Target Centermass

Day: August 16, 2005

  • Army Report Rejects Guard Spying Claims

    After a rough summer, there’s a bit of good news for the California National Guard.

    An Army report has cleared the California National Guard of allegations that it spied on citizens, accusations that triggered an ongoing state Senate investigation.

    The California Guard’s acting adjutant general, Brigadier Gen. John R. Alexander, said Monday that the Army’s inspector general determined in the confidential report that a Guard intelligence unit did nothing wrong.

    “There was never the intent, desire or decision to ever collect intelligence information on any U.S. citizen,” Alexander said in a written release. “Any statement to the contrary is flat wrong.”

    State Sen. Joseph Dunn launched an investigation after a series of e-mails and actions suggested the unit had resorted to the same type of civilian monitoring seen during Vietnam War-era protests. In the 1960s and 1970s, the military collected information on more than 100,000 Americans.

    The Guard and the state attorney general say the unit merely tries to assess threats to bridges, buildings and other structures and does no spying.

    A sister unit monitored a Mother’s Day anti-war demonstration at the state Capitol, but the Guard said that amounted to reviewing media accounts.

    The spying allegations are far from over, at least at the state level.

    Dunn was skeptical of the report’s conclusions, in part because he believes the terminology used in Alexander’s announcement could be used to hide indirect surveillance activity and record-keeping by the Guard.

    “I’m concerned that the Guard has been playing a game with us on this issue,” the lawmaker said Monday.

    As for the inspector general’s conclusion, “This is a little bit like the fox saying there aren’t any hens in the hen house — at least not anymore,” Dunn said.

    I know little of California’s in-state politics, but I’ve been suspicious of Dunn’s motivations since this story first broke and I was compelled to write the following:

    Dunn demands hearings. Guard cancels an interview because of those hearings. Dunn claims Guard is shutting up and casts a shadow on the military. Listen, Dunn, the Guard is not hiding from you; rather, they’re heeding your beck and call. Must you smear them with suspicion and questions of perception before they even sit before you at your hearing?

    I stand by my initial reaction that Dunn is driven by a distrust of the military. That, or he opportunistically sees an chance to make a name for himself on the Cali political stage at the expense of those in uniform. You know, big game hunter goes after big, bad military and all that rot.

    Still, after a summer of silly complaints at home and serious allegations for those deployed, the California Guard has to welcome today’s exoneration by the Army.

  • Field for Texas Governor’s Race Broadens

    And finally a Democrat of some note declares.

    Democrat Chris Bell on Sunday formally kicked off his campaign for governor, focusing on failed attempts to reform school finance and saying his patience for Gov. Rick Perry has run out.

    “Rick Perry just doesn’t get it,” Bell told a crowd of about 100 enthusiastic supporters in front of a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the University of Texas at Austin. “I know enough to listen when Texans tell me what they want.”

    Bell, who lost his spot in the U.S. House of Representatives last year, said dissatisfaction with Perry prompted his decision to run for governor. He said Perry’s fiscal decisions are hurting people.

    Bell promised parents he would work to make Texas public education the best in the nation within 10 years by giving teachers the resources they need. Bell suggested closing existing tax loopholes to raise money for education. He said he would release a more detailed school finance plan within a couple of weeks.

    Just because he is the only declared Democrat with any political track record does not mean Bell is a shoe-in for his party’s nomination as there’s still the supposed grass-roots efforts for two-time Dem lieutenant gubernatorial candidate John Sharp and the threat of another run by the 2002 nominee Tony Sanchez. Bell does have a few negatives following him into the race.

    “Chris has already been rejected by Democrats in Houston. State Democratic leaders are rejecting him by looking for someone else to run,” said Luis Saenz, Perry’s campaign director. He noted there was plenty of opposition for Bell before it was time to think about the general election in November 2006.

    Currently, the hope for the eventual Dem nominee has to be for the Republican contender to be weakened coming out of a primary campaign between incumbent Rick Perry and current state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a campaign already threatening to turn ugly.

    Related — Campaign Sites of Declared Candidates:

    Rick Perry (R, Incumbent) – Popularity and approval numbers leave him vulnerable.
    Carole Keeton Strayhorn (R) – Unofficial motto of “One tough grandpa” is going to get real old real fast.
    Felix Alvarado (D) – Middle School Assistant Principal. Chances? Nada.
    Chris Bell (D) – Hoping bigger Democrat guns stay away from the hunt.
    Richard “Kinky” Friedman (Independent) – You gotta love the “Why the hell not?” slogan.

  • Arizona, New Mexico Declare Border Emergency

    Perhaps it’s time that the issue of the porous southern U.S. border, a problem long simmering but kept under the lid by many for fear of being trumped by the race card, can finally be faced.

    Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has joined Gov. Bill Richardson in declaring a state of emergency along her state’s border with Mexico.

    The order releases $1.5 million in emergency money for counties that lie along the border. Jeanine L’Ecuyer, a spokeswoman for the Democratic governor, said the money is intended for use by counties and municipalities to cover overtime pay for law enforcement officers, repairs of border fences and costs related to illegal immigrants’ deaths.

    Richardson attracted international attention by declaring a state of emergency in four southern New Mexico counties last week. He spent part of Monday afternoon in and out of a TV production room at the state Capitol, which beamed his comments across the country.

    The first-term Democrat said he had to declare the emergency, which provides $1.75 million in state and federal funding for additional law enforcement along the border.

    “We’re talking about a violent situation,” he said between appearances. “We’re talking about illegal drugs coming in. We’re talking about kidnapping. We’re talking about police being shot at. We’re talking about a violent situation that has to be dealt with.

    “Something like this is a wake-up call to the Congress that they need a federal immigration policy. They need to deal with issues of legal migration.”

    I’ve pointed out the violent situation before; northen Mexico has essentially become a madhouse, and Nurse Ratched ain’t calling the shots.

    Of far greater concern is the fact that our nation is overly concerned about political touchy-feely issues, knowing full well that neither Canada nor Mexico is willing and able to control who is using their country as a means to enter the U.S. And trust me, the radical Islamists know that too.