R. Alexander Acosta clerked for Sam Alito. That's my hint to view with jaundice his 2006 move to Miami as new U.S.Attorney. Acosta's many Bush appointments tests my trustiness. (link later)
Interesting March '07 filing on Acosta's South Floria District's website is PBS&J campaign finance violations including donations to Sen. Mel Martinez. Possible connection? Contracts to build INDIAN housing when Martinez was head HUD.
DKos posts mused "what's up" with former lawyers in native American area of Dept. of Interior woven in U S Attorney tapestry? This may be a thread to pull. Maybe not. I'll post what I found so far, for use by others, before "publish or perish" deletes draft. It just killed my other "work in progress".
Many politicians got legal money from PBS&J defense connection(including Clinton.) But some donations are clear violations, hidden, reimbursed, etc. Links below.
Everyone thinks CASINO when Indians or Abramoff are mentioned. We forget billions missing or unaccounted for in Indian "trust accounts." That lawsuit has been meddled with in nightmare proportions. Native Americans are infantilized by having govt. manage huge cash billions, or leaving it uncollected, for "leases" to strip timber or minerals or remove OIL from their lands. Oil again? Yup, oil and anything else way more valuable than piddly millions in casino cash.
PBS&J had many problems: like embezzled millions and false billing scandal on military contract. Seems they thought Martinez at HUD could give them building contracts for INDIAN housing. One more abuse of THE PEOPLE.
One victim of Native HUD housing, so badly built she sued, battles on. She was overturned about rights to recover for proven faults.
SERENA DEWAKUKU v. MEL R. MARTINEZ (sorry, can't link.) I found these two grafs (emphasis mine)really patronizing.
The unique relationship that both the House and Senate recognized exists between the Federal Government and Indians and that is applicable to the IHA is the fiduciary duty of the Government to its Indian wards. See Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1, 17 (1831) (noting that the relationship between the Indians and the government was unique, "[resembling] that of a ward to his guardian"); Mitchell, 463 U.S. at 210 (recognizing the "undisputed existence of a general trust relationship between the United States and the Indian people," which comprises a "distinctive obligation of trust incumbent upon the Government" in Indian affairs). This fiduciary relationship conceived by Justice John Marshall ascribes to the government both a political duty and a moral commitment to the Indians. Cherokee Nation, 30 U.S. at 17; See generally Kimberly T. Ellwanger, Money Damages for Breach of the Federal-Indian Trust Relationship After Mitchell II--United States v. Mitchell, 103 S.Ct. 2961 (1983), 59 Wash. L. Rev. 675 (1984).
The foregoing suggests some congressional desire to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for low-income Indian families through HUD implementation of Indian Housing projects. However, Congress’ high hopes for HUD do not amount to the creation of an implied private cause of action. Congress makes many promises in the IHA. Missing among the promises, even implicitly, is the right to enforce a breach when HUD fails to carry out its mandate. For Dewakuku to prevail, among the many congressional promises must be a private right of action to enforce the substantive law. Alexander, 121 S. Ct. at 1519. We cannot agree that Congress created such a right.[2]
Elsewhere in govt. argument on this case they say there are no FUNDS to pay this claim in IHA account. If they could access their owed billions, missing in trust accounts (non-HUD), it would preclude need for helpless welfare programs with no teeth to redress grievances. Of course in public speech Martinez blathers about proudly dealing with Indians as "sovereign nations." So we have sovereign/wards?
Strange, very strange, how much mystery in US Attorney and/or Abramoff corruption tiptoes thru native cash. I wonder which other states with high native issues link to same US Attorneys?
PC locks up trying to copy and paste grafs, so please tiptoe thru links below to glean more of Martinez/Ney/Abramoff and/or some lawyers/natives curious paths thru bureaucracyland.
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) to head RNC? | Public Campaign Action Fund
Mel Martinez through "strawmen." The charges came out of a federal grand jury
investigation into the embezzlement and whether PBS&J illegally reimbursed ...
http://www.campaignmoney.org/... -
Mel Martinez - Congresspedia
PBS&J, a Florida-based engineering firm, ...
http://www.sourcewatch.org/... -
Mel Martinez is related to Florida, Bill McCollum, R-Fla, Bill Nelson, Housing,
... Judge postpones sentencing of former PBS&J... 02/17/07, Miami Herald ...
http://www.textmap.com/... -
TTC News Archives: PBS&J uses employees as 'straw' donors to ...
To make things worse, a PBS&J rival for government contracts was hosting a Cleland
... Mel Martinez ($10600), Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson ($6000) and the ...
http://corridornews.blogspot.com / 2006 / 10 / pbsj-uses-employees-as-s... -
Here's Martinez link to details of HUD/Indian "loan" governmenteze. Why should native housing have less oversight of EPA and other lower standards to get loan "guarantees." It made me think of speech (I think by Wilma Mankiller) about long ago govt. "deal" to let indians "buy" plots of rez land, rather than more traditional group ownership. When payments fail, repossession removes that land from the whole group. For her family the eviction and subsequent move off rez, led her to college etc. Others just lost protection of community. So I am suspect of "helping" tribes lose their lands. I wonder why "lowered" standards otherwise needed for HUD loan guarantees?
EPA: Federal Register: Loan Guarantees for Indian Housing; Direct ...
... Mel Martinez,
http://www.epa.gov/... -
Deloach learned that PBSJ supported the U.S. Senate campaign of Mel Martinez. ...
http://www.usdoj.gov/... - (this site links Acosta bio. too.)
KO guest said "subpoena envy". Our new mantra? We need subpoena & real oversight to connect more dots. Republicans have subpoena envy. They didn't use it to root out evil while a majority. They're jealous of Democrats doing their OVERSIGHT job. R's beat their chests. D's must use this power. Pundits ignored it as they drummed -- "power of purse is only power, all they have is purse power." (Besides, Freud's theory wrongly labelled women as having penis envy - sounds like - subpoena envy. I like twisting their own mantra of Dems. as "weak" and "Mommy" party. Now who's tough? Forget the purse, we'll hit you with our subpoena.)
Make them green with SUBPOENA ENVY. They should regret failing to honor their oath of office. WE THE PEOPLE have a right to control our taxation.
To our shame --> the real owners of "our land" have long been used and abused by all political parties. Time to pay our rent yet????? Teach our young real history?