November 12th, 2004, 9:06 am

Gonzales in the News

Ahem. Fuck you, CNN.com. You just ran a ridiculously biased piece — “Gonzales nomination angers abortion foes,” devoting fourteen graphs to the fact that some anti-choice/pro-life groups are implying that Gonzales is an unfit attorney general because he (gasp) follows the letter of the law (when it comes to abortion), not his personal feelings. To quote from your piece:

Said [Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, in a written statement], “Gonzales’ position is clear: The personhood of the pre-born human being is secondary to technical points of law, and that is a deadly perspective for anyone to take. … “Why is President Bush betraying the babies? Justice begins with protecting the most vulnerable in our midst. Please, Mr. President — just say no to the unjust views of Alberto Gonzales.”

Why is it that Ms. Brown’s vitriolic press release is quoted, juicy parts intact, without the context of the particular case? Here’s an anti-choice/pro-life assessment of the case history, which is detailed enough to let you form your own opinions.

Meanwhile, Gonzales’ more disturbing beliefs on “International Law” and “Human Rights,” are given four graphs — including the part describing a May 16, 2004 memo in which the Geneva Conventions legal protections were described as “obsolete” and “quaint.” (For more info on Gonzales’ feelings, check this Newsweek article)

An interesting aside, one I read on (of all things) USAToday.com:

In that position, Gonzales, perhaps unwittingly, prevented Bush’s 1976 arrest on a drunken driving charge from becoming public. While governor, Bush had been chosen as a potential juror for a Texas driving-while-intoxicated case. Gonzales argued that a governor should not have to serve on a jury in a criminal case because he someday might have to make clemency decisions. The argument allowed Bush to avoid jury service, which would have required him to answer questions under oath about his drunken driving arrest.