Posted on 08/30/2002 11:10:50 AM PDT by Asmodeus
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:08:19 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
That's all very nice, but then you have John Ashcroft stating on national TV last week that's he's a person of interest, e.g., a suspect (no matter what the phrasing, that's what "person of interest" means to most intelligent people). John Ashcroft should have the decency and ethics to say nothing about a purported "person of interest." By all rights Hatfill should win his suit against John Ashcroft personally.
Fact is, Hatfill's being slandered to a fare-thee-well, while the FACT of Moussouai and Atta attempting to buy cropdusters is being forgotten by this supremely competent "investigative" press.
And what was the strange lesion Atta's buddy displayed to a Florida pharmacist?
See also:
See also:
Calling Agent Frank Black! Anthrax, Millennium, and the Dr. Strangelove of the American Left
Oh, oh...massive copyright infringement on my part. (^:
The Federation of American Scientists is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501c3 organization founded in 1945 as the Federation of Atomic Scientists. Our founders were members of the Manhattan Project, creators of the atom bomb and deeply concerned about the implications of its use for the future of humankind. FAS is the oldest organization dedicated to ending the worldwide arms race and avoiding the use of nuclear weapons for any purpose.Known in its early years as the "scientists lobby," FAS combines the scholarly resources of its member scientists and informed citizens with knowledge of practical politics. Endorsed by the nearly 60 Nobel Laureates in biology, chemistry, economics, medicine, and physics as sponsors, FAS is uniquely qualified to bring the scientific perspective to public policy. FAS' strategies include advocacy, briefings with policy makers and the press, public education and outreach, collaboration with civil rights, human rights, and arms control groups, and grassroots organizing.
This is the only organization since the early 1930s to actually attempt an armed assault on the Postal Service and it's principal officers.
It is not beyond belief that bio-chemists who were formerly affiliated with YPSL undertook to produce the anthrax used in the attack.
Barbara Rosenberg would more than likely know these people.
They just gotta' bust up the post office every now and then.
Maybe it's when a FedEx plane flies overhead?!
Until evidence to the contrary is provided, I've always found it wise to assume "left is left". In this case, we have a leftwing organization that attacked the USPS. FAS' spokespersons are out there trying to divert FBI attention away from YPSL and others of their friends.
Ms. Rosenberg and Mr. Hatfill are the gladiators for their respective camps …. First_Salute
Let’s all pray that we never find ourselves on the FBI’s persons of interest list (translate: list of American citizens to whom Constitutional rights no longer apply).
Guilty or innocent of the anthrax-related crimes, Hatfill was right on the money a few weeks ago when he observed that a ‘person of interest' is someone who comes into being, when the government is under intense political pressure to solve a crime, but can't do so.
Nicholas Stix, in a recent editorial, hit the proverbial nail on the head when he observed that ‘….unfortunately, in the age of Leviathan's war against terrorism, the FBI is under constant pressure. And its officials have increasingly responded to that pressure by adopting the habit of behaving like either madmen or outlaws.’
Hatfill/anthrax case = Jewell/Centennial Park bombings = déjà vu? Coincidental dots crying out to be connected? Hard to say …. but bears close watching.
Small aspects of the apparent harassment of Hatfill are reminiscent of the atrocities committed at Ruby Ridge and Waco, and, even moreso, the demonization and crucifixion of Richard Jewell. All three abuses of power …. and persecutions (even murders) of law-abiding American citizens by agents of their own justice department …. were perpetrated because the bureau either needed a generalized facelift, or was under pressure to solve a particular crime.
During and after both Ruby Ridge and Waco, FBI 302’s abounded. And in both instances, the 302’s served one simple purpose: to cover up gross government misconduct. How can a justice department which boasts access to the most modern crime fighting/solving technological advancements known to man still rely on vague, written, subjective records of what amounts to summaries of what somebody thinks somebody else said. The only reason 302’s are still part of standard FBI operating procedure is because their use allows the bureau to contort interview results to its advantage. And justice (and in department of same) be damned.
It’s a vicious cycle. The more inept the bureau becomes, the more it finds itself in need of a PR facelift, and the more likely it is to prey upon innocent Americans to attain the needed cosmetic surgery – after which the predators are often commended or promoted. So we wind up with an even more corrupt organization, in which the bad and inept agents and officials rise to the top (covering up each others’ blunders, or blaming (probably more capable) underlings, when blame is necessary). In the Hatfill case, it seems apparent that the FBI is one of two things: either (1) amazingly incompetent, or (2) conveniently nefarious, in the name of self-promotion.
Janet Reno was an incompetent, agenda-driven (Kathleen Parker: ‘the nicest socialist I ever met’) blithering idiot. And, if he truly is the defender of justice that he claims to be, Ashcroft’s house cleaning abilities stink. The Reno scent still permeates Ashcroft’s house.
As for the press coverage of the Hatfill ‘harrassment’, the press has a (sordid) reputation to defend – as purveyor of rumor, and constructor of truth of convenience. Research and investigation are passé, having been replaced by the (much more convenient) ability to quote one another, and label the (random, self-aggrandizing, subjective, leftist-agenda-based) verbiage as ‘fact’.
Combine the media’s ability to fabricate/convolute, and the justice department’s willingness to publicize accusations or suspicions in advance of thorough investigation or solid evidence, and any one of us might find ourselves the target of a modern-day (legal – can you believe it?) witch hunt -- instigated, in part, by the very department of government whose job it is to prevent such travesties.
You both have such a gift for clarifying things. Thanks so much for the time you spend on those posts.
Reading about the Hatfill "case", I keep harking back to my college days, when I read The Trial, by Franz Kafka.
"The Trial depicted the hopeless attempts of Josef K. to survive nightmarish events, that start at his breakfast table. "Someone must have been spreading lies about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one morning." Josef K. denies his guilt, and starts endless investigations of the court system. But there is no truth and he dies "like a dog."...Kafka's characters are punished or threatened with punishment before they even have offended the authorities. "You may object that it is not a trial at all; you are quite right, for it is only a trial if I recognize it as such," one of the characters explains in The Trial. The book starts with the famous words: "Someone must have traduced Joseph K. for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning." Joseph K. encounters the merciless effects of law but no identifiable lawgiver...
After I read the 500 page (small type) Department of Justice Ruby Ridge Report, I lost all respect for the FBI. Just one small sample:
In addition, the FBI unjustifiably delayed producing materials to the USAO that were needed for trial preparation and that were clearly discoverable under federal law and the discovery stipulation signed by the parties. This action unreasonably delayed the availability of these materials for trial preparation and for discovery. Particularly at the headquarters level, we found that the FBI's efforts to locate and produce discoverable documents to be disorganized and incomplete. The late production during trial of materials associated with the FBI Shooting Incident Report negatively affected the court's and the jury's perception of the government and the government's case. In addition, the delays in discovery caused by the disorganization of and mistakes committed by the FBI Laboratory contributed to the delay of the trial and to the perception that the government was uncooperative and not being totally forthcoming.
Wait...I hear a knock at the front door...(just kidding).
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