I see racist people...

By GottaLaff

Look who's running for governor of Florida:

CPR chief Rick Scott was ousted as a hospital exec amid a 1990s fraud probe, and the memo will alarm pro-reform forces, because it shows that the anti-reform camp is beginning to sense that victory is within reach on their top goal: Killing the public option.

Oh, you already knew that? Did you know all this?

R Lynn's Wiki:

Richard Lynn "Rick" Scott (born 1953 in Bloomington, Illinois) announced his candidacy for Florida governor on April 13, 2010.^[1]

Scott is a healthcare industry executive and founder of Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR) which advertises against expanding the U.S. government's role in regulating the healthcare system but failed in its efforts to block healthcare reform.

Scott founded the Columbia Hospital Corporation in 1987. With Columbia HCA Chairman Thomas J. Frist, the brother of Senator Bill Frist, the company merged Columbia with Hospital Corporation of America in 1989 to form Columbia/HCA. Ten years later, Scott was ousted by the company's board of directors in the midst of the nation's biggest health care fraud scandal in which the company ultimately plead guilty to the nation's then largest Medicaid and Medicare fraud and paid a record fine of $1.7 billion dollars.^[2][3][4] In 2001, Scott co-founded the Solantic Corporation, which operates walk-in medical care centers. He also owns Continental Structural Plastics, North America's largest industrial composites molder. [...]

CPR opposes the broad outlines of President Obama's health-care plans, and has hired Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm which previously worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Isn't he the bee's knees? The cat's pajamas?

The liver worst?

Now he can add "racial profiler" to his resume. Congratulations, Ricky Lynn, you've topped yourself:


H/t: LynCKos for the title and for alerting me to Scott's tweet.

Group challenges phone companies’ wiretapping immunity

By GottaLaff

The BushCo wiretaps are being challenged again. Good:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is appealing, on behalf of several plaintiffs, a June federal court decision that upheld legislation that protects the companies, who acted without court authorization, from being prosecuted. [...]

EFF argues that the legislation is "unconstitutional" because it grants "the attorney general the unconstrained power to decide whether to nullify existing federal and state law governing these actions." [...]

EFF, a privacy group that focuses on civil rights on the Internet, is working with the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 46 plaintiffs to challenge the legislation.

After 9/11, it was "anything goes". BushCo used fear tactics to advance their greedy little power grabs, secrecy, and otherwise criminal and unconstitutional agenda at every opportunity they had.

And that included eavesdropping on fellow Americans.

Justice Dept. Says Acorn Can Be Paid

By GottaLaff

Happy Friday!

The Justice Department has concluded that the Obama administration can lawfully pay the community group Acorn for services provided under contracts signed before Congress enacted a law banning the government from providing funds to the group.

Yeah, hmm, right, that would have been a little-- What's the word again? Oh yeah -- unconstitutional.

You can read the memorandum (image above) here.

A Housing and Urban Development lawyer asked the Justice Department whether the new law meant that pre-existing contracts with Acorn should be broken. But in a memorandum signed Oct. 23 and posted online this week, Mr. Barron said the government should continue to make payments to Acorn as required by such contracts.

The new law “should not be read as directing or authorizing HUD to breach a pre-existing binding contractual obligation to make payments to Acorn or its affiliates, subsidiaries or allied organizations where doing so would give rise to contractual liability,” Mr. Barron wrote.

Acorn has been doing a lot of great work, a little factoid that should get as much attention as the negative press it has gotten for months:

“We are pleased that commitments will be honored relative to Acorn’s work to help keep America’s working families facing foreclosure in their homes,” he said. [...]

Founded in Arkansas in 1970, Acorn describes itself as the nation’s largest grass-roots community organizing group. It provides financial services to poor and middle-income families, conducts voter registration drives, and advocates for higher minimum wages and more affordable housing.

But the Rushpublics will have none of that! Nosirreebob, they'd much rather cut off the nation's voters' noses to spite their nasty, negative, self-serving faces.

The next Republican health care reform roadblock

By GottaLaff

Per Thom Hartmann, this will be their so-called Big One, a big fat obstacle that will consume time and energy. These people will do anything, and none of it benefits Americans. None:

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said today he still has questions about the constitutionality of an individual health insurance mandate. [...]

Critics of the mandate say the constitution grants no authority to demand individuals buy insurance.

Supporters have argued that the insurance market is a matter of interstate commerce, giving Congress all the authority it'd need for the mandate.

They'll try to shove it off on to the Supremes. They're desperate, because if Democrats pass health care reform, they get votes in 2010. It's so reassuring to know the Rushpublics are looking out for our best interests.

Grubby, er, Grumpy Obstructionist Party.

Reagan, Bush 41 advisers: Subjecting "czars" to Senate confirmation could be unconstitutional

By GottaLaff



Say you're czar-ry, Rushpubs:

In today’s Washington Post, attorneys David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, who served under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush [...] argue that in fact, subjecting all these advisers to a Senate confirmation process would perhaps be unconstitutional:

The White House czars are presidential assistants charged with responsibility for given policy areas. As such, they are among the president’s closest advisers. In many respects, they are equivalent to the personal staff of a member of Congress. To subject the qualifications of such assistants to congressional scrutiny — the regular confirmation process — would trench upon the president’s inherent right, as the head of an independent and equal branch of the federal government, to seek advice and counsel where he sees fit.

Czar(ry) seems to be the hardest word.

Oh, and in case anyone forgot:

[T]hose benign Bush Czars, which included:

• Cyber Security Czar
• Regulatory Czar
• AIDS Czar
• Bird Flu Czar
• Intelligence Czar
• Health IT Czar
• Katrina Czar
• Manufacturing Czar
• Drug Czar
• Domestic Policy Czar
• War Czar
• Copywright Czar
• Abstinence Czar
• Mine Safety Czar
• Latin American Czar
• WTO Health Czar
• Corruption Czar
• Privacy Czar
• Health Czar

Nadler: ACORN Amendment ‘Flatly Unconstitutional’

By GottaLaff

My new bff Jason Leopold has a post up. I'll give you a taste, but go here for the whole thing:

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, denounced a Republican amendment adopted by the House of Representatives Thursday to deny all federal funds to the advocacy group the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) as blatantly unconstitutional and a threat to unpopular organizations everywhere. [...]

Nadler said the Republican initiative, the Defund ACORN Act, backed by GOP House leader John Boehner, singles out a specific organization by name for exclusion from participating in any federal program, in direct violation of the Constitution’s prohibition against Bills of Attainder.

“Today’s Republican amendment is in blatant violation of the Constitution’s prohibition against Bills of Attainder,” Nadler said. “Congress must not be in the business of punishing individual organizations or people without trial, and that’s what this amendment does. Whatever one may think of an organization, the Constitution’s clear ban on Bills of Attainder is there for the protection of all of our liberties.” [...]

But Republicans vowed to take their crusade against the organization even further with Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, calling for a Justice Department probe.

ACORN has violated serious federal laws, and today the House voted to ensure that taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund this corrupt organization. All federal ties should be severed with ACORN, and the FBI should investigate its activity. This united Republican effort to defund ACORN is a victory for the rule of law and taxpayers across the country.

I'll late Jason take it from here.

Imagine that, our liberties aren't being protected, and the Rushpublic smell blood and want to further un-protect them. Who'da thunk it?

H/t: AltaKocker

Rachel Maddow is not happy with President Obama

By GottaLaff

Rachel Maddow is more than a little steamed right now. She is not at all happy with President Obama's "prolonged detention" policy. I liveblogged a few excerpts on Twitter:

1. Rachel: So you can be locked up for 10 years... This is a beautiful speech from Obama today. But he's defying the Constitution
   
   
2. Rachel quoting Obama: "Develop an appropriate legal regime." She is steamed about "prolonged detention". As she should be.
   
   
3. Rachel: How can Obama speak in poetry, and talk about preventive detention?

The Center for Constitutional Rights guy agrees with Rachel whole-heartedly. I'm having issues, with this myself.

We'll put up the video when it becomes available.

Your turn.

Domestic Militarization Comes to San Bernardino County

By GottaLaff

Posse Comitatus is going the way of the polar bear. I've written about this several times, and for whatever reason, not much attention is paid to this topic. I'm flabbergasted about that. Read:

Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Provost Marshal (head of a unit of military police) and the local California Highway Patrol office will begin working together 12/12 — and through the holiday season — in a joint effort to reduce accidents and drinking and driving. The combined mutual cooperation between the Marine Corps Military Police and State enforcement officers will begin somewhere along Highway 62. The CHP will set up DUI roadblocks with the presence of Military Police. A violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

The military? Helping nab drunk drivers?

On its face, one may think this is a good idea. But it’s not. [...] Gary Daigneault contacted a Constitutional Law expert, and the attorney informed him this is absolutely unconstitutional. It’s NOT permitted under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, 8 U.S.C. § 1385. It’s my understanding that the Constitutional Law expert said CHP officers could be arrested out there working with the Military Police because it’s a “felony.” [...]

Where is the public necessity or authority to do this? There is none — unless the Commander in Chief made the call. It’s also my opinion, the CHP has made a very bad choice in their joint venture with the Marine Corps. Though I have intrinsic belief that the CHP has the very best of intentions, however, good intentions does not override the U.S. Constitution. [...]

It’s little encroachments like this that undermine the Constitution. Then one day you wake up, and it gone. [...] I can see numerous scenarios during those DUI check stops. To name a few: The Military Police go to the aid of the CHP to take down a civilian bad guy. A drunken teen. Unruly tweakers. Will the Military Police be armed? Do they have any sort orders of engagements?

What next?