DOJ And The Destruction Of An Idea
Josh Feit over at The Strangers SLOG posted about his dad's birthday and, well, why don't you read it.
The Alberto Gonzales scandal is shocking, and it gets people like me in a fevered partisan pitch about Bush's fascism and his Stalinist purges and the end of Constitutional rule.
But you don't have to be Dennis Kucinich to feel outraged or … hurt.
My dad is long retired. I called him on Monday to wish him a happy birthday. What he wanted to talk about though, was the Attorney General.
You see: My dad worked at the DOJ for over 30 years. Sometimes I forget he worked there because he finished up his career at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But his heyday was definitely at the DOJ in the Solicitor General’s Office. (I'm proud of my old dad. He argued in the U.S. Supreme Court 13 times, representing the feds, getting a government salary while arguing against some corporate gun who was probably making equivalent pay just for that day's big gig. I got to see my dad argue in the Supreme Court twice.)
"What do you think of this Gonzales stuff?" dad asked me.
Spacing out on the significance of the question coming from my dad, I leapt off into some riff from dailykos probably about contempt of Congress.
"I worked there," my dad said, interrupting me quietly.
"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I know that."
"I worked at the DOJ," he said. "Isn't this a disgrace?"
I stopped with the rave, and said, "Yeah. It's a disgrace."
We started talking about something else.
Thanks for ruining my dad's birthday, Alberto Gonzales. For that alone—you should resign.
Josh's post, I feel, perfectly encapsulates what the Attorney General scandal really means, the loss of what is supposed to make our country work, the rule of law separate from politics. With BushCo in office we have seen the complete disregard for this country. And I do mean this COUNTRY. The United States of America is not just a group of people in a geographical location, it is an idea. An idea that gives everyone a fair shake, an opportunity to do good and do better and the rule of law. BushCo, for the last six years, has thrown that idea out the window for power and cronyism. I may sound snarky and cynical when I write about what BushCo is doing, but I am truly tired of...of this group of criminals that run our country. It makes me sick to my stomach to see how BushCo has destroyed what this country is supposed to stand for. Just sick.
To paraphrase Josh: George Bush, thanks for ruining The United State of America. Thanks.
The Alberto Gonzales scandal is shocking, and it gets people like me in a fevered partisan pitch about Bush's fascism and his Stalinist purges and the end of Constitutional rule.
But you don't have to be Dennis Kucinich to feel outraged or … hurt.
My dad is long retired. I called him on Monday to wish him a happy birthday. What he wanted to talk about though, was the Attorney General.
You see: My dad worked at the DOJ for over 30 years. Sometimes I forget he worked there because he finished up his career at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But his heyday was definitely at the DOJ in the Solicitor General’s Office. (I'm proud of my old dad. He argued in the U.S. Supreme Court 13 times, representing the feds, getting a government salary while arguing against some corporate gun who was probably making equivalent pay just for that day's big gig. I got to see my dad argue in the Supreme Court twice.)
"What do you think of this Gonzales stuff?" dad asked me.
Spacing out on the significance of the question coming from my dad, I leapt off into some riff from dailykos probably about contempt of Congress.
"I worked there," my dad said, interrupting me quietly.
"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I know that."
"I worked at the DOJ," he said. "Isn't this a disgrace?"
I stopped with the rave, and said, "Yeah. It's a disgrace."
We started talking about something else.
Thanks for ruining my dad's birthday, Alberto Gonzales. For that alone—you should resign.
Josh's post, I feel, perfectly encapsulates what the Attorney General scandal really means, the loss of what is supposed to make our country work, the rule of law separate from politics. With BushCo in office we have seen the complete disregard for this country. And I do mean this COUNTRY. The United States of America is not just a group of people in a geographical location, it is an idea. An idea that gives everyone a fair shake, an opportunity to do good and do better and the rule of law. BushCo, for the last six years, has thrown that idea out the window for power and cronyism. I may sound snarky and cynical when I write about what BushCo is doing, but I am truly tired of...of this group of criminals that run our country. It makes me sick to my stomach to see how BushCo has destroyed what this country is supposed to stand for. Just sick.
To paraphrase Josh: George Bush, thanks for ruining The United State of America. Thanks.
Labels: Bush, Corruption
posted by Michael at 8:36 AM
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