicted must step down. That was intended to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Criminals try to protect each other. It didn't work.
"A Texas grand jury had indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on one count of criminal conspiracy in a case of alleged campaign money laundering." So DeLay must step down.
Earlier "the ethics committee noted that three fundraisers for a political action committee linked to DeLay and eight corporate donors to this PAC had been indicted for allegedly funneling illegal contributions to GOP state candidates.
Besides all this, DeLay has been implicated in other rule-bending or -breaking episodes."
WashingtonPost: "A Texas grand jury indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) yesterday on a charge of criminally conspiring with two political associates to inject illegal corporate contributions into 2002 state elections that helped the Republican Party reorder the congressional map in Texas and cement its control of the House in Washington.
The indictment forced DeLay, one of the Republicans' most powerful leaders and fundraisers, to step aside under House rules barring such posts to those accused of criminal conduct."
PublicCitizen: "The Congressional ethics process failed us. Tom DeLay has been admonished more often by the ethics committee than any sitting member of Congress yet has remained the most powerful leader in the House.
We are demanding a sweeping overhaul to get rid of the corruption and influence-peddling by special interests, which has been the hallmark of DeLay's leadership. We need an independent ethics process that actually investigates corruption in a nonpartisan way, a total reform of lobbying laws, and stronger campaign finance regulations."
The Bush administration is corrupt to the core. It shows in the homeland and abroad. There is a breakdown of law and order and civil society. Hurricane Katrina also exposed the internal chaos.
Conyers: "Yesterday 384 protestors, including peace activist Cindy Sheehan, were arrested outside the White House and were brought to United States Park Police Anacostia Station. I was very surprised to learn that many of those arrested were kept handcuffed in vans and buses for up to 12 hours before they were charged and released. Some of those were released at 4:30 in the morning after being arrested at 4:00 the previous afternoon. Many of those held captive the longest were grandmothers and senior citizens. Those released after midnight were unfamiliar with Washington, DC and had no means to travel back to their hotels once the metro had closed. Anacostia is not frequented by taxicabs after midnight."
Editor&Publisher: "The conduct of U.S. troops in Iraq, including increasing detention and accidental shootings of journalists, is preventing full coverage of the war reaching the American public, Reuters said on Wednesday."
ICH: "Here are questions that are not being asked about the latest twist of a cynical war. Were explosives and a remote-control detonator found in the car of the two SAS special forces men 'rescued' from prison in Basra on 19 September? If true, what were they planning to do with them? Why did the British military authorities in Iraq put out an unbelievable version of the circumstances that led up to armoured vehicles smashing down the wall of a prison?
According to the head of Basra's Governing Council, which has co-operated with the British, five civilians were killed by British soldiers. A judge says nine. How much is an Iraqi life worth? Is there to be no honest accounting in Britain for this sinister event, or do we simply accept Defence Secretary John Reid's customary arrogance? 'Iraqi law is very clear,' he said. 'British personnel are immune from Iraqi legal process.' He omitted to say that this fake immunity was invented by Iraq's occupiers."
Guardian: "Scott Ritter was the former US marine captain tasked with finding Saddam Hussein's weapons. Now, in this first detailed account, he reveals how the CIA plotted to use a UN weapons inspection to overthrow the Iraqi regime - and how fiasco turned to tragedy when it failed."
12:59:42 PM 
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