From: "Rich Gauszka" 

I'm not that carried away with a plethora of investigations ( by either
party in power ) .  There comes a point of excess that negates any positive
result and creates a mindless desire of payback from the aggrieved party.


"Gary Britt"  wrote in
message news:464bd0bd{at}w3.nls.net...
> What you claim is or was a strict apolitical vetting procedure was
> anything but that.  Harvard sycophants looking for other Harvard
> sycophants isn't my idea of diversity or apolitical.  DOJ and all of the
> federal government need new blood fresh ideas and the kind of general
> house cleaning that could only result from civil war, a nuclear explosion,
> or the balkinization of the USA through the succesion of many states from
> the union.
>
> I'm with you though Rich, I think the democrats should spend all their
> time on investigations and press conferences between now and 2008.  The
> American people will really appreciate all the productivity their democrat
> congress has brought them since 2006.
>
> If congress passes comprehensive immigration reform and Bush signs it,
> I'll be right there with you calling for Bush's impeachment on any grounds
> available.  That and I'll never call myself a republican again or vote for
> or contribute money to another republican candidate for the rest of my
> life.
>
> Gary
>
> Rich Gauszka wrote:
>> I'm not the one refusing to read the entire article and ignoring the
>> Administration inspired change in the hiring procedure - that decided to
>> skip a strict apolitical vetting procedure
>>
>>
>> "Gary Britt" 
wrote in message
>> news:464bc7c6{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> There were many more anti-religious and anti-Christian statements in the
>>> piece than just that one example, its just your own prejudices that keep
>>> you from seeing that.
>>>
>>> Pulitzer prizes in political reporting are meaningless crap.   Its like
>>> saying Michael Moore won an award.  Doesn't make his lies and deceptions
>>> any less lies and deceptions.  These awards aren't about quality, they
>>> are about rewarding a specific point of view.  Jason Blair won a
>>> Pulitzer for all I know or care.
>>>
>>> Gary
>>>
>>> Rich Gauszka wrote:
>>>> It also has to do with how hiring standards changed in justice as
>>>> civil rights law and the average ranking of the law school
attended by
>>>> the applicant became less of a factor over a more conservative (
>>>> perhaps even religious ) zeal.
>>>>
>>>> FWIW I can understand a portion of your objections as I felt the law
>>>> school prayer in a religious university was superfluous to
the gist of
>>>> the story.
>>>>
>>>> The reporter recently erred his way to a Pulitzer prize reporting on
>>>> the Bush signing statement revelations
>>>>
>>>>
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070417/NEWS/704170423
/1052
>>>> Gary Britt wrote:
>>>>> That's far from all they wrote Rich you no better than
that.  The very
>>>>> first thing they wrote was a snide bigoted comment
about a private
>>>>> religious law school class saying a brief prayer. 
That's got nothing
>>>>> to do with anything except anti-religious,
anti-Christian bigotry.
>>>>> The article had a couple of facts, many factual errors
and a ton of
>>>>> bigotry. Not worth the read.
>>>>>
>>>>> Gary
>>>>>
>>>>> Rich Gauszka wrote:
>>>>>> So to report the grant of preferences to a lowest
rank tier 4 school
>>>>>> smacks of religious bigotry? If you read the
article in it's entirety
>>>>>> it did mention that Regent has improved it's
standards since 1999 (
>>>>>> Gooding's class ) where 60 % failed the bar exam (
71% now pass ) .
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I agree that not all those that graduate from a
'prestigious'
>>>>>> university are the best and the brightest - George
W Bush comes to
>>>>>> mind
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Gary Britt"
 wrote in message
>>>>>> news:464b7251$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>>>>> There are so many anti-religious,
anti-Christian bigoted statements
>>>>>>> and attempted slurs in this article that it is
not possible to any
>>>>>>> part of it seriously, unless one's own bigotry
predisposes them to
>>>>>>> agree with the slurs and bigotry contained in
the article.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 1.  First it starts out by attempting to say
by implication that
>>>>>>> prayer in a religious private law school means
something bad about
>>>>>>> the students in that school.  Time to stop
reading really right
>>>>>>> there.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 2.  It states Monica Goodling worked at DOJ
when that is false.  She
>>>>>>> worked at the WHITEHOUSE and was liaison from
the whitehouse to DOJ.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 3.  It states as though it were fact that if
you don't have
>>>>>>> prosecutorial experience you can't have
anything to do with
>>>>>>> evaluating statistics that measure performance
criteria and aren't
>>>>>>> qualified to evaluate whether a person is
following policy
>>>>>>> directives set by the head of the executive
branch.  Then it goes on
>>>>>>> to imply that graduates from a different
school that doesn't pray
>>>>>>> but have absolutely no more prosecutorial
experience are qualified
>>>>>>> to do these things.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 4.  It states by implication that a person
from Harvard is more
>>>>>>> qualified for government work than a person
from another University,
>>>>>>> and argues we should let the Harvard/Yale
sycophants hire only other
>>>>>>> socio-economic bigots and religion hating
atheists from the same in
>>>>>>> bred left wing academies from which they were spawned.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 5.  Similar articles have appeared recently
complaining that
>>>>>>> somebody who was a member of the conservative
federalist society was
>>>>>>> hired and he didn't come from Harvard but came
from the University
>>>>>>> of Kentucky. Oh my god!  The horrors.  I hope
he didn't once hang up
>>>>>>> on somebody without saying good bye like John
Bolton.  Then there
>>>>>>> was another recent complaint about somebody
who was hired from a
>>>>>>> school other than Harvard or Yale who actually
kept a bust of James
>>>>>>> Madison (author of many of the federalist
papers) in his office
>>>>>>> instead of the mandatory Karl Marx bust.  Ok I
made up the Karl Marx
>>>>>>> part, but they really complained the guy
wasn't qualified because he
>>>>>>> thought highly of James Madison (Madison is of
course a favorite of
>>>>>>> the federalist society lawyers and that alone
is a disqualification
>>>>>>> to DOJ service to the likes of the bigots like
the author of this
>>>>>>> useless crap you linked to and quoted from.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 6. God forbid the DOJ should have people in it
that wouldn't give a
>>>>>>> cover-up sweetheart deal to Sandy Berger and
then not even enforce
>>>>>>> the terms of that sweetheart deal by not
requiring him to take a lie
>>>>>>> detector test that he agreed to take to detail
what he stole, what
>>>>>>> he destroyed, and what information was in the
materials he stole and
>>>>>>> destroyed that have been permanently kept from
the 9/11 commission
>>>>>>> and the American people. Yes it was those
kinds of career civil
>>>>>>> servants in the DOJ that should determine who
is hired at DOJ.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The DOJ and much of the shadow government
known as the federal
>>>>>>> bureaucracy needs are sharp kick in the ass
out the door.  I think
>>>>>>> everyone under Gonzales and above Janitor at
DOJ should be fired
>>>>>>> immediately.  The place wreaks from decades of
inbreeding and incest
>>>>>>> of type this moron you cite argues should be
the norm in perpetuity.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Gary
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Rich Gauszka wrote:
>>>>>>>> From Oral Roberts University?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/04/08/scanda
l_puts_spotlight_on_christian_law_school/
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The title of the
course was Constitutional
>>>>>>>> Law, but the subject was sin. Before any
casebooks were opened, a
>>>>>>>> student led his classmates in a 10-minute
devotional talk,
>>>>>>>> completed with "amens," about
the need to preserve their Christian
>>>>>>>> values.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "Sin is so appealing because it's
easy and because it's fun," the
>>>>>>>> law student warned.
>>>>>>>> Regent University School of Law, founded
by televangelist Pat
>>>>>>>> Robertson to provide "Christian
leadership to change the world,"
>>>>>>>> has worked hard in its two-decade history
to upgrade its
>>>>>>>> reputation, fighting past years when a
majority of its graduates
>>>>>>>> couldn't pass the bar exam and leading up
to recent victories over
>>>>>>>> Ivy League teams in national law student
competitions.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> But even in its darker days, Regent has
had no better friend than
>>>>>>>> the Bush administration. Graduates of the
law school have been
>>>>>>>> among the most influential of the more
than 150 Regent University
>>>>>>>> alumni hired to federal government
positions since President Bush
>>>>>>>> took office in 2001, according to a
university website.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> One of those graduates is Monica Goodling
, the former top aide to
>>>>>>>> Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who is
at the center of the storm
>>>>>>>> over the firing of US attorneys. Goodling,
who resigned on Friday,
>>>>>>>> has become the face of Regent overnight --
and drawn a harsh
>>>>>>>> spotlight to the administration's hiring
of officials educated at
>>>>>>>> smaller, conservative schools with
sometimes marginal academic
>>>>>>>> reputations.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Documents show that Goodling, who has
asserted her Fifth Amendment
>>>>>>>> right against self-incrimination to avoid
testifying before
>>>>>>>> Congress, was one of a handful of
officials overseeing the firings.
>>>>>>>> She helped install Timothy Griffin , the
Karl Rove aide and her
>>>>>>>> former boss at the Republican National
Committee, as a replacement
>>>>>>>> US attorney in Arkansas.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Because Goodling graduated from Regent in
1999 and has scant
>>>>>>>> prosecutorial experience, her
qualifications to evaluate the
>>>>>>>> performance of US attorneys have come
under fire. Senator Sheldon
>>>>>>>> Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island,
asked at a hearing: "Should
>>>>>>>> we be concerned with the experience level
of the people who are
>>>>>>>> making these highly significant decisions?"
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> And across the political blogosphere,
critics have held up
>>>>>>>> Goodling, who declined to be interviewed,
as a prime example of the
>>>>>>>> Bush administration subordinating ability
to politics in hiring
>>>>>>>> decisions.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "It used to be that high-level DOJ
jobs were generally reserved for
>>>>>>>> the best of the legal profession,"
wrote a contributor to The New
>>>>>>>> Republic website . ". . . That a
recent graduate of one of the very
>>>>>>>> worst (and sketchiest) law schools with
virtually no relevant
>>>>>>>> experience could ascend to this position
is a sure sign that there
>>>>>>>> is something seriously wrong at the DOJ."
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The Regent law school was founded in 1986,
when Oral Roberts
>>>>>>>> University shut down its ailing law school
and sent its library to
>>>>>>>> Robertson's Bible-based college in
Virginia. It was initially
>>>>>>>> called "CBN University School of
Law" after the televangelist's
>>>>>>>> Christian Broadcasting Network, whose
studios share the campus and
>>>>>>>> which provided much of the funding for the
law school. (The Coors
>>>>>>>> Foundation is also a donor to the
university.) The American Bar
>>>>>>>> Association accredited Regent 's law school in 1996.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Not long ago, it was rare for Regent
graduates to join the federal
>>>>>>>> government. But in 2001, the Bush
administration picked the dean of
>>>>>>>> Regent's government school, Kay Coles
James , to be the director of
>>>>>>>> the Office of Personnel Management --
essentially the head of human
>>>>>>>> resources for the executive branch. The
doors of opportunity for
>>>>>>>> government jobs were thrown open to Regent alumni.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "We've had great placement,"
said Jay Sekulow , who heads a non
>>>>>>>> profit law firm based at Regent that files
lawsuits aimed at
>>>>>>>> lowering barriers between church and
state. "We've had a lot of
>>>>>>>> people in key positions."
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Many of those who have Regent law degrees,
including Goodling,
>>>>>>>> joined the Department of Justice. Their
path to employment was
>>>>>>>> further eased in late 2002, when John
Ashcroft , then attorney
>>>>>>>> general, changed longstanding rules for
hiring lawyers to fill
>>>>>>>> vacancies in the career ranks.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Previously, veteran civil servants
screened applicants and
>>>>>>>> recommended whom to hire, usually picking
top students from elite
>>>>>>>> schools.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> In a recent Regent law school newsletter,
a 2004 graduate described
>>>>>>>> being interviewed for a job as a trial
attorney at the Justice
>>>>>>>> Department's Civil Rights Division in
October 2003. Asked to name
>>>>>>>> the Supreme Court decision from the past
20 years with which he
>>>>>>>> most disagreed, he cited Lawrence v.
Texas, the ruling striking
>>>>>>>> down a law against sodomy because it
violated gay people's civil
>>>>>>>> rights.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "When one of the interviewers agreed
and said that decision in
>>>>>>>> Lawrence was 'maddening,' I knew I
correctly answered the
>>>>>>>> question," wrote the Regent graduate
. The administration hired him
>>>>>>>> for the Civil Rights Division's housing
section -- the only
>>>>>>>> employment offer he received after
graduation, he said.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The graduate from Regent -- which is
ranked a "tier four" school by
>>>>>>>> US News & World Report, the lowest
score and essentially a tie for
>>>>>>>> 136th place --  was not the only lawyer
with modest credentials to
>>>>>>>> be hired by the Civil Rights Division
after the administration
>>>>>>>> imposed greater political control over
career hiring.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The changes resulted in a sometimes
dramatic alteration to the
>>>>>>>> profile of new hires beginning in 2003, as
the Globe reported last
>>>>>>>> year after obtaining resumes from
2001-2006 to three sections in
>>>>>>>> the civil rights division. Conservative
credentials rose, while
>>>>>>>> prior experience in civil rights law and
the average ranking of the
>>>>>>>> law school attended by the applicant dropped.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> As the dean of a lower-ranked law school
that benefited from the
>>>>>>>> Bush administration's hiring practices,
Jeffrey Brauch of Regent
>>>>>>>> made no apologies in a recent interview
for training students to
>>>>>>>> understand what the law is today, and also
to understand how legal
>>>>>>>> rules should be changed to better reflect
"eternal principles of
>>>>>>>> justice," from divorce laws to abortion rights
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> We anticipate that many of our graduates
are going to go and be
>>>>>>>> change agents in society," Brauch said.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Still, Brauch said, the recent criticism
of the law school
>>>>>>>> triggered by Goodling's involvement in the
US attorney firings has
>>>>>>>> missed the mark in one respect: the
quality of the lawyers now
>>>>>>>> being turned out by the school, he argued,
is far better than its
>>>>>>>> image.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Seven years ago, 60 percent of the class
of 1999 -- Goodling's
>>>>>>>> class --  failed the bar exam on the first
attempt. (Goodling's
>>>>>>>> performance was not available, though she
is admitted to the bar in
>>>>>>>> Virginia.) The dismal numbers prompted the
school to overhaul its
>>>>>>>> curriculum and tighten admissions standards.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It has also spent more heavily to recruit
better-qualified law
>>>>>>>> students. This year, it will spend $2.8
million on scholarships, a
>>>>>>>> million more than what it was spending
four years ago.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The makeover is working. The bar exam
passage rate of Regent alumni
>>>>>>>> , according to the Princeton Review, rose
to 67 percent last year.
>>>>>>>> Brauch said it is now up to 71 percent,
and that half of the
>>>>>>>> students admitted in the late 1990s would
not be accepted today.
>>>>>>>> The school has also recently won
moot-court and negotiation
>>>>>>>> competitions, beating out teams from
top-ranked law schools.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Adding to Regent's prominence, its course
on "Human Rights, Civil
>>>>>>>> Liberties, and National Security" is
co taught by one of its newest
>>>>>>>> professors: Ashcroft.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Even a prominent critic of the school's
mission of integrating the
>>>>>>>> Bible with public policy vouches for
Regent's improvements. Barry
>>>>>>>> Lynn , the head of the liberal Americans
United for the Separation
>>>>>>>> of Church and State, said Regent is
churning out an increasingly
>>>>>>>> well-trained legal army for the
conservative Christian movement.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> "You can't underestimate the quality
of a lot of the people that
>>>>>>>> are there," said Lynn, who has
guest-lectured at Regent and debated
>>>>>>>> professors on its campus.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> In light of Regent's rapid evolution, some
current law students say
>>>>>>>> it is frustrating to be judged in light of
Regent alumni from the
>>>>>>>> school's more troubled era -- including Goodling.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> One third-year student, Chamie Riley ,
said she rejected the idea
>>>>>>>> that any government official who invokes
her Fifth Amendment right
>>>>>>>> against self-incrimination could be a good
representative of
>>>>>>>> Regent.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> As Christians, she said, Regent students
know "you should be
>>>>>>>> morally upright. You should not be in a
situation where you have to
>>>>>>>> plead the Fifth."
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>

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