Bad Deeds for 10-22-2007

Evidence of Tax Evasion by Blackwater– The Blackwater employees responsible for considerable violence in Iraq as they go about the job of protecting State Department officials aren’t Blackwater employees at all — they’re “independent contractors.” Why would Blackwater chose to deploy scores of workers to a war zone to do incredibly difficult jobs and treat them as contractors? Of course, not making them employees absolves them of certain obligations. It allows them to evade paying Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes. And it places the burden of paying state and local income taxes on the employee. What’s more, a congressional investigation just found that the IRS specifically told Blackwater that in one case that the practice of treating what are for all intents and purposes employees as independent contractor was “without merit.”

Rudy Giuliani Trying to Distance Himself From Former NYPD Police Commissioner’s Criminal Investigation – Marc Mukasey the son of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey, has been tasked by Rudy Giuliani to “to keep an eye on” former NYPD police commissioner Bernard Kerik’s criminal investigation. Earlier this month, media reports said that federal prosecutors were prepared to file charges against Kerik “that will likely include allegations of bribery, tax fraud and obstruction of justice.” Kerik, whose nomination as homeland security secretary in 2004 ended in scandal, pleaded guilty last year to two misdemeanor charges of taking payments from the same company that is alleged to have bribed him. A source familiar with the Kerik probe said Mukasey’s role in monitoring the Kerik case is “obviously trying to distance Giuliani from all [the allegations about Kerik], although obviously it all occurred on Giuliani’s watch.”

Republican Candidates That Ducked Black Debate Took Money From Firms Accused Of Racism – While the four top Republican presidential contenders missed the Sept 27 debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore organized to address minority issues, they were busy raking in cash from dozens of business and professional elites, including a top Wall Street banking firm that was sued that same week for racial discrimination. All in all, it was a grand and enriching week for the four white males most likely to represent the Republicans in the 2008 presidential race. Among them, they amassed over $9 million while they were too “busy” to attend the debate at Morgan State. The most egregious case is that of the banking house of Morgan Stanley that gave money to the three top Republican contenders during the same week of the minority debate. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a civil rights complaint against Morgan Stanley and its mortgage lender subsidiary Saxon Capital three days before the debate. It was the first challenge against a Wall Street mortgage bundler that alleges redlining in minority communities throughout the United States under the Federal Fair Housing Act.

Bush Attempting to Roll Back Years of Social Justice Gains – President Bush has nominated Leslie Southwick to fill a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Bush previously tried to fill the seat with Charles Pickering and then Michael Wallace, both of whom faced significant opposition due to their disturbing legal records, especially on civil rights. “Regrettably, Southwick also has a troubling record and appears to be cut from the same cloth as the others,” said Ralph G. Neas, President of People For the American Way. “First Pickering, then Wallace, and now Southwick – Bush has completely struck out on the Fifth Circuit.” The PFAW, Magnolia Bar Association, AFL-CIO, NAACP and Human Rights Campaign all oppose his confirmation.

Our Revamped Constitution – It was a joke then, it’s a reality today.

Regards,

Jim