Last week our current (and, it seems, history-deficient) US Attorney General said the following:
“…the last five years have been defined by significant strides and lasting reforms, even in the face, even in the face, of unprecedented, unwarranted ugly and divisive adversity. And if you don’t believe that, you look at the way — forget about me, forget about me — you look at the way the Attorney General of the United States was treated yesterday by a House Committee. It had nothing to do with me, forget about that.
What Attorney General has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?…”
Wow.
Well, then.
Hey, there: Mr. Holder? Eric? Do you by any chance recall a man by the name of Alberto Gonzales? He was, by sheer coincidence, ALSO the Attorney General of the United States and he seems to have run into a dash of “adversity” during his time as AG, too:
Here in the United States, we operate on what’s essentially an honor system of governance: we trust that government officials (whether elected or appointed) will be honest and act within the confines of the law.
They’re our “Watchmen”: duty-bound public servants who’ve sworn an oath to protect and uphold our local/national Constitutions.
But what happens when that trust is violated? What happens when, time after time, we see that the folks entrusted to enforce the rules are bending, breaking or completely ignoring those very same rules to our detriment?
An excellent video (below) from comedian Steven Crowder: it’s imaginative, funny, … but more than a little troubling.
Primarily ’cause it’s true, or true enough.
Why IS Holder still running our Department of Justice, instead of experiencing the hospitality of our maximum-security prison system?? That we can even ask the question gives away the answer: lawlessness abounds in this Administration, with weaselly Eric Holder apparently running point.
And Crowder’s video notwithstanding, THAT’s not funny at all:
“Holder was the one responsible for the Marc Rich pardons, and it was his Justice Department that dropped the voter intimidation caseagainst the New Black Panther Party back in 2009. Holder also had the bright idea of trying terrorists in criminal court, an idea which thankfully was blown up by Lindsey Graham, of all people. But that isn’t why he needs to go (at least, that’s not allof it).
No, his refusal to adequately explain his knowledge and involvement in Operation ‘Fast and Furious’ is why Holder is guilty of at LEAST contempt, and why it’s long past time for him to leave.”
I was 1000% right then, …and I’m even moreright now: Eric Holder deserves to be fired and perp-walked down the steps to a waiting paddy wagon.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday that it and the National Federation of the Blind have reached a settlement with the Sacramento Public Library Authority to supply e-book readers for blind people.
The settlement resolves allegations that the library violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by using “inaccessible” Barnes & Noble Nook electronic readers in the library lending program.
The settlement agreement calls for the library not to acquire any more e-readers that exclude blind people, who need features such as text-to-speech functions or the ability to access menus through audio or touch options.
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Before I comment on this, my lawyers have asked me to state for the record: “No one here has anything against anybodywho is blind, deaf, mute, tall, short, red-haired, skinny, squinty, furry, or smells funny” (…ok, I may be fibbing about that last one).
All set? On we go.
This is an actual case (which was just settled), brought by the Department of freakin’ Justice about Kindles, Nooks and assorted E-Readers? Seriously? THIS is what they’re doing instead of “investigating” Fast And Furious? This is why they dropped the charges against the New Black Panther Party from the 2008 election? To allow them the time necessary to sue….the LIBRARY?
Two words: Ri. Diculous.
Adding to the dichotomy between what the DOJ should be doing and what they evidently are doing is: isn’t the Public Library, ..well, …Public? Meaning: aren’t they largely funded by our tax dollars? So isn’t this basically one arm of the government suing another one? And we’re on the hook to pay for ALL of it? You could almost say it’s inconceivable.
And another question: what if I’m blind AND deaf? A talking Kindle wouldn’t do ME any good then. In order to not discriminate against me at that point, the libraries (all of them, remember, not just some) would have to go purchase BRAILLE E-Books. Sure, they only exist conceptually right now, but why would that stop Big Daddy? It’s not as if the government has never set standards which are physically impossible before this.
I get that everyone should have reasonable access to everything. But the key word is “reasonable”. Everyone already has access to the libraries, for free, and every book within. Also, in most libraries they already have a plethora of services for the visually impaired. I will further posit that every single book in the library is likely not available on E-Readers. So what then? Should those books be taken off the shelves until they eventually make it into Nook, version 9.0?
The library was merely trying to add a new technology for their patrons, and they’re vilified for it. Next time someone questions how too much government stagnates innovation, you might want to bring up this example.
The EPA, DOJ, and virtually every other government agency seem to have a conspiratorial approach when dealing with the general population (and now even each other). I realize that “conspiratorial” may be too loaded a term for some folks, so you may substitute “totally-hive-minded” if you’d prefer.
I’ll ask you: do youthink this was the biggest hot-button issue facing us today? Does every facet of our life need the government’s “wise intervention”? I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say: Every time another government ‘edict’ is announced, it always seems to cost money. A LOT of money.
Attorney General Eric Holder again today would not answer who the highest-ranking Obama administration official was that had knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious and the gunwalking tactics it employed before Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was murdered.
Instead, when House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith pressed him directly during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday, Holder dodged giving a response.
“Mr. Attorney General, who is the highest ranking official in this administration that knew that these tactics were being used?” Smith asked of Holder at the beginning of a Thursday hearing. “And I’m talking about, knew the tactics were being used before the death of Agent Brian Terry on December 15, 2010.”
Holder attempted to answer a question that wasn’t asked. “Well we know that the operation began in the field offices in Arizona,” Holder said. “Both in the US Attorney’s office and in the ATF office there. The inspector general is in the process of examining –”
Smith then cut off Holder and asked his question again: “To your knowledge, who was the highest-ranking official in the administration who knew about the tactics?”
Holder again deflected. “At this point I can say that it started in Arizona and I’m not at all certainwho beyond that can be said to have been involved with regard to the use — now there was knowledge of it, but the use of the tactics,” he responded again.
The Attorney General still maintains he and his top deputies didn’t know anything, can’t remember anything, and have no intention of complying with lawful subpoenas from Congress. Holder acknowledges that he’s only turned over 7,600 of the 140,000 Fast and Furious documents he’s sitting on, and that’s about as good as it’s going to get.
The Administration apparently thinks we are fools. And the media, ever complicit, are side-stepping the subject to an absurd degree, reporting only when necessary and burying the leads, basically giving lip service to the story. It’s another media blackout, being conducted in alarming lockstep.
Asked when the White House was made aware of the gun walking tactics employed by Operation Fast and Furious, Holder essentially said his staffers briefed the White House but didn’t brief him, so he doesn’t know what anybody said, or when they said it. He allegedly still hasn’t found the timeto gather “specifics” about the case, even though he easily made the time to conduct a political seminar for black preachers recently. When Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) demanded to know who authorized Fast and Furious, Holder referred him to the eternally “in progress” internal Justice Department investigation, which is apparently being conducted by Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.
This has been said before, but just imagine how this would be portrayed if it were a Republican in the White House, and we were dealing with National Security. Would the press think THAT was an actual story worth doing more than the rock-bottom minimum reporting? Actually, we don’t have to imagine: we’ve seen it happen already.
Issa, Smith and Gohmert are finally losing their patience with Holder, and one could hardly blame ’em. These videos show an AG and an Administration that is determined to delay, prevaricate, and stone-wall this investigation indefinitely until forced to do otherwise. Based on the dearth of reporting on this, it’s gonna be up to us to spread the word.
Two Heads are Better Than One 