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Saturday, November 13, 2004
Ashcroft

Well, the Attorney General has stepped down, and there is muted rejoicing. After all, if the re-election of this corrupt and deliberately ignorant administration has you down, you must take your small pleasures where you can.


So why am I not happier? Ashcroft was easily the most frightening figure appointed by Bush, and that's truly an accomplishment. This man has called dissent of the President's policies treasonous. He has tried to set back women's rights 80 years. And there is still that disturbing issue with needing to cover the statue at the Department of Justice building. The guy is a nut job, nearly without parallel.

Alberto Gonzales will be named, and will face token questioning from the Senate. I don't know too much about him, but I don't think he's a zealot like Ashcroft. His past record indicates that his actions on controversial laws tend to uphold them whether he agrees with them or not. That will be quite refreshing from the nation's top lawman.

There is, however, his odd memo dealing with the President's criminality if charged with war crimes. In regard to the Geneva Conventions, Gonzales referred to their notions of torture being "quaint" and "outdated." Call me old-fashioned, but I'm just not sure that we really have any right to outrage at the mistreatment of our soldiers when we so cavalierly toss aside everyone else's right to not have their balls hooked up to a car battery.

Gonzales will be confirmed, and he may be a very good attorney general. I honestly believe that, whereas with Ashcroft, I knew the opposite to be true. Will Gonzales have the wherewithal to say to the President, "Uh, there is a great deal of illegal stuff in the Patriot Act, if we are going to use the Constitution of The United States as a guide. We need to fix this problem immediately."

I doubt it. Al has been friends with Bush long enough to know that dissent is not a virtue. My guess is we're going to be saddled with the illegalities for a long while yet. Meanwhile, Gonzales will likely serve his post quite well for the most part. I'll try to keep a good thought for his wanting to protect the Constitution. It's really all I can do.

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posted at 1:10 AM

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