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"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then, to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in broad daylight!"
- Emile Zola, J'accuse! (1898) -
RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A hearing was set to determine whether or not to disqualify the judge presiding over the cases filed by a South Texas prosecutor against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others.
The state Supreme Court's chief justice appointed District Judge Michael Peden of San Antonio to preside over a hearing Monday on a motion to recuse and disqualify Judge J. Manuel Banales.
The hearing is slated for Dec. 1. Last week, a Willacy County grand jury indicted numerous high-level officials including Cheney and state District Judges Janet Leal and Migdalia Lopez on allegations of abuse of power.
The Texas Supreme Court assigned Peden to preside at the hearing, The Herald learned.
The hearing starts at 10 a.m. at the Willacy County Courthouse in Raymondville, the notice that District Clerk Pro-Tem Gloria Puente issued today states.
Judge Michael Peden, a Republican and one of the 10 civil judges at ... At the time, he was heavily recruited by Specia and 73rd District Judge Andy Mireles
Nov 25, 2008 ... Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson has appointedDistrict Judge Michael Peden to determine if District Judge J. Manuel
...
The prosecutor asked that Banales not hear the case. District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra contends Banales has worked closely with state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., one of the defendants in the case.
Half of the indictments are linked to privately run federal detention centers in the sparsely populated southern Texas county and accuse the public officials of culpability in the alleged abuse of prisoners. The indictment against Cheney alleges that his personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, gives him culpability in alleged prisoner abuse. Lucio is accused of illegally profiting from prison consulting fees.
The other half of the indictments target judges, special prosecutors and the district clerk who played a role in an earlier investigation of Guerra. It accuses them of abusing their powers in investigating Guerra's office.
Charges alleging Guerra extorted money from a bail bond company and used his office for personal business were dismissed in October, but he had already lost the March Democratic primary by then. Guerra has accused Banales of allowing the 2007 indictment against him to languish for more than a year to damage his re-election chances.
Banales appointed a temporary prosecutor to handle the local officials indicted in the case because Guerra has sparred with them for years and would be a witness in their cases.
Pardons can't interfere withimpeachment. But if we allow these pardons, we not only guarantee no federal prosecutions, and not only give Congress an excuse to drop its investigations, but we also establish the precedent that from here...
WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush has granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others convicted of misdeeds ranging from drug offenses to tax evasion, from wildlife violations to bank embezzlement, The Associated Press learned Monday.
The new round of White House pardons are Bush's first since March and come less than two months before he will end his presidency. The crimes committed by those on the list also include offenses involving hazardous waste, food stamps, and the theft of government property.
Bush has been stingy during his time in office about handing out such reprieves.
Including these actions, he has granted a total of 171 and eight commutations. That's less than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their time in office. Both were two-term presidents.
On the latest pardon list were:
_Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo. She was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
_Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D. Cordes was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits importation into the country of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.
_Richard Micheal Culpepper of Mahomet, Ill., who was convicted of making false statements to the federal government.
_Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer of Fort Worth, Texas, for reporting or helping cover up a crime.
_Andrew Foster Harley of Falls Church, Va. Harley was convicted of wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine.
_Obie Gene Helton of Rossville, Ga., whose offense was unauthorized acquisition of food stamps.
_Carey C. Hice Sr. of Travelers Rest, S.C., who was convicted of income tax evasion.
_Geneva Yvonne Hogg of Jacksonville, Fla., convicted of bank embezzlement.
_William Hoyle McCright Jr. of Midland, Texas, who was sentenced for making false entries, books, reports or statements to a bank.
_Paul Julian McCurdy of Sulphur, Okla., who was sentenced for misapplication of bank funds.
_Robert Earl Mohon Jr. of Grant, Ala., who was convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
_Ronald Alan Mohrhoff of Los Angeles, who was convicted for unlawful use of a telephone in a narcotics felony.
_Daniel Figh Pue III of Conroe, Texas, convicted of illegal treatment, storage and disposal of a hazardous waste without a permit.
_Orion Lynn Vick of White Hall, Ark., who was convicted of aiding and abetting the theft of government property.
Bush also commuted the prison sentences of John Edward Forte of North Brunswick, N.J., and James Russell Harris of Detroit, Mich. Both were convicted of cocaine offenses.
Under the Constitution, the president's power to issue pardons is absolute and cannot be overruled.
Some high-profile individuals, such as Michael Milken, are seeking a pardon on securities fraud charges. Two politicians convicted of public corruption — former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., and four-term Democratic Louisiana Gov. Edwin W. Edwards — are asking Bush to shorten their prison terms.
One hot topic of discussion related to pardons is whether Bush might decide to issue pre-emptive pardons before he leaves office to government employees who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some constitutional scholars and human rights groups want the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama to investigate possible war crimes.
If Bush were to pardon anyone involved, it would provide protection against criminal charges, particularly for people who were following orders or trying to protect the nation with their actions. But it would also be highly controversial.
At the same time, Obama advisers say there is little — if any — chance that his administration would bring criminal charges.
What's my favorite mint? By Kevin J. Maroney(Kevin J. Maroney) Impeachment and conviction of federal officials is not limited to the time that they are in office. Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rice, Card, Libby, Addington, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Mukasey, Paulson--they can all beimpeached and convicted even ... My Life in the Bush of Wombats - http://womzilla.livejournal.com/
This Is Not An Uncommon Sentiment/Idea
BushShould Go NOW, but... OpEdNews - Newtown,PA,USA ...hope forimpeachmentwas gone, since the only reason to start it was to get the Republicans to act, to do "THE WALK" to tellCheneyandBushto leave....
Can George W. Bush 'Self-Pardon' Himself? AlterNet - San Francisco,CA,USA Would Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al., care? Not a bit. After all, given the choice between a trial for high treason and murder (resulting in a possible ...
Charlotte Dennett promised that, if she won her race for attorney general of Vermont in the recent election, she would prosecute George W. Bush for the murder of 4,000 American soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians after he left office.
Unfortunately, Dennett did not become Vermont's attorney general. But it is possible (perhaps very possible) that one or more of our other 49 state attorneys general will take up that case after Jan. 20. Hopefully, that AG will appoint -- as Dennett promised to do --famed criminal attorney Vincent Bugliosi (author of The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder) as special prosecutor.
However, there will be no prosecution or trial of George Bush -- or Dick Cheney, or Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, or any of the others who deliberately deceived America into a war that should never have been waged -- if Bush decides to pardon not only his accomplices in crime but also himself.
We know that a president can pardon anyone, for any reason, and for any federal crime (except in cases of impeachment), not only after a conviction has been handed down in trial, but before any trial has even taken place, indeed before any charges have even been filed -- as Gerald Ford infamously pardoned Richard Nixon for Watergate; as George H. W. Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger, Elliott Abrams and various CIA officials accused and/or convicted in connection with the Iran-Contra affair; as Bill Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger, for drug trafficking and financier Marc Rich for tax evasion (after Rich's wife made a significant donation to the Clinton Presidential Library); and as current President George W. Bush more recently commuted "Scooter" Libby's prison term.
So -- can Bush do it? Can he pardon himself before leaving office?
In Search Of The New “Holy Grail”: The SCEV “Self Charging Electric Vehicle or (The Unplugged Self Charging Electric Fuel-less Zero Emissions No Battery Exchange Electric Vehicle:
(The Green Dream Machine Electric Car)
I am always surprised at the amount of response that I get on this subject, and I am glad to say that the dialog is becoming increasingly creative and informative.
For instance the suggestion that I have been remiss, point well-taken, and that I could make a point by spelling out what you do not have to contend with in the “True Electric Vehicle”, like: the traditional: motor, driver train, gas tank, catalytic converter, exhaust system, radiator, clutch, vehicle computer and a whole host of repair bill polluting components.Now please realize that here we are speaking of Non-Hybrid Electric vehicles without compromise, Fuel-less vehicles.
But let me digress for a few moments for the sake of providing a sense of perspective as regards things to come, later in this post, and in a larger sense in worldwide events.
Like some of you; I am a product of that generation that has had a “Love Affair” with the American Automobile.Yes we were a generation that liked our cars big, or small and sleek, but always luxurious and powerful.We asked Detroit for that type of product and they delivered it.But when the tide was turning against that product and Detroit management began their campaign to offer vehicles the yuppie culture “needed” as part of their identity and life style, SUVs and the lot; the “Car Culture” hit a great divide and the market place became a glut of changing offerings, one after the other, without a sound response to the environmental issues identified planet wide and the economic issues creeping up on the industry.Profit remained the singular motivation and the bottom line dictated all, and now here we are.
The days of my youth were those days when a family did its shopping on Friday nights or Saturday mornings and yard work was disposed of as well on Saturdays because Sunday was a down day that usually ended with an afternoon family drive somewhere just cruising for the sake of being on the road.In my family it meant we ended the drive at either the local family ice cream/eatery, Roberge Dairy which also delivered our milk in the milk box on the back step.
Sound a bit nostalgic and a few years ago?Well you’re right; my Grandparents had an ice box and an ice delivery service.Doctors and insurance men made house calls, and our first TV was 10 inch black and white Hallicrafter.You get the picture.
My first automobile was a “classic”, a 4 door Black (of course) 1957 Chevy with the great 283 V-8 engine that earned me every speeding ticket I have ever had.I grew up with that car purchased in my senior year in college, put 109,000 miles on it, filled it up every Sunday for $5.00 and became an expert in fixing it myself.All you had to have was a small tool kit the trunk, spare generator brushes, and a spare fuel and water pump.That did it.
When I turned it in I think I turned in my lead foot for a “bit of maturity” at the same time but not the love of big powerful American auto.The big Oldsmobile 455 engine was next and I ran through a number of them!
A touch of insanity entered the picture with a couple of well-warranteedThe 400 cu in (6.6 L) B engine (Mopar More Parts) Chryslers that needed every word of those warrantees. The engine was a winner the computer controller was an inconsistent dog and by the time that got that thing working I wasmoving down to a modern classic, all power, but a classic consistent performer, you know you turn the ignition key and it works, repairs low frequency and mechanics so in love with it that they could just listen and diagnosis a repair… The Buick 3800 V6 engine | the 3.8L Buick Engine V6!
The Buick V6, initially marketed as Fireballat its introduction in 1962, is a large V6 engine used by General Motors.
Production of the renowned 3800 V6 engine was officially ended on Friday, August 22, 2008 when plant 36 was closed. There was a closing ceremony and speakers who extolled the virtues of the engine, but none that could give a definitive answer why they did away with it. Originally GM had set this date for January 1, 1999, however due to the vast number of complaints from both investors and customers because of the popularity and reliability of the engine, the date was extended. At the end of production, the LZ4 3500 OHV V6 will replace the naturally aspirated 3800 applications, and theLY7 3600 DOHC V6 will replace the supercharged 3800 applications
But finally the reality of our times, life style, up keep, running costs and environment set in and even to the “Auto Love Affair Generation” a real need for change became obvious, at least to those with any common sense and intelligence.
But before I move on down the road on this discussion there is a bit more on this matter of history and perspective to share for consideration, and that is the matter of our often feeling that we are being sold a bill of goods by corporations, government and the media, and that is because all too often we have been and continue to be, served up a truck load of pasture droppings.
I have a Seth Thomas pocket watch that commemorates “The End Of The Industrial Revolution” with every touch of craftsmanship in its find wind up mechanism that characterized the finest of that age, and adorned with the finest of hand engraving that is difficult to find any more.It is an ironic piece.
Ironic in that we Americans pronounced The Industrial Revolution as Dead and everything left from it except for Detroit we shipped abroad and/or out sourced and declared ourselves to be the new leaders of “The Age Of Technology And Information” as if we had seen this all coming and had prepared for the transformation.What a crock!That was the epitome of pontifical spin if there ever was one.We had missed the boat, and as the information spiraled into existence we spent more time trying to control it than we did exploiting for our advantage and we found every way possible to outsource those aspects of it that dealt with resolving problems of all sorts!
But true to form we followed the proven path of the Industrial Revolution.It started in this nation with the mass production of interchangeable parts slapped together on an assembly line of gun manufacture and so marched into this age with the depersonalization of war and the creation of smart weapons that could destroy even more efficiently human kind in computer game like indifference and the collection of information with which to control our society. Enough to this!
There are all kinds of exciting things happening in the arena of building the “Green Dream Car”, none of which hold the entirety of the answers and solutions at the moment but taken in the aggregate the answers are there!
Just remember, and as matter of providind continued perspective that It is estimated that over 100,000 patents created the modern automobile. You can point to the many firsts that occurred along the way to producing the modern car; and with that goal in mind, highlighted below are articles, biographies, timelines, and photo galleries related to the history of the automobile and its many inventors.
A new History is about to written, a new record of patents will be established and a new list of inventors will march into history and we should be supporting their ever effort and exploration.
While there are a whole host of experimenters and conversion kits to apply to “donor vehicles”, approaches in play, and while many of them constitute hybrid experiments I do not intend to demean or dismiss those efforts because quite frankly they offer options at success, progress, and the more options we have the better the final realization of the electric vehicle will be.
Unfortunately I have to say that Companies in Europe and the Far East are moving quickly and constructively in the direction I would have our own foot dragging automakers move.
I have already staked out my position that hybrid offerings in America should be viewed as only short-lived transitional steps and the truth be known I would have this entire phase simply skipped in favor of R&D leading to the True Electric Vehicle.We really don’t have the luxury of waiting around before making the technological efforts needed to get to the finish line and into production.
Nissan is moving full speed ahead with plans to introduce a pure electric car in 2010 for fleet customers in Japan and the United States.
Nissan is testing its lithium batteries in the Cube, a tall, boxy car sold in Japan. The vehicle's distinctive styling is reminiscent of the squared-off Scion xB.
The lithium ion battery pack will have 24 cells, each with four batteries.We will have more to say by way of exploration of that battery technology and its evolution and possibilities later in this post.The key for me is: Running on Empty: Cars that Never Need Gas.
*TheNissan VQ engineis the only engine to have been present on theWard's 10 Best Engines list every year since the competition’s inception in 1995.
The real impediment at the moment is the issue of the battery or batteries.Neil Young has provided enough of the answer in the Linc Volt to an on board recharging approach, no plug in, not station stopping for recharging or battery swapping, and you and I know that, that is the type of electric vehicle that is going to fly in the consumer market place.
No hybrid is going to revolutionize the automotive world.Breakthrough battery could boost electric cars.I’ll take that a step further.Break through batteries will bring about the realization of the electric vehicle!So let’s take a look at some the developing work and some almost science fiction technologies that are about to shake the world.
“Toshiba promises 'energy solution' with nearly full recharge in 5 minutes.” That’s nice but a continuous on board generator recharging system resolve3s over 90% of our problems.
TOKYO - A new battery that can be recharged to 90 percent capacity in under five minutes and lasts 10 years, (Now That We Standing Ovation Applaud), will start shipping in March, Toshiba Corp. announced this week, hailing it as "a new energy solution" for cleaner transportation.
Toshiba plans to initially make the quick-charging Super Charge ion Battery for electric bikes, forklifts, construction machinery and other industrial use. It can work in temperatures as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit.
A newcomer in rechargeable batteries, Toshiba said the lithium-ion battery could be used in hybrid and electric cars by 2010, Mochida said.No Hybrids please!
Battery innovations are expected to be key in making hybrid vehicles more widespread, because lighter and easier-to-recharge batteries will improve efficiency. They could also spark mass-produced plug-in hybrids and even resurrect the idea of all-electric vehicles that use no fossil fuel.The Resurrection is at hand!
"This is a truly innovative battery," said Toshiba Corporate Vice President Toshiharu Watanabe, emphasizing its potential "in the electronic vehicles markets as a new energy solution."
Most lithium-ion batteries in use now, such as those in laptop computers, require hours to recharge to full capacity, with the fastest ones requiring about half an hour.
Toshiba also said its new battery, which is estimated to last 5,000 charges, is unlikely to rupture or catch fire, problems that have beset some lithium-ion batteries used in laptops.
The Tokyo-based electronics maker expects global sales of the new fast-charging battery to reach nearly $900 million by fiscal 2015.
You can place money of the fact that their R&D will continue and the final product will exceed these specifications.The question is when are we going to get on the stick?
A short stop at Wikipedia for some basic back ground; consider it a briefing if you will.
How To Make Lithium Polymer Batteries For Electric Car
World's most powerful storage battery to be built.This is included here because there are technological achievements in this project that can be applied to smaller scale battery developments and applications.There are many such instances the we can draw from and learn from and apply to creating the dream vehicle.
Their most recent advance, detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, involves stamping a base material, in this case silicon, so that the negatively charged M13 virus and positively charged cobalt can self-assemble based on their relative charges and the pattern of the stamp.
Eventually Belcher hopes to scale up virus-based batteries for larger devices like computers or even cars that wouldn't need a separate battery. The battery would instead be built into the surface of the car itself.
"It would be part of the manufacturing process," says Belcher. "What we do is provide the surface and the ions, and the batteries built themselves."
Researchers at ETH Zürich’s Department of Power Electronics have developed an electrical drive system in cooperation with its industrial partners that can achieve more than 1,000,000 rpm. Up to now, industrially-deployed motors have normally reached 250,000 revolutions per minute.
The new drive system generates an output of 100 watts and is barely bigger than a matchbox. The rotor construction has a titanium shell that is able to withstand extreme centrifugal forces and the ball bearings are optimized for extremely high speeds.
Conventionally, the higher the rotational speed, the more losses there are. But the researchers from ETH Zürich solved the problem with an especially low-loss stator. Ultra-thin copper wire is used for the windings which are inserted in a cylinder made of special iron previously unused for machines. In addition, the machine is fed by electronics specifically designed for such engine speeds.
The drive system was brought to fruition in collaboration with industry. The machine was manufactured by the German company, ATE GmbH, which specializes in the development of highly efficient electrical drives. The ball bearings came from the company, myonic, which is also based in Germany and has been manufacturing high precision miniature ball bearings for over 70 years. The construction of the whole system, the development of the electronics and the regulation of the drive system, however, was developed at ETH Zurich’s Department of Power Electronics.
Based upon the results of this research, Christof Zwyssig and Martin Bartholet, also a post-graduate in the same department, founded the spin-off company, Celeroton, in August 2008. The company will seek to provide ultra-high revolution electrical drive systems for different branches of industry and areas of application.
Celeroton is set to become a supplier for manufacturers of, for example, fast-spinning drill or milling machines. The trend towards increasingly smaller cell phones and other electrical appliances means that increasingly smaller holes have to be drilled for the electronics. This is only possible using a drive system that boasts a high rotational speed.
And it can be developed and applied to larger entities like automobiles!
SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicles)
Find a new ownership group. The culture must change. It is time to turn the page. In the high technology sector there are several candidates for ownership of a major car and truck manufacturer. We need forward looking people who are not restricted by the existing culture in Detroit. We need visionary people now with business sense to create automobiles that do not contribute to global warming.
It is time to change and our problems can facilitate our solutions. We can no longer afford to continue down Detroit's old road. The people have spoken. They do not want gas guzzlers (although they still like big cars and trucks). It is possible to build large long-range vehicles that are very efficient. People will buy those vehicles because they represent real change and a solution that we can live with.
The government must take advantage of the powerful position that exists today. The Big 3 are looking for a bailout. They should only get it if they agree to stop building autos that contribute to global warming now. The stress on the auto manufacturers today is gigantic. In order to keep people working in their jobs and keep factories open, this plan is suggested:
The big three must reduce models to basics. a truck, an SUV, a large family sedan, an economy sedan, and a sports car. Use existing tooling.
Keep building these models to keep the workforce employed but build them without engines and transmissions. These new vehicles, called Transition Rollers, are ready for a re-power. No new tooling is required at this stage. The adapters are part of the kits described next.
At the same time as the new Transition Rollers are being built, keeping the work force working, utilize existing technology now, create re-power kits to retrofit the Transition Rollers to SCEVs (self charging electric vehicles) for long range capability up to and over 100mpg. If you don't think this technology is realistic or available, check out the Progressive Insurance Automotive X prize. Alternatively, check out Lincvolt.com or other examples.
A bailed-out Auto manufacturer must open or re-purpose one or more factories and dedicate them to do the re-power/retrofit assembly of its vehicles. These factories would focus on re-powering the Transition Rollers into SCEVs but could also retrofit and re-power many existing vehicles to SCEVs. These existing vehicles are currently sitting unsold at dealerships across America.
Auto manufacturers taking advantage of a government bailout must only sell clean and green vehicles that do not contribute to global warming. No more internal combustion engines that run exclusively on fossil fuels can be sold period.
No Big Three excuses like "new tooling takes time". New tooling is not a requirement for SCEV transition rollers.
Build only new vehicles that attain the goal of reversing global warming and enhancing National Security.
Government legislation going with the bailout should include tax breaks for purchasers of these cars with the new green SCEV technology. The legislation accompanying the bailout of major auto manufacturers must include directives to build only vehicles that attain the goal of reversing global warming while enhancing National security, and provide the financial assistance to make manufacturing these cars affordable in the short term while the industry re-stabilizes.
Eventually the SCEV technology could be built into every new car and truck as it is being assembled and the stop gap plan described above would have completed its job of keeping America building and working through this turbulent time.
Detroit has had a long time to adapt to the new world and now the failure of Detroit's actions is costing us all. We pay the bailout. Let's make a good deal for the future of America and the Planet. Companies like UQM (Colorado) and others build great electric motors right here in the USA.
Use these domestic electric motors. Put these people to work now. This plan reverses the flow from negative to positive because people need and will buy clean and green cars to be part of World Change. Unique wheel covers will identify these cars on the road so that others can see the great example a new car owner is making. People want America to win!
This plan addresses the issue of Global warming from our automobiles while enhancing our National Security and keeping Detroit working.
Neil Young, activist (Bridge School, Farm Aid) rock legend, has assembled a team that is in the process of transforming his gargantuan 1959 Lincoln Continental from a gas guzzler into a showcase for green technology and sustainability. The car will be entered into the Automotive X Prize that offers a $10 million prize to develop a vehicle that can get 100 miles per gallon or better. The almost 50 year old Lincoln, one of the biggest, heaviest production cars of all time, has been re-named "Linc Volt" and is the subject of a feature documentary called "Repowering The American Dream" that is now in production under the aegis of Young's Shakey Pictures.
Here is a link to last month's New York Times story on the Linc Volt. Here are some photos of the car.
President-elect Obama's plan to put a million electric vehicles on the road in 10 years is doable and should be surpassed by its own momentum. As people discover the many advantages of electric vehicles (EVs), this momentum will build. Not only are these cars green and responsible, they also enhance National Security. From all we've been told about EVs we know a little. They are cleaner. We've heard about plugging them into our homes to recharge overnight. But most of us don't know much about electric cars yet.
The momentum of the Electric Vehicle Age will stem from enhanced performance, smoothness of acceleration, quietness, and superior control. The way an electric car can be tuned to behave a certain way for a certain driver allows for a whole new feeling in the driving experience. People just don't know how cool these cars are.
Existing designs can be manufactured as electric cars with no change to the tooling of the existing designs. Adapting kits are possible. Build electric versions on these existing tools to keep people working and get people interested in buying again. The technology to make these new electric vehicles exists today right here in this country.
From Wichita, Kansas we get this report: A 1959 Lincoln Continental repowered to be a self charging electric vehicle by a small group of engineers and local services, is now achieving up to 65 mpg in informal tests. Work there continues. The goal of the project is to attain up to and beyond 100mpg for the biggest and heaviest car made in 1959. The car has been driven in California and Kansas and shown to over 15,000 people. In an audience of 12,000, one tenth of the people raised their hands when asked if they would like to have a car like that. That Lincoln represents a future for Detroit. It is the possibility of Big Clean cars that do not promote Global warming. Let's build them now, as well as economical small clean and green electric cars and let's put people to work. We already have the existing tooling and the facilities and manpower.
We have devoted significant resources to this project: Over 200 engineers and 50 designers are working on the Volt alone, and another 400 are working on related subsystems and electric components. That's how important we think this is, and that's how much stock we place in the future of extended-range electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt. - Tony Posawatz, Vehicle Line Director - E-Flex Systems and the Chevy Volt, General Motors Corp.
The GM, FORD and Chrysler CEOs then each boarded private personal business jets to be paid for by taxpayers money, and flew to Washington to ask tax-payers to give them a 25 billion dollar infusion to save hard working American's jobs. Have they changed direction but it's just too early for our senators and congress representatives to see it yet? I don't think so. Maybe introducing a new high-performance fossil fueled Shelby Mustang and jumping into a private jet to go to Washington for a bailout was not such a good idea.
Efficient technology can power the existing designs we have today.
We don't need a car that looks different with a new sunroof over the back seat creating an air conditioning challenge as a feature.
We don't need new tooling to start building electric cars now.
We need kits to adapt what we are currently making to today's demands.
We need new thinking from new leaders and we need new perspectives from unions.
Today the news is Hybrids. Everyone is making them. Some of these hybrids offer very poor mileage in the 20-30 mpg range. They may be already on their way out because of the inherent inefficiency of their design. An electric motor and an internal combustion engine both driving the wheels in one car may not be the most efficient approach. Forward thinkers are wondering about that inefficiency and working on ways to solve it. Plug-in kits are now available for Prius and Ford Escape, allowing these vehicles to plug in for a re-charge, increasing their efficiency and reducing their negative impact on the environment. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) look like the future, but are they the future?
There are huge limitations. The battery is the biggest. An average EV is only good for a short trip before it needs a charge. Maybe 40 miles or so is a good estimate. Some electric cars get a long range like 100 miles before they lose power and have to recharge. The Tesla (a super light sports car) goes over 150 miles on a charge. Two things that all basic EVs have in common is they are small in size and they have to stop and re-charge. If you run out of power you are down. Just like gas.
To re-charge, you need a power source. It may be your home, or it may be your parking garage at work. It might be a charging system that is privately owned and is a business enterprise (Better Place), or it may be a public utility service (PG&E). You may have a cable to plug in that identifies you so your account can be automatically charged. One thing is for sure. You need to re-charge. So you are going to be more conscious of your energy use.
Not every EV has to plug in. For some, it's optional. Cars like the Chevy Volt have an onboard generator to re-charge batteries or power the car. These cars are Self-Charging EVs (SCEVs). That means on long trips you use gasoline. A long trip is over about forty miles in a Volt, on level ground. When the battery starts to die, an onboard generator rescues it and powers the electric motor, while slowly recharging the battery. This sequence cycles on and off while you take a long trip. Mostly the generator is on... using gasoline, a fuel widely seen as a National Security disadvantage. The Volt generator will charge the batteries faster if the car is not moving, by using gasoline. On short trips, you won't even use the generator. You will go the first 40 miles on plug-in power. An average commute in the USA is about 35 miles.
Efficiency in the self-charging electric car is the big decider. If the efficiency of your charging system allows you to make electricity with less financial cost than buying it from the grid, then your car can power your house and turn the meter backwards to reduce or eliminate your electric bill. Potentially, you may even be able to sell electricity to the grid someday. That would be a good reason to buy a SCEV with a highly efficient self-charging system. These cars are mobile power plants.
Big electric cars are left out of the story so far by major manufacturers. They have made some very poor hybrid SUVS. SUVs, big sedans, pick-up trucks are all by the wayside. They have been relegated to dinosaur status. But don't count them out. A big Self-Charging SUV with a super efficient self-charging system would create enough power to support 6 homes. You could be part of a distributed power system by using the grid backwards, selling power back to your Utility Company. In this approach, power enters the grid from plugged-in vehicles, avoiding the loss found in the lines when power comes to you from a central Power Plant located miles away. Imagine a big electric car that earns you income.
But you just wanted a big electric car. You may be surprised to know why size is important. Big SCEVs, while taking big power to run, and requiring large battery banks and big electric motors, will undoubtedly be getting up to 100 mpg or more in the near future. A big developmental car, Lincvolt, seen at Lincvolt.com , is proving this technology. Big SCEVs may well be earning you money while you are charging the grid. They may be recharging with super efficient self-charging systems, and even using Domestic Green bio-diesel fuel, a fuel that does not contribute significantly to Global Warming. Big may be an unexpected Green alternative.
The Bottom Line:
We are about to witness the demise of the electric vehicle being a curiosity with limited ability.The real machine for the generation of cars on the auto show rooms is at hand.All we have to do demand that they get there no later than 2010!
Despite what naysayers and nuts, foot draggers and perpetuators would like to pass off as reasonable explanations for not changing anything when it comes to building The “TRUE”SCEV “Self Charging Electric Vehicle or ( The Unplugged Self Charging Electric Fuel-less Zero Emissions No Battery Exchange Electric Vehicle) big enough, luxurious enough and fast enough to satisfy the needs and desires of the most crazed automobile addict are simply nonsense.
The challenges are not overwhelming; the science and technology is not decades away.It is here now and if we decide, if we declare like putting a man on the moon, that we are going to do it, and we put our money where our mouths are we can have the dream Green Machine vehicle on the road in 2010.
(The Green Electric Car)…
And then there will be the Green Truck, the Green Jet Aircraft, The Green Train, and on and on.Then you can all come to Washington and join me at the Smithsonian to look at a fascinating relic from out of the past… The Dead Internal Combustion Engine!
SCEVS (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicles) :I Guess I Have Not Made Myself Clear Enough For Some Folks.I Want A Revolution And The Internal Combustion Engine To End Up In The Bone Yard Of History Museum!
We have seen enough going on across the globe that indicates the old expression that: “There is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come!” is about to give rise to a change as global shaking as the birth of the Industrial Revolution.The only question is whether Detroit and the United States will ride the crest of the wave or will bedrowned in a tide of resistance…because this time no one will be asking:
OH! But It’s Not Dead And Like The Phoenix Of Legend It Is rising From The Ashes In Many Incarnations Of Ideas And Implementation.Detroit Has Best Get On Board Before The Engine That Will Rule The World Is Built In Someone’s Garage, Becomes A Silicon Valley Project Or Some Other Nation Rolls Out The 1st True SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle)
Electric Car in-wheel motor Siemens eCorner
How many of you remember two high school pals by the name Steve: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack? Yes we can trace the development, the concept of the computer from the abacus to the usual historical jump off point in1936and the Konrad Zuse - Z1 Computer, thefirst freely programmable computer, but it was On April Fool's Day, 1976, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs released the Apple I computer and started Apple Computers.
The Apple I was the first single circuit board computer. It came with a video interface, 8k of RAM and a keyboard. The system incorporated some economical components, including the 6502 processor (only $25 dollars - designed by Rockwell and produced by MOS Technologies) and dynamic RAM.
The pair showed the prototype Apple I, mounted on plywood with all the components visible, at a meeting of a local computer hobbyist group called "The Homebrew Computer Club" (based in Palo Alto, California).
A local computer dealer (The Byte Shop) saw it and ordered 100 units, providing that Wozniak and Jobs agreed to assemble the kits for the customers.
About two hundred Apple Is were built and sold over a ten month period, for the superstitious price of $666.66.
In 1977, Apple Computers was incorporated and the Apple II computer model was released. The first West Coast Computer Faire was held in San Francisco the same year, and attendees saw the public debut of the Apple II (available for $1298). The Apple II was also based on the 6502 processor, but it had color graphics (a first for a personal computer), and used an audio cassette drive for storage. Its original configuration came with 4 kb of RAM, but a year later this was increased to 48 kb of RAM and the cassette drive was replaced by a floppy disk drive.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak duo revolutionized the world! Their invention of the first true personal computer revolutionized today’s society, changed people's ideas of what a computer could look like and what it could do for them to make their lives easier and their work more efficient.
What A Hobby; What A Piece Of Plywood!
"The first Apple was just a culmination of my whole life." - Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder Apple Computers
Probably the most difficult challenge for all the people busy modifying gas guzzling dinosaurs because it pleases them to do so is; they need the battery makers of the world to get on the stick…quick.They can build the batteries to carry us into space now it is time to design the batteries that will carry us everywhere else.It is that simple!
Detroit Is In Trouble And Politicians And Pundits Are Playing Ping Pong With The Arrogant Detroit CEOs When They Should Be Laying Down The Law And Giving The Directive:
“The SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle) …BUILD IT!
In the first part of our discussion with Jim Stanford and Justin Fox, the two discuss what they see as the causes of the current crisis in the automotive industry, the importance of that industry to the North American economy, and debate the wisdom of allowing the companies in question to go bankrupt.
Updating our path breaking 2003 report, this April 2008 report by David Morris describes how commercially available technologies today could transform our petroleum powered transportation system into one powered by electricity and biofuels. Provisions in the recently passed Energy Act could accelerate that transformation. With the adoption of complementary policies, the revolution in our transportation sector can generate an equally profound revolution in our electricity sector. Hundreds of thousands of locally owned wind turbines and solar electric arrays supplying flexible fueled, plug-in hybrid vehicles can allow tens of millions of Americans to become energy producers not just energy consumers. Executive Summary and Download the full report
SAN FRANCISCO -- Better Place, a start-up company developing technology to support electric cars, Thursday announced plans for a $1 billion network to charge electric cars in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of a broad push into the U.S.
The closely held Palo Alto, Calif., company, founded by former SAP AG executive Shai Agassi in 2007, already is building networks for electric cars in Israel and Denmark and in October announced plans to expand into Australia. The company said it would now move into the U.S. market, with construction of battery-recharging stations in the Bay Area starting in 2010.
(Build The Batteries we need and we won’t need this either.It has already been demonstrated that self recharging is possible and works)
The stations are critical because existing electric-car batteries go only about 40 miles on a single charge. Better Place also is promoting the idea of removable car batteries that could be swapped for charged ones at centers akin to service stations, sending drivers on their way without waiting to recharge.
Mr. Agassi, who predicts mass-market production of electric cars in the U.S. by 2012, said operations in the San Francisco area would serve as a precursor for deployment of electric-car networks across the U.S. The $1 billion cost of the initial network would be raised by an operating company Better Place plans to start in the Bay Area, he said.
Mr. Agassi said in an interview that the money would be raised over about three years, with about $200 million needed initially. He said Better Place's banks would initiate a financing round to raise the money, primarily through equity from pension funds and other institutions. Credit markets are so tight, though, Mr. Agassi said his company probably won't be able to raise a lot of that money from debt.
He added that the initial network would eventually have 250,000 small charging stations, about the size of parking meters, and 100 to 200 centers where motorists can switch batteries.
The announcement comes at a difficult time for alternative-energy companies as oil prices continue their slide. Tesla Motors Inc. in early October announced it was cutting staff and delaying the introduction of its second battery-powered vehicle, the Model S, until 2011.
But industry and government officials express confidence that demand for electric vehicles will soar over the long term. State and local officials at a news conference with Better Place announced an initiative to create public-private investments in electric vehicles and other elements of green infrastructure.
The mayors of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose said they would begin work next month with the region's cities, business leaders and others to help make the Bay Area the electric-car capital of the U.S. and one of the first major urban centers in the world to make the transition from petroleum-based energy. A news conference here was also attended by representatives of the electric-car industry, as well as auto giants, including General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.
Other backers of the concept include Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of the late Sen. Kennedy and venture partner and senior adviser to VantagePoint Venture Partners, Better Place's lead investor. He estimated that the total cost to switch the U.S. over to renewable energy is about $1 trillion.
Maybe in some High School Study Hall there are a couple of young people thinking about how make a fortune and how to build an electric car that will wow everyone in their school…the next Jobs and Wozniak.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Many of the world's biggest automakers on Wednesday detailed ambitious electric-car plans that promise zero emissions but will demand patience from consumers and subsidies from governments to succeed.
Nissan Motor Co, BMW's BMWG.DE> MINI, General Motors Corp and Volkswagen's Audi were among the automakers who promised, at the Los Angeles auto show, to bring electric cars to market in the next few years.
Consumers have been clamoring for greener vehicles amid soaring gasoline prices and increased concerns about global warming.
The costly batteries required to power gas-free electric cars, however, are not powerful enough to deliver the long driving range car buyers are accustomed to.
So maybe we ought to spend a bundle on the battery people and their R&D Programs instead of all the folks that are still just offering excuses with their hands out!
Whoever puts the first full power, full feature The SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle) on the market is going to be fabulously wealthy.Anyone out there motivated by that fact?
"It's going to be a tough sell," said David Champion, director of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "People are used to buying their cars and being able to take them anywhere they want. There are a lot of hurdles for electric vehicles."….
Start thinking and acting out side of the box; be an automotive revolutionary!
We are not at the stage of infancy in the development of a serious SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle).We are at the point where management excuses and lowered expectations are not going to fly and those who don’t get on board are going to find their stocks and corporations crash…so get with the program!
Watch out Detroit.You just might find some kid coming down the street with a plastic bucket on a skate board marked “The Battery”!Science Fair 1st Prize.
You are always telling us that you build what we want, and what we want is a true Automotive Revolution, a true SCEV (Self Charging Electric Zero Emissions Vehicle).So Damn It Build it!
The leaders of both houses of Congress said Ford, General Motors and Chrysler had until 2 December to present a plan.
Their comments came after four senators - Republicans and Democrats - said they had agreed a bipartisan aid deal.
The White House said President George W Bush favored their deal, which would have used an energy department loan.
"This is an agreement the president could support," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "We encourage the Congress to pass it as soon as possible."
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there would be no bail-out without a plan showing that the money would make the firms financially viable.
"Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money," she said.
Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said that motor industry leaders needed "to get their act together".
"The executives of the auto industry have not been able to convince the American people or the Congress that this bail-out would be their last," he added.
After the car industry executives return to Washington on 2 December, Congress could be reconvened the following week to vote on a bail-out bill.
But time is short: the car-makers have suffered a collapse in sales and General Motors says it will run out of money by early next year.
'Disappointed'
Earlier on Thursday, Democratic Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, from Michigan, the heart of the US car industry, and Republicans Kit Bond of Missouri and George Voinovich of Ohio said they had a bipartisan deal, but this did not garner wider support.
Their deal called for using a $25bn energy department loan to the motor industry, which was originally designed to spur the development of fuel-efficient vehicles.
The idea was that as the industry recovered, it would replenish the fund and the money would be used for its original purpose.
This was the approach favored by the Bush administration.
"Their plan provides assistance from already-appropriated funds and has strong taxpayer protections," Ms Perino said.
Senator Levin said she and her three colleagues were "obviously... disappointed".
Jobs risk
The chief executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler pleaded for the $25bn bail-out before two congressional committees this week, but came away empty-handed.
They were lambasted for making the trip to Washington by private jet.
The car firms say they risk collapse, which could lead to millions of Americans losing their jobs.
Democrats have demanded that the White House and the Treasury carve out $25bn in funding from the already-agreed $700bn finance industry bail-out to support the car firms.
Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers president, Ron Gettelfinger, said on Thursday that politicians needed to take immediate action on a $25bn bridge loan bill to support the US car industry; otherwise he said one or more firms could fail.
Mr Gettelfinger, who testified on Tuesday and Wednesday to congressional committees in support of the loans, said action was needed "now, today".
This is our brave new world
Confront the Delusions
By Jim Kirwan
November 20, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" -- In the 1970s, the film NETWORK was made; but its commercial success was more about the message that it brought than it was about the caliber of its cinematic excellence. From that film several video clips have survived on the web, but since they may not continue to survive as videos I have made partial transcripts of them for this article.
What the film dealt with then, was nothing less than what far too many people now still seem to have virtually no idea about. That was, and still is about the power of television, and the inherent corruption of the host society, that is continuing by way of subliminal messaging coupled with the Orwellian power of Big Brother; enhanced by the New World Order that has combined to surpass anything that might have been even remotely possible forty years ago when NETWORK was made.
Yesterday Chris Hedges wrote: “America the Illiterate,” in which he said:
“There are over 42 million American adults, 20 percent of whom hold high school diplomas, who cannot read, as well as the 50 million who read at a fourth- or fifth-grade level. Nearly a third of the nation’s population is illiterate or barely literate. And their numbers are growing by an estimated 2 million a year. But even those who are supposedly literate retreat in huge numbers into this image-based existence. A third of high school graduates, along with 42 percent of college graduates, never read a book after they finish school. Eighty percent of the families in the United States last year did not buy a book.
The illiterate rarely vote, and when they do vote they do so without the ability to make decisions based on textual information.
American political campaigns, which have learned to speak in the comforting epistemology of images, eschew real ideas and policy for cheap slogans and reassuring personal narratives.
Political propaganda now masquerades as ideology. Political campaigns have become an experience.
They do not require cognitive or self-critical skills. They are designed to ignite pseudo-religious feelings of euphoria, empowerment and collective salvation.
Campaigns that succeed are carefully constructed psychological instruments that manipulate fickle public moods, emotions and impulses, many of which are subliminal.
They create a public ecstasy that annuls individuality and fosters a state of mindlessness.
They thrust us into an eternal present. They cater to a nation that now lives in a state of permanent amnesia.
It is style and story, not content or history or reality, which inform our politics and our lives. We prefer happy illusions. And it works because so much of the American electorate, including those who should know better, blindly cast ballots for slogans, smiles, the cheerful family tableaux, narratives and the perceived sincerity and the attractiveness of candidates.
We confuse how we feel with knowledge.” (1)
Kirwan: In NETWORK, Howard Beale had this to say to these people, many of whom had not even yet been born. The video clip is "Network – We’re in a lot of trouble."
“Edward George Ruddy died today. Edward George Ruddy was the Chairman of the Board of the Union Broadcast System and he died this morning at eleven o’clock of a heart condition, woe is us—we’re in a lot of trouble!
So; a rich little man with white hair died - what has that got to do with the price of rice - right! And why is that ‘Woe to us.’ Because you people and sixty-two million other Americans are listening to me right now: Because less than three percent of you people read books! Because less than fifteen percent of you read newspapers! Because the only truth you know is what you get over this tube. Right now there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn’t come out of this tube!
This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation. This tube can make or break presidents, popes or Prime Ministers; this tube is the most awesome god-damned force in the whole godless world!
Woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people, and that’s why ‘Woe is us’ when Edward George Ruddy died: Because this company is now in the hands of CCA, the Communications Corporation of America.
There’s a new Chairman of the Board called Frank Hacket sitting in Mr. Ruddy’s office on the twentieth floor and when the twelfth largest company in the world controls the most awesome god-damned propaganda force in the whole godless world: Who knows what shit will be peddled for ‘truth’ on this network!
So you listen to me! Listen to me: television is not the truth—television’s a god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival a traveling troupe of acrobats, story tellers, dancers, singers, side-show freaks, lion-tamers, and football players. We’re in the boredom killing business!
So if you want the truth go to God, go to your guru’s—go to yourselves—because that’s the only place you’re going to find any real truth! Ha-ha – because man - you know you’re never going to get any truth from us.
We’ll tell you anything you want to hear. We’ll lie like hell: we’ll tell you that Kojack always gets the killer and that nobody ever gets cancer at Archie Bunker’s house. And no matter how much trouble the hero is in don’t worry just look at your watch at the end of the hour he’s going to win – we’ll give you any shit you want to hear!
We deal in Illusions man, none of it is true! But you people sit there day after day and night after night; all ages, colors, creeds: We’re all you know! You’re beginning to believe the illusions we’re spinning here! You’re beginning to think that the tube is reality- and that your own lives are unreal!
You DO whatever the tube tells you, you dress like the tube you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even think like the tube!
This is mass madness you maniacs! In God’s name you people are the real thing—We are the illusion! So turn off you television sets, turn it off now, turn them off right now: turn them off and leave them off—turn them off right in the middle of the sentence I’m speaking now – Turn them OFF!”
Chris Hedges: “The illiterate and semi-literate, once the campaigns are over, remain powerless.
They still cannot protect their children from dysfunctional public schools. They still cannot understand predatory loan deals, the intricacies of mortgage papers, credit card agreements and equity lines of credit that drive them into foreclosures and bankruptcies.
They still struggle with the most basic chores of daily life from reading instructions on medicine bottles to filling out bank forms, car loan documents and unemployment benefit and insurance papers.
They watch helplessly and without comprehension as hundreds of thousands of jobs are shed. They are hostages to brands. Brands come with images and slogans. Images and slogans are all they understand.
Many eat at fast food restaurants not only because it is cheap but because they can order from pictures rather than menus. And those who serve them, also semi-literate or illiterate, punch in orders on cash registers whose keys are marked with symbols and pictures. This is our brave new world.
Political leaders in our post-literate society no longer need to be competent, sincere or honest.
They only need to appear to have these qualities.
Most of all they need a story, a narrative. The reality of the narrative is irrelevant. It can be completely at odds with the facts. The consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount.
The most essential skill in political theater and the consumer culture is artifice. Those who are best at artifice succeed. Those who have not mastered the art of artifice fail.
Network – Money Speech: “You have meddled with the primal forces of nature Mr. Beale and I won’t have it—is that clear! You think you’ve merely stopped a business deal - that is not the case! The Arabs have taken millions of dollars out of this country and now they must put it back! It is ebb and flow,~ gravity, it is ecological balance.
You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and people’s – there are no nations – there are no people’s – there are no Russians – there are no Arabs there are no third world’s there is no West!
There is only one holistic System of Systems: One vast and ~ interwoven, interactive and multi-variant, multi-national dominion of dollars. Petrol-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, Reich marks ~ rubles, pounds, and shekels. It is the international system of currency, which determines the totality of life on this planet!
That is the natural order of things today! That is the atomic, and sub-atomic, and galactic structure of things today! And YOU have meddled with the primal forces of NATURE- AND YOU WILL ATONE!
Am I getting through to you Mr. Beale? You get up on your little twenty-one inch screen and howl about America and Democracy: There is no America, there is no Democracy—there is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, DOW, Union Carbide, and Exxon: those ARE the nations of the world today!
What do you think the Russians talk about in their counsels of state—Karl Marx?
They get out their linear programming charts, their statistical decision theories, mini ~ solutions and compute the price-cost probabilities of their investments and transactions, just like we do. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies Mr. Beale.
The world is a college of corporations; inexorably determined by the immutable by-laws of business the world is a business Mr. Beale. It has been since man crawled out of slime. And our children will live, Mr. Beale, to see that perfect world in which there’s no war or famine, oppression or brutality.
One vast and ecumenical holding company for whom all men will work to serve the common good: In which all men will hold a share of stock: All necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom – amused.”
Chris Hedges: “As we descend into a devastating economic crisis, one that Barack Obama cannot halt, there will be tens of millions of Americans who will be ruthlessly thrust aside. As their houses are foreclosed, as their jobs are lost, as they are forced to declare bankruptcy and watch their communities collapse, they will retreat even further into irrational fantasy.
They will be led toward glittering and self-destructive illusions by our modern Pied Pipers—our corporate advertisers, our charlatan preachers, our television news celebrities, our self-help gurus, our entertainment industry and our political demagogues—who will offer increasingly absurd forms of escapism.
The core values of our open society, the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgment and common sense indicate something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to understand historical facts, to separate truth from lies, to advocate for change and to acknowledge that there are other views, different ways of being, that are morally and socially acceptable, are dying.
Obama used hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign funds to appeal to and manipulate this illiteracy and irrationalism to his advantage, but these forces will prove to be his most deadly nemesis once they collide with the awful reality that awaits us.” (1)
Kirwan: There can be only one pre-requisite for this ever-deepening cauldron of destruction.; and that is for each of us to follow Howard Beale’s example, each in our own way, as his now infamous call that prompted the foregoing two outbursts. That speech is abbreviated here:
Network- I’m Mad as Hell: “I don’t have to tell you things are bad – everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression, everybody’s out of work, or scarred of losing their jobs. The dollar buys a nickels worth: Banks are going bust; shop-keepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere seems to know what to do and there’s no end to it!
We know the air is unfit to breathe, the food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV’s while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be! We know things are bad, worse than bad—they’re crazy—it’s like everything everywhere is going crazy. So we don’t go out anymore, we sit in the house and slowly the world we’re living in is getting smaller and all we say is PLEASE at least leave us alone in our living room, let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and we won’t say anything—just leave us alone!
Well I’m not going to leave you alone! I want you to GET MAD!
I don’t want you to protest, I don’t want you to write to your congressman; I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write.
I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation or the Russians or the crime-in-the-streets.
All I know is that first YOU’VE GOT TO GET MAD!
You’ve got to say “I’m a human being—DAMNIT—my life has value! So I want you to get up now, I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Things have got to Change!
Kirwan: We are just over two-weeks into the twilight zone that is the period between the election and the swearing-in ceremonies.
That last statement was made 230 years ago, and just look at what it has brought us to: Last chance people – GET MAD and then DO something!
The Impeachinator The Phoenix - Boston,MA,USA A Bush impeachment is now moot, of course, as a new president prepares to assume office in January. But impeachment was never to be, notes Fein, ...
COLUMN: Who’s on the pardon menu? Marblehead Reporter - Marblehead,MA,USA What if PresidentBushdied tomorrow and then new president DickCheneyor a White House aide found in a vault a signed, sworn and witnessed statement by...
Altercation, by Eric Alterman
We've got a new Think Again column -- the first in a series actually -- called "The Bush War on the Press: Its Legacy" and you can find it here.
Yesterday in Washington, the CEOs of the big three automakers made their case to Congress for an industry bailout -- and they flew private jets! The mainstream media was all over this: CNN, Fox News, ABC News, The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, and many others headlined stories about the CEOs' extravagant mode of transportation. ABC News' headline read "First class not good enough for Auto Execs" before it was changed online; Diane Sawyer actually made an ABC News investigation package, which she led off thusly: "This morning, begging for money, while flying high. ABC News cameras catch the CEOs of big auto asking for a bailout, while flying on private jets."
Well, it was dumb, to be sure, but let's ask a question: Is Diane Sawyer really surprised to learn that CEOs travel in private jets? What does the head of ABC travel in? Hell, how about Diane, Charlie, George and all the rest of them. Ever see any of them in coach? These are people -- and I've heard it over and over -- who complain about having to "fly commercial." The talking heads on cable -- like Greta Van Susteren, who said "those CEOs must be out of their minds" -- are indignant only over the imagery. It's surely poor public relations, not to mention arrogant, at a time when the industry needs billions of dollars in public funds to stay afloat.
But are these journalists really angry about excessive executive compensation? I wish. Remember some of these stats I employed in Why We're Liberals?
According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the only taxpayers whose share of taxes declined in 2001 and 2002 were those in the top 0.1 percent, or Americans who earn more than $10 million a year. The following year their tax share declined by another million. These same lucky folks now pay a lesser share of their income in taxes than those making $100,000 to $200,000.
Meanwhile, the average hourly wage of a U.S. worker, according to the 2006 Economic Report of the President, fell, in constant 1982 dollars, from $8.21 in 1967 to $8.17 in 2005. This gap grew so large that a Fortune 500 CEO could expect to earn, in his first hour of his first day on the job, more than a minimum wage worker would make that entire year. (The CEOs of America's largest corporations [the Fortune 100] make an average of $17.6 million per year. That is $67,692 per day, or approximately $8,461 per hour. The federal minimum wage was, until 2007, $5.15 per hour or $10,712 per year for a 40-hour work week. It takes the average CEO 2 hours and 2 minutes to earn $10,712. The CEOs of Fortune 100 companies can earn $10,712 in an average of 1 hour and 16 minutes. See "Research Report: The Minimum Wage, CEO Pay and the Gap in Achieving the American Dream," Americans United for Change, January 2, 2007; David Cay Johnston, "Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows," New York Times, March 29, 2007.)
Meanwhile, the Bush economic policies were deliberately designed to redistribute even more money to the extremely rich from the rest of us. Recall Vice President Cheney's response to Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill when the latter complained that new tax cuts would bust the budget: "We won the midterms. It's our due." By "our" Cheney was clearly referring to the wealthiest swath of American society, particularly its corporate elite, who financed the political careers of the president, the vice president, and their political allies, including those who sat in the CEOs' offices of Detroit's Big Three.
Sure, we'd love to see more stories on the earnings of the Big Three CEOs and their top underlings vs. both skilled and unskilled workers, the rate at which each has grown (or not) over the past 10 years, and so on. I'd like to see that for executive vs. worker compensation nationwide. But Greta Van Susteren hasn't done that story, nor have many of the rest. But this cheap outrage from the network's own million-dollar babies, well, forgive us if we pass.
We wrote a Think Again in April about network news -- we've all had problems with coverage on the three networks, for sure, but it still provides some of the best television journalism we have in terms of range and quality of reporting. The networks prepare taped, edited correspondent packages, which afford more precision and depth than the manic coverage of the 24-hour cable networks. Well, it wasn't just the recent sit-down with the Obamas. Jacques Steinberg has a piece in today's New York Times about the recent success of 60 Minutes, the CBS newsmagazine that was the most-watched television program in the country over the past two weeks. Steinberg writes that the show has stepped up its hard news coverage, reporting regularly from Iraq and Afghanistan, doing 20-minute packages on unsexy but important topics like credit-default swaps. Steinberg says CBS has protected the program from the staff cuts common at virtually every other news organization. If the president-elect was deciding to reward such investment and initiative, well, then, bully for him.
To be fair, 60 Minutes is also benefiting from a lack of competition; NBC isn't running its newsmagazine, Dateline, nearly as much as it used to, and "To Catch a Predator" packages aren't exactly hard news anyhow. ABC is still doing 20/20, but this week, for example, thefeatured interview is with Eliot Spitzer's former high-priced call girl, which the network advertises as "a continuation of [Diane] Sawyer's recent and exclusive reporting on prostitution." (Exclusive?)
So, imagine that -- a news program doesn't cut back staff position, takes on serious topics, and gets high ratings. Who'da thunk it
One of the more popular talking points these days is that the average auto worker makes $70 an hour, which is the fault of the big bad unions, who, by the way, are also at fault for the crisis in the automotive sector.
Trouble is, as any auto worker is surely and painfully aware, they don't make $70 an hour, or anything close to it. Felix Salmon has the fact-check here. What's more, in every other Western industrialized nation, they can expect government-provided health care, while, here, it is part of their compensation package and an awful -- actually unbearable -- drag on these companies' ability to earn a profit against their unburdened foreign rivals
George Zornick writes: From the New York Observer, a great piece:
"How Did Hillary Clinton Get Reported Into the State Department? It Exploded -- From NBC's Andrea Mitchell to Huffington Post, But Did Reports Precipitate Reality? 'It's Confusing,' Says Ben Smith"
We were going to write about the two-part wet kiss The Washington Post is giving Henry Paulson -- the first installment, "A Conversion in 'This Storm' " features probing quotes from Paulson like "[I]f you take charge, people will follow...Someone has to pull it all together" -- but Dean Baker says it best:
The point is extremely simple. There was a huge housing bubble that should have been visible to any competent economic analyst. The bubble was fueled by an enormous chain of highly leveraged finance. (As head of Goldman Sachs, Mr. Paulson personally made hundreds of millions of dollars from this bubble.)
It was entirely predictable that the housing bubble would burst and that its collapse would have a huge impact on the financial system and the economy as a whole. There is zero excuse for Paulson being caught by surprise by a "storm" that he helped create. The Post should not be in the business of covering up for Paulson's massive failure.
What are the chances Deborah Howell addresses this in her ombudsman column?
From TomDispatch:
"It's the ultimate argument," Tom Engelhardt begins, "the final bastion against withdrawal, and over these last years, the Bush administration has made sure it would have plenty of heft. Ironically, its strength lies in the fact that it has nothing to do with the vicissitudes of Iraqi politics, the relative power of Shiites or Sunnis, the influence of Iran, or even the riptides of war. It really doesn't matter what Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or oppositional cleric Muqtada al-Sadr think about it. In fact, it's an argument that has nothing to do with Iraq and everything to do with us, with the American way of war (and life), which makes it almost unassailable."
He continues: "In a nutshell, the Pentagon's argument couldn't be simpler or more red-bloodedly American: We have too much stuff to leave Iraq any time soon. In war, as in peace, we're trapped by our own profligacy. We are the Neiman Marcus and the Wal-Mart of combat." Think of us not as the Spartans of 21st century war, but as Athenians abroad on steroids. And this is the argument that, this very week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen -- the man President-elect Obama plans to call into the Oval Office as soon as he arrives -- wheeled into place and launched like a missile aimed at the heart of Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan for U.S. combat troops in Iraq.
In the rest of his most recent post at TomDispatch.com, Engelhardt explores the way in which former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's Military Lite became a Military Heavy in Iraq and what key top military officials claim it will take to get all our troops and all our stuff, from helicopters and Humvees to ice-cream making machines and Porta Johns, out of that country. This argument has been the equivalent of a background hum in the withdrawal debate for the last two years. Now, it is sure to be a key part of what Barack Obama will hear when he meets his key military commanders and top Pentagon officials just after January 20, 2009.
Engelhardt concludes: "As Donald Rumsfeld so classically said, in reference to the looting of Baghdad in April 2003 after American troops entered the city, 'stuff happens.' How true that turns out to be. When it comes to withdrawal, the most militarily profligate administration in memory has seemingly ensured that the highest military priority in 2009 will be frugality -- that is, saving all American 'stuff' in Iraq. Irony hardly covers this one. The Bush administration may have succeeded in little else, but it did embed the U.S. so deeply in that country that leaving can now be portrayed as the profligate thing to do."
Aces And Eights: Friday, November 20, 2008: A Financial Report: America Is Nearly All In. Most Of The Bets Are On The Table With A Few Stalling, Fumbling
Thus I think that it goes rather deeper than those three. There are three other reasons that are likely more significant. Two are ideological and one is political, but at a much broader level than just red state/blue state thing. First, and this one has been mentioned a bit, bankruptcy would permit the companies to break their union contracts, both for current employees and for their "legacy" beneficiaries who depend on the U.S. automakers for their pensions and health care coverage. Forgetting about what that would do to those workers, such actions would break the United Auto Workers, one of the last U.S. industrial unions that has any real power. That would be a real achievement for the Republicans.
Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor.
The indictment returned Monday has not yet been signed by the presiding judge, and no action can be taken until that happens.
The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tuesday included one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some targeting public officials connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles.
Regarding the indictments targeting the public officials, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me."
Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guerra's tenure ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March.
Guerra said the prison-related charges against Cheney and Gonzales are a national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand jury.
Cheney is charged with engaging in an organized criminal activity related to the vice president's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.
McALLEN — A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.
The indictment, which had not yet been signed by the presiding judge, was one of seven released Tuesday in a county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles in recent years. Another of the indictments named a state senator on charges of profiting from his position.
Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra himself had been under indictment for more than a year and half before a judge dismissed the indictments last month. This flurry of charges came in the twilight of Guerra's tenure, which ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March.
Cheney's indictment on a charge of engaging in an organized criminal activity criticizes the vice president's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.
Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on Tuesday, saying that the vice president had not yet received a copy of the indictment.
The indictment accuses Gonzales of using his position while in office to stop an investigation in 2006 into abuses at one of the privately- run prisons.
Gonzalez's attorney, George Terwilliger III, said in a written statement, "This is obviously a bogus charge on its face, as any good prosecutor can recognize. Hopefully, competent Texas authorities will take steps to reign in this abuse of the criminal justice system."
Willacy County has become a prison hub with county, state and federal lockups. Guerra has gone after the prison-politician nexus before, extracting guilty pleas from three former Willacy and Webb county commissioners after investigating bribery related to federal prison contacts.
Another indictment released Tuesday accuses state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies. Guerra announced his intention to investigate Lucio's prison consulting early last year.
Lucio's attorney, Michael Cowen, released a scathing statement accusing Guerra of settling political scores in his final weeks in office.
"Senator Lucio is completely innocent and has done nothing wrong," Cowen said, adding that he would file a motion to quash the indictment this week.
Last month, a Willacy County grand jury indicted The GEO Group, a Florida private prison company, on a murder charge in the death of a prisoner days before his release. The three-count indictment alleged The GEO Group allowed other inmates to beat Gregorio de la Rosa Jr. to death with padlocks stuffed into socks. The death happened in 2001 at the Raymondville facility, just four days before de la Rosa's scheduled release.
In 2006, a jury ordered the company to pay de la Rosa's family $47.5 million in a civil judgment. The Cheney-Gonzalez indictment makes reference to the de la Rosa case.
None of the indictments released Tuesday had been signed by Presiding Judge Manuel Banales of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region.
A second batch of indictments targeted public officials connected to Guerra's own legal battles.
Willacy County Clerk Gilbert Lozano, District judges Janet Leal and Migdalia Lopez, and special prosecutors Mervyn Mosbacker Jr. — a former U.S. attorney — and Gustavo Garza — a long-time political opponent of Guerra — were all indicted on charges of official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.
Garza, the only one who could be immediately reached Tuesday, called it a sad state of affairs.
"I feel sorry for all of the good people this unprofessional prosecutor has maligned," Garza said. "I'm not at all concerned about the accusations he has trumped up."
Banales dismissed indictments against Guerra last month that charged him with extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for personal business. An appeals court had earlier ruled that Garza was improperly appointed as special prosecutor to investigate Guerra.
After Guerra's office was raided as part of the investigation early last year, he camped outside the courthouse in a borrowed camper with a horse, three goats and a rooster. He threatened to dismiss hundreds of cases because he believed local law enforcement had aided the investigation against him.
On Tuesday, Guerra said the indictments speak for themselves. He said the prison-related charges are a national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand jury. Asked about the indictments against local players in the justice system who had pursued him, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me."
The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV. None of the indictments released Tuesday had been signed by Presiding Judge Manuel Banales of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region.
"In the March 2008 Democratic Primary, 70 percent of the Willacy County voters elected to remove Juan Guerra as Willacy County District Attorney," Cowen said in a statement. "Now, with only a few weeks left in his term, Mr. Guerra has again chosen to misuse his position in an attempt to seek revenge on those who he sees as political enemies."
RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has set an arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other officials accused of involvement in prisoner abuse.
Presiding Judge Manuel Banales (buh-NAHL'-ehs) said Wednesday he will allow them to waive arraignment or have attorneys present rather than appear in person Friday.
Banales also said he would issue summonses, not warrants. That allows them to avoid arrest and the need to post bond.
Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra (GEHR'-uh) accuses Cheney, Gonzales, a state senator and others of involvement in prisoner abuse at a federal detention center in south Texas.
Defense attorney Tony Canales (kuh-NAHL'-ehs) accuses Guerra of "prosecutorial vindictiveness" and not following procedure.
But the prosecutor who won the indictments, lame duck Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra, was a no-show in court. Banales ordered Texas Rangers to go to his house, check on his well-being and order him to court on Friday.
Because Guerra wasn't there, Banales refused to hear any of the motions to dismiss the indictments until Friday.
BROWNSVILLE — A district attorney with a reputation for wackiness and little time left in office has stunned observers by securing indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Brownsville Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., among others.
Is this reality TV or something that will prove real?
At least for now, the White House isn't saying. But Lucio's lawyer described outgoing Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra as a circus act.
Guerra, a 53-year-old Rio Grande Valley prosecutor who drew national attention for suing counterparts in the county justice system and staging a protest with barnyard animals, long has alleged high-ranking corruption in the deals that brought the impoverished county a $60 million immigration detention center.
On Monday, he got a grand jury to sign off on a slew of indictments including an acceptance of honorarium charge against Lucio and an engaging in organized criminal activity charge against Cheney and Gonzales.
“I didn't intend to go after the vice president. That was not my intention,” said Guerra, who dubbed the investigation Operation Goliath. “We just followed the money, followed the corruption. It just happened that it just took us all the way to Washington.”
Lucio's lawyer, Michael Cowan, fired back Tuesday with a news release trumpeting Guerra's continued “one-man circus.”
“Having been voted out of office, Willacy County DA commits one last act of political revenge,” Cowan said. “With only a few weeks left in his term, Mr. Guerra has again chosen to misuse his position in an attempt to seek revenge on those who he sees as political enemies.”
Cheney is accused of contributing to the neglect of federal immigration detainees by contracting for-profit prisons.
“By working through corporations as prisons for profit, Defendant Richard Cheney has committed at least misdemeanor assaults of our inmates and/or detainees,” the indictment reads, adding that a “money trail” can be traced to Cheney's substantial investments in the Vanguard Group, which invests in privately run prisons.
Megan Mitchell, spokeswoman for Cheney, said: “We have not received an indictment. We haven't received a call from the district attorney's office. ... We haven't heard anything from the district attorney.”
Guerra said he kept Operation Goliath secret for four months over concern that pressure would be brought to bear to stop it.
He said “everything was being worked out of my house” and only one trusted member of his staff knew about it. He said he enlisted the help of people all over the country and talked to witnesses all over the country. Everyone who helped was assigned a biblical name. Guerra was known as David.
He said the investigation continues and that when he leaves office, he'll probably ask for a special prosecutor to be named.
Cowan said he was working on a motion to quash the indictment against Lucio, which is based on allegations Lucio misused his contacts and influence as a senator in his consulting work. Guerra has said another company could have built the facility for half the cost.
“There's no crime here,” Cowan said. “The senator's done nothing wrong. Being a senator is not a fulltime job — you're allowed to have outside employment.”
Also named in at least eight separate indictments:
•GEO Group, Inc., formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp., and David Forrest, a warden, for murder and manslaughter of an inmate in 2001.
•District Clerk Gilbert Lozano for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.
•Special prosecutor Gustavo Garza for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.
•Special prosecutor Mervyn Mosbacker for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.
•District Judge Migdalia Lopez for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression
•District Judge Janet Leal for official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.
Guerra said he has requested that those indicted be given a summons to appear.
Guerra himself has faced indictment before and has defended himself in a colorful fashion while claiming to be the target of political vendettas.
In 2007, after being indicted on public theft charges, he camped in front of the county jail with goats, roosters and a horse to symbolize what he called a “circus” against him. Those charges were dismissed, as more recently were other indictments accusing him of corruption including tampering with government records and abusing his office.
Guerra later sued the county judge, county sheriff, county clerks, and others.
Guerra has contended the indictments against him were meant to keep him from being re-elected. He lost in the March primary election.
Regarding Lucio's comment that the indictments are a circus act, he said, “This was a grand jury that had been looking into this for the past four months. That's belittling the grand jury.”
Administration Engaging In Burrowing Of Loyalists In The Obama Government To Weaken Performance Via Sabotage.Cheney Indicted 1st Video…Attempt To Quash Next!
Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies -- including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions -- into senior civil service posts.
The transfer of political appointees into permanent federal positions, called "burrowing" by career officials, creates security for those employees, and at least initially will deprive the incoming Obama administration of the chance to install its preferred appointees in some key jobs.
Similar efforts are taking place at other agencies. Two political hires at the Labor Department have already secured career posts there, and one at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is trying to make the switch.
Between March 1 and Nov. 3, according to the federal Office of Personnel Management, the Bush administration allowed 20 political appointees to become career civil servants. Six political appointees to the Senior Executive Service, the government's most prestigious and highly paid employees, have received approval to take career jobs at the same level. Fourteen other political, or "Schedule C," appointees have also been approved to take career jobs. One candidate was turned down by OPM and two were withdrawn by the submitting agency.
The personnel moves come as Bush administration officials are scrambling to cement in place policy and regulatory initiatives that touch on issues such as federal drinking-water standards, air quality at national parks, mountaintop mining and fisheries limits.
The practice of placing political appointees into permanent civil service posts before an administration ends is not new. In its last 12 months, the Clinton administration approved 47 such moves, including seven at the senior executive level. Federal employees with civil service status receive job protections that make it very difficult for managers to remove them.
Most of the personnel shifts have been done on a case-by-case basis, but Interior Solicitor David L. Bernhardt moved to place six deputies in senior agency positions with one stroke, including two who have repeatedly attracted controversy. Robert D. Comer, who was Rocky Mountain regional solicitor, was named to the civil service post of associate solicitor for mineral resources. Matthew McKeown, who served as deputy associate solicitor for mineral resources, will take Comer's place in what is also a career post. Both had been converted from political appointees to civil service status.
In a report dated Oct. 13, 2004, Interior's inspector general singled out Comer in criticizing a grazing agreement that the Bureau of Land Management had struck with a Wyoming rancher, saying Comer used "pressure and intimidation" to produce the settlement and pushed it through "with total disregard for the concerns raised by career field personnel." McKeown -- who as Idaho's deputy attorney general had sued to overturn a Clinton administration rule barring road-building in certain national forests -- has been criticized by environmentalists for promoting the cause of private property owners over the public interest on issues such as grazing and logging.
One career Interior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his position, said McKeown will "have a huge impact on a broad swath of the West" in his new position, advising the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service on "all the programs they implement." Comer, the official added, will help shape mining policy in his new assignment.
"It is an attempt by the outgoing administration to limit as much as possible [the incoming administration's] ability to put its policy imprint on the Department of Interior," the official said.
In a Nov. 13 memo obtained by The Washington Post, Bernhardt wrote that he was reorganizing his division because the associate solicitors' original status as political appointees undermined the division's effectiveness.
"This has resulted in frequent turnover in those positions, often with an attendant loss in productivity and management continuity in these Divisions, despite the best efforts of the newly-appointed Associate Solicitors," he wrote.
But environmental advocates, and some rank-and-file Interior officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of hurting their careers, said the reassignments represent the Bush administration's effort to leave a lasting imprint on environmental policy.
"What's clear is they could have done this during the eight years they were in office. Why are they doing it now?" said Robert Irvin, senior vice president for conservation programs at Defenders of Wildlife, an advocacy group. "It's pretty obvious they're trying to leave in place some of their loyal foot soldiers in their efforts to reduce environmental protection."
In an interview yesterday, Bernhardt reiterated that he thinks the move is in the government's long-term interest.
"I believe these management decisions will strengthen the professionalism of the Office of the Solicitor and result in greater service to the Department of the Interior," he said. "However, the next solicitor and the department's management team are free to walk a different path."
One senior Interior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said an incoming interior secretary or solicitor could create new political positions upon taking office and could shift Senior Executive Service officials to comparable jobs within a few months.
As a general rule, career SES employees may be reassigned involuntarily within their current commuting area within 15 days, and beyond their commuting area within 60 days, but they retain their lucrative and permanent government posts. When a new agency head is appointed, he or she must wait 120 days before reassigning career SES officials.
Outside groups are trying to monitor these moves but are powerless to reverse them. Alex Bastani, a representative at the Labor Department for the American Federation of Government Employees, said it took months for that agency even to acknowledge that two of its Bush appointees, Carrie Snidar and Brad Mantel, had gotten civil service posts.
"They're trying to burrow into these career jobs, and we're very upset," Bastani said. "Everyone should have an opportunity to apply for these positions. And certainly career people who don't have partisan bent and have 10 or 15 years in their respective fields should have a shot at these positions."
Kerry Weems, acting chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said he discourages political staff from moving into career slots. "It typically doesn't work out for either party," he said. Even though Weems is a career staffer, he expects to leave the administration when the Obama team takes over.
Alphonso Jackson, who was HUD secretary under President Bush, warned his political appointees not to try to burrow in when the administration changed. But one of his regional directors objected to that flat-out prohibition, according to union leaders at HUD, and has told his colleagues that he has been promised first crack at a career
