Dear Friends:
Last year, I said some positive things about Monica Goodling and her testimony before congress during the Alberto Gonzales debacle. (You'll perhaps remember that Monica Goodling pled the 5th during the Justice Department hearings before she was subpoenaed, only to testify after being pardoned.) At the time, I said something like, "She seemed more forthcoming than the other witnesses, and she seems like an honest person," blah blah blah. Ms. Goodling and I have some indirect educational ties that made me feel sympathetic toward her, and I believe made me want to defend her.
Now, however, I'd like to apologize, and retract.
Here is the NPR report on the Justice Department's report on the hiring practices of Monica Goodling.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92986301(I recommend listening rather than reading, but you can do both on this page.)
Apparently, she made it her personal mission to politicize the justice department and fill non-political positions with stringent conservatives with loyalties toward George W. Bush. Pay special attention to the section on Leslie Hagen, who was apparently both fired AND black-balled for allegedly being a lesbian and despite her spotless professional record.
It comforts me to know how much this report will hurt Monica Goodling's once-disproportionately promising career. But I can only assume, whether the paper trail proves it or not, that Goodling's personal mission was linked to the greater mission of the Bush White House - to silence their opposition, neuter the democratic process and the governmental system of checks and balances, and ensure in every way possible that Bush agenda goes forward, whatever the costs to liberty.
brd suggests that perhaps the reason that people are paying less attention than they should to the domestic movements of President Bush (the Justice Department's firing of attorneys, Bush's unconstitutional claims of executive privilege) is that they are distracted by more important moves abroad - namely, the Iraq war. I think she is right, and I think people are right to be distracted. However, these machinations at home weaken Bush's opposition and lend strength to his policies both at home and abroad, and we would do well to watch carefully, and to do what we can to oppose these assaults on our freedoms.
Frustratedly,
AnneGG
