Cartoon #219: “Alito Nomination”

President Bush made his third nomination to the Supreme Court, after the withdrawl of his second appointment, Harriet Miers. Chief Justice John Roberts was his first nominee.

Bush’s choice to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, his close friend and legal counsel, Harriet Ellan Miers, raised too much protest from his extreme right-wing base. They accused him of betraying them by not choosing a known, right-wing ideologue. Former failed Supreme Court nominee, right-wing ideologue Robert Bork publicly stated that Miers was a disaster on every level. They are using the litmus test of blind opposition to Roe v. Wade.

So Bush gave them what they wanted. Bush’s public propaganda for each nomination said none of this, of course. His stated reasons for the nominations now sound crazy. Soon after the Alito nomination, one democratic congressman called the judge “a wacko.” Beware of Alito.

Cartoon #218: “Rosa Parks”

“The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who will represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?

“One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.

“We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes?”

“We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes?”

—John F. Kennedy,
Radio and Television Speech to the American People on Civil Rights,
The White House
June 11, 1963

“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.”

—Rosa Parks

Cartoon #217: “Scooter Indictment”

Well beyond Halloween 2005, the criminals in the Bush administration will live in a fear of a monster they created.

After a two-year investigation, Chicago-based Federal Prosecuter Patrick Fitzgerald indicted Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby on October 28, 2005. According to the indictment, Libby was the first person to reveal the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame outside the government to a reporter. Libby then lied about that crime under oath, and repeatedly.

Libby also served as Cheney’s top national security aide, and as national security advisor to the president. He was charged with five counts, including perjury and obstruction of justice. Libby immediately resigned his White House positions.

Indictments against other Bush administration officials were expected, but Fitzgerald decided to charge only Libby for now, and seat a new a new grand jury to continue his investigation. Grand juries serve for 18 months, with a six-month extension. The only other person mentioned by Fitzgerald in connection with the investigation was a senior official in the White House referred to by Fitzgerald only as “Official A”.

The Associated Press reported that “Official A” is Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, Bush’s chief advisor. Before the Libby indictiment, both he and Rove were advised by Fitzgerald that they were in extreme legal jeopardy. News reports prior to the indictment also revealed that Rove’s attorney advised Fitzgerald to reconsider going forward with an indictment of his client now. Whatever the lawyer said to him, Fitzgerald apparently was persuaded.

Fitzgerald said at his press conference, however, that Rove was not being indicted “today.”

Cartoon #216: “DeLay’s Mug Shot”

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay had his first appearance in court today in Austin, Texas. Yesterday he surrendered to a warrant for his arrest near his home in Houston. He was fingerprinted and his mug shot was taken. DeLay was allowed to keep his coat and tie on, and smile for the camera. The old question made popular by Esquire Magazine soon surfaced: Why is this man smiling? Given DeLay’s attempt to have Judge Bob Perkins recused from his case for being a donor to MoveOn-dot-org, and for making a small donation to the John Kerry campaign last year, this cartoon may be accurate.

Thought Bubble #25

How come God never drew a picture?

Cartoon #215: “Harriet Miers”

Last week President Bush made his second nomination to the Supreme Court, after the successful confirmation of his first appointment, Chief Justice John Roberts. Bush’s choice to replace Sandra Day O’Connor was his friend and legal counsel, Harriet Ellan Miers. Democrats accused Bush of cronyism, and Bush’s conservative base accused him of betraying them by not choosing a known, right-wing ideologue. Former failed Supreme Court nominee, right-wing ideologue Robert Bork stated publicly that Bush’s choice failed on every level.

As the Miers fiasco continues, I will hopefully have time to give my own insights into this nomination. The key to understanding it is Miers partnership at the Texas law firm of Locke Liddell & Sapp — formerly Locke Purnell Rain & Harrell with deep-rooted ties to the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. Yes... the U.S. is still locked into the unfinished business of Nixon vs. Kennedy.