Recently in Government Category

By way of MNPublius:

Molnau sold farm near road she pushed

Molnau, as chairwoman of the powerful House Transportation Finance Committee, guided the bill to passage. But she did not disclose Hwy. 212's proximity to the land she owned in Chaska or that she was negotiating to sell the property to a national housing developer, state and local records show.

The transportation bill provided for rapid construction of what Molnau called "mega-projects." One that fit the bill's criteria was Hwy. 212, which would run less than a mile from her farm.

"If you're interested in highways, like Hwy. 14, Hwy. 23, 52, 53, 169, 371, Hwy. 60, Hwy. 212, or Hwy. 94 in Greater Minnesota, this is a good bill for you," she told the Minnesota House on March 21, 2000.

Eight days after the bill was signed by then-Gov. Jesse Ventura, Molnau and her husband, Steve, sold their 40 acres to the developer, Pulte Homes of Minnesota, for $3.3 million -- six times its estimated market value, records show. [highlighted by Rook]

Looks like the Minnesota GOP is a carbon copy of the National GOP; corrupt to its very core. Though, just to be fair, it looks like sex was left out of this scandal. Damn, just won't sell nationally.


Technorati Tags: Carol Molnau, Minnesota News, Minnesota GOP,

Musharraf's Party Accepts Defeat - New York Times

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Pakistan appeared to be heading for a transition to an elected civilian government Tuesday after President Pervez Musharraf told visiting United States senators that he accepted the resounding defeat of his party in elections, and would work with a new Parliament.

You mean his efforts at rigging the election in Pakistan didn't pan out? I am shocked, Shocked! I tell you. How could such a despicable situation befall a gallant ally in the GLOBAL WAR AGAINST TERROR?

Poor, poor President Bush. First the Protect America Act lapses, now Musharraf loses the election. He stands alone, does our quacker of a president.

Technorati Tags: Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, Election, GWOT

New York Times

In one sense, by emphasizing the new steps it is taking to control weapons, the Interior Ministry seems determined to leverage the respect shown for its investigators in such a high-profile case into an improved image over all. The strategy appears to be to concede that both American and Iraqi security forces have made mistakes in the past but that both were taking steps to put those problems behind them.

During one remarkable session on Wednesday, an administrative official at the ministry said that it had had problems with “ghost payrollers,” or fictitious employees, and political pressure in the past. But the official, Maj. Gen. Jihan Hussein, said that the ministry was squarely facing those problems.

“If you knew the pressures we have from members of Parliament to have their relatives employed by the ministry, you wouldn’t believe it,” General Hussein said.[emphasis by editorial-you know-me!]

But he said the ministry would not bow to those pressures. In a similar vein, Mr. Bolani said that the ministry’s strict new approach to weapons licenses would try to redress past mistakes.

I'll be the first to admit my mood has been dark, and my hope hiding in it's shadow. Yet, I find myself colorfully surprised. This strikes me as a hopeful sign of progress in Iraq. Anytime honesty becomes a part of the dialog, hope has the opportunity to come out from the shadows.

Washington Post

BAGHDAD, Sept. 17 -- The Iraqi government on Monday said it had revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security company involved in a shootout in Baghdad that killed at least nine people, raising questions over which nation should regulate tens of thousands of civilian hired guns operating in Iraq.

I am not one to get all ridged and stern, and so am not going to immediately jump on the whole "Puppet Government" parade right now. The fact of the matter is, if they are a government based on the Rule of Law, and if they failed to repeal an order that they left standing in place, then they do not have the authority to just revoke the license of Blackwater USA.

New York Times

The deaths struck a nerve with Iraqis, who say that private security firms are often quick to shoot and are rarely held responsible for their actions. A law issued by the American authority in Iraq before the United States handed over sovereignty to Iraqis, Order No. 17, gives the companies immunity from Iraqi law. A security expert based in Baghdad said Monday night that the order, issued in 2004, had never been overturned. Like others, he spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains under official inquiry.

Now, that doesn't mean I think they should or shouldn't revoke the license. What I am saying is they have a frame work of laws and orders that they have to work with. It sounds as if they didn't do that in this situation, and jumped the gun.

If the Iraqi government manages to somehow overturns Order No. 17, and stand by their decision to revoke Blackwater USA's license to operate in Iraq, well then a whole can of worms opens up for the United States. Because if the United States defies this action by the Iraqi government, it's a flat out admission of Iraq being nothing more than a territory of our Empire.

On top of that, it leaves the military without support services, which then brings into question the idea of contracting out those services to civilian contractors.

If nothing else, it's definitely shown that the whole neo-con idea of war is for the birds.