February 04, 2010

This happened without it.

Former Union Organizer Pleads Guilty In Labor Racketeering Case

A former organizer for Operating Engineers Local 17 on Wednesday became the first person pleading guilty in connection with a labor racketeering case filed against construction union leaders almost two years ago.

James L. Minter III admitted that he engaged in a decade-long conspiracy, using threats, harassment and extortion against non-union construction workers and companies throughout Western New York.

The 38-year-old Buffalo man pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to a felony charge of racketeering conspiracy, appearing before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.

Illegal hardball tactics by Local 17 added millions of dollars to the costs of construction projects in the region over a 10-year period, according to federal prosecutors and agents

February 03, 2010

Took me awhile to name that party.

FBI Dallas

DALLAS—Gladys E. Hodge, also known as “Terri Hodge,” who was to go on trial early next month on charges outlined in a 31-count indictment charging 14 public officials and their associates with various offenses related to a bribery and extortion scheme involving affordable housing developments in the Dallas area, has pleaded guilty, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. As a condition of her plea with the government, Hodge, who was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, District 100, in 1996, and re-elected to the same position in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, has agreed to resign her office and never seek or hold future public office.

Hodge entered her guilty plea this morning, before U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, to fraud and false statements on an income tax return. She faces a maximum statutory sentence of three years in prison, a $100,000 fine, and restitution to the IRS. At this morning’s hearing, Judge Lynn indicated that she would be setting the sentencing date as expeditiously as possible.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, over the course of her tenure as a state representative, Hodge supported Southwest Housing Development Company, Inc. (SWH) developments which, among others, included affordable housing developments in District 100. Co-defendant Cheryl L. Potashnik, the wife of co-defendant Brian L. Potashnik, a real estate developer and the founder, president and a principal of SWH, served in multiple roles in management and development of SWH, including that of chief operating officer and principal of SHW. Cheryl Potashnik pleaded guilty to bribery in connection with benefits given to Hodge by the Potashniks and SWH. (See attached plea documents). Brian Potashnik also pleaded guilty to bribery of various public officials. Both Potashniks are awaiting sentencing......more

Video from KENS5:

What possibly could have motivated Imam Zul-Qarnain Shahid to attempt to smuggle box cutters in to NYC's main jail? Either this man is incredibly evil or incredibly stupid.

Since I'm always eager to presuppose stupidity over evil: Which part of 9/11 was facilitated by Muslims with box cutters does this guy not get?

But I'm kind of at a loss for the stupidity explanation here. What other purpose but evil could someone -- any one -- have for smuggling box cutters into a prison?

NYPost:

A Muslim chaplain for the city Department of Correction was arrested this morning for allegedly trying to smuggle in three box-cutters to a lower Manhattan jail.

Several sources said [Imam Zul-Qarnain] Shahid was caught this morning attempting to bring three box-cutters into the jail known as the Tombs during a visit there. It was not known why he was visiting the jail.

Thanks to Quite Googleable.

January 11, 2010

Good on Nigeria!

Faisal stated, in regarding to the prison, "the condition is horrible". Ah, isn't that grand? US supporters of Faisal such as Yousef al Khattab and Inshallashaheed, must be besides themselves.

Seattle Times

NAIROBI, Kenya —

A radical Jamaican-born Muslim cleric who led a British mosque attended by convicted terrorists was flown back to Kenya on Sunday after an attempt to deport him failed, officials said.

Nigerian authorities refused to grant a transit visa for Sheik Abdullah el-Faisal and instead sent him back to Kenya early Sunday, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Al-Amin Kimathi, head coordinator for the Muslim Human Rights Forum, said el-Faisal was now being held in a Nairobi prison. He said el-Faisal had been invited to Kenya by Muslim youths to give lectures[...]

El-Faisal served four years in Britain for inciting murder and stirring racial hatred by urging followers to kill Americans, Hindus and Jews. Britain deported him to Jamaica in 2007.

At a news conference Sunday, Kimathi made a call and put on speaker phone a man who identified himself to journalists as el-Faisal.

He said he was being held at a prison in Nairobi's industrial area and described the conditions as "horrible."

It was not possible to independently verify the claim.

December 04, 2009

(Bucks County, Pennsylvania) In May 2009, a 37-year-old Jordanian national, illegally in the U.S., Khalid Altawarh (aka David Shookby), was arrested for allegedly kidnapping, robbing, beating, raping, and torturing a woman for three hours.

Altawarh took the name Shookby when he arrived in the U.S. in 1996 and he has now asked a Bucks County judge to allow his alias to be used during his trial.

[Altawarh] worries that jurors might be biased against a person of Middle Eastern descent and associate him with terrorism.

The judge ruled Thursday that using an alias in court could result in legal problems.

November 20, 2009

Obama's purple shirts violating US code Sec. 1702. Obstruction of correspondence

-STATUTE-
Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Via Big Government.

Chicago thuggery...

Posted by Abu Fatima at 01:35 PM | | | digg this

October 27, 2009

Arguably the teacher-student sex story with the longest legs has been the adventures of Debra Lafave, who was initially arrested more than five years ago. Lafave had mixed it up with a 14-year-old boy in a variety of ways, ultimately being prosecuted in two different Florida counties.

In 2006, Lafave was sentenced in Hillsborough County Court to a hand slap -- no jail, only three years house arrest and seven years probation. The terms of probation included no unsupervised contact with any child under 18 years of age.

In December 2007, Lafave violated her probation and was arrested for spending time with a 17-year-old female co-worker at a restaurant. She was allowed to slide on the isolated incident. However, the arrest was a reminder that her behavior was being monitored.

In the story's latest development, Debra Lafave has completed a sex offender therapy program and has filed a motion to amend the terms of her probation to allow contact with "a limited number of children of family and friends" with their parents' permission. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne S. Timmerman will rule on the motion later this week.

October 23, 2009

Federal Judge John F. Grady of the Northern District of Illinois has ruled that the Craigslist website cannot be sued for prostitution ads placed by its users.

Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart filed the suit seeking a court order to shut down the adult services section of Craigslist and to be reimbursed for the costs incurred by the Sheriff's Department in policing hookers and johns. The suit was dismissed. Judge Grady said that Craigslist cannot be sued for the alleged unlawful conduct of other parties.

By extension, one might conclude that bloggers are not responsible for the comments left by readers.

October 19, 2009

(North Las Vegas, Nevada) Twenty-year-old Joanna Plants writes:

Hello There,

In-house Bunny looking for fun and excitement in lonely place. I am an ambitious, athletic type measuring, 36 - 29 - 34. I am 145 pounds, 5' 10" tall with legs to die for. I have golden blonde hair, beautiful deep blue eyes and a body with features that resemble a Barbie doll:)

I like basketball, football, rock music and dirty jobs! I am an A - B college student working towards a degree. I also enjoy dancing, outdoor recreation, reading, writing and drawing and just living life.

I have a quick witted personality and being a small town preacher's daughter, I value intellectual minds, honesty, loyalty, humor and class.

I am looking for someone that has similar values. If this is you, write me I'll be waiting!!!

Plants crime is a sad story involving years of methamphetamine use, starting at age 11, and anger at her father. It remains perplexing why Plants didn't use the .380-caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol on her father, the focus of her anger, rather than plugging her stepmom in the head. In any event, there exists some sympathy for Plants by individuals feeling her punishment was too harsh. (More ....)

(Manchester, England) Here's a disgusting report from across the pond.

BRITISH virgin girls as young as 12 are being sold to mega-rich Arabs for sex at up to £50,000 a time.

Parents force the schoolgirls into prostitution and then sell them to millionaire paedophiles.

Vice Squad cops nicked three women and a man from Manchester after secretly filming them offering to pimp six girls aged between 14 and 23 at a five-star West London hotel.

They also taped the gang bragging how they were prepared to peddle even younger, prepubescent girls.

October 08, 2009

Via BBC:

A girl who disappeared a decade ago was murdered by her father in a so-called "honour killing", a court has heard.

Tulay Goren, 15, a Kurdish Turk from Woodford Green, north London, vanished in 1999 and her body has never been found, the Old Bailey was told.

Her father Mehmet Goren, 49, and uncles Cuma Goren, 42, and Ali Goren, 55, both from Walthamstow, all deny murder.

October 05, 2009

Money and power is still just like handing your teenage son the car keys and bottle of whiskey.

But now, add to that you are going to go along for the ride...

... on the hood gripping one of the windshield wipers.

And now you have pretty much what our federal government is now.

Now before you get all uppity on me, have you done your three felonies today?

If not. Get with it you slackers.

Patterico gets spam in support of Roman Polanski from one of his associate producers.

Wow, Hollywood producers astro-turfing on via comments via conservative blogs? Looks like they need a a guerrilla media astro expert. Too bad Bim is not available cause he'd turn em down anyway. He tweeted this Chris Rock video on the subject the other day. And oddly enough, Odie happened to agree.

October 01, 2009

Via Square Mile Wife:

A guy from Morocco moves to Quebec and plots to force the Austrian and German governments to withdraw from Afghanistan. It really is a small world after all.

Said Namouh was convicted on several charges today - of note - he also posted terrorist propaganda on the internet for the Global Islamic Media Front. Online jihad meet "real" jihad.

;)

September 16, 2009

(Chelmsford, England) In Chelmsford Crown Court, a 34-year-old convicted violent child molester, Stuart Wood, has been convicted again, this time for rape.

Judge Anthony Goldstaub QC sentenced Stuart Wood for seven years for the attack, then told him: 'You have turned to Islam and this promises well for your future, particularly as you are now an adherent of a religion which respects women and self-discipline.'

Incidentally, Stuart Wood "had shown no remorse and still protested his innocence" regarding the rape. Therefore, Muslim or otherwise I suggest that Wood isn't going to change his law-breaking ways.

September 15, 2009

Via Yahoo News:

BALTIMORE – A Johns Hopkins University student armed with a samurai sword killed an intruder in his garage, Baltimore police said Tuesday.

Two laptops and a Sony PlayStation had been stolen by burglars Monday from the home, on University Parkway just blocks from the school, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Early Tuesday, one of the four Hopkins students who live in the home noticed the garage door was open and took a sword with him to investigate, Guglielmi said.

In the garage, the student told police he discovered a man and when the student told the man to get out, the man accosted him, Guglielmi said. The student defended himself with the sword, cutting off the man's hand and causing a severe laceration to his upper body, he said.

Well obviously this young man has saved the taxpayers a considerable future expense.

Cut him a check.

September 11, 2009

Well that's good news and all, but ACORN does this every time they are caught breaking the law. They fire the employees and claim, "we had no idea".

Well after a while it starts to form a pattern and its about time the ACORN organization was held accountable for their actions.

I'm tired of my taxpayer dollars being sent to an organization tho commits voter fraud, intimidates banks into making bad loans, thus costing all of us via the 'bailouts" etc etc etc.

Given the record of ACORN over time its clear they are no better than a racket. A type of organized crime right out in the open.

August 20, 2009

From Breitbart:

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - The only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 returned home to Libya to die after he was released from a Scottish prison Thursday, a decision that outraged some relatives of the 270 people killed when the jetliner blew up over Lockerbie, Scottland, more than two decades ago.

President Barack Obama said the Scottish decision to free terminally ill Abdel Baset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was a mistake and said he should be under house arrest. Obama warned Libya not to give him a hero's welcome.

Despite the warning, at the military airport in Tripoli where al-Megrahi's plane touched down thousands of youths were on hand to warmly greet him...At home, al-Megrahi is seen as an innocent scapegoat the West used to turn this African nation into a pariah, and his return is a cause for celebration. There was a festive atmosphere with some wearing T-shirts with al-Megrahi's picture and waving Libyan and miniature blue-and-white Scottish flags. Libyan songs blared in the background.

August 19, 2009

Best argument to date for capital punishment:

Sky News television and the BBC reported Wednesday that al-Megrahi will be released from prison on compassionate grounds. The BBC added that his release had been expected before the end of the week. Neither network cited the source of its information.

Al-Megrahi, 57, has terminal cancer.

He was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988. The airliner — which was carrying mostly American passengers to New York — blew up as it flew over Scotland. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died when the aircraft crashed into the town of Lockerbie.

August 15, 2009

...don't play knick-knack at his door.

Confronted by four gun-wielding robbers, 72-year-old Charles Augusto, Jr., a Harlem business owner, pulled out his 12-gauge pump and blew two of them to kingdom come. Unfortunately, the other two thugs were only wounded.

From MSNBC:

The 72-year-old wholesaler of commercial restaurant equipment had been up all night, questioned by police about how he'd drawn a shotgun and killed two of four armed robbery suspects who entered his Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame store Thursday afternoon.

Two of the young men died on the street. Two remained hospitalized in stable condition with gunshot wounds.

Augusto, who deserves one of those medals that the Obamessiah is handing out to America-hating leftists, better keep his powder dry. His neighborhood seems to have a lot of sympathy for the devil:

"He [one of the criminals] died in the hands of God," said a neighborhood resident, Vincent Gayle, pointing to the blood-spattered pavement by the church. "But what goes around comes around."

August 05, 2009

(Alexandria, Virginia) Former Democrat Rep. William J. Jefferson of Louisiana was convicted Wednesday on 11 federal corruption charges by a jury that deliberated for five days.

Sentencing TBD. Jefferson faces possible decades in prison.

July 31, 2009

Washington Times

The Department of Justice recently dropped the conviction of Jerry Jackson member of the “New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense” (NBPP)...more

There is no doubt they were intimidating voters when they stood outside, weapon in hand, at a Philadelphia polling station during the 2008 Presidential election. Even worse, they were chosen to be poll watchers by the Democrat Party and the Obama campaign.

Article has link to Jackson's MySpace page. Pretty sickening to think Dept of Justice drop the charges, even more so, after viewing his MySpace page.

h/t HA's headline link thingy

Update: GOP lawmakers press Obama's DOJ to stand up for voting rights

May 22, 2009

...and that special place in Hell? Well, this so-called "mother" gets first dibs on it:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A mother playing with her children at a park spotted a little black sneaker sticking out of the sand underneath the playground equipment. Figuring a youngster had lost his shoe, she bent down to pick it up. It was strangely heavy.

She had made a ghastly discovery: a dead little boy, buried in the sand.

For nearly a week, who the toddler was, how he died, and who put him there were a chilling mystery until Thursday, when a drawing of the youngster circulated by police led to the arrest of a young mother on murder charges.

Albuquerque police said Tiffany Toribio, 23, confessed to suffocating her 3-year-old son, Tyruss "Ty" Toribio, as he slept on the climbing gym — a crime so cold-blooded that neighbors struggled to comprehend it, and even veteran officers became choked up.

I don't care why she did it and I don't care if she pleads insanity. This waste of a human being should never see daylight again.

The police chief said Toribio told detectives that she suffocated her son in Alvarado Park before dawn on May 13 by putting her hand over his mouth and nose. She said she had second thoughts and performed CPR on the boy, resuscitating him, but reconsidered and smothered him again. Investigators said she then buried him under the climbing gym's hanging bridge, where the body was found two days later.

There are plenty of giving, generous families who would have willingly taken little Ty in and given him the love he so deserved. Instead this woman decides not once, but TWICE that her son should die and then abandons his lifeless body beneath the sand of a playground.

Ty didn't end up getting his second chance at life. One could only hope she doesn't either.

May 17, 2009

(Jefferson City, Missouri) To counter wild and rowdy partying on Missouri rivers and streams, a repellent to family outings, State Sen. Delbert Scott put an amendment on a large crime bill which bans beer bongs, Mardi Gras beads, kegs and non-bait styrofoam coolers on rivers other than the Missouri, Mississippi and Osage.

It's believed that the elimination of the beer bongs and other items will put a damper on rowdy parties. Most assuredly, banning the items will give law enforcers free reign to nose around partying groups. Violations will be misdemeanors.

Notably, jello-shots were banned in the original proposed legislation but the language was taken out for some unreported reason. Maybe the provision was seen as unenforceable.

The bill passed the Missouri House and Senate and was sent to Gov. Nixon for signature. Update your social calendar accordingly. (more)

(Goiania, Brazil) Police ultimately found all the parts of Cara Maria Burke while her boyfriend, Mohamed D'Ali Carvalho dos Santos, now 21, was prosecuted and convicted by a jury of first-degree murder.

On Thursday, Judge Alcantara sentenced Carvalho dos Santos to 21 years in prison.

The defense lawyer for Carvalho dos Santos said he may be eligible for release after eight years.

The secretariat for public security in Goias state said Carvalho dos Santos and Burke were believed to have been living together in Goiania for several months.

"The crime has signs of premeditation: Mohamed Ali called Cara to his apartment, put the music on high volume and killed her with knife blows. He then took her body to the bathroom and then he went off to a party," it said.

"It was only the following day he dismembered the girl's body. He took various photos of the chopped-up body with his cellphone's camera, including photos like those of the Taliban, where the decapitated head is placed on top of the body," it said.

May 07, 2009

(New Orleans, Louisiana) Public corruption is alleged.

The Metropolitan Crime Commission filed a formal complaint against Mayor Ray Nagin on Wednesday, asking the state Ethics Commission to investigate two trips Nagin and his family took that were financed by a firm owned by a city technology vendor.

Corruption in Louisiana? I'm shocked!

May 06, 2009

...Calvin Lavant, won't be doing any more robbin' and rapin'

WBST TV: COLLEGE PARK, Ga. -- A group of college students said they are lucky to be alive and they’re thanking the quick-thinking of one of their own. Police said a fellow student shot and killed one of two masked me who burst into an apartment....

...Apparently, his intent was to rape and murder us all,” said student Charles Bailey.

Bailey said he thought it was the end of his life and the lives of the 10 people inside his apartment for a birthday party after two masked men with guns burst in through a patio door.

“They just came in and separated the men from the women and said, ‘Give me your wallets and cell phones,’” said George Williams of the College Park Police Department.

Bailey said the gunmen started counting bullets. “The other guy asked how many (bullets) he had. He said he had enough,” said Bailey.

That’s when one student grabbed a gun out of a backpack and shot at the invader who was watching the men. The gunman ran out of the apartment.

A neighbor heard the shots and heard someone running nearby.

“And I heard someone say, ‘Someone help me. Call the police. Somebody call the police,’” said a neighbor.

The neighbor said she believes it was Lavant, who was found dead near his apartment, only one building away.

Very effective low cost justice for you Calvin. And when your partner is caught, there will be no one for him to roll on to get favor from the DA.

F*ck Yeah!

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin.

Update: Note that the image above was a mug shot, its probably safe to assume that Calvin Lavant was not allowed to legally own a firearm, yet he had one. Stiffer gun control won't stop people like Calvin from being armed, but it might make it more difficult for the young man who saved his friends' lives to be armed.

April 30, 2009

We can't even enforce the thousands of federal laws on the books, yet Congress just passed new "hate crimes" legislation even though states already prohibit the very crimes being "outlawed". STACLU:

The bill’s supporters, such as the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU, claim the law is needed because of the case of Angie Zapata. Zapata is a transgender woman whose lover killed her when he found out she was biologically a man. But this argument makes little sense, given that Zapata’s killer was swiftly convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by a Colorado state court, which found the killer guilty of both murder and hate crimes. (The federal hate crimes bill does not provide for the death penalty, and its maximum penalty is the same one that Zapata’s killer got: life without parole).

The bill’s Senate sponsors named the 2008 version of the bill after Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was killed in Wyoming. That was a cynically clever strategy. Hate-crimes laws are fairly popular: 45 states have hate crimes laws, and most of them ban hate-crimes based on sexual orientation.

It's as if these things called "states" were a foreign concept to liberals.

April 28, 2009

(Rotterdam, Netherlands) A device called the Mosquito emits an annoying sound in the frequency range where it can typically be heard only by people under the age of 25.

Consequently, the Mosquito is used as a "teen repellent" to discourage youths from loitering on the streets and engaging in anti-social behavior.

According to 10-year-old Mohammed,

"It sucks! It gives me a headache. It's like when you've been listening to loud music for a long time and then you stop," he says. "This buzzing sound."

Despite opposition, police and local authorities are pleased with the Mosquitos, saying complaints of intimidation and vandalism have been reduced by 70 to 80 percent. (more)

April 22, 2009

This sucks:

[...]Now, field officers are more careful. They want guidance from headquarters. They need legal advice. I'm told that in the case of an al-Qaeda suspect seized in Iraq several weeks ago, the CIA didn't even try to interrogate him. The agency handed him over to the U.S. military.

April 10, 2009

(Boca Raton, Florida) Hot babe teacher, 26-year-old Allison Dinsmore, allegedly killed two cats by slow, excruciating starvation. Felony cruelty charges have been filed.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are outraged. A petition drive has been launched to can Dinsmore, now known as the cat-snuffer.

In her defense, Dinsmore's lawyer said she was a "victim of an abusive situation."

April 07, 2009

After making my last post about saving Sandbag, this f'n makes me enraged.

Marcus Luttrell is the lone survivor of Operation Red Wing; a special forces operation that took place on June 28th 2005 in Afghanistan’s Kunar province. The seals mission was to kill or capture Ahmad Shah, a high ranking Taliban official responsible for numerous killings in the region. Marcus Luttrell and three of his seal team members were ambushed by 150 Taliban fighters with Luttrell being the only survivor.

A failed attempt by Special Forces helicopters to recover Marcus Luttrell led to the death of 16 more special forces soldiers; Marcus Luttrell was hidden from the Taliban by locals who eventually sent word to the army where they could rescue him. He wrote the bestselling book “Lone Survivor”, detailing Operation Red Wing and telling the story of his fallen seal team.

It seems that four young good for nothings had been killing dogs in Marcus Luttrell’s county where he lives in Texas. And as terrible luck would have it ( terrible luck for them), the last dog they decided to kill belonged to Marcus Luttrell. As Glen Beck tells the story on his radio program this morning, these thugs should be thanking God that Marcus Luttrell knew how to show restraint when he single handedly, armed of course, apprehended the four.

Marcus Luttrell’s dog was named Dasy; each letter in DASY represents his fallen seal team member’s names. He was given the dog during his recovery period after sustaining horrific wounds that none of us could ever imagine. Marcus Luttrell was awarded the “Navy Cross” and the “Purple Heart” for his heroic actions in Operation Red Wing.

Update: The second arsehole turned himself in. They are both "lawyering" up so to speak.

April 03, 2009

Doug Ross reports:

Pitzer College has scheduled our favorite terrorist, Bill Ayers, for a speech on "civil activism and education". Pitzer is a California institution and -- apparently -- uses the appellation "College" loosely.

Due to vocal opposition, Ayers' recent trips to speak at Naperville High School in Illinois, an indie bookstore in the same town and at Boston College have all been canceled.

Bastage shouldn't be given a platform to spread his communist ideals.

March 13, 2009

The excuse? A daycare worker returned from shopping and mistakenly placed the windshield wiper fluid in the refrigerator and later served it.

Hmmm, if the worker bought it how did he/she mistake it for juice or whatever.

February 21, 2009

Not my usual fare, but I saw this over at Hot Air and couldn't help but remember when the Chandra Levy case was numero uno on our collective minds.

Before Pete Carrol came to town, when most people heard USC two of our famous interns came to mind. Can you name the other one? And since we all kind of traveled the same circles, it's good -- good in that trite "closure" sense of the word -- to learn that her killer may have been found.

February 07, 2009

Time to get everyone's mind off of the so called stimulus pkg, tax cheats, etc. Prefect time for a accidental leak against the newly elected RNC Chairman.

Obama's Justice Department "Accidentally" Releases Sealed Legal File to WaPo Exposing Steele Scandal.... more

"Accidental" Flashback

SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER had just finished his last sputtering of outrage at the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court when news broke that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which he chairs, had a small problem.

Newsday and the New York Post both reported that the DSCC was in illegal possession of the credit report for Maryland's Republican Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele. Two of Schumer's staffers, Katie Barge and Lauren Weiner, used Steele's Social Security number to fraudulently get his credit history

The DSCC expects Steele to run for the Senate seat which Democrat Paul Sarbanes will vacate with his retirement next year. Nothing frightens Democrats more than a conservative African-American and Steele demonstrated in his appearance at the 2004 GOP convention that he has charisma, warmth, and a sharp sense of policy.

January 30, 2009

Witness first-hand the horrible torture that the Gitmo detainees face every single day. Warning: graphic video.

January 12, 2009

(UK) A 42-year-old British computer geek, Gary McKinnon, who illegally accessed and damaged 97 U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, Pentagon and NASA computers, is seeking to avoid being sent to the United States by confessing to a non-extraditable crime.

The U.S. military also accuses McKinnon of disabling 300 U.S. Naval weapons systems computers immediately after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. He faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted in the U.S.

McKinnon hopes his signed confession to a charge under the Misuse of Computers Act will preclude being extradited. Analogously, it appears McKinnon is willing to admit culpability to vehicular homicide while only pleading guilty to speeding.

Just from a criminality perspective, prosecution to less than the full extent of the law doesn't make a lick of sense to me. I contend that McKinnon should be put on a plane and face his accusers in America. In any event, the case will be heard before the British High Court on January 20. (more)

December 17, 2008

Scroll down for update...
She is using the same old BS "I fear for my family's safety". Safety from what? Sheesh. She tried to ruin Joe's reputation for the "Messiah" and now we are to feel sorry for her? Hell no.

CINCINNATI: A state official resigned Wednesday in the wake of a finding that she improperly used state computers to access personal information on the Toledo-area man who became known as ''Joe the Plumber'' during the presidential campaign.

Department of Job and Family Services Director Helen Jones-Kelley said in a statement that she won't allow her reputation to be disparaged and is concerned for her family's safety.

Gov. Ted Strickland suspended Jones-Kelley for a month without pay after Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles found in November that she improperly used state computers to find personal information on Samuel Wurzelbacher. The investigation also found that she conducted improper political fundraising activity for now President-elect Barack Obama.

''The governor values Helen Jones-Kelley's years of public service as a dedicated advocate for the most vulnerable among us,'' Strickland's spokesman Keith Dailey said Wednesday night. ''He understands her decision and accepts her resignation.''

Charles' investigation could not confirm that Jones-Kelley accessed the records of Wurzelbacher with political gain in mind. His report did indicate that she had used her personal Blackberry to send the Obama fundraising requests — though it was synched up to state equipment.

Good bye and good riddance.

Update: Hucbald in comments gave more info. Glenn Reynolds interviewed Joe and he plans to sue everyone involved. Watch video here

I wish him luck with his lawsuit. No one should have their privacy invaded the way his was.

Excellent Op-ed from WSJ.

Within the ranks of our leading law schools, law firms and legal centers, it would be hard to find a cause more popular than the detainees of Guantanamo Bay. Every lawyer wants his own detainee or detainee group. The result is that dozens of the world's most dangerous men now have their own legal Dream Teams.

In this context, wouldn't it be refreshing to hear the dean of some Ivy League law school, or a partner in a white-shoe law firm, stand up and say these words: "As part of our pro bono commitments, we hereby offer our services to the overworked men and women trying to keep our nation safe from terrorist attack."

These high priced lawyers would rather receive their "chic award" to add to their collection:

Last year, at a dinner at Washington's Ritz-Carlton hotel, the National Legal Aide Defender Association bestowed its "Beacon of Justice Award" on 50 law firms for their pro bono work on behalf of the detainees.

These firms included WilmerHale; Jenner & Block; Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan; Paul Weiss Rifkin; Mayer Brown; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Dechert; Pepper Hamilton; Venable; Perkins Coie; Hunton & Williams; and Fulbright Jaworski. These firms in turn are joined by law professors from Stanford, Yale and Northwestern right on down to Fordham.

The imbalance was illustrated by a scene last week at the federal courthouse building in Washington, D.C. There Judge Thomas Hogan was to consider rules governing the habeas corpus petitions of the detainees.

That meant half a dozen Justice Department lawyers waiting in a room packed wall-to-wall with high-priced partners -- many backed up by legions of associates, outside legal experts, human-rights centers, and concerned law students.

Hmmm, I wonder how many of these "concerned" groups were ripped off by the Madoff scandal Hopefully all of them.