Rants and Views from a Purple State of Mind

Mark Ciavarella "Kids for Cash" Judge a convicted Felon

2011-02-22T01:00:00.000-08:00

A long time in coming too, alas the wheels of Justice in this corrupt latter day Roman Republic we call the Untied States Of America move slowly if at all, lumbering,squeaking and rattling like an oil deprived engine ready to seize. On Friday a small measure of Justice belched forth from the corrupt kleptocracy that is Eastern Pennsylvania.

Mark Ciavarella the former President Judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania who conspired, along with fellow dishonorable judge Michael Conahan, in the infamous "Kids for Cash" scandal in 2008 was found guilty of racketeering. Ciavarella was found guilty of 11 other counts including the conviction under the RICO Act and tax evasion.

The charges stemmed from Ciavarella accepting illegal payments from Robert Mericle, the real estate developer of Pennsylvania Child Care, and attorney Robert Powell, a co-owner of the facility. Ciavarella was also on trial for 38 other counts including accepting numerous payments from Mericle and Powell as well as tax evasion.

After the guilty verdicts he walked out of the courtroom a free man under the custody of his daughter, pending sentencing to a term of as little as 13 years or 157 give or take a few!

Once outside the disgraced judge was loudly confronted by a mother Sandy Fonzo, whose son, Edward Kenzakoski, killed himself last year after this criminal judge's decision to put him away for a minor drug offense sent the boy's life spiraling out of control.

"My kid's not here anymore. He's dead! Because of him!" Fonzo shouted at the judge and his lawyer as they talked to reporters on the courthouse steps.

"He ruined my fucking life! I'd like him to go to hell and rot there forever!" she shouted.

As guards attempted to restrain her, Fonzo reached out and touched the ex-judge on the arm, shouting, "Do you remember me?"

"Do you remember my son? An all-star wrestler? He's gone, he shot himself in the heart, you scumbag!"

The disgraced judge turned and walked away with Fonzo's screams of anguish filling his ears. We can only hope this is something the Judge replays in his mind the rest of his haunted days!

Fonzo's son was 17 and expecting to receive a college wrestling scholarship when he was busted for possession of drug paraphernalia and landed in the ex-judge's court.

Ciavarella, who was known as "Mr. Zero Tolerence," sentenced him to fours months in book camp and 30 days at the youth jail for the offense, which was his first.

As a result of the bust, the boy didn't get the scholarship he expected and fell into a life of crime and depression, his mom said.

He developed anger issues and was convicted of aggravated assault as an adult, Wilkes-Barre's Times Leader reported.

He shot himself last June, at the age of 23.

Edward Kenzakoski was just one of thousands of young juveniles in Eastern Pennsylvania whose constitutional rights were trampled into the dust by the two criminal ex-judges! The worst judicial scandal since World War Two will result in millions of dollars in damages and has destroyed the faith in the rule of law and order of millions of Pennsylvanians.

Sandy Fonzo one mother, one woman whose only son was robbed from her is just one voice rising in condemnation at the personal destruction that is wrought when men of the Judiciary descend into common criminal depravity aided and abetted by a corrupt political establishment.

Another Chapter closes..

Mark Ciavarella was represented in his criminal case by long time Luzerne County Lawyer Al Flora who is most notorious for representing Gay Pornographer Bryan Kocis (Cobra Video) who was murdered on Jan 24th 2007 by two rival gay pornographers.

Bryan Kocis had been embroiled in a high profile scandal involving underage child pornography which resulted in his pleading guilty to such a charge in 2001, then in 2004 hiring another underage teenager to appear in his bareback gay videos.

The Corrigan/Kocis-Cobra public scandal played out against a backdrop of insinuations and suspicion that Mr.Kocis had bought his freedom from the corrupt Judge Michael Conahan in 2001 despite pleading guilty to sex and filming pornography with a 15 year old. A charge that should have entailed prison and registration as a life time sex offender!

Bryan Kocis readily used his 2001 exoneration of guilt and lack of legal consequences to bludgeon and terrify other young men into line, telling them he had Luzerne County's corrupt judiciary in his pocket.

I will also reiterate in February 2007 the only explicit death threat I received came from Luzerne County after I posted an early article accusing Judge Michael Conahan of official corruption and bribery in the 2001 case.

As for Mr.Flora representing Judge Conahan? Well certainly seems to validate that pompous assertion of "Judges in my pocket" by Bryan Kocis! Now that one Judge is a public Felon of record and another soon to face his day of Judgment, DeWayne can enjoy this delicious irony filled souffle!

And kudos to Mr.Flora using that law degree to make his mother proud defending the truly despicable cretins of society! Child Pornographers and Mafia Judges!

The full story of the Kids For Cash scandal and the longtime Judicial Corruption in Luzerne County one of the most crooked county's in the US is covered in detail with Links below.

'Rot in hell!' Heartbroken mom whose son committed suicide confronts crooked judge

Kids for cash scandal

"Despite Red Flags, Judges Ran Kickback Scheme for Years" (NY Times)

Cash for kids' judge took $1m kickback from private jail builder to lock children up (UK MAIL Online)

"I will never, ever forgive him, he took everything I had, he has no remorse, there is no justice!" Sandy Fonzo,

Time To Ask Time To Tell

2009-10-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

This mornings Conservative Republican San Diego Union-Tribune has a compelling and provocative Page One story about a local San Diego Navy Veteran and SDSU student who has moved front and center in the debate on Gays in the Military.

James Rocha age 23 has become a poster boy for repeal of Don"t Ask, Don"t Tell. A position he seemed reluctant to embrace, a reluctant warrior perhaps (for a cause) which he now fights partly in memory of a former commanding officer.

The questions and debate has been covered fairly by the hometown paper which serves the Metro area with the largest Military presence in the Nation. (Both Active and Retired).

You can sense here a shift in attitudes as people confront the deeply prejudicial and bigoted reasons the original policy was put in place.

As the young man at the center of this controversy asks?

“Where was the honor in living like a criminal, in silence?”

Indeed the better question might be, Why do we support a national law of shame which was signed with the premise,,"Homosexuality is immoral,wrong and illegal"

If the last statement gives you pause may I remind you in 1993 the move to enact "Don't Ask Don't Tell was led by then Senate Majority Leader Sam Nunn a Democrat from Georgia a State where it was in fact ILLEGAL to engage in Homosexual conduct between consenting adults!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell belongs to a different era!

The era of a Segregated US Military. It is an Anachronism which destroys the credibilty of our Armed Forces, demonizes and denigrates a segment of our Citizenry for no just cause and sends a message to American Citizens.

Some Citizens are less Equal than Others. After 233 years isn't it about time we live up to the Ideals in the Declaration of Independence? Judge a citizen for military service based upon his ability and fitness for the job and not their color,sex,or sexual orientation!

Navy veteran combats ‘don't ask, don't tell’

The rejuvenated debate over the military's policy on gay service members has focused attention on a 23-year-old Navy veteran in San Diego who says he suffered prolonged sexually oriented hazing while serving as a dog handler in Bahrain.

A Navy investigation completed in 2007 and released last month confirmed nearly 100 instances of abuse in the 19-member dog-handling detachment between 2004 and 2006.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead is expected to respond to the report any day.

Some of the abuse targeted Joseph Rocha, now a junior at the University of San Diego majoring in political science.

Rocha has become a spokesman for the drive to lift the “don't ask, don't tell” policy and hopes to someday return to a military free of discrimination.

“You're going to need strong, powerful gay officers to help with the transition,” he said.

Rocha said that he never told anyone of his sexual orientation, but that he endured degrading sexual teasing by members of his unit — including the detachment commander, who assumed that he was gay.

Rocha later left the Navy after acknowledging his orientation to his commander.

“Bahrain is behind me. My cause is not what happened there, but in changing ‘don't ask, don't tell,’?” Rocha said last week. “This is not an attack of mine against the Navy or the military itself, but against the policy.”

In recent weeks, his story has been featured in the national news media. He has spoken at rallies and attended the dinner earlier this month in Washington at which President Barack Obama pledged to allow gay and lesbian troops to serve openly.

It's an unlikely place for someone who grew up in Riverside County in what he described as an abusive household. But the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, during his sophomore year of high school, fired up his patriotic drive. He enlisted in the Navy after failing to get an appointment to the Naval Academy.

Rocha knew he was gay, but that seemed less important at the time than fighting America's enemies.

“My understanding was if I didn't act on it, if I didn't tell anyone, then it was OK,” he said.

Rocha landed a military police job in Bahrain, the hub of U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf. He worked with dogs specially trained to sniff out bombs.

The investigation later documented that dog handlers were pelted in the groin with rubber balls, hog-tied and forced to eat liver dog snacks, made to stand at attention until a dog barked and walk around with chew toys in their mouths, or duct-taped to chairs and locked in kennels.

Some of the conduct took on sexual overtones. Prostitutes were hired for the unit's parties. One dog handler tried to climb in the shower with another. A sailor was forced to lean over a cabinet and spanked by the other handlers. Sailors told racist and homophobic jokes, according to the investigation report.

The report said a detachment leader concocted sexually degrading “training scenarios” involving the working dogs. In one such case, Rocha said, he was forced to pretend to engage in a sex act with another male sailor, once for each of the unit's 32 dogs. Female sailors similarly were forced to play-act as lesbians, the report said.

“I appreciate tough training. I appreciate a rite of passage,” Rocha said. “There was nothing educational about what they were doing to me. There was nothing dignified.”

He said he kept silent because complaining might have forced him to reveal his sexual orientation. A complaint by a new dog handler in late 2006 prompted the investigation.

Rocha's best friend, Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Valdivia, was the detachment's second-in-command during the abuse and later was its commander. A former Sailor of the Year, she had planned to leave the Navy and move back to the United States in early 2007.

But as the investigation concluded, Valdivia was ordered to stay in Bahrain and face disciplinary action for failing to stop the abuse. She gassed herself inside an outbuilding near her villa Jan. 12, 2007. On her MySpace page, Rocha said, Valdivia wrote that she was tired of taking the blame for other people's mistakes.

“I saw her two days before she killed herself,” Rocha said. “She gave me a long, awkward hug, which I realize now was her way of saying goodbye.”

Rocha suffered nightmares after his friend's death, but he proceeded with plans to attend Naval Academy prep school. After a few weeks there, though, he wrote to his commander that he was gay and was honorably discharged.

“Where was the honor in living like a criminal, in silence?” Rocha said.

For the next two years, Rocha attended community college and interned for Democratic politicians, including Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego. Although he had lobbied for gay-rights causes, Rocha said he never intended to go public with his story of abuse. Then, during a protest May 26 in San Francisco against the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold an initiative barring same-sex marriage, he met a reporter for the Bay Area investigative reporting group Youth Radio. A few weeks later she reported the abuse, with supporting documents, on the group's Web site.

Other media picked it up, just as gay-rights activists began a new push to force the repeal of “don't ask, don't tell.” Suddenly, Rocha is a national figure.

“It's been hard,” he said. “But I feel the imperative of doing this now.”

Source San Diego Union Tribune

An older Veteran 86 years old asks a different question.

Where is the compassion and the Equality? Speaking on the subject of Gay Marriage this past April.

Did Conahan Sabatoge Judge Olszewski?

2009-10-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

'Party' politics: Judge blames clash for photo's release

By Dave Janoski (Projects Editor)
Published: September 25, 2009

Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said a photo of him partying with a convicted drug dealer and former judge/accused racketeer Michael T. Conahan was leaked to media outlets Thursday to damage his retention campaign.

Olszewski said he was unaware of either man's alleged criminal activities when the photo was taken in 2005.

"It's obviously being done to embarrass me before the election," Olszewski said of the photo, which shows him, Conahan, the convicted dealer and a Luzerne County attorney holding drinks and liquor bottles in a Florida condominium that Conahan allegedly used to launder kickbacks in the kids-for-cash case.

In a tense, hour-long interview with The Citizens' Voice editors and reporters Thursday, Olszewski said he believes the June 2005 photo was mailed anonymously to the media by Conahan and/or his codefendant, former county Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. to hurt his bid for a second 10-year term in November.

"If you publish this, you're doing Mark's bidding," Olszewski said. "You're doing what the most corrupt judges in the world want you to do."

Olszewski said he clashed with Ciavarella during Ciavarella's last months as president judge, before Ciavarella and Conahan were charged in the kids-for-cash scandal in January. Olszewski said he disagreed with a lawsuit Ciavarella filed against the county commissioners to stall proposed cuts in court staffing and other administrative decisions made by Ciavarella.

Olszewski said shortly after Ciavarella's arrest in January, Ciavarella left him a "rambling," angry voice mail message "castigating" him for comments he made to the media about Ciavarella's tenure as president judge.

Olszewski said three people have told him Ciavarella is still "seething" over the criticism.

Through his attorney, Al Flora Jr., Ciavarella said the accusation that he was the source of the photo was "absolutely not true." Conahan declined comment through his attorney.

The two former judges face racketeering, bribery, money laundering and other charges for allegedly accepting $2.8 million in kickbacks in 2003-2006 for helping two for-profit juvenile detention centers secure county contracts. Some of the money was deposited with a company controlled by the judges that owns the condo and falsely recorded as rental payments, federal prosecutors say.

Olszewski said he was unaware of the judges' alleged kickbacks scheme in 2005 when he was a guest at the condo for a golfing trip that lasted several days. He said he was also unaware that a visitor to the condo, Ronald Belletiere, was a convicted drug dealer, although Conahan told him near the end of the trip that Belletiere had been rehabilitated following a sentence for "minor" drug charges.

"If I thought Judge Conahan, who was president judge, was committing a crime, not in a billion years would I have been anywhere near him," Olszewski said. Olszewski said he was aware of allegations made in the 1990s that Conahan had ties to drug dealers, but a state Judicial Conduct Board investigation never yielded any action against the judge.

Conahan's name surfaced during Belletiere's 1991 federal trial in the "Empire" drug case involving cocaine trafficking in Hazleton in the 1980s, when Conahan was a magisterial district judge in the city. A government witness in U.S. District Court in Scranton alleged Conahan had put him in touch with Belletiere as a source for cocaine.

Conahan was never charged in the case, but during a "sidebar" conversation between lawyers and the presiding judge out of the jury's earshot, a prosecutor called Conahan an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the case, according to a transcript.

Belletiere and two other figures in the Empire case gave information about an unnamed "public official" to the state Judicial Conduct Board, attorneys in the case said in 1994, just months after Conahan's election to the Luzerne County bench.

In August 1994, Conahan held a press conference to deny he had referred anyone to Belletiere to buy drugs, but acknowledged knowing Belletiere. The conduct board has never confirmed that it investigated Conahan over the allegations.

Belletiere, who was released from prison in 1995, could not be reached for comment Thursday,

Olszewski said it was only in July 2008, when The Citizens' Voice reported that Conahan's wife, Barbara, owned an interest in a South Florida used-car business that Belletiere operated in 2004-2007, that he made the connection between Belletiere and allegations against Conahan in the Empire drug case. Olszewski said that by then, the federal investigation into Ciavarella and Conahan was public knowledge and he did not confront Conahan.

"I wanted to in the worst way, but what would be the point? Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor," Olszewski said.

Olszewski's account of the Florida trip was corroborated by John H. Kennedy, a Forty Fort attorney who was also on the trip.

Kennedy, Olszewski and their dates flew with Conahan and his wife to Florida aboard a private jet owned by Hazleton businessman Joseph Gans. Conahan had purchased miles on the jet as a present to his wife, Kennedy said. Efforts to reach Gans were unsuccessful Thursday.

Olszewski said he paid Conahan $400 for his own flight. Kennedy and the two women who accompanied them did not pay, according to Kennedy and Olszewski, who was estranged from his first wife at the time.

Kennedy said the 2005 visit to the condo, his first and last, was offered to him by Conahan after he supplied free legal representation to the county's court stenographers during a salary dispute with the county controller's office.

Kennedy said he was unaware of Conahan's and Belletiere's alleged ties to the Empire drug case.

"I did not connect the dots. I was not aware of the accusation of ties between him and Conahan," Kennedy said.

Olszewski, a former Luzerne County district attorney and the son of a former state Superior Court judge, said Conahan did a "terrible thing" by placing him in the company of a drug felon.

"The only relation I ever had with drug dealers was to prosecute them and as a judge to sentence them after they've been found guilty by a jury," Olszewski said.

"I had a father who was the most honest judge in the world. I thought all judges were like that. I was wrong."

Michael R. Sisak, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Source Standard Speaker.com

The Unapologetic Liberal Lion

2009-08-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Proudly so and without apology Sen.Ted Kennedy was a controversial yet highly respected politician.

A true passing of a political giant and his impact will be measured much greater than either of his slain brothers. Sometimes in US Politics serving as a US Senator you can be much more effective than a US President. Ted Kennedy wielded out sized influence and political power, in the Congress and as head of the Kennedy Dynasty.

Kennedy was at the center of the most important issues facing the nation for decades, and he did much to help shape them. A defender of the poor and politically disadvantaged, he set the standard for his party on health care, education, civil rights, campaign-finance reform and labor law

Joe Holley writes in The Washington Post on Ted Kennedy's political importance

He was a Rabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life, instantly recognizable by his shock of white hair, his florid, oversize face, his booming Boston brogue, his powerful but pained stride. He was a celebrity, sometimes a self-parody, a hearty friend, an implacable foe, a man of large faith and large flaws, a melancholy character who persevered, drank deeply and sang loudly. He was a Kennedy.

New York Times journalist John M Broder describes the Kennedy effect.

Seared in my memory: When I interned at the Heritage Foundation, I would pop into Mass at Saint Joseph's on the Hill. And I would almost always find myself sitting near Ted Kennedy. He's responsible for things that are deeply offensive to my conscience and diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Catholic faith, and he probably led some people astray by his example. But our faith also teaches that we are all sinners and that there is redemption. He had some incredibly good forces in his life, not least among them his sister, Eunice, who just died. I pray for the repose of his soul. R.I.P. Senator Kennedy.

Kathryn Lean Lopez blogs her tribute at the National Review.

Elected first in 1962, the 77-year-old Massachusetts liberal was rooted in the civil rights and Great Society battles of that decade, but his enduring strength was an ability to renew himself through his mastery of issues and the changing personalities of the Senate. Nowhere was this clearer than in Kennedy's early support of Barack Obama in 2008, when the young Illinois Democrat needed to establish himself against more veteran rivals for the White House. Kennedy not only campaigned for Obama but, at risk to his own health, opened the Democratic National Convention a year ago in Denver and returned to Washington repeatedly last winter to cast needed votes to move the new president's economic recovery agenda.

David Rogers in Politico highlights the veteran senator's lasting political importance.

In many ways, he was the last man standing, straddling a mythic family mantle of fame and a vaunted career of political service, all the while wearing the crown of Camelot decades after its heyday...the senator's death brought to a close a storied political era - of assassinations, Jackie O, Palm Beach, Chappaquiddick - and a lifetime of both tragedy and public service.

Andrea Billup writes in the The Washington Times that 'Camelot' fades with Kennedy passing

In losing Kennedy, Obama loses a key Senate dealmaker at a crucial moment in legislative negotiations over the health care bill. Though an icon of Democratic liberalism, Kennedy was known to colleagues as a jovial pragmatist, whose many friendships with colleagues across the political and ideological spectrum made him one of the Senate's most influential players.
Kathy Kiely in USA Today examines the impact of Ted Kennedy's death on healthcare reform.

"When Does the Greed Stop?"" Not just a rhetorical question but prescient coming from Kennedy in 2007 after the GOP controlled Senate had just passed 240 billion dollars in corporate welfare while throttling a vote to increase the minimum wage for the first time in ten years.

How does the Secret Service Protect and..

2009-08-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

Distinguish who the crazy potential threats to a President might be when they are Congressmen or until last year one of the LOONS was in the White House!

Read both and Weep for a nation gone mad...

Georgia Republican Worries Dems Will Declare Martial Law

Posted on Aug 13, 2009

house.gov

Rep. Paul Broun, who once compared Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler, now thinks the president is part of a radical “socialistic elite” that may try to declare martial law. Broun’s comments came during what an area newspaper described as a “relatively peaceful” town hall.

That’s right, while members of Congress around the country have to deal with screaming crazies at their town hall meetings, in one frightening district of Georgia the member of Congress is one of the screaming crazies.

The Raw Story has a comprehensive look at Broun’s comments, including a classic non-apology. —PS

Athens Banner-Herald:

At another point, Broun, who last year made national news by comparing Obama to Hitler, called Cuba’s former dictator Fidel Castro and leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Obama’s “good buddy.”

He also spoke of a “socialistic elite” - Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - who might use a pandemic disease or natural disaster as an excuse to declare martial law.

“They’re trying to develop an environment where they can take over,” he said. “We’ve seen that historically.”

Calling Gog and Magog...

The first part of William Plaffs article is disgusting enough then it makes a surreal turn into the truly Terrifying! Seems the French President was at a loss at how to deal with the FREAKING LOON in the White House who was telling him France Had to go to war with America against Iraq.

Cause the RAPTURE was coming! Fucking Elmer Gantry!

Bush’s Pioneering Sadists: A Tale From the ‘War on Terror’ Dark Side Posted on Aug 13, 2009

By William Pfaff

PARIS—Little mainstream comment seems to have appeared on the latest revelations of incompetence and sadistic fantasy that have been published this week about the ways in which the American nation lost its honor and international reputation because of the Bush administration’s infatuation with torture.

Or with, as Vice President Dick Cheney has put it, “the dark side”: its eight-year excursion into what commonly is understood to be criminal international behavior, which the former vice president continues to defend with relish and conviction.

The revelations concern the two men who reportedly created the torture techniques that the CIA and U.S. military have been using on prisoners since early in the “war on terror.”

According to The New York Times (in a story by Scott Shane), the two had for years been involved with an Air Force survival course that was supposedly based on Chinese Communist “brainwashing” techniques used in the Korean War.

The program, housed at an Air Force base outside Spokane, Wash, involved midlevel abuse (and sometimes more; one of the two, Bruce Jessen, allegedly had to be stopped in a mock interrogation that colleagues thought had become “pretty scary”). This was to prepare the airmen for what they might meet if captured by an enemy.

Most anyone who has been in military service since the Korean War has been given a taste of this, but it was an Air Force specialty.

Jessen was a farm boy who earned a psychology doctorate at Utah State in what was known as “family sculpting,” in which clients made physical models of their family to deal with emotional relationships.

The other of the two successive head psychologists at the course was Jim Mitchell, a poor boy from Florida who joined the Air Force in 1974 for adventure, became an explosives expert and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology. Later, he received a doctorate at the University of South Florida; his dissertation compared diet and exercise plans in controlling hypertension.

When 2001 came, the two friends saw their opportunity, convincing the government that they were experts on torture. Neither knew much, if anything, about al-Qaida, the intelligence world, Islam, foreign languages or foreign countries.

They simply reversed what they had been teaching, and taught the torture rather than the resistance. According to the Times, they then “made millions selling interrogation and training services to the CIA.”

Now there is an aspect to this which so far as I know has never been mentioned in connection with the U.S. torture program.

“Brainwashing” is a myth. The Defense Department official conclusion after the Korean War was that “no confirmed cases of brainwashing came out of the Korean war.” The DoD said that Chinese Communist treatment of prisoners was not unusual. The academic community eventually concluded that the concept of brainwashing was “not considered useful in Social Science.”

The whole thing came from one sensational book, and the press and public hysteria built up from the fact that some American prisoners in Korea gave “confessions” of war crimes that were used in enemy propaganda, presumably to escape routine brutality or to get privileged treatment.

The Air Force courses of the past 60 years on how to survive brainwashing were cooked up in the United States out of people’s imaginings of what it might be like to be brainwashed. The tortures sold to the CIA by Mitchell and Jessen were made up in the USA.

One more thing must be added to illuminate the atmosphere in which this could have happened in the United States.

The University of Lausanne in Switzerland has allowed it to be made known that one of their theology faculty, professor Thomas Römer, in early 2003 received a call from the Élysée Palace in Paris, the seat of the French presidency.

The president, Jacques Chirac, supposedly wanted a clarification of the significance of the figures of Gog and Magog in biblical prophecy. He was calling Lausanne because he didn’t want his query to be leaked to the press in France.

The theologian explained to him that the two are obscure figures who appear in the Book of Genesis, and again in Ezekiel, in connection with a prophesy of a great war, desired by God, to cleanse the world of his enemies before the arrival of the world’s Last Days, after which a new age would follow.

Chirac reportedly said he was calling because he was distressed that President George Bush had twice telephoned him to inform France’s president that this war was beginning, and urging France to join the United States in fulfilling the divine prophesy. As is well known, France did not do so.

This appears in a new book of interviews by a respected French journalist and friend of Chirac, Jean-Claude Maurice, provocatively called “If You Quote Me, I’ll Deny It.” The report by Maurice has not been confirmed by the former French president. But it has not been denied.

Visit William Pfaff’s Web site at www.williampfaff.com.

Obama still isn’t president in the south

2009-08-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

Denying the Obamas American birth is just another form of racism
Andrew Sullivan

A naive person might believe that Barack Hussein Obama was born, as he has long said he was, in Hawaii to a young American mother and a distant father from Kenya. There are notices in two local papers and the certification of birth is filed in the state of Hawaii’s records.

An independent body — FactCheck.org — part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, asked to see a copy of the original during last year’s campaign. FactCheck is non-partisan and takes all sorts of politicians’ claims to task. Here’s its take on Obama’s birth certificate: “FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving US citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. . . Our conclusion: Obama was born in the USA just as he has always said.”

You may be persuaded. Once I’d seen the short-form certificate online, verified by independent journalists and vouched for by state authorities, I was, too. But staggering numbers of Americans remain sceptical. In fact, a majority of Republican voters — 58% — either do not believe or are unsure that Obama is a natural-born American citizen. That means most Republicans believe Obama is constitutionally illegitimate in the presidency because the constitution reserves it for those born in America. The scepticism is — surprise! — concentrated in the south. In Virginia, a southern state that backed Obama last year, only 53% are sure Obama is legitimately president and 70% of Virginia Republicans either don’t believe he is an American or aren’t sure. A poll last week also found that many Republicans believe this issue has not received enough media attention.

What do they believe? The most common theory is that Obama was born in Kenya while his mother was visiting his father. The Hawaiian birth certificate exists, the sceptics claim, because Hawaii recognises as natural-born citizens those born to American mothers temporarily outside the United States. The only problem with that theory is the certificate would mention that fact and it doesn’t.

So Obama was born where all the evidence says he was: Honolulu. Why would a woman in her last month of pregnancy travel halfway around the world to deliver a child in a developing country and then bring him back home, even though he wouldn’t have had a passport? How would she get him into the United States unless someone at the border was in cahoots? “You couldn’t sell this script in Hollywood,” Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, told reporters last week.

Why does this story stay alive? Some, like me, didn’t understand the Hawaiian intricacies at first: we thought there was a single long-form certificate that could resolve the question. But, as FactCheck notes: “The Hawaii Department of Health’s birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate, but their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department.” So Obama did all he could to make this go away.

Yet the conspiracists have only become more adamant. A slew of radio show hosts have fixated on the question; Lou Dobbs, CNN’s resident crank, broadcast several segments expressing doubt about Obama’s birthplace. Sean Hannity, a Fox News pundit, ran two reports on a soldier who refused to follow orders from Obama because he doubted his eligibility to be president. When Major Stefan Cook’s orders to deploy to Afghanistan were revoked, he and his lawyer took it as an admission on the part of the military that the president is not, in fact, a legitimate citizen by birth.

On cue, as Obama turned 48 last week, a Kenyan birth certificate popped up on the web. It was immediately exposed as a forgery based on a 1959 Australian birth certificate, but the pressure hasn’t let up. Obama’s legitimacy as president has been challenged in five lawsuits, all dismissed.

WorldNetDaily, the far-right website, has run countless editorials, letter-writing campaigns and billboard advertisements on the question. WND is a fringe web publication — but its fringe has, by some estimates, about 2m visitors a month.

Rush Limbaugh, the mega-chat show host, has raised the issue and Michael Savage, the rabid rightist, has said: “We’re getting ready for the communist takeover of America with a non-citizen at the helm.” Other, calmer Republican activists have denounced the so-called “birthers”. The cannier ones have argued that this issue has been drummed up by Democrats to discredit the Good Old Party (and it has). But it’s hard to accept that explains everything.

The bolder rightwingers have condemned the whole thing: radio star Michael Medved has called the birthers “crazy, nutburger, demagogue, money-hungry, exploitative, irresponsible, filthy conservative imposters”. But leading Republican politicians, aware of how powerful the conspiracy theory is among their supporters, have tried to avoid the issue. The Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, for example, told a town hall meeting last February: “Well, his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii but I haven’t seen any birth certificate”, even though a resolution on July 27 — issued on the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood — declared Obama a citizen unanimously (with some Republican abstentions).

This is the silly season. But this silly story seems to me an indication of something more ominous. The demographics tell the basic story: a black man is president and a large majority of white southerners cannot accept that, even in 2009. They grasp conspiracy theories to wish Obama — and the America he represents — away.

Since white southerners comprise an increasing proportion of the 22% of Americans who still describe themselves as Republican, the GOP can neither dismiss the crankery nor move past it. The fringe defines what’s left of the Republican center.

The chilling implication is that a large number of Americans believe the president has no right to be in office and has fraudulently maneuvered himself there.

I hope the secret service is on alert. If we thought racial panic had ended with Obama’s election, the resilience of this story in key parts of the country is a helpful wake-up call.

Madoff sentanced to 150 years

2009-06-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

To contemplate his Greedy Navel! The greatest financial fraud in history 170 billion plus, results in a life sentence.

So are we finally getting serious with "white collar" criminals in this country? Perhaps this is a temporary hardening of attitudes since so many from the Political and Wealthy Elites were swindled by Mr.Madoff.

Makes you wonder though can we call it a Madoff scheme now?

Ponzi looks positively penny-ante compared to ole Bernie!

A rogues' gallery of scammers and their sentences

Los Angeles Times

9:40 AM, June 29, 2009

Bernie Madoff's sentence of 150 years far exceeds the prison terms given to other high-profile figures involved in financial scams over the last two decades.

Here are some of the names from the rogues’ gallery of the corporate world and Wall Street, and their prison sentences, as compiled by the Associated Press and Bloomberg News:

--- Jeffrey Skilling, Enron Corp.'s former chief executive, was sentenced in October 2006 to more than 24 years in prison for his role in the energy company's collapse. But he will be resentenced July 30 after an appeals court ruled that federal sentencing guidelines were incorrectly applied in his case.

--- Kenneth Lay, founder of Enron, was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and lying to banks in May 2006. His conviction was vacated later that year, after his death.

--- Andrew Fastow, Enron's former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2004 and was sentenced to six years.

--- Joseph Nacchio, former Qwest Communications CEO, was sentenced to six years after being convicted in 2007 on 19 counts of insider trading. He began serving his time in April, but has requested a new trial.

--- Bernard Ebbers, former chief of WorldCom, was sentenced to 25 years in 2006 for his role in the $11-billion accounting fraud that toppled his telecom company.

--- John Rigas, founder of cable television company Adelphia Communications, was convicted in 2004 on charges including securities and bank fraud. He is serving a 12-year term. In addition, he was indicted in 2008 on additional charges of tax evasion.

--- Timothy J. Rigas, Adelphia's former chief financial officer, was convicted on the same charges as his father and is serving 17 years. He also was indicted on tax evasion charges in 2008.

--- Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco International, was convicted in June 2005 on charges including conspiracy, grand larceny and securities fraud. He is serving a sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years

--- Mark Swartz, Tyco's ex-finance chief, received the same sentence as his former boss and has been imprisoned since 2005.

--- Sam Waksal, ImClone Systems founder, was sentenced to seven years in 2003 in the insider trading scandal involving the ImClone drug Erbitux. He served five years and now is free.

--- Ivan Boesky, the arbitrageur who was a central figure in Wall Street’s massive insider-trading scandal of the 1980s, served two years of a 3 1/2-year sentence. He was released in 1990.

--- Michael Milken, the Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond king who pleaded guilty to securities-law violations in 1990, was sentenced to 10 years. He served 22 months.

-- Tom Petruno

Top photo: Jeffrey Skilling. Credit: Pat Sullivan / Associated Press

Middle photo: John Rigas. Credit: Adam Rountree / Bloomberg News

Bottom photo: Ivan Boesky. Credit: Associated Press

D Day 65 years

2009-06-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Today is the 65th Anniversary of D-Day for many World War 2 Vets and their family's this may be the last major commemoration attended by actual veterans. As someone who had 3 Great Uncles who served (one who is still with us at 87) I felt some kind post was appropriate.

Two of the best articles of the last week.
The first recognizing the forgotten heroes of WW2 our Black Servicemen, most who experienced greater freedoms in the United Kingdom and France than they would as second class citizens of the nation they fought for. Yet they served,1 million of them as patriotic as the white class that showed them contempt on Omaha Beach.

The second article covers the very special bond between the Normandy French citizenry and their deep affection undimmed by the years for the American Liberators of France.

Read both Articles and Remember the sacrifice our Greatest Generation made for freedom and for their familys on this June 6 2009 65 years from D-Day.

Today in Normandy, twenty-seven war cemeteries hold the remains of over 110,000 dead from both sides: 77,866 German, 9386 American, 17,769 British, 5002 Canadian and 650 Poles.

This speaks to the ferocity of what came to be called The Battle of Normandy.

DeWayne

African-American D-Day veterans celebrate Barack Obama's trip to Normandy source Daily Telegraph

As America's first black president attends D-Day commemorations in Normandy, the Second World War's forgotten African-American soldiers say they enjoyed more freedom in Britain in the 1940s than in the segregated United States.

By Philip Sherwell in New York
Published: 9:00AM BST 06 Jun 2009

They have long been the forgotten heroes of D-Day, the African American military personnel who stormed ashore and risked their lives for a country that still treated them as second-class citizens.

Their faces were missing from the Hollywood films that heaped glory on US forces and and their stories were missing from the books, exhibitions and museums that commemorated the Normandy landings.

But with President Barack Obama, the country’s first African American commander-in-chief, in France for the 65th anniversary celebrations of D-Day on Saturday, black veterans of the segregated US army believe their role is finally being acknowledged.

“Where we were in The Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan?” asked Charles Sprowl, 87, referring to two of the best-known films about the events of June 6, 1944. “Where we were we in the history books?” The former corporal in the 490th Port Battalion, who dodged German bullets and rockets as he carried supplies ashore on Utah beach that day, believes that oversight is belatedly being put right.

“I think people are finally realising that there were African Americans there too and how important we were in the operation, but it’s been a long time, too long.”

For Mr Sprowl, who has lived his whole life in Dalston, Georgia, the biggest shock of his wartime service was not the carnage on the beaches of Normandy but his experience in the months before the invasion when he was stationed in Maghull, Merseyside.

“We would go in to Liverpool and we were treated like normal people,” he said. “There was no segregation and we could go where we wanted and do what we wanted. We went dancing in the Grafton Ballroom and shopping on Whitechapel like everyone else.

“My time in England was the first time I had really felt free in my life. And I wondered why another country was treating us better than our own country, better than the country we were fighting for.”

John Noble Roberts nearly paid the ultimate sacrifice 65 years ago. The oldest of 15 children from a poor cotton-growing family in Louisiana, he was a 19-year-old coastguardsman on an amphibious vessel that ferried troops across the Channel on D-Day.

After the second run, the craft became stranded on a sandbank at Omaha Beach as the tide went out and Mr Roberts, whose job was to run errands for the captain, was given a message to carry down to the engine room.

As he made his way across the deck, a German shell hit the marooned vessel, blowing off his right leg and badly injuring the left. “We were sitting ducks and the Germans clearly had us in their sights,” he recalled. “I thought that was it, I was going to die, but I guess it just wasn’t my time.”

The injuries ended Mr Roberts’ war. Back in the US, he received the Purple Heart that is awarded to all injured servicemen, but felt there was little recognition for the role played by African-Americans in Normandy.

“We were just second-class citizens again,” he said from Santa Maria, California, where he moved after the war. “You know, I really think that people didn’t know we were there.”

After the freedoms of his time in Britain, Mr Sprowl felt disheartened when he returned to Georgia, a Southern state where instititutional discrimination was maintained under the guise of the so-called “separate but equal” laws. “We went to war for our country and came home to segregation,” he said.

It took another two decades until the civil rights movement of the 1960s led by Martin Luther King Jr finally dislodged those iniquitious statutes.

Yet bias and ignorance remained. And the story of the black veterans in the Normandy landings went largely untold for more than six decades until a 2007 History Channel documentary entitled A Distant Shore: African Americans of D-Day.

“These men did not want to be portrayed as heroes, they just wanted the world to know they were there and they played their part,” said Doug Cohen, the writer and producer.

“The remarkable thing was that D-Day had been so well documented and yet this part of the story was missing. It was incredibly difficult even to find pictures of the African Americans there that day. The camera lenses were not focused on them so they had disappeared from history.”

In Normandy, Elise Mills, a French historian, pursued a similar mission after noting that she saw no pictures of black US personnel in D-Day memorials and museums.

She discovered thousands of photographs of African American servicemen in the US National Archives, including the all-black 320th Anti-Aircraft Battalion who put up a curtain of helium balloons above the beaches that exploded on impact with German planes. Some of those pictures now feature in exhibitions in France.

In A Distant Shore, one black veteran recalled being pelted with racial slurs by other soldiers on the beach and author Yvonne Latty shared the tale of a young African American medic who saved an estimated 300 lives under enemy fire - only to be denied a medal of honour by the US military, as was everyone of his skin colour. The army has since acknowledged systematic racial discrimination in the criteria used to award medals during the Second World War.

In all, about 2,000 African Americans took part in the landings on June 6, 1944, and about a million black personnel served in the US forces during the war. In recent years, their contribution has started to receive official acknowledgement - the Tuskegee airmen of America’s first black aviation combat unit were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President George W Bush in 2007.

Mr Obama invited the airmen to his inauguration, saying their breakthroughs had paved his way to the White House. And on Memorial Day last week, he became the first president to send a wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial honouring the 200,000 black troops who fought for the North in that conflict.

The role of African American veterans is high in the president’s mind, aides say. Mr Obama’s speechwriters are still working on his words for Saturday, but the forgotten faces of D-Day could be in line for a belated tribute from the highest level.

65 years after D-day, Normandy's gratitude toward US has not faded

By Edward Cody Washington Post / June 6, 2009

CRICQUEVILLE-EN-BESSIN, France - Sixty-five years have gone by since D-day, but Louis Delevin remembers.

When he was elected mayor of this tiny Normandy village in 1989, Delevin's first gesture was to raise a monument to the US 354th Fighter Group, whose time in Cricqueville local farmers have never forgotten.

After the landing at nearby Utah Beach on June 6, 1944, Delevin recalled, young American pilots from the 354th used a grassy meadow here as an advanced landing strip for several months, until the German Army folded back and the front moved on.

One of the soldiers who passed through Cricqueville during that hot summer, according to information discovered recently by the Associated Press, was President Obama's grandfather, Stanley Dunham, who served with an Army aviation maintenance unit that helped keep the strip running.

"If they hadn't come, where would we be today?' said Delevin, 77, who as a farm boy of 12 provided the pilots with apple cider between raids on the retreating German troops. "You don't have to be a great scholar to understand that the freedom we enjoy today was decided in those days in 1944."

Up and down the Normandy coast, a rainy stretch of sand and rocks along the English Channel in northwestern France, the memory of what American troops did in that fateful June has remained tenaciously alive, enduring through the political disputes and personal exasperations that often divide leaders in Washington and Paris. Obama, who has scheduled a visit Saturday to the US military cemetery at nearby Colleville-sur-Mer, will find himself in unusually friendly territory here, a place where people like his grandfather are still honored and the image of America as a force for good has remained largely untarnished.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, who will accompany Obama to the cemetery, has gone out of his way since coming to power in 2007 to emphasize the tradition of official friendship between France and the United States. The irritation in Washington created by former president Jacques Chirac's opposition to the Iraq war has dissipated while, in France, things American are fashionable once again, particularly since Obama's election and President George W. Bush's departure from the White House.

Sarkozy prevailed on Obama to visit the Normandy landing beaches, ensuring that he would be televised by the new US president's side, affirming France's role - and his own - as a major player in the world. As it was with his predecessors, grasping at that role has been a major preoccupation for Sarkozy. In addition, the photogenic visit comes one day before European Parliament elections that are seen as a test of his popularity among French voters buffeted by the global economic crisis.

But it is in the little towns and villages of Normandy where the ties between France and the United States have remained most deeply rooted. In fact, here they never really faltered, and American presidents have showed up regularly to bask in them. President Ronald Reagan was here in 1984, and President Bill Clinton had his turn in 1994. Bush came in May 2002.

"When you are 4 or 5 years old, and your parents and your grandparents tell you about this, it sticks with you," said Benoit Noel, 42, who helps administer a museum commemorating what happened on Utah Beach. "Everybody in Normandy remembers the landing. We know what the Americans did for us. We haven't forgotten."

Here in Cricqueville, for instance, people gather at their little stone church once a year to celebrate Mass in honor of the young US soldiers who died on nearby beaches or in the surrounding fields. Inside, the US and French flags hang side by side over the tabernacle.

"Christian, do not forget the American soldiers who risked and sacrificed their lives for you along this coast on June 6, 1944," reads a marble plaque fixed to the wall of the nave. "The bell of this church guided them. You owe them to pray faithfully that God welcomes them."

Jean Castel, a former pilot from nearby Grandcamp who has spent years studying the Normandy landings, said the Cricqueville church bell played a genuine role; the little structure and its stone walls were on US military maps as a landmark for forces fighting their way inland after landing at Utah Beach.

Some of those battles have been commemorated at the Cricqueville City Hall, as well, with a series of photos and drawings depicting a celebrated assault by US Army Rangers up sheer cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. A photo of their commander, Colonel James Earl Rudder, looks out over the community meeting room under a sign reading, "Honor and Gratitude to the American Rangers."

In the dining room of Grandcamp's Hotel Duquesclin, a wall-size oil painting of the Point du Hoc attack has been hung to illustrate the moment for customers feasting on fish brought in from gray channel waters just out the window.

In the image, Rangers descending from landing craft rush toward the cliff walls with ladders and grappling hooks while German machine gun rounds send little fountains splashing up from the sea. Castel said that, in real life, many of the Rangers died before reaching the rocky shore.

Castel, 79, said he has been interested in the Normandy landings, and particularly the air attacks, since at the age of 14 he saw a US B-26 bomber crash near Rouen during a pre-landing raid. After becoming a pilot himself and a civilian employee of the US Air Force in the 1950s, he tracked down the pilot, identified as Dee Mitchell, who had survived the crash and returned home to Texas.

"People here never forget the Americans," Castel said. "For us, they were the liberators."

Historic

2009-06-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release June 1, 2009
LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

GOP Civil War

2009-05-25T04:50:00.000-07:00

Colin Powell fires back at tin soldiers Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh on the Sunday news shows. Powell a decorated Vietnam Veteran has been under malicious attack by two of the most infamous Chicken Hawks in American History.

New York Daily News writer Mike Lupica adds a fiery column of his own today, reminding the GOP you are in danger of shrinking your "base" to a tiny rigid fascist core thereby assuring the destruction of an American Political Party. The war for the Future of the GOP continues and in my personal opinion it is already lost.

Leave the ashes to Limbaugh and Cheney the GOP the DO Nothing Party deserves its coming OBLIVION!

GOP led by toy soldiers - Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh - insulting heroes like Gen Colin Powell

Mike Lupica
Monday, May 25th 2009, 4:00 AM

This was at 166th St. and Boston Road in the Bronx Sunday morning, in front of the amazing old building that was still called Morris High School when Gen. Colin Powell graduated from there more than 50 years ago and began a life of service to his country.

This was an hour before Powell would appear on "Face the Nation" to discuss comments made about him by former Vice President Dick Cheney, whose most famous moment carrying a gun came when shooting a lawyer once instead of quail.

These days there are now five smaller schools on the Morris campus. Once, though, this was the first high school in the Bronx. And even with a lot of construction going on, the place is still something to see.

"Like a castle," Michael Moran, 42, from the neighborhood, said.

"Colin Powell went here," he was told.

"You think we don't know that up here?" Moran said.

A week ago Cheney - whose idea of a foxhole is Fox News - went on "Face the Nation" and said he assumed Powell had left the Republican Party after endorsing Barack Obama. Then Cheney said if he had to choose between Powell and Rush Limbaugh to lead the Republicans, he would go with Limbaugh.

But that really is the current Republican Party, isn't it? Angry old white men like Cheney and Limbaugh talking to each other. Two toy soldiers who enjoy insulting a real one like Powell. Trying to convince the country that if you don't believe in torture, you don't want to keep it safe.

Only here was Powell, who came out of Morris High to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs and secretary of state, telling the real truth about his party Sunday, and about the old men who think they speak for everyone in it.

"In every demographic ... the Republican Party is losing," Powell said.

Of course Dick Cheney wants to talk about torture now. It's all he's got. He doesn't want to talk about the soldiers he sent off to die in Iraq. He doesn't want to talk about all the wounded soldiers from that war, or the trips he didn't make to Walter Reed while he was still vice president.

He doesn't want to talk about how the Republicans lost both houses of Congress and finally the White House while he was vice president, as millions left his party on the dead run. And he certainly doesn't want to talk about what kind of country he left to President Obama, and to the rest of us.

So he talks about the potential danger of closing Guantanamo and puts it all on Obama, failing to mention that his own boss, Bush, also wanted to close the place. It is completely gutless of Cheney, and completely predictable. He continues to live in a weird parallel world, accepting no blame or responsibility for Sept. 11, but making it clear that if anything happens again it's all Obama's fault.

In a quiet voice Sunday, Colin Powell pointed out the obvious about Guantanamo to Bob Schieffer:

"[Cheney is] disagreeing with President Bush's policy."

Then Powell said Obama wasn't closing down Guantanamo to appease the intellectuals of Europe, as Cheney snarkily suggested, "but to reassure people all around the world that we're a country of law."

Understand: Powell is not some kind of perfect American hero; he will always have to live with the appearance he made at the United Nations when he was helping Bush and Cheney sell their intelligence about weapons of mass destruction, reluctantly playing the good soldier to the end.

He is still better than the people to whom he was forced to respond Sunday. He has still led a great American life and served his country more honorably than Cheney ever has or ever will. At the end of his time on television Sunday, on the eve of Memorial Day, he praised the young men and women fighting Cheney's war in Iraq as "another greatest generation."

"This is a time when we reflect on the privileges we've had because we had other citizens put their lives on the line," he said.

Maybe Dick Cheney should do some reflecting, take a good look around this Memorial Day. Or just take in the kind of parade in which he'll never be asked to march. Maybe Cheney could then think about devoting the rest of his life finding ways to help the soldiers he sent off to war, instead of finding ways to keep pinning medals on himself.

It is worth remembering today that guys like Colin Powell, Morris High '54, put their own lives on the line. Cheney always did it with somebody else's.

Confronting the Beast,,of Dogma

2009-05-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

No wonder the agents of intolerance and keepers of the flames of rigid religiosity despise Barack Obama. His appearance at Notre Dame was a tour de force and a ritual slaying of the beast(Ignorance)!
Yes the man IS the Antichrist! All hail!

The Notre Dame Postmortem
By Sonia Tsuruoka • on May 18, 2009

After treading treacherous waters for weeks, President Obama averted the jaws of political pitfall and successfully defused much of the faith-charged controversy surrounding Notre Dame’s Sunday Commencement.

Then again, maybe “averted” isn’t the right word. No, put it this way: with rhetorical machismo that would make a Spartan shake in his cleats, Obama leapt off the parapet, confronted the beast, and served its twitching head on a platter to every off-campus rabble-rouser that dared litter the scene with “hate-baiting” and hyperbole.

Which, of course, leads us to the most important question of the evening:

Would Alan Keyes like some ice for that third degree…burn?

As always, Obama settled the match without a drop of blood spilt. His strategy was subliminal: to subdue extremist beliefs on both sides of the fence by his advocacy of “middle-ground” politics and refusal to “shy away from things that are uncomfortable.”

As Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” And seize the opportunity Obama did, delivering a remarkable, no-holds barred address that discretely confronted – and conquered – the controversy surrounding the afternoon Commencement.

Yet the sensitivity with which Obama met his most recent ideological hurdle is largely representative of his own persona. He was clever, calculated and courageous, with an undeniable political swag that engaged Notre Dame students and faculty members on common religious ground.

To the probable chagrin of his right-wing counterparts, Obama emphasized the fact that all pro-lifers were not “ideologues” deserving of political dismissal. And it is here the President was careful to draw a clear distinction between the coherent on-campus protests of Notre Dame students (sans fetal pictures), and the demagoguery of far-right extremists in the media.

Watching the address brought me back to the primaries, where “Change you can believe in”, seemed like little more than hogwash poetry. But to media’s most seasoned political analysts, Obama’s uplifting slogan was nothing short of a political coup d’état, a declaration that shook — and eventually toppled – the crudest aspects of Cheney and Rove’s neo-con establishment.

Similarly, Obama’s call for “Open hearts, open minds, [and] fair-minded words,” challenged the tactics of people like Randall Terry who believe Obama’s stances on abortion make him “the adversary…of the global common good,” and Alan Keyes, who believes that the honorary degree being given to Barack Obama “not only honors evil [but] exalts and worships it.”

To that end, I disagree with the premise of many off-campus protests.

Take, for instance, the controversy surrounding Notre Dame’s decision to award Obama an honorary degree. Bill Donahue, President of the Catholic League, recently opined that Notre Dame giving Obama an honorary degree “would be like Howard University giving David Duke a degree in racial politics.”

But according to Larry Marsh, a former Notre Dame faculty member, that simply isn’t true. In his involvement with the Notre Dame Honorary Degree Committee, Marsh cites the body was glad to recommend (and eventually award) a Jewish scholar with an honorary degree.

In Marsh’s own words,“How can it be ok to award an honorary degree to a person who does not recognize the divinity of Christ, but not ok to award one to someone who might have a different conception about conception? Why should Christ’s divinity have to take a back seat to the disagreement over when a fetus becomes a child?”

Second, it’s important to emphasize that the President has no direct jurisdiction over a woman’s right to choice – this issue is a judicial precedent under the control of the Supreme Court, that, in the following years, will evaluate its constitutional legitimacy independently from the Oval Office.

Of course, the logical argument used by Catholic protesters on Notre Dame’s campus — and pretty much all pro-lifers — is that the President can influence Supreme Court decisions through new court appointments, should a replacement be necessary. That’s true. Of course, it’s also true that their argument is pretty much identical to the one used by disgruntled pro-choice advocates during the Bush Presidency, all of whom took to hysterics at the notion of a conservative court appointment.

Interestingly enough, the nightmare of many pro-choicers was soon realized in the appointment of Chief Justice Roberts — and as liberals know full well, utter chaos ensued. A day after the seasoned justice was sworn into office, Roe v. Wade was reversed, millions of teenagers became underage parents, America degenerated into violence, and locusts rained down from the sky into the streets of Washington. Then, seven Orc-like horsemen stormed the Capitol and delivered the Apocalypse. The end.

We all know this series of events never transpired. In fact, even the reversal of Roe V. Wade didn’t come close to becoming a reality under the watch of a conservative Chief Justice appointment. And therein lies two harsh truths:

For one, it will take more than a new Supreme Court appointment to challenge judicial precedent, regardless of his/her ideological slant. Since the landmark 1973 decision, conservative Presidents have only halfheartedly suggested that the Court “reconsider” the case, if at all.

Similarly, conservative Justices seated on the Supreme Court have been wary about any reversal; Chief Justice Roberts, though personally pro-life, has been careful to exercise judicial minimalism — the emphasis of legal precedent and decline of judicial activism — in order to preserve the status quo. Even if Obama were to suddenly cast off his liberal leanings, adopt a pro-life platform, and, like Bush Jr., appoint a conservative Justice to the Court, there would be no indication that any reversal of judicial precedent would take place at all.

And why?

Because regardless of what pro-lifers and feminists have come to believe, abortion is, in large part, a wedge issue; comparatively speaking, it has little to no sweeping national consequences. To that end, I have always been indiscriminate; any one-issue voter who concerns themselves solely with the matter of abortion — whichever end of the spectrum they occupy — will likely irritate me, regardless of my own political and religious inclinations.

With the US embroiled in two critical overseas wars and the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, it baffles (and vexes me) that anyone would preoccupy themselves with an issue so comparatively inconsequential. Sure, it’s possible to cook up an impassioned argument against “moral decay” but these qualms should not, in any instance, supersede government’s primary concerns : the economy and state of US foreign affairs.

In short, I applaud Obama’s fearless political dialogue regarding a subject that has proved untouchable for dozens of Democratic politicians. Well played, Mr. President, well played.

Source Scoop 44

Bishop John D'Arcy not a fan..

GOP Spurns the Young

2009-05-11T05:30:00.000-07:00

"locked in the dogmas of their quiet past, unable to think and therefore act anew."

Excellent article from this mornings Los Angeles Times sure to be ignored by Republican Politicos, unthinking,uncomprehending and on the path to Partycide.

The Republican Party ignores young 'millennials' at its peril

The new generation of voters is unified, committed and, for the foreseeable future, overwhelmingly Democratic.
By Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais
May 10, 2009

If the Republican Party thinks it has problems now, just wait. The party's incredibly poor performance among young voters in the 2008 election raises questions about the long-term competitiveness of the GOP.

The "millennials" -- the generation of Americans born between 1982 and 2003 -- now identify as Democrats by a ratio of 2 to 1. They are the first in four generations to contain more self-perceived liberals than conservatives.

And a recent Daily Kos tracking poll should send shudders down the spine of any Republican who understands how powerful a voting bloc this generation could become over the next decade.

Only 9% of millennials polled expressed a favorable opinion of the Republican Party. Only 7% were positive about the GOP's congressional leaders. By contrast, 65% of millennials had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, and a majority also approved of congressional Democrats. Though many people question the political sophistication of the millennials, they have been instilled with egalitarian and participatory values by their parents since birth.

This child-rearing produced a generation that was wide open to the personal appeal and message of Barack Obama and his party. Moving forward, the initial preference of millennials for President Obama and the Democrats will remain in place for a lifetime unless Republicans can quickly adapt their message and find a messenger who can speak to this powerful new force in American politics.

Only 41% of all millennials were eligible to vote in 2008, yet their overwhelming support for Obama transformed his win from what would have been a squeaker into a solid victory. Obama's popular-vote margin over John McCain was about 9.5 million nationally; millennials accounted for nearly 7.6 million of those votes.

In the 2010 off-year election, half of millennials will be eligible to vote, representing about a fifth of the overall electorate. By 2012, 60% will be eligible to vote, and they could make up about a quarter of the American electorate when Obama runs for reelection. By 2020, when virtually all millennials will be over 18, they will represent 36% of the electorate and will completely dominate elections and the political agenda of America.

And it seems likely that this civic generation, like its "Greatest Generation" great-grandparents, will vote in big numbers. Turnout among voters under 30 has been rising steadily since millennials began to replace the alienated and more cynical Gen-Xers in this age group. From a low of 37% in 1996, turnout increased to 53% of all eligible millennials, and 59% in the key battleground states in 2008.

Their unity of opinion and their numbers will make millennials' preferences for economic activism, a non-intrusive approach to social issues by government at any level and a multilateral interventionism by America in foreign affairs the policy paths to political success during the next decade.

It is simply inconceivable that the Republican Party can craft a winning strategy between now and then that doesn't accommodate these ideas.

But so far, Republicans appear to be tone-deaf on the issues that millennials care about.

Millennials have been reared with a desire to serve their community, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act provides them an opportunity to do just that, while at the same time dealing with their single biggest financial worry -- the high cost of a college education. Unfortunately, all but 25 House Republicans voted against the bill, despite its co-sponsorship by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).

Millennials also are experiencing higher levels of unemployment than any other generation. They expect the federal government to take an active role in fixing that problem and support redistributing income if necessary. But the almost-unanimous Republican opposition to the "recovery" act helped convince millennials that only one party actually understood their problems and was prepared to act in accordance with their beliefs.

Polls consistently show millennials are more committed to environmental protection than any generation in American history, willing to sacrifice economic growth or endure higher prices in order to save the planet. Given the millennials' overwhelming concern with the environment, House Minority Leader John Boehner's comments recently that carbon dioxide isn't a real threat because "we all breathe it out" and, besides, "cows give out a lot of gas too," went beyond inanity into the realm of political suicide.

The only tentative Republican gesture to millennial power to date is the GOP's sudden fascination with a new social network platform, Twitter. By choosing Twitter -- with its limitations on content -- to connect to millennials, Republicans are actually demonstrating how little they know about this generation's commitment to engaging in the content-rich challenges of rebuilding the nation's civic institutions and national unification.

Republicans will need to find a new message and much better messengers than their last presidential ticket or their current congressional leaders if they want to truly connect with today's young voters. Failure to do so will leave Republicans, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, "locked in the dogmas of their quiet past, unable to think and therefore act anew."
Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais are fellows of the think tanks NDN and the New Policy Institute and the coauthors of "Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics."

Former GOP Congressman Micky Edwards has almost the same point of view as the above article, and explains why McCain and the GOP's debacle in November was far worse and more damaging than Barry Goldwater's 1964 rout. DH

The Nation NEEDS a Better GOP!
or a new party of the opposition.

Republicans have to put a leash on attack-dog tactics and engage in a constructive manner to deal with serious problems facing the country.

By Mickey Edwards
May 10, 2009

There are optimists within the Republican Party. They look at the wreckage left behind after last year's elections, and recall 1964. That was the year that Barry Goldwater, the Republican nominee for president, was so badly trounced that pundits proclaimed the GOP dead. But it was also the year that a new breed of conservative activists, myself among them, brought a new energy to the party that eventually reshaped it and led to years of Republican domination of the executive branch.

The whistle-past-the-graveyard crowd imagines that this year's doomsayers have simply forgotten history: Four years after the 1964 disaster, they remind us, Republicans won the presidency. We'll just do it again, they say. But the Republicans' defeat last year was far different from their 1964 loss -- and it will be a lot harder to come back from.

In 1964, Goldwater was seen as an anomaly. He was not representative of his own party, and, to a large extent, was rejected by it. The conservatives voters so soundly rejected in 2008 are seen not as anomalous but as representative of the larger party.

The Richard Nixon who won the presidency in 1968 had been vice president under Dwight Eisenhower, who left the White House with his popularity intact. The GOP candidate in 2012 will have to overcome the nation's memory of the previous Republican in that office, George W. Bush, who was less popular in most of America than the New York Yankees are in Boston. There will be no "glorious days of Republican leadership" to hark back to unless the party's candidates continue to dredge up memories of Ronald Reagan, who left Washington two decades ago, before a good many younger voters were born.

When Republicans rebounded in 1968, they were a national party, helped to victory by strong support in areas where, today, the party wanders in a political wilderness.

There are now large chunks of the country almost without a Republican presence. Draw a map of the east side of the U.S., from the tip of Florida to the Canadian border, and see how many Republican senators or governors you find. In 1969, by contrast, the GOP held both Senate seats in New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Vermont; there were Republican senators from New Jersey, Michigan, Maryland, even Massachusetts. In the House, Republicans held three of the six Connecticut seats, five of 12 in Massachusetts, both in New Hampshire, 15 in New York, seven of 10 in Wisconsin. You get the idea.

What can you say about the Republican Party in 2009? That it has Alabama locked up? Well, that's not even true: Democrats are far more competitive in the South than Republicans are in much of the country.

It's certainly true that to some degree Arlen Specter's defection from the Republican Party was opportunism. Specter, after all, became a Republican in the first place not because of any particular political point of view but because, in 1966, when both Republicans and Democrats were trying to recruit him to run for district attorney in Philadelphia, the GOP promised more support. Specter himself has said that he's now a Democrat because that's the best way to get elected again. To Specter, party has never mattered much.

But there's more to the story. While Specter will not march in lock step with Democrats any more than he did with Republicans, he will vote with them on many procedural issues, and in the Senate, that's no small matter. So the loss matters. And that's why Republicans need to take seriously the fact that Specter was not so much seduced by Democrats as driven away by a GOP that has become increasingly intolerant of disagreement within its ranks and seemingly incapable of putting forth an appealing platform.

At one point, Republicans put forth a coherent, idealistic vision of America, one that summoned it to greatness. There was a profound belief in the dignity of the individual, a reverence for the Constitution and the founders who proposed it, a belief in doing whatever it took (including spending tax dollars to build a military second to none) to preserve the peace. Republican platforms preached prudence and the virtues of small business.

Today, the Republican belief system has degenerated into an embarrassing hodgepodge that worships political victory more than ideas; supports massive deficits; plunges the nation into "just-in-case" wars without adequate troops, supplies or armor; dismisses constitutional strictures; and campaigns on a platform of turning national problem-solving over to "Joe the Plumber." It's hard to see how all that points the way to a reawakening of voters to trust in the GOP.

This may suggest, of course, that the party should just toss in the towel, accept its designated role as the Whigs of the 21st century and leave governance to its betters. But American freedom depends on power checking power. If Democrats control the legislative and executive branches without meaningful opposition, the country will be the weaker for it. Some of President Obama's initiatives would dramatically shift the boundaries between public and private, reshape the relationship between citizens and government and alter the lens through which America views its international commitments. These are serious matters and deserve serious, and constructive, engagement.

Merely attacking administration proposals and labeling Obama a "socialist" will only ensure that instead of rebounding, as the GOP did in 1968, the party will slip even further into irrelevance. And that will not be good for America.

Mickey Edwards is a former U.S. congressman, a lecturer at Princeton University and the author of "Reclaiming Conservatism."

The GOP Defends Torture

2009-04-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

On a day when Sen Arlen Spector abandons a flailing GOP former VP Cheney wont shut up about his love of Torture. Who knew ole Dick Cheney was a Masochist? Or Sado-Masochist with the duress he is inflicting on the Republican Party!

Well you know what they say the party that plays well together stays together,, to the bitter end!

Cheney demands a Torture Commission
by Robert M Shum Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Republicans finally think they’ve found an issue: They’re in favor of torture. Republican House Leader John Boehner channeled the party’s will when he spoke up for the torturers’ cause at a White House meeting with President Obama. But his voice was drowned out (metaphorically) by someone who had previously left the White House for an undisclosed location in suburban Virginia.

Dick Cheney, the avatar of the nonexistent threat of weapons of mass destruction, hastened onto the public stage to blast the President for endangering the national security. Obama’s crime? Releasing memos depicting waterboarding and other techniques borrowed from enemies like the Communist Chinese. It wasn’t Cheney’s first assault on Obama, but it captured singular attention because Cheney plainly was the Bush Administration’s driving force in this wholesale violation of national and international law.

From a Democratic perspective, the emergence of Cheney as the face of the Republican Party is a consummation devoutly to be wished. GOP strategists generally yearn to see Cheney just go away; the last thing they want is for Americans to see the former Vice-President, an antonym for public appeal, become a synonym for their party.

On the merits, Cheney doesn’t even argue half the case—whether torture is wrong in principle, wrong legally, or wrong for American foreign policy. Instead he insists that it worked to some unspecified extent. Secretary of State Clinton pungently understated the obvious when she dismissed him as not “a particularly reliable source.” In fact, last year FBI Director Robert Mueller, a Bush holdover, was asked by an interviewer whether any attacks had been foiled by what Cheney and his acolytes whitewashed as “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Mueller was “reluctant to answer,” but then conceded: “I don’t believe that has been the case.” As early as 2002, a Pentagon study warned that torture would elicit “unreliable information.”

So what can torture’s apologists claim? For a while, their prime example was a plot to crash a plane into the tallest building in downtown Los Angeles. They pointed to information supposedly coerced from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a top al Qaida operative, who we now know was waterboarded 183 times. It’s a scenario right out of the television show “24”; appropriately it’s also fictional. The plot was derailed in 2002; KSM, as government memos refer to the Sheikh, wasn’t even captured until 2003.

Cheney, seldom daunted by the inconvenient truth, is now demanding the selective declassification of two documents allegedly “proving” the effectiveness of torture—although, of course, he refuses to call it that. (Imagine hoping to be remembered in history as the “waterboarding Vice-President.”) The difficulty, as Bush State Department Counselor Philip Zelikow points out, is that the release of these documents “would only raise questions that would have to be answered with still more disclosures.”

In other words, Cheney hasn’t thought it through—perhaps no surprise from the official who propelled us into the folly of the Iraq War—but in effect he is demanding a Torture Commission to review all the documents and decisions on the dark engine he fired up. That would be the only way to make a definitive judgment on his claims.

The President has resisted the creation of such a commission, to the consternation of many of his own supporters. It’s ironic, to say the least, that Cheney has stumbled into agreement with them by insisting that “the American people [should] have a chance to see what we obtained and what we learned and how good the intelligence was.” But how can they do that without a through and independent inquiry?

I doubt Obama will take Cheney’s advice. The President has sought to navigate a fine line on this issue. Those who disagree with his decision to rule out the prosecution of CIA agents who engaged in torture have a point. Do we really want to validate a defense that pleads: “I was only following the memos”? At least why not prosecute the officials who authorized torture and the lawyers who rationalized it? Leave aside the reality that it would be difficult to convict them; the government would have to prove that the legal advice was intentionally and knowingly flawed (as opposed to merely adhering to the Bush norm of gross incompetence). The President’s real reason for resisting criminal cases—or a commission—is a belief that America can’t afford a wave of recrimination and bitter division about the past when we should be concentrating on the urgent business of saving our future.

Obama’s fine line also seems to me to be finely calculated. I think he recognizes that history, too, has its claims, and that the truth will out over time, as it did with Richard Nixon and Watergate. In releasing the memos, he’s sent a clear message of deterrence—that American operatives in the future can’t rely on legal camouflage to justify torture. Indeed what has been too little noted is how the FBI and the Pentagon refused to participate in the Bush-Cheney reign of torture.

The line Obama has drawn is likely to endure. There’s no guarantee, but there wouldn’t be even if the culprits found themselves in court or under inquisitorial klieg lights. And I doubt any subsequent administration would risk a repeat of this dark chapter in our history.

And that’s where Cheney will be left—to history—unless, that is, he inadvertently aids and abets the creation of a Torture Commission. That would only seal his ultimate disgrace; we might even discover, as some allege, that the real object of waterboarding was to extract false confessions endorsing Cheney’s concocted connections between Saddam Hussein and al Qaida.

In the meantime, as we end the First 100 Days, which have marked not just an historic success for Obama but an ideological and political dead end for the Republicans, maybe the GOP will at last disclaim their former Vice-President. They’re already dumping on George W. Bush for the bailouts and “big spending.” Isn’t the betrayal of our laws, our reputation and our core values a graver offense? But if instead the party of “No” lets itself become the party of Cheney, well, in that case they’ll just keep torturing themselves.

source The Week.com
- ROBERT M. SHRUM has been a senior adviser to the Gore 2000 presidential campaign, the campaign of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and the British Labour Party. In addition to being the chief strategist for the 2004 Kerry-Edwards campaign, Shrum has advised thirty winning U.S. Senate campaigns; eight winning campaigns for governor; mayors of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other major cities; and the Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. Shrum's writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times , The New York Times , The New Republic , Slate , and other publications. The author of No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner (Simon and Schuster), he is currently a Senior Fellow at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service.

"Old School" Republicans Are "Scared Shitless"

2009-04-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Good speech but in my opinion a waste of time. The GOP seems adrift and about to ground itself on those jagged rocks of irrelevancy.

The party represents only One Political Thought: Failure they embrace it!

The No Nothing, Do Nothing Party!

April 18, 2009 09:46 PM

Speaking to an affectionate crowd of Log Cabin Republicans on Saturday evening, Meghan McCain ridiculed the party her father headed this past election, declaring that "old school Republicans" were "scared shitless" of the changing landscape.

The Senator's daughter, who has quickly become something of an iconic figure in the gay conservative community since the end of the election, took repeated shots at the GOP for its antiquated mores.

"I feel too many Republicans want to cling to past successes," said McCain. "There are those who think we can win the White House and Congress back by being 'more' conservative. Worse, there are those who think we can win by changing nothing at all about what our party has become. They just want to wait for the other side to be perceived as worse than us. I think we're seeing a war brewing in the Republican Party. But it is not between us and Democrats. It is not between us and liberals. It is between the future and the past."

Later, she called out those officials in the Republican tent who insist that tactical improvements, technology and brass-knuckle politicking are the path back to relevance.

"Simply embracing technology isn't going to fix our problem," she said. "Republicans using Twitter and Facebook isn't going to miraculously make people think we're cool again. Breaking free from obsolete positions and providing real solutions that don't divide our nation further will. That's why some in our party are scared. They sense the world around them is changing and they are unable to take the risk to jump free of what's keeping our party down."

The remarks, delivered at the Log Cabin Republican's national convention in Washington D.C., drew healthy applause and the occasional high-pitched whistling. McCain, at one point, declared herself a proud member of the GOP. But her pot shots at the Republican Party and its flashier figures were not thinly veiled. Describing her public tiff with Ann Coulter as non-delicate, she went on to refer to the brash conservative talker as "overly partisan and divisive." Later in the speech she insisted that "most of our nation wants our nation to succeed" - a pretty clear dig at the now-infamous remarks of talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.

As for the GOP establishment, McCain described it as a "party that was thriving at one point on a few singular issues" but could no longer "see long-term success."

"We've seen how it has contributed to some serious problems in our nation and world," McCain said, in an apparent reference to the government under GOP control. "Let me blunt, you can't assume you're electing the right leaders to handle all the problems facing our nation when you make your choice based on one issue. More and more people are finally getting that."

Vermont Gay Marriage

2009-04-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, 7 April, 2009 the Vermont House of Representatives, by one vote, overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing gay couples to marry. By only one vote but that is all that was needed. Vermont is the first state to allow same-sex marriage through legislative action instead of a court ruling. This I support.

In 2000, Vermont became the first state to adopt civil unions for gay couples. It is now the fourth state to allow same-sex marriage. In addition to Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Also yesterday, the District of Columbia gave initial approval to a plan to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside of the District. That could open this to a Federal case because of Congressional oversight of the District. In 1996 Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act. Bill Clinton signed that bill. As a result of that act the federal government may not recognize same-sex marriage, no social security survivors benefits etc.

Last week the Iowa Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages. That is not the job of any court. Courts are not qualified to make laws. The judiciary of that state is out of line and it needs to be corrected as California voters did to its Supreme Court.

The founding fathers concept of separation of powers is more important to my mind than government recognition of gay marriage. My representative and senator speak for me and write the laws. The judiciary makes decisions based on the Constitution and those laws. The executive branch enforces those laws. Simple. (Then there are the separate states. As a Texan, I like that too.)

In California, Proposition 8 was approved by the voters. That act amended the state’s Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. This was in response to the abuse of power by the state Supreme Court which decided that a handful of lawyers dressed like Catholic Priests could change the will of a few million fellow citizens. They were wrong and the people told them so.

Now the California GLBT ‘community’ has an even greater hurdle to climb. It will take more that a few years to correct. 26 States have existing bans on same sex marriage. Some of those are constitutional bans I guess that is one critical vote to the negative if you are thinking of a U.S. Constitutional Amendment. In other words, it will not happen any time soon.

My point here is that to make a law; more specifically to change a law for same sex marriage, it must be done right. Through the law making bodies. Stop trying to back door this through the courts or executive decree. Be up front and honest.
Gays are quite literally asking straights to help. To grant recognition as equals. If they ask right, it might happen.

Californian faggots dressed in white face and French clown suits went into a Catholic Cathedral in San Francisco and took communion from the Arch-Bishop. These faggots don’t have the courage to show their real face or name. They then walked back down the isle sticking their tongue out at old ladies and young children with the communion host still on their tongue. This was clearly to help convince Christians on which way to vote for Gay rights. It worked like a charm. Prop 8 passed. Gay marriage is unconstitutional in California. Then gay people walked around with ‘H8 and Hate’ signs to show their appreciation. That pretty much secured the law for a generation or more.

As a Roman Catholic, conservative, expert marksman, disease free, father of four sons, TEXAN, I am proud to be the partner of this blogs owner. This is my first independent post here. I hope my position is clear.
Gay rights will happen. Get the idiots out of the spotlight. Maybe carry signs saying “I Love too!”, “I love You!”, stuff like that, no hate. It will happen faster. This ’in your face’ drag queen style crap will send exactly the message California voters sent back in the State Constitution. “NO.”

I applaud the Vermont House of representatives for it’s override of the governors veto. My partner, DeWayne and I look forward to this happening in more states.

Albert in Texas

St Bryan Of Luzerne County

2009-03-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago the trial of Harlow Cuadra ended with a guilty verdict in the murder of Bryan Kocis. It marked an end to a horrific time where man’s most base instincts came to light.

A brutal vicious murder that brought untold grief and horror to many people. There is no way to measure the loss of Bryan to those who loved him, those who knew him and cared about him. I understand that.

During the trial, and afterward a picture was painted of Bryan Kocis that could be summed up in the words of his sister on a blog after the verdict.

“Bryan was a good, honest person in a bad, dishonest business.”

The trial is over, the murderers have been brought to justice, it is time to clear the table here.

I spent 15 years of my life in this “business”. In that 15 years I worked with and knew many honorable and decent people. In those 15 years I never encountered a more reprehensible vile person that Bryan Kocis. I have been trying for days to decide what to write, so I have gone through countless emails, court documents, and my own anecdotal knowledge and came to some conclusions that I would like to share.

Lets start at the beginning. my friend Jerry Douglas would tell you there are two types of people who make porn, those that are in it for the work, and those that are in it for the boys.

It is obvious which one of those Bryan Kocis was.

In 2001 Bryan Kocis was arrested for videotaping himself having sex with a 15 year old boy. To hear his apologists tell it was a model that lied about his age. Let’s look at that for a moment. There was no Cobra Video at the time of the incident, that came later. Does anyone remember a series of video’s with the then 38 year old Bryan Kocis and young men ever going on the market?

Lets get real here.

Bryan was using the guise of making video’s to lure in young men. Somehow he managed to plead down and walk away and start a video company. Now that we see the judges in that county pleading guilty to various crimes, and one can see the atmosphere in that county then was not a good one for justice. Somehow Bryan Kocis walked away from a molestation charge and started a company shooting young men.

Bryan Kocis was a pariah in the porn business.

He relished that position and embraced it. He brought a 17 year old Brent Corrigan to Pennsylvania for the summer by assuring his mother, on an art school related pretext. So much for an honest man in a dis-honest business. In my 15 years again I never saw anything like that. A man fresh from a molestation situation has a 17 year old boy in his home all summer long.

Now it is possible that the reason he had Brent there was for bible studies, but more than likely it was not. We have here a pattern of an older man with the money and power using it for sexual purposes. You hear over and over again about the conniving Brent using Bryan.

No, sorry the 17 year old was the abused one here. Not the 40 year old with the money, the house, the transportation and the control. This is not a situation that is either normal, or acceptable in porn. It was in a word wrong.

My next point is one that infuriates me beyond words.

The issue of Brent Corrigan using a fake ID to make video’s, Brent the evil manipulator..Horseshit. It really does not matter a lick what Brent Corrigan did here, or his motivation for doing it. One of the first things I learned in porn was the younger looking the model the more ID you needed. No reputable person would EVER shoot anyone on the basis of an emailed picture of an ID. EVER.

If I had a model that looked questionable I would require 3 pieces of ID and ask for friends and references. That was the standard. My battles with Caryn Goldberg at Freshman magazine were legendary regarding models they thought looked under 18. They might have all the ID in the world and they would not shoot them.

My distributor demanded more than one ID, as did everyone else. Those of us that shot in the 18-23 YO age group were especially careful. We always went the extra mile.

The Jeff Browning episode was a strong reminder of the perils. If Brent Corrigan came to me with an emailed picture of an ID he would not have been shot. He would have been required to provide at least 3 pieces in hand for inspection and then some. This happened because Bryan did not care about what the others in the industry considered necessary. That was the failure here. The responsibility was in the producers hands.

Next point was the unprecedented way Bryan went after a 17 yo when Brent finally had enough and fled the abusive situation he was in. Make no mistake the mixture of sex and money and control was abuse in it’s purest form. At some point Brent realized that for his own survival he needed to flee this abusive controlling prick.

He was strong enough to get away and he drove away in the car Bryan gave him. Most people are not that strong, and they die in the abuse. Psychologically they die. They give in, they learn to “Take It Like A Bitch Boy”.

When Bryan did not get his way he was relentless and evil.

No one in porn ever acted like that. He sent people across the country to humiliate and try to destroy Brent.(photo at left) He both publicly and privately went after Brent in ways that were frankly abusive and repulsive. This is where we, the porn business, really let Brent down.

We stood silently by while this bully bullied. Falcon let him down. They promised to stand by him and they caved. If Chuck Holmes were alive he would have squished Kocis like a bug. They wanted to use him then abandoned him.

Eventually Brent had to work, had to eat and with no end in sight he and Grant decided to settle. They were alone, no one stood by them. I to this day regret I did not do so. I was at the time mired in my own hell that was devouring everything around me and I did not take the time.

I justified it in my own head by saying these are bareback people let them do themselves in. I was wrong. An abused person escaped from an abuser and we stood silent. They went to settle even when the “Honest man in a dishonest business” was double dealing them with their business partner. Despicable behavior from a despicable man. This honest man who started a bareback trend on lies for profit.

Bryan was murdered. There is no justification for that.

Jeffery Dahmer, and John Geoghan were murdered. It did not make them nice people. Like a bad episode of Perry Mason the first conclusion everyone thought of was it had to be Brent and Grant.

The speculation was relentless and the same people who supported Bryan during his life continued the abuse from the grave. What Brent and Grant did next was not to run and hide from it, but rather to do what needed to be done to bring murderers to justice.

It took courage to go to meet with people who you knew were cold blooded killers and could snap your neck and kill you long before the police watching could stop them. They did it, and they helped put murderers away. Yet in some places the abuse by Bryan Kocis continues. This image (sanitized) of Bryan Kocis, is part of that abuse.

I never in my 15 years touched a model. I am not saying that does not happen but those whose primary purpose is sex with the boys are a minority. It is sexual harassment and abuse.

Bryan Kocis talked with underage boys online all the time. I know of several. They could not have been the only ones. His business was getting into their pants as much as it was shooting them in porn. He was a predator and an abuser. His death did not change that or mitigate that.

More often than not I would talk a young man out of doing porn if I thought it was not something they should do. Many of us were like that. If your goal is to bed them, you come from a different place. He was not concerned with their welfare, he was concerned with their ass.

He was not an “Honest man in a dishonest business”

There are two points I would like to make. Had Bryan Kocis done what he should have when Brent was 17 there would have been no Brent Corrigan. Plain and simple. Does anyone think the moment he found out Brent was underage, he notified everyone and pulled the video’s back?

In the porn world I was in, Brent would have never been shot.

The second point is if Bryan had said to Brent Go for it. If you think there is a better world out there good luck. One learns in life there is no percentage in holding anyone back. Brent would have progressed or not, Bryan would have prospered as well. Instead he went on a rampage of evil bile that devoured everything around it. There would have been no contractual obligation to end. Bryan would still be alive.

Enough of St. Bryan of Luzerne County.

This man was evil. His legacy of Barebacking Twinks stands as a homage to the debased mind of a predator. We as an industry should protect the youngest in it. We should have stropped Bryan by speaking out. I will forever regret that I did not. What I will not do again is stand by and allow his abuse to be carried out from the grave.

Brent Corrigan was abused and was a hero in the end. He has more courage and class in his pinky than that abuser had in his entire being, and he should be admired for standing up and helping put Joe and Harlow away, and thanked for placing his life on the line to snare the murderers.

As for those that want to continue the abuse,

Shame on You!

Kevin Clarke

Kevin Clarke is the GayVn Award winning director of The American Way,American Way 2-Lust,The Heartland,A Young Man's World,Ashton Ryans B-Boys,The Seduction of a Surfer and The American City.

Kevin Clarke spent 15 years in the Gay Porn buisness directing some of the top selling Gay Adult DVD's and he has a unique perspective on Bryan Kocis.

Photo at left Kevin Clarke,Jerry Douglas,George DuRoy

Federal Probe of Corrupt Judges includes Insurance Fraud

2009-03-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

A constant refrain from disgraced Judges Conahan and Ciavarella has been the one that yes we made mistakes but we were not really criminals. The continuing and widening federal probe into both men shows the lie in that claim of "We are Not Crooks"

Yes you are!

Both Judges are criminals,fraudsters and con men, they have swindled and embezzled millions of dollars to enrich themselves. The costs are staggering in one of the worst and egregious cases of Judicial Criminal behavior in recent US History.

Eastern Pennsylvania Taxpayers paid thru the nose for kickbacks and perverted Justice, then there is the cost of irreparable damage to Juveniles wrongly jailed (Kids sold for Cash),citizens who expected impartial justice and were defrauded, and finally the public shame and lack of trust in what should be a pillar of any Western Civilization..

The Rule Of Law, The American belief repeatedly shattered that Justice is blind.

In this case Lady Justice had her hands in the till!

Uninsured motorist benefits award looked at amid judicial corruption probe.

source Times Leader
By Terrie Morgan-Besecker
Law & Order Reporter

WILKES-BARRE – An attorney for an insurance company that’s challenging a controversial $500,000 award of uninsured motorist benefits to a man confirmed that federal authorities have asked him to provide information on the case.

James Haggerty of Philadelphia said the U.S. Attorney’s Office asked for certain documents in the case of Forester Vanderhoff versus Harleysville Insurance after The Times Leader published a story on March 8 detailing the insurance company’s continuing efforts to overturn the monetary award.

“We were asked to provide some matters of public record,” Haggerty said.

The case is among numerous arbitration awards issued in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties that have reportedly been under investigation by authorities in an ongoing probe of alleged judicial corruption.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed federal authorities are now investigating uninsured motorist benefit claims filed in both counties.

The Legal Intelligencer, a Philadelphia-based law journal, reported Friday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had issued a subpoena to Harleysville requesting a wide range of information regarding uninsured and underinsured motorist claims originating from the two counties.

The article, which quoted unnamed sources, said the subpoena sought all records identifying the plaintiff’s attorney, the arbitrators appointed and the amount of the award or settlement in all uninsured and underinsured motorist cases from Jan. 1, 2003, to present that were heard in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.

The Intelligencer said the subpoena also requested any records relating to internal or insurance industry investigations regarding uninsured motorist claims in the two counties, as well as a list of all cases in which the appointment of a neural arbitrator was filed.

Several attorneys have previously told The Times Leader that insurance companies for years have questioned whether there was impropriety in the handling of uninsured motorist cases in Luzerne County based on the disproportionately high-dollar awards being rendered by arbitration panels.

The subpoena reported by the Intelligencer is the first indication that authorities have expanded the probe to include Lackawanna County.

U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson declined comment Monday, citing his policy to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.

Uninsured motorist insurance allows a person injured by a driver who has no or little insurance to seek to recover damages from their own insurance company.

Disputes over the amount of money due are decided by a three-member arbitration panel consisting of three attorneys – one appointed by the plaintiff, one by the defense and a third, neutral arbitrator chosen by both sides. If the defense and plaintiff can’t agree on the neutral, a judge can make the appointment.

Cases in Luzerne County came under increased scrutiny in the wake of the corruption charges recently filed against former judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella, who have admitted accepting kickbacks in exchange for rulings that favored a juvenile detention center’s owner and builder.

Robert Panowicz, a Wilkes-Barre attorney who represented Erie Insurance for decades, said allegations are that some plaintiffs’ attorneys have been in collusion with one another and certain judges, resulting in the appointment of neutral arbitrators who are not truly neutral.

Panowicz said he was interviewed several years ago by a fraud investigator with the National Insurance Crime Bureau, an agency funded by insurance companies, but never heard back about the status of the investigation.

In the Vanderhoff case, Haggerty had challenged Conahan’s determination that Vanderhoff’s testimony regarding the existence of a third vehicle at a crash scene was more credible than that of the other driver and a police officer.

Vanderhoff acknowledged he rear-ended a car driven by Ryan Piontkowski at the Sans Souci Parkway and West End Road in Hanover Township on Oct. 4, 2001. Several months after the accident, he filed a report with Harleysville in which he claimed a third, “phantom” vehicle pulled in front of Piontkowski, forcing him to stop abruptly and leaving Vanderhoff insufficient time to brake.

That allowed Vanderhoff to seek to recover uninsured motorist benefits based on the argument that the “phantom” vehicle was uninsured.

The problem, Haggerty argued, is Piontkowski denied there was a third vehicle. The investigating officer, Sgt. Andrew Kratz, also testified that neither Vanderhoff nor Piontkowski mentioned the third vehicle when he was investigating the crash.

Despite that, Conahan ruled Vanderhoff had told the officer of the third vehicle. That allowed the case to then go before an arbitration panel, which awarded Vanderhoff $500,000.

In a an interview earlier this month, Haggerty said he was stunned by the fact Conahan believed Vanderhoff – the only person who had something to gain – over Piontkowski and Kratz, who were disinterested parties.

“It appeared to be at odds with the evidence and testimony presented to the court,” Haggerty said.

Haggerty appealed to the state Superior Court, which overturned Conahan based on a separate argument that Vanderhoff had not reported the phantom vehicle within the required time frame. The state Supreme Court later agreed to hear an appeal of that ruling. The high court has not yet ruled on the matter.

Harlow thows a Perry Mason clusterfuck

2009-03-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

While we Kocissphere Bloggers ponder the age old question ...

As we watched (figuratively) a clueless defendants defense strategy implode on the stand!
Surely now Harlow Cuadra well be every defense lawyers example of why you Never Ever put a guilty,confused and just plain idiotic defendant on the Stand in his own defense.

In honor of this slack-jawed display of Foolish self-immolation before a jury of his peers, I offer Harlow Cuadras testimony on the 11th day of his trial.

With appropriate visual aids.

"...Cuadra told the Luzerne County jury that he was inside Kocis' home in Dallas Township on Jan. 24, 2007, when they heard a loud, rapid knock on the door.

"Bryan gets up and goes up to the door; the minute he turns that knob, Joseph comes in," a sobbing Cuadra told the jury. "They fight a little at the door, I'm yelling, 'Joseph, what are you doing.'

"Joseph looks at me, and knocks Bryan in the face. Bryan was wearing one of those workout suits, all black, no socks, and Joseph grabs Bryan and throws him in the couch and starts punching he hell out of him.," Cuadra said.

Cuadra said he jumped on Kerekes' back in an attempt to stop the assault.

"Joseph reaches in his pocket and pulls out a knife and slashed Bryan's throat. I yelled, "Joe, what are you doing, he said to get the (expletive) out."

Cuadra said he was scared for his life and the life of Kerekes. They fled to South Beach, Fla., where they stayed in a motel for more than a month. They returned to their Virginia Beach, Va., home the day before Easter in 2007.

Cuadra said he understood that he was a "person of interest" in the case and wanted to talk to Pennyslvania investigators.

"Joseph wouldn't let me," Cuadra said. "I can't even go to the store to buy toilet paper without him.""

meanwhile the Citizens Voice reporter is and will post when he recovers his composure.

The Citizens' Voice is reporting that Harlow Cuadra went to Bryan Kocis' Dallas Township home on Jan. 24, 2007, thinking he would shoot pornography, Cuadra testified today in his capital homicide trial.

His partner, Joseph Kerekes, dropped him off around 7 p.m. that night, Cuadra said, and then left. Cuadra was at Kocis' Midland Drive home for about 20 minutes that evening, laughing and talking with Kocis, Cuadra said, when a "rapid knock" came at the front door.

"I never thought it would be Joe," Cuadra said.

Kerekes stormed through the door and began to fight with Kocis, before pulling out a small knife and slashing Kocis' throat, Cuadra testified.

"I'm shouting at Joe 'What are you doing? What are you doing?'" Cuadra said. "He pushed me down."

Scared, Cuadra said he ran and hid in the back seat of the rental car Kerekes had driven, as Kerekes did "something" inside the house.

Cuadra has testified for about four hours today, saying he never knew or heard of a plan to kill Kocis. Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide in Kocis' Jan. 2007 death.

Cuadra said he wanted to tell police his story, but Kerekes was very controlling.

“People can say ‘Harlow, do this’ or ‘Harlow do that,’ but they don’t know," Cuadra said. "They’re not Harlow. They’re not with Joseph. Individual valor doesn’t matter when you’re with Joseph in a little room.”

Meanwhile Joseph D'Andrea surveys exactly what Harlow Cuadra hath wrought with his scintillating testimony this afternoon...

While he considers his next move...

The Censored Comments Thread

2009-03-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

UPDATED:
The Fifth day of the Harlow Cuadra trial is in full swing with Grant Roy testifying on the stand.

The San Diego Wire Intercepts, The Crab Catcher and Blacks Beach recordings featured as the main evidence on today's agenda.

Friday Sean Lockhart AKA Brent Corrigan testified and I posted Below.

This post as the title above indicates is for comments and commentary about the trial to date. I will be making this "Sticky" so this post will remain at the top of the blog.

This is the place for "Censored comments" that PC or Jim will not allow.

Identified members of the Kocis Kabal Komenters are not welcome and will not be posted.!

From the Citizens Voice Monday March 2nd 2009

Jurors hear taped conversation between Cuadra, Kocis business partners

Jurors in the Harlow Cuadra capital homicide trial began listening this morning to the first of two recorded conversations Cuadra and his business partner, Joseph Kerekes, had with two other men regarding the death of Bryan Kocis.

The recording of an April 27, 2007 meeting between Cuadra, Kerekes and Grant Roy and Sean Lockhart, takes place primarily at the Crab Catcher restaurant in San Diego, Calif. The recording lasts about three hours. Jurors listened to the first 30 minutes of the tape before breaking for lunch and are expected to listen to the remaining portion when they return.

Roy, who was business partners with Lockhart, a well-known gay pornography star, took the stand this morning in the fifth day of testimony. Lockhart and Roy were cooperating with police in the investigation of the killing of Kocis at his Dallas Township home in Jan. 24, 2007.

Cuadra, 27, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree homicide in Kocis’ stabbing death. Kerekes, 35, Cuadra’s former partner of gay pornography and male escort businesses in Viginia Beach, Va., pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide. He is serving a life sentence.

Roy was wearing a recording device when he and Lockhart met the two Virginia Beach men. Cuadra and Kerekes came to San Diego, Roy testified, to try to cement a deal where Cuadra and Lockhart would act in pornographic films together.

In the first 30 minutes of the tape, jurors heard Roy and police testing the recording equipment. Lockhart and Roy are also heard driving to meet Kerekes and Cuadra and some idle introductory conversations when they pick up Cuadra and Kerekes at their hotel. Jurors are wearing headphones and following a transcript of testimony.

County Judge Peter Paul Olszewksi Jr. told jurors testimony will resume at 1:15 p.m. and will likely continue past 4:30 p.m. today until Roy’s testimony is finished.

10:35 a.m.

Grant Roy testified today that he made it clear during his first meeting with Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes that he wanted no one to harm Bryan Kocis.

Roy and his partner Sean Lockhart, who were involved in a highly publicized legal dispute with Kocis, met Cuadra and Kerkes at a dinner meeting in a Las Vegas restaurant in early January 2007, Roy testified this morning during Cuadra’s capital homicide trial.

Cuadra could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree homicide in Kocis’ Jan. 24, 2007, stabbing death. Five witnesses, including Roy, were called today by prosecution in the fifth day of testimony.

“I told them ‘If something happened to Bryan, they’re going to show up at my door the next day. If something happened to either one of us they’re going to show up at his door the next day,’” Roy said.

Cuadra, 27, and Kerkes, 35, owned an escort and gay pornography business in Virginia Beach, Va. They were meeting with Roy and Lockhart in hopes of forming a business relationship where Cuadra and Lockhart would act in films together, Roy said.

“Harlow and both Joe seemed a little eager to get this production under way,” Roy said. “I didn’t see the need to rush. At various times, I expressed to them I didn’t think it’d be a problem if we

could get out from this mediation (with Kocis).”

Roy said a settlement between Lockhart and Kocis was nearly finished.The settlement would allow Lockhart to act again under his screen name Brent Corrigan. Because the settlement was still being negotiated, Roy said, he couldn’t reveal that information to Cuadra or Kerekes. But as

the seven-course dinner progressed, he said, both men were drinking excessively and became more insistent.

“(Kerekes) said, ‘Harlow has this guy who will do anything for him,'” Roy testified. Roy said he took this statement to mean murder.

Roy’s testimony was stopped for a brief recess. When jurors return, prosecutors are expected to play a taped conversation Roy had with Cuadra and Kerekes at a nude beach near San Diego in April 2007, when Cuadra discusses Kocis’ death.

Update March 03

Jim reveals material witness Renee Martins arrest record which may go along way towards explaining why R.Martin is the only Material Witness in this criminal case issued a Material Witness Bond of $50,000 (unsecured)

Read more Renee's Rap Sheet

The student who exposed America's cash for kids scandal

2009-03-09T04:16:00.000-07:00

In just over one month the Luzerne County,Pennsylvania Judicial Corruption Scandal has reached every corner of the globe. I have tracked literally thousands of articles written, countless editorials asking myriad questions.

How did this happen in America?
What happened to the constitutional rights of these young people abrogated by Judaical fiat.
Why was there no oversight of such blatant Judicial chicanery?
Why did the Federal Government have to intervene?
Why was Pennsylvania incapable of correcting such an Injustice?
How many more Luzerne County's wait to be uncovered in Americas increasing dysfunctional and corrupt Judiciary?

Here is the latest from the Guardian which dispatched a reporter to Wilkes Barre...

Jailed for a MySpace parody, the student who exposed America's cash for kids scandal

Slapping a friend or having tantrum led to prison.

Ed Pilkington in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
The Guardian, Saturday 7 March 2009

Hillary Transue was 14 when she carried out her prank. She built a hoax MySpace page in which she posed as the vice-principal of her school, poking fun at her strictness. At the bottom of the page she added a disclaimer just to make sure everyone knew it was a joke. "When you find this I hope you have a sense of humour," she wrote.

Humour is not in abundance, it seems, in Luzerne County, northern Pennsylvania. In January 2007 Transue was charged with harassment. She was called before the juvenile court in Wilkes-Barre, an old coal town about 20 miles from her home.

Less than a minute into the hearing the gavel came down. "Adjudicated delinquent!" the judge proclaimed, and sentenced her to three months in a juvenile detention centre. Hillary, who hadn't even presented her side of the story, was handcuffed and led away. But her mother, Laurene, protested to the local law centre, setting in train a process that would uncover one of the most egregious violations of children's rights in US legal history.

Last month the judge involved, Mark Ciavarella, and the presiding judge of the juvenile court, Michael Conahan, pleaded guilty to having accepted $2.6m (£1.8m) from the co-owner and builder of a private detention centre where children aged from 10 to 17 were locked up.

The cases of up to 2,000 children put into custody by Ciavarella over the past seven years - including that of Transue - are now being reviewed in a billowing scandal dubbed "kids for cash". The alleged racket has raised questions about the cosy ties between the courts and private contractors, and about the harsh treatment meted out to adolescents.

Alerted by Laurene Transue, the Juvenile Law Centre in Wilkes-Barre began to uncover scores of cases in which teenagers had been summarily sent to custody by Ciavarella, dating as far back as 1999. One child was detained for stealing a $4 jar of nutmeg, another for throwing a sandal at her mother, a third aged 14 was held for six months for slapping a friend at school.

Half of all the children who came before Ciavarella had no legal representation, despite it being a right under state law. The Juvenile Law Centre has issued a class action against the two judges and other implicated parties in which it seeks compensation for more than 80 children who it claims were victims of injustice.

The prosecution charge sheet alleges that from about June 2000 to January 2007 Ciavarella entered into an "understanding" with Conahan to concoct a scheme to enrich themselves. The two judges conspired to strip the local state detention centre of funding, diverting the money to a private company called PA Child Care which it helped to build a new facility in the area.

In January 2002, prosecutors allege, Conahan signed a "placement guarantee agreement" with the firm to send teenagers into their custody. Enough children would be detained to ensure the firm received more than $1m a year in public money. In late 2004 a long-term deal was secured with PACC worth about $58m.

In return, the prosecutors allege, the judges received at least $2.6m in kickbacks. They bought a condominium in Florida with the proceeds. PACC's then owner, Bob Powell, who has not been charged, used to moor his yacht at a nearby marina. He called the boat "Reel Justice".

For a man who has agreed to serve more than seven years in jail as part of a plea bargain, Ciavarella comes across as remarkably unflustered. He invited the Guardian into his Wilkes-Barre home where he remains free on bail pending sentencing.

Though he pleaded guilty to conflict of interest and evasion of taxes, he insists that he took the money in all innocence, assuming it to be a legitimate "finder's fee" from the private company for help in building the detention centre. He denies sending children to custody in return for kickbacks. "Cash for kids? It never happened. People have jumped to conclusions - I didn't do any of these things."

He says that he regarded his court as a place of treatment for troubled adolescents, not of punishment. "I wanted these children to avoid becoming statistics in an adult world. That's all it was, trying to help these kids straighten out their lives."

As evidence, Ciavarella claims the percentage of children he sentenced to custodial placements remained steady from 1996, when he was appointed to the court, until he stood down from it in 2008. Yet the facts suggest otherwise.

For the first two years of his term his rate of custodial sentencing was static at 4.5% of cases. In 1999 - shortly before he allegedly began the racket with Conahan, according to prosecutors - it suddenly shot up to 13.7%. By 2004 it had risen to up to 26% of all teenagers entering his court.

Ciavarella hopes that with good behaviour he may spend only six years in jail.

Hillary Transue, meanwhile, is now 17 and in high school. She spent a month in detention for the parody. For many months afterwards she was ostracised by friends and neighbours, labelled a delinquent.

"It's nice to see him on the other side of the bench," she says of Ciavarella. "I'm sure he understands now how it feels."

from the Guardian UK

American Demagogue

2009-03-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

Rush Limbaugh Calls for Obama to Fail, Conservatives Applaud!

Yes in other words they WANT a worldwide Depression and the Collapse of the United States, Traitors and demagogues every last one.

Where is our American Tarpeian Rock?

When will American Politcos come to the realiztion this toxic man is a 21st century Joseph McCarthy? An Oxy Contin swilling, Viagra by the gross,sexual tourist who is a pompous overinflated gas bag.

Rush represents intellectual vigor in the Conservative movement?
Ane Rand and William F Buckley were Conservatives ideological and philosophical trailblazers.

Any wonder Conservative ideology is so discredited?

Rush Limbaugh Calls for Obama to Fail, Conservatives React

byJonas Oliver
Appearing as the keynote speaker on the third and final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh rallied conservatives with a pointed attacks on the Obama administration, not the least of which was his explanation of why he hoped Barack Obama would fail.

"Let me add a caveat here. My friends, I know what's going on. I know what's going on. We're in the aspects here of an historic presidency. I know that. But let me be honest again. I got over the historical aspects of this in November. President Obama is our president. President Obama stands for certain things. I don't care, he could be a Martian. He could be from Michigan, I don't know -- just kidding.

Doesn't matter to me what his race is. It doesn't matter. He's liberal is what matters to me. And his articulated -- his articulated plans scare me. Now, I understand we can't say we want the President to fail, Mr. Limbaugh. That's like saying -- this is the voice of the New Castrati, by the way, guys who have lost their guts. You can't say Mr. Limbaugh that you want the President to fail because that's like saying you want the country to fail. It's the opposite. I want the country to survive. I want the country to succeed," Limbaugh ranted to wild applause and cheers on Sunday night.

Addressing Limbaugh's comments over the weekend, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation that Rush Limbaugh has become the voice of the Republican party.

"He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican party. He has been up front about what he views and hasn't stepped back from that which is he hopes for failure. He said it. I compliment him for his honesty but that's their philosophy that is enunciated by Rush Limbaugh. I think that's the wrong philosophy for America."

On Monday however, RNC Chairman Michael Steele took a different tack with respect to Limbaugh's role within the GOP.

According to U.S. News & World Report, when Steele appeared on D.L. Hughley's CNN program on Saturday night the RNC chairman addressed Limbaugh's stated desire that Barack Obama fail, saying: "So let's put it into context here. Let's put it into context here. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh, his whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it's incendiary. Yes, it's ugly."

Steele's comments were echoed by House Republican Whip Eric Cantor who also sought to distance the party faithful from Limbaugh's comments, by saying"Nobody-no Republican, no Democrat-wants this president to fail, nor do they want this country to fail or the economy to fail," reports U.S. News and World Report.

DeWayne here no folks Rush Limbaugh is not an entertainer, he is an American Demagogue!

Brent Corrigan Testifies

2009-02-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

2 years, 1 month and 3 days since Cobra Video Owner/Producer Bryan Kocis was brutally murdered and his house burned down Brent Corrigan his biggest star, and former lover, all while underage, took the stand today in a packed courtroom in Luzerne County for the trial of Harlow Cuadra.

The day long awaited by Corrigan Watchers and Kocis Haters had arrived when Sean Lockhart (Brent Corrigan) would take the stand after swearing to Tell the Truth and Nothing But the Truth!

So what have we heard in today's crucial testimony?

Brent Corrigan first began to receive comments on My Space from Harlow Cuadra in the fall of 2006, they first began two way communication in December 06 (I was an observer of that)

He described Harlows desire and offers of exorbitant compensation($50,000) to star in videos together as "desperate"

He acknowledged for the first time in open court,under oath and at legal jepoardy to himself that he was indeed underage (17) when he filmed 4 DVD's for Cobra Video. That he procured a fake ID with his then boyfriend Chris Henriquez in order to film at Cobra.

He accepted on the stand FULL PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for those actions!

Which I might add Sean Lockhart has done repeatedly since August 2005!
And in four formal interviews with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Not once has Robert Wagner,Bryan Kocis or Chris Henriquez acknowledged any culpability in this crime. Indeed Robert Wagner and Bryan Kocis were guilty of Obstruction of Justice and Conspiracy for actively pleading with Sean to "keep quiet" and Mr.Kocis even threatened to kill Sean in December 2004!

The defense of course and as expected zeroed in on this and other "Kocisphere lore and facts"
asking point blank questions of Lockhart about the nature of his relationship with Kocis,Cuadra and Grant Roy.

But the main reason for Sean's testimony today was to explain and prepare for the presentation of the Blacks Beach and Crab Catcher Wire Intercepts of April 27th and 28th 2007.

Videos (filmed by Joe Kerekes, Harlows partner and Grant Roy) of that nude beach encounter between Brent and Harlow were played for the jury. Yes an Eastern Penn jury was treated to some Soft-core nudity.

A seven minute video of Harlow Cuadra and Sean Lockhart playing catch with a football and walking nude on a beach near San Diego, Calif., was played to the jury on Friday. While walking along the beach on April 27, 2007, Lockhart said Cuadra and Kerekes were "opening up" about the murder.

This made Lockhart upset, he testified, and he fell behind. "Cuadra dropped back, he touched my arm and he said, 'don't worry, it was quick, he went quick,'" Lockhart testified while nearly sobbing.

After 2 years Sean Lockhart was a much more important star witness in this case than some had led us to believe. He was on the stand most of the day,before lunch and well into the afternoon, so much for the ten minutes I was flippantly told he would be on then dismissed.

Sean's testimony today was important and crucial to make the case that Harlow Cuadra was infatuated with Brent Corrigan, that he thought Brent was the answer to his financial dreams,that Harlow "Believed" Bryan Kocis was a rival and needed to be eliminated.

And more important to establish that Harlow thought he was doing Brent a favor by eliminating Kocis. Almost the reasoning of a love sick child not a man.

Today's testimony caps the first week of the Harlow Cuadra trial and will immediately lead into the crucial bombshell Intercepts on Monday. Grant Roy is expected to testify and based on his powerful testimony in late July 2008 we can expect some fireworks!

A personal note.
I have been following Brent Corrigan for nearly 5 years, as fans we always knew he was an amazing performer, a smart and articulate person, a good writer.

As a friend I have witnessed his humor,his personal integrity and most important his loyalty to his friends and family. Despite what haters may say it is what you witness first hand that convinces you someone is a person you can trust and respect.

Confident, poised and sure of his words.

A jury in Luzerene County witnessed what I have watched for 3 years, a confident persuasive young man. A young man who risked his life cavorting and chatting up two killers on that nude beach, to extract the evidence needed to convict them for the murder of a man who had ultimately betrayed his trust and threatened his life.

Today Brent Corrigan Testified like a Rockstar!

Brent Corrigan may be a Porn Star but Sean Lockhart is ...
A man to be proud of.

DeWayne Helms

A fellow Blogger Quickysrt is in Wilkes-Barre this week for the trial and has a lot more inside observations from the courtroom below.

quickysrt said...

ok, well it was quite a moment in the week, a week which wrapped up with star witness Sean taking the stand.

He arrived wearing a cherry red sweater, dark gray dress slacks, and crisp white collared shirt, he looked stunning. The pants were perfect fitting and his posture screamed confidence.

It became apparent he was going to answer the questions his way, and even request that some questions be restated. Several times, he stopped to consider the wording of a question and asked if it could be repeated. He actually took control of the pace of his entire testimony. While he looked all of 17 years old, he showed some skill at handling this kind of stress no 17 y/o would have.

The under age videos would be delved into in detail, what time frame his summers in PA, when he met Grant, and exactly what kind of relationship they had. Everything about Bryan's ideas for Sean's future with him, and the settlement which was going to be good for him financially and well as professionally both outside of Cobra, and with his own production company.

And of course the Vegas dinner and all email, myspace, AIM, and cell phone correspondence with Harlow were gone over.

I noticed that almost every seat has been taken while Sean is on the stand. Like word got out that this is the feature attraction or something.

On cross exam. Sean's posture changed, he was just slightly more slumped in seat with arms bracing him up rather than his back being perfectly straight.

But he still refused to let defense attorney put words into his mouth without adding his own reasoning to the record. Like 'you seem to be good at pretending to be into it" (after black's beach video was played in full) Sean answered that he knows when he "has" to do something, he does it, and he had to do this.

btw, the video from the nude beach was surreal, to be seeing this full frontal nude video in court, it was 7 min. long (7 minutes and 19 seconds to be exact)but felt like 45 min. Harlow did not look at the screen at all during it, nor did his Mother. Normally you hear coughs in court, or bits of whispering now and again. During the play of this video is was deadly quiet, not one sound in the room at all.

The point early on when asked about lying about his age for porn, he was stopped by the judge who asked him to consider a lawyer, consider not answering some questions without an attorney present, and offered him an attorney to be arranged.

There was a break while jury left the room to discuss this with Sean. Sean decided that it had been five years with no criminal complaint against him, and that he should not worry now about the past, and just carry on. Jury returned and carry on he indeed did.

It was pure balls, and I felt it gave his testimony even more edge. It also kept up the impression that Sean was running the show concerning his testimony. This court was not going to keep him from telling this story his own way.

It was damaging for the defense, and on cross examination the only thing they managed to prove is that Joe made some of the myspace add friend requests to Sean's page.

There were a few gasps, and laughs, like when the video title "Young Bucks In Heat" was mentioned. A few of us laughed and looked at each other.

Unreal day, and unreal end to the week.

Quickysrt

Some links from today...

Timesleader day 4 coverage

Citizens Voice trial Update

Gay Wired.com

Jims Silence of the Chinchillas

Rants and Views

Harlow and Joe Trial Blog

WNEP TV 16 below

Mafia Judges

2009-02-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

Disgraced Judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were Mafia Judges, associates of and serving mobster William “Big Billy” D’Elia head of the New York Bufalino crime family!

This is the explosive and dare I say not unexpected charge in today's Scranton Times.

A witness will testify before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that Ciavareela and Conahan conspired with disgraced Court Commissioner Ray Sharkey to "legally rub out" The Scranton Times, no doubt due to that newspapers reporting on "mob influence"!

Judge Conahan and Ciavarella have already been exposed selling children to private jails with Mob ties.

So my question when will the Child trafficking charges be leveled?

What about Child Prostitution and Underage video?

Why was Bryan Kocis not only tolerated but protected in Luzerne County?
Exactly who made the payments to Judge Conahan in 2002 allowing Bryan Kocis to have rape,child pornagraphy and child molestation charges reduced to a simple plea of "Corruption of a Minor" with no prison time,no sex offender status.

Despite VIDEO PROOF of the Rape and Sexual Abuse of the then 15 year old boy!

In January 2002 Bryan Kocis while he was under legal threat, facing YEARS in Prison signed an EXCLUSIVE distribution deal with suspected Mafioso Motti Green owner of Pacific Sun. His company controlled retail distribution of Cobra Video DVD's until Bryan Kocis death in January 2007. Green was also a neighbor of Kocis in the Back Mountain area.

The Russian and NYC "Italian" mafia have been fighting for control of sexual trafficking of minors and Pornography. Indeed many of the Gay Bars,Nightclubs and Video stores in NYC are mob owned or controlled. Bryan Kocis and Robert Wagner were frequently seen at Detention Thursdays at the old classic Stonewall Bar. Mob owned and controlled. Detention was the place underage males could be noticed and "picked up".

Young Men that is what Bryan Kocis needed and found at Detention Thursdays. He could also supply his Cobra Boy models to reward "his friends" on trips to New York City.

Dallas Township, Luzerne County Pennsylvania where Bryan Kocis operated a Child Pornography for 6 years! Guaranteed legal immunity by crooked Mob Judges!

I made this charge in 2006.

Vindication is sweet and more to come, stay tuned doubters.

You haven seen anything yet!

Suit says witness will tie mobster D'Elia to courthouse corruption

A witness will testify that one or both of the disgraced judges, Michael Conahan, top left, and Mark Ciavarella, top right, have 'direct connections' to jailed mobster William D’Elia, bottom left, according to a petition to be filed today in the state Supreme Court.

By Dave Janoski
STAFF WRITER

Published: Thursday, February 19, 2009
Updated: Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:49 PM EST

A witness will testify that one or both of the disgraced Luzerne County judges who’ve pleaded guilty to accepting millions in kickbacks have “direct connections” to jailed mobster William “Big Billy” D’Elia, according to a petition to be filed today in the state Supreme Court by lawyers for the owners of The Citizens’ Voice.

The petition asks the court to vacate a $3.5 million defamation verdict issued by suspended Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. in June 2006 against The Scranton Times L.P., a related company called The Times Partners and former Citizens’ Voice reporter Edward Lewis .

Following a non-jury trial, Ciavarella ruled in favor of West Pittston businessman Thomas A. Joseph, who claimed he was defamed in a series of newspaper stories in 2001 following federal raids at Joseph’s business and homes owned by Joseph, D’Elia and others.

In its petition, Scranton Times L.P. alleges that then-President Judge Michael T. Conahan and his first cousin, Court Administrator William T. Sharkey Sr. “steered” the case into Ciavarella’s courtroom, ignoring the usual practice in which cases were assigned on a rotating basis. Ciavarella issued one-sided rulings and ignored evidence that Joseph and D’Elia were close associates who were suspected of money laundering, the petition says.

D’Elia was arrested on money laundering charges in May 2006, a month before the trial. Joseph was never charged.

In his opinion, Ciavarella wrote “there was no credible evidence presented at trial linking the two men beyond being social acquaintances.”

In the past week, Conahan and Ciavarella have pleaded guilty to accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks from a juvenile detention owner and contractor and Sharkey has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $70,000 from the county.

“The unusual handling of judicial assignments in Joseph v. Scranton Times, the scope and subject of newspaper articles in question, and a cascade of recent revelations regarding corruption in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas strongly suggest the $3.5 million non-jury verdict was rigged …” the petition says.

“Petitioners have identified a potential witness who, on reliable information and to Petitioners’ belief, would testify concerning direct connections between D’Elia and Judge Conahan and/or Judge Ciavarella.”

The petition asks the court to allow Scranton Times L.P. to gather evidence that it believes will reveal additional evidence of ties between D’Elia and one or both of the judges.

Kevin C. Abbott, an attorney for Scranton Times L.P., declined comment on the petition or the identity of the unnamed witness.

“We’re going to let it speak for itself,” he said.

Joseph and his attorneys did not immediately return phone messages. Conahan, Ciavarella and Sharkey could not be reached for comment.

Ciavarella’ attorney, Albert Flora Jr., said he hadn’t seen the petition and could not comment. Conahan’s attorney, Philip Gelso, and Sharkey’s attorney, Bruce Miller, did not immediately return phone messages.

D’Elia’s attorney, James Swetz, did not immediately return a phone message.

D’Elia, 62, the longtime reputed head of the Bufalino crime family is serving nine years in federal prison for money laundering and witness tampering.

Scranton Times L.P.’s petition argues that Ciavarella ignored evidence in federal search warrant affidavits presented during the trial that stated D’Elia and Joseph were “involved in and/or have knowledge of various federal criminal violations.”

The affidavits quoted confidential sources who alleged Joseph and D’Elia were involved in money laundering.

The petition also argues that Sharkey and Conahan worked together to ensure the pre-trial hearings and the actual trial would be assigned to Ciavarella even though Ciavarella and Conahan had assured Scranton Times L.P. that the selection of a trial judge would be made at random by the Court Administrator’s Office.

The petition cited a record recently obtained from the Court Administrator’s Office that notes the case was assigned by WTS, which are Sharkey’s initials, at the direction of MTC, which are Conahan’s.

Conahan refused a request from Scranton Times L.P. to have a judge from another county hear the case.

Scranton Times L.P. unsuccessfully appealed the Ciavarella’s verdict in state Superior Court, which upheld the verdict in September.

The petition to be filed today cites numerous aspects of the corruption investigation that led to charges against Conahan, Ciavarella and Sharkey including:

A statement from attorneys for Robert J. Powell, a Butler Township attorney whose company allegedly paid some of the kickbacks to the two judges, that claimed Conahan and Ciavarella had extorted payments from him because he was “particularly vulnerable to the pressures that these Judges could bring to bear on him and his clients.”
A review of the system for appointing neutral arbitrators in certain insurance cases in Luzerne County Court ordered by President Judge Chester B. Muroski in reaction to media reports of rumors of case-fixing and the possible manipulation of that process by Conahan and Ciavarella.
A column in the legal journal The Legal Intelligencer citing rumors that “the investigation of the judges was the result of William D’Elia talking.”

D’Elia has been in federal custody since October 2006. In July 2007, he appeared before a Dauphin County grand jury that later recommended perjury charges against Dunmore landfill magnate Louis A. DeNaples. DeNaples is accused of hiding his ties to D’Elia and other crime figures when seeking a state casino license.

Joseph appeared before the same grand jury in August 2007.

Federal prosecutors say D’Elia aided the Dauphin County case against DeNaples and he could win a reduced sentence for continued cooperation. The perjury case against DeNaples has been stalled by his appeals in state Supreme Court.

Conahan and DeNaples served together on the board of First National Community Bank in Dunmore, where DeNaples was chairman until federal bank regulators suspended him in reaction to the perjury charges in January 2008.

Conahan resigned from the board last month after the charges against him were announced.

In the past two weeks the bank has filed legal action to collect $4.15 million from defaulted loans guaranteed by Conahan, Ciavarella, bank board member Michael G. Cestone, Powell and his law partner, Luzerne County Prothonotary Jill A. Moran.

The loans were taken by W-Cat Inc., the company behind a failed townhouse development in Wright Township.

Conahan,Ciavarella and the Drug Dealer

2009-02-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Lets take a trip way back to 1990 and Judge Michael Conahans first brush with Political and criminal corruption.

Conahan was described by the federal prosecutor in the Ronald Belletiere Drug trafficking trial in 1991 as an “unindicted co-conspirator.”

Justice is the case of Conahan has been a long time coming!

91 Case looms large casting shadows...

Former Hazleton resident Ronald Belletiere was at the center of a trial 18 years ago.

By Jerry Lynott jlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer

SCRANTON – When his name came up in a federal trial 18 years ago during his tenure as a district justice in Hazleton, Michael Conahan distanced himself as far as he possibly could from an admitted drug trafficker.

Last week, Conahan, a retired Luzerne County judge, appeared in court and pleaded guilty to unrelated charges before the same judge who heard the accusations in 1991.

Senior U.S. Judge Edwin Kosik accepted Conahan’s plea and that of his fellow county jurist Mark Ciavarella to tax evasion and participating in a scheme to defraud the public of their honest services by accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks involving two juvenile detention centers.

The two disgraced judges will appear before Kosik at a later date for sentencing.

Though nearly two decades separate the cases, common connections of people, place and profession link the figures in this ongoing and growing investigation of corruption in Luzerne County Court.

Among them are:

Ronald Belletiere – a former Hazleton resident and convicted drug dealer who served nearly four years in prison.

A witness at Belletiere’s trial before Judge Kosik in 1991 said Conahan advised the witness his brother’s name was being mentioned by law enforcement at Hazleton City Hall regarding drug activity. The witness, Neal DeAngelo of Hazleton, said Belletiere later called him “at the direction of Mike Conahan … to see if we can do some business.”

Belletiere also was listed as a permanent guest on the list of people who visited the Jupiter, Fla. condominium managed by Conahan’s wife,Barbara.

In 2004, Belletiere opened a used car dealership in Florida with the judge’s wife.

Judge Mark Ciavarella – (left front in photo) defendant in the current case before Judge Kosik. Ciavarella’s wife Cindy is listed as a partner with Barbara Conahan in the Pinnacle Group of Jupiter, LLC which owns a condominium at the Jupiter Yacht Club. The condominium has been for sale since July 2008. They purchased the condo in 2004 for $785,000. The asking price is $995,000.

Judge Michael Conahan – (top right in photo) defendant in the case before Judge Kosik.

Conahan was described by the federal prosecutor in the Belletiere trial as an “unindicted co-conspirator.”

The prosecutor, Malachy Mannion, now a U.S, Magistrate Judge in Wilkes-Barre, summed up the testimony of witness Neal DeAngelo for Judge Kosik during a sidebar conversation not made available to the jury.

Mannion said, “… they were looking for a drug source and Conahan began giving him information that his brother (Paul DeAngelo) was in trouble with the law enforcement authorities and said … ‘I’ll get you somebody from Florida.’ And Ronnie Belletiere called and they met as a result of Conahan’s involvement …”

Conahan denounced the testimony as bogus and said the statements tying him to the Empire drug ring were made by “common criminals trying to help themselves at my expense.”

In the latest charges, federal authorities said Conahan and Ciavarella laundered some of the money they received in the kickback scheme as expenses for the Jupiter, Fla. condo where not only Belletiere stayed, but also attorney Robert Powell, another permanent guest. Powell docked his $1.5 million yacht, the “Reel Justice” in the marina outside the condo. Powell, identified as “Participant 1” by federal authorities, has been implicated in the kickback scheme involving the PA Child Care LLC juvenile detention center he co-owned, but has not been charged.

Neal DeAngelo – witness at Belletiere’s trial and co-founder with his brother Paul of DBI Services, 100 North Conahan Drive, Hazleton.

DeAngelo testified he flew back from Miami in 1987 carrying in his luggage cocaine he bought in Miami. His brother Paul and Neil Forte accompanied him on the trip. Neal DeAngelo was not charged. Forte pleaded guilty in 1989 to operating a criminal enterprise and tax evasion and received a 10-year prison sentence.

Paul DeAngelo - co-founder of DBI Services with his brother Neal.

Paul DeAngelo was sentenced by Judge Kosik to 18 months in prison for his guilty plea to aiding with the distribution of a kilogram of cocaine in 1987. The prosecution sought a departure downward from the mandatory minimum of five years in prison for DeAngelo’s cooperation. He wore a wire in an effort to obtain statements from a “public official” in Hazleton. He and Belletiere also met with the state Judicial Conduct Board to provide information about the “public official” whom prosecutors have never publicly identified.

Senior U.S. Judge Edwin Kosik – will sentence judges Ciavarella and Conahan for their roles in an ongoing public corruption probe in Luzerne County.

Kosik presided over the Belletiere trial in 1991 in which Conahan’s name came up. The federal judge also sentenced Paul DeAngelo for his role in the Empire drug ring.

Attorney Robert Powell – references in criminal complaint against judges Ciavarella and Conahan point to the attorney as “Participant 1” in the kickback scheme.

However, attorneys for Powell portray him as a victim of the demands for payment by the judges.

Powell had been co-owner of the juvenile detention facilities operated by PA Child Care LLC. But his connections to the judges run deeper. He visited the condo managed by the judges’ wives in Florida and docked his boat in the marina there as well.

He also had a hand in W-Cat Inc., the company behind the development of The Sanctuary townhouse project in Wright Township. He later transferred his interest to his law partner and Luzerne County Prothonotary Jill Moran. The judges and their wives guaranteed $4.5 million in financing for the development, but First National Community Bank of Dunmore obtained a judgment against them on Wednesday for W-Cat’s default on the loans.

Conahan had been a director at the bank along with Louis A. DeNaples. But DeNaples, owner of the Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos, stepped down as a bank chairman after a grand jury indicted him on charges he allegedly lied to state gambling officials about his ties to organized crime members. Conahan resigned as director after federal authorities announced charges against him last month.

Attorney Richard Sprague – counsel for attorney Robert Powell and Louis A. DeNaples.

Sprague, of Philadelphia, said Powell “made a mistake in giving in to the judges’ demands and for not immediately reporting them to authorities.” Powell eventually did notify authorities and cooperated with them to provide “integral” assistance to the prosecution of the judges, Sprague said.

In addition to representing DeNaples in his pending perjury case, Sprague defended The Times Leader in 1991 on charges it published contents of an illegally tape recorded telephone conversation. The charges were later dismissed.

A few years earlier, Sprague was co-counsel in the team that represented former Luzerne County Judge Arthur Dalessandro. Midway through his 1989 trial, Dalessandro pleaded guilty to attempted tax evasion and was later sentenced to one year in federal prison.

More recently, in December, Sprague sat on the Court of Judicial Discipline that heard testimony in the misconduct complaint filed against Luzerne County Judge Ann Lokuta and ordered her removed from the bench.

Lokuta was in the courtroom Thursday when Ciavarella and Conahan entered their guilty pleas. Ciavarella embraced her at the end of the proceeding.

Bipartisanship? Hell No!

2009-02-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Franklin Roosevelt didn't get it or want it! Then as now Republican obstructionists and zealots were willing to sacrifice the middle class to serve their corporatist masters. President Obama needs to learn to use his power and that of a Democratic Congress to enact his mandate.

If George Bush could impose a 6 year one party Dictatorship of the plutocracy despite failing to win the popular vote in 2000, Barrack Obama can certainly claim MANDATE and tell the Republicans,,
Go away and eat your young its ALL YOUR GOOD FOR!
DH

Bipartisanship No, Working Majority Yes

From the Intrepid Liberal Journal
14 Feb 2009 12:05 PM CST

In the grown up world, honorable and reasonable people may initially disagree but eventually compromise upon a collective review of empirical evidence. It was in this spirit, that the nascent Obama administration reached out to Republicans with respect to their proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which finally passed both houses of congress yesterday.

Unfortunately, most Republican politicians are neither honorable nor reasonable. Instead, most Republican politicians are predatory conservatives dedicated to establishing a permanent corporate theocratic plutocracy. As far as they’re concerned, the 2008 election is merely a temporary setback and attempting bipartisanship with this crowd resulted in legislation far less bold than most economists hoped for.

Hence, it is in the spirit of admiration and support that I urge this new administration to absorb the following lesson: Bipartisanship No, Working Majority Yes. President Obama is a quick study and has likely absorbed this lesson for himself. Indeed, I recall him often using the phrase “working majority” during the campaign. Nonetheless, it is instructive for both liberal activists as well his administration to always keep this simple phrase on the front lobes of our brains. Repeat after me: Bipartisanship No, Working Majority Yes.

This phrase is especially pertinent to the United States Senate. Senators are divas with parochial interests, outsized ambitions and a Constitution that empowers their narcissism. Hence, the only language these people truly understand is leverage with a proper dosage of ego massage. They know that any one of them has the power to hold any piece of proposed legislation hostage to their whims.

Indeed, senators sometimes behave as if they have the power of little Anthony Freemont in the classic Twilight Zone episode “It’s A Good Life.” Like that little boy, one can just imagine Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell, fantasizing about wishing supporters of universal healthcare into a cornfield never to be seen or heard from again. That is the mentality we’re dealing with.

The upside however is there will always be enough politicians prepared to bargain in order to elevate their own importance, demonstrate independence and serve the interests of their constituents. With respect to the stimulus legislation the three so-called Republican moderate senators were Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter and Maine’s Olympia Snow and Susan Collins. Connecticut’s “Independent” Republican patsy Joe Lieberman and conservative Nebraska Democrat, Ben Nelson, also joined those three in bargaining with the Obama administration, the Senate majority and the House of Representatives.

Had President Obama initially proposed legislation far bolder they still would have bargained, a filibuster majority still would have been achieved and the end result would have been far superior to the legislation that ultimately passed. Next time around it may be a different group of Republican senators and recalcitrant Democrats doing the bargaining, perhaps related to geographic interests. As long as President Obama’s political standing remains high, it will always be possible to cut deals on favorable terms with a rotating group of senators because their relevance depends upon it.

Hence, a working majority will always be ripe for plucking even without a filibuster proof majority. And even if we had sixty Democratic senators a few of them would threaten denying a filibuster proof majority to promote their independence and get what they want. At the end of the day, bipartisanship has nothing to with it. Leverage, enlightened self-interest, service to constituents or contributors and political survival are everything. There is no love in politics. Only leverage, respect and fear.

The appropriate posture is to treat reluctant politicians with symbolic respect, bargain hard for every penny and compromise from a position of strength. That is the best way to maximize potential of a working majority going forward while simultaneously maintaining broad public support. Sometimes, operating a working majority will require President Obama to demonstrate toughness, walk away and threaten vetoes if a few senators opt to behave like Anthony Freemont in the name of bipartisanship.

Barack Obama is an impressive human being with many admirable qualities. Indeed, Obama represents an ennobling change of pace after George W. Bush’s insipid indecency. He is learning however that governing is delicate balance requiring the dual personalities of Mahtatma Ghandi and Don Vito Corleone. If anyone can achieve that delicate balance it’s this president. Nonetheless, we must remain vigilant and toughen his hide.

Bipartisanship No, Working Majority Yes.

Repost from Robert Ellman

For Many, It Was 'Better to Know Him'

2009-02-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

You have to be a San Diegan to appreciate George Stahlman the "King Stahlman" of the Bail bondsmen for over 60 years!

They don't make TV AD Personality's like this anymore.

He was always known for his pithy common sense pitch phrases like,“Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.”

and “It is better to know me and not need me than to need me and not know me”

Always spoken in a deep gravelly voice and you could not help but wonder if he was quietly lecturing his potential clients on how to "stay out of trouble" before they needed his help to stay out of Jail!

A Movie Theater Ad for UltraStar Cinemas

You KNEW Jason Mraz was discovered in San Diego at Java Joes right?
Jason Mraz singing "King Stahlman's Bail Bonds Blues" live at Java Joe's Jan 6th 2004
While taking a break from touring, Jason made a pitstop in San Diego to visit some old friends and grab a pint at Java Joe's new pub. Coincidentally it was open mic night, so Jason and Pete Thurston picked up some guitars and played for a crowd of 30 people.

from NBC7 San Diego News

George “King” Stahlman, of "King Stahlman Bail Bonds" has died, according to his son-in-law Michael Hardwick.

Hardwick released this statement Friday afternoon:

San Diego has lost a great legend and one of its most colorful characters today. George “King” Stahlman died peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family. With some irony, he passed away on a Friday the 13th, the same day his ship was sunk during World War II.

The King was born on June 26, 1923 in Hollywood, California. Most of his childhood was spent between Hollywood and St. Joseph Missouri. Those years during the Depression helped to form a lot of the strength and drive that made him a success in the bail bond business.

In the spring of 1941, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the Navy and was shipped off to fight in World War II with the Pacific Fleet. On Friday, November 13, 1941, his ship was torpedoed and sunk at Guadalcanal. Filled with shrapnel, bleeding and near death, he spent nearly 14 hours in the water with a few surviving shipmates surrounded by sharks before being rescued by the Marines. He was transferred to New Zealand to recover form his injuries and received a Purple Heart for bravery and the wounds he sustained.

After the war, King returned to Los Angeles to work with his father, a famous District Attorney and representative to many of the Hollywood stars of the 40’s and 50’s. It was not long before he was drawn to the bail bond business and the characters and gangsters of that era. He left Los Angeles to start his own bail bond business in San Diego in 1946.

King’s motto from his early days was “Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.” This served him well in the fiercely competitive bail bond business. He has built a family bail bond business on a foundation of integrity and honesty – a rarity in today’s world. His newest singing jingle “It is better to know me and not need me than to need me and not know me” will forever be in the hearts and minds of the San Diego faithful.

Over the years, he ran for Mayor of San Diego in the 1970’s – even flying an advertising plane over the top of one of his competitors while they were speaking at a rally. He also ran a very successful California golf tour in the 1990’s which included another colorful character, Evel Knievel.

The King was known as a great philanthropist in the San Diego community, proudly supporting many causes to benefit children and military families.

They broke the mold when they made King Stahlman. San Diego has sadly lost an icon, a legend, a philanthropist and truly a colorful character.

Case Fixing in Luzerne County PA?

2009-02-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

Rumors about Luzerne County Justice have been rampant in the legal community for years, the Federal probe is entering its 4th year and with two Judges and a Court Commissioner exposed, speculation now turns to further charges of corruption ensnaring Judges,lawyers and County Commissioners.

It seems Justice in Luzerne county could indeed be purchased. Something I have been alleging for years!

Indeed I specifically charged Cobra Video owner Bryan Kocis purchased Justice in the courtroom of Judge Michael T Conahan in 2002. A charge which I made on the blogs in February 2007 and which resulted in the only direct(anonymous) threat made against me.

Case Fixing is the ultimate betrayal of the public trust!
Suffice to say the ramifications for Eastern Pennsylvania will last years and cost this county millions of dollars in judgments, fines and the complete and irrevocable loss of the public trust!

DeWayne H

Rumors Abound That Alleged Case-Fixing Is Target of Pa. Probe

The Legal Intelligencer

Leo Strupczewski and Peter Hall

February 9, 2009

For a long time, auto insurance defense attorneys have considered it the cost of doing business in Luzerne County -- the difficulty of finding an agreeable neutral arbitrator, the large settlements, the funny feeling that something was off.

But, as the saying goes, what you know and what you can prove are two different things.

In the wake of U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Martin C. Carlson's announcement last month of fraud charges against former President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella and Senior Judge Michael T. Conahan and charges of embezzlement against a third court official last week, buzz that the U.S. Attorney's Office is targeting lawyers has reached a fever pitch. There are rampant rumors that federal authorities are investigating alleged case fixing.

Carlson, in an interview Tuesday, would not discuss aspects of his investigation beyond the charges already filed, but did say that it is ongoing.

Although law enforcement has not made allegations of case fixing, sources have said in numerous interviews with The Legal Intelligencer that an alleged quid pro quo scheme for some plaintiffs attorneys was established in uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist arbitration cases in Luzerne County long ago.

"That's been the rumor and innuendo for years here," said Lesa Gelb, a Kingston, Pa., plaintiffs attorney.

"There's nothing inherently wrong with going to the court for a neutral [arbitrator]," she continued. "The question is if it's stacked. The rumor in Luzerne County -- and it is a rumor -- is that the decks were stacked."

James K. Thomas, the managing partner of Thomas Thomas & Hafer's office in Harrisburg, said he sees Luzerne County as a "very difficult place to be a defense lawyer."

"You always wound up with people we considered to be very pro-plaintiff," Thomas said. "You wound up with what we considered to be outrageous awards."

"Frankly we recommended to a number of our clients that they move to get the arbitration provisions out of their policies because of what we perceived to be rampant abuses in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area," Thomas said.

Thomas C. Raup, a retired Lycoming County Common Pleas judge, said he was shocked when he began working as an arbitrator in 1998 by the stories he heard from insurance defense lawyers about "ridiculous settlement offers" and the appointment of plaintiffs lawyers as neutral arbitrators.

"I have refused to sit there," Raup said. "But I did sit on one case as a defense arbitrator to see if I could see it from the inside."

In that case, Raup said, the plaintiff's counsel opened with a statement that the case was worth $2.5 million. Raup said he stated why he had agreed to serve as the defense arbitrator and the case eventually settled for far less than the seven figures the plaintiff initially sought.

"I thought it would be interesting and in the interest of the profession to do that," said Raup. "I have never been asked to be a neutral over there."

However, another plaintiffs attorney said there was nothing improper about the system.

Talk of case assignments surfaced during the trial of former Luzerne County Judge Ann H. Lokuta before the state Court of Judicial Discipline, more than a year ago. Lokuta is now challenging the court's finding that she violated the Code of Judicial Conduct and the state constitution and its decision to remove her from the bench.

Lokuta testified that she has spoken to the U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI agents about instances in which three cases assigned to her were suddenly reassigned to Ciavarella or Conahan, according to the transcripts. Francis J. Puskas, deputy chief counsel for the Judicial Conduct Board, and the man who prosecuted the case against Lokuta, told The Legal Intelligencer recently that Lokuta testified during her trial that she spoke to the FBI about docketing in Luzerne and identified three cases that had been reassigned from her.

A PROFOUND EFFECT

James C. Haggerty, of the Philadelphia defense firm Swartz Campbell, said arbitration practices in Luzerne County have had a profound effect on Pennsylvania law.

"[Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth, Department of Insurance (Koken),] was pursued because of the outrageous UM/UIM awards coming out of Luzerne County," said Haggerty, who is chairman of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute's auto insurance committee.

In that 2005 state Supreme Court decision, the Insurance Federation won a holding that automobile insurance carriers are not required to include a mandatory arbitration clause in auto insurance policies for the resolution of UM/UIM cases. Defense and plaintiffs lawyers, alike, agree that Koken has altered the landscape of auto insurance arbitration.

"It has changed," said an attorney with a Philadelphia defense firm who does defense work in Luzerne. "Koken had a chilling effect. These guys know now that they cannot control the process. A lot of these cases are still going to arbitration, but this now allows us to get a fair arbitration panel."

NO NOTICE

A Luzerne County lawyer who has handled UM/UIM arbitration cases there said plaintiffs attorneys involved in the alleged scheme rarely approached defense counsel to compromise on a neutral arbitrator -- a practice common in many other counties. Instead, defense counsel would often receive a phone call informing him or her that the plaintiffs attorney had already filed a petition for a neutral arbitrator.

And that is where connections allegedly came into play.

The judge handling the petition was left to pick a name, the lawyer said, because there was no list from which UM/UIM arbitrators were pulled.

It was an arrangement that allowed for a system in which plaintiffs attorneys could receive an arbitrator who would lean their way and raise the value of the case, the source alleged. In exchange, the plaintiff's attorney allegedly returned the favor.

"It's the same players getting the same people appointed," the lawyer said.

Conrad Falvello, a Sugarloaf, Pa., plaintiffs attorney, said he doesn't believe there was ever a practice of rigging UM/UIM arbitration. He also said he has seen no indication that members of the plaintiffs bar are under investigation.

However, Falvello said there were idiosyncrasies in Luzerne County's civil court procedures that did leave defense lawyers out of the loop when it came time to appoint a neutral arbitrator.

Falvello said in most arbitration cases, he was able to agree with defense counsel on a neutral arbitrator. When he failed to reach an agreement, he would tell his opposing counsel that he planned to present a petition in motions court and tell them the date.

"Some guys would just pop up with a petition to appoint a neutral without giving defense notice," Falvello said. "I don't doubt that was done by some guys. But I also don't know of any rule that required notice."

Falvello said there were also inconsistencies between members of the bench.

"It depended on the judges. Some would appoint. Some would say, 'Notify defense counsel and come back,'" Falvello said. "At that time, I don't think there was a specific local rule that addressed that procedure. So, in that sense, I don't know that any rules were violated."

One insurance defense lawyer who works in-house for a major insurance carrier in Luzerne County said the effort to control the appointment of neutral arbitrators was more regimented. He claimed to recall that in about 2003 an order was printed in the Luzerne County Register, a weekly publication of the Luzerne County Law and Library Association, that directed all petitions to appoint neutral arbitrators to be brought before Conahan, who was then president judge. Later, a similar order was allegedly published directing such petitions to Ciavarella, who was elected president judge in 2006.

"If I knew what I know now, I should have saved those and bronzed them," the attorney said.

A search of the Luzerne County Court rules failed to turn up such an order. The county law librarian said such orders are not kept beyond a year. A call to the prothonotary's office was not returned before press time.

A LOOK AT THE DOCKET

Though court records seem to back up allegations that plaintiffs lawyers took turns serving as neutral arbitrators in each other's cases, the Luzerne County lawyer said only a fraction of the arbitration conducted in the county would have been linked to the names of insurance companies.

Some petitions for a neutral arbitrator are filed with the third party as the defendant and others don't get docketed at all, the lawyer said.

Most often, though, the threat of a petition is enough to convince a defense attorney to agree to an arbitrator without involving judges.

The lawyer said it can be better that way.

"[You think to yourself,] 'I know I'm not going to do very well with the court,' so you agree to somebody who's not going to screw me completely," the lawyer said. "You're not going in there thinking you're getting somebody who's a decent arbitrator."

According to court records examined by The Legal Intelligencer involving a selected group of 10 major auto insurance companies, plaintiffs lawyers filed petitions to appoint neutral arbitrators on 43 occasions between 1995 and 2008.

In 29 of those cases, the same six law firms represented the plaintiffs. In 13 of the 43 cases, attorneys from the same six firms, all of which market themselves as plaintiffs firms, were also appointed as neutral arbitrators. Twice, there were no records for plaintiffs attorneys. The names of the appointed arbitrators were not recorded in seven cases.

In 22 of the 43 cases, the judge was either Conahan or Ciavarella. There was no record of a judge in two of those cases.

The outcome of arbitration in which the lawyers named participated is not a public record. There is no evidence to suggest that the result of arbitration in the cases examined was improper. Nor is there anything to suggest plaintiffs law firms did anything improper to be appointed neutral arbitrators. Ciavarella and Conahan have not been charged with anything related to allegations of case fixing UM/UIM cases.

In one of the cases reassigned from Lokuta to Ciavarella, Pockevich v. Lindstrom, a jury returned a $352,500 verdict that included no economic damages. The verdict included $250,000 for past and future emotional distress, $75,000 for loss of life's pleasures and $27,500 for pain and suffering. The verdict came after Ciavarella granted a plaintiff's motion to preclude a defense psychiatric expert from testifying.

The lawyer with the Philadelphia defense firm said he often perceived the appointment of neutral arbitrators to be predetermined, even when he had a chance to weigh in.

"I've submitted lists of 25 to 30 names of extraordinarily qualified judges and lawyers as arbitrators," he said. "They'd all be rejected."

The in-house lawyer said he has also grown accustomed to reasonable suggestions being rejected.

"I've recommended [former] Supreme Court Justice [Russell M.] Nigro and they've rejected him," he said. "I've recommended these guys who are fairer than the day is long and they've rejected them."

"It's beyond coincidence that these guys constantly got each other as neutrals," the lawyer said.

If there have been improprieties in the conduct of Luzerne County insurance arbitration, it would be very difficult to prove, the lawyer with the Philadelphia firm said.

He said plaintiffs lawyers used inflated demands to deflect questions about the fairness of neutral arbitrators.

"They put these huge, ungodly numbers on the board, but that's their cover. When a smaller number comes back, no one gives it a second look," he said. "Even if the neutral arbitrator comes back with half that ungodly number, everyone says, 'Oh, that wasn't bad. He only gave her half the economic loss.'"

But in a system that functions on honesty and judgment of lawyers sworn to seek justice, perceptions carry little weight, the lawyer said.

"There's no smoking gun, and until you get your smoking gun you're not going to get anything," he said.

Further reading Justice for Sale

UPDATE:
The United States District Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has posted an information and clearing house WebSite for judicial Corruption in Luzeren County.

Anyone with reports of maleficence and criminal behavior is encouraged to contact the FBI.

LUZERNE COUNTY CORRUPTION PROSECUTIONS

If you believe that you were a victim of an offense being prosecuted as part of the Luzerne County corruption prosecutions, and if you want to learn more about your rights as a victim, please contact us in writing at the following address: United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Attention: Laurie Reiley, P.O. Box 1023, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Please include details that explain why you feel you are a victim in this case.

If you believe that you have information relating to criminal wrongdoing please contact FBI Special Richard Southerton at 570-344-2404... or the IRS at 570-969-5300..

The Revolution will start at Woolworths

2009-01-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

A Lunch Counter,A Gay Bar,The Potemkin uprising, An Ancient French Prison,A Boston Commons.

What do the places above have in common?

They were all places where a Revolution began.

A Revolution begins on the streets, not in Congress or Parliament. Unless controlled and guided by sane men and women they can become messy and bloody, violence can sap and fritter away the valid reasons for revolution. The difference between the American and French revolutions is forever the best example of divergent paths, one into Liberty, the other Mob Dictatorship.

Yet both were born from righteous indignation and revolt against Tyranny!

The Greensboro sit ins were the beginning of a Social Revolution, they forced Americans to change their minds, always a fearful anxiety ridden process for a Conservative,Puritanical America which worships at the alter of the Status Quo.

Its almost like Americans born of revolt have an instinctual fear of Revolution.
Which is why we will collectively perpetuate injustice, to just the point of armed or violent insurrection before reluctantly and defiantly giving a little ground.

Don't believe the Greensboro lunch counter sit ins qualify as true revolution?

In 1960 A Black citizen was banned from most public accommodation, service in restaurants,not allowed to vote in most of the south, not allowed to marry freely a person of his or her choice.

In almost every measure men and women who were classified as partially human at the birth of the nation were still not Full Citizens, yet they paid the same taxes,served in the armed forces to defend our nation, to preserve Liberty denied them at home.

In 2009 A Black man was sworn in as President of The United States, pledging to preserve,protect and defend the Constitution that once denied his people their basic humanity, on the Bible that the Great Emancipator Abraham Lincoln used in the darkest hours of our Republic pledging to preserve an idea, a hope that all men are in fact created equal.

The little lunch counter at Woolworths was the spark one of many that made Barrack Obama possible.

And you know what?

George Wallace, Jesse Helms,Strom Thurmond all the old fearful segregationists knew this instinctively! Which is why Dogs,batons and fire hoses met singing chanting protesters on the Selma Bridge.

Thank God they weren't mowed down with Tank Fire, massacred at the point of a rifle.

Then our revolution may have taken on a French character la liberté ou la mort!

DeWayne Helms

From Wikipedia:
The Greensboro sit-ins were an instrumental action in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, leading to increased national sentiment at a crucial period in American history.

On February 1, 1960, four African American students – Ezell A. Blair Jr. (now known as Jibreel Khazan), David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain – from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a historically black college/university, sat at a segregated lunch counter in the Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworth's store.

This lunch counter only had chairs/stools for whites, while blacks had to stand and eat. Although they were refused service, they were allowed to stay at the counter. The next day there was a total of 28 students at the Woolworth lunch counter for the sit in. On the third day, there were 300 activists, and later, around 1000.

This protest sparked sit-ins and economic boycotts that became a hallmark of the American civil rights movement.
According to Franklin McCain, one of the four black teenagers who sat at the "whites only" stools:

Some way through, an old white lady, who must have been 75 or 85, came over and put her hands on my shoulders and said, 'Boys, I am so proud of you. You should have done this 10 years ago.'

In just two months the sit-in movement spread to 15 cities in 9 states. Other stores, such as the one in Atlanta, moved to desegregate.

The media picked up this issue and covered it nationwide, beginning with lunch counters and spreading to other forms of public accommodation, including transport facilities, art galleries, beaches, parks, swimming pools, libraries, and even museums around the South. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandated desegregation in public accommodations.

In 1993, a portion of the lunch counter was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. The Greensboro Historical Museum contains four chairs from the Woolworth counter along with photos of the original four protesters, a timeline of the events, and headlines from the media.

Several documentaries have been produced about these men who sparked the sit in movement, including PBS' "February One."

The sit-in movement used the strategy of nonviolent resistance, which originated in Gandhi's Indian independence movement and was later brought to the Civil Rights movement by Martin Luther King.

This was not the first sit-in to challenge racial segregation. As far back as 1942, the Congress of Racial Equality sponsored sit-ins in Chicago, St. Louis in 1949 and Baltimore in 1952.

In a pre-cursor to the Woolworth sit-ins, on June 23, 1957, seven students organized by a local pastor were arrested in Durham, North Carolina at the Royal Ice Shop for staging a sit-in in the "whites only" section. After being convicted in North Carolina courts, the seven appealed their case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which refused to hear their case.

On August 19, 1958, the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council began a six-year long campaign of sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, restaurants, and cafes in Oklahoma City. The Greensboro sit-in, however, was the most influential and received a great deal of attention in the press.
Off Campus - Into Movement

Greensboro Sit Ins

Anatomy of Corruption

2009-01-27T01:38:00.000-08:00

The two articles below give some much needed analysis and a timeline of political corruption and malfeasance all centered on a private for profit Juvenile Detention Center in Eastern Pennsylvania. Interesting to note that some people smelled a rat very early, almost from the begining. The arrogance of Judges Conahan and Ciavarella was ultimately their undoing,and their greed. They did very little to cover the tracks of fraud and payments made to the bank accounts.

DeWayne H

JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER TIMELINE

JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER TIMELINE

The following timeline was compiled through records, interviews and court documents:

July 2001: A group of private developers called “Pennsylvania Child Care” sends Luzerne County an unsolicited proposal to build a 48-bed juvenile detention facility in Pittston Township and lease it to the county for $37 million over 30 years. Commissioner Stephen A. Urban calls it a “sweetheart deal.” The principal investors were identified as Greg Zappala and attorney Robert Powell. Court documents filed Monday allege that Judge Mark Ciavarella met with a Luzerne County attorney in June 2002 about building the center.

September 2001: PA Child Care proceeds with development plans, though county commissioners say they will continue using the existing county-owned juvenile detention center on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.

January 2002: County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Michael Conahan allegedly signs a secret “placement guarantee agreement” between the court and PA Child Care to house juvenile offenders at the Pittston Township facility. This agreement says the court would pay PA Child Care $1.3 million in annual rent and says the court’s obligation to make these payments is “absolute and unconditional.”

October 2002: Conahan publicly announces that judges will stop sending youth to the River Street center at the end of the year because the building is too rundown.

November 2002: State Department of Public Welfare representatives say the county’s River Street center is “safe and satisfactory to house juveniles,” which raised questions about the court’s refusal to send youth there. Ciavarella criticizes the state’s plan to renew the facility’s license, saying the center has a multitude of problems.

December 2002: Conahan takes official action to remove funding from the county budget for the county’s River Street center. County majority commissioners approve the court’s budget request. The court returns the River Street center license to the state, essentially closing the place.

In or before January 2003: Conahan and Ciavarella allegedly arrange to receive a $997,600 payment in connection with the roles they played as judges in accomplishing construction of the PA Child Care facility. Investigators say the payment was made through a series of financial transactions that were designed to be concealed.

February 2003: The PA Child Care facility opens. Commissioners agree to allow county juvenile offenders to be lodged there, but only for up to two years while the county builds its own new detention center. Commissioners agree to seek zoning approval to build a new detention center on county-owned land near Valley Crest Nursing Home in Plains Township.

March 2003: Urban and then-Commissioner Tom Makowski vote to design a new detention center using roughly $9 million borrowed for that purpose. They say building is the most prudent option because PA Child Care investors want to charge too much, and there are no guarantees that state and federal subsidies will continue.

PA Child Care is willing to sell its center to the county without furnishings for $12 million to $14 million, but county studies peg the value of the unfurnished structure at $7.39 million.

February 2004: County court denies the county’s request for a zoning variance to build a detention center on land near Valley Crest. Newly elected majority commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Todd Vonderheid put construction plans on hold. Urban unsuccessfully urges majority commissioners to look for another detention center building site.

September 2004: L. Robert Kimball & Associates, the county consultant, estimates the PA Child Care facility cost about $8 million to build and would be worth about $8 million or $9 million if the county wanted to buy it.

October 18, 2004: Skrepenak and Vonderheid announce at a work session that they plan to vote on a lease of the PA Child Care facility.

Oct. 19, 2004: After seeing the lease plan in media reports, a DPW auditor contacts the county to warn that the state is auditing the PA Child Care facility.

Oct. 20, 2004: Skrepenak and Vonderheid vote to lease the Pittston Township detention center for 20 years at a cost of $58 million, pending a review by the county solicitor. Several taxpayers attend a meeting urging commissioners to hold off and do more research and analysis on the lease.

Oct. 21, 2004: The DPW auditor sends a letter to commissioners informing them of plans to speed up the state audit in light of the county’s plan to lease the facility.

Nov. 16, 2004: The state auditor faxes a more urgent letter about the audit to commissioners, but majority commissioners say they didn’t receive it.

Nov. 17, 2004: Vonderheid and Skrepenak give final approval to the lease. Urban urges them to table a vote, citing the pending state audit. Vonderheid and Skrepenak said they think the state audit is routine.

December 2004: PA Child Care files a “sealed” court action against then-county Controller Steve Flood and two DPW officials over center audit records that had been released to Flood.

PA Child Care alleges that the documents contained “trade secrets.” The Times Leader had obtained the documents from Flood. The documents say the county should have backed away from the lease agreement and that it was a “bad deal.” The auditors say the county’s projections wrongly assume the state will reimburse a county-operated facility more money than it costs to operate.

January 2005: DPW says release of its audit has been stalled indefinitely due to the trade secrets suit.

July 2005: Due to the success of the county detention center, a Western PA Child Care facility is built, and Conahan and Ciavarella allegedly receive a $1 million payment from the owner, concealed through various transactions.

November 2005: The state Superior Court overturns Conahan’s sealing of the trade secrets suit, saying the sealing appears to be “nothing more than a ruse to prevent public exposure.”

February 2006: The Pittston Township detention center is expanded, and a $150,000 payment is allegedly made to Ciavarella and Conahan. This payment is also concealed.

October 2007: The public learns that DPW has issued a draft audit recommending the state withhold $2 million in annual funding from the county because the agency believes the lease provides an excessive profit.

December 2007: County commissioners vote to terminate the lease.

January 2008: Commissioners begin negotiating with PA Child Care over the terms of getting out of the lease.

A final state audit of PA Child is publicly released. It reveals the county could have built three juvenile detention centers for the cost of what it paid to lease the PA Child Care facility. The report again paints officials as inept negotiators who blindly entered into the agreement that allowed PA Child Care to reap unreasonable profits.

April 29, 2008: The Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, a juvenile rights group, files a petition with the state Supreme Court seeking to overturn rulings made by Ciavarella in hundreds of juvenile cases.

The petition alleges that 50 percent of youths who appeared before the judge were not represented by an attorney – 10 times the state average.

May 6, 2008: DPW advises county officials it will not pay the full amount being sought by PA Child Care to detain and treat delinquent youth because the rates being charged by PA Child Care are too high.

May 8, 2008: DPW announces it plans to file a brief in support of the Juvenile Law Center’s petition, citing what is says is an unusually high placement rate in Luzerne County. Statistics show the county’s placement rate from 2004 to 2006 was 2 � times the state average for all counties.

May 9, 2008: Ciavarella says DPW actions are based on a desire to save money rather than ensure kids get care they need. “I have never placed a kid for an improper reason,” Ciavarella said.

May 16, 2008: State Attorney General Tom Corbett files legal brief in support of JLC petition. The petition raises questions regarding whether juvenile proceedings were fair and resulted in “trustworthy determination of guilt and innocence.”

May 23, 2008: Ciavarella steps down from Juvenile Court and appoints Judge David Lupas to preside.

May 29, 2008: Financial ties between Conahan, Ciavarella, Powell and Jill Moran are made public through the revelation of statements of financial interests the judges and Moran filed for 2007.

The documents show the judges and Moran are part owners of W-Cat, a real estate development firm building a townhouse project in Wright Township. Powell was also once a part-owner in the firm, but later sold his interest to Moran, a spokesman for Powell says.

June 10, 2008: Powell announces he has sold his interest in PA Child Care to his partner, Gregory Zappala.

June 19, 2008: The FBI serves a search warrant on the county’s juvenile probation department, seizing records related to the placement of juveniles at PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers.

June 25, 2008: After months of negotiations, county commissioners announce they have reached an agreement with PA Child Care to terminate the lease. They continue to negotiate with the center regarding the temporary placement of youths there until a permanent alternative is in place.

July 2, 2008: Commissioners reach an agreement to utilize the center as a detention facility that will house youths pending their transfer to an outside treatment facility. The county agrees to pay $48.42 per day more than the state will reimburse, but says that is cheaper than transporting youths to out-of-county facilities.

Center critic praises probers

Public advocate who railed against juvie center reflects on the controversy.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter

Luzerne County taxpayer and public advocate Tom Dombroski said he always suspected a county judge was somehow profiting from the Pittston Township juvenile detention center, and that is why he tried so hard to convince county officials not to lease the facility.

He told commissioners in an October 2004 meeting the county should reject a proposal to lease the building for $58 million, saying the public is in the dark about who is profiting.

“It doesn’t pass the smell test,” Dombroski told commissioners at the time.

After nearly four hours of debate and public complaints, the majority commissioners at the time – Todd Vonderheid and Greg Skrepenak – voted to lease the Pittston Township facility from Pennsylvania Child Care.

Dombroski praised U.S. Attorney Martin C. Carlson and other investigators on Monday for uncovering a scheme showing county Court of Common Pleas Judges Mike Conahan and Mark Ciavarella received $2.6 million in payments in connection with the Pittston Township center and a Western Pennsylvania center also owned by PA Child Care.

According to Dombroski, the public should also credit former county Controller Steve Flood, who pushed for answers about the detention center ownership and cost to taxpayers. Flood’s efforts to get a controversial state audit about the center into the hands of the media prompted PA Child Care to file a “trade secrets” lawsuit against him. Conahan sealed the suit, but the state Superior Court overturned Conahan’s decision.

“He saw the corruption right at the beginning,” Dombroski said of Flood. “He was really the first person that brought it out. I think he should be the one congratulated.”

Flood has been incapacitated and unable to communicate since he suffered a stroke on March 14. He was at a commissioners’ meeting complaining about the detention center lease hours before his stroke.

Flood’s close friend and guardian, Heather Paulhamus, declined to comment on the federal charges against Conahan and Ciavarella.

Pittston Township Supervisor Tony Attardo, another detention center critic, recently died.

Township residents were upset that the facility got zoning approval without any input or advance notice to the public. Jeff Pisanchyn, the part-time township zoning officer at the time, has said he approved the permit thinking it was a publicly owned youth recreation facility.

Attardo had said supervisors rezoned the detention center site from conservation to industrial to attract new business, and nobody presented juvenile detention center plans to the supervisors.

“We certainly never rezoned the property to allow a detention center there,” Attardo said in 2003.

Republican minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban has been railing against the detention center lease since the original proposal landed on his desk in 2001, saying the county should build its own center. Urban said he still has questions about the $58 million lease.

“I wonder if investigators are looking at the commissioners’ office because that lease was brought to the commissioners’ office by (then chief clerk/manager) Sam Guesto, Greg Skrepenak and Todd Vonderheid without any public advertisement or disclosure or due diligence,” Urban said.

Skrepenak said Monday that he never would have voted for the lease if he had known judges were profiting from the center. He said commissioners were looking for a way to reduce juvenile placement costs, and that he and Vonderheid believed the county could rent out unused beds to generate revenue.

“I had no knowledge of any involvement by judges. I felt at the time that the county could make money,” Skrepenak said.

Skrepenak noted that juvenile placement expenses have gone from $15 million in 2004 to $6.5 million this year.

Urban said costs are down because the court is sending fewer youth to placement and sending more juveniles to facilities that cost less than the Pittston Township one.

Skrepenak said he’s “disheartened by the whole turn of events.”

“I think I’m still in shock,” he said. “This is going to make national news. It’s a black eye on Luzerne County.”

Vonderheid, who resigned as commissioner in 2007, said Monday that he is still reviewing details of the federal charges.

“I’m saddened for the people and the families of everybody involved and for the negative cloud that is going to sit over our community for some time. I can’t give any other comment until I learn more.”

Michael T. Conahan

2009-01-27T00:24:00.000-08:00

original story
BY MICHAEL R. SISAK
STAFF WRITER Times Leader
Published: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 4:07 AM EST
Speculation swirled the first time former Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Conahan resigned from the bench.

Conahan relinquished his position on the Court of Common Pleas in January 2008, four years into his second 10-year-term.

He disclosed the decision seven months earlier, saying he had made a personal choice to move on after 30 years of combined service, first as a district magisterial judge and, since 1994, as a member of the Court of Common Pleas.

Conahan officially retired on Jan. 14, 2008.

He returned the next day as a senior judge, appointed by the state to handle cases in Luzerne County on a part-time basis — no more than 13 days per month.

Courthouse observers questioned Conahan’s sudden surrender and reappearance and centered on a potential motive for the move. One theory suggested he had been attempting to preserve his pension, exiting one job and entering the other to circumvent the potential judicial and legal ramifications of a federal investigation into court operations.

The fallout from the investigation hit Monday.

Federal prosecutors filed a 22-page complaint against Conahan and President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., charging them with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit tax fraud.

Federal prosecutors accused Ciavarella and Conahan of collecting $2.6 million in payoffs to facilitate the development and operation of the Pennsylvania Child Care juvenile detention center in Pittston Township and a similar facility in Butler County.

“They sold their oaths of office to the highest bidders,” Deron Roberts, an agent in the FBI office in Scranton, said.

Ciavarella and Conahan reached written plea agreements with prosecutors. Under the terms of the deal, they will plead guilty and serve 87 months in federal prison. They will resign their positions as judges within 10 days of their plea and will consent to automatic disbarment.

Conahan’s judicial career began in 1977, the same year he received his law degree from the Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia.

Gov. Milton Shapp appointed Conahan to fill a vacant magisterial district judge position in Hazleton, where he had been born and reared and where his father, Joseph B. Conahan Sr., had been mayor.

Hundreds of Hazleton residents — Hazletonians, as Conahan affectionately called them — had placed telephone calls or written letters to Shapp, urging him to pick their native son for the open seat.

Conahan received similar widespread support when he ran for election to a full term in 1979 and again when he ran for re-election in 1985 and 1991.

Conahan was born in Hazleton on April 21, 1952, and remained in the city until his graduation from Hazleton High School in 1970. Four years later, he received his bachelor’s degree from Villanova University in Radnor Township, Delaware County.

Back in Hazleton after law school, Conahan balanced magisterial duties and a fledgling career in private practice.

In 1979, he became a partner in the Hazleton firm of Kennedy, Carlyon and Conahan. In 1988, he joined the firm of Bigelow, Carlyon, Lucadamo, Siadri and McNeilis. In 1992, he established his own practice.

By the end of the year, Conahan was considering a run at the Court of Common Pleas — first as a candidate for the gubernatorial appointment to replace retiring Judge Bernard C. Brominski, then as a challenger in the 1993 election.

He hired political consultant Ed Mitchell to “test the waters” in the northern part of Luzerne County and portrayed himself as crime fighter and the first line of judicial defense between a criminal complaint and a verdict.

“The new judge should be selected on the basis of crime-fighting experience,” Conahan told The Citizens’ Voice in November 1992, before the vacancy was filled. “We need someone who has been on the frontline, cleaning up the streets of criminals and those who prey on our young and our old. If that’s the standard used — if they’re looking for a tough professional on the court — I expect to be appointed.”

Conahan’s expectation went unfulfilled.

The governor at the time, Robert P. Casey, named Pittston attorney Joseph Musto, the brother of state Sen. Raphael Musto, D-Pittston Township.

The appointment sparked a heated rivalry between Musto and Conahan and led to a brutal primary campaign, which included mutual charges of nepotism and campaign finance violations.

Conahan accused Democratic Party leaders of attempting to “strong arm” him out of the race, suggested he acquiesce to Musto and wait until 1995 to run for the seat that was being vacated by the retiring Judge Gifford S. Cappellini — a position that eventually went to Ciavarella.

Conahan charged “back-room politics” and “collusion” led to Casey’s appointment of Musto and requested attorney Joseph A. Quinn resign from the Trial Court Nominating Commission, the panel that had recommended candidates for the Luzerne County vacancy. Quinn could not be impartial, Conahan said, because he hosted a party for Musto and solicited campaign contributions on his behalf.

Conahan announced his candidacy at the Ramada Hotel in Wilkes-Barre on Feb. 27, 1993, pledging to refuse contributions from attorneys or their spouses, so he could be a judge “with no strings attached.”

“This will guarantee that there will not even be the remote possibility that when I am hearing a case my mind could in any way be clouded between the arguments of a lawyer who contributed to my campaign and perhaps one who didn’t,” Conahan said, underscoring the message of “integrity” and “independence” he and Mitchell reinforced in a blitz of television and radio advertisements.

Conahan outspent Musto on primary advertising $172,167 to $113,534.

Conahan’s campaign ran television commercials portraying the magisterial district judge as a crimefighter, juxtaposed against the image of a prison door shown slamming shut. Another painted Musto as the beneficiary of his brother’s political connections.

The ads violated state law, Musto claimed.

“For Mike Conahan, there are no rules in a judicial campaign,” Musto said, days before the primary. “Mike Conahan has never, ever appeared in court and tried a case.”

Conahan had the final word.

“Following what many political observers described as one of the most bitter and hard fought campaigns in Luzerne County history,” as The Citizens’ Voice described the race, Conahan won the Democratic and Republican nominations.

Conahan received 52,334 votes in a landslide general election victory and was sworn in as a Common Pleas judge in January 1994.

In 2002, he became the first Hazleton resident elected president judge, a position he held until Ciavarella’s ascent in 2007.

As president judge, Conahan established Central Court in Wilkes-Barre as a unified venue for preliminary hearings and began the practice of using video conferencing for criminal cases to save transportation costs.

As a senior judge, Conahan oversaw the Luzerne County treatment court, a special program for residents charged with non-violent criminal offenses related to or motivated by their addiction to drugs or alcohol.

In both roles, he continued to hear cases ranging from the opening of Gentlemen’s Club 10 in Wilkes-Barre Township in 2005, to the beating death of a man in Hazleton and the life-and-death struggle of convicted mass murder George Banks.

In a June 2001 bench trial, Conahan convicted Wilson Hernandez Jr., 24, of robbery, criminal conspiracy and second-degree murder in the 1994 beating death of Andrew Danko in Hazleton, and sentenced him to a state-mandated term of life in prison.

Last September, after three days of hearings at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford, Conahan ruled Banks incompetent to be executed — the same decision he rendered in February 2006.

Banks went on a shooting rampage in September 1982 that left 13 people dead, including four girlfriends, who ranged in age from 23 to 29, five of his seven children, ages 1 to 5, and four others.

“Banks is out of touch with reality,” Conahan said. “He views his circumstances and the events around him through the prism of his delusions. His delusional beliefs are at the core of his understanding of his current legal situation, including the reasons for his continued incarceration and his possible execution.”

Justice to Be served in Luzerne County PA?

2009-01-22T19:36:00.000-08:00

The Times Leader is reporting the "imminent arrest" and charges against two Luzerne County judges who have been under investigation for political corruption for nearly 3 years by U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson.

President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella and former President Judge Michael T. Conahan are rumored by court watchers to be the two judges facing arrest. An unnamed Court Official possibly the Court Executive officer is to be charged as well.

The investigations into the county have been public knowledge for several months as federal agents have served search warrants and subpoenas on several court offices.

Federal agents in June served a search warrant on the county’s Juvenile Probation Department seeking financial records related to the placement of juveniles at the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers. Those centers were formerly owned by attorney Robert Powell of Butler Township.

Paul McGarry, administrative director for the court system, said previously that the FBI sought administrative records, including billing statements and records for the number of children who were placed at the centers.

In August, FBI agents served subpoenas on the county treasurer’s office seeking records related to the court system. Sources previously said that investigation focused on whether money confiscated from gambling raids was turned over to the treasurer’s office.

The Times leader articles are here.

Judges to Be Charged

Ciavarella and Conahan are not alone.

Elmysterio

Commentary by DeWayne

Unfortunately the federal charges against Conahan and Ciavarella are unlikely to have anything to do with the late Bryan Kocis(left) a pedophile who was allowed to plead guilty to the lowest possible charge "Corruption of a minor" in 2002 although he faced trial for rape and child molestation and filming child pornography.

Judge Conahan also reviewed hundreds of hours of video featuring underage teen boys and then famously declared none of the boys looked underage to him.

There has been rampant speculation in the 6 years since Bryan Kocis was allowed to plead guilty to a single charge and avoid prison that a "special deal" was arranged with a suspected corrupt judge.

Bryan Kocis certainly alluded to and threatened an 18 yo Sean Lockhart with arrest,incarceration and death or physical assault at the hands of the corrupt Luzerne County Judiciary and Jail System in 2005.

One of the central charges in this case will involve a private Juvenile detention center run by a friend of the two judges.

Next week if Judge Michael T Conahan is charged under Federal Corruption statutes
he will no longer be a "Suspected dirty judge"

But just another in a long line of Corrupt power hungry judges whoses past has finaly caught up with them.

About time.

Don't let the cell door hit you in the ass Conahan and remember
Never Drop the Soap!

UPDATE; July Corruption Story's The Judge and the Drug Dealer

Just call me Judge Dirty!

FBI Investigation of Pennsylvania Child Care Corporation

Original Story Times Leader with comments

Sources: Judges to be charged
County court system has been under investigation

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter

Posted: January 22
Updated: Today at 6:26 AM
WILKES-BARRE – Two sources familiar with federal investigations involving the Luzerne County judiciary said authorities have concluded their probes and are expected to file charges soon, possibly as early as next week.
Read more Luzerne County Judges articles

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said two county judges and a county court official are expected to face charges. The sources could not say what those charges will be. They also declined to publicly identify the suspects because the charges have not been filed.

Speculation that the filing of charges was imminent has run rampant throughout the county courthouse during the past few weeks.

U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson declined to comment when reached late Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has a standard policy of not confirming or denying the existence of an investigation.

The investigations into the county have been public knowledge for several months as federal agents have served search warrants and subpoenas on several court offices.

Federal agents in June served a search warrant on the county’s Juvenile Probation Department seeking financial records related to the placement of juveniles at the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care centers. Those centers were formerly owned by attorney Robert Powell of Butler Township.

Paul McGarry, administrative director for the court system, said previously that the FBI sought administrative records, including billing statements and records for the number of children who were placed at the centers.

In August, FBI agents served subpoenas on the county treasurer’s office seeking records related to the court system. Sources previously said that investigation focused on whether money confiscated from gambling raids was turned over to the treasurer’s office.

The sources said the investigation began after it was learned that some court orders directing the forfeiture of gambling proceeds did not go through the District Attorney’s office, but instead were presented directly to the court administrator’s office – a departure from standard procedure.

It could not be determined Wednesday whether the pending charges are related to those investigations, or whether other persons may also face charges.
26 Reader Comments
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ed said...

when your done there maybe you can find time to come to the WVSA and see the nut DeSanto and take him away. I can't beleve that no one has cought up with this nut

January 22, 2009 at 5:48 AM

Yvonne said...

About time. The charges will be pay to play under the unfair honest public offical act/statute, I bet. Bye Bye Birdy and the tax payers will not have to pay these corrupt Judges Pensions and Retirements. Keep looking you will find more, plus this Judges will sing and sing. Honorable Men always tell the truth once they are caught.

January 22, 2009 at 5:54 AM

J.Wallace said...

3 Down and dozens to go ...... VOTE DEMOCRAT

January 22, 2009 at 6:06 AM

taxpayer tooo !! said...

Its about TIME. I Hope they HANG THEM ALL. I also hope each 1 of them sit their A---- IN JAIL. NOT JUST A SLAP ON THE WRIST. WE NEED TO EXTERMINATE THAT CASTLE SOON. NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF TERMITES. GO GET THEM & HANG THEM.. BRING BACK HONEST JUDGE LAKUTA. SHE MAY HAVE HAD A COUPLE FAULTS, BUT NOT LIKE THESE OTHER LIAR'S & THEIF'S. KARMA..

January 22, 2009 at 6:37 AM

Jeff said...

Just knowing that at least three of the corrupted jerks at the dome will finally face their crimes, will be like a breath of fresh air to most. It's a start in the right direction. I'm sure once these three are exposed, they'll sing like rats and their fellow cronies too will fall. Nothing is going to change in Luzerne County until the last of the garbage is removed. "the investigation began after it was learned that some court orders directing the forfeiture of gambling proceeds did not go through the District Attorney’s office, but instead were presented directly to the court administrator’s office." Wonder how long that was going on, and just HOW much money is involved.

January 22, 2009 at 6:50 AM

Cityrefugee said...

Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it.

January 22, 2009 at 7:09 AM

Skeptical said...

I'm trying to put it in perspective, there are accused murderers that go through this entire process and sentenced faster than this investigation. Don't get me wrong, for the sake of expediency I do not want the investigation to be incomplete, but let the hammer drop already. I want to see this investigation produced and aired on A&E's FBI Files or as a Law & Order Episode!! Talk about good TV ratings.

January 22, 2009 at 7:46 AM

RWilliams said...

Robert Powell, isn't he Skreps friend?

January 22, 2009 at 7:52 AM

Carlton said...

Voting DemocRAT is what got us into this mess!

January 22, 2009 at 8:36 AM

HEY! said...

Well it's about time. The entire county needs a good cleaning out!

January 22, 2009 at 8:42 AM

scott said...

Bye, bye chitarella and conehan. You're as wrong as my spelling of your names! I just hope they put you both in with Bubba! Who's next? Gusty, Hydie, Skreppy, Fishy. Should charges not be brought against Hun, Rodant, and Harnishfinger also?

January 22, 2009 at 9:04 AM

jan said...

Long, long overdue.

January 22, 2009 at 9:14 AM

Clown Oliphip said...

Clean the courthouse out and start anew

January 22, 2009 at 9:18 AM

Only three? said...

We waiting all this time and only three get charged?!?! You got to be kidding me?

January 22, 2009 at 9:32 AM

B said...

J. Wallace, while I don't disagree there may be dozens to go in order to clean up the courthouse, the second half of your comment is laughable! If you look at present times and as far back as 15 to 20 years Democrats have been at the helm. Presently, the majority of the row offices are held by democrats. Democrats have also controlled 2 of the 3 Commissioners’ seats for years. I believe it hasn’t been since the middle to late eighties that the commissioner’s office was controlled by republicans (Trinisewski / Phillips). That being said, everyone’s disgust and disdain for the way the county has been run has been on the democrats watch!! Make no mistake; this is not my plug for the Republican Party or their rule. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what or who the answer is! Maybe its time to revisit the idea of home rule for the county in order to take power out of the hands of the few and place it in the hands of many. It seems that may create a better system of checks and balance.

January 22, 2009 at 9:33 AM

fed said...

About time. Next should be the debit card crew. Let's get rid of all the bums.

January 22, 2009 at 9:36 AM

lee said...

Here is an expression we may not have to use much longer.....President Judge Mark Ciavarella.

January 22, 2009 at 9:45 AM

abc said...

The FBI needs to start investigating the Family court system and Children and youth next. Lets clean up all the corruption.

January 22, 2009 at 9:46 AM

mark said...

please, please! let it be so!

January 22, 2009 at 9:59 AM

DS said...

Purge, baby, PURGE!!

January 22, 2009 at 10:38 AM

Mr Fsalt said...

Could it be? A judge acting like this? Well Marky mark can you slip out of this one? I hope not!

January 22, 2009 at 11:01 AM

Bob said...

I hope city hall is next

January 22, 2009 at 11:33 AM

I'm John Senchak, and I approve of this message/john@antihotmail.com said...

I would do anything to see President Judge Mark Ciavarella in handcuffs.

January 22, 2009 at 11:40 AM

Charmaine H. Maynard said...

You have no idea how hard it was to get the proper authorities to listen and take action. And......you have no idea how long it takes for a proper investigation to transpire. Please try to have faith in the system for just a little while longer.

January 22, 2009 at 11:55 AM

Now it's OUR turn said...

The feds can set up branch offices in several locations in NEPA keep busy for years. Thank God this is coming to pass.

January 22, 2009 at 11:58 AM

Martha Hyde said...

Interesting that this involves the juvenile justice. Next stop--FAMILY COURT--the most distructive and corrupted system of government. It is time for the people to take back government. "OF THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE."

January 22, 2009 at 3:04 PM

Next Story on the ongoing investigation.

Ciavarella, Conahan not alone
They’re the only 2 of the 11 Luzerne jurists with for-profit ties, but practice not uncommon, expert says.
November 5, 2008
ANDREW M. SEDER aseder@timesleader.com

A review of financial interest statements filed by all 11 Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas judges shows that two – Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan – listed financial interests in for-profit businesses.

Read more Luzerne County Judges articles

Conahan

The practice is not uncommon, according to one expert on state courts.

All judicial officers have been required to file the annual statements since a 1984 state Supreme Court order. Judges at all levels operating in state courts are mandated to follow the order.

The statements must be filed by May 1 each year and list financial information for the prior year including real estate interests, creditors, gifts, direct and indirect sources of income and office, directorship or employment in any other business. Judges are required to list financial interests in any for-profit business in which they have at least a 5 percent stake.

Ciavarella, 58, and Conahan, 56, have come under fire for listing an interest in W-Cat Inc. in their 2007 filings, their latest statements. That company, owned by county Prothonotary Jill Moran, was previously co-owned by attorney Robert J. Powell. Powell and Moran are partners in the Powell Law Firm. Powell, until last week, was also a partner in PA Child Care, the company operating the juvenile detention center in Pittston Township.

That facility, which has a long-term contract with Luzerne County, houses many youth sentenced by Ciavarella. The county started sending youth to the center in 2003 after Conahan shut down the county-run juvenile detention center on North River Street in 2002, saying it was unsafe for habitation. The state Department of Public Welfare had reissued a license to the facility.

A year later, former Commissioner Todd Vonderheid joined Commissioner Greg Skrepenak in approving the 20-year-, $58 million-lease of the facility.

Conahan and Ciavarella have repeatedly failed to return calls seeking comment on the matter.

William “Skip” Arbuckle, a lawyer who previously served as counsel for the state Judicial Conduct Board, said it’s not uncommon for judges across the state, especially those who entered the bench with a business background, to have business interests.

A review of the financial statements of Lackawanna County’s nine judges shows one-third of them have reported financial interests in for-profit businesses.

Conahan, who retired last year and became a senior judge in Luzerne County, is president of a soft-drink manufacturing company in Sheppton. Speaking in generalities, not specifically about Luzerne County, Arbuckle said the fact a judge has financial stakes in for-profit businesses doesn’t raise a red flag for him. If that judge presided over a case with a clear conflict of interest related to one of his holdings, he said, that would.

Though not against judicial canon, financial interest in businesses could prove tricky if judges have ties to attorneys, parties or issues that come before them. The judicial canons listed on the state Judicial Board of Conduct Web site do not specifically prohibit those kinds of relationships. Canon 5 makes it clear it’s OK to have financial interests in businesses, but Canon 2 warns judges to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all their activities.

Most Luzerne County’s judges checked “none” on the portion of the statement that asks about financial interests in for-profit businesses.

That’s the case on statements filed by Luzerne County judges Joseph Augello, Thomas Burke Jr., Ann Lokuta, David Lupas, Hugh Mundy, Chester Muroski, Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., Michael T. Toole, and Patrick J. Toole Jr.

The same goes for Lackawanna County judges Carlon O’Malley, Terrence Nealon, Robert Mazzoni, Chester Harhut, Vito Geroulo and Patricia Corbett.

In Lackawanna County, Judge Michael J. Barrasse lists an interest in Interstate Gas Marketing, a natural-gas drilling company in western Pennsylvania; Judge Thomas Munley lists himself as a director in Software Engineering Associates, a computer programming business in Archbald; and Judge Carmen Minora listed an interest in Brymin Partnership in Scranton. Information on that company could not be found, though its address is the same as the Minora Law Firm.

A review of financial interest statements of judges from nearby counties shows that those in Carbon, Wayne, Wyoming and Sullivan counties do not list any financial interests in for-profit businesses.

Andrew M. Seder, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7269.
11 Reader Comments
COMMENT HERE
junglejim said...

Do they know how to hide their interests? Do they do favors for relatives, businessmen, lawyers, etc.? Are they totally honest even in sealing cases? I,ve got to wonder how long before the house of cards they have comes down. I guess we have no corruption from top to bottom.

June 18, 2008 at 5:00 AM

SB said...

Will Luzerne county residents ever learn or will they continue electing the same corrupt officials. Conahan, Civarella and Moran clearly have a conflict of interest regarding the juvenile detention center. Maybe this is why many of the juveniles were not represented in court; much easier to send business to the juvenile center. Civarella and Moran should do the honorable thing and RESIGN! Then the FBI should investigate to determine if prosecution is warranted.

June 18, 2008 at 6:25 AM

Pringle Hill said...

So what have Conahan and Ciavarella done wrong? So what if the county threw away over 58 million dollars for a lease that these two benefitted from. What is the TL trying to say?

June 18, 2008 at 6:28 AM

Scott said...

They are not alone! Not one other judge closed a juvenile facility and had a financial stake in the facility recently opened to house them, now did they. That folks, is a direct appearance of impropriety and a clear conflict of interest. They both should be removed from office and thrown in the can.

June 18, 2008 at 8:04 AM

jason said...

The TL is ignoring another part of the equation-judges that do not have independent sources of income have to increasingly reply on contributions to finance their campaigns-primarily from attorneys that will subsequently be appearing in front of the judges in court. An interesting investigative study would be on whether this practice results in favoritism. For instance, I am curious how many of the attorneys who brought complaints against Judge Lokuta actually contributed to her campaign. Not many, I suspect. I further suspect the judge was kinder to those that did contribute.

June 18, 2008 at 8:29 AM

Shalamar said...

With regard to Canon 2 one can imagine Judge Smails in the movie Caddie Shack... "How about a Fresca Danny?"

June 18, 2008 at 10:17 AM

mark said...

These guys will be forever remembered as "no good judges". I'll admit, they will be rich but that's all they will be. They won't leave a good legacy at all. I prefer to be respected because of my good actions.

June 18, 2008 at 11:39 AM

Alex said...

The Times Leader has really missed the boat as far as this scandal is concerned. Bravo to the Citizens Voice for having the guts to publish the misdeeds of these crooked judges and politicians.

June 18, 2008 at 12:04 PM

watcher said...

TL....where's my post?

June 18, 2008 at 2:14 PM

tom sedeski said...

Watcher, they pick and choose what to post. I thought the media is supposed to be impartial? I’ve had 6 not posted and 2 of those I have resubmitted 3 times. I don’t believe they were comments not worthy or out of line so I am baffled. What’s even more confusing is that this comment (if your reading it) is the 3rd from me they HAVE posted that points out the TL censoring comments. What’s with that TL? Feel free to explain if you ever have the editors return my emails.

June 18, 2008 at 8:07 PM

Sleepless in Scranton said...

Hmmm...didn't Ciavarella run the most expensive campaign in Luzerne County history at $250,000.00? What contributed? Also noticed that, back in his early days, nearly every case involving The Arena (which had been voted "Arena NO" by the people) came before him. He seemed to rule in favor of the Arena in most instances.

January 22, 2009 at 2:03 AM

Obama's Vindication of Thomas Paine

2009-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

Thomas Paine is the unsung hero of the American Revolution, the man who first inspired the total break with the Untied Kingdom in his pamphlet Common Sense. He gave voice to what heretofore had been unmentionable, a clean and irrevocable independence from England.

Yet Paine would be ostracized and shunned later in life for his strong advocacy of real liberty and freedom for all Citizens of the New Republic. Soon as in most Revolutions one group, Southern Men of Property, the Dixie Aristocracy co-opted and hijacked the American Revolution.

No surprise then that today in 2009 Barrack Obama would borrow so heavily from Americas most famous Radical of the Revolution, the man who so horrified those who would declare a black man sub human fit only to be counted as three-fifths of a human being, and only for the purpose of granting the Southern Counter revolutionaries a greater share of the seats in Congress.

Thomas Paines ideas have a definite place in President Obamas poltitics.

I wonder if he shares Paines Deist view of Religion. I sure hope that would be REAL CHANGE!

DeWayne H

"I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure, that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time."

Barack Obama, 18 January 2009

by John Nichols on 01/20/2009

President Barack Obama swore on Tuesday to protect and defend a Constitution that was not written in anticipation of his presidency--that was not, in fact, written in anticipation of his citizenship.

And that is where we should begin to measure the historic turning that has taken place this day.

The American experiment began with its promise constricted by the narrow vision of Virginia plantation owners who saw an African-American as three-fifths of a human being--and that scant measure only for the purpose of granting the South a greater share of the seats in a Congress that would for the better part of a century be all white, all male and all of the propertied class.

America was founded on the original sins of human bondage and violent discrimination.

Barack Obama's inauguration does not erase that history. As W.E.B. Du Bois told us, "One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over...We must forget that George Washington was a slave owner... and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and inspiring. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect man and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth."

Obama's inauguration turns the tables on the founders.

Those who proposed and accepted the Constitution's initial compromises, have been put in their place--not dismissed, but confirmed, finally and unequivocally, as having possessed a vision insufficient for the America that would be.

That goes for Jefferson, Madison, even for Washington (Obama's "man who led a small band of farmers and shopkeepers in revolution against the army of an Empire")--all the "good guys" who were not good enough to reject the crude calculus that in the words of Du Bois "classed the black man and the ox together."

Yet Obama speaks, often and favorably, of the founders, describing them in Philadelphia just days before his inauguration as "that first band of patriots... who somehow believed that they had the power to make the world anew."

The reference to making the world anew was borrowed--imprecisely-- from one of founders. Thomas Paine called his comrades to the revolutionary cause with the cry: "We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand, and a race of men, perhaps as numerous as all Europe contains, are to receive their portion of freedom from the event of a few months."

Obama quoted frequently from Paine, and particularly from Common Sense, during his campaign for the presidency. And he did so, again, on Tuesday, referencing Paine in a speech that spoke of a "return to these truths" of the American experiment.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: "Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

That line is from Paine's The Crisis, which George Washington did, in fact, have read to the troops in the most difficult days of the revolutionary struggle.

From that reference, on Tuesday, Obama continued:

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

It was right that Obama turned to Paine.

When the Pennsylvania Assembly considered the formal abolition of slavery in 1779, it was Paine who authored the preamble to the proposal.

Paine's fervent objections to slavery led to his exclusion from the inner circles of American power in the first years of the republic. He died a pauper. Only history restored the man--and his vision.

And on this day, this remarkable day, Thomas Paine is fully redeemed.

Paine, to a greater extent than any of his peers, was the founder who imagined a truly United States that might offer a son of Africa and of America not merely citizenship but its presidency.

Barack Obama is wise to associate himself with the better angels of our history, including the architects of our republic who, for all their imperfections, issued--as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. noted on another crowded day in Washington--"wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence" and in so doing "(signed) a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights' of 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'"

"But," concluded King, "we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt."

The bank of justice, unlike those of Wall Street, has proven to be solvent.

Our new president--and we the people--do well to recognize those who signed the promissory note.

But that does not mean that we should presume that the founders were all equally wise, or equally good.

It was Paine, the most revolutionary of their number, who proved to be the wisest, and the best, of that band of patriots--for his time, and for this time.

Today belongs to Barack Obama.

But it also belongs to Thomas Paine.

When our new president says that his election proves "the dream of our founders is alive in our time," it is Paine's dream of which he speaks.

That dream may not be fully realized. But it is alive--more, indeed, today than at any time in the history of a land that might yet begin our world over again.

Presidential Inauguration

2009-01-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

The Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America.

In this Internet Age change comes to whitehouse.gov while he gives his inaugural address.

And yes the White House now has an Official Blog! If John Kennedy was the first Television President, Barack Obama is our first Web President!

A lot of commentary and analysis on the web I will post some of the most insightful and the best photos from this Historic Day.

The White House Blog

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov

Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I'm Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog.

A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.

Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.

Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration's online programs will put citizens first. Our initial new media efforts will center around three priorities:

Communication -- Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. Check out the briefing room, keep tabs on the blog (RSS feed) and take a moment to sign up for e-mail updates from the President and his administration so you can be sure to know about major announcements and decisions.

Transparency -- President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise. The President's executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that’s just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government. You can also learn about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President’s policy priorities.

Participation -- President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.

We'd also like to hear from you -- what sort of things would you find valuable from WhiteHouse.gov? If you have an idea, use this form to let us know. Like the transition website and the campaign's before that, this online community will continue to be a work in progress as we develop new features and content for you. So thanks in advance for your patience and for your feedback.

Later today, we’ll put up the video and the full text of President Obama’s Inaugural Address. There will also be slideshows of the Inaugural events, the Obamas’ move into the White House, and President Obama’s first days in office.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Could an African-American President be the one who finally ends the cultural civil war that has been roiling American politics since the 1960s: liberal versus conservative, red versus blue, Democrat versus Republican? Both Bill Clinton and George Bush set out to end it. Clinton was "new Democrat." Bush was the compassionate conservative and the uniter. Both got trapped in the culture wars and ended up leaving the country more divided than ever. Clinton and Bush were the bookend Presidents of the Baby Boom generation.

Obama is technically a Baby Boomer – he was born near the tail end of the Baby Boom. But his approach and philosophy look beyond the Baby Boomers’ experience. He wrote in "The Audacity of Hope" about his desire to move beyond "the psychodrama of the Baby Boom generation –- a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago."

Big goals, and a clear departure from the past

Posted: 12:27 PM ET

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The call to unity is very much Obama’s trademark –- reaching across barriers, ending "the recriminations and worn-out dogmas." That’s what he means by changing politics in Washington. And right away, he addresses some clear departures from the Bush approach.

The choice between safety and ideals is false, he says. Without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. There's a clear acknowledgment of the global warming crisis ("the way we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.")

He's one of the few modern Presidents who has reached out to "non-believers" as well as Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus.

"The world has changed, and we must change with it." His theme of "change" carried him through the campaign. Voters saw it as change from Bush. Now he is using it to call for big policy changes, calling this "a moment that will define a generation" — very much like Kennedy in 1961.

"Remaking America" — no small ambition, starting with the literal reconstruction of our infrastructure. He has "big plans" –- and a big crisis that can help him carry them through.

But still, there's an overriding realism. His answer to the old partisan debate: "The question is not whether our government is too big or small, but whether it works." It’s the pragmatist’s answer. Does it work?

Dr King said it might take 40 years. It's been 45 years, I can wait another hour

Ronald Brisbon
Washington resident

Obama: Challenges will be met
From The Daily Scotsman;

President Barack Obama warned of "gathering clouds and raging storms" today.

But he also delivered a message of hope as he was inaugurated as the first black President of the United States.

He said: "Every so often the oath (of office) is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms".

At such times America had to remand true to our founding document", he said.

And he added: "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real.
"They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met."

Describing the challenges ahead, he said: "That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.

"Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.

"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

"Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."

But he said people had chosen "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord".

President Obama said: "On this day we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

Evoking the pioneering spirit of America, Mr Obama said that it was the "risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things" that had carried America "up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom".
He said: "Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might have a better life."

He went on: "Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of America."

The economy, he said, needed "bold and swift" action to create jobs and stimulate growth.

He also called for a need to restore "the vital trust between a people and their government".

In a bid to rebuild America's standing oversees, Mr Obama said: "To all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."

He added that earlier generations of Americans had faced down fascism and communism "not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions".

He said: "Power alone cannot protect us."

The US would "begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan".

President Obama said his country would work to lessen the nuclear threat and "roll back the spectre of a warming planet".

As a country "shaped by every language and culture" the President vowed to "play its role in ushering a new era of peace".

Mr Obama continued: "Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history."

As such, he called for a "return to these truths".

Obama sworn in as 44th U.S. president

The Los Angeles Times

The capital is crowded with color and celebration as the nation's first black president takes office. Despite the challenges of wars and a foundering economy, he rides a wave of optimism.

By Cathleen Decker
9:06 AM PST, January 20, 2009

Reporting from Los Angeles -- Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into office as the nation's 44th president today, assuming leadership of a nation riven by war and economic despair but embracing the improbable ascension of a first-term Illinois senator as the nation's first black chief executive.

With his hand on a Bible used by Abraham Lincoln more than a century ago, Obama repeated the 35-word oath before a rapturous and massive crowd, supplemented across the country with separate, if just as boisterous, celebrations. Minutes before Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ushered Obama into office, former Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden became the nation's new vice president with the assistance of Associate Justice John Paul Stevens.

The day unfolded with the nation invoking the familiar rituals of a peaceful change in power, although history hung in the air. On the stand as Obama took the oath were members of the Supreme Court, Congress and family and friends of the incoming leaders.

After formally becoming president, Obama was due to deliver an inaugural address that will warn Americans of difficult days ahead and call for a new spirit of bipartisan sacrifice to solve the varied problems facing the country -- themes familiar from Obama's long trek to the White House.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, and Biden and his wife, Jill, began their day by attending services at St. John's Episcopal Church, the traditional destination for an incoming president, located across Lafayette Park from the White House.

Then they traveled to the president's residence for coffee with outgoing President Bush and Vice President Cheney, along with House and Senate leaders. Bush and his wife, Laura, met the Obamas at the north portico, where they embraced and exchanged greetings. The group later caravaned to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony, charting a reversal of the path that Obama's inaugural parade will take as it kicks off later today.

Obama woke this morning to a city overwhelmed with revelers. Suburban parking lots for the city's subway system were filled before dawn, and masses of people thronged on foot toward entrances to the National Mall. With hours to go before the ceremony, the Mall was packed from the Capitol west to the Washington Monument, and overflow crowds spilled onto the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial as well.

Yet concerns that the crush of people would prompt security crises, massive traffic tie-ups and cellphone network implosions were largely unrealized in the early hours. The crowds were docile, if cold, and temperatures were expected to top out in the 30s.

The day ushered out the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush, who came into office vowing to unite the country and led the nation through the tumult of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, only to founder over an ill-managed war in Iraq, lengthening battles in Afghanistan and a downward-spiraling economy.

But the bracing turnover was cultural as much as political, as the nation grasped the import of November's election again: After 220 years, for the first time it was not a white man taking the oath of office. The facts of Obama's parentage -- he is the son of a Kenyan father and a white Kansas-born mother -- rippled across the inauguration platform and the assembled crowd, both more diverse than at past inaugurations.

From black Americans who had lived through the civil-rights era and who had never presumed they would see such a day as this, to Americans whose experience of discrimination is limited to history books, Obama's journey has evoked strong emotions and echoes. He took the oath of office with a view westward toward the Lincoln Memorial and its great marble likeness of the president who freed America's slaves. The steps of the very same memorial welcomed, in 1939, black contralto Marian Anderson after she was refused entrance to Constitution Hall, and in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. for his "I Have a Dream" speech. On Sunday, at the first of the inaugural festivities, a concert at the Lincoln Memorial, Obama sat there as president-elect, his dream realized.

Before the swearing-in, Nelson and Tina Daniel stood in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd at the foot of the Washington Monument, halfway between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. The Los Angeles residents had staked out their position at 5 a.m.

"This is big history," said Nelson Daniel, a 63-year-old African American. "Once-in-a-lifetime experience. My mother and grandparents dreamed of it. I have a chance to witness it for them."

Also in the crowd was Gloria Washington-Lewis Randall, an African American from Alabama who spent 2 1/2 weeks in jail for participating in a civil-rights demonstration in 1963. Now, at 62, she watched the ceremonies via one of the giant viewing screens set up on the Mall.

"I'm totally ecstatic," she said. "You don't really notice the cold out here. It's a warmness that's coming up. Because no more will we be called black or white. We'll be called Americans."

A counterpoint to the enthusiasm greeting Obama was the grim reality facing the new administration. Obama inherits the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, anti-American sentiment around the globe and, at home, the harshest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Much of his transition was spent trying to infuse optimism that his proposals will work, while simultaneously warning Americans that recovery will take years, not months.

Obama's improbable journey began less than two years ago when, with what even he acknowledged was "a certain presumptuousness," he announced his candidacy for president in a speech in Springfield, Ill., Lincoln's adopted hometown. At the time, Obama had served only two years in the United States Senate.

Few gave him strong odds at the beginning of his quest. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the front-runner and all-but-certain nominee, but as the pre-primary polling gave way to the sentiments of actual voters, her veneer of inevitability cracked. Obama's campaign was built on soaring rhetoric and substance -- his early opposition to the Iraq war contrasted sharply with Clinton's vote for it.

Less measurable early on -- but ultimately more potent -- was his emotional reach among voters who wanted to turn a page on the divisive politics that many felt Clinton personified. On their backs, and on the backs of young voters whose eventual turnout was suspect until election day, Obama built a stunning, tech-savvy organization. His campaign appearances in the general election regularly drew numbers unseen in past campaigns -- 100,000 in St. Louis, 90,000 in Manassas, Va., 75,000 in Kansas City, Mo.

Obama upended the race with a smashing victory in the first contest, the Iowa caucuses, but Clinton came back days later to win in New Hampshire, setting up a grinding primary contest that would last until she relented in June. Like Biden, himself a candidate in 2008, Clinton would find a place in the Obama Administration hierarchy, as the designated secretary of State.

The general election saw Obama trounce Arizona Sen. John McCain, who fought against a sweeping Democratic voter registration effort but ultimately fell under the weight of the economic downturn. McCain also suffered from the election's anti-Republican cast; the party lost seats in the House and Senate, and Bush leaves office for his Texas retirement with a positive approval rating at less than three in 10 Americans.

Obama, by contrast, has strengthened his hand since election day. Several polls have placed the percentage of Americans who say they feel optimistic about his tenure at more than seven in 10, well above his 53%-46% margin over McCain.

The inaugural festivities opened Sunday with the star-studded concert at the Lincoln Memorial, where Obama invoked an optimistic yet sober approach.

"There is no doubt that our road will be long," Obama said. "That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help me reveal that character once more."

On Monday, Obama, Biden and their families took part in several community-service events to commemorate the King holiday. Obama toured a shelter for homeless teenagers, demonstrating his technique as he took up a roller to coat a wall with "Laguna blue" paint. At his next stop, where local service groups were working on projects to benefit American troops, Obama returned to the notion that all Americans will have to pitch in to restore the nation's momentum.

"I am making a commitment to you as the next president that we are going to make government work," he said. "But . . . government can only do so much. If we're waiting for someone else to do something, it never gets done."

Obama's last night before assuming the presidency was spent at three dinners meant to reinforce his message of bipartisanship. They honored McCain; former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican who had endorsed Obama before the election; and Biden.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Obama said to huge applause.

Today dawned, and the Mall swarmed not only with security forces -- seen and unseen -- but also those who seized on the inauguration as their personal ticket out of economic malaise. T-shirts, knit caps, key chains, pencils, coffee mugs, American flags, all decorated with Obama's face, were being vigorously hawked across the district. The chaotic display competed with the formal red-white-and-blue bunting that draped the graceful old Capitol, the stately backdrop for the drama.

cathleen.decker@latimes.com

Richard Simon in Washington contributed to this article.

New President, New Limousine

Joe the Dumber and Dumberer

2009-01-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

Yes I know that is ungramtaical but trust me Joe wonted mind!

I have a suggestion for the GOP in 2012

Sarah Palin for President and

Joe the Plumber for VP!

A winning anti-intel, intal,&%#$@ , non-egg head ticket you bettcha!

Joe the Plumber: ‘I think media should be abolished’ from reporting on war!

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” is currently in Israel covering the war for the conservative site PJTV.com. When asked what he has learned from his new experiences as a journalist, Wurzelbacher said that he believes the media shouldn’t be allowed to do “reporting” on wars:

I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think journalists should be anywhere allowed war. I mean, you guys report where our troops are at. You report what’s happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it’s asinine. You know, I liked back in World War I and World War II when you’d go to the theater and you’d see your troops on, you know, the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for’em. Now everyone’s got an opinion and wants to downer–and down soldiers. You know, American soldiers or Israeli soldiers.

I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting. You know, war is hell. And if you’re gonna sit there and say, “Well look at this atrocity,” well you don’t know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it.

Rewriting History- A Primer on how to Whitewash Failure

2009-01-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

Perle Washes His Hands Of Iraq: I Was Not An ‘Architect Of That War,’ Neocons Had No Influence»

Over the past few weeks, many Bush administration officials have begun rewriting history in an effort to burnish President Bush’s legacy. Following suit, neoconservative war hawk Richard Perle has taken the opportunity to polish his own record during the Bush years — mainly on Iraq.

In the latest issue of The National Interest, Perle devotes 4,600 words — not to congratulate President Bush for invading Iraq — but to wipe his, and the whole neoconservative movement’s, hands clean of the whole affair. In the essay, he categorically denies that both he — and neoconservative ideology in general — had any influence on the Bush administration in its decision to go to war:

I have been widely but wrongly depicted as deeply involved in the making of administration policy, especially with respect to Iraq. Facts notwithstanding, there are some fifty thousand entries on Google in which I am described as an “architect,” and often as “the architect,” of the Iraq War. I certainly supported and argued publicly for the decision to remove Saddam, as I do in what follows. But had I been the architect of that war, our policy would have been very different. […]

But about the many mistakes made in Iraq, one thing is certain: they had nothing to do with ideology. They did not draw inspiration from or reflect neoconservative ideas and they were not the product of philosophical or ideological influences outside the government.

Perle is right. He strongly advocated publicly for the invasion of Iraq, especially after 9/11, even making claims that Saddam Hussein had links to Osama bin Laden (an assertion he later claimed he never said). But in fact, Perle had direct access to top administration officials during the run up to the war. Former CIA director George Tenet recalled that shortly after 9/11, Perle told him that “Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday, they bear responsibility.”

Moreover, the neoconservative influence on the Bush administration, particularly regarding Iraq, has been well documented. For Perle to claim otherwise is beyond absurd.

Seeing that Perle cannot deny he supported the invasion, he then offers two separate justifications for both outcomes of the WMD argument. First, he says the belief that Saddam had WMD was “widely accepted” at the time of the invasion. But, noting that no WMD were found, Perle then says the “salient issue” was not that Saddam had WMD but that he “could produce them” someday. Nevertheless, Perle concludes, “no one should take seriously the facile conclusion that invading Iraq was mistaken because we now know Saddam did not possess stockpiles of WMD.”

Except this statement is a direct contradiction of what Perle wrote earlier this year in an article for The American Interest. Then, he claimed if we knew Saddam had no WMD in March 2003, the U.S. shouldn’t have invaded:

If Saddam had provided solid, confirmable evidence of the destruction of the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction he was believed to possess, we would not have invaded.

Indeed, no matter how many incoherent, contradictory and misleading essays Perle concocts trying to absolve himself from the Iraq debacle, like his fellow Iraq war architects, it’s clear he has no leg to stand on.

Historys Judgment wait 50 years

2009-01-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

We all have our current views on the 43 American President with many pronouncing George Bush easily one our nations Worst Presidents. What with 2 wars and the collapse of the Western Worlds economy all on his watch! I graduated High School the year Jimmy Carter's presidency seem to implode on the shoals of the Iranian Hostage Crises and his crises of confidence. I witnessed Richard Nixons abdication and subsequent self imposed internal exile form public life. Both men have seen a rehabilitation of sorts in recent years.

Will George Bush?

While we may hard pressed to recall even one Bush Administration "Accomplishment",
History's judgment is always deferred by 40 or 50 years. Much will depend on the world economy, if the Collapse of 2008 segues into the World Depression of 2009 then surely George Bush will be this generations Herbert Hoover! (To be fair to Hoover he took office just scant months before the Crash of 1929 Calvin Coolidge shares the blame for the Great Depression) DH

from the BBC...

How does the Bush presidency rate?

By Paul Reynolds
World affairs correspondent, BBC News website

I suppose the underlying question here is whether George W Bush has been one of the worst US presidents.

Many people have already made up their minds.

For them, the invasion of Iraq was enough to put Mr Bush high on the list. And that was compounded by his lack of action elsewhere - with global warming and Hurricane Katrina as examples.

Others will want to wait a bit and see what history decides. History can improve the image of a presidency.

Follow Bush's downward slide

Harry Truman is the great example. His approval rating dipped even lower than Mr Bush's (though Mr Bush has registered a higher disapproval rating - a discrepancy due to a decline in the number of "don't knows").

The Truman years were full of epic events, from the dropping of the first atomic bomb, to the start of the Cold War, to the actual Korean War, to his dismissal of the popular Gen Douglas MacArthur.

The Chicago Tribune called for Truman to be impeached.

He appeared at times to be overwhelmed and he went down, but history has brought him up again and he is now generally seen as a gutsy president who took the right decisions.

Mr Bush is hoping for a similar vindication.

In the meantime, here are some of the candidates in the race for the bottom, in chronological order.

1. James Buchanan (President 1857-1861)

Buchanan failed to head off the Civil War. His position was weak, arguing on the one hand that the South should not secede and on the other that the North should not use force. It led to inaction and vacillation. Maybe he could not have succeeded, but he was not even seen to try.

2. Andrew Johnson (President 1865-1869)

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Johnson had a policy of punishing the Confederate leaders but letting off their followers. However, he is reckoned to have given too many concessions to the South, thereby laying the groundwork for the racial problems the United States subsequently experienced. He and Bill Clinton are the only two presidents to have been impeached. In Johnson's case it was over the power of presidents to dismiss cabinet members. Both were acquitted.

3. Warren Harding (President 1921-1923)

Harding was mired in scandal, because he appointed incompetent and corrupt cronies. His secretary of the interior, Albert Fall, was convicted of taking bribes in exchange for handing out oil leases on publicly-owned land and went to prison. Harding said he had less trouble from his political enemies than from his friends.

4. Herbert Hoover (President 1929-1933)

Hoover had done magnificent work during World War I, getting food into starving Belgium and later into a defeated Germany and even the Soviet Union. But his failure to combat the great depression when he became president led to his downfall - and to the interventionist approach of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

5. Richard Nixon (President 1969-1974)

The only president to have resigned the office has to be on the list. His offence was obstruction of justice, arising from his attempt to cover up the Watergate break-in. He left office in disgrace.

There is also another way of looking at presidential reputations. This is to look at specific decisions they have taken. On this list appear some presidents whose historical place is otherwise strong. In 2006, historians gathered by the University of Louisville listed the "top 10 presidential errors".

They were:

1. James Buchanan's failure to stop the Civil War.

2. Andrew Johnson's decision to favour Southern whites after the Civil War.

3. Lyndon Johnson's escalation of the Vietnam War.

4. Woodrow Wilson's inability to get the United States into the League of Nations after the First World War.

5. Richard Nixon's role in the Watergate cover-up.

6. James Madison's war with Britain in 1812.

7. Thomas Jefferson's embargo on trade with Europe during the Napoleonic Wars.

8. John Kennedy's attempt to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.

9. Ronald Reagan's sale of arms to Iran in the Iran-Contra scandal.

10. Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

Will George Bush's invasion of Iraq get on to a similar list in 20 or 50 years' time?

A British historian of American politics, Professor John Philip Davies of de Montfort University, says: "George Bush's problem is that he hasn't had many successes and he has made mistakes. Iraq and Afghanistan have not come out well and his hopes of becoming another Harry Truman must be in doubt."

Truman's approval rating once dipped to 22%

Every failing president looks to Truman, he notes. Gerald Ford moved a bust of him into the White House.

In Professor Davies' view, Warren Harding was "one of the worst".

"He chose genuinely seedy characters for his cabinet and was deeply gullible. He looked the part, like an emperor whose face should be on coins, but he was dreadful at choosing his team," he says.

He also notes that Truman is not the only former president whose stock has risen over time.

"Richard Nixon is undergoing something of a rehabilitation in terms of policy - his opening to China, for example, and his decision to end the Vietnam War," he says.

"Jimmy Carter was seen as weak at the time but has been an excellent former president.

"Eisenhower is now seen by some as less of a 'do-nothing' president than a 'hidden hand', thanks to a favourable biography, which all presidents need.

"History can move a president up or down the table but I think its judgment is not hugely different from that of contemporaries."

Legacy of Shame

2009-01-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

20 Forgotten Bush Scandals

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, George H.W. Bush congratulated his son on running a “clean operation." (Daddy Bush) apparently wasn’t paying very close attention. Everyone remembers weapons of mass destruction, the US attorney firings. But historians will note that those are only the beginning of the Bush administration scandals…

The Bush administration will leave the annals of presidential disrepute several times thicker than it found them. There’s Iraq, the hospital visit to John Ashcroft, the US attorney firings. But historians will note that those are only the beginning of the Bush administration scandals. Does the name Jeff Gannon ring a bell? Boxgate? What about the anti-prostitution AIDS Tsar who purchased the services of—wait for it—the D.C. Madam?

The Daily Beast has put together 20 of Bush’s greatest forgotten scandals.

Sex and Shoplifting

1) In March 2006, Claude Allen, Bush's top domestic policy aide, was arrested when he tried to return items he had shoplifted from Target for cash refunds. Allen, who made $161,000 a year, blamed stress from Hurricane Katrina.

2) In 2005, bloggers pricked up their ears when a reporter named Jeff Gannon asked a softball question at a Bush press conference. Some sleuthing turned up nude photos of Gannon—real name: James Guckert—on male escort websites.

3) Randall Tobias, Bush’s AIDS tsar, mandated that organizations must oppose prostitution in order to receive American aid. It later emerged that Tobias purchased services through the notorious D.C. Madam, though Tobias maintained he only bought “massages.”

4) The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service would not seem to be the sexiest government agency. But a departmental investigation last year found that officials had “frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives.”

Where’d the Money Go?

5) When testifying before Congress in 2007, L. Paul Bremer, the former head of reconstruction in Iraq, was unable to account for as much as $12 billion—about half of his budget—as the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority between May 2003 and June 2004. According to a report by Rep. Henry Waxman, contractors brought bags to meetings in order to collect shrink-wrapped bundles of money.

6) In 2004, Pentagon auditors found that Halliburton had not adequately accounted for $1.8 billion of the bill it sent to the United States government for its work in Iraq and Kuwait.

7) Also that year, Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers' chief contracting officer, charged that KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, unfairly received billions of dollars worth of no-bid contracts in Iraq. Greenhouse was demoted in 2005.

Disappearances

8) In 2002, Canadian citizen Maher Arar was detained at an airport in New York and spirited away to Syria, where he was tortured and held for 10 months by his captors before being returned home. Canadian officials investigated Arar's case, declared he was innocent, and paid him $9 million in compensation. American officials refused to admit the mistake and instead kept Arar on a terrorist watch list.

9) Army Captain James Yee, a Muslim chaplain in Guantanamo Bay, was hooded, shackled, and detained in solitary confinement for 76 days on charges of espionage. Within a year the case against Yee had collapsed and the Army tried to save face by charging him with hoarding pornography.

All the President’s Wordsmiths

10) In an email to friends, Danielle Crittenden, the wife of White House speechwriter David Frum, bragged that her husband had written Bush’s famous “Axis of Evil” line. The e-mail leaked to Slate, causing a minor scandal.

11) Part of the self-created mythology of White House speechwriter Michael Gerson was that he composed his speeches in longhand. But as fellow scribe Matthew Scully later noted: “At the precise moment when the State of the Union address was being drafted at the White House by John [McConnell] and me, Mike was off pretending to craft the State of the Union in longhand for the benefit of a reporter.”

Ron Edmonds/AP

No Administration Friend Left Behind

12) First there was Columnist Gate: In 2005, USA Today reported that conservative commentator Armstrong Williams received a $240,000 contract from the Department of Education to promote No Child Left Behind on his television show and to sell other African-American journalists on the legislation. Later, The Washington Post uncovered a similar deal with columnist Maggie Gallagher to promote a marriage initiative for the Department of Health.

13) A Defense Department report in 2006 urged the military to end its practice of paying Iraqi journalists to publish pro-American stories in their newspapers, arguing the tactic would "undermine the concept of a free press."

14) According to The New York Times, Karl Rove scored lobbyist Ralph Reed a lucrative contract with Enron in 1997 to gain his support in the 2000 presidential race.

15) David Safavian, the former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, was convicted of helping Jack Abramoff on a shady land deal as well as concealing a "lavish weeklong golf trip" paid for by Abramoff.

16) As head of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz was forced to resign in disgrace after he helped his "female companion," Shaha Riza, score a $60,000 pay raise and promotion—and then tried to cover it up.

Down the Memory Hole

17) Bush fundraiser Lurita Doan's gig as chair of the General Services Administration went down in flames when she was accused of asking agency staff to help Republican candidates win elections. Doan denied any wrongdoing. When witnesses said she asked her staff at a meeting, "How can we use GSA to help our candidates in the next election?" Doan claimed she had no memory of the presentation.

18) Though Army microbiologist Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide in 2008, was suspected of being the anthrax mailer, that didn't keep Bush and Cheney from openly speculating that Al Qaeda was behind the attacks and even going so far as to pressure FBI officials to come up with a bin Laden connection, according to the New York Daily News.

Mission Accomplished

19) In 2003, Bush went to a warehouse in St. Louis to give a speech titled “Strengthening America’s Economy.” But the boxes laid out before the presidential podium bore the label "Made in China." The labels were then obscured with white paper. The White House blamed an "overzealous advance volunteer.”

The Last Word

20) The administration ethos was nicely summarized during the investigation in the firing of US attorneys, in a testy exchange between former White House Political Director Sara Taylor and Sen. Patrick Leahy. Taylor: "I took an oath to the president…And I believe that taking that oath means that I need to respect, and do respect, my service to the president."

Leahy: "No, the oath says that you take an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States. That is your paramount duty. I know that the president refers to the government being his government—it's not."

Source The Daily Beast

Bush, Obama and the Gaza Blitz

2009-01-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

Unwilling to control its fighters, who fired scores of missiles into Israel at the end of their

six-month ceasefire, Hamas gave Israel the provocation it needed to deliver a savage blow to the Palestinian enclave in Gaza.

Saturday was the bloodiest day in the history of the Palestinian people since being driven from their homes in the War of 1948. One thousand were killed or wounded, as the Israeli Air Force conducted over a hundred strikes -- on graduation ceremonies for Hamas fighters, police stations and storage sites for rockets.

About Israel's right and duty to defend its border towns, there is no dispute. When Hamas permits Gaza to be used as a launch pad for rockets, it must expect retaliation. Nor can Hamas claim some right to dictate the limits of that retaliation.

Yet the wisdom of so savage a retribution for rockets that killed not one Israeli is open to question. And crass Israeli politics seems to be behind this premeditated and planned blitz.

With Likud's hawkish "Bibi" Netanyahu ahead in the polls for the Feb. 10 election, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Labor's candidate, had to show that he, too, could be ruthless with Hamas.

Kadima Party candidate and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has an even greater need than the highly decorated Barak to show toughness. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, departing in scandal, wants to exit in a blaze of glory, to blot out the memory of a botched war against Hezbollah that he launched in the summer of 2006.

However, while Israel's politicians all seem to have a stake in these devastating strikes, Israel herself will pay the price.

Given the casualty toll, over 300 dead and 1,300 wounded as of this writing, Hamas will have to exact its pound of flesh. The Hamas wing that seeks renewed war with Israel will now shout into silence the wing working with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on a new ceasefire.

The moderate Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas, who has been talking to Israel, testifying to her good faith, has been made to appear the puppet and fool. A new intifada spreading to the West Bank, with suicide attacks inside Israel, is now possible.

Moderate Arabs, who have recognized Israel or backed peace, will now be seen by the Arab street as appeasers impotent to stop the public suffering of the Palestinian people.

As for President Bush's hopes of midwifing a peace that would create a Palestinian state, they are as dead as the Annapolis process he set in train. In advancing peace in the Middle East, Bush's eight-year record is now a near-absolute failure.

For four years, Bush refused to talk to Yasir Arafat, though Bill Clinton had negotiated with him, as had four Israeli prime ministers, two of who shared a Nobel Prize with Arafat. In his second term, Bush, after insisting Hamas be included in free elections in Palestine, refused to recognize Hamas when it won those elections.

Arafat was a terrorist and Hamas is a terrorist organization, declared Bush, and we don't negotiate with terrorists. Yet, Bush de-listed Libya as a state sponsor of terror and sent Condi Rice to chat up Col. Gadhafi, though Gadhafi still has on his hands the blood of scores of American school kids from the Lockerbie massacre of 1989 that Libya and Gadhafi engineered

For eight years, like the "dummy" in a hand of bridge, Bush has sat mute as his Israeli partner, Sharon or Olmert, played America's cards as well as their own. The Bush response to Saturday's carnage, as anticipated, was to blame Hamas for causing it and urge Israelis to be careful about civilian casualties as they go about their reprisals.

Whatever Israel decides, we support. For eight years that has been the most reliable guide to U.S. Middle East policy.

And Barack Obama? Forty-eight hours after the Israeli blitz began, he and his national security team remain silent.

Hopefully, Obama will bring with him a new Mideast policy, one made in the U.S.A., for the U.S.A. Hopefully, just as Israel has its private links to Syria through Turkey, to Hamas through Egypt and to Hezbollah, Obama will establish independent U.S. channels to all three, and adopt a separate U.S. policy toward all three, as Israel does.

While the United States must support Israel's right to defend her towns and to strike bases from which Israelis are being attacked, Obama should denounce the collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, by Israel's cutting off their electricity in the dead of winter and denying them the food and medicine many need to survive.

For us to remain silent in the face of this comports neither with our interests or our values. Israel's policy of withholding from the weak and innocent of Gaza, women and children, the necessities of life, to punish the guilty who rule at the point of a gun, is a policy that Obama should declare the United States will no longer support with tax dollars.

Mr. Buchanan is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World, "The Death of the West,", "The Great Betrayal," "A Republic, Not an Empire" and "Where the Right Went Wrong."

GOP Whining, Bitching and Moaning

2009-01-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

Krugman really hits this one squarely in the Elephants trunk! Instead of examining the cause of Barack Obamas landslide win and the repudiation of the GOP in Congress, the GOP pundidts and nabobs have been busy...

Whining,bitching and moaning about their and our countries lot, as if the voters made a mistake in November! As if the entire global financial meltdown has not exposed the Great LIE's our Western Capitalist society has been built on!

Right...

Which means the all important task of tearing down and rebuilding the GOP awaits another day.

I have a suggestion, just disband and allow a new party to develop with fresh ideas.

It's time for GOP to stop whining

PAUL KRUGMAN It was a grand ride for a while, but in the end the Southern strategy led the GOP into a cul-de-sac.
Posted: 01/03/2009 01:40:50 AM PST

As the new Democratic majority prepares to take power, Republicans have become, as Phil Gramm might put it, a party of whiners.

Some of the whining almost defies belief. Did Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general, really say, "I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror"? Did Rush Limbaugh really suggest that the financial crisis was the result of a conspiracy, masterminded by that evil genius Chuck Schumer?

But most of the whining takes the form of claims that the Bush administration's failure was simply a matter of bad luck — either the bad luck of President Bush himself, who just happened to have disasters happen on his watch, or the bad luck of the GOP, which just happened to send the wrong man to the White House.

The fault, however, lies not in Republicans' stars but in themselves. Forty years ago the GOP decided, in effect, to make itself the party of racial backlash. And everything that has happened in recent years, from the choice of Bush as the party's champion, to the Bush administration's pervasive incompetence, to the party's shrinking base, is a consequence of that decision.

If the Bush administration became a byword for policy bungles, for government by the unqualified, well, it was just following the advice of leading conservative think tanks: After the 2000 election the Heritage Foundation specifically urged the new team to "make appointments based on loyalty first and expertise second."

Contempt
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for expertise, in turn, rested on contempt for government in general. "Government is not the solution to our problem," declared Ronald Reagan. "Government is the problem." So why worry about governing well?

Where did this hostility to government come from? In 1981, Lee Atwater, the famed Republican political consultant, explained the evolution of the GOP's "Southern strategy," which originally focused on opposition to the Voting Rights Act but eventually took a more coded form: "You're getting so abstract now you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites." In other words, government is the problem because it takes your money and gives it to Those People.

Oh, and the racial element isn't all that abstract, even now: Chip Saltsman, a candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, sent committee members a CD including a song titled "Barack the Magic Negro" — and according to some reports, the controversy over his action has actually helped his chances.

So the reign of George W. Bush, the first true Southern Republican president since Reconstruction, was the culmination of a long process. And despite the claims of some on the right that Bush betrayed conservatism, the truth is that he faithfully carried out both his party's divisive tactics — long before Sarah Palin, Bush declared that he visited his ranch to "stay in touch with real Americans" — and its governing philosophy.

That's why the soon-to-be-gone administration's failure is bigger than Bush himself: It represents the end of the line for a political strategy that dominated the scene for more than a generation.

The reality of this strategy's collapse has not, I believe, fully sunk in with some observers. Thus, some commentators warning President-elect Barack Obama against bold action have held up Bill Clinton's political failures in his first two years as a cautionary tale.

But America in 1993 was a very different country — not just a country that had yet to see what happens when conservatives control all three branches of government, but also a country in which Democratic control of Congress depended on the votes of Southern conservatives. Today, Republicans have taken away almost all those Southern votes — and lost the rest of the country. It was a grand ride for a while, but in the end the Southern strategy led the GOP into a cul-de-sac.

Obama therefore has room to be bold. If Republicans try a 1993-style strategy of attacking him for promoting big government, they'll learn two things: Not only has the financial crisis discredited their economic theories, the racial subtext of anti-government rhetoric doesn't play the way it used to.

Will the Republicans eventually stage a comeback? Yes, of course. But barring some huge missteps by Obama, that will not happen until they stop whining and look at what really went wrong. And when they do, they will discover that they need to get in touch with the real "real America," a country that is more diverse, more tolerant, and more demanding of effective government than is dreamt of in their political philosophy.

Paul Krugman, recent winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, writes for The New York Times.