The President, or is it the Vive-President, is inexorable in his determination to remove the checks and balances that are a great American tradition (Bush seeks control of military lawyers' promotions, Boston Globe, December 15, 2007: A15).
First in the Justice Department, career lawyers were over-ruled by political appointees in a number of redistricting cases. Now in the military, Bush seeks to emasculate career military lawyers by making their promotion contingent on agreement with his political appointees. Surely a President (or a Vice President) interested in justice would wish to marshal multiple views on the legality of an issue rather than encourage "groupthink." That is what he will get if he is successful in gaining a veto over the promotion of career legal officers.
And, of course, the country and our troops will suffer as these legal officers are those who put themselves on the line to protest the torture memoranda produced by the political hacks in the Pentagon and Justice Department.
Sent to Boston Globe
Friday, December 21, 2007
The Telecoms and Retroactive Legislation
Mr McConnell has it wrong (Wider Spying Fuels Aid Plan for Telecoms, New York Times, December 16, 2007: A1, A30). Nobody wants to hobble the ability of the U.S. to identify terrorists. I do want the U.S. to use its anti-terrorist tools in a legal manner.
There always has been sufficiently strong legislation to allow the spy agencies to do their work as long as they did so in a proper manner. Doing the job properly meant subjecting their requests for surveillance to the FISA court for approval -- it was even possible to obtain ex-post approval so that agencies were not constrained from following up their suspicions in a timely manner. It is here that the agencies fell down by failing to submit their requests to court oversight.
The legislation under discussion must restore the checks and balances that are needed to maintain a democratic society.
As far as the Telecoms are concerned, I find that all retroactive legislation is unwarranted -- whether it creates a crime or absolves actors of a crime. After all, Qwest refused to honor the government's overly broad request -- the other could and should have done likewise. To allow them to escape the consequences of their illegal actions would be wrong.
Sent to New York Times
There always has been sufficiently strong legislation to allow the spy agencies to do their work as long as they did so in a proper manner. Doing the job properly meant subjecting their requests for surveillance to the FISA court for approval -- it was even possible to obtain ex-post approval so that agencies were not constrained from following up their suspicions in a timely manner. It is here that the agencies fell down by failing to submit their requests to court oversight.
The legislation under discussion must restore the checks and balances that are needed to maintain a democratic society.
As far as the Telecoms are concerned, I find that all retroactive legislation is unwarranted -- whether it creates a crime or absolves actors of a crime. After all, Qwest refused to honor the government's overly broad request -- the other could and should have done likewise. To allow them to escape the consequences of their illegal actions would be wrong.
Sent to New York Times
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
One more thing to thank George W. Bush for!
President Bush still hasn't learned to take responsibility or to apologize.
In his statement yesterday (Bush Troubled by Steroids in Baseball, New York Times, December 15, 2007) about the use of steroids in baseball there is no acknowledgement for his own culpability. For nine of the twenty years of the "Steroid Era" in baseball, he was owner of the Texas Rangers.
In his comments, there was no apology for his role as one of many owners who let a culture of drug use develop in the baseball leagues. Is it that he lacks memory of those dys, or is it that he has never, until now, had to take responsibility for his actions?
Yes, we must move on, but with a new commissioner who, like Kenesaw Mountain Landis, is independent of the team owners. Any votes for George W. Bush taking over in January 2009. I think not!
In his statement yesterday (Bush Troubled by Steroids in Baseball, New York Times, December 15, 2007) about the use of steroids in baseball there is no acknowledgement for his own culpability. For nine of the twenty years of the "Steroid Era" in baseball, he was owner of the Texas Rangers.
In his comments, there was no apology for his role as one of many owners who let a culture of drug use develop in the baseball leagues. Is it that he lacks memory of those dys, or is it that he has never, until now, had to take responsibility for his actions?
Yes, we must move on, but with a new commissioner who, like Kenesaw Mountain Landis, is independent of the team owners. Any votes for George W. Bush taking over in January 2009. I think not!
Professor James Thurber gives CEO's a bad name when he states that "[Bush has] taken a CEO approach to the Hill, which is offensive because people on the Hill want to be collaborators" (A Dealmaker He's Not, but Bush is Getting His Way, New York Times, December 14, 2007: A23).
That is true of company employees as well and it is a wise CEO who encourages his or her subordinates to contribute their ideas to the decisions of the firm. After all, like Mr Bush, most CEO's do not have the "technical expertise" to decide things alone. Nevertheless, Mr. Bush is a loner -- he's "the decider." I fear that Mitt Romney is a more intelligent version of the same autocratic type.
Sent to New York Times
That is true of company employees as well and it is a wise CEO who encourages his or her subordinates to contribute their ideas to the decisions of the firm. After all, like Mr Bush, most CEO's do not have the "technical expertise" to decide things alone. Nevertheless, Mr. Bush is a loner -- he's "the decider." I fear that Mitt Romney is a more intelligent version of the same autocratic type.
Sent to New York Times
Climate Goals
George W. Bush professes to want to halt global warming. However the refuses to do much about it, either in his bully pulpit or through legislative action.
This is surprising because, by the time Bush graduated from Harvard Business School in 1975, it was clear that one of the most robust findings in the psychological literature was that behavior was powerfully influenced by setting specific and hard goals and having people assess their progress toward these goals. This is true of the individual, the group, and the organization.
The young Mr. Bush must have learned this at the Harvard Business School. Why does he ignore this time tested insight?
If President Bush really wants to ameliorate the crisis in global warming then he needs to set tough goals for our country -- it not enough to sit on the sidelines and talk about the need to set goals or merely urge us "to do our best." That is a recipe for failure.
Sent to New York Times
This is surprising because, by the time Bush graduated from Harvard Business School in 1975, it was clear that one of the most robust findings in the psychological literature was that behavior was powerfully influenced by setting specific and hard goals and having people assess their progress toward these goals. This is true of the individual, the group, and the organization.
The young Mr. Bush must have learned this at the Harvard Business School. Why does he ignore this time tested insight?
If President Bush really wants to ameliorate the crisis in global warming then he needs to set tough goals for our country -- it not enough to sit on the sidelines and talk about the need to set goals or merely urge us "to do our best." That is a recipe for failure.
Sent to New York Times
Candidates supported by Former Republican Governors of Massachusetts
It is clear that one cannot believe the former male Republican governors. Bill Weld extolls Romney's Massachusetts tax cuts (Romney is the kind of leader we need, Boston Globe, December 14, 2007: A17); Paul Cellucci claims he raised taxes (Rudy will shake up Washington, Boston Globe, December 14, 2007: A17).
Who is right?
Sent to Boston Globe
Who is right?
Sent to Boston Globe
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Where is the Oversight?
Whatever happened to the Democrats' increased oversight of the administration. They seem to be complicit in its crimes.
Nancy Pelosi was among those briefed about the CIA adventures in waterboarding (C.I.A. Official in Inquiry Called a "Hero," New York Times, December 10, 2007). She apparently did not protest at the time and allowed these crimes to continue.
When are the Democrats going to stand up for the decent values of this country that have been so distorted by this Republican Administration?Sent to New York Times
Nancy Pelosi was among those briefed about the CIA adventures in waterboarding (C.I.A. Official in Inquiry Called a "Hero," New York Times, December 10, 2007). She apparently did not protest at the time and allowed these crimes to continue.
When are the Democrats going to stand up for the decent values of this country that have been so distorted by this Republican Administration?Sent to New York Times
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