UNITED STATES NEWS DIGEST
Ashcroft Provokes Congress Over New Police-State Powers; Leahy Warns Homeland Security Dept. 'Above the Law'
Representative John Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc), angrily cancelled hearings of the House Judiciary Committee when Attorney General John Ashcroft failed to provide the committee with his testimony in advance. Sensenbrenner, and the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich), have both gone on record opposing Ashcroft's plan to institute sweeping new powers under revised Attorney General guidelines. New hearings will be scheduled.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, opening a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing June 25 with Tom Ridge, Committee chair Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) said that the Bush Administration's proposed Department of Homeland Security is "above the law," because it is exempted from many of the legal requirements that apply to other agencies.
Leahy cited a number of areas in which the new Department would be exempted from existing laws, including the Freedom of Information Act, conflict-of-interest rules for agency advisers, whistleblower protection rules, procurement rules, and Inspector General investigations. He said that "really what this does is put them above the law," and "that's not a good signal to send."
Leahy warned that there are four items which he said are cobbled together under "management flexibility," that could slow the bill down in the Senate: (1) FOIA exemptions; (2) weakening whistleblower protections; (3) weakening safeguards for the gathering and handling of sensitive law enforcement information; and (4) threatening job security for government employees.
Leahy stressed that "we do not want to go back to the excesses of the days of J. Edgar Hoover and COINTELPRO and things like that."
Leahy also told Ridge that he is concerned about the reduction of law-enforcement and crime-reduction programs which may accompany the creation of the new Department. Other Senators, such as Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), raised concerns that the FBI and the Coast Guard will be taken out of narcotics enforcement.
At the same time, at hearings June 27 chaired by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn), CIA Director George Tenet and FBI Director Robert Mueller clashed with Lieberman over the contents of his own Homeland Secutity Bill, "To establish the Department of National Homeland Security and the National Office for Combating Terrorism," S. 252.
The Lieberman bill would establish a National Office for Counterterrorism, whose director would be on the National Security Council, which would have much more power than Bush's Homeland Security Office, and would incorporate the counterterror intelligence functions of the FBI and CIA.
Tenet and Mueller strongly oppose this.
When Lieberman asked Mueller directly whether counterterrorism should be transferred from the FBI to the President's new agency, Mueller said, no. "It would disrupt our ongoing battle. And, remember our history. Domestic intelligence collection should be steeped in the Constitution and under the Department of Justice."
New Jersey Appellate Court: Secret Detentions Okay
The New Jersey State Appellate Court has ruled to uphold secret detention of immigrants. The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed state court rulings which had ordered the disclosure of names of immigrants secretly held in Hudson and Passaic County jails for Federal proceedings designated "Special Interest" by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The lower court had ruled that withholding the detainees' names violated the state's Right To Know law. But Appellate Judge Howard Kerstin, joined by Judges Isaiah Steinberg and Edwin Alley, ruled that the Federal government has the authority to refuse to disclose a list of its detainees in the county jails, on the basis of an INS rule (adopted five days after the lower court decision) which forbids the release of information about Special Interest detainees without INS permission.
Rehnquist Says Courts Will Bend the Law in Time of War
Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, in a speech to a meeting of Federal judges on June 14, cited various historical examples to show that the Federal courts are likely to bend the law in the government's favor in times of hostilities. "One is reminded of the Latin maxim inter arma silent leges'In times of war, the laws are silent'," Rehnquist said, citing examples such as President Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War, and the Supreme Court's upholding of the internment of Japanese Americans and the military trial of Nazi saboteurs during World War II. "These cases suggest that, while the laws are surely not silent in time of war, courts may interpret them differently than in time of peace," Rehnquist said.
Although Rehnquist claimed to be offering "only a historical perspective," there is no doubt that his remarks reflect his own views, as he has also written a book on the subject. While an official of the Justice Department in the early 1970s, Rehnquist travelled around the country calling for "qualified martial law" to deal with civil unrest.
9th Circuit Appeals Court Rules Pledge of Allegiance 'Unconstitutional'
As if there were not enough "single issues" already flying around to divert Americans from reality, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals set up a real circus with its ruling in Newdow v. U.S. Congress that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance containing the words "one nation under God" is unconstitutional.
Using the sort of tortured interpretation of the "Establishment Clause" of the First Amendment which has become commonplace in U.S. courts, the 9th Circuit (which covers nine Western states, including California) said that the Pledge is "an impermissible endorsement of religion," because it sends a message to non-believers that they are outsiders.
In truth, the Establishment Clause (which reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...") was intended to bar the establishment of a state church, as existed in many European countries, or as was the case in, for example, colonial Virginia with the Anglican Church.
The words "under God" were added in 1954 by Congress, at the request of President Eisenhower, apparently as part of the anti-Communist frenzy of the period.
The 9th Circuit is known for its liberal leanings, and is the most overturned appeals court in the country. The judge who wrote the ruling, Alfred Goodwin, was appointed by Republican President Nixon in 1971. He has since stayed the decision, presumably reacting to the furor that built up nationally, almost instantaneously.
Wal-Mart Forced Employees To Work Off the Clock, Without Pay
According to a New York Times front-page article June 25, more than 40 current and former Wal-Mart workers interviewed during the past four months say that the world's largest retailer forces or pressures employees to work hours that are not recorded or paid.
This has arisen because of an intense focus on cost-cutting, which has created an unofficial policy that encourages managers to request or require off-the-clock work, and to avoid paying overtime. Class-action and individual lawsuits have been filed by current and former workers in 28 states, asserting that these practices have helped Wal-Mart undersell the competition and boost profits, as well as cheat employees out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Examples given by employees in depositions and interviews with the New York Times include:
* In California, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington, managers locked the front door and prevented workerseven those who had clocked outfrom leaving until everyone finished straightening the store;
* Managers ordered employees in six states to clock out after their eight-hour shifts and then continue working, so no overtime would show up;
* Employees, fearing they would be written up or fired if they didn't finish their daily tasks before going home, worked off-the-clockwith their managers' knowledge and approval;
* Managers deleted hours from employee time cards to avoid paying overtime.
Wal-Mart's system of rewards and punishments, based on cost-cutting, gives managers strong incentives to demand off-the-clock work. If a store manager doesn't keep payroll costs below a target, for example, he or she faces a reprimand and sometimes demotion or dismissal. Another policy strongly discourages overtime pay. "[H]olding down labor costsincluding fighting off unionization at its storesis at the heart of Wal-Mart's effort to be the nation's low-cost retailer," notes Times author Steven Greenhouse.
"It was like a plantation," said Colby LaGrue, a former employee at a Wal-Mart store outside New Orleans.
Ohio Budget Collapse Taking Terrible Toll
The state of Ohio last week was denying $100 million in funds that are due to local school districts, in order to balance the state budget. Panicked school district treasurers reported they only learned of the delay when the money did not arrive, and they called the state to find out what was going on.
Meantime, the state announced that it would delay $75 million in Medicaid payments to doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies, in order to technically balance its budget before the end of the fiscal year on June 30. Also being held up, are additional monies owed the schools for school lunch and dinner programs, and funds for various programs to aid the poor. State Budget Department spokesman Tim Keene was quoted in the Akron Beacon Journal as saying, "Everything is in flux," and saying he did not know what would be paid when.
Finally, under immense pressure, the Governor's office agreed to release all property tax payments owed to local school districts by Sunday, June 30. However, $80 million in payments for Medicaid and $40 million in aid to the poor will still be delayed, permitting the state to technically fulfill a balanced budget requirement June 30.
Asked where the money was coming from to make payments which seemed impossible only days before, Budget Department spokesman Keene said that over the past few days more substantial revenues had materialized and greater clarity on the financial situation had been attained....
In the midst of this financial chaos, President Bush is reportedly planning an appearance in Cleveland July 1, where he is expected to discuss faith-based initiatives, and aid to minorities for housing.
Strike Looming That Could Shut Down West Coast
With the contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and shippers expiring on July 1, a strike is possibleor a lockout which would halt shipping through all 29 major U.S West Coast ports.
The union has officially broken silence for the first time since the negotiations began in mid-May, to say that critical issues are still unresolved and that the negotiations are in trouble. Points in dispute between shippers and the union include wages, health care, benefits, and layoffs due to technology upgrades.
Companies are reportedly stockpiling goods from Asia to hedge against a strike while some analysists worry that a strike could trigger a sudden crisis in international financial markets. The last West Coast dock strike occurred in 1971.
AIPAC Money Succeeds in Defeating Key Black Caucus Democrat
Five-term Congressman Earl Hilliard was defeated in the Democratic primary in Alabama this week, by a 34-year-old Harvard-trained former Federal prosecutor, Artur Davis, who has no machine, but got very large donations from the Zionist lobby for his campaign. Hilliard supported the creation of a Palestinian state, and recently opposed the Congressional resolution backing Israel's war on terror.
Also targetted for defeat by the Jewish lobby is maverick Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga), also a leading Black Caucus member, who, like Hilliard, was a thorn in many sides, especially after Sept. 11.
American Muslim Council Holds Pre-Lobbying Session
Speeches at the American Muslim Council pre-lobbying session were hard-hitting (the AMC held its national conference this past week, addressed by FBI Director Robert Mueller).
At the pre-lobbying session, Ray Busch, AMC Director of Government Operations, attacked the use of secret evidence against immigrants as unconstitutional, and called for support of the Feingold bill to outlaw racial profiling. He said that the Patriots Act was passed in the wake of Sept. 11 with no judicial review, or hearings, and noted that it allows roving wire-taps which could be used in any criminal investigation now.
Calling the Patriots Act an attack on the Constitution, he declared that it puts freedom of speech in jeopardy, and described the raids on Muslim homes and businesses in Northern Virginia. Dressed like swat teams, those conducting the raid (Treasury, not FBI), behaved like storm troopers, he insisted. He further denounced the attacks on immigrants, who can now be detained for any violation.
Dr. Jamil Fayez of Lake Forest University, who spoke on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict said, "Lest the world forget colonization, Palestine is colonized. Israel practices apartheid against its Palestinian citizens; 52% of Israeli Palestinians live below the poverty line. The Israelis want to keep the Palestinians under occupation and capitulation. This is their strategy. Some say separation, others, apartheid. They want to divide up the West Bank, into 64 divisions, 120 checkpoints. Some favor transfer or expulsion to Lebanon or Jordan. Sharon told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee there would be no peace for 10 years. No [Israeli] settlement will move."
Mohammed Alomari, from Focus on American and Arab Interests and Relations (FAAIR), spoke on the genocidal consequences of the embargo on Iraq, reporting much of the material which has been in EIR in terms of the destruction of civilian infrastructurea continuing cause of death, he said. He described the fraud of the "oil for food" program, where the Iraqis get less than half, with the rest going to Israel, Kuwait, and the UN bureaucracy, including weapons inspectors. He asserted that 10,000 die every month under this program.
Waqar Ahmed Husaini, president of the Institute of Islamic Science, Technology and Development, concluded by speaking of the conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India. He said we have a clash of civilizations going on, and we must use the classical Islamic strategy of good deeds. He also said Muslims should focus more on science than on beards.
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