Article: Bombs in the Basement

By all outward appearances, the Busheviks and the Republicans have it made. They are, as the late Red Barber used to say, "sitting in the catbird seat." They own the White House, the Congress, and soon the Federal Judiciary. The mainstream media are safely corralled, with just enough dissenting voices (such as Krugman, Rich, Dionne and Oliphant) to give credence to the absurd right-wing complaint of "liberal media bias." Potentially devastating news developments and issues, such as election fraud, the Downing Street Memos, Plamegate, political corruption, growing domestic dissent and international hostility are not refuted in the media as much as they are ignored - crowded out with trivial reports of runaway brides, disappearing teenagers, celebrity trials and romances, etc., ad nauseum.

For all that, the Bush regime has reason to be nervous. For its continuing success depends totally on the public's inattention to, apathy toward, and even ignorance of several potentially explosive issues which, if brought to light, publicized, investigated, and then criminally prosecuted, could demolish the House of Bush and the Republicans. These "bombs in the basement" of the GOP establishment are not disarmed. They are fully armed and ready to go off, if only the opposition can get to them and mobilize the public. And the Busheviks know this all too well.

I am not referring here to mismanagement or incompetence on the part of the Bush Administration and the Congress, although there is certainly plenty of that. Instead, I mean criminal activity - indictable and impeachable violations of the law. Amazingly, many of these crimes are no secret, rather they are open and plain to see by all with eyes to see. What additional crimes lurk beneath the surface is anyone's guess. Even so, the crimes that are out in the open do not arouse the media or a significant portion of the American public. Abroad, its quite another story, as the foreign press freely reports and comments on these crimes, and international outrage at the Bushista outlaws continues to grow.

Among these open and confirmable crimes:

--- Lying to Congress is a crime.

--- Disclosing the identity of a covert intelligence agent is a crime.

--- Perjury is a crime.

--- Influence peddling ("graft") is a crime.

--- Torture of prisoners and violation of the Geneva Conventions is a crime.

--- Violation of civil liberties (denial of rights to counsel, trial, etc.) is a crime.

--- Failure to obey a court order (i.e. of the Supreme Court) is a crime.

--- Misprision (i.e., incitement) of a felony is a crime.

--- Voting fraud is a crime.

--- Obstruction of Justice is a crime.

Yet the Congress refuses to investigate, and the mainstream media refuse to investigate and report, which means that the Congress and the media are (in an unindictable sense) "accessories" to these crimes.

Each of these is a momentous offense, totally incompatible with a political order that claims to function under the rule of law. Yet there they are, recognizable and still unpunished - and tolerated by a public that appears to be unwilling or unable to appreciate the gravity of the crimes openly committed by their government.

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