In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Out here in Oregon, we have recently found out that a former mayor of Portland, Secretary of Transportation under Carter, head of Nike Canada, and Governor of our fine state, was diddling the neighbor's daughter for a period of 3 years back in the late 70s. He was in his mid to late thirties. She was in her mid to late teens. After his "affair," as The Oregonian so graciously put it, he went on to become one of the most powerful men in the state and she went on to drug problems and mental suffering. He was worth, only just a few months ago, the state's accident insurer paying him 40,000 dollars a month for his "black book" and contacts.
Well, it's not news that powerful men often do terrible things.
What makes me sick is we're finding out that plenty of other powerful people knew his dark, little secret. Some knew for years. And nobody did anything about it. The current governor, who is also the former Attorney General and a former Supreme Court Judge, apparently may have found out about the child abuse as early as 1989. But certainly, says one person, he knew about the abuse in 1994 because that person told him about it then. Long before the current gov appointed Goldschmidt to the Board of Higher Education just this year. The current sheriff of Multnomah County, Bernie Guisto, was Goldschmidt's driver (as a state trooper) when he was gov. Good old Bernie knew, apparently, as early as 1989, and perhaps earlier.
Ok, so this seems off topic for this blog. Especially because Goldschmidt and the others are Democrats. So why am I sitting in the dark at nearly 11 pm writing this? Because it is case in point about how absolute power corrupts absolutely. Nobody did anything about it because they knew what the fallout would be. They'd find themselves on the short-end of Gov. Goldschmidt and turns out, that's not too good for your career. Besides, everyone was happy, except the poor girl, to be on the Goldschmidt train. Because everyone who was on the train benefitted. Keep your mouth shut, and head down, and you'll be rewarded seems to be the mantra. Hitch your star to Goldschmidt and you'll go far.
Just like Halliburton. Just like Enron. And for that matter, just like George W. For those in power, it doesn't matter who you screw or how many, just as long as you're making yourself better off. For those coattailers, it doesn't matter what your boss is doing or what you're doing for your boss, so long as you're not one of the ones getting the shaft. Those Enron traders' comments are instructive--they were more than happy to make money by screwing California ratepayers. So come on all you self-righteous republicans, I want my country back like you talk about. Where's the morality? Where's the sense of ethics? Where is that shining city on the hill? Where are the thousand points of light? Where's the compassionate conservativism? Or is all of that rhetoric just that--so much crap.
Why is it only Henry Waxman, a dyed-in-the-wool, liberal democrat, who is squawking about Halliburton? Why is it only a former ambassador who is crying about the outing of his wife, a CIA operative? Why has the Enron investigation taken so long and produced so little? Why isn't Kenny Boy in jail? You republicans should be screaming bloody murder about government run-amok. You should be screaming about the lack of morality in corporate board rooms, just as you scream about the lack of morality in our bedrooms. You should be screaming about Bush's desire to impose his will on other people around the world in some kind of misguided Pax Americana. You should be screaming, you defenders of the second Amendment, about the power-grabbing executive who is troucing on the rest of Constitution and only paying lip service to the balance of power.
But no. Because it gets back to my post earlier and Rob's fantastic commentary--Republicans need the laws to save them from themselves. For all the preaching they do about the way the world is and should be in the abstract, they're more than willing to use their power to benefit themselves. And blame any fallout on the fact that they couldn't help themselves. Or that there was no law against it. Or whatever. So, just like those who knew about Goldschmidt crimes, there are all of the little people in the Bush administration who know about Bush's crimes. Who know about the instructions to commit torture. Who know about the instructions to out Valerie Plame. Who know about the political influence used to get Halliburton a no-bid, no-cap, government contract. And yet, who remain mum because they benefit because their star is hitched to Bush.
Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead.
- B 1:41 AM - [PermaLink] -
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