Another hazy, humid summer morning, another story of Republican law-breaking at the highest level of the Bush Crime Family. Not that criminal activity in the Ashcroft/Gonzales Justice Department is exactly a news flash. It isn't. Not that criminal activity in any office infected by George W. Bush and his crew constitutes "breaking news." It doesn't. Criminal activity is the hallmark of this utterly incompetent yet truly dedicated administration. Every federal department, every cabinet post, every regulatory agency, all of it has been polluted, dismantled and shredded after being staffed with Republican activists of the sort who open the door wide to the brand of political corruption the Republican Party has come to define.
The latest "internal investigation" conducted by the Justice Department's inspector general and its internal ethics office (yawn) has discovered, OH! MY! GOD! Senior aides to former Attorney General (and favorite Bush tejano) Alberto Gonzales broke Civil Service laws by using politics to guide their hiring decisions, picking less-qualified applicants for important nonpolitical positions, slowing the hiring process at critical times and damaging the department's credibility.
At least one federal prosecutor was rejected for a promotion because she was - OH! NO! - suspected of being - YIKES! - a lesbian!!! Another candidate - a Republican lawyer - received a pat on the back and "high marks" at his job interview because he was found to be sufficiently reactionary on the core Conservative wedge issues of "god, guns + gays."
The story in today's New York Times however, focuses on that Good Christian Evangelical and graduate of Pat Robertson's nest of pretend scholars, Regent University, Monica Goodling. Remember Monica? She was a rising star in the movement to turn the U.S. away from the battered remains of a republic and into a bastard combination of Right Wing Christian Insanity and good old Corporate Fascism. Apparently, she loved her job. Jesus, Gonzales and Bush were her guiding lights.
According to Wikipedia's entry for Monica, on March 23, 2007, she took an indefinite leave of absence from her job at Justice. On March 26, 2007, Goodling canceled her upcoming appearance at a Congressional hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. In its history, no Department of Justice employee has ever exercised his/her Fifth Amendment rights with respect to official conduct, and remained an employee.
On April 6, 2007, Goodling announced her resignation from the Department of Justice, writing to Gonzales, "May God bless you richly as you continue your service to America." Awwwww . . . that's sweet. "Service to America." Awwwwww . . . But, wait! Fifth Amendment?! What? The Commandment says "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness . . ." Why would a good Christian Woman like Monica find it necessary to invoke secular law? Just tell the truth, MG! God loves you! Just tell the truth! C'mon, MG!
Um . . . no. No truth. Are you kidding?
Wikipedia: On July 28, 2008, a Justice Department report concluded that Goodling had violated federal law and Justice Department policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren't Republican or conservative loyalists. Goodling improperly subjected candidates for certain career positions to the same politically based evaluation she used on candidates for political positions, the report concluded. In one instance, Justice investigators found, Goodling objected to hiring an assistant prosecutor in Washington because judging from his resume, he appeared to be a liberal Democrat. In another, she rejected an experienced terror prosecutor to work on counterterror issues at a Justice Department headquarters office "because of his wife's political affiliations,".In another case, colleagues said that Ms. Goodling blocked the appointment of a female prosecutor in Washington because she "believed the lawyer was involved in a lesbian relationship with her supervisor", according to the report."There was no romantic relationship," said Lisa Banks, the attorney for Ms. Hagan, "but the rumors were pernicious and grew legs, and it cost her the job." Goodling also may face a criminal investigation into her conduct.
Ah, nothing like the righteous zeal of a proper Christian Woman when she's doing The Lord's Work. Can I get an Amen??
Thank you.
And, so it goes. And goes. And goes. Justifying criminal activity when working in the glorious vineyards of The Lord or the loamy fields of Corporate Fascism is always easy for the True Believer. And the Bush Crime Family is nothing if it's not both the collection point and the dumping ground for the miscreants who truly, deeply, madly are dedicated to ending the United States and it's silly-ass rules of self-determination and self-government, all to be replaced with blank, wide-eyed devotion to God and The Dear Leader.
Der Lord ist mein Schäferhund, den ich nicht wünsche . . .
