Stories like this make one wonder whether the free market is worth it.

It is bad enough that a mediocrity like Gonzales receieves national press attention, worse that there are people who will pay him $ 32,500 for a speech.

Gonzales' only function in life has been to preserve the system whereby a guy like him can get that kind of money.

Disgusting.

Real value if you ask me.

Tony "Poodle" Blair recently received $500k for a speech - in China!!!

It pains me to see that a gentleman such as Mr. Patel would see any value in letting Roberto Gonzales regurgitate his banal lies. Haven't we heard fully enough of this man? I am ready for him to fade away not to be remembered. I know that letting his memory fade would actually be dangerous for the fact that his actions might one day be repeated. It just seems ridiculous that he can and obviously will receive money to tap dance again and again around his exploits at Justice.

I would like nothing better than to debate the SOB publicly.

Hey, Dueling is still legal in some South American Countries.Maybe the coward will speak down there. That would be interesting. I suggest he go to Venezuela to speak next.

I agree with Prof. Bagnolo while offering another suggestion. He might want to try switching to a profession more fitting his abilities - picking cotton. At least it would be an honest one, something he knows nothing about.

Were the two students arrested or escorted from the hall? Be accurate.
Bernie

I feel for Mr. Patel. Clearly he is young and naieve. Just because Alberto Gonzalez is no longer in office, doesn't mean anything has changed. The system by which he operated at DOJ is still in place all over the gov't. If our young scholars stir us to really look at our gov't and openly discuss what we truely want, they have performed a national service.

i'm really surprised that any intelligent person would want to hear a party hack like gonzales give a speech, let alone pay $35000 for the privilege.

Getting paid to deliver empty platitudes? If Andrew Cohen can do it, why can't Gonzales?

I am not sure what bonafide credentials Alberto Gonzales really has. He pretty much got through school on an EEO degree while at Harvard. His resume includes legal work with Halliburton and ERON while he was working at Vinson and Elkins Law firm. He was the Texas governor's general counsel to George Bush to review clemency requests, (which he failed miserably at), and later he was appointed to the all Republican Texas Supreme Court for a short term to rubberstamp any of George Bush's legal issues Bush wanted to ram through. The guy has had previous dealings with the Mexican Mafia, and now he being supported by David G. Leitch, a Gonzales friend and general counsel at the Ford Motor Co., the same company that recently said it is moving its operations to Mexico. The Germans want to prosecute him under the rules of the Geneva Convention for his involvement in prisoner abuses and torture. Can anyone tell me what is good about this guy????

"Gonzales's Not-So-Free Speech." Well, the guy has to pay for his defense team, right? Lying to Congress is potentially costly. So is writing secret memos authorizing the Bush Boy to torture, disappear, and render people at will. I guess there are idiots out there willing to shell out money to hear an incompetent and corrupt former AG say "I don't remember" 500 times in an hour...

and we're entitled to not listen.

Gonzo will only be able to attract the big money speaking engagements until next November or so, when his good buddy, POTUS, will be exiled back to the village from which he came.

Gonzo undoubtedly already has his signed pardon in his pocket, so he fears not imprisonment, but he has to be just a little worried that IF, as now seems likely, he is indicted and the trial runs into the next (Democratic) administration, he's actually going to have to GO TO TRIAL and like his pal, Scooter, be convicted, BEFORE he whips it out.

Going to trial costs a lot of money, especially if you hire competent attorneys, which he is not.

Meanwhile, quite soon the majority of US citizens will have the opportunity to treat him with the scorn with which he and his president have favored us.

Being little people, with small minds, limited world view, and obviously, no matter how many schools and degrees, inferior intellectual accomplishments, these people will soon find themselves with NO ONE who will listen, except one another, to them.

Even they will eventually become bored. And broke. That will have to do until the reach the final judgment. I don't expect St. Peter will be standing at the Pearly Gates, waving to Shrub and Gonzo, Satan Cheney, Rummy and Condo and shouting "Come on in, y'all."

I imagine quite another greeting.

Let Alberto G. earn his 35K for platitudes. If students want to hear that nonsense, let them. It simply reflects on the nature of their education.

I'd be scared Sh#@$*& if I was bookin this guy. I'd worry this clown would get up in front of a huge audience and declare,"I DON'T REMEMBER IT.

WELL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I HAD A WONDERFUL SPEECH I WAS GOING TO DELIVER TO YOU BUT IT SEEMS I CAN'T RECALL IT.

I'd pay $35,000 to listen to Alberto speak, as long as I'm the one who gets to put the rope around his neck and both his feet on the trap when he's done.

what a disgusting traitor. *spits*

here are some actions we all can take beyond commenting here:

1. contact "greater talent" to protest gonzales being on their "talent" roster;

2. contact others whom "greater talent" represents to ask them to protest gonzales' inclusion. unbelievably, valerie plame wilson & joe wilson are among those you can book via greater talent, as are ben & jerry, wes clark, and jonathan alter - check out the website, greatertalent.com.

3. get the word out via blogs that this is happening, and thus activate those readers. they're a powerful contingent!

When Gonzo talks about fulfilling the American dream, we should remember that a nightmare is also a form of dream. If we as citizens inform ourselves and vote (do our duty), we can hope to wake up from the American nightmare next January.

I believe that in a previous post someone referred to Gonzales as "mediocrity". My question is, how does he deserve even that high a ranking? Gonzo is a totally imcompetent lemming. He helped rewrite, illegally, portions of the "Constitution" to please der führers Bush/Cheney. He ok'd torture. He ok'd rendition flights. He ok'd spying on the American people. He did anything/everything that Bush/Cheney asked him to do and denied everything that they asked him to deny. If ever there was more partisan lemming attorney general, I have no idea who that might have been.

Mr. Cohen, since you're so concerned about former AG Alberto Gonzales earning $35,000 per speech, I'm guessing the $50,000 John Edwards gets for giving his "poverty speech" must really flip your bagel?

It sure seem easy for Mr.Cohen and his ilk to be critical of Gonzales. The constant whining about his firing of a few attorney's that serve at the President's pleasure make me reassured that there are a lot of folks in Washington that have really short memories. How many did Clinton fire? HUH ? BTW What is wrong with torturing our enemies? We did not start this crap REMEMBER....

"What's wrong with torturing our enemies?" First, they're not necessarily our enemies; they haven't been charged with, much less convicted of, any offense. Second, even if they were guilty of something or other, torture really is beneath America -- as even Bush professes to believe. Third, if you torture, expect to be tortured -- and thus to betray our brave men and women in uniform by subjecting them to torture. (That's why the Geneva rules used to be obeyed, before Gonzales came along.) Fourth, you are clearly my enemy, by virtue of your pernicious views -- so by your logic, I can torture you. Get real.

Come on flobelle, the least you can do is finally admit that criticsim isn't due to the firings per se, it was the reason for the firings and then the lying (possible perjury) about it.

Time for Step One of the Twelve.

Gee, you mean the government's not picking up ex-A.G. A.G's defense tab? Perhap it should (he was, after all only doing what he perceived to be "his" job), and reimburse itself from public speaking fees (which produce money solely because of his public service).

Pardon this pun: Mr. Patel should cancel, at the risk of being ridiculated as an "Indian giver."

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