No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

FAA spent Eight Hours Searching for Democratic Reps Plane

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports from its Washington Bureau that the Federal Aviation Administration played a much larger role in the search for the run-away Texas Democratic Legislators who were preventing a quorum on Tom Delay's redistricting bill. The report says that the FAA was responding to repeated calls from Tom Delay, Texas Law Enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The report also makes clear that the FAA employees involved were aware of the political nature of the search.

This makes the Federal Government simply an agency of the Republican Party, very much like the government of the USSR was an agency of the Communist Party there. Much of what Nixon was to be impeached for before he resigned was similar misuse of the CIA, FBI and IRS to conceal the connection of the Office of the President with the Plumbers who conducted the Watergate break in.

Addendum:
More articles on the Department of Transportation investigation into the business of chasing Democratic State lawmakers:
Washington Post This includes a statement:
In a civil deposition, DPS Lt. William Crais, a key player in the hunt, testified that he was told to try to initiate a federal search operation by state Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Round Rock, and by an aide to the state House speaker, Tom Craddick, R-Midland.

As Well as the further statement:
Mead's report pins principal responsibility for the FAA efforts on David Balloff, appointed by President Bush in 2001 as the FAA's assistant administrator for government and industry affairs. Balloff is a former adviser to Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) and a former Tennessee Republican Party official.
Mead's report said Balloff withheld critical information during several interviews and fostered an "appearance" of trying to hide information about his activities from his FAA superiors. Kirk K. Van Tine, the department's general counsel, promised that he and FAA Administrator Marion Blakey would counsel Balloff "appropriately regarding these issues."

Dallas Morning News
New York Times

Tom Delay and the Bush administration want to cover up what appears to be a political misuse of the federal agencies. The cover-up is unraveling, however.
posted by Richard at 11:05 AM