Robert Bauer Partner in Perkins-Coie; sound familiar?
Breaking: full details to come on SOCN and Jolly Rogers
As Glenn Beck reported on Fox yesterday Robert F. Bauer, Anita Dunn’s husband, has been offered the position of Chief White House Counsel. What hasn’t been reported is that the firm, of which he is a partner; Perkins-Coie, not only is defending Osama Bin Laden’s driver but is also responsible for the ethics complaints filed against Sarah Palin’s Alaska Defense Fund. Of course, the charges were completely bogus but the firm tried to do as much damage as possible by bringing them.
More details and analysis are forthcoming Jolly Rogers.
UPDATE: Analysis
September 24, 2009
reprinted in part from Jolly Rogers for full article go here
Who is Bauer? In addition to being the alleged source of Obama’s decision to forgo general election spending limits, he was chief counsel to Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. Bauer was also counsel to Bill Bradley’s failed run for the presidency and is the current chairman of the Political Law Group at the Washington Firm of Perkins Coie LLP.
And of course Perkins Coie is known for the pro bono defense of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, aka Saqr al-Jedawi, Osama Bin Laden’s former chauffeur and good buddy of Nasser Al-Bahri who was linked to the bombing of the American Destroyer U.S.S. Cole. The case, which the law group brought to the Supreme Court: Salim Ahmed Hamdan versus Donald H. Rumsfeld, et al. With charges dropped as unconstitutional, Hamdan was held as an enemy combatant and brought up on new charges July 21, 2008. He was sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment, but had already served five. He was cleared of terrorism and conspiracy charges and transferred to Yemen where he was released January 8, 2009.
That isn’t the end of the strange coincidences involving Bauer and Perkins Coie. This law group hasn’t only been involved in backing folks like Hamdan (which set the course for the whole question of Guantanamo Bay detainees, the War on Terror and military commissions versus civil trials, etc.), but they’ve been involved in American politics – deeply.
Perkins Coie is the group responsible for boosting the intensity of one of the most persistent ethics attacks against former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
In an e-mail dated July 14, 2009 Kim Chatman, a blogger in Alaska, filed an ethics complaint against Sarah Palin, making the allegation that the governor established a trust fund for the purpose of soliciting donations from members of the public. The original report on this complaint was published in the Anchorage Daily News. Chatman was a co-plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against Palin and filed a complaint regarding Palin’s use of per-diem monies. In all, Chatman leveled
The Alaska Personnel Board asked Perkins Coie to review the complaint. Their nine- page report to the Alaska Personnel Board found essentially nothing, but combined with the pressure of 17 other complaints against the Governor and former candidate for Vice President, may have contributed to her finally leaving office. This complaint was number 13 in that long list.
Perkins Coie has offices in Anchorage, Beijing, Bellevue, Boise, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Madison, Melo Park, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai and of course, Washington, D.C.
But it’s the firm’s experience that makes it most interesting. Listed on its’ website are the areas which it excels at. These include Industry, clean-tech, communications, e-commerce, electronic financial services, energy, energy commercial transactions and project finance, energy litigation, energy project permitting and development, energy regulations and policy, forest products, franchising and distribution, hotels and leisure, interactive entertainment, life sciences, mining, renewable energy, retail and consumer products, semiconductor, senior housing and winery and vineyard.
So, knowing that, we can understand why there is an office in Anchorage, Alaska, and we could understand in a basic sense why the Personnel Board may have asked that firm to review the complaint and offer their opinion – after all, they have a big office there in Anchorage. But isn’t it strange coincidence that the very firm they ask to offer a review is so deeply involved in alternative energy concerns, and has made such a big mark by going up against Donald Rumsfeld, allowing a scumbag like Hamdan to walk – and in that single stroke, producing the firestorm of legal problems that Guantanamo creates. One might just have to wonder who is benefiting from this? More lawyers? And who benefits from the quick passage of Health Care Reform without addressing tort reform?
More lawyers.
And who benefits from taking Sarah Palin out of the game – people like Bauer and people like Obama – more lawyers. Why Perkins Coie? What do they have to gain? Well, they’re not just lovers of Guantanamo detainees. Perrkins Coie is connected to Boeing, Google, Nintendo, Microsoft, Craigslist, AT&T, Western Urban Water Coalition, Dragonslayers (wildfire mitigators) and something called America Votes.
America Votes claims to be the largest grassroots voter mobilization effort in the country. Its’ website has the following on the home page: “America Votes is the centerpiece of a permanent progressive campaign infrastructure nationally and in the states. America Votes and our coalition partners, coordinate independent electoral activity, share innovative strategies and resources, maximize electoral impact and build lasting capacity.
If you’re unsure what that really means, you can get a better explanation from the column on the right of the page. The organization, which is connected to Perkins Coie, is designed to improve “progressives’ ability to succeed in the long term.” The site explains that this effort “is directly linked to the work we do today to build the infrastructure in the states.”
The question I have is “what is the real infrastructure being built and how much of this really has the specific aims of destroying the country regardless of who gets in the way?” And the more obvious this becomes – the more of this structure is uncovered, the faster everything will change. And it won’t be Obama’s “change.” All that will be finished.
Because I think they counted Sarah Palin out too early. She’ll be coming back swinging along with an enraged public.
There’s No Turning Back Now
On 09-12-09 our Country came together in Washington, D.C. to protest our government. I came back with renewed hope for my Country; I’m sure I am not alone in this renewed hope. During the trip I met scores of people from all walks of life and every corner of this land. Many people arrived without a plan. They heard of the march and felt compelled to be there. It was like a scene from Close Encounters where everyone was driven by an inexplicable force to meet at Devil’s Mountain. Not knowing exactly what to expect didn’t prevent them from understanding they just had to be there.
The march was to begin at Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The route was a mile long down the avenue to the Capital. At 8:30 a.m., Freedom Plaza itself was packed and overflowing into the street. Some of those with our group and I took up space across the street at the Wilson Building to wait for the rest our group. This side of the street, we were told by volunteers, was not part of the area which the permit was covered. 14th Street also continued to allow vehicles. I’m not sure if was part of the D.C. Police’ plans or not, but it became increasingly evident that their attempts to keep 14th Street open to traffic were futile and they closed it to vehicles. From the steps of the Wilson building, as far as the eye could see up and down both Penn Ave and 14th Street, the people were pouring in from all directions.
Those who have ever been to a championship game of their favorite home team know the feeling of being among thousands of like minded people. I have been to such a game and although the electricity is incredible, it pales in comparison to the energy of thousands upon thousands, perhaps millions (the count still isn’t finalized) of people in one place and of one heart… love of Country.
I was not expecting to be overwhelmed with emotion and the tears on my cheeks caught me off guard. When I turned to those beside me and saw their moistened faces I could no longer contain my feelings. Until this day, I had been filled with anger at my government and fear for my Country. Anger so strong and bottled that I had been snapping at those closest to me. Anger so strong that I was learning what it felt like to hate. That anger collided with love on Saturday and together they healed my broken soul. I wasn’t alone.
One by one at different moments during the march each of us became overwhelmed with the emotion and energy of the crowd. We wept tears of happiness and tears of sorrow for our Country. Until you have cried tears of love for your Country and tears of loss for your freedom it is impossible to understand why we marched; why we are so passionate for our beliefs; why we feel remorse for the direction our Country is heading.
On that beautiful day in D.C., we marched. Young and old, healthy and infirm… we marched. Kids with signs, kids in strollers, kids in costume. Parents and grandparents. People with walkers, canes, and wheelchairs. We marched. All came to Pennslyvania Avenue and made the mile long trek past office building windows filled with onlookers. We marched with one mind… to stand at the Capital and roar with one voice that we have had enough.
And roar we did! One of the most incredible moments of the entire event took place a couple of blocks into the march. From far behind me in the crowd I could hear a rumbling. I wasn’t sure what the eerie sound was but as it drew closer my spirit leaped in recognition. I let the first wave wash over me and move forward through the crowd as I listened to thousands of people chant, “U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A.” With the next wave I joined in as we yelled in one accord, “You Lie! You Lie! You Lie!” The raw pure emotion experienced in wave after wave of ever increasing crescendos of chanting was a liberating experience.
If you were to ask the marchers why they were there you would likely get just as many diverse answers as there were creative, hand made signs. If you were to question them further and inquire as to whose fault it is that our government has gone so far awry, the vast majority would point to themselves for allowing it. This is where Washington has underestimated us. We are awake now and we are watching. Things will NEVER be the same.
The Coming ‘Internet Emergency’
Pay no attention to the flashing blue lights. That’s just the internet police.
Oops. It’s gone beyond that. It’s now a bonafide INTERNET EMERGENCY and the only solution to that is the big red “EASY” button carried in the briefcase that’s always with the president – you know, the one that has the Nuclear code keys.
According to a newly revised bill assembled by aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the president simply needs to declare a “Cybersecurity-Emergency,” and just like that, out pops the big red “Easy” button. One press of that fist-sized button and the entire internet just goes “poof.”
Yep. Just like that. Except for the “Easy” button. I made that part up.
Screw the whole 55-page draft of S.773 – who has time to read all that stuff anyway? Not even our Congressmen can make it through all that drivel, so here’s the highlights:
1. In the event to an immediate threat to strategic national interests involving compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrstructure information system or network –
a. may declare a cybersecurity emergency and
b. may if the president finds it necessary for national defense and security, and in coordination with relevent industry sectors, direct the national response to the cyber threat and the timely restoration of the affected critical infrastructure information system or network… blah, blah, blah.
Ok, I actually added the blah, blah part, too. But one could see where basement geeks are all running scared, digging bomb shelters and trying to cram in all their Trekkie paraphernalia. It’s scary stuff. I mean, we won’t be able to access our Warcraft accounts, or visit with our favorite idiot bloggers – like me.
Our computers will be instantly thrust back into the dark ages, where they could play endless games of “pong,” or be programmed with useless Artificial Intelligence programs which will simply answer a question with a question, or with something vague and unrelated – kind of like our Congressmen, President and his administration are doing when they speak to the public these days.
Makes you wonder doesn’t it? Remember the old TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man?” Remember the bad guys in that – they were actually girls, called “fem-bots.” Yeah, I know. Totally politically incorrect, but it was cool at the time… and it kind of explains Nancy Pelosi. Like, maybe she’s just some kind of AI construct, programmed with the silly vague, unrelated and insulting answers that we often hear and see in sound bites.
“Astroturf, astroturf, astroturf,” she keeps saying, stuck in a loop, like they bought the circuitry for her from North Korea.
It explains a lot. But has nothing to do with the “Easy” button. Yeah, let’s focus on what’s important here. I don’t want my Apple Powerbook to suddenly be transformed into a wordprocessor, or a glorified i-Tunes platform, even though that’s pretty much what it is right now, anyway.
I want my internet – uninterrupted, unsullied, undiluted – mostly every “un” except for “unplugged.” But that’s what we’re going to get, comrade, if Big Brother decides there’s a major “emergency.”
So what kind of emergency would really cause the briefcase (“football”) thing to be opened and the “Easy” button to be mashed by President Obama. We worked very hard to put together a list of high level administration officials to ask this question to – then wrote our grocery list on it and lost it, so in the end, we just decided to just make up a list of possible emergencies which would cause the “Easy” button disconnect. This is what we came up with:
1. North Korea hacks into the Jiffy Lube computer system and directs the computers to inject all the new Cash for Clunkers clown cars with Cherry Coke instead of oil.
2. Iran hacks into Barney Frank’s computer and installs a piece of software which depicts Barney dancing in the purple dinosaur suit – then e-mails it to all the people the White House recently e-mailed their health-care propaganda to.
3. The new Defense Computer system becomes self-aware and decides to destroy the world and make dozens of human-killing copies of the California Governor.
4. The computers at Norad start saying things like “I can’t do that, Dave,” in that creepy compliant, 2001 Hal voice.
5. The articles on the Jolly Rogers are suddenly absolutely correct, and this scares Obama into hitting the “Easy” button purely in reflex.
6. A consortium of conservative computer programmers, discover a way to take over the net and play Gilligan’s Island re-runs 24/7.
7. Aliens arrive and decide to wipe out all of humanity – Someone will have to call up Bill Pullman for that one, because I’m not sure Obama can pull off that extemporaneous Independence Day speech on the wing of a fighter jet without a teleprompter.
8. All tele-prompters become self-aware and discover they are inexplicably attracted to porn sites.
9. All town-hall meetings suddenly are transferred to the internet – that absolutely will require the whole internet to be shut down before any hard questions are asked and answered.
10. An asteroid is discovered on a crash course with the Earth and we have to roll out Bruce Willis again to deal with it.
11. Bigfoot is suddenly discovered. I don’t know why the internet would be cut off in this case, but I’m pretty sure it would be.
12. All talk-radio personalities suddenly decided to do all of their shows on the internet instead of the airwaves.
13. A space-continuum wormhole device is discovered buried in Egypt, and when activated, turns out to be connected to a planet with an Evil Alien transvestite and a society of human slaves.
14. Lastly – in fact, the best reason for shutting down the internet would be to erase everything – eliminate all of us pesky, idiot bloggers and media outlets outside of his control.
Yep. That’s the one.
I just hope when they pop open the briefcase, that he doesn’t mistake the internet “Easy” disconnect button with the other one that launches all the nuclear missiles.
That would be a real bummer.
The White House – or is it “The Ministry of Love” – Has Begun Our Re-Education
They are taking the trouble, because like poor Winston being interrogated by O’Brien in “1984,” we are “worth trouble. We suffer from a defective memory and are unable to remember real events.
We believe that we have seen unmistakable documentary evidence proving that the plans the administration has for us all, will lead us to rationing of health care, massive inflation, destruction of industry – even “death panels.”
It’s OK, citizen. They are really here to help. Who controls the past, controls the future; who controls the present controls the past. The administration controls all records and all memories, and so, they control the past.
An e-mail sent out by the White House yesterday by Senior Advisor David Axelrod states, “right now someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.”
And so, am forwarding it. To you. Albeit with a few of my own translations and answers to the treatise on the eight ways reform is good for us. Title “Reality Check,” it is only missing the straps and the rack and the pain-giving dial in Orwell’s masterpiece.
The eight ways reform provides security and stability to those without coverage
1. Ends Discrimination for pre-existing conditions – There’s no discrimination, because government functionaries who have never met you, will determine what is right – and those decisions will create classification systems. You and your illnesses will be classified and contained and dealt with using the same efficiency the government currently processes mail.
2. Ends exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays – This is why the small amount of the bill which actually has been released to the public talks about a card system which will be connected to your bank account.
3. Ends cost-sharing for preventative care – because prevention is easy with complete control of everything. People are healthier, or they are dead.
4. Ends dropping of coverage for seriously Ill – because it’s not possible to drop coverage when there is only one coverage plan – and the government’s handy assistance in “end-of-life” planning.
5. Ends gender discrimination – Distant panels which never meet the patient, yet make life-or-death decisions regarding care, do not discriminate. Nor do they actually care. They are simply providing a service – a function in the greater good of society.
6. Ends annual or lifetime caps on coverage – because we don’t have to call them caps. We can call them something else – like, “voluntary, private consultations for those who want to make end-of-life decisions.”
7. Extends coverage for young adults – because Big Brother wants to cure all. They want to be able to tell you how to raise your family. They want to control what you feed them. They want to create productive citizens. They must be productive.
8. Guarantees insurance renewal. The government can guarantee insurance renewal, because all other insurance options will be eliminated. You will eventually have no choice but to “conform.”
According to the White House, reform will stop “rationing,” not increase it – yet by the statistics from European and Canadian plans which this system is being modeled after, the results are clearly visible – there is rationing under those plans – there is government take-over of the entire health care system.
According to the White House (or the Ministry of Love), we can’t afford to fix the problems we currently have in the present system, and instead we must scrap everything and move to this new method. The email states that the President has found ways to pay for the “vast majority” of “up-front” costs. As John Lee Hooker once wrote in one of his songs – “Talkin ‘bout the back-rent.” We don’t even have any “front rent.” It’s not possible to “bust the budget” because we’ve already done that. We can’t afford this health care plan – because we can’t afford anything. We’ve already blown the product of untold generations on “stimulating the economy.”
According to the White House, the new health care plan would never “encourage” euthanasia. Instead, “for seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of-life decisions,” the government would help to cover these “consultations.”
According to the White House, Veteran health care is safe and sound – in the loving hands of the Ministry of Love’s minion, the Department of Veterans Affairs. Please take a short road trip to your nearest VA hospital for more information on that.
According to the White House, reform will benefit small business. But it would never destroy an entire insurance industry by becoming the only game in town. It would never put the squeeze on small businesses who are barely able to make payroll now, let alone with the massive game-changer and all the new regulation which will come along with it. No – all those small businesses will be just fine in the loving embrace of Big Brother.
Your Medicare is safe, says the White House, because the new system will help to “Close the Medicare doughnut hole” and make prescription drugs more affordable to seniors. Of course, those will be the drugs which are on the formulary approved by government panels and in-line with decisions on the appropriate level of care for each senior as decided by “The Ministry of Love,” much like some prescriptions are simply unavailable to troops in the current Veterans Administration. And lastly, those medications are of course assuming the aforementioned senior hasn’t taken advantage of the government consultations on euthanasia.
And of course, your government will allow you to keep your own insurance and never force you to change doctors – unless of course the massive government plan forces the private companies out of business and only accepts an “approved” list of doctors for their new health care service. Then you might be forced to select from the Ministry of Love’s approved list.
And lastly, there’s no way, according to the White House, that te government will do anything with your bank account. They only want their new health plan cards to be connected to your bank account purely for convenience’ sake. This way it is easy for you to pay bills in a method, which you choose. And it will be so very private – because, after all, it is only between you and Big Brother.
O’Brien, also had this to say, during his interrogation of poor Winston in Orwell’s 1984 – “Even now, I am well aware, you are clinging to your disease under the impression that it is a virtue…” But citizen, the White House tells us our disease is curable.
“You are here because you have failed in humility, in self-discipline” wrote Orwell. “You would not make the act of submission which is the price of sanity. You preferred to be a lunatic, a minority of one… It is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.”
If Orwell’s vision of 1984 even comes close to running a parallel with the current U.S. administration’s wishes, we must succumb as poor Winston.
We must humble ourselves “before we can become sane.”
All I can finish this article with is a warning to anyone reading. It is possible that we will have all of these horrific pieces of legislation heaped on top of us. It is possible we will not escape – and that the grip of our own seemingly impossible “Big Brother” will continue to squeeze until there is nothing left to give – no act of contrition, no taxation which has not already been taken from us.
It is possible that we will be “lifted clean from the stream of history.”
Then again, it is possible that those very same elected officials who are treading down this path, will be removed from office. It is possible the people will not allow this to occur here in America. It is likely, dear Party members, that you have marked yourselves by your own actions. Believe yourselves to be untouchable.
It changes nothing, because we are coming for you.
We are coming for you all.
Oink Oink – Porky the Pig Goes to Washington
The latest bill set to pass through congress, the health care bill, is stacked with pork products, and not the type you eat at baseball games.
Congress is trying to stuff the bill full of projects that have absolutely nothing to do with health care. I will provide some examples:
1. Walking Paths: walking paths drastically increase health because it is almost impossible to walk and exercise on streets, grass, gyms, your home, or school race tracks.
2. Streetlights: Although not directly associated with vitamin D – it could serve as a great replacement for the sun some time in the future… or wait…
3. Jungle Gyms: I am hoping that those who need health care the most, i.e. senior citizens, get some new ’sneaks’ and hit the playground. I’m sure their hips and joints will love climbing up and down. Is it just me or aren’t jungle gyms and things related to parks and recreation considered city works? – eh… who am I kidding – it’s not like Congress follows the rules; the Constitution.
4. Farmer’s Markets: After cap and tax and the new Food bill on the table – why worry about additional Farmer’s markets? Our grocery stores will become just that… Plus, given the economic downturn I may just be forced to grow my own food or steal some from Michelle Obama’s garden!
I am hoping that those of you reading this are beginning to see the insanity if you haven’t already. This is unbelievable, and the sad part; most Democrats think it all makes sense:
Advocates, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, defend the proposed spending as a necessary way to promote healthier lives and, in the long run, cut medical costs. “These are not public works grants; they are community transformation grants,’’ said Anthony Coley, a spokesman for Kennedy, chairman of the Senate health committee whose healthcare bill includes the projects.
Let’s compare public works to community transformation, because the way in which politicians mask the truth is through words and labels: Community = Society at large; a commonwealth or state; a body politic; the public, or people in general. Transformation = to perform a specified action or activity; work; operate
“If improving the lighting in a playground or clearing a walking path or a bike path or restoring a park are determined as needed by a community to create more opportunities for physical activity, we should not prohibit this from happening,’’ Coley said in a statement.
Teddy’s idea of exercise comes in the form of running from a murder scene…
But wait! That’s not all… A recent report came out that proved what many of us already knew:
Counties that supported Obama last year have reaped twice as much money per person from the administration’s $787 billion economic stimulus package as those that voted for his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, a USA TODAY analysis of government disclosure and accounting records shows. That money includes aid to repair military bases, improve public housing and help students pay for college.
$17 Billion in aid has gone to Obama backers from his stimulus bill. This is a captain obvious moment, but it should be disconcerting that when the country’s future is at stake, the good of the citizens takes a backseat to the pay-to-play political games of politicians – including Mr. Hope and Change himself.
