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Alberto Makes The Rounds
Now that someone else is saddled with the job of salvaging the department he damaged, Alberto Gonzales is free to speak to the nation's youth. It's a whistle-stop tour to spread the good news of cronyism, mismanagement, and politicization, to tell tales from his years as the administration's doormat at the Department of Justice. He's already scheduled a couple of speaking engagements.
But Gonzo doesn't come cheap. It's costing the University of Florida $40,000 for his appearance tonight. And Washington University in St. Louis is looking to pay him $30,000 for a speech in February (plus $5,000 for the necessary security). The student paper, Student Life, reports that "The decision to bring Gonzales to campus comes as part of a larger effort on the part of [the Student Union] to bring well-known and controversial speakers to campus." He fits the bill.
For those who can't mount the funds necessary to bring Gonzales to campus, remember: you can always give to his defense fund.
Comments (27)
Michael wrote on November 19, 2007 10:31 AM:It should be a short speech, since he can't remember anything. What, he gets up, says "I don't recall," and then he sits down again. That's over 10 k per word, not bad.
Alguien wrote on November 19, 2007 10:43 AM:Why doesn't he use the fees he'll get for giving speeches to pay his attorney's fees instead of asking for contributions?
drew wrote on November 19, 2007 10:49 AM:Just when you thought they had finally disappeared from the public eye, here's Alberto on tour and Karl Rove writing a column for Newsweek!
What's next???
Rumsfeld in Baghdad as a "motivational speaker" for the troops?
Bernie Kerik lecturing on ethics?
God help America!
I will lose whatever little faith I have left in the future of America if he's not booed/heckled off each and every stage.
C92 wrote on November 19, 2007 10:53 AM:Does the AGAG Legal Defense Fund have a website yet?
yellowdogfox wrote on November 19, 2007 10:54 AM:Please! It's Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Washington remaining in Seattle. And if I had any connection with either Washington U. or the U. of FL, I would be hopping mad that big bucks were being wasted on a little cretin.
Jay_M wrote on November 19, 2007 11:03 AM:I think we need to stand in front of all Ford Dealers with signs that state "FORD LOVES TORTURE" or something to this affect.
Call 1.800.392.3673 & tell them how you feel & call your local ford deal also.
Ford always did seem to love the fascists.
correctnotright wrote on November 19, 2007 11:09 AM:It says something about the sad state of affairs that a former AG of the US has resigned in disgrace and that he needs a defense fund - because of all the malfeasance on his watch.
The corruption and ineptitude of this adminstration is without equal in our history. Keep up the good work documenting the idealogues in the Bush administration and their destruction of the American values and our constitution.
Please fix the univ. of Washington in St. Louis - the students in St. Louis will think they have moved to Seattle - which they should do if they actually pay this guy to speak.
M M wrote on November 19, 2007 11:11 AM:I wonder where Scooter Libby is giving speeches these days. This is just the way conservatives take care of their own: speech-fare...
KilgoreTrout XL wrote on November 19, 2007 11:20 AM:Florida "denied" the following requests for Gonzo's speech:
"He requested that his representatives choose which members of the press cover the event and that they not use television cameras and recording devices during his speech, his contract stated.
Gonzales also asked Accent not to disclose the amount he was paid for his speech - $40,000"
But they allowed a pretty important one:
"The speakers bureau did grant Gonzales the right to control the question-and-answer session after his speech. Attendees must write questions on index cards, which will be collected and asked by a moderator."
Oh well- the man has zero credibility anyway. If people want to pay him large sums of money to lie like crazy, it's their call.
source:
http://alligator.org/articles/2007/11/18/news/campus/gonzales.txt
TheraP wrote on November 19, 2007 11:24 AM:Probably the guy will do as well as Harriet Miers making her rounds, before she was confirmed as one of the supremes... a supreme failure.
Mafalda Hopkirk wrote on November 19, 2007 11:25 AM:Gonzo - a "controlling authority" ... all he's got left is to try and control the questions after speeches.
But he won't get to control the questions during legal proceedings!
paul wrote on November 19, 2007 11:41 AM:So even assuming that the pace of speeches slows down, Gonzalez stands to make somewhere between half a million and a million dollars in the next year explaining why he resigned in disgrace. Talk about wingnut welfare.
Ken H. wrote on November 19, 2007 12:40 PM:Given the venue, what's the Gonzo version of "Don't tase me, bro!"
"Don't torture me, Fredo!" seems to obvious.
chris wrote on November 19, 2007 1:01 PM:As a Wash U. alum, I'm pretty confident he'll get hackled. Unless, of course, it's changed radically in ten years. The conservatives on campus couldn't muster meetings of more than fifteen people, even with free food; they're be plenty of hecklers in the crowd.
Next time I'm called for money, though, I'll tell them to kiss my heinie.
moondancer wrote on November 19, 2007 1:44 PM:Horror! My dad is a Wash U. alumni, and I a UF. I already wrote them to take me off the mailing list, if they can afford to waste money on the likes of fredo.
Vulture Breath wrote on November 19, 2007 1:56 PM:I'm gonna hire him for a bar mitzvah.
uflaw_07 wrote on November 19, 2007 3:54 PM:I can't speak for Wash U, but at UF, the speakers bureau in charge of bringing guest speakers to campus is (and has been) under fire from every right-wing ideologue group under the sun to "balance" its invitees politically. The result, sadly enough, has been a tit-for-tat parade of horribles. They bring in Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the righties go nuts. So then they bring in Ann Coulter. John Kerry was here recently [during which the infamous student tasering event transpired], so now they're obliged to bring in the filthiest righty ideologue they could find (who isn't preoccupied with the duties of some official government post), and Alberto Gonzales fits the bill. The $40,000 is part of the budget allocated to ACCENT, the speakers bureau comprised of STUDENTS, by STUDENT government. The University of Florida in its official capacity had little to do with this decision.
greg wrote on November 19, 2007 5:37 PM:Oh Paul, grow up. He's not going to talk about resigning, much less about there being any disgrace involved. He's a Bushie. He doesn't have to explain.
electrolite wrote on November 19, 2007 6:03 PM:It really is a sad state of affairs when anyone would actually *pay* that corrupt little toad Gonzo for an "appearance." He resigned in disgrace and didn't accomplish a single worthwhile thing when he was AG, and left the Justice Department a compromised, dysfunctional pile of wreckage. For that he's worth $40,000? That's ridiculous.
JanHuss wrote on November 19, 2007 7:49 PM:One of the most important gains after the Magna Carta was the transformation from the Writ of Habeas Corpus as a royal grace (personal whim) of the royals to an actual human right
The independence of the judiciary was understood as the crucial sign that there was isolation and independence from the executive power.
Hamilton and Mason both insisted that the two greatest dangers to human rights was the military and a judiciary under the control of executive authority.
Clearly these bulwarks of freedom were under attack by the likes of Gonzalez, and Gooding and the senior Bush leadership. The politicization of the Justice department alone represents the height of Constitutional Insult. The alone is sufficient justification for the placement of charges of Impeachment against this criminal junta.
Impeach now, demand it, insist on a return to Constitutional Governance.
Solidarity & Peace
brian wrote on November 19, 2007 8:08 PM:JanHuss
I agree with Jan Hus - we need to get the constitution working again.
The constitution is not a 'piece of paper'.
It is all we have between good government and despotism.
Molly Ivins wrote on November 19, 2007 8:22 PM:Enforce the Constitution!
Raise Hell until it happens!
Randall wrote on November 19, 2007 8:42 PM:I don't know what to say... except this: I am a graduate of Washington University - St Louis..... I will find it more difficult the next time I'm asked for a donation to get out my check book.
steambomb wrote on November 19, 2007 9:20 PM:The questions that I could ask make me wish I was in college again. Oh the questions that I would ask.
jimBOB wrote on November 19, 2007 11:10 PM:This is hardly the first outbreak of wingnuttery from Wash U.'s administrative muckey-mucks. A few years back they renamed the Art School after Sam Fox, of swift boat fame. Makes me ashamed to have graduated from there.
J. Heartney, BFA, '81
GrandEd wrote on November 20, 2007 10:41 AM:News this morning from last night's UF event:
According to an article in this AM's Ft Lauderdale Sun-Sentinal, a significant number of attendees heckled Gonzo with names such as "liar", "criminal" and the like.
Also, it seems that protestors went onto the stage before being arrested.
A group of people stood the entire speech/lie with their backs to the speaker in protest.
ella wrote on November 23, 2007 9:23 PM:Where is he headed next on his tour?
Maybe the little bastard should be greeted by the people as he makes his rounds.