Posted on 11/02/2001 12:51:19 PM PST by dvan
When we learned last December that Senator John Ashcroft was President-elect Bush’s choice for Attorney General, we were elated. Reed sent him a letter of congratulation coupled with a little advice. He said he had been concerned about the culture of corruption that has characterized the Clinton administration. Even with control of both houses of Congress, the Republicans were unable to do much about it. One reason was that the Justice Department made sure that high government officials were rarely prosecuted. Perjury by government officials was virtually decriminalized.
I told John Ashcroft that some of Clinton’s executive orders should be rescinded. I cited E.O. 13039, which Clinton issued to keep the truth about the crash of TWA Flight 800 from being revealed by the Navy personnel that recovered the wreckage. This executive order told those involved in the salvage operation that they should keep their mouths shut if they valued their jobs. By rescinding it, President Bush would send the message that they were free to tell what they found on the ocean floor that the Clinton administration wanted hidden.
Reed’s letter said, "Another important move you could take would be to make it clear to all departments and agencies that they should quit stonewalling on Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests when they have no legitimate reason for doing so.... The only way one can get anything these days seems to be to file suit, and then the Justice Department supplies lawyers to the defendants to help them get away with holding back anything of significance."
I said that the Justice Department lawyers should advise the defendants to comply with the law instead of helping in their defense. Larry Klayman’s Judicial Watch has shown how useful the FOIA can be in exposing corruption. But success depends a lot on suing and getting the cases assigned to judges who believe in the law. Clinton-appointed judges have tended to favor the government officials who are trying to cover up their misdeeds. John Ashcroft did not respond to my letter, and he paid no attention to my advice.
Executive Order 13039 has not been rescinded, nor have any others. The Navy personnel who saw evidence that missiles shot down TWA Flight 800 are no more free to tell the truth today than they were five years ago. Federal workers have not been told that it is their right and their duty to expose official wrongdoing. The whistleblowers that were punished by the Clinton administration have not been restored to their jobs, but many of their persecutors remain in place.
As for FOIA requests, Attorney General Ashcroft has done just the opposite of what we suggested. On October 12, he promised to back agencies that legitimately reject FOIA requests on law enforcement and national security grounds. Justice has been doing that all along.National security was the excuse for not releasing satellite photos that might show what caused the crash of TWA 800. The government blames a fuel tank explosion, but it can’t explain how photos of that would harm national security. For a transcript of this commentary, go to aim.org.
Goofball extraordinaire.
Never forget one thing. It explains a lot.
The average IQ is 100, which is to say that the average person is an imbecile. clinton banked on this and it worked.
This "propaganda crap" may have a lot more to do with the current crisis than you realize. I, for one, will support the President...when his Administration supports the truth!
Bush and his administration need the people's support right now, not bashing by impatient conspiracy theorists. The crisis I refer to is not the war on terrorism being fought abroad, but the terrorism that is occurring on our own soil right now, good grief, the WTC is still smoking and we receive more attacks daily due to anthrax. Ashcroft's focus right now should be the country's security, rounding up these suspected terrorists before they reek more havoc, not chasing some tin foil hat theory.
I support the President and his anti-terrorist efforts. I also believe that at NO time - war or otherwise - is there EVER an excuse for "our" government to lie to us.
In many ways, this administration is no different than those before it. The main agenda(s) continue on their path toward globalism and more and more government control of "we the people." And we have less and less freedom as a result.
Don't give me this nonsense about how "we're at war, and we gotta give up some freedom..." That's total BS. When the founders wrote the Constitution - which clearly delineates the things the feral government is allowed to do - and the Bill of Rights - which spells out SOME of the God-given rights which that government is specifically forbidden to infringe upon - they weren't exactly in a time of easy going peace. They'd recently finished a war with the most powerful nation on earth, and, unknown to them, they were shortly headed for another one. And they STILL wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Sorry, but that's simply the truth.
I think you mean "questioning and demanding accountability by his employers," not "bashing by impatient conspiracy theorists."
We certainly have been misled frequently during the past few years. So what is so terrible about releasing reports of the investigation of TWA Flight 800?
This same thing has been followed from the Assassination of Pres. Kennedy, till today. Files sealed for 50 years or more to assure that no one currently involved will be around to answer for anything.
Don't keep us in the dark like a bunch of mushrooms and feed us B.S.! We can't handle the truth any longer?
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