Thanks...wanting

I love NPR. I saw the headlines about how the Blackwater branded american terrorists had been granted immunity a couple weeks back. On the way in to work, I then heard how they are trying to correct the situation. I had a concern this was yet another victory in the distressingly successful republican assault on our form of government. Failing to honor immunity deals is something our wannabe dictators would love. Another win-win situation if they handle it right. Keep the light of day out of their mechanisms, and if that fails destroy the ability to use immunity to investigate them in the future. Who would ever testify against corrupt politicians again? Luckily NPR went into a little more detail. It was the State Department who offered immunity to the contractors (terrorists/mercenaries for hire in this case). It was not Justice, and while that may prevent using those particular statements from being used, the State Department does not have the power to grant immunity.

Of course, the State Department has shown their level of oversight, hence the attempt by the culpable bosses to further stymie investigations. I'd bet a good deal of moola the improper immunity wasn't offered to elicit testimony, so much as to keep those same statements out of a courtroom, where they would become public. The idea a department under rice would have high ethical standards or be transparent is so laughable it loses it's humor. After all it was handed to her when the once honorable powell starting showing signs of restlessness from his sad vantage on w's lap.

Thanks to NPR my suspicion the conservatives were going to ruin the tool of immunity was a put away. The last thing they can afford is to have people who can testify against their talking heads. It is hard to underestimate their morals or overestimate their audacious villainy. Luckily for them, and sadly for us, the likes of Clinton and Pelosi have shown they aren't interested in fixing america. Rather they want the heady power of absolute corruption painstakingly constructed by the repubs for themselves. Of course the conservatives are just as stupid. Like me they don't want dems to wield the kind of power they had, but they quiver in their little pink airport booties at the very hint of taking the abuse back out of american politics. Of course reining in what the dems could do in a couple years, requires the current ship of state be rocked. It is a must, or they will have an even harder fall than they can imagine.

Suppose we elect a president and a few more senators and congressmen who have ethics which aren't available to the highest bidder. They'll be fighting both democrats and republicans. With or without some honest and stout elected officials, what is the legacy of Pelosi, Clinton, and company? Nothing new. We must try to hold these cowards accountable, even if it is as futile as the last decade with the gop. I wonder if their refusal to restore democracy and rule of law has less to do with being beltway insiders, and more to do with cowering over what the fear mongering right might accuse them of. Either way, we as the voters must make it hard for them. Obviously we can't compete with corporations at their own level, but if we find our balls as a nation our votes in aggregate could spank them.

Can you imagine our politicians and multi-national corporations being treated no better than citizens like you and I? The rich shallow shriek it would destroy civilization as we know it. First a question. Haven't the rich done that already? Second, an observation. There are a few rich people who realize it would only make them less obscenely wealthy (Buffet saying he is under taxed for example), but they are sadly, very rare. Even more sad is the very people the rich prey on, are even less likely to see that holding the rich and powerful to at least the same level of accountability as everyone else would be a good thing.

So, it looks like the Blackwater war criminals will be harder to prosecute as a result of rice's minions and their bogus immunity deals. But the privateers (what else can you call privatized mercenaries?) and their sponsors amoral ass covering may not be the get out of jail free card rice and her handlers had hoped. Of course Mukasey makes it easier for them. We can have all sorts of morally deficient pols and mouths spouting how wonderful and patriotic Blackwater is. Still, those of us who are actually subject to prison for committing felonies are starting to see that privatized mercenaries are probably the next to last segment of society who should be trusted to act in the interest of society without oversight.