Bad Deeds for 8-28-2007

President Bush Says Alberto Gonzales’ Problems Were Caused by the Democratic Congress. However, the links below dispute these claims.

– It was Alberto Gonzales, not Congress, who fired attorneys for political reasons.

– It was Alberto Gonzales, not Congress, who gave the White House political team unprecedented power to intercede in the affairs of the Justice Department.

– It was Alberto Gonzales, not Congress, who allowed his department to illegally hire attorneys based in part on their loyalty to the Republican Party and the Bush administration. More

– It was Alberto Gonzales, not Congress, who dissembled and misled about the administration’s spying activities.

– It was Alberto Gonzales, not Congress, who lied in stating that all Bush appointees would be Senate-confirmed.

Senator Cornyn Says That Gonzales’ Departure Was the Result of Congressional Democrats “Hounding a Good Man” – Reacting to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, fellow Texan Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said on Monday that the Gonzales’ departure was the result of congressional Democrats “hounding a good man. … I think it’s a sad day,” Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a television interview with Fox News.

Ted Haggard’s Funny Money – Right-wing preacher who got caught in a sex scandal wants people to send money to a charity to support him. And the name and address of the man identified by Colorado’s secretary of state as “registered agent” for the charity matches the name and address of a man named Paul Huberty, who is listed online as a sex offender!

US Interior Secretary Sets Record By Not Listing a Single New Species as Threatened or Endangered During His Entire Time in Office – On Friday, August 24, we awarded the first annual Rubber Dodo Award to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in recognition of his one year and 90 days in office without listing a single new species as threatened or endangered. That’s a record. Kempthorne breaks the previous record, held by Ronald Reagan’s infamous Secretary of the Interior James Watt. Not known for his sympathy for wildlife or the environment, Watt went without listing a new species from 1981 through 1982, for a total of 376 days. Under Kempthorne’s direction, the Fish and Wildlife Service classifies 279 species as “candidates” for listing, because they meet the criteria for listing and are simply awaiting the agency’s formal rule. But that waiting list could turn into a “too-late” list without government action, as species in dire need of protection go extinct. I encourage you to call, write or email Secretary Kempthorne and express your opinion about his refusal to list new species.

Dept. of the Interior Phone Number: (202) 208-3100, or send an e-mail

Bill O’Reilly’s Assertion That Most Journalists Give Money to Democrats Refuted by Study – On The O’Reilly Factor, Bill O’Reilly stated: “We know that journalists — most journalists give money to Democrats.” However, the study that O’Reilly was apparently referring to showed that of the small fraction of journalists who donated money at all to campaigns, more gave to Democrats than Republicans. The study stated that the 143 journalists identified in the study as having made political contributions “are a tiny fraction of the roughly 100,000 staffers in newsrooms across the nation.” This is another example of how O’Reilly twist words to make them sound like the say something other than what was originally intended.

Regards,

Jim