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kpete

(71,997 posts)
Sun Mar 18, 2012, 11:27 AM Mar 2012

Ahh, it is the Rumsfeld Proof: the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence




“Well you have to look at the proof that’s in the prosecution. Under the Bush administration, pornographers were prosecuted much more rigorously under existing law than they are under the Obama administration. So you draw your conclusion,” Santorum said.

“My conclusion is they have not put a priority on prosecuting these cases, and in doing so, they are exposing children to a tremendous amount of harm. And that to me says they’re putting the unenforcement [sic] of this law and putting children at risk as a result of that.”


http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_03/rick_santorums_hobby_horse036127.php
http://www.mockpaperscissors.com
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Ahh, it is the Rumsfeld Proof: the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence (Original Post) kpete Mar 2012 OP
For the record Bush had 3 pornography prosecutions Obama 1 grantcart Mar 2012 #1
Is his head as flat as it looks? No room for brains. Lint Head Mar 2012 #2
We all know how Bush was at setting priorities JHB Mar 2012 #3

grantcart

(53,061 posts)
1. For the record Bush had 3 pornography prosecutions Obama 1
Sun Mar 18, 2012, 11:38 AM
Mar 2012

Politico explains that Bush engaged in a few prosecutions in conservative areas to make it look like they were doing something, when they weren't.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25622.html

Prosecutions against Girls Gone Wild, for example, had to with not maintaining age records and trade violations (shipping unordered material) rather obscenity charges.

GGW is still in business making lots of money despite Bush's prosecution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Gone_Wild_(franchise)

JHB

(37,161 posts)
3. We all know how Bush was at setting priorities
Sun Mar 18, 2012, 12:05 PM
Mar 2012

For instance, by May 2001 his AG John Ashcroft had set strategic goals for the FBI:
1. Reduce "gun violence" and enforce drug laws
2. Support community-based policing programs
3. Enforce civil rights laws--but don't go overboard
4. Administer immigration laws effectively
5. Manage an expanding Federal prison inmate population
6. Speed cases through the judicial system
7. "Ensure excellence, intregrity and accountability" in the Justice Department
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2004/03/b39039.html , specifically:
http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/ashcroftmemo.pdf and
http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/strategicplan.pdf

Anybody notice the absence of anything resembling counterterrorism there?

Compare that with similar memos under Clinton, where it was made a "Tier 1 priority" about "Foreign intelligence, terrorist, and criminal activities that directly threaten the national or economic security...To succeed we must develop and implement a proactive, nationally directed program." It was the very first item on the list:
http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/fbi98.pdf and
http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/renomemo.pdf

So, of course, Bush's DOJ took FBI agents away from silly Clinton obsessions like that bin Laden guy, and sent them to do important things, like raiding a New Orleans bordello:
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/2002_3552399/brothel-inquiry-a-hot-potato-some-suspect-prominen.html

or arresting infamous bong-merchant Tommy Chong.

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