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The Daily Muck
At a congressional hearing on the many illegal immigration detention centers around the U.S., Julie Myers, assistant secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, said the agency will do a better job of reporting detainee deaths. The hearing was in response to Washington Post's series on the detention centers. (Washington Post)
Alleged planner of the 9/11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as well as four other co-conspirators, will face arraignment today at Guantanamo Bay. Mohammed is the most high-profile figure to appear before the controversial war-crimes tribunal at Gitmo. As has been the norm with similar cases at Gitmo, Mohammed's lawyers are claiming the trial was rushed in front of a judge for political reasons. (Associated Press)
A federal jury found Illinois political fundraiser, real estate kingpin and Barack Obama-supporter Antonin "Tony" Rezko guilty on 16 of 24 counts of corruption, mostly related to his dealings while an adviser to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). (Associated Press)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) is ordering the companies responsible for the production of the formaldehyde-ridden FEMA trailers to appear in front of the House Oversight Committee for congressional testimony. The trailers housed homes for hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast. (Gannett)
Walgreen Co. has taken a reserve to pay a $35 million Medicaid fraud settlement. The company has denied responsibility to claims that patients were given more expensive versions of three drugs. (Reuters)
Over 800 black farmers have filed a new lawsuit against the Agriculture Department after Congress readdressed a 1999 discrimination settlement. The farmers were able to re-file the suit since the farm bill, passed weeks ago, allows plaintiffs denied inclusion in the previous suit for missing deadlines to try again. (Associated Press)
Attorneys for John T. Michael, former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) confidant, have been told by a federal judge that they must file documents for an extension of Michael's sentencing publicly rather than attempting to file in secret as they have requested. Cunningham, himself, is serving an eight-year and four-month sentence. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is threatening a freeze on new appointees to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission if the agency does not increase oversight of the crude-oil market. (Wall St. Journal sub. req.)
As the 109th person fell prey to bird flu in Indonesia, the government's policy of keeping all news of new flu deaths quiet receives more scrutiny. (Associated Press)
Finally! This has been a long time coming. I know Waxman's had a lot to do—and all of it is important—but I think this one is going to reveal some serious cronyism and Bushism by FEMA political appointees.
I know some FEMA careerists, and there's no way that they'd have let these trailers go through. These guys are completely honest, methodical in their work, and have never even cared which party was in the White House.
This may not be in the category of war crimes (though there's an argument for that), but it's certainly criminal. Yeah, people like Jeremiah Wright go over the top at times with their conspiracy theories, but it's cases like giving poor black people who have lost their homes and all their possessions poisonous trailers to live in that make the theories a little less crazy.
June 5, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've seen one item, and one only, in the print media about the "unknown illness" now affecting those who have lived in those trailers.
If it ain't the Bushit criminal enterprise stealing everything, including that nailed down, it's creating the incentive for "trial lawyers" to sue the gov't for taxpayer-funded damages to people by the gov't.
That's another costly theme for the future: lawsuits draining the gov't of funds as direct result of the Bushit criminal enterprise -- none of which is the fault of the injured, or of the "trial lawyers" representing them.
June 5, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink