Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

In one of the most severe blows the Bush administration has dealt to our constitutional democracy, the Pentagon attacked the lawyers who have volunteered to represent the Guantánamo detainees.  Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Charles Stimson threatened corporate lawyers who agree to defend the men and boys imprisoned there.  Flashing a list of corporations that use law firms doing this pro bono work, Stimson declared, "Corporate C.E.O.'s seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists." Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Charles Stimson threatened corporate lawyers who agree to defend the men and boys imprisoned there.  Flashing a list of corporations that use law firms doing this pro bono work, Stimson declared, "Corporate C.E.O.'s seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists."

CNN has reported that the Pentagon is distancing itself from Stimson's comments, but I'm wondering why they didn't simple announce either his resignation or firing.

According to CNN: A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Brian Maka, said Stimson was not speaking for the Bush administration.

Stimson's comments "do not represent the views of the Department of Defense or the thinking of its leadership," Maka told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Hmmmm.......... Then, again, why hasn't he been fired?

And, by the way - Stimson happens to be the GUY IN CHARGE of detainee affairs, so it is not as though he is someone just shooting his mouth off about something he knows nothing about.

But..... lest you think this is just the innocent idiotic ramblings of a "You're doin' a heckofajob Stimmy" kind of Arabian-horse trading kind of FEMA guy, the Wall Street Journal got its licks in this Friday too. According to the Progressive:

The Wall Street Journal followed up this attack the very next day. Robert L. Pollock, a member of the Journal's editorial board, took to the editorial pages on January 12 to blackball what he called "a who's who of America's most prestigious law firms." He, too, proceeded to call the roll: "Shearman and Sterling; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr; Covington & Burling; Hunton & Williams; Sullivan & Cromwell; Debevoise & Plimpton; Cleary Gottlieb; and Blank Rome are among the marquee names."

Pollock raised the same specter of financial loss that Stimson had hinted at.

"A senior U.S. official I spoke to speculates that this information might cause something of a scandal, since so much of the pro bono work being done to tilt the playing field in favor of Al Qaeda appears to be subsidized by legal fees from the Fortune 500. `Corporate CEOs seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists who deliberately target the U.S. economy, he opined."

Ever since September 11th, over and over again I've heard otherwise intelligent people (and some real dumb asses) say "These terrorists don't deserve the same rights as other people...." when referring to folks who were captured in Afghainstan or others ensnared in the "war on terror's" net.

Back the train up! You're not a terrorist until you've been CONVICTED of committing or planning a terrorist act! Until then, you are a detainee, a prisoner, one who has been accused....... but NOT GUILTY until proven so.

If we give up that basic presumption, what "freedoms" are our boys and girls fighting for over in Iraq and Afghanistan (I know - they're fighting for the freedom to drill, make billions, rape economies, and enslave poor people) but....... the claim is that they're fighting to protect our very way of life.

While at the same time the President's henchmen are here trashing it! Defend a Gitmo detainee, join the blacklist. Do a film about a disappeared torture victim, join the blacklist. Speak out against blacklists........ Go to Gitmo.

OK - so far, not yet. But why not? And, who will defend you if the President cows law firms into giving up their pro-bono work for the absolute least of these?

Yes - As far as I'm concerned, Stimson's words come straight from the President of the United States. Unless the President fires his ass tomorrow. Americans should know that a senior level Pentagon official, a Deputy Secretary of Defense, thinks it is SHAMEFUL for a lawyer to defend a detainee rotting in Cuba, and that those corporations that retain law firms with such lawyers should consider BOYCOTTING those firms.

Unless the President fires this turkey, this turkey speaks for him.

I published the White House phone number a few days ago, and here I go again! Call the White House and demand that Stimson be fired. If he hates the Constitution and hates our very way of life, and uses the power of his office to destroy people's lives for DEFENDING the Constitution, he has violated his oath of office and should be canned.

Whew. That's better. Now get to work!

202-456-1111 (White House Comment Line) Oh - and in case you thought this was just another left-wing rant - check out USA Today's op-ed on the issue.