The pro-bono lawyers representing Gitmo detainees are legal eagles, representing the highest American Eagle standards of our “rule of law” democracy.

Alberto Gonzales is a legal weasel. Just like John Yoo. Just like David Addington. Just like all the legal weasels in the Bush administration and the neo-con right.

So, what’s the main characteristic of a legal weasel?

Evasiveness. Non-specificity. Hiding their pathological lying and corruption behind “weasel” words, like Gonzales displayed at his hearing.

Several other examples of legal weasels at work:

1) Since the U.S. Constitution doesn’t “specify” specific groups or individuals who can’t have their right to habeas corpus suspended, then the Bush administration and it’s corrupt cadre of legal weasels will decide who does or does not deserve habeas corpus.

2) Since the “rule of law” Geneva Conventions don’t “specifically” mention or outlaw torture techniques like waterboarding, then the Republican legal weasels have ruled that waterboarding is okay, since the Geneva Conventions don’t mention or outlaw it “specifically.”

3) Just how many laws passed by the Bush administration’s corrupt legal weasels and the infamous Republican Congress contain the words “for other purposes”? I know the Patriot Act leaves this “non-specific” door wide open, allowing the legal weasels wide latitutde in their corruption. And this phrase appears in the Republican law giving a corrupt Republican company $385 million to build detention centers around the U.S. for immigration reasons “and for other purposes.”

You see the pattern don’t you? The corrupt Republican legals weasels, like Gonzales, take any established law and look for any way they can to weasel around it, especially claiming that if something isn’t “specificially” mentioned or prohibited, then the corrupt Republicans can do whatever they damn well please.

On the other hand, when passing new law, they give themselves all the weasel room possible by including the phrase “and for other purposes,” meaning that the corrupt Bush administration can bypass Congress and the judiciary completely as they rule by edict “for other purposes,” meaning the corrupt Republicans can do whatever they damn well please…and to hell with our Constitution.

Hopefully, Democrats in Congress will no longer give any of the “culture of corruption” and outright evil Republicans anymore “weasel” room. Only a fascist (or a Communist, or an al Qaeda sympathizer) would try to “weasel” out of honoring and obeying our U.S. Constitution. Only an absolutely corrupt individual would try to subvert an American citizen’s right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Only a Republican legal weasel would try to overturn our “rule of law” democracy for partisan political and religious purposes.

Our democracy is still in very grave danger, especially while legal weasels like Alberto Gonzales are weaseling their way through our democratic government in Washington.

Just a word of gratitude to Senator Leahy from a Canadian. Also worth mentioning, if it hasn’t already been, his comments on the Arar case got massive and positive attention here.

damn…I’d never want to have Sen Leahy pissed off at me to that degree.

I’m proud, grateful but somewhat surprised that the investigations have taken off as they have. I also appreciate the dedication he and others are showing to get our country back to the immoral but friendly place it was before.

HotFlash @ 135
Caoimhin Laochdha @ 133

but the kicker is that he’s *still* on the US no-fly list!

HotFlash,

Lots of us (i.e. democratically subversive & law-abiding patriots) are on that list.

Arar is still on the list as a testament to the fact that DHS/DOJ/CIA/DIA/NSA are thoroughly incompetent and ineffective.

These “intelligence” agencies are dysfunctional backwaters of ignorance run by political appointees whose continuing failures are — among so many other reasons — the failed result of arrested development in powerlessly petty little boys and insecure whiny little girls.

They have peter-principled themselves into positions where they are the least qualified to serve, where they can do the most harm to those they are charged to protect; and they are in the very positions — failing miserably — where George Bush appreciates their contribution to his administration the absolute most.

slainte,
cl

Quill @
132

As a Canadian let me just note that there has been an exhaustive judicial review of the Arar case which published a three volume report…..totally clearing Mr Arar of any wrong doing. If you watch CNN reporting on this you would think there was still some doubt about Arar. Read the report.

I appreciate that Mr. Arar is innocent, which further underscores how pathetically fearful and immoral the U.S. has become.

However, his innocence is irrelevant to the fact that 1. The U.S. government held him illegally; 2. The U.S. government abducted/kidnapped him; 3. The U.S. government (after assault, battery, kidnapping etc.) aided and abetted the Syrian government’s torture of Canadian citizen.

No level of guilt, innocence or suspicion ever justifies or mitigates kidnapping and torture.

cl

Agreed, but the kicker is that he’s *still* on the US no-fly list!

As a Canadian let me just note that there has been an exhaustive judicial review of the Arar case which published a three volume report…..totally clearing Mr Arar of any wrong doing. If you watch CNN reporting on this you would think there was still some doubt about Arar. Read the report.

I appreciate that Mr. Arar is innocent, which further underscores how pathetically fearful and immoral the U.S. has become.

However, his innocence is irrelevant to the fact that 1. The U.S. government held him illegally; 2. The U.S. government abducted/kidnapped him; 3. The U.S. government (after assault, battery, kidnapping etc.) aided and abetted the Syrian government’s torture of Canadian citizen.

No level of guilt, innocence or suspicion ever justifies or mitigates kidnapping and torture.

cl

question. with respect to the ethics reform passed today, does anybody know if the pension cancellation for criminal ex-members of congress retroactive to include Ney, Cunningham et al or does it only apply to future instances of rethug criminality?

iirc, it is retrocative… of course a final read will be interesting.