Monday, May 21, 2007
Shadow Government
Shadow Government Is at Work in Secret
After Attacks, Bush Ordered 100 Officials to Bunkers Away From Capital to Ensure Federal Survival
By Barton Gellman and Susan Schmidt
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 1, 2002;
President Bush has dispatched a shadow government of about 100 senior civilian managers to live and work secretly outside Washington, activating for the first time long-standing plans to ensure survival of federal rule after catastrophic attack on the nation's capital.
Execution of the classified "Continuity of Operations Plan" resulted not from the Cold War threat of intercontinental missiles, the scenario rehearsed for decades, but from heightened fears that the al Qaeda terrorist network might somehow obtain a portable nuclear weapon, according to three officials with firsthand knowledge. U.S. intelligence has no specific knowledge of such a weapon, they said, but the risk is thought great enough to justify the shadow government's disruption and expense.
Deployed "on the fly" in the first hours of turmoil on Sept. 11, one participant said, the shadow government has evolved into an indefinite precaution. For that reason, the high-ranking officials representing their departments have begun rotating in and out of the assignment at one of two fortified locations along the East Coast. Rotation is among several changes made in late October or early November, sources said, to the standing directive Bush inherited from a line of presidents reaching back to Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Officials who are activated for what some of them call "bunker duty" live and work underground 24 hours a day, away from their families. As it settles in for the long haul, the shadow government has sent home most of the first wave of deployed personnel, replacing them most commonly at 90-day intervals.
The civilian cadre present in the bunkers usually numbers 70 to 150, and "fluctuates based on intelligence" about terrorist threats, according to a senior official involved in managing the program. It draws from every Cabinet department and some independent agencies. Its first mission, in the event of a disabling blow to Washington, would be to prevent collapse of essential government functions.
Assuming command of regional federal offices, officials said, the underground government would try to contain disruptions of the nation's food and water supplies, transportation links, energy and telecommunications networks, public health and civil order. Later it would begin to reconstitute the government.
Known internally as the COG, for "continuity of government," the administration-in-waiting is an unannounced complement to the acknowledged absence of Vice President Cheney from Washington for much of the past five months. Cheney's survival ensures constitutional succession, one official said, but "he can't run the country by himself." With a core group of federal managers alongside him, Cheney -- or President Bush, if available -- has the means to give effect to his orders.
While the damage of other terrorist weapons is potentially horrific, officials said, only an atomic device could threaten the nation's fundamental capacity to govern itself. Without an invulnerable backup command structure outside Washington, one official said, a nuclear detonation in the capital "would be 'game over.' "
"We take this issue extraordinarily seriously, and are committed to doing as thorough a job as possible to ensure the ongoing operations of the federal government," said Joseph W. Hagin, White House deputy chief of staff, who declined to discuss details. "In the case of the use of a weapon of mass destruction, the federal government would be able to do its job and continue to provide key services and respond."
The Washington Post agreed to a White House request not to name any of those deployed or identify the two principal locations of the shadow government.
Only the executive branch is represented in the full-time shadow administration. (emphasis mine) The other branches of constitutional government, Congress and the judiciary, have separate continuity plans but do not maintain a 24-hour presence in fortified facilities.
The military chain of command has long maintained redundant centers of communication and control, hardened against thermonuclear blast and operating around the clock. The headquarters of U.S. Space Command, for example, is burrowed into Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs, Colo., and the U.S. Strategic Command staffs a comparable facility under Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
Civilian departments have had parallel continuity-of-government plans since the dawn of the nuclear age. But they never operated routinely, seldom exercised, and were permitted to atrophy with the end of the Cold War. Sept. 11 marked the first time, according to Bush administration officials, that the government activated such a plan.
Within hours of the synchronized attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, Military District of Washington helicopters lifted off with the first wave of evacuated officials.
Witnesses near one of the two evacuation sites reported an influx of single- and twin-rotor transport helicopters, escorted by F-16 fighters, and followed not long afterward by government buses.
According to officials with first-hand knowledge, the Bush administration conceived the move that morning as a temporary precaution, likely to last only days. But further assessment of terrorist risks persuaded the White House to remake the program as a permanent feature of "the new reality, based on what the threat looks like," a senior decision maker said.
Few Cabinet-rank principals or their immediate deputies left Washington on Sept. 11, and none remained at the bunkers. Those who form the backup government come generally from the top career ranks, from GS-14 and GS-15 to members of the Senior Executive Service. The White House is represented by a "senior-level presence," one official said, but well below such Cabinet-ranked advisers as Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Many departments, including Justice and Treasury, have completed plans to delegate statutory powers to officials who would not normally exercise them. Others do not need to make such legal transfers, or are holding them in reserve.
Deployed civilians are not permitted to take their families, and under penalty of prosecution they may not tell anyone where they are going or why. "They're on a 'business trip,' that's all," said one official involved in the effort.
The two sites of the shadow government make use of local geological features to render them highly secure. They are well stocked with food, water, medicine and other consumable supplies, and are capable of generating their own power.
But with their first significant operational use, the facilities are showing their age. Top managers arrived at one of them to find computers "several generations" behind those now in use, incapable of connecting to current government databases. There were far too few phone lines. Not many work areas had secure audio and video links to the rest of government. Officials said Card, who runs the program from the White House, has been obliged to order substantial upgrades.
The modern era of continuity planning began under President Ronald Reagan.
On Sept. 16, 1985, Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive 188, "Government Coordination for National Security Emergency Preparedness," which assigned responsibility for continuity planning to an interagency panel from Defense, Treasury, Justice and the Office of Management and Budget. He signed additional directives, including Executive Order 12472, for more detailed aspects of the planning.
In Executive Order 12656, signed Nov. 18, 1988, Reagan ordered every Cabinet department to define in detail the "defense and civilian needs" that would be "essential to our national survival" in case of a nuclear attack on Washington. Included among them were legal instruments for "succession to office and emergency delegation of authority."
The military services put these directives in place long before their civilian counterparts. The Air Force, for example, relies on Air Force Instruction 10-208, revised most recently in September 2000.
Civilian agencies gradually developed contingency plans in comparable detail. The Agriculture Department, for example, has plans to ensure continued farm production, food processing, storage and distribution; emergency provision of seed, feed, water, fertilizer and equipment to farmers; and use of Commodity Credit Corp. inventories of food and fiber resources.
What was missing, until Sept. 11, was an invulnerable group of managers with the expertise and resources to administer these programs in a national emergency.
Last Oct. 8, the day after bombing began in Afghanistan, Bush created the Office of Homeland Security with Executive Order 13228. Among the responsibilities he gave its first director, former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, was to "review plans and preparations for ensuring the continuity of the Federal Government in the event of a terrorist attack that threatens the safety and security of the United States Government or its leadership."
Staff researcher Mary Lou White contributed to this report.
Palpatine Had Order 66, Bush Has Directives 51 and 20
Here is a link to the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive website:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html
Daily Kos on the subject: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/11/0401/26667
The Progressive: http://progressive.org/mag_wx051807
Ron Paul (the only Republican Candidate worth a damn) has something to say about all of this:
http://www.conservativeusa.org/cog-ronpaul.htm
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Strange Fruit
Southern trees bear strange fruit,Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.Pastoral scene of the gallant south,The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,Here is a strange and bitter cry.
Lyrics by Lewis Allen
Made famous by Billie Holiday
Ron Paul - The Best Republicans Have To Offer..... I have a better chance of becoming President
Ron Paul at Second Republican Debate
RON PAUL Battles Hannity in Post-Debate Interview
I don't know who he is but out of all the candidates, Republican or Democrat, he is making the most damn sense. It's a shame his party is so full of shit that he got attacked the way he did. I don't agree with his policies on immigration, but he is the best they have to offer.
Shit....if this guy has sparked the interest of people like me there is no way in hell he will win his party's nomination.
So it goes.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
States seek sex offender data from MySpace - CNN.com
States seek sex offender data from MySpace - CNN.com
I have no love for sex offenders, but I am a bit wary that MySpace is being used in this matter. In every Orwellian nightmare there is a government database which holds information about its citizens. In the case of MySpace the people have created this database on their own. In this circumstance it's being used against sex offenders, maybe tomorrow it will be used for other purposes. MySpace users be warned.
I have no love for sex offenders, but I am a bit wary that MySpace is being used in this matter. In every Orwellian nightmare there is a government database which holds information about its citizens. In the case of MySpace the people have created this database on their own. In this circumstance it's being used against sex offenders, maybe tomorrow it will be used for other purposes. MySpace users be warned.
Monday, May 14, 2007
America's Favorite Terrorist Goes Free
Thursday, May 3, 2007
White House Wants You To Have The Right To Hate Homosexuals
MSNBC reported today that, "Just hours after the White House issued a veto threat Thursday, the House voted to add gender and sexual orientation to the categories covered by federal hate crimes law." Social conservatives have argued, "the bill threatens the right to express moral opposition to homosexuality and singles out groups of citizens for special protection." The bill would, "extend the hate crimes category to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability and give federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hate crimes investigations." It seems like the religious right is worried that they will no longer be able to legally hate homosexuals and threaten them with violence. So a religion that orders its followers to hate a certain group of people should protected under the law. By this rationale Islamic Radicals should be free to hate and threaten violence against all infidels and the Jews. It is horrible that the White House is so willing to legislate this double standard.
Here is the article:
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Happy Loyalty Day!
While the rest of the world is celebrating May Day, "a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labour movement. May Day commonly sees organized street demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of working people and their labour unions throughout Europe and most of the rest of the world." (Wikipedia) The United States is celebrating Loyalty Day, "It is a day set aside for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom, and was intended to counterbalance the celebration of May Day which was perceived as communist." (Wikipedia) Loyalty Day sounds very authoritarian, as if anyone who does not celebrate Loyalty Day has questionable loyalties. Can one be a communist or have communist sympathies and still be considered a loyal American? Does one have to posses a love of capitalism and materialism in order to be considered a loyal American? In this day and age my gut tells me yes, but my gut is also telling me it's hungry.
Happy May Day!
Happy May Day!
"Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains."
"Democracy is the road to socialism. "
- both by Karl Marx
May Day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day
Loyalty Day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty_Day
Monday, April 30, 2007
UnCurious George
Michael F. Scheuer wrote a wonderful piece in the Washington Post today. Scheuer's piece illustrates and illuminates the controversy surrounding ex-CIA chief George Tenet. "George Tenet has a story to tell. With his appearance tonight on "60 Minutes" and the publication of his new memoir, "At the Center of the Storm," the former director of central intelligence is out to absolve himself of the failings of 9/11 and Iraq. He'll sell a lot of books, of course, but we shouldn't buy his attempts to let himself off the hook." (Washington Post) Seems like he knew something that fell upon clinically deaf ears. Maybe this is all part of their vigorous propaganda machine.
Here is the piece:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702052.html
Selective Memory
This is a clip of Gonzales not recalling our Constitutional Right of Habeas Corpus.
CNN reported today that,"A small group of student protesters, including one wearing a black hood and an orange jumpsuit, heckled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as he posed with old classmates Saturday during their 25-year Harvard Law School reunion." Apparently the protest began during a group photo,"When the photographer was getting everybody set up and having people say 'cheese,' the protesters yelled: 'say torture, instead,' 'resign' and 'I don't recall,"' said Nate Ela, a protester and third-year student." Gonzales should resign simply because he is an embarrassment to our country. The president's lap dog spent most of his recent Senate hearing unable to remember important details of his actions as the Attorney General. Sounds to me like Gonzales is taking a cue out of the Reagen playbook. Perhaps years from now his wife will reveal to us he has Alzheimer's and we can feel guilty for holding him accountable.
Here is the article:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/04/29/harvard.gonzales.ap/index.html
Friday, April 27, 2007
Stephen Hawking Floats!
According to the Cambridge Evening News, "GENIUS physicist Stephen Hawking has experienced weightlessness in a zero gravity flight. The Cambridge University professor, who is an expert on gravity, found out what it is like to be an astronaut when he took part in the 90-minute flight from Kennedy Space Center in Florida yesterday (Thursday, 26 April). " No jokes here. This man is a f--king genius. This man cannot move or speak on without aide. This man gets to float nearly weightless. I feel happy for Stephen Hawking. He wrote a brilliant book that was made into a trippy movie called "A Brief History of Time". He was also on "The Simpsons". There is also a spoof rap record out there entitled "MC Hawking: A Brief History of Rhyme".
Here's the Article:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2007/04/27/a506d69a-e059-4f5f-af34-cd9ec5a642f4.lpf
Stephen Hawking Bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking
MC Hawking website:
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Film Czar Jack Valenti Dead at 85
Jack Valenti, "was an influential American lobbyist and a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America. During his 38 year tenure in the MPAA, he was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyright lobbyists in the world." (Wikipedia) Jack was the boogie man in the nightmares of all you sinful illegal movie downloaders. The boogie man is dead.
Here is his bio:
Trivia: Jack was around when LBJ was sworn in after Kennedy's assassination, coincidence or conspiracy? Jack is the guy to the left of the man with the bowtie.
Condi Is One Sly Fox
Cnn reported that in response to a request to appear before Congress,"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she has already answered the questions she has been subpoenaed to answer before a U.S. congressional committee and suggested she is not inclined to comply with the order."
I mentioned in a previous post (I'll Leave It Up To Your Imagination) that we should give the Secretary of State the opportunity to respond to Congress before we past judgement. Now I smell something rotten in Denmark. Why hide behind a carefully written letter when one's honest statements would surely satisfy any inquiring minds? Is this a Democratic witch hunt/fishing expedition? Either way who cares. There is blood in the water and the sharks are hungry.
Here is the article:
Job Opening: American Female Cable News Journalist - No Fatties
I found this interesting website that concentrates on certain aspects of female Fox News journalists. http://www.girlsoffoxnews.com/ I wonder how many highly qualified women never get an opportunity to have a national voice because of their physical "limitations".
So It Comes To This
For those of you not obsessed with Fox News, this is Michelle Malkin. Ms. Malkin is "an American columnist, blogger, author and political commentator. She is a social and political conservative. She makes frequent guest appearances on national syndicated radio programs and on television networks such as MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and C-SPAN. As well as her written blog, she posts regular video blogs. Her syndicated column appears in nearly 200 newspapers nationwide." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Malkin)
It is so sad that this is what passes as a respected member of our American journalistic community. We have serious problems in this country and no serious forum in which these problems can be debated. This video sums up the maturity level of the people who are our supposed experts in political punditry. Our nation has turned the news into entertainment and we all suffer for it.
Oh yeah, she's a crappy cheerleader too.
Pepsi Presents "Broward County, Florida"
When I day dream about the future I imagine hover boards, sex robots, and the ihuman (the inevitable fusion between ipod and man). Unfortunately according to the Florida Sun-Sentinal the future seems to be a place where large corporations own entire towns, states, countries, and perhaps even the world. Maybe I'm exaggerating, yet I have a horrible feeling that this is how that nightmare begins,"Naming a Broward County park after a potato chip or soda maker might be hard for county commissioners to swallow. But they said Tuesday they have little choice, given the Legislature's plans to cut local property taxes." Seems tax problems lead to the selling out of entire state counties. Would anyone like to take a walk through McDonald's Park and chill next to the Taco Bell fountain.
Here's a link:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cnaming25apr25,0,1144326.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
Here's a link:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cnaming25apr25,0,1144326.story?coll=sfla-news-broward
UPDATE (4/27/07):
The above link no longer works. In fact the entire article was removed from the sun-sentinel website.
Here is the Google cached copy of the missing article:
UPDATE (5/15/07) The original Sun Sentinel site is back up.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Inspiration For Jerri Blank
Amy Sedaris takes this lady and plays her up perfectly. "Strangers with Candy" was one of the best TV shows ever produced. I advise all that haven't seen it to find an episode somehow and be prepared to laugh pretty damn hard.
Here's a link with more info about the show:
I'll Leave It Up To Your Imagination
I'm glad to see that some of the people who messed up our adventure in imperialism are being called on their miscalculations. "A House committee Wednesday (4/25/07) subpoenaed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to find out what she knew about the 2003 claim that Iraq sought uranium from the African country of Niger." (CNN) If you and I mess up on the job once too many times the boss inevitably fires our asses. I hope no one starts to bitch and moan about a Democratic witch hunt against Republicans. This is politics baby, there was a time when politicians would actually dual each other to the death. Let's hear what the Madam Secretary has to say; she has to be better at testifying to Congress than Attorney General Gonzalez.
"You could call me Aaron Burr from the way I'm dropping Hamiltons." (SNL, Lazy Sunday)
Here is the link:
I'll Be On The First Galactic Cruiser
It was reported today that, "European astronomers have found the most Earth-like planet outside our solar system." It's slightly humorous imagining all the wacky sci-fi scenarios presented in the article. "You could have a birthday party every 13 days because that's how fast this new planet circles its sun-like star." I guess I would be around 758 years old if I lived there. Sort of makes clear our flimsy handle on things like time. Anyway I thought this was the least depressing of all the news reports out there today.
Here's a link:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/25/habitable.planet.ap/index.html
Here's a link:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/25/habitable.planet.ap/index.html
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Kurt Vonnegut - So It Goes
1922 — 2007With the death of Mr. Vonnegut ( on Aprill 11th) comes this mean spirited obituary from FOX NEWS. For all those not in the know Mr. Vonnegut was the man. He wrote words that cut right to the core of our foibles and hypocrisy. In other words he was one of the greats in the American literary canon. I am personally saddend by FOX's treatment of this man's death.
Here is a bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut
Explanation of the term "Literary Canon":
News Flash! Human Beings Lie
Cnn reported today that, "The brother of Army Ranger Pat Tillman told a House panel on Tuesday that the military tried to spin his brother's 2004 death to deflect attention from emerging failings in the Afghanistan war. " I feel sad for the Tillman Family. Yet at the same time I can't help but feel annoyed. This story is about one of the most fundamental of human flaws; lying to protect one's own intrests. I recognize that many would respond to that with, "But some individuals should be held more accountable for their actions than others dependent on thier position with in our society." To which I would retort, "Bulls--t." Nothing in this world makes any individual inherently better than anyone else, not education, not social standing, not race, not gender, not a highly respected position in buisness or government, NOTHING. Social Darwinism was a lie. We all have lied when it suited us. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. It's a vicious cycle.
Here is the link:
Monday, April 23, 2007
Some Things Never Change
I found the lack of progress in this situation to be frightening. "College-educated American women working full time earn dramatically less than male colleagues in the same field even just one year out of university, according to a new report." (MSNBC, 4/23/07) Equality is something that has to be fought for. Sometimes legislation is not enough to turn the tide of inequality.
Here is the article:
Mr. Bush, Tear Down This Wall
Here is something that makes the skin crawl. Seems that the U.S. military in Iraq is intent on walling off a section of Baghdad in order to curb sectarian violence. Whether or not this makes good strategic sense the symbolic power of a "wall" will continue to erode what is left of the goodwill Iraqi's have toward the United States. Images of the Berlin Wall pop into mind and nothing good can come of that. It's one thing if an action makes strategic sense, but to the majority of us who are not schooled in urban warfare this looks bad. A large number Iraqi's took to the streets to protest the idea. The Iraqi prime minister did not seem too enthusiastic when he found out. Weird.
Palm Beach Post - Letter to the Editor (4/23/07)
If Our Grief Is Unbearable, Imagine Iraqis' Daily Pain
My heart goes out to the families of those who lost loved ones in Virginia. Senseless violence brings about a pain that is impossible to describe. Yet these moments can bring an element of clarity that is too important to ignore. I apologize in advance if anyone thinks that the comparison I'm about to make is insensitive.
The United Nations stated that 34,452 Iraqi civilians died in 2006. That works out to 94 violent deaths a day. I ask my fellow countrymen to think about the pain, heartache and insecurity that the deaths in Virginia have caused us to feel. Now, imagine that pain tripled every day for a year. This is not meant to equate any individual or nation with the troubled man responsible for the horror in Virginia. I just felt that this was an opportunity for Americans to perhaps relate to Iraqis who are feeling every day what we feel today.
The United Nations stated that 34,452 Iraqi civilians died in 2006. That works out to 94 violent deaths a day. I ask my fellow countrymen to think about the pain, heartache and insecurity that the deaths in Virginia have caused us to feel. Now, imagine that pain tripled every day for a year. This is not meant to equate any individual or nation with the troubled man responsible for the horror in Virginia. I just felt that this was an opportunity for Americans to perhaps relate to Iraqis who are feeling every day what we feel today.
RICK PORTUGUEZ
Palm Beach Gardens
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2007/04/23/a15a_edletters_0423.html
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