A former Clay County precinct worker testified Friday that top election officers in the county taught her how to change people's choices on voting machines to steal votes in the May 2006 primary.
Wanda White testified that Clerk Freddy Thompson -- the county's chief election officer -- helped show her how to manipulate voting machines along with Charles Wayne Jones, the Democratic election commissioner.
The scheme involved duping people to walk away from the voting computer before they had finished their selections, then changing their choices, said White, the Democratic judge in a precinct in Manchester.
White said she stole more than 100 votes that election. "It was easy done," she said.
White said she also went into the booth with people who had sold their vote to make sure they cast ballots for the candidates who had paid.
White testified Friday in the continuing trial of eight Clay County residents who allegedly took part in a scheme to rig elections over several years. Those charged are former Circuit Judge R. Cletus Maricle; former county school Superintendent Douglas Adams; Thompson, who is still clerk; Jones; William Stivers, a former election officer; Magistrate Stanley Bowling; and William "Bart" Morris and his wife, Debra.
The eight have strongly denied the charges and say witnesses against them have lied to help themselves. Most witnesses so far have been convicted felons who would like to get their sentences cut.
White, who is in her early 40s, said she agreed to help the FBI in return for not being charged. That deal requires her to testify truthfully, she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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Just the tip of the tip of the garbage scow iceberg, of course. More & faster, please!
Ex-Gov. George Ryan won't get to collect his state pension as he sits in an Indiana federal prison, a decision his attorney former Gov. Jim Thompson called "deeply disappointing" because the once-affable cigar-smoking old-school Republican "has nothing." Awwwww, that's too bad. Guess he didn't steal enough. Jimbo knew how to do it with style, George was just crude ...
But Ryan already has raked in $635,000 from Illinois taxpayers in the three-plus years between his retirement and his major political corruption conviction, a top pension official said. Ryan also got a refund of $235,500 when his pension was taken away the amount of personal contributions he made during his more than 30 years in public office.
The pension payments run counter to the sympathetic image Thompson is trying to cultivate for Ryan, who turns 76 on Wednesday, faces at least three more years in prison and is hoping President Barack Obama will grant his request for freedom.
There was only a smattering of sympathy from the Illinois Supreme Court, which announced Friday that Ryan is not entitled to any of his pension. Thompson argued that Ryan should get about $71,000 from the nearly $200,000-a-year pension that was revoked credit for the years Ryan served in office before a lengthy federal investigation into his tenure as secretary of state and governor. Yeah, I'll bet he just woke up one morning and said, "I'll think I'll be a corrupt pol for now on."
Justice Robert Thomas wrote the 6-1 decision against Ryan, calling him a politician who transformed two of the state's highest offices into "an ongoing and wholly self-serving criminal enterprise."
"As the victims of Ryan's crimes, the taxpayers of the state of Illinois are under no obligation to now fund his retirement," Thomas wrote.
Justice Anne Burke, the lone dissenter, who favored Ryan getting some of his pension back."I would conclude there is a connection between the felonies and Ryan's position as governor and secretary of state," Burke wrote. But "there is no such connection between the felonies and Ryan's position in the General Assembly or as lieutenant governor. ... Without such nexus, there is no basis to disqualify Ryan from receiving those benefits related to these positions." She's the wife of Chicago alderman "Fast Eddie" Burke; the two of them know a lot about corruption in high places ...
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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Don't forget all the murderers he released from death row... knowing he would soon be in jail...
State lawmakers hunting for revenue are eyeing one source that could prove costly to millions of California consumers: Amazon.com.
The online retail giant has enjoyed an edge over many competitors in the state because it is not required to collect sales tax from residents who buy books, top-of-the-line plasma televisions, cases of diapers and thousands of other products from its website. The Seattle corporation has no store, warehouse, office building or other physical presence in California, and the state cannot tax such businesses under a 1992 Supreme Court decision.
Consumers here are required to pay sales tax on the goods they purchase at Amazon but almost never do, because the state has no mechanism for tracking Amazon purchases and collecting the money.
Now California is one of several cash-strapped states exploring a novel legal strategy that could force Amazon and others like it, including Overstock.com, to start collecting tax from their customers. New York launched the effort with a law that took effect in 2008. North Carolina and Rhode Island have passed similar laws; other proposals have advanced in the statehouses of Virginia, Illinois, Colorado and Hawaii.
The Democrats who control California's Legislature plan to put their own bid on the governor's desk this month in hopes of reaping up to $150 million annually for state and local coffers. The revenue would make only a tiny dent in the state's $20-billion deficit, but supporters say every dollar counts in tight times, and there's a principle at stake.
Amazon has "built an entire business model based on tax avoidance," said Assembly tax committee Chairman Charles Calderon (D-Montebello).
The state Senate approved the legislation Thursday as part of a deficit-reduction package, and it is expected to pass the Assembly as well.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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" The U.S. Supreme Court has finally spoken on the issues in two cases that will have far-reaching and long-term effects on our state and local tax scheme. Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 5/26/92, addressed sales and use taxes, and Wisconsin Department of Revenue v. William Wrigley Jr., Co., 6/19/92, addressed corporate net income.
Quill involved an out-of-state mail order company's obligation to collect sales or use tax for goods sold in North Dakota, Wrigley involved the limits of PL 86-272, in conferring immunity from Wisconsin state net income taxes based on mere solicitation of goods by out-of-state sellers.
In Quill, the Court held that the Commerce Clause prohibited a state from imposing an obligation on an out-of-state mail order company (without any physical presence in the state) to collect sales or use tax on goods sold to in-state residents. Advertising and direct mail solicitation were not "doing business" for sales or use tax purposes. A physical presence within the state was needed to provide the nexus required for the state to impose an obligation to collect ,ales and use tax on the company; economic presence was not enough." - source
Amazon just has to dump any of its affiliated, as opposed to general, suppliers in California. That'll help business and employment. Keep your neighbors employed California. Nevada will love you.
#2
yep - my Aunt lives in Fernley, NV, which was a sleepy agricultural town about 28 miles northeast of Reno. Was, as in, not anymore. Amazon built a regional distribution warehousing complex there and now employs about 80% of the new residents. Residents that bought new houses, shop at new stores...
Amazon will never put a foot down nor dollar in CA's treasury. Our own CA bastards have made the state so unfriendly to business.... Now there's a throw em all out movement I could get behind
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/21/2010 9:34 Comments ||
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#3
Amazon has "built an entire business model based on tax avoidance," said Assembly tax committee Chairman Charles Calderon (D-Montebello).
And so has all of the industry and manufacturing that has moved overseas. I really can't imagine why.
It's baaaccckkkk! No, not the Terminator, California's seemingly interminable financial crisis. This time, state officials say they face a $20 billion gap between what they are spending and revenues coming into the state treasury.
Given the power of the California public sector unions, including those representing state and local government employees, and public school administrators and teachers, this crisis shows no sign of being solved because the unions refuse to consider relaxing their death grip on California's rapidly shrinking legion of tax payers.
But there is a silver lining here - California is pointing to an unpleasant but unavoidable truth that public officials across the country sooner or later must confront - the power of public sector unions must be broken.
It's not only that public sector unions are driving many state and local governments into fiscal insolvency by forcing them to accept contracts providing compensation benefits that far exceed those in the private sector for comparable work and that cannot be paid for without crippling tax increases.
As this developing situation in California demonstrates, public sector unions like those in our public schools and state and local governments also make it impossible to get rid of incompetents, and to manage public resources efficiently and effectively.
Doug Ross has multiple links that bring together in one post the several major factors in California's returning fiscal crisis, including the fact thousands of incompetent public schools teachers and administrators cannot be fired, thanks to the union contract.
See also this post from Ross on two incredible examples from New Jersey, including a retired public school teacher who paid in $62,000 and will get as much as $1.7 million in retirement, and a 49-year-old state worker who paid in $124,000 and retired with a pension and health benefits worth nearly $4 million!
It's a lot late, but California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finally seems to have figured out that getting the Golden State out of its death spiral requires confronting the power of the public sector unions headon. Otherwise, the death spiral will take down America's former pearl on the Pacific.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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So, let me get this straight....
You work for the government for the perks and have a union to protect yourself against the public?
That legally means you are not a "public sector" employee then, right?
Public "servants" need unions to serve?
WTF?
Screw the union, and for that matter, screw public employees too. It is just too corrupt to support anymore.
Nice pensions folks.
#2
Your "public service" is more like "self preservation" to me.
I am disgruntled with all state and federal employees for this massive pay, bennies, unions, politics, and energetic destruction of our ability to provide for them.
No virtue, no morals, just a job. It's all about what America can do for you.
#3
Schwarzenegger finally seems to have figured out that getting the Golden State out of its death spiral requires confronting the power of the public sector unions headon
Wrong. Schwarzenegger knew all along. It is the people of Caliphornia who haven't figured it out. They voted down referenda that would have dented union power and they keep returning union stooges to the state legislature. The smart ones are voting with their feet, so it's unlikely to get better until creditors stop buying their junk notes.
#4
Public sector unions are treason, plain and simple.
You are organized to promote your small group's interests against the taxpaying citizens of this country. How is that not treason?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
02/21/2010 7:18 Comments ||
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In theory such unions exist to counter patronage systems that dominated the civil service in openly corrupt ways for many decades in the 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. Therefore, in theory they serve the interests of the nation as a whole, which is scarcely treason.
I don't think we'd be so unhappy about them if they were more flexible about getting rid of dead wood and if, as was the case for a very long time, the salaries people got were lower than or just at market value for their skillsets.
However, like unions in the private sector they've grown fat and inflexible. And hurt competitiveness which is why industry went overseas in many cases.
The equivalent needed here is to strip the government of unnecessary regulatory and other activities, reducing the size of the workforce and giving government managers both an incentive and the power to get rid of the deadwood and retain key contributors.
#6
However, like unions in the private sector they've grown fat and inflexible.
Not quite, in private the private sector they've destroyed every industry they've infected. That's why the portion of union members in the labor force continually declines. As she rightly points out in the next sentence, unionized industries go overseas to remain competitive when faced with union cost pressures.
So it is almost like when polio was defeated and the Mothers' March of Dimes had to find a new cause to raise funds for and they asked, what is the disease least likely to be defeated? Did the unions ever wonder, what is the industry least able to shift its jobs offshore?
Because ultimately unions are gangs, legalized but still gangs, that seek to extort money from those with it, using whatever coercive means are necessary, including violence. They may have had a place when the folks who ran companies were thugs, however overblown the charge, but that time has passed.
There is no place for unions in government. If we don't get them out of government they will destroy it. Because they are a parasite that will destroy its host.
#8
A first step is to pass "Right to work" laws across the board for private industry and public sector workers. A Right to Work law secures the right of employees to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union. Most of the states that don't have Right to Work laws are broke. Right to Work laws would at least somewhat neuter unions and their corruptive and damaging influences.
#9
Under the old patronage system there was direct accountability. There were no 'laws and procedures' to hide behind. The accountability was transparent. If the 'public servants' screwed up, you fire the boss, you kicked your representative out of office.
The old civil service system [pre-union] meant that as civil servants you made less than your counterpart in the public sector, however, you were protected from arbitrary firings.
Now you have the worst of both worlds, ineffectual performance and the inability to remove along with expensive pay and benefits that usually exceed their public sector counterparts. With the Donks in charge in California, you have de facto patronage anyway. The simplest solution would just go back to the patronage system and remove the Donks ability to hide behind 'laws and procedures' to get rid of ineffectiveness and liability. As amply demonstrated there is no perfect answer.
#10
While Detroit crumbles and northern industry moves to China, "Right to Work" laws have saved much of the South. Nothing succeeds like success. Now if only the Gov't would get off Toyota's arse and let them resolve their re-call difficulties.
#11
The next President should revoke Kennedy's EO allowing unions and then let the unions go air controller if they wish. They've got sweetheart deals. I wouldn't roll them back, except for the pensions. At a minimum new employees need to be put on 401(k) instead of pension. Otherwise, let them stay where they are but get rid of AFSCME and its federal counterparts.
#17
Defined benefit is not necessarily a bad thing. It's just been abused. Low wages and decent benefits used to define public service. My first public sector jobs paid $4.35 and $6.14 per hour, and I was happy to get it. I knew at the time, I would have to work decades to get a decent pension. Now, after 25 years, I wondering if that's all in jeopardy.
Public employees are not the enemy. We're just folks too.
#18
your military gets defined benefit as well. Rather than argue without facts "whether this is good or bad", I'd join you on the "at what level"? My retirement health benefits are supposedly paid, but there's no money funding that, so I'm not counting on that either, and if that's the case, well, I'll have to take care of that myself. No arguments
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/21/2010 18:38 Comments ||
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Health care cost is exactly what is stopping me from retiring right now. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be able to retire. How does this differ from anyone in the private sector? Seems 2me that we all have more in common than not.
Been talking w/the family tonight (they're all Democrats), and it's my gut reaction that O'Bumble is on to something with healthcare reform overall (not socialism). Reasonable folks are open to reasonable ideas. But is he listening?
#20
-- I think the military should continue to be eligible for defined benefit pensions, their situation is special. No other government employee should be eligible. Let them save their money for retirement like the rest of us.
--- The private sector has just about done away with defined benefit pensions, since those pensions all presuppose a consistent & adequate revenue stream far into the future, nowadays a doubtful proposition. Why should the public sector continue an unwise policy?
--- Public sector unions take some of the power away from the electorate, who should dictate the overall course of government. Their abuses of power are at least as bad as those of the old patronage/pressure days.
#21
No other government employee should be eligible. Let them save their money for retirement like the rest of us.
Excuse me, AH, but if you think that all the money in my defined benefit plan was put there by my employers without any contribution from me, you don't know how public pensions work.
I had money taken out of my check as a contribution to my defined benefit plans in addition to Social Security and my 457. I could not opt out of that defined benefit contribution any more than I could opt out of Social Security, and the rate of my contribution was determined by actuaries, not by me. The last amount taken out was a little over 8%. I believe that my plan has since raised the amount to around 10%, but since I haven't worked there for five years, I could be wrong.
Since my last public sector employer just happened to be a public pension plan, I know that my experience was far from unique. Most other public pension plans also require a mandatory employee contribution.
One other thing....most private employers got rid of their defined benefit plans because of the requirement that they continue to contribute money to them, no matter what is going on in their businesses.
They can (and have during this recession/depression/whatever you wanna call it) reduce or even eliminate a contribution to a defined contribution plan whenever they want. That's the real reason private pensions are rare these days.
#23
I did public sector labor relations in California years ago. Bottom line is that the union model doesn't work in the public sector. It gives too much power to the unions:
In the private sector, the strength of the union is economic - they can withold labor and cost the company financially. The company decides what it can afford and what it can't.
In the public sector: a) there is no real financial penalty - the public management and elected officials don't have a financial disincentive - they don't have a profit motive and they aren't in competition with anything else, so they just raise taxes to pay for the union demands. Tax revolts are few and far between.
The real kicker, tho, is that unions are well positioned to select the "management" they negotiate against. Other than the two main political parties, unions are the most effective at selecting and electing public officials.
So public unions have a loud voice in picking their negotiation opponents, those opponents are well aware of the debt they owe the unions and there is no real financial disincentive to granting what the union asks for as long as you make the right noises and aren't too blatent about it.
#1
After President Obama was elected, Mr Goodman said: Im not a fan. I spent three minutes with him at the airport and maybe another five minutes later on. It was enough
Tracy residents will now have to pay every time they call 9-1-1 for a medical emergency.
But there are a couple of options. Residents can pay a $48 voluntary fee for the year which allows them to call 9-1-1 as many times as necessary. Or, there's the option of not signing up for the annual fee. Instead, they will be charged $300 if they make a call for help.
"A $300 fee and you don't even want to be thinking about that when somebody is in need of assistance," said Tracy resident Greg Bidlack.
Residents will soon receive the form in the mail where they'll be able to make their selection. No date has been set for when the charges will go into effect.
When I was growing up, people in the country bought fire tags to get coverage from the local fire department. The tag was a nominal amount of money, but if you didn't have one, the fire department would stand there while your house burned unless you handed them a substantial amount of money. (Someone -- but it was a kid, so take that for what it's worth -- told me you had to give them $2000 on the spot.)
I remember there was an enormous stink when a house which had a tag burned, but the fire department refused to recognize it. The owners weren't home, and the fire department turned up to keep neighboring structures safe (if they had tags). Neighbors pointed out the tag, and the picture in the paper showed the smoldering ruins in the background, and the tag (you usually nailed it to your mailbox post) in the foreground. Never heard how that turned out.
#5
isn't there already a tax that shows up on the phone bill for 911 calling? The funding for 911 must vary from place to place. In my neck of the woods, a tax on every local phone goes to pay for 911.
The local ambulance service is supported by property & income taxes. Local residents get at least one free ride to the hospital per year, anyone else gets a standard bill, the kind a private ambulance service would send.
Seldom will services like 911 or ambulance rides be given away as a charitable activity.
h/t: Gateway Pundit (Jim Hoft)
Congressman Alan Grayson traveled to Niger this week. While he was there a military coup broke out. Several members of the president's guard were killed by the military and the democratic president was taken into custody.
Grayson was serving as part of a congressional delegation that was focused on science, technology and humanitarian relief.
When the fighting and gun fire broke out Grayson was taken to the home of the United States Ambassador to Niger where he stayed with armored protection. Being a good democrat, he cut-and-run from the country.
Posted by: Tom- Pa ||
02/21/2010 09:06 ||
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damn. He got away?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/21/2010 10:55 Comments ||
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President Barack Obama is expected to publish his healthcare plan as early as Sunday or Monday, combining features of the two Democratic bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, congressional aides and healthcare advocates said on Friday.
The administration's bill will aim to jump-start the stalled healthcare overhaul and comes just days ahead of a planned televised White House summit with congressional Republicans, who are calling on Democrats to scrap the bills and start over with a far less sweeping proposal.
Democrats are struggling to push healthcare legislation over the finish line in the face of sagging public support and solid Republican opposition bolstered by recent election victories in Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey.
The legislation the White House will post on its website is expected to reflect common ground negotiated over the past several weeks by House and Senate Democratic leaders.
Those agreements are likely to be combined as a privileged budget reconciliation bill, which only needs a simple 51-vote majority to pass the 100-member Senate instead of the 60-vote supermajority that has become routine in the Senate and gives Republicans power to block the healthcare bill.
"I believe that's the path we are going to take," a senior congressional Democratic aide said.
But it is not clear, even to congressional Democrats, what the White House will include in its legislation and whether Obama will try to add proposals aimed at attracting at least some Republican support.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have not signed off on any final agreement, several Democratic aides have said.
"We are still waiting for the president to present to Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi his plan," a Democratic leadership aide told Reuters.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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A week before his health care summit, President Obama called on Democrats and Republicans to come to the table "in a spirit of good faith," when they sit down at the Blair House on Thursday for the president's much-anticipated meeting.
"I don't want to see this meeting turn into political theater, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points," Obama said in his weekly address. "Instead, I ask members of both parties to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that's been with us for generations."
However, Republicans, in their weekly address, again called for Democrats to "scrap" their bill and start over on reform.
"Right now, Democrats are continuing to work behind closed doors, putting the finishing touches on yet another massive health care bill Americans can't afford and don't want," said Rep. Dave Camp, R -Mich., who delivered the Republican response. "If the starting point for this summit is more of the same backroom deals and partisan bills, then this meeting will likely be a charade."
In his address, President Obama said he believes he has "sought out and supported" Republican ideas of reform from the "very beginning."
"Some Republicans want to allow Americans to purchase insurance from a company in another state to give people more choices and bring down costs," President Obama said. "Some Republicans have also suggested giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big companies and labor unions do. I think both of these are good ideas -- so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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Translation: do it my way. I won.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/21/2010 0:53 Comments ||
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"Pay as you go" -- it's the new code phrase for raising taxes even more to pay for the inefficient and in many cases unsound, failure-prone government programs pushed relentlessly by progressives.
Great-sounding slogans. Great-sounding promises, claims and speeches. But now it's OK to say one thing while cleverly concealing and delivering something different -- something most Americans in survey after survey clearly say they do not want.
No longer is it about what history has proved works best or what average Americans want. It's all about ceding substantially more power for centralized one-party control over your life, liberty and freedom.
For example, three of four Americans say they're happy with the health care they already have, and two of three doctors oppose government's plan to take over, dictate, mandate and run our health care system. Many of these doctors say they plan to quit or retire early if the plan is approved.
Doctors and nurses are already in short supply. If fewer doctors are to handle 20 million more people, do you believe and trust politicians who promise you'll get better quality care at lower cost?
Moreover, do you want all your family's medical records in government computer files? Who will have access to them? How could they be used in the future?
When you're 70 and need an important, potentially lifesaving operation, do you want some faraway government bureaucrat -- instead of you and your doctor -- deciding if you can have it?
And if they let you have it, how will you feel about being placed on a waiting list of three or six months or longer due to a shortage of surgeons or simply government quotas, rationing or priorities?
It doesn't end there. If progressives succeed in forcing citizens against their will to accept their brand of national socialized medicine, they will try to coax all American businesses and households into embracing a cap-and-trade approach to controlling pollutants as our nation's next most urgent need.
Leading scientists who preached and promoted global warming from the world's top center on warming -- the Climatic Research Unit at England's University of East Anglia -- have been exposed as frauds due to their falsifying and changing past temperatures to hide facts showing the globe wasn't warming. Now we are seeing record-busting snow and low temperatures in the U.S. north and south.
New Democrat progressives must think people are too ignorant or ill-informed to recognize when they're being conned or lied to. People want jobs, not jawboning.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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OTOH RENSE > IS THE MILITAY TYRING TO KILL OBAMA? POTUS Bammer = JFK, AFPAK + GWOT =VIETNAM + COLD WAR, Generals + Admirals, Pols, etc. want escalation, versus peave-minded POTUS JOHN F. OBAKENNEDY.
VPOTUS BIDEN = COVERT ANTI-JFK VP LBJ???
* SAME > IIUC US ARMY OFFERING MUSLIMS QUICK PATH/ROAD TO US CITIZENSHIP.
#4
When you're 70 and need an important, potentially lifesaving operation, do you want some faraway government bureaucrat -- instead of you and your doctor -- deciding if you can have it?
Uh, sorry, guys, but a 70-yr-old is probably a Medicare beneficiary, and Medicare has already decided what it will and won't pay for on your behalf. Of course, you can always find a doctor & a hospital that don't participate in Medicare, and go to them. You can have anything done that the three of you agree to. Good luck with that.
John David Dingell Jr., at age 83 and having already set a record for longevity in the U.S. House of Representatives, is setting out for a 28th two-year term in Congress.
He made the announcement this morning before a group of University of Michigan student Democrats in Ann Arbor, saying he can't walk away at a time when the economy is still reeling, environmental protections are needed andhealth care reform legislation has come as far as it has.
"These are challenges this nation must confront," he said. "I think it is time for all hands on deck."
Dingell's future had been in question: After winning reelection for the 26th time in 2008, he was knocked out of his job as the Democratic chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee by California's Heny Waxman. And a year has gone by since he passed the late Jamie Whitten of Mississippi as the longest serving member of the U.S. House ever, with a congressional tenure stretching back to 1955.
He had knee replacement surgery in 2008 and is still seen traversing the Capitol on crutches, or on a motorized scooter. Meanwhile, his longstanding fight for health care reform appeared stymied between House and Senate, after coming closer to fruition than ever before.
Dingell inherited the battle from his dad, who served before him in Congress in the then-Detroit based seat. The elder John David Dingell fought for universal health care and the son took up the mantle.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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Some perplexed parishioners of the politically connected Rev. Floyd Flake -- who's leading the Aqueduct Entertainment Group's effort to install some 4,500 video slot machines at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens -- are wondering if their spiritual leader has made a deal with the devil by bringing gambling into their community. "I don't think the reverend should be involved in something like that," said Jeff Jones, 58. "It goes against God's rules. People go from gambling to committing crimes."
Flake was involved with the Aqueduct bidding process, which has been mired in allegations of political cronyism and part of a federal probe.
Some members of The Greater Allen AME Cathedral of New York, which Flake heads, are unhappy with his role in the consortium that won the controversial bidding process to revamp Aqueduct. "There are a few people who feel uncomfortable with his investment [with AEG] and its mostly the older members," said church member Gary Fulmore, 55. Despite some dissent, Fulmore said the congregation "still supports him."
Meanwhile, sources said yesterday that state investigators have contacted the losing bidders in the ongoing Aqueduct probe.
State Inspector General Joseph Fisch is looking at whether the selection of AEG -- which was awarded the 30-year franchise by Gov. Paterson in concert with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson -- was corrupt. "We have been contacted by the Inspector General's Office. They made it clear they were calling about Aqueduct," said Eric Schippers, spokesman for rival bidder Penn National.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas Republican who ran a quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, was the top vote-getter in the Conservative Political Action Conference's straw poll, capturing the support of 33 percent of those who participated in the contest.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who had won the CPAC straw poll for three consecutive years, took 22 percent of the vote. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin won 7 percent and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty 6 percent. Pawlenty attended the conference; Palin did not.
Paul's victory renders a straw poll that was already lightly contested among the likely 2012 GOP hopefuls all but irrelevant as the 74-year-old Texan is unlikely to be a serious contender for his party's nomination.
As the results were displayed on twin large screens in the ballroom -- and even before Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio could announce who won -- a cascade of boos came down from a crowd that views Paul and his fervent supporters as an irritant. Paul's backers responded with cheers, though, when their candidate was then proclaimed by Fabrizio as the winner.
CPAC organizers were plainly embarrassed by the results, which could reduce the perceived impact of a contest that was once thought to offer a window into which White House hopefuls were favored by movement conservatives.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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whatever or however, it is a wreck.
Pawlenty is lead horse. Paul is back room rumblings.
Anemic fundraising, no-show Democratic officials and lousy poll numbers be damned: A defiant Gov. Paterson says he's in it to win it.
"There is one rumor that I will confirm: I am running for governor this year - and I will win this year," Paterson said in his official campaign kickoff at Hofstra University this morning.
"The reality is that I've done more in my two years as governor than most governors have done in two terms," he said.
Paterson, using the humor for which he's well known, attacked what he called "rumors" and negative media reports about his professional performance and personal behavior.
"I had a very difficult last couple of weeks," said Paterson, who took over after Eliot Spitzer resigned as governor and is now running for the office for the first time.
"Innuendo and ridicule and false rumors can leave a long and lasting effect," said Paterson, who portrayed himself as an underdog who's gotten results by making hard, unpopular choices like budget cuts.
"And it's no surprise that this comes in the middle of a budget process when special interests have a lot to lose, and at the beginning of a campaign when other candidates will do anything to win," he said.
But in the end, he said, "This is not about me. This is about the people of New York - and I will always put the people first. ... You need to know that this is a governor that does not quit."
Team Paterson chose Hempstead for the kickoff because the governor's family moved here in his childhood so he could get a mainstream public education despite being legally blind.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Paterson, who portrayed himself asunderdogwho's gotten results by making hard, unpopular choices like budget cuts.
The Empire State is being drained of an invaluable resourcepeople. From 2000 to 2008, in both absolute and relative terms, New York experienced the nation's largest loss of residents to other statesa net domestic migration outflow of over 1.5 million, or 8 percent of its population at the start of the decade.
As Philly continues to shovel out from a massive winter snowfall, Gov. Rendell yesterday said that he expects the state to apply for federal aid to help municipalities overwhelmed by the cost of snow removal.
"It is my anticipation we will be filing for emergency federal disaster aid," Rendell said, noting that many local governments were struggling with snow-removal costs.
Mayor Nutter told Rendell that the bill in Philadelphia could hit $15 million, according to Nutter's spokesman.
States must meet certain criteria to receive aid, including having a record snowfall, according to Rendell. He said the application is due March 7 and a response should come in 60 to 90 days. Most snow-related expenses would be eligible for reimbursement, Rendell said.
He also announced that some scheduled state payments will be made early to municipalities, to help ease cash problems that have developed due to unexpected snow costs.
Rendell also said he understood Philly's decision not to budget for snow.
"Based on the previous years, I think it's a decision based on sound evidence," Rendell said. "Philly is not the only city taken unawares."
Rendell also said he was happy that first lady Michelle Obama was in the city yesterday, touting her anti-obesity campaign. Noting his own weight loss - dropping from 265 to 205 pounds - Rendell said he now can set an example for children.
"Mostly it's about what you put in your mouth," Rendell said. "You can significantly reduce what you put in your mouth."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Money for snow? Hey, there is global warming going on don't ya know. Take this up with AlGore. How about if we pay you in carbon credits?
#2
I apologize to the country for my governor. All I can say is "I voted for the other guy." Friggin' Governor of Philadelphia... thank god for term limits.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/21/2010 20:38 Comments ||
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--A relative in Center City Philly said they never came by to plow the side-streets. and Mayor Nutter is telling citizens to shovel your sidewalks, but don't throw the snow into cleared/plowed streets. In the meantime, the trash is piling up on the sidewalks, but I think its been too cold for the rats to come out. Four more weeks 'til spring, 3/20. Maybe it'll all be melted by then.
Posted by: Tom- Pa ||
02/21/2010 20:48 Comments ||
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There is more snow coming for the Northeast. Hope Old Philly misses it.
Remember all those accusations last summer from the Obama White House and Democratic congressional leaders like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the Tea Party movement was nothing more than an astroturfed mirage paid for by a few rich Repubican donors?
Well, nobody outside the newsrooms of places like The New York Times and the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee who had actually attended a Tea Party rally took such accusations seriously because of their transparently nonsensical basis.
But that doesn't mean folks on the left don't know how to do real astroturfing. In fact, there are experts at it like Craig Varoga and George Rakis, the guys behind the new effort to discredit the Tea Party movement. Check this out from Democracy21:
"Democrats have created another 'astroturf' group to kill the Tea Party Movement. A new website appeared recently called 'The Tea Party Is Over. Their mission is: 'To prevent the Tea Party's dangerous ideas from gaining legislative traction.' Initially, the website targets three Republican candidates for destruction.
"The website is paid for by the 'American Public Policy Committee,' which is nothing more than a domain name registered to Craig Varoga. Varoga, along with his partner, George Rakis, in a consulting firm called Independent Strategies, are listed on IRS documents as the people responsible for several other astroturf organizations, which include:
* The American Public Policy Committee Donations
* Patriot Majority Donations
* Citizens for Progress Donations
* Oklahoma Freedom Fund Donations
* Mid Atlantic Leadership Fund Donations
* Public Security Now Donations
* Pioneer Majority Donations
* Bluegrass Freedom Fund
"Each of these so-called organizations list their address at 300 M Street SE, Suite 1102, Washington DC. Neither Varoga nor Rakis occupy this office. It is, however, occupied by Joseph Sandler who is an attorney for the Democratic National Committee."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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Democrats will finish their health reform efforts within the next two months by using a majority-vote maneuver in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.
Reid said that congressional Democrats would likely opt for a procedural tactic in the Senate allowing the upper chamber to make final changes to its healthcare bill with only a simple majority of senators, instead of the 60 it takes to normally end a filibuster.
"I've had many conversations this week with the president, his chief of staff, and Speaker Pelosi," Reid said during an appearance Friday evening on "Face to Face with Jon Ralston" in Nevada. "And we're really trying to move forward on this."
The majority leader said that while Democrats have a number of options, they would likely use the budget reconciliation process to pass a series of fixes to the first healthcare bill passed by the Senate in November. These changes are needed to secure votes for passage of that original Senate bill in the House.
"We'll do a relatively small bill to take care of what we've already done," Reid said, affirming that Democrats would use the reconciliation process. "We're going to have that done in the next 60 days."
The move would allow Democrats to essentially go it alone on health reform, especially after losing their filibuter-proof majority in the Senate after Sen. Scott Brown's (R) special election victory in Massachusetts.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe winter is NOT over yet.
Shove this legislation up your ass. It's stupid and illegal.
#2
Please Mr. Reid, go ahead try it. If you foolishly decide to do it, please rest assured Demonrats will never be in the majority in Congress for several decades.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
02/21/2010 2:39 Comments ||
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Ditto what alanc said. We are seeing idiocracy in action in Washington. We are being told to shut up and accept this legislation because we know what's best for you. What a bunch of arrogant elitists these demorats are. Well, you Washington pogoues have just about screwed things up completely for this country. It's going to take a lot to fix it again. You are on your way out Harry, good riddance.
#7
These changes are needed to secure votes for passage of that original Senate bill in the House.
By changes what they mean is new budget gimmickry. Harry doesnt have the votes for the Houses soak the rich scheme. And Nancy will not cross her Union overlords. So the only way this boondoggle goes through is if 51 Democratic Senators agree to have Health plans covered by union contracts exempt from the proposed 40 percent tax until 2018.
Former Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) missed the filing deadline to return to Congress this week.
Traficant, a Youngstown-area lawmaker who was expelled from the House in 2002 after being convicted on corruption charges, missed the Thursday deadline for candidates to file to run for Congress, according to a local NBC affiliate.
But missing the filing deadlines doesn't forestall the possibility of a Traficant comeback still this cycle.
A spokesman for WFMJ that Traficant had prepared filings for both Ohio's 6th and 17th congressional districts, but declined to file as a Democratic candidate. He could still file to run as an independent candidate in those districts by May 3, however.
The 17th district, Traficant's old seat, is now held by Rep. Tim Ryan (D). The 17th district is held by Rep. Charlie Wilson (D), where Traficant could have more of an impact as an independent in the district, which is seen as marginally favoring Republicans.
Traficant has flirted with returning to Congress since being released from prison in September of 2009. The former lawmaker, long a centrist member of congress, vowed to settle some scores with old enemies on both sides of the aisle if he were to return to Washington.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2010 00:00 ||
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Treasury and Labor have asked for comments on a voluntary (for the moment) requirement that employers allow leaving employees to buy lifetime annunities from the government with their 401(k)s (if I understand what they mean) instead of rolling over the money to a self-directed IRA, etc. A plan for the terminally stupid who aspire to poverty/slavery in their old age Leftists, one supposes.
Hit the link for a Fox Business report on the comment request.
The request for comments is here (here's a Labor Dept. press release).
Deadline for comments is, I believe, May 3 (or thereabouts).
Camel's nose, etc.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/21/2010 12:54 ||
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...Maybe I'm missing something, but what makes the Government idiots believe that after they've confiscated the IRAs/401Ks, ANYONE will ever put another dime into the damned things?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/21/2010 13:27 Comments ||
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Mike - In the cold, black heart of the hardcore statist, not having anyone put a dime into a 401(k) would be Mission Accomplished.
"Liberalism" is such a misnomer for these people. They aspire to control. For our own good, of course.
#5
How could they possibly go wrong The gov't theives are set to win three ways:
a. Harvest billions in immediate tax revenues from folks cashing in their plans out of fear.
b. Exploit the funds via voluntary or mandetory transfers to Gov't bonds (as opposed to rolling to a self-directed, tax deferred IRA).
c. While destroying the economy and legitimate fund viability, assume ownership of the funds via FDIC-Lite 'protection' schemes, thus availing themselves to billons of earner investments.
#6
"what makes the Government idiots believe that after they've confiscated the IRAs/401Ks, ANYONE will ever put another dime into the damned things?"
They aren't concerned with that. They just want to confiscate all that exists now to finance government debt. And when you die they only have to pay out 50% of it so they get a dollar now to finance debt and only have to pay out 50 cents on the dollar due to the death tax. If they can pass health care, they can speed that process up and begin knocking off the elderly early.
So for every dollar they take from you, they pay interest for as long as you are alive. Then when you die, they take half the cash. They get a direct financial incentive for old people to die. That, when coupled with government controlling health care should scare the living crap out of boomers.
#7
I went to the website this morning to read the RFI.
My read is that the problem they say they seek to address is when people get a lump sum check for their deferred compensation. They seem to want people to put it an annuity so that they have payout over their life and don't spend it all before they die. There is nothing in the RFI document that leads you to believe the annuity would be administered by the government or even directed toward treasury securities. They're just asking for comment on the idea of forcing the employer to advise the retiree about annuities and have an annuity available for sign up at time for retirement.
What the real plans are is not apparent from all the gobbledy gook there.
I then went to regulation.gov to try to give on line input. The forms I got required me to drop all NoScript protection. I then got what looked like a pdf of the RFI superimposed on the website. I found the link to the input form and clicked on it. It took me to a new form with only the regulation.gov banner, no input form. I'll bet you have to allow cookies to get that, and I just don't want Uncle to get that access.
#8
The GIvernment will changes the rules so that no one will participate. This will increase the tax revenue as 3-6% of payrolls become taxable.
At the same time they will basically start 'borrowing' againist everyone's 401K.
It may be in my best interest to borrow from my 401K (and pay off my mortgage) and drop my contribution to the lowest acceptable percentage (1%) where it takes me a lifetime to pay myself back.
#3
I threw up on someone several weeks ago. They went to the manager and said, That tranny just threw up on me. The manager said, How cool is that! He said if that happened to me, I'd call my friends and we'd all be there tomorrow! One night, I peed on someone's iPhone. First, I felt remorse, I didn't know what it was. Then I thought, wow! Imagine going to get it fixed or replaced and explaining, A tranny peed on my phone.'
and they say entertainment's dead
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/21/2010 9:44 Comments ||
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a. This is actually in a newspaper?
b. The "tranny" is actually bragging about this.
c. Seriously makes one wonder about Sarandon.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A former Clay County precinct worker testified Friday that top election officers in the county taught her how to change people's choices on voting machines to steal votes in the May 2006 primary.
President Barack Obama is expected to publish his healthcare plan as early as Sunday or Monday, combining features of the two Democratic bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, congressional aides and healthcare advocates said on Friday.
A week before his health care summit, President Obama called on Democrats and Republicans to come to the table "in a spirit of good faith," when they sit down at the Blair House on Thursday for the president's much-anticipated meeting.
"Pay as you go" -- it's the new code phrase for raising taxes even more to pay for the inefficient and in many cases unsound, failure-prone government programs pushed relentlessly by progressives.
Democrats will finish their health reform efforts within the next two months by using a majority-vote maneuver in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.
