Department Of Justice

Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden, And The Espionage Act of 1917!

Ronald 3 Comments

In 1917, after America had entered World War I, President Woodrow Wilson pushed through Congress the infamous Espionage Act, designed to be used against actual spies, but manipulated instead to bring Eugene Debs, the Socialist Party leader and five time Presidential candidate to trial, and to sentence him to federal prison, with Debs only being pardoned in 1921 by President Warren G. Harding, as Wilson refused to consider such a pardon.

That was not a bright moment in our civil liberties history, and Wilson remains condemned for promoting legislation that was abused by him and Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, not only the Espionage Act, but also the Sedition Act of 1918, the first such federal legislation of that name and type since the Sedition Act of 1798 under President John Adams, which was repealed under his successor, Thomas Jefferson! The Sedition Act of 1918 was repealed by Congress in late 1920, but never has that occurred for the Espionage Act!

The Espionage Act should have been repealed, but instead, it was used against Pfc, Bradley Manning, who used his position in the Army to give access to hundreds of thousands of documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan War to Wikileaks, and then, after being arrested, was horribly mistreated, including total isolation and being stripped naked, outrageous conditions he did not, and no one, deserves!

Manning has now been acquitted of “aiding the enemy” under the Espionage Act language, but still faces many years in prison, when to many, he was a “whistle blower”, who should not be prosecuted and convicted for exposing the secret actions of our government and military in both Iraq and Afghanistan, two highly unpopular wars created by the actions of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld!

The same controversy centers around Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency employee, who shocked the nation by exposing many secrets of the NSA and Central Intelligence Agency, and then fled, first to Hong Kong, and then Russia, and is trying to gain asylum in Latin America, if not Russia.

A majority of the American people see him as a “whistle blower” rather than a spy, and so the issue of how to deal with these two individuals, one military, and one civilian, divides the American people!

Reflections On George Zimmerman And The Future!

Ronald 77 Comments

Now that the George Zimmerman Trial is over, one thinks about the future of this man who used very poor judgment in pursuing an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin.

Certainly, the possibility of a United States Department of Justice Civil Rights lawsuit is a legitimate avenue of action!

Additionally, civil law suits for financial damages can be pursued, and should be considered!

But beyond that, it should be made clear that under NO circumstances should ANYONE work to make the life of George Zimmerman or his family a nightmare in any form!

Neither he nor his family members should have to live under the threat of violence now, or at any point, for the rest of their lives!

Pursuing such threats or violence would undermine the whole point of why the trial was pursued, as it would sully the memory of this young man who was doing nothing wrong, and was profiled because he was black!

Everyone should leave George Zimmerman and his family alone permanently, other than available legal alternatives, and realize one thing that is clear.

The life of George Zimmerman will, even if left at peace, hopefully, will never be the same, as he will be recognized; will have his obituary with the first paragraph and heading mentioning his involvement in this tragedy; and in his heart of heats, his conscience, he will always have some guilt for his actions which took a human life unnecessarily!

But please, everyone who reads this entry on this blog, leave George Zimmerman and his family alone, and leave it to the courts for any further resolution, and if those further legal motions fail to gain a desired result, accept the reality and pursue the memory of Trayvon Martin in commitment to the further promotion of civil rights in a peaceful, orderly manner!

Republican Party Platform So Far To The Right Politically That It Cannot Appeal To Moderates And Independents!

Ronald 1 Comment

The Republican Party is formulating its platform a week before the Republican National Convention in Tampa next week, and it is so far to the Right politically, that it will have the effect of alienating to moderates and Independents!

The platform denies any abortions, no matter whether due to rape, incest, or life of the mother.

The platform takes a harsh stand on immigration, in line with the Arizona and Alabama laws now being sued in federal court by the Justice Department.

The platform supports strict ID voters laws, designed to suppress the votes of the young, the elderly, the poor, and minorities.

The platform supports the Ryan budget, including the privatization of Medicare and the massive tax cuts for the wealthy, while cutting Food Stamps, Pell Grants, and other programs for the middle class and the poor.

The platform refuses to accept gay rights, including gay marriage, but also rejects any recognition of civil unions, keeping gay Americans second class citizens!

These are just some of the outrageous planks in the GOP platform, and it is impossible to imagine that sane people will wish to support such a vindictive, extremist platform that would be designed to undermine the rights, freedoms, and privileges of millions of Americans!

Moderate Republicans will flee from a party they no longer recognize, and Independents will, by large margins, swing over to the Democrats, because there will be no alternative choice that is rational and reasonable!

48th Anniversary Of Landmark Civil Rights Act Of 1964: Transformative Event

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Today, July 2, is the 48th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, passed within seven months of Lyndon B. Johnson becoming President, a truly miraculous event, considering the strong and vehement opposition by Southern Democrats and many conservative Republicans.

The Civil Rights Act ended discrimination in all public accommodations, and promoted integration in education and the work force, and was a step toward the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ending all discrimination in voting in the South, and dramatically changing the South forever.

Of course, the South, which had been heavily Democratic switched to support of the Republican Party, much of which saw an opportunity to exploit the racial issue, as they have continued to do ever since, mostly in a veiled, but obvious way, including their constant racism regarding President Barack Obama. And it is Republican Governors who are trying to take away voting rights in time for the election, and in so doing, are violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965, leading to lawsuits by Attorney General Eric Holder, which helped to cause his being cited for contempt of Congress last week, a purely vindictive political act!

While there are indeed many whites in America who would wish for the “good old days” before the Civil Rights Act, everyone realizes the changes back then are permanent, like it or not!

The same is happening with the transformative event of the Obama Presidency, the Affordable Care Act, also called “ObamaCare”!

The Republicans are pledging to fight “tooth and nail” to repeal the law, but it will not happen, and they will have to get used to it, like it or not!

LBJ is best remembered for Civil Rights and Medicare, also bitterly opposed by Republicans and conservatives, and Barack Obama will be best remembered for the Affordable Care Act, and the elimination of Osama Bin Laden, another issue that the GOP avoids giving Obama much credit.

The Republicans fight the future, but the Democrats BRING the future, and on this day, just a few after Obama’s signature achievement on health care, let us salute LBJ for the Civil Rights Act accomplishment!

House Republicans And Attorney General Eric Holder: A Travesty of Justice And A “Lynching” Of Our First African American Attorney General!

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It is shocking beyond belief that our first African American Attorney General Eric Holder, under our first African American President of the United States, Barack Obama, is facing a contempt of Congress vote on Thursday, the same day the Supreme Court issues its judgment of Obama Health Care legislation!

What has Eric Holder done wrong? He has refused to release internal documents regarding the failed, so called, “Fast and Furious” Mexican Drug Running setup begun by the Bush Administration, which sadly ended in the death of a border agent. Holder had held numerous meetings with the committee headed by California Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, and given documents, and Issa well knows that nothing corrupt has occurred, but is still on a rampage to destroy Holder’s reputation!

Holder, by withholding some sensitive documents, is doing nothing different than any Attorney General in the past, and many Attorneys General, including those under Warren G. Harding, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, have been involved in controversial activities, that never led to a move to cite for contempt of Congress.

Rather than deal with the jobs issue, the Republican House under Speaker John Boehner is running amuck, making for the most disgraceful Congress in many decades, and helping to cause the lowest public opinion rating for Congress in history, since polls began!

Even if Holder is cited for contempt of Congress, that will simply make him a victim of his race, and the prejudice against Barack Obama.

Holder has been an excellent Attorney General, fighting against the discriminatory immigration laws of Arizona and Alabama; battling against the attempt in Florida and elsewhere to cut people from the voting rolls; and taking other stands that conservatives and Republicans hate!

If Speaker John Boehner has any sense, he will work to prevent such a contempt citation, and push Darrell Issa to stop his bullying, but sadly it is unlikely to happen, but will reverberate on the Republicans in November!

The “Lynching” Of Attorney General Eric Holder: Racism And Political Revenge Against Principled Cabinet Member And Barack Obama!

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In American history, we have had Attorneys General in several Presidential administrations that have proved to be involved in criminal activities–Harry Daugherty in the Warren G. Harding Presidency and John Mitchell in the Richard Nixon Presidency, most notably.

But never have we had a Congressional committee do what was done today to Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, citing him for contempt of Congress, in a dispute over the withholding of internal Justice Department documents in an investigation of a botched gun trafficking investigation called “Fast and Furious”, begun by Attorney General Michael Mukasey under President George W. Bush, and ended under Attorney General Holder.

This action by the House Committee On Oversight And Government Reform, headed by publicity seeker Congressman Darrell Issa of California is an embarrassment to the Republican Party and the House of Representatives, and was accomplished by a straight party line vote.

This action, which may lead to a full House of Representatives vote next week, could in theory lead to Speaker John Boehner disgracing the House if he allows such a vote, and could lead to Holder, in theory, being put into a jail cell that exists in the chamber, something unprecedented in American history!

And why is this occurring? Is Eric Holder such a lawbreaker, such a criminal, that it is proper to disgrace him in this manner?

NO, it is simple RACISM and POLITICAL REVENGE against the principles and policies of the Obama Presidency!

Do not forget that Eric Holder is African American, and President Barack Obama is African American! This would NOT be happening if they were white, simple to say!

Eric Holder has angered many Republicans because he is having the Justice Department fight the racist immigration laws of Arizona and Alabama!

Eric Holder has angered many Republicans because he is fighting the voter suppression laws of Florida and other states, designed to stop the African American, Hispanic and Latino vote in many states that would vote for the Democrats this November!

Eric Holder is pursuing justice, fairness, equity in civil rights and civil liberties cases that give the average American a fair shake, rather than favoring the elite and the powerful!

Eric Holder has done an excellent job as Attorney General, and for that, and being black, he is being “lynched”!

What a disgrace the Republican Party has become, an embarrassment to Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and even Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush!

Alabama Surpasses Arizona With Hateful, Nativist Anti Immigration Law!

Ronald 2 Comments

After the uproar over the Arizona illegal immigration law of 2010, now being appealed in the federal courts, one would have thought that no state could surpass them in narrow mindedness, hate, and nativism, but that has now become the case with the state of Alabama.

The state of some of the worst examples of “Jim Crow” segregation for many generations, and the state of infamous segregationist George C. Wallace, has now put into action an anti immigration law that is described by many as the cruelest imaginable!

Four Alabama church leaders–Episcopal, Methodist, and Roman Catholic–have led the fight against the law, which goes into effect two days from now!

They say it criminalizes acts of Christian compassion by making potential criminals of anyone who may work or live with them or show them consideration!

Undocumented immigrants may not work, rent a home, sign any contract, and can be stopped by the police to check their status if there is suspicion of any kind!

Anyone who knowingly “conceals, harbors, or shields” an illegal immigrant can be charged with a crime–including renting a place to live, driving that person to church, or taking them to a doctor!

Schools must check the status of all students, and businesses can lose licenses to operate if they hire illegal, undocumented immigrants!

Harassment and racial profiling are the result, and the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing to block enforcement!

This situation reminds one of the anti Jewish actions taken by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in the mid 1930s, with the Nuremburg Laws coming to mind. Of course, many will say that is ridiculous as a comparison, but is it really, when one looks at the past history of African Americans in Alabama during the near century of “Jim Crow” laws and racial violence by the Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups, and also the intimidation visited against Jews and Catholics?

The only people who can celebrate this law are the KKK, and other white supremacy groups! It puts Alabama to shame, and puts it back on the list of the ten worst states, a group that it might have been escaping with some racial progress in recent years, but now rapidly disappearing with this hateful, nativist, despicable legislation!