Melder's Musings

Presidential advisor Karl Rove illustrates for Americans just how much morality Republicans actually practice.

In this week's e-mail to subscribers, David Batstone of Sojourners magazine reminds us just how fairweather the morality of Conservative Republicans has been lately.

I reprint a portion of Batstone's artitcle below.

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I find it more than a bit disturbing that Christians who back Rove, DeLay, and Frist in their political efforts express so little concern about the possibility of corruption at the highest ranks of government. Worse still, many Christians express blind allegiance to these men. Is this what we have come to, when we sell our birthright for a pot of political porridge? The Jerusalem Post reports DeLay appeared publicly for the first time after his indictment at a Sept. 28 event hosted by "Stand For Israel," an organization of evangelical Christians and Jews who support a Zionist future for Israel. The Post reports that DeLay received a standing ovation, saying, "It's really good to be here among so many old friends and brothers and sisters in the cause for justice and human freedom." Some participants called out, "We love you, Tom," according to the Post.

I grant that the aforementioned misdeeds are only allegations, so a measured response would be appropriate. DeLay, Frist, and Rove should receive due process. I do recall, however, that many Christian leaders and the religious media did not manifest any such restraint during the moral ineptitude of the Clinton era. At the time, we at Sojourners joined others in the religious world to express our concern - for example, go back to a piece written by Jim Wallis in 1998 titled, "Seeking Moral Consistency." At the time, Jim chided liberal religious leaders: "Why have churches and church leaders been so quiet in this crisis of morality? ...Could it be that this too falls out along political lines? Are those church leaders most sympathetic to Clinton's agenda unlikely to offer much comment on the many ethical issues involved here? Are only those opposed to the president's political agenda ready to speak challenging words to the White House? What are our primary colors?"

It would be comforting to observe that same desire for moral consistency in our body politic at the moment. To be frank, I do not expect Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, or any other influential media network of religious conservatives to raise a red flag about political corruption in the Republican Party any time soon. The specter of political power seems too enticing, too close within reach, to be held back by traditional values such as honesty and integrity. Oh, woe to us, that we shall we gain the whole world, yet lose our own soul.

Vice President Dick Cheney's lips are moving. Odds are, he's lying.

It's probably no surprise to most readers of this blog, but a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report catches Vice President Dick Cheney in a lie regarding his interest in the Halliburton corporation.

Rather than edit, I re-print to following from a newspaper discussion board. Be sure to click all of the links and see the facts for yourself. Don't forget to download your very own copy of the CRS report.

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About two years ago, Dick Cheney told a national television audience, "[S]ince I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interests," Cheney said. "I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had now for over three years." Even at the time, the claim wasn't true.

A non-partisan congressional report requested by Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) office showed that Cheney still has substantial financial interests in Halliburton, including lucrative deferred compensation and more than 433,000 stock options. But instead of acknowledging the ties divesting himself from his former company, Cheney denied everything.

Lautenberg, to his enormous credit, has stuck with this story, and issued a report today explaining that the value of Cheney's Halliburton stock options rose in value 3281% in one year.

An analysis released today by the Office of Senator Frank R. Lautenberg reveals that Vice President Cheney's Halliburton stock options have increased in value 3,281 percent in one year. The stock options, which were worth $241,498 one year ago are now valued at $8,165,489.07. In light of the surging value of Vice President Cheney's holdings, Senator Lautenberg reiterated his call for the Vice President to forfeit his continuing financial interest in the Halliburton Co (HAL). Vice President Cheney continues to hold 433,333 Halliburton stock options and receives almost $200,000 a year in deferred salary from Halliburton.

"As Halliburton's fortunes rise, so do the Vice President's, and that is wrong," said Senator Lautenberg. "Halliburton has already raked in more than $10 billion from the Bush-Cheney Administration for work in Iraq, and they were awarded some of the first Katrina contracts. It is unseemly for the Vice President to continue to benefit from this company at the same time his Administration funnels billions of dollars to it. The Vice President should sever his financial ties to Halliburton once and for all."

Given the circumstances, that seems like a reasonable suggestion.

According to the Vice President's Federal Financial Disclosure forms, he holds the following Halliburton stock options:

* 100,000 shares at $54.5000 (vested), expire 12-03-07
* 33,333 shares at $28.1250 (vested), expire 12-02-08
* 300,000 shares at $39.5000 (vested), expire 12-02-09

This continues to be a political problem for Cheney that can be easily resolved. Cheney could simply do what he claims to have already done: sever his ties and remove his financial interests from the company. Considering Halliburton's lucrative government contracts, and the dubious conditions surrounding the deals, this should be a no-brainer for the White House.

It's Monday, and thus, it's time to post this week's Top Ten Conservative Idiots.

This week's edition features the right vs. the right, more Republican hypocrisy, bias at Fox News, and more whining by Bill O'Reilly.

I'm also adding a new blog to the links section: In the Pink Texas. As they describe themselves, it's politics on the lege (a reference to the state legislature) of reason.

Enjoy!

With Tom DeLay and the rest of his gang fresh on the brain, it's time to post this week's Top Ten Conservative Idiots.

Enjoy!

It seems our Mr. DeLay just keeps finding himself in trouble.

A new grand jury in Austin (and the third to hear the case) has indicted Tommy Boy and his cohorts Ellis and Colyandro on two new charges. The first charge is money laundering. The second is conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Ellis and Colyandro have been previously indicted on other money laundering charges stemming from this long investigation into DeLay's 2002 campaign hack job.

As the Houston Chronicle reports, today's new charges could put this trio in prison for a long time.

"Money laundering is a first degree felony punishable by five years' probation to life in prison, with a fine of up to $10,000."

"Conspiracy to commit money laundering is a second degree felony punishable by two years' probation to 20 years in prison with a fine of up to $10,000."

The new charges come on the same day that DeLay's defense attorney filed a motion to dismiss last week's conspiracy charge. That judge has yet to rule, but without an immediate dismissal, one can assume the judge sees something in the charge.

Naturally, DeLay and his ilk continue to accuse Travis County, Texas, District Attorney Ronnie Earle of partisanship. Of course, to do that, they have to ignore that he's prosecuted 12 Democrats and 3 Republicans. Of those 12 Democrats (which, for the mathematically impaired, is four times as many Republicans), Ronnie Earle actually prosecuted himself.

Meanwhile, DeLay's chief lobbyist (and friend, when it's convenient) Jack Abramoff could be involved in a murder, in addition to a lot of other potentially criminal acts.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) had no one in his office during Hurricane Rita.

According to a Houston businessman, and his attorney, who have regular business dealings with the Texas Attorney General's office in Austin, Attorney General Greg Abbott declared a paid holiday for his entire staff on Friday, September 23. That's the day Rita began to come ashore in Texas. Her arrival was completed in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, September 24. The approach of the hurricane was the official excuse cited by Abbott when he ordered the holiday.

The Attorney General's main office is in Austin, the state capital, along with the main offices for every other state agency. Austin is several hundred miles to the west of Rita's strike zone, and didn't see so much as a drop of rain from the hurricane.

Abbott's order was effective for all of his branch offices, and all of the state employees under his command. Closing state offices in coastal bend cities is understandable, but closing them in Austin, Dallas, and places even further out west like Lubbock, Midland, or El Paso is simply ridiculous. It also left consumers without anyone to call to report price gouging, which seems to occur with every mass evacuation.

As of this posting, Abbott is the only state official known to have sent his entire agency home. One can only speculate as to the cost of the holiday to tax payers.

Former Texas Comptroller John Sharp (D) is the newly-appointed school savior.

Yesterday could have been doomsday for Texas Public Schools.

Saturday, October 1, 2005, was the deadline given by the district judge that ruled against the state in a lawsuit filed by a number of the state's school districts. The judge ruled that the state's current school funding system is inequitable, thereby rendering it unconstitutional, and ordered the legislature to write a new plan by yesterday. The Texas Constitution requires an equitable education for all of the state's children. Naturally, the district judge's order was appealed to the Texas Supreme Court.

Those whose attention hadn't been distracted by hurricanes and Tom DeLay were hoping the Supreme Court would rule on the appeal, or at least stay the district court's decision, on Friday. That didn't happen. After promising to rule by the end of September, the justices handed down nothing (at least on this case) in the documents they released Friday. Legislators continue to hope the court will decide how to fund the schools for them. No school funding plan has been executed in Texas in over 30 years without involvement by the court.

As the Dallas Morning News reports, schools will open on Monday. Schools are funded in 25-day cycles here in Texas. A new cycle began yesterday. What happens on October 25 is now anybody's guess, especially without any guidance from the Supreme Court.

In a related story, Republican Governor Rick Perry has tapped former Democratic Comptroller John Sharp to head a blue ribbon panel that will solve the school funding conundrum. Sharp had been rumored to be a Democratic candidate for Perry's job next year. Those rumors died hard today, just as hard as the "thud" sound made by Perry's bone landing in front of Sharp.