controversial celebrity News

There are a lot of people that believe that George W Bush and his administration made a lot of mistakes during their eight years in power but were some really bad enough that George W or some of his top aides could actually end up spending time behind bars?

Although that may be a stretch of the imagination to a great degree ,the new Obama administration is taking the first steps to initiate an investigation that may ultimately lead to some very high ranking persons from the Bush administration ending up in some very hot water indeed.

The issue at hand is the way that the CIA under George Bush conducted the interrogation of suspects in connection with the “war on terror”. Although an investigation into the actions of the CIA is something that President Obama has shied away from in the past stating that he wants “to look forward, rather than back”, Attorney General Eric Holder insists that the evidence of abuses that he has been presented with are compelling enough for an investigation to be instigated . “I fully realize that my decision to commence this preliminary review will be controversial,” Holder said in a statement issued to the press “In this case, given all of the information currently available, it is clear to me that this review is the only responsible course of action for me to take.”

Holder has already named a special prosecutor , John Durham, to investigate certain cases of prisoner abuse that were documented in CIA records and to probe issues such as why video tapes of some of these interrogations were apparently destroyed by the CIA.

George W Bush and his then Vice President Dick Cheney have consistently denied that torture was ever used during the questioning of any subjects and that all the interrogation techniques they authorized were well within the limits of the law. There is however mounting evidence that that is not the case. A report compiled by CIA officials themselves admits that certain techniques used by their agents were “unauthorized, improvised, inhumane and undocumented”.

But how will this all lead back to Bush and company? According to a former administration legal advisor, Jack Goldsmith, he and some of his colleagues have always been conscious of the fact that the actions taken to “keep America safe” after 9/11 may one day end up with the President and his top officials being investigated and perhaps held accountable for any illegal activities they knew about or even sanctioned.

It is likely that the investigation will take a long time to complete, but considering that Bill Clinton was impeached just for lying about his relationship with “that woman” there is little doubt that some very high profile politicos both past and present will be watching its progress very closely.

There may be some days in the recent weeks when President Barack Obama, once the darling the nation, may feel like he can do no right. Debates on healthcare reform have turned from polite town hall discussions into near pitched battles, and when record high unemployment figures were released on Friday it was seen by many as yet another blows to the President’s credibility. Now the most innocuous of things – a back to school speech to the nation’s children – has ignited yet another firestorm for the White House to diffuse.

The speech, scheduled for Tuesday was meant, says the White House, to simply encourage students across the country to work hard during the new school year and stay focused on their education. But many conservative parents are just not buying that line and are accusing Obama of trying to “indoctrinate” their children, pressing his own agenda on “impressionable young minds.”

One parent, Colorado native Shanneen Barron told a CNN reporter “Thinking about my kids in school having to listen to that just really upsets me. I’m an American. They are Americans, and I don’t feel that’s OK. I feel very scared to be in this country with our leadership right now.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty did not go as far as agreeing with such a statement but he did publically express his displeasure at the planned broadcast, which would be shown during lesson time. “At a minimum it’s disruptive. Number two, it’s uninvited. And number three, if people would like to hear his message they can, on a voluntary basis, go to YouTube or some other source and get it. I don’t think he needs to force it upon the nation’s school children.” He said. Pawlenty himself is often touted as a possible 2012 GOP nominee for President.

All of this controversy leaves teachers and school administrators across the country with a decision to make, do they allow the children in their school to watch the President’s speech and face the possible ire of unhappy parents?

Some of the controversy surrounding the planned speech is related to a lesson plan that was to be distributed to teachers nationwide. In the original plan it is suggested that teachers encourage students to draft letters to themselves that address “what they can do to help the President.”

The White House has since said that the original draft was merely poorly worded and it should have inferred that children should consider how they can “achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has dismissed the whole affair as “part of the silly season”.

Still, many remain unconvinced. “As far as I’m concerned this is not civics education — it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality,” was the comment to the press from Oklahoma state Sen. Steve Russell, who is, of course, a Conservative Republican.

Thomas McGowan

Thomas McGowan spent almost twenty three years in jail for a crime that DNA evidence has since proved he did not commit. Now a new law in Texas, where he was wrongfully imprisoned on rape and robbery charges, will be providing him with a financial bonus that may not make up for over two decades behind bars but will go a long way to ensuring that the rest of the fifty year olds life is a little more comfortable.

For his part he knows what he wants to do with some of the money he should be receiving in a month or so – buy a three bed room house with stainless steel appliances. After that he says he’ll probably leave the financial decisions up to his girlfriend.

He is not the only exonerated inmate that will be coming into money over the next few months. The state of Texas has the highest national rate of exonerated former prison inmates, and the new law will cover them all.

Under the new act exonerated inmates will receive a payment of $80,000 for every year they spent behind bars. The new compensation package also includes annuity payments that are worth about $40,000 annually to those who were wrongly convicted and qualify for the program.

For his part Thomas McGowan admits to being both nervous and excited about the money he will receive. He describes his time in jail as “hell” and “like slavery” but it seems he never expected to receive a payday as big as the one he is about to receive. “It’s something I never had, this amount of money. I didn’t have any money — period.” he told the press.

As well as financial benefits all of the exonerated in the state will have access to a myriad of social services, including financial counselors to help them manage their money properly and avoid being taken in by scammers and others who might seek to cash in on their newly found good fortune.

There are 38 known exonerates in Texas at this time, most of who were freed by the efforts of the Innocence Project, a New York based legal service that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions. According to them an alarming 21 men in Dallas County alone, including McGowan, have been freed on the basis of DNA evidence so far, although prosecutors do still intend to try and take one of the cases to a second trial.