Max Friedman | You forgot more jails
Somewhere in the more than $700 million stimulus bill just passed by both houses of Congress must be a reference to building more jails, if only as a means of increasing employment. If not, it should have been added as a “rider” when the bill was worked out between the two houses, because they are gonna need one.
When the Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in 2006, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) became the first woman speaker, she said that she was going to drain “the swamp of corruption” and end “the culture of corruption” in Washington, and by implication, corruption around the country.
A little over two years later, the swamp has not been “drained” but has expanded in size and depth. The “corruption” among politicians, in this case, mainly Democrats, has also expanded to near-flood conditions, overflowing the swamps and riverbanks of many national, state and local Democratic parties.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m for throwing the Republican crooks out too, and this includes Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Rep. Foley (R-Fla.) was thrown out of Congress by his own party even before there was an indictment or trial (neither of which occurred). Rep Vitter (R-La.), got caught up in the “D.C. Madame” scandal and apologized for it, and still has his seat. No charges were brought against him and despite Democrats calling for his head, or other body parts, this was largely a private matter between himself and his family. I won’t even begin to name the Democrats who have cheated on their wives. I haven’t got enough space for it.
No, wait! I will, for just a few.
I’ll just mention old Democrats who messed up over the years, including Rep. Wayne Hayes, Rep. Wilbur Mills, Rep. Mel Reynolds (convicted and jailed for wire fraud, fraud, lying to the FEC and sexual misconduct -he now reportedly still works for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition), Gary Studds, Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy, the other Kennedy (i.e. the drunk one), Barney Frank, Gary Hart, etc.
Those that I’m mainly interested in now are the newer bunch of crooks as well as those under investigation, or those who have been investigated and have avoided the political ax by various questionable means.
Let’s start with Speaker Pelosi. Seems that she tried to influence tax or wage legislation that would let her husband’s Pacific Ocean fishing business avoid paying higher wages to his workers on various islands. There was another little incident involving $25 million that could help her and her husband make a lot of money in real estate.
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) resigned a subcommittee chairmanship because of conflicts of interest involving her and her husband’s business. Seems he has made tens of millions of dollars from friendly defense contracts while his wife was on the Armed Services Committee.
She also let slip highly classified information a few weeks ago about covert U.S. operations in Pakistan, a revelation that could seriously hurt U.S.-Pakistani relations, hurt our covert operations there and in Afghanistan, and get our troops killed. I’m sure she will not be censured or expelled from Congress for that, just as Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Patrick “Leaky” Leahy (D-Vt.) have done in the past, as did former Rep. Drinan (D-Mass.) and “Harrington (D-Mass.). She has escaped any punishment for this latest event.
According to captured communist documents found in Grenada after the 1983 operation there, Rep. Ron Dellums (D-Calif.) and his aides, now Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Carliotta Scott, were up to their red necks in intrigue involving the marxist leader there, Maurice Bishop. Bishop was later executed along with his top men, by another more-Cuban-oriented marxist faction. Scott lost her lover.
A column/interview of teacher/historian Peter Kengor concerning his then new book entitled “Ted Kennedy’s Soviet Romance”, (2006), claimed that a 5/14/83 document he found in the Moscow archives, showed that Kennedy sought to work with Soviet dictator Andropov (and former KGB leader) to undermine President Ronald Reagan’s strategic defense strategies in the early 1980s. He reportedly used another former U.S. senator, John Tunney (D-Calif.) as his go-between, though since Tunney was one of the stupidest men ever to sit in the Senate (I know from personal experience), I doubt that he knew what he was involved in. Kengor’s article can be found at www.frontpagemagazine.com, “Ted Kennedy’s Soviet Romance,” an interview by Jaime Glazov. It makes for interesting reading.
I won’t even mention Kennedy’s drunk driving and coverup of the death of Mary Jo Kopeckne at Chappaquidick or his reported interference in the problems of other Kennedy Clan members ranging from drunk driving to murder. He’s from Massachusetts, you know.
Now, for today, we have the indictment and upcoming trial of Rep. William “Cool Cash” Jefferson (D-La.), who was caught with at least $70,000 in alleged bribe money in his office refrigerator. The only thing green in my refrigerator is lettuce, broccoli or mold.
He, at least, had more money than that Massachusetts politico who was filmed stuffing bribery money down her dress. However, she made for a good YouTube video before she was arrested.
Then we have Gov. Elliot Spitzer (D-N.Y.), who was literally caught with his pants down doing the hanky- panky with a $1,000 a-night call girl in a downtown D.C. hotel. He actually made it a career project and I’ll bet that Amtrak gave him discounts on his round-trip tickets from New York to D.C. and back, rating him as a “frequent flyer” or “frequent liar.” At least he resigned, but he was the Attorney General of New York state for many years, and vigorously went after white collar criminals and others. I’m sure that some of those he jailed would like to have talked over old times in Ossining Prison, with him, if he had gone to trial.
Next there is Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill). For those who think that wiretaps are illegal or useless ways of uncovering corruption, listen to what is on his tapes (some transcripts are available on the internet).
While he has been impeached and removed from office in Illinois, being one of several Democratic governors who have had recent trouble with the law, he has yet to be criminally indicted. However, the word is that he is lashing out at old political allies a reportedly openly spilling the beans on some of them, especially about mistresses, political corruption, etc. Bookies are taking odds on how many of Pres. Obama’s friends and advisors are going to be exposed, and possibly taken down by Blago when he opens up to the public. That is going to be one crowded bus-undercarriage if this is true.
Since we are dealing with both Chicago and Illinois politics, among the most corrupt in the land, you’re gonna want to get a front-row seat for this affair, especially if he goes to trial. Among those who might go down are former Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), now Obama’s top advisor, another advisor and former Chicago political figure Valerie Jarrett, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), a former leader of the marxist-criminal group known as the Black Panther Party, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr (D-Ill.), and Mayor Richard Daley Jr, of Chicago.
Even the newly appointed U.S. Senator Roland Burris (D-Ill.), has now run into trouble for allegedly lying under oath to a Illinois State House impeachment committee about his contacts with various politicians concerning people he had talked to about Sen. Obama’s soon-to-be vacant Senate seat. I’ll wait till the dust settles on this one because I don’t know much about it, but it doesn’t look good for him. Even the Democrats were calling for him to resign, and I’ll give them credit for trying to clean up their state. However, a late news item says that the Democrats have given up, for now, trying to oust Burris (Newsmax.com, 3/03/09, “Burris Foes Give Up: ‘He’s Not going Anywhere’”).
In Baltimore, we have the recent indictment on contract corruption charges of Mayor Sheila Dixon (D), the successor to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Md.). Looks like “Charm City” isn’t so charmed anymore, except for those getting favors, and it is still one of the major “murder capitals” of America, along with Philly, Chicago, New Orleans, Detroit, L.A. and Albuquerque.
D.C.’s former mayor-for-life, Marion Barry, is again facing jail for parole violation because he again failed to pay his taxes, for 2007, as he did for 1999-2004 (owing “more than $500,000″), Washington Post, 1/29/09. This is as much a habit as his drug usage. If he was to be convicted for everything else he did, and blamed on others (he had more teflon protection than Mafia leader John Gotti), he would be in jail until about 2050.
The whole story of his corruption and corrupt regime has yet to be told, as well as about his first two marriages (one went to jail as a crook; the other to an out-of-state hospital for reasons never truthfully explained, at least not according to a person who visited her), but it would make a great movie. Sorta of like ” Barry Does DC.”
Incidentally, one of his Vice Mayors, radical civil rights activist Ivanhoe Donaldson, went to jail for years for stealing about $500,000 in government funds that were meant for the poor of D.C. Other Barry friends and or/appointees have gone to jail for stealing tens of millions of dollars from the D.C. government, the Teachers Union, etc., and, like the energizer Bunny, “it just keeps going on.”
[Disclosure: I assisted my congressman's office in their investigation of political and financial corruption in the Washington Teachers Union, among Barry's poverty job projects, etc. back in the 1970's, and had access to investigative information that has still not been released to the public].
Speaking of mayors, Detroit’s last mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was sentenced to several years in jail for his corruption and he may be joined by other members of his family and political friends. Detroit has been so corrupt that even supporters of the old Communist Party member/mayor Coleman Young, turned against him for his corruption and the general destruction of that city’s economy. You can’t blame everything on GM, Ford and Chrysler.
Now take the state of New Jersey, please. Convicted and indicted Democratic politicians from mayors on downward, could fill a jail of their own, and at the rate of conviction of these state and local officials, they just might do that. That’s where the “stimulus package” might come it.
Convicted politicos include mayors, assemblymen, a Director of Housing, judges, school board members, county officials, and the chairman of the Democratic Party of New Jersey, among others.
Oh, wasn’t there something about the former governor McGrevey and some weird homosexual activities that cost him his job and his wife, and who knows what else? Must have been something in the water.
My source for some of this – the liberal NPR (National Public Radio) in their “Listen Now” segment on Feb. 16, 2009, “New Jersey Corruption Keeps U.S. Attorney Busy.” The U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Christopher Christie, according to the piece, “keeps a running tally of the officials he’s prosecuted” (and he has never lost a case in 6 years). “By his count, he’s at 126″, and if you also count in those prosecuted by the NJ AG Anne Milgram, “the total is more than 200 Garden Staters on the take – or give, as the case may be.”
It was properly noted that since the majority of the politicians in New Jersey are Democrats, it figures that there would be more Democrat crooks, and that conclusion came from Richard Codey, a Democrat and president of the New Jersey Senate. However, the most damning assessment he gave was that not only were the politicians corrupt, but “he also thinks that if the voters of NJ countenance corruption, they’re no better than unindicted co-conspirators.”
I’m glad he had the guts to say this out loud, and the article says that the state is making serious efforts to clean up corruption and “also created a program to encourage cleaner elections.”
I say, “Go for it.” They might even find Jimmy Hoffa one day, and Judge Crater (for Virginia readers, this is a local political character who disappeared in the 1930’s and his name has been synonymous for a person who just “disappeared.”
New Mexico is the home of Governor Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), a former U.S. Secretary of Energy and recently nominated candidate for the Secretary of Commerce, who withdrew his name because of an ongoing investigation into corruption in his government. Some expect a full-blown political scandal, referred to as “pay to play,” to bring him and many others down this year.
Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the majority leader in the Senate, Sen. Dodd (D-Conn.), and Rep. John “The Porkman” Murtha (D-Pa), have either faced corruption investigations recently or are now under investigation. Reid and Dodd escaped prosecution by the skin of their teeth for financial deals or influence abuse, the first concerning real estate deals involving his son, the second concerning mortgage favors from banks. The third investigation concerns Murtha’s relationship to defense contractors and cronyism, and are the latest “scandal du jour” for Pennsylvania.
There may be more investigations and indictments coming out of Louisiana where a Republican governor, just elected a few months ago, is trying to clean out centuries of corruption in Democratic Mayor Ray Nagin’s the “Big Sleazy”, also known as New Orleans, as well as the rest of the state. Crime is so bad in New Orleans that a friend of mine, a disabled/retired NYPD cop, and a few other out-of-state police visiting for Mardi Gras, had 13 incidents with criminals in their recent stay there.
Fortunately my friend had a national weapons carrying permit and his gun with him, or else he and three other cops might have been killed during one robbery attempt (the other police were unarmed at the time). My friend, a veteran of the New Orleans music world, knew better and came prepared.
Don’t forget the Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who was found to be mixed up with the leftist voter registration/fraud national organization ACORN that Obama once worked with. ACORN is under under RICO (Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations) investigations by the federal government and state governments for voter fraud and related activities.
From Michelle Malkin’s Oct. 9, 2009 column, “Judge rules Ohio Secretary of State violated federal election law; plus ACORN victim on tape”, came the following:
“…A federal district court judge has found Democrat Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner guilty of violating federal election laws. The ruling goes to the heart of the ACORN-centered voter fraud epidemic spreading across the country. This is the second ruling against Brunner.”
Another column on this subject was in “Human Events” (www.HumanEvents.com <http://www.HumanEvents.com)> ) by Connier Hair, 10/31/08, “Ohio Secretary of State Linked to ACORN, Project Vote.”
Brunner is now running for the U.S. Senate on the slogan “If we focus on solutions together, Ohio can be stronger than ever” (from her official campaign website). I didn’t know that voter fraud was a “solution” any politician wanted to use.
Since we are talking about political scandals in Ohio, don’t forget the illegal use of state government computers to find dirt on Samuel Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher, the man who had the “audacity” to question presidential candidate Obama’s fiscal policies. Those offices whose computers were used to access information on Joe included the office of the Ohio Attorney General, Nancy Rogers, the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency, and the Toledo Police Department. Several senior state workers were fired for this illegal action, including Helen Jones-Kelley, Director of the Ohio Dept. Of Job and Family Services. Fortunately, one honest state employee contacted the state’s Inspector General’s Office with questions about the legality of a request by her superior to do a computer check on Wurezlbacher.
One item to look at is Judicial Watch’s “List of Washington’s Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians for 2007″, which includes Hillary Clinton (Clinton Foundation donations, etc), , John Conyers (ethics complaints, etc.), Barack Obama (stocks and real estate), i.e. the Rezko deal on his home which is reportedly owned by one of Rezko’s friends, Pelosi and Reid. Republicans named include Mike Huckabee, Lewis “Scooter” Libby (nothing financial), and Sen. Larry Craig, the latter for his bathroom dancing in a Minnesota airport (again, nothing financial).
Conyers keeps dodging ethics complaints, some of which were proven, but nothing has been said about his 5 decades-long record of subversion and betrayal of America. His documented ties to the Communist Party began at least in the 1950’s, if not earlier, and his record in now unequaled by anyone still in Congress, Ron Dellums and Bella Abzug (d), having left there years ago. If his FBI and CIA files were to be printed as a book, and released to the public right now, it would be a best-seller that would bring down the Democrat Party and pay-off the national debt.
(I’d like to add a couple chapters about his father, John Conyers Sr., reportedly a founder of the United Auto Workers union, a key union local leader, and eventually an International VP under the Reuthers. It has got to be an absolutely fascinating story of communism, unionism, and politics).
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Mich.), a pal of Conyers, seems to have tax troubles re his house in the Dominican Republic. In fact, tax-cheaters seems to be the norm for President Obama’s choices for key cabinet positions, including now confirmed Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner, former Senator Tom Daschle, the now withdrawn nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (by the way, his wife is a high-powered lobbyist), Nancy Killefer, named to be Obama’s “Chief Performance Officer”, and a number of mid-level nominees).
For one column on this, see Michelle Malkin’s “All The President’s Tax Cheats”, Feb. 4, 2009 (at www.Townhall.com). A very interest piece appeared at Doug Ross (www.directorblue.blogspot which listed “The Obama Democrats: by the numbers” (1/31/09). This piece provided the money figures for the listed Democrats who didn’t pay their taxes (Geithner – $34,000; Rangel – $75,000; Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Ct), from Fannie Mae who helped bring us the housing crisis and multi-million dollar bonuses to their bosses, $133,900; Tom Daschle – $140,000 plus another $356,000 in additional income reporting he had failed to provide on tax returns; Dodd, again, $800,000 in mortgage “sweetheart deals” from Countrywide Financial, etc.
Other Democratic luminaries under investigation or exposed for shady dealings include Rep. Allan Mollohan (D-Va.); the wacko marxist Maxine Waters (D-Calif.); and Sen. Feinstein – $3.7 billion in military contracts to her husband’s businesses. Some other Democratic representatives are under investigation for other possible illegal activities.
Just one issue of the broad-spectrum political weekly “Politico” of Feb. 12, 2009, had the following major headlined stories:
Page 1: “WH Hoping Geithner Gets a Second Look”, and ” Dems Nervous About Burris” P. 11: “Pelosi Concerned About Potential Murtha Probe” P. 17: “Lynn Confirmed to Defense Post Despite Objections: Obama pick criticized for lobbying past, lack of experience” P. 23-24: “Richardson Tarnished by Scandal: Recent pay-to-play allegations drag down popular pol.”
And in late January, news stories started coming out in national and local newspapers about possible tax-evasion and/or fraud activities by leading Democrats including then Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill), now Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) and her husband Paul, and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind). Apparently they have created tax-shelter charities/foundations without disclosing their principle roles in them.
Two major stories about this “violation of a law requiring members of Congress to report non-profit leadership roles”, appeared on Jan. 29, 2009, in the national newspaper “USA Today”, by Matt Kelley. They were “Pelosi, two other Democrats failed to disclose roles in family charities” and “Democrats put own money into charitable foundations” (www.USATODAY.com).
This list of convicted, investigated and under-investigation politicians could go on for miles as more and more reports of corruption probes, indictments and arrests of Democratic politicians come in from all around the country, and I’m not just talking about small fry locals. Some Republicans are also being investigated or have been convicted, but nothing matching this present scale for the Democrats.
If we threw the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae political donations/scandals into the mix, the Democrats would lose, as of 12/07/08, the following senators – Christopher Dodd (D-Ct), Barack Obama (D-Ill) and John Kerry (D- Mass.). They received the most donations from Freddie Mac, and supposed its’ disasterous housing loan policies which helped bring on this major recession.
This information appeared in “AP Blames GOP For Freddie Mac Fiasco, Ignores Obama Donations”, from the conservative media watchdog group, “NewsBusters.org”, (12/07/08). Former Republican politicians and/or staffers were also listed as receiving a lot of consultants fees from Freddie Mac (D’Amato, Weber, Molinari, and Hirschmann). This is a very interesting article which can be found at “www.newsbusters.org.”
I won’t even go into President Obama’s total reversal of his campaign promise not to hire lobbyists who had business with the government in the past year, in his new administration. The Lynn case mentioned above is just one of many new hires that broke that promise. This issue alone would fill another column. Just “Google” the words “Obama and promises and lobbyists” to see what is going on.
If you want to keep track of these ongoing situations, go to www.freerepublic.com, <http://www.freerepublic.com> a conservative website that posts all kinds of stories from around the world on it, including those pertaining to corrupt US politicians, crimes committed by illegals, cases of where people have used firearms to defend themselves from criminals (esp. home invasions), and attempts to impose unreasonable gun control on law abiding citizens. Another good website is that for “Politico” (www.POLITICO.com) a weekly political newspaper, or the older political watcher, “The Hill.”
After printing out a dozen or so stories about corrupt politicians, you will see that what I wrote above was not just a conservative’s dream fantasy, but real life. The same can apply to printing out and collecting stories on the other topics I mentioned. They will show you a real life situation and pattern that you won’t find in your local newspapers or on network television.
In the words of the old philosopher, “Seek and ye shall find” and “The truth shall set you free.” This writer/philosopher adds “Print it out” and “Then you will see the truth.”
- Column by Max Friedman
Max,
Monster effort – job well done. Sadly, I am all to familiar with what you write – from my home state of New Jersey to the City of Baltimore, a place in which I lived for several years. The corruption is legendary. As for the need for more prisons, don’t forget, our very own part time governor/DNC chairman Tim “the eyebrow” Kaine wants to release so-called well-behaved non-violent offenders early – a subject I wrote about in January. So the politicians commit the crimes – from both parties, as you rightly pointed out, but then the politicians won’t do the time – truly demonstrative of their hypocrisy.
That’s $700 BILLION you fool!
Do you even know the difference?
$700,000,000 is 700 million
$700,000,000,000 is 700 Billion, a big difference. It’s sad that “journalists” can’t understand even simple math…
Fred: You got me. It is $700 BILLION for the first stimulus package, but I inadvertently was looking at another $700 Million figure when I started the column and never caught the error.
My sorry.
$700 BILLION, you idiot, plus another $500 BILLION or more down the rat-hole.
You and your family will be in debt to the govt until the year 5 BILLION AD. It’s money that has been wasted in the stupidest govt financial intervention since the Depression. Now that’s “depressing”.
This is not the “change” that Obama promised, nor it is “change”, not with all those zeros after the “7″. Perhaps it is “chump change” and you are the chump.
I “hope” that you have some “change” left after this year, or you might experience a “change” in your job situation and financial situation that you surely didn’t “hope” for.
Wasted money is wasted money, no matter how many zeros are behind the figure. That is something all of us should be concerned about, regardless of politics.
By the way, my “a” and “i” keys stick on my old keyboard. Keep a sharp eye out and you can oh so gentlemanly inform me of future errors. Oh, the “3″ on my phone also sticks. JFYI.