The brazenness of this governor’s corruption makes my stomach churn. Think Progress reports:
In a press conference explaining the arrest and the corruption charges filed against Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald — who successfully prosecuted Scooter Libby — declared the current case as a “new low.” Fitzgerald described the charges as a “political corruption crime spree.”
Noting that Blagojevich has been under investigation for years for pay-to-play corruption charges, Fitzgerald expressed his amazement that the activity would continue. “You might have thought in that environment, pay-to-play would have slowed down. The opposite happened. It sped up,” he said.
The “most cynical behavior” by Blagojevich pertained to his attempt to sell the open Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, Fitzgerald said:
The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave. The governor’s own words describing the Senate seat: “It’s a [bleeping] valuable thing. You just don’t give it away for nothing.” Another quote: “I’ve got this thing and it’s [bleeping] golden. I’m just not giving it up for [bleeping] nothing. I’m not going to do it. I can always use it — I can parachute me there.”
Fitzgerald emphasized: “I should make clear that the complaint makes no allegations about the President-elect whatsoever, his conduct.”
The Illinois legislature shouldn’t wait for the criminal case to play itself out in this circumstance, based on what’s been released today. Impeach this governor — now! Such outrageous behavior by any politician demands a swift and unequivocal response. It’s disgusting.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the $10 million bonus reportedly being considered for Merrill Lynch’s chief executive John Thain is “nothing less than shocking.”
In a strongly worded letter sent to members of Merrill’s board of directors, Cuomo points out that the brokerage reported losses for every quarter this year, and has lost more than $11 billion in 2008.
He added that Bank of America’s takeover of Merrill, which was formally approved by shareholders Friday, “seems to have been the only thing that saved Merrill from collapse.”
“Clearly, the performance of Merrill’s top executives throughout Merrill’s abysmal year in no way justifies significant bonuses for its top executives, including the CEO,” Cuomo said in the letter.
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It takes some really big balls to want a bonus after overseeing the collapse of a financial services giant during your brief tenure as its leader.
My oldest daughter attends one of Edmond’s three high schools. In general, we like her school, most of her teachers and her academic success there. Yet, there are some things that don’t always set well with me (as would be the case in just about any circumstance, I suppose).
Over the weekend, she was telling us about a substitute teacher she had in a couple of her classes on Friday. The curriculum for the day was apparently Mauri Povich during one class period and Divorce Court in another class period. For the students, this was entertaining, especially when the substitute talked back to the TV during Divorce Court. But, as you might imagine, to parents like us, such information raised eyebrows — or in my case, an exclamation of “WHAT?!?”
I’m glad that my daughter wasn’t in that substitute’s class during the Jerry Springer Show! While I will admit that these trash TV shows can be entertaining and that I’ve indulged in viewing a few times, they certainly don’t seem like the type of educational programming one would expect from a higher-caliber high school. It begs the question, is this a common practice? Are the substitute teachers not given guidance and/or plans for the classes their substituting for?
At one time or another, my father, my mother and my brother have all substituted in the middle and high school levels. I know the challenges that they face and I know that I wouldn’t want to do it. But that doesn’t excuse the schools’ responsibility to know what’s going on in their classrooms.
Don’t the schools owe the students a better education than Mauri Povich, Divorce Court or Jerry Springer — even if it is a substitute teacher? As a parent and as a taxpayer, I would most certainly expect more.
Last week, I posted about the controversy concerning Barack Obama’s citizenship status, which generated some interesting discussion. After that post, I said I wouldn’t comment any further about it until there some sort of resolution. However, I was pointed by a reader to a lengthy post this morning by Joan Swirsky writing for Tulsa Today. I didn’t think it was possible, but I was truly shocked at what she wrote.
She first opines about the “deafening silence” by the media about the controversy, including the right-wing outlets.
It is no mystery that the leftist media have refused to mention this potentially looming Constitutional crisis in virtually all of their print and electronic coverage. Having shilled for Obama for the past two years – dismissing his longtime radical associations, obfuscating his radical voting record, and taking a pass at their jobs of vetting a presidential candidate – their failure to cover the most explosive story of the 2008 campaign speaks volumes about collusion of the highest order.
Then there are the late-night comics, as well as snarky “humorists” like Bill Maher and Jon Stewart, who take pride in being irreverent and “outing” both people and subjects that others avoid. Not a word.
But what about the failure of the powerful conservative media – how to explain their total blackout of this story?
Could it be because the story is even too far fetched for even the most hardcore right-wingers? Joan singles out some specific examples Continued
A pole dancing studio in Salt Lake City has become part of a worldwide movement to get pole dancing considered as an Olympic sport for the 2012 Games in London, KUTV reported Friday.
“It’s automatically assumed it has something to do with stripping,” said Lizz Schofield, owner of Studio Soiree in Sugar House, which is filled with floor-to-ceiling poles. “But it’s not stripping at all.”
[...]
Proponents of “pole fitness,” as it is referred to by some, has caught on in the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom, Schofield told KUTV.
“This takes grace, fluidity and strength. It’s on par with ice skating and everything else in the Olympics,” said Lorinda Coombs, co-owner of Studio Soiree. *
If it were to become an Olympic sport, I can’t help but think that it could help increase viewership — at least amongst the male demographic.
You read that right: $3.8 trillion. That’s how much money our federal government has already thrown at the financial crisis, according to a CNBC report, which is “more than what was spent on WW II, if adjusted for inflation.”
If you are dumbfounded by the amount of money the federal government is pouring into the private sector to ease the nation’s financial crisis, it’s worth a look at how much Uncle Sam has spent on other major projects and historic events in the past, such as wars, bailouts and engineering marvels.
Thus far, only one item surpasses the $700 billion allocated to the government’s main rescue fund, what’s known as the Treasury Dept.’s TARP program. Other expenses and/or commitments, from Federal Reserve lending and guarantees to FDIC insurance fund losses to complex financial market mechanism, put the total cost at some $3.8 trillion (as of Oct. 23).
Consensual adult sado-masochistic porn? So obscene you can put someone away for nearly four years. Actual sadism and actual torture? You get legal immunity if you do it at the behest of the president of the United States. *
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” ......................... .................... — H.L. Mencken, not realizing just how amazingly .........................prescient he was predicting the presidency of .........................the current occupant of the White House
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Over the weekend, she was telling us about a substitute teacher she had in a couple of her classes on Friday. The curriculum for the day was apparently Mauri Povich during one class period and Divorce Court in another class period. For the students, this was entertaining, especially when the substitute talked back to the TV during Divorce Court. But, as you might imagine, to parents like us, such information raised eyebrows — or in my case, an exclamation of “WHAT?!?”
