Alberto Gonzales is President George W. Bush's choice to be America's next Attorney General. Gonzales is one of Bush's most trusted friends and advisors. It was often speculated that President Bush would nominate him to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, as Bush's pick for Attorney General, Gonzales' record is coming under close scrutiny, and many disturbing questions are coming to the surface.
For example, as President Bush's chief counsel, Gonzales wrote a memo in August 2002 in which he stated that laws forbidding torture don't "apply to the President's detention and interrogation of enemy combatants." Beyond that, the memo also stated that unless "injury such as death, organ failure, or serious impairment of body functions" occurred, it did not constitute torture.
Gonzales was also a major player in the promotion and passage of The Patriot Act, an act that many believe to be egregiously unconstitutional and tyrannical. For all intensive purposes, The Patriot Act does serious injury to the Bill of Rights and all but eviscerates constitutional protections contained in the Fourth Amendment. In fact, The Patriot Act is so controversial, it has been formally rejected by hundreds of cities across the nation.
Some even speculate that one reason for Bush's infatuation with Gonzales is nothing more than old fashioned political payback. It appears, after all, that Alberto Gonzales kept Bush's drunk driving conviction in 1976 a secret until it was too late to damage Bush's first presidential bid.
However, it is the speed of Gonzales' "rise to the top" that has many people raising their eyebrows. According to News With Views, "Few individuals ever attain the fast track in the way Gonzales did."
News With Views elaborates further by saying, "A remarkable feat seems to have been accomplished. A high school graduate goes into the Air Force, not as an officer, but as an enlisted rank. Two years later, Gonzales 'wins' a coveted nomination to the United States Air Force Academy. In two years, this cadet is bored, gets 'transferred' to Rice University and earns a degree in less than two years."
NWV also states, "There are strict guidelines involved in nominating an individual for a cadet slot at the United States Air Force Academy. The competition is tough, application time is considerable and not a process done at the drop of a hat.
"Mr. Gonzales is being nominated for Attorney General, the highest law enforcement officer in the U.S. Government. The American people have a right to know the factual details of how this nominee moved in such an unconventional method through the military and then to a top ranking college. We find this a reasonable inquiry considering Gonzales deliberately kept quiet about Bush's drunk driving conviction, the very same individual who has nominated him for this top law enforcement position.
"Newswithviews.com has filed a Freedom of Information Act request."
Hooray for News With Views! The American people need to know the results of this important investigation. Beyond that, it will be more than interesting to see if anyone within the mainstream media or if any national spokesman from the Religious Right shows any interest in the results.
Speaking of the Religious Right, they should also be more than concerned that as a Texas Supreme Court Justice, Alberto Gonzales ruled that a minor girl had the "right" to have an abortion without the consent of her parents. As a whole, however, the Religious Right shows no such concern. Therefore, it is highly doubtful that they will show much interest in the questions raised by News With Views.
It is truly a sad day when both the popular media and the Christian pulpits of America can show such an amazing disregard for truth! It only means that it is even more important that independent voices be heard.
© Chuck Baldwin
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