Wall of Shame

I have to make up for lost time these last few days as our router was down, and I had to suffer through days of no connectivity. We got reconnected today, so here goes.

I'm instituting a Wall of Shame -- an amorphous memorial of infamy for public officials, and countries, who disgrace themselves by abusing the public trust, usually for self-profit or to further a sell-out agenda. If this were a physical memorial, I'm sure it would dwarf all the other monuments in D.C., and it would be inscribed with the names of both Republicans and Democrats who have shamed themselves. Rather than focusing on past offenders, I think we need to "memorilize" those who are still actively abusing our trust.

Inductee #1: U.S. District Judge Edward Korman of New York who today ordered the FDA to rethink its position on Plan B, the "morning-after" pill. Korman has decided that there's no scientific reason for the FDA to prohibit 17-year-old girls from buying this drug over the counter. And, given Obama's orders on abortion, pharmacists who don't agree with this will be forced to sell the drug to underage girls or be shut down. If this is changed, girls will not be carded, which means girls of all ages, without parental consent, could buy this drug, which can have some serious side effects. Check out http://www.optionline.org/map.html?gclid=CJqBq9y6upkCFQw9Ggodrl7G6A for a list of some of its complications.

Inductee #2: The South African government, which denied a visa to the Dalai Lama who had been invited to attend a big peace shindig to coincide with the 2010 World Cup soccer match in South Africa. The conference also was to feature South Africa's surviving Nobel Peace Prize winners -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Presidents Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk. The government claimed it denied the Dalai Lama's visa because his presence would detract from the soccer tournament. However, Thabo Masebe, spokesman for President Kgalema Motlanthe, told AFP, "We in the South African government have not invited the Dalai Lama to visit South Africa, because it would not be in the interests of South Africa."

A spoksman for the Tibetan-government-in-exile said, "African states are vulnerable to Chinese pressure because of huge Chinese investments there and so this is a case of business winning over human rights and good behaviour."

As a result of the government's action, Tutu and De Klerk have said they will not attend the conference. And "the Norwegian Nobel Committee will in no way participate in the conference alongside Nobel peace prize laureates if South African authorities do not revise their refusal to give the Dalai Lama a visa," Geir Lundestad, the head of the Nobel Institute, told AFP.

Inductee #3: Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., longtime chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee. More than a decade ago, Murtha created the Electro-Optics Center under the auspices of Pennsylvania State University supposedly to spur a new high-tech industry and create jobs in economically depressed western Pennsylvania. Every budget cycle, Murtha has directed millions of earmarks to the center and then allegedly, through staff members and lobbyists, told the center which defense companies it had to award contracts to. Coincidentally, the contractors that got hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts donated millions of dollars to Murtha's campaign and PACs. After 35 years of dirty dealings in Congress, Murtha is now under federal investigation. (Source: Washington Post)

Inductee #4: Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn. Yes, he's the guy who lied about ensuring that the AIG bonuses were protected in the stimulus bill, and when he finally came clean about it, he said he protected the bonuses at the bidding of the Obama administration. He, like Obama, also got a sweetheart deal on his home mortgage. But what lands him on the Wall of Shame is a cottage deal in Ireland that recently came to light. He apparently co-owns an Irish cottage. The other owner was in business with someone who had been convicted of some serious tax charges. Dodd arranged a full pardon under President Clinton.

I'm sure you have nominees for the Wall of Shame. Feel free to share.