Open Thread Wednesday

On the road, apparently unable to connect.

Comments

[Maybeex]

Is this today or next Wednesday?

[Jane]

Oh dear, it appears we are going backward. I hate it when that happens.

[PatHMV]

It should be safe to drive through New Jersey, since Gov. Corzine is off the road. More facts have been coming out about his accident last week, and it">http://stubbornfacts.us/random/gov_corzine_should_be_ticketed_for_that_new_jersey_crash">it doesn't look good. He was speeding at 91mph to get back to that all important Imus-Rutgers meeting. And that red pick-up truck they had the manhunt for? The driver was completely innocent. He had moved onto the shoulder to get out of the governor's way. You see, the Governor was running the emergency lights. Fortunately, the only one seriously hurt in the accident was the man responsible for it.

[Jane]

While I'm all in favor of blaming Corzine, I'm pretty sure he wasn't driving the car.

[SunnyDay]

They're evacuating another building at VA Tech, have bomb dogs and a swat team there.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Edwards' haircuts cost a pretty penny
By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Writer
Tue Apr 17, 11:16 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Looking pretty is costing John Edwards' presidential campaign a lot of pennies. The Democrat's campaign committee picked up the tab for two haircuts at $400 each by celebrity stylist Joseph Torrenueva of Beverly Hills, Calif., according to a financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

FEC records show Edwards also availed himself of $250 in services from a trendy salon and spa in Dubuque, Iowa, and $225 in services from the Pink Sapphire in Manchester, N.H., which is described on its Web site as "a unique boutique for the mind, body and face" that caters mostly to women.

-------------

Edwards is pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
He's pretty and witty and bright!
And he pities
Any girl who isn't him tonight.

He is charming,
Oh, so charming
It's alarming how charming he be!
And so pretty
That he hardly can believe he's real.

See the pretty girl in that mirror there:
Who can that attractive girl be?
Such a pretty face,
Such a pretty dress,
Such a pretty smile,
Such a pretty John!

He is stunning
And entrancing,
Feels like running and dancing for joy,
For he's loved
Like pretty wonderful toy!

[PatHMV]

That's true, Jane, but he's the one that told the driver how fast to go, and whether to use the emergency lights. I worked for the governor of our state. The state police drivers did what the governor said, but unless he told them otherwise, they obeyed the speed limit and didn't use flashing lights. Even if he didn't specifically tell the driver to do all that, he was in the car, he's the boss, and he could have told the driver to stop it.

[Maybeex]

So candidates can use tax-free campaign money to pay for their $400 haircuts?

[Sue]

So candidates can use tax-free campaign money to pay for their $400 haircuts?

Come on Maybee...he needs the money to fund that colossal estate he has where his wife can call his poor neighbor white trash, without exactly using those words.

[Maybeex]

How unseemly for the Governor to point his finger at a citizen of his state for causing an accident when he surely knew he was speeding (and not wearing a seatbelt).

[PatHMV]

In fairness, Maybeex, it wasn't the governor who pointed his finger at anybody else; he's been on a respirator since the accident. The state police started the manhunt before having all the facts from the witnesses involved.

[Other Tom]

Now that the second Bloody is kicking in, it's time to do some very serious thinking about John Edwards.

Who on earth is this clown? What in God's name has given him--or anyone else--the notion that he should be president of the United States? A plaintiff's trial lawyer with a gigantic mansion; one extremely undistinguished term as a US senator (at the end of which he could not have won re-election had he sought it); for some reason, John Kerry's choice for VP.

Is it simply that the man has nothing to do? Got a lot of money, time on your hands, might as well run for president, right? Exactly what is it about this man that commends him to us? And what kind of man spends $400 on a haircut? Twice in three weeks? Even if it is other people's money?

Time for Bloody no. three...

[Jane]

Even if he didn't specifically tell the driver to do all that, he was in the car, he's the boss, and he could have told the driver to stop it.

That's true, but I still take issue with the phrasing. For example, the other driver was not found "innocent", he simply was not charged, and Corzine wasn't "the man responsible" for the accident, because he wasn't driving. With phrasing like that you've forced me to side with Corzine. So I wish you would refrain.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Over the weekend, Clarice said...
I think you have your next article already written.

So, what the hell....

Obama and Cynicism

I am cynical!!! But I no longer have the audacity of hope that Obama will SAVE ME!!!

[Appalled Moderate]

Jane:

If the SUV was doing 90, it was because Corzine ordered the driver to disregard speed laws in making that Imus meeting. he may not be the man responsible for the accident, but he is certainly one of the men responsible.

This said, citing the guy for not wearing his seatbelt seems a little much. It's likely he'll be wearing his belt in the future. I wonder whether he's learned anything else, however.

[PatHMV]

Jane, I hate to make you keep defending a man you obviously don't want to defend, but...

Here's exactly what the state police spokesman had to say about the driver of the red pick-up truck:

“He genuinely had no idea that he had caused any issue, nor in his mind believed he was leaving the scene of an accident."

That's about the hit-and-run allegation. Here's what they said about his conduct before the accident:

“What happened was, he observed the motorcade approaching with the lights on. He pulled to the right, onto the paved portion of the shoulder,” Della Fave said. “For some reason … he wound up on the soft shoulder, hitting the grass, and there was a mile marker coming up on him. Those two things caused him to overcompensate, to try to steer onto the hard pavement.”

He moved onto the shoulder to get out of the way of what he thought was an emergency vehicle. That sounds pretty much like an official declaration of innocence to me.

If you choose to say that the state trooper driving the SUV was responsible for the accident, rather than the man who ordered him to speed and put on the emergency lights, I'll leave you to do that. The state police admitted that the governor routinely does this when he's running late:

“They were [expediting] him to his next appointment,” Della Fave said. “The motorcade, on occasions when the governor is trying to keep to his schedule, will use the lights to move traffic out of the way.”

The governor (who I will continue to hold responsible for the actions of his official motorcade) uses the lights to "move traffic out of the way." Here, the traffic did just what the governor wanted it to do (the red pick-up truck moved out of the way), and that led to the accident.

I'm not sure why you seem so intent on avoiding holding Corzine responsible for the consequences of orders that he gave.

[clarice]

Very good, H & R..Very good. And you managed that w/ electricity outages and while Mrs H & R left you in charge of those darlings. Art overcomes all!

[MikeS]

Way cool H&R

[BarbaraS]

Do the American people really want a president who is stupid enough to let his campaign pay for his $400 haircuts and $250 beauty treatments? Did he not realize that this information had to be listed and would become public knowledge? Not using your head is not a prerequisite for the presidency.

[MikeS]

Do the American people really want a president who is stupid enough to let his campaign pay for his $400 haircuts and $250 beauty treatments?

Hey, I'm still trying to deal with Elizabeth spilling the beans that the 'Other America' is a bunch of rabid rabid white trash Republicans.

[clarice]

I'm so pretty, I'm so pretty...(I never could figure out who he appeals to..I always thought tit was the saem sort of pigeon breasted old ladies who adored Liberace.

[SunnyDay]

Edwards is a far left liberal from a southern state. IMO that's why he was chosen as Kerry's running mate, and the fact that he was Kerry's running mate positioned him for a run for the democratic nomination for President.

Edwards is not typical of NC democrats. Unfortunately, older southerners are dyed-in-the-woll dems and are relatively unaware of the changes to their party over the last few years.

My uncle comes to mind. He was a career marine, he's got no socialist tendencies whatsoever - a capitalist to the core. He hates republicans, as has the rest of that branch of the family, going back generations. He's an old-school democrat, like Zell Miller, but nowm thanks to MSM he's convinced that we should not have gone into Iraq (because his party says so) and he thinks Bush is dead wrong, even that he might have lied (because he is a republican).

If someone burned a flag in my uncle's presence, he would probably personally wring their neck with his bare hands. He's approaching 80 now. He fought in Viet Nam and the entire family is military-oreinted, with several career military - all old school dems.

[Sue]

H&R,

Congrats. Great article.

[Jane]

PathMV,

I am (stupidly) defending a dead horse, so to speak. People don't get declared "innocent" which is why the Duke case is so important. Police decline to press charges. As we know, if they want to press charges, they can find some. I have no doubt the guy not charged did nothing wrong. But he has not been declared "innocent".

I'm not sure why you seem so intent on avoiding holding Corzine responsible for the consequences of orders that he gave.

Oh I hold Corzine responsible for his actions. But I don't hold him responsible for driving the car. The trooper should have kept it at a safe level. I mean sheesh, it was Imus.

Appalled Moderate - see above regarding my stupid defense. I doubt Corzine said: "Drive 91 miles an hour". It took 2 to tango on this one. Unless a gun was put to his head, the trooper should have kept it at a safe level. And I would definately get Corzine on the seatbelt thing.

[clarice]

SCOTUS has upheld the Congressional ban on partial birth abortions. I am greatly in favor of this.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OJ2HV82&show_article=1

The procedure is an abomination and this reaffirms the right of the people to decide this issue, rather than 9 men and women.

[Jane]

H&R,

Who knew? Actually we all knew. Great job! You rock!

[maryrose]

I am thrilled with the SCOTUS decision today. It is why I voted for President Bush twice. Individual states can now pass their own legislation and move forward with this controversial issue.

[maryrose]

Congrats H&R! We knew you had it in you!

[Appalled Moderate]

Jane:

He probably said something like "I have to be at Rutgers in an hour. I can't be late." Or, a trooper who did not get him to his function on time suffered consequences. Or something.

If you are a state trooper, not making the governor happy could have direct career consequences. (Particularly in a state like New Jersey.)

I dont think Corzine escapes most of the responsibility for his own fate.

[topsecretk9]

This said, citing the guy for not wearing his seatbelt seems a little much. It's likely he'll be wearing his belt in the future. I wonder whether he's learned anything else, however.

I know I am butting in, but I agree with Pat BUT I think there is a caveat not being considered... think the decisions to site him is an acknowledgment of he and his staff that Corizine was known to do all 3 of the infractions and a political need to make sure the Gov. is not seen to be above the law.

[Jane]

I dont think Corzine escapes most of the responsibility for his own fate.

Me neither, nor should he.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Thanks folks.

As I always say, a good waste is a terrible thing to mind.

[topsecretk9]

I am saying that Corizine himself has probably acknowledged that he instructed to Trooper to flick the lights and hurry it up...this is acknowledgment from the top - is what I think.

[Jane]

I think the seatbelt thing is particularly important given how much more severe many injuries are as a result of not wearing a seatbelt, and in particular his injuries can probably be tracked directly to that omission.

This governor certainly doesn't get many points in a role model contest.

[Sue]

Jane,

Did he ever?

[topsecretk9]

OK...I needed to read the post...no one has been cited...sorry.

[PatHMV]

Amen, Jane. At least his seatbelt idiocy only hurt him, and not others. I hate to speak ill of a man who remains in a very serious medical condition, and I hope he's ok, but he's got a lot to answer for when he recovers.

[Cecil Turner]

What, is this the latest lib target-of-opportunity (pick on the guy on the ventilator . . . he can't defend himself)?

• If local traffic is any indication, a 65 mph speed limit means everyone drives around 75.
• 91 mph is 16 mph over that . . . hardly a dangerous rate of overtake.
• They put those flashing lights on those vehicles to enable precisely this sort of thing. You can argue it's poor judgment to use it for an Imus event, but hardly that it's illegal or unusually reckless.
• I can generally manage to pull over and let priority vehicles pass without high-speed shoulder driving and erratic corrections back onto the roadway. Reports seem to agree that was the proximate cause of the accident.
• The driver was innocent of "leaving the scene of an accident" because he didn't know he caused one . . . not because he didn't cause one.
• I bet the ambulance taking Corzine to the hospital sped also. Might as well blame him for that as well.
• Generally you wait until the guy gets off life support before giving him crap about traffic violations.

[arrowhead]

topsk9, Pat, Appalled Mod:

All of you are correct and on point. I'm sorry for Corzine, but he made the decisions in that vehicle and bears the responsibility for what happened. He should be grateful that his haste to attend a political meeting did not cause additional serious injuries to others on the road.

Excessive speed, even with lights AND siren, is extremely dangerous and should be not be used to ensure that a politician gets to his next photo op.

[clarice]

Andrew Young, profiteer:
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/04/the_friends_of_andrew_young.html>Nigeria
Wonder if there are any links to Jefferson/Wilson/the Clinton African Trade Act?

[Rick Ballard]

Very nice job, H & R.

What's next?

Kidding - it's a symptom of my 'blank page syndrome'.

[Other Tom]

Took me a while to figure out what all the congrats were about, but I finally caught on. Way to go, H&R--you nailed it. And by the way, I sent Whitlock an attaboy by e-mail after hearing him on one of the sports talk programs I listen to while drinking at my computer.

How about those Supremes? Even with this ruling, Anthony Kennedy remains a real problem on that Court. One can discern no principles of any kind that inform his jurisprudence, as was the case with the alarmingly overrated Sandra Day O'Connor. But we will happily take whatever we can get.

[PatHMV]

Cecil, 91 mph is a dangerous rate of speed. I've driven it, and it's dangerous. The governor's vehicles are outfitted with lights because occasionally the governor has legitimate demands of state that do urgently require his presence. But getting back to his mansion on time for a political meeting is not one of those occasions.

Ambulances don't turn on the lights and sirens when they're just toodling around town. Police officers, if they're caught using their lights without justification, will most definitely get written up by their bosses.

As for the pick-up driver, he wouldn't have been on the shoulder at all but for the governor's choice to use the emergency lights.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Rick:
Very nice job, H & R.

What's next?

Well, I read last night about Obama's comparing the VT murders to Imus' remarks, losing your job, being a kid in ignored communities.

Someone else at AT blasted Obama for that, thankfully, so I don't feel I missed the opportunity.

But talk about making me cynical. The guy is a one man wrecking crew. You've got a dozen or so basketball players who were called a bad name and you got a nearly 3 dozen college student who will be buried and mourned by family and friends, and a whole nation.

You don't compare the two on any level.

Seriously, I love to kick Obama around about the cynicism bit. It's fun. But this isn't.

I'm not even saying that his concerns are entirely invalid. Just that he's a seriously deficient politician and seriously deficient in decency to have brought those piddly things into a discussion about VT a day after the tragedy. Pheh.

[Cecil Turner]

Cecil, 91 mph is a dangerous rate of speed. I've driven it, and it's dangerous.

Right. I've been passed--by a cop in Nevada--when I was doing 92. (Used to joke about it.) Police routinely travel a heckuva lot faster.

The governor's vehicles are outfitted with lights because occasionally the governor has legitimate demands of state that do urgently require his presence.

And the Imus thing wasn't one of those. Concur. That's your good argument, recommend sticking with it.

[Appalled Moderate]

Cecil:

I think the best response to your argument is here.

[Appalled Moderate]

Cecil:

Also, 91 on a Nevada road is very different than 91 on a Mew Jersey expressway (more traffic, narrower lanes)

[clarice]

I;m with Cecil.. I might feel differently if it weren't Corzine himself who suffered the most by the speeding. If he'd hit another car and injured someone else, I might care. I don't.

I think the SCOTUS decision is a much more important and engaging topic.

[Cecil Turner]

Also, 91 on a Nevada road is very different . . .

Yes, and the distances are such that everyone drives faster out West. But I wasn't an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens. I was just keeping up with traffic (and apparently not quite even doing that).

That agitator link isn't working for me.

[Cecil Turner]

That agitator link isn't working for me.

Never mind, found it. He's making the same (inappropriate use of priority) argument. No dispute there. But he also conflates with and without police escort, which I think faulty. The latter is obviously a greater safety concern (though you couldn't prove it by this incident).

[Jeff Dobbs]

heh, mrs hit and run was pulled over for going 95 -- and they booked her. Fingerprints, mug shot, etc. because she was more than 25mph over the speed limit

I had to go to an ATM nearby to post bail. When I got back, she was yuking it up with the other officers in the station, flipping through their book of mug shots.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Q: How is a car's engine like a human digestive system?

A: Corn comes out in the poop of both.

Ethanol may cause more smog, deaths
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer
Wed Apr 18, 7:12 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Switching from gasoline to ethanol — touted as a green alternative at the pump — may create dirtier air, causing slightly more smog-related deaths, a new study says.

Nearly 200 more people would die yearly from respiratory problems if all vehicles in the United States ran on a mostly ethanol fuel blend by 2020, the research concludes. Of course, the study author acknowledges that such a quick and monumental shift to plant-based fuels is next to impossible.

"It's not green in terms of air pollution," said study author Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor. "If you want to use ethanol, fine, but don't do it based on health grounds. It's no better than gasoline, apparently slightly worse."

[Rick Ballard]

H & R,

"It's fun. But this isn't."

Churlish idiots can't always be fun. Writing about elected knaves floating accross the scene on dangerously overinflated egos becomes 'work' rather quickly.

Still, a weekly column at AT focused on Obama's detachment from reality - as expressed in his own muddled words - would be a 'must read' for me.

Think of it this way - if we all don't do our part, his picture will be on the wall of the office when your little ones start school. Talk about 'unhealthy environments'.

The Beast of Chappaqua will be pursued by many - it's going to be difficult to pick which 527 is most deserving of support.

Obama deserves much closer scrutiny than he has received to date. Perhaps the JOM cabal should convene to discuss an appropriate method of assuring a modicum of scrutiny?

[clarice]

I nominate H & R for the Obama hit squad. He did a great job right off the blocks. As for that -ahem-incident with Mrs H & R, don't forget The Agency is watching.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Q: What do you call Obama when he shamelessly tries to captialize on the tragedy at VT at a fundraiser on the campaign trail?

A: Hobama.

poor taste? wrong? offensive? verbal violence? coarsening of the culture? (well, Tom should apologize, we're all to blame. And besides I didn't call him nappy headed)

[Jeff Dobbs]

Oh no, not me. I'll throw in some one liners, every once in a while string enough of them together for something...but that's about it, cause, ya know...

It's Hard Out Here For An Imp

[Rick Ballard]

"I nominate H & R for the Obama hit squad."

Second.

All those in favor?

(the Secretary will record 2 'Ayes')

Opposed?

Further nominations?

(The secretary will record that no further nominations were received)

The nominations are now closed and there being a single candidate, the JOMC will forego the expense of holding an election.

Congratulations, H & R.

On what day will your pieces appear? (I like Monday.)

[Rick Ballard]

Bench Memos at NRO is examining the Prtial Birth decision in some detail. I concur with Other Tom: Even with this ruling, Anthony Kennedy remains a real problem on that Court.

If there is a vacancy, I don't see how a candidate much better than Kennedy could be confirmed. ('Better' in the sense of consistantly applying originalist interpretation to decisions rather than seeking a 'new solution' in the emanations of a penumbra.)

[clarice]

Well, I personally have to give CREW , the media and the clean toga conservatives a lot of credit for that development Rick.

[Jeff Dobbs]

I'm feel cynical
oh so cynical
so cynical and whimsical and bright
and I pity anyone who isn't me tonight

From Sen. Barack Obama:

“I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman’s medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women.”

[Jeff Dobbs]

Last item, h/t to Jim Geraghty, who also offer this....

(By the way, one would think the Obama campaign could or would update its web site to include a press release from sometime this month. As of 1:09 pm EST, the last release is from March 30.)

He might be trying to "sit this one out" on a number of issues....where've I heard phrase today?

[clarice]

Call the Column Obama Media Blathers.

[topsecretk9]

Clarice

IIRC I did leave some info here a while back on a connection between GoodWorks International and William Jefferson - I believe Andrew Young was on that organizational paid trade mission and a contributor to Jefferson - I will try and look it back up

[clarice]

Thanks, Ts--

[Jeff Dobbs]

Rick:
The nominations are now closed and there being a single candidate, the JOMC will forego the expense of holding an election.

Congratulations, H & R.

File this under "there is nothing new under the sun......"

If nominated I shall run to Mexico. If elected I shall fight extradition

Posted by: hit and run | February 15, 2007 at 05:54 PM

Oh, and I obviously stole that line too.

[clarice]

Worth stealing, too. I love this in the cite about Mo Udall:
"Mo Udall was born in St. Johns, Arizona, a son of Levi Stewart Udall. He lost one of his eyes to a friend's pocket knife at the age of 6, while the two were attempting to cut some string, and wore a glass eye for the rest of his life. He attempted to enlist in the Army early in World War II, and almost succeeded, by covering his glass eye each time he was told to alternate during the eye exam. After he was medically cleared, another potential enlistee complained that he had been medically rejected for flat feet, while Udall had been cleared with a blind eye. This caused the examiners to retest Udall under closer scrutiny, and he was rejected. Later, medical standards changed and Udall served in the Army until the end of the war."

[Rick Ballard]

"If nominated I shall run to Mexico. If elected I shall fight extradition"

That's a shame. I thought that the chief emolument of the office - the exchange of a full keg (no ponys) of your brew of choice upon delivery of a column might have been sufficient inducement....

[Roger]

Virginia shooting(not the Phillipine murder)

It was the English Roy professor. She complained to everyone about his writing(probably didn't correct spelling, etc., her job) and ruined his education, career, family back home, and he figured he might as well cash in. Too bad. Funny she survived and everyone else involved in the language department is dead.

That professor murdered 33 people and knew she was doing it as she did it. A psychiatrist might have been able to have the psychopath stop hunting the student, but maybe he figured in the US he had no rights.

Roy should be fired for harassment.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Rick:
I thought that the chief emolument of the office - the exchange of a full keg (no ponys) of your brew of choice upon delivery of a column might have been sufficient inducement....

If nominated I will ask 'how much beer does it pay'. If elected I will ask that it be doubled.

[PatrickR]

'FEC records show Edwards also availed himself of $250 in services from a trendy salon and spa in Dubuque, Iowa, and $225 in services from the Pink Sapphire in Manchester, N.H., which is described on its Web site as "a unique boutique for the mind, body and face" that caters mostly to women.'

Ann Coulter was right.

[Jane]

There are a lot of things I don't know. Here are a few of them:

I don't know why Obama is speaking out against this Court decision. Hillary has Emily's List all wrapped up and that is where all the rabid partial birth abortion people hang out. He's not gonna get any votes for being so vocal.

I don't know why people are against banning partial birth abortion. If a fetus can be born alive why shouldn't we let some one who wants a baby adopt it?

I don't know why H&R is shunning his new position - He will make a fabulous king.

Kitty Carlisle died. I don't know why but since she was old when I was young, it probably had something to do with her age.

[Jane]

From Instapundit: LANNY DAVIS: Who cares about the "fundraising primary?"

A clear sign that Hillary is losing the fundraising primary.

[clarice]

Yeah, Jane. If you want to know what the Clintonistas are up to you have to have the ring decoder. When they laughed at the Berger incident and said Sandy was known to be absent minded and wasn't this a big nothing ha ha, I knew it was a big something. When they questioned the timing, I knew they'd leaked it to get the best possible timing. Etc.

[cathyf]

"Roger", just a friendly piece of advice: Everyone's tolerance for inchoate delusional raving is pretty low right now. If you think you are joking, shut up. If you are serious, please seek mental health help immediately.

[Jane]

Yeah, Jane. If you want to know what the Clintonistas are up to you have to have the ring decoder. When they laughed at the Berger incident and said Sandy was known to be absent minded and wasn't this a big nothing ha ha, I knew it was a big something.

My hackles go up too. They are very very very good at that stuff.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Jane:
I don't know why H&R is shunning his new position - He will make a fabulous king.<

King? I thought it was more like this

heh, no, I'm just your proverbial guy....scared of committment.

[clarice]

the pba opinion rejects a facial challenge to the statute but leaves open the possibility of challenges in the future by particular mothers who claim a health necessity for such an abortion.

It's important to remember that this bill was a bipartisan effort with a House vote of 281-142 and a Senate vote of 64-34. Specifically, these Democratic Senators were supporters of banning the unpopular Partial-Birth Abortion Procedure: Sen. Minority Leader Daschle and Sens. Biden, Lincoln, Pryor, Miller, Breaux, Landrieu, Conrad, Dorgan, Nelson, current Sen. Majority Leader Reid, Hollings, Johnson, Leahy, Byrd, Nelson (NE). John Edwards, fittingly enough, didn't show up for the vote.

The list of Democratic House supporters is longer, and includes famous names such as John Murtha, John Dingell, Patrick Kennedy, Ted Strickland, James Clyburn, Harold Ford, and David Obey. Remember those lists if anyone tries to tell you that this is all about outside-the-mainstream right-wingers.

www.redstate.com/stories/...ortion_ban

[clarice]

I think Obama needs a new speech writer and a new brain. But I think it best to hold fire until he gets the nomination and the Dems are stuck with him--another repeat of the Kerry business..First in and you're stuck with him.

[Jeff Dobbs]

John Edwards, fittingly enough, didn't show up for the vote.

The Pink Sapphire has a very busy schedule. You don't cancel an appointment at a place like the Pink Sapphire and ever hope to get your nails done there again.

[clarice]

H & R you have to do a Pink Sapphire piece..You just HAVE TO.
(Remember when Kerry went to a fancy spa while barnstorming Wisconsin and came out ORANGE?)

[Jane]

The Pink Sapphire

Oh that should stick.

So someone has closed down the University of Minnesotta with a bomb threat.

Nancy Pelosi is a moron.

[Jane]

The Pink Sapphire

I thought that was your name for Edwards - and I think it should be.

[Jane]

Ryder University in NJ is in lockdown after a student was arrested with (unconfirmed reports) of a student with a weapon.

(I watch Fox News so you don't have to.)

[Barry]

The Pink Sapphire

You.Can't.Make.This.Stuff.Up

[Jane]

Barry,

Did you hear from your friends at VT?

[Rick Ballard]

Why shouldn't a Silky Pony be named Pink Saphire?

[clarice]

Jane, Berry said the other day they were ok.

Rick, I don't think I'll speak to h & r again until he promises us a Pink Sapphire piece.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Rick, I don't think I'll speak to h & r again until he promises us a Pink Sapphire piece.

We'll see.....

[topsecretk9]

OH Clarice....

"The pressure was so extreme that my body was shaking and my mind was racing," the deputy marshal, John Ambrose, said in a sworn statement that was part of the court filing.

Ambrose took part in an undercover operation after prosecutors and agents told him that was "the only way for you to clear this up," according to the filing.

Ambrose, now on unpaid leave from the Marshals Service, has pleaded not guilty to charges he told a family friend that mobster Nicholas Calabrese was in the Witness Security Program, cooperating with the FBI and releasing details of gangland slayings. Officials say Ambrose's role as the inside source came to light in cryptic conversations between imprisoned Outfit boss James Marcello and his brother, Michael, that the FBI secretly recorded.

In the motion filed Monday, Ambrose's lawyer, Francis Lipuma, said Fitzgerald and Robert Grant, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Chicago, did "an end run" around Miranda warnings by failing to advise Ambrose of his rights before interrogating him. Ambrose wants to stop prosecutors from using his statements at trial.

In his duties as a deputy marshal, Ambrose would have routinely given Miranda warnings to fugitives.

According to the court filing, Ambrose was instructed to go to the FBI's Chicago headquarters Sept. 6 by a boss who misled him into thinking a white supremacist group had made a threat against a federal judge.

Instead, in a closed conference room, Fitzgerald accused Ambrose of compromising the integrity of the Witness Security Program, played an excerpt of a videotape and warned him to cooperate or possibly be charged and lose his job, the motion said. Ambrose said he felt he had no choice but to cooperate and answer their questions.

"Mr. Ambrose felt extreme pressure given the circumstances and surroundings, the stature of the men who were confronting him, and the intimidating nature of the confrontation," the defense said....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/west/chi-0704170759apr18,1,2558095.story?coll=chi-newslocalwest-hed

[topsecretk9]

another one

A deputy marshal accused of leaking sensitive information about a valuable mob informant is claiming that Chicago's U.S. attorney and FBI chief coerced statements from him. John Ambrose is asking that a judge toss out statements he made last September to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Chicago's FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant. Ambrose claims he was pressured into talking and was never read his rights.

"I felt extreme pressure because of . . . the stature of the men who were confronting me and the intimidating nature of the confrontation," Ambrose wrote in a court-filed affidavit.

"The pressure was so extreme that my body was shaking and my mind was racing."

Ambrose, 38, was charged in January with theft of information after the government said he leaked confidential material about protected mob witness Nick Calabrese to "Individual A." Calabrese will be a top government witness in this June's Operation Family Secrets mob trial. Ambrose watched Calabrese in a brief stint with witness protection. The feds say the information Ambrose leaked about Calabrese made its way to the mob.

Last September, Ambrose said he was told to come to the FBI to talk about white supremacists and fugitives. Once there, Grant and Fitzgerald allegedly accused him of compromising the government and pushed him to talk.

'You've got two choices'
At one point, Ambrose claims Fitzgerald referenced his father, Thomas, who was convicted in the Marquette 10 cop corruption case.
"I told Mr. Fitzgerald that they took a cheap shot bringing my father into this," Ambrose wrote.

Ambrose said Grant told him to "think of your family. Think of your job. You don't want to go to prison."

He alleged Fitzgerald told him: "You've got two choices, either fill in the blanks and cooperate, or possibly face charges and lose your job." Ambrose claims he talked because he felt he "had no choice."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/346275,CST-NWS-ambrose18.article

[obsessed]

Put on them thinking caps folks. It's time for the RNC's crack legal defense blog to take on another pro bono case:

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003040.php

He was framed! If you want to nail someone for nepotism, let's start with Valerie!

[topsecretk9]

Did they find 90 G's in the freezer?

[topsecretk9]

Clarice...here is one I was referring to and Goodworks-Andrew Young

The foundation is led by a trio, whose president and CEO is Hope Sullivan Masters, the reverend's daughter and wife of Carl Masters, who now is the president of GWI and obviously close to Andrew Young.

They are all good friends of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who retains GWI for a mere $60,000 a month as his Washington presence. The foundation's directors, other than their important names, include Bill Clinton, Alexis Herman and Maurice Tempelsman.

Last year, GWI leaders initiated and helped raise cash for the $50 million Obasanjo Memorial Library project from major companies doing business in Nigeria. There are pending allegations against Nigeria's president for starting the "private" library project while still in office, with money laundering a major alleged component.

While GWI has made an unspecified donation to the library, it is no more than Obasanjo deserves. After all, for the past seven years GWI has helped Jamaica -- Carl Masters' birthplace -- manage its oil imports from Nigeria.

According to Jamaican government sources, oil concessions made to that island country by Nigeria resulted in the Kingston government making at least $68,000 a month profit.

This past April, P.J. Patterson resigned as Jamaica's prime minister. No one asked about oil deals -- until he left Jamaica and joined GWI in Washington as a "senior adviser."

Things went badly wrong with the FBI searching Congressman William Jefferson's offices and the offices of a small American firm in Houston, ERHC, which has oil business in Nigeria. Ambassador Howard Jeter is on ERHC's board as well as working for GWI.

And GWI -- through Andy Young's links to the Nigerian Sun Trust Oil and Carl Masters' close work with its Nigerian shareholders (and their closeness to Obasanjo) -- is in the Nigerian oil business.

On Sept. 17, a Nigerian air force plane crashed, killing 13 of that country's top generals en route to a meeting to discuss the military role in policing the oil industry from theft and threats of sabotage.

In this wonderful frenzy of giving, could the presidents of the United States and Nigeria have been inexplicably and illegally well rewarded? For what? Now is the time for some answers.

[TerryeL]

Surely the American people would never elect a man to the Oval Office who gets his hair cut at a place called the Pink Sapphire.

Maybe all those conservatives out there who have been complaining that Bush is not a real, honest to God, living breathing conservative will ease up on the bellyaching now that they got their partial birth abortion ban.

In truth these kinds of procedures are very rare and will not effect that many cases.

[obsessed]

>Did they find 90 G's in the freezer?

How can that guy still be in office? The only one defending him was Denny Hastert.

[Appalled Moderate]

Terrye:

You need to get your facts straight. Edwards had his makeup done at the Pink Sapphire. Somebody else cut his hair

[topsecretk9]

Last week I wrote about how, several years ago, Archie Jefferson of New Orleans had written a letter to a senior government official in oil-rich São Tomé pitching a series of business deals in the island nation. Archie is the brother of William Jefferson, the congressman currently under investigation by the FBI for allegedly taking bribes from a businessman whose ventures he backed in Nigeria....

...In addition to the charges involving Nigeria, court records show that the FBI is also looking into “at least seven other schemes in which [Congressman] Jefferson sought things of value in return for his official acts.” It appears that the FBI is also exploring Jefferson's activities in São Tomé, where the congressman had close ties. He traveled to the country in 2000 and met with São Toméan President Fradique de Menezes at least four times between 2002 and 2003....

...The letter of Archie's that I reviewed was undated, but it was sent to Guilherme Posser da Costa (then prime minister of São Tomé), and was apparently written during summer of 2001. “In response to a previous discussion with Congressman William Jefferson,” the letter began (emphasis added), “The Jefferson Group, LLC, in conjunction with 'The Advisory Group (TAG)', is prepared to sign a memorandum of understanding to develop the logistical and port facilities.”

As part of the agreement, the letter continued, the investors in the project expected to “share revenues generated from the operation of the port facility” and to receive “ownership of at least one [oil field] in an area of production belonging to São Tomé.” The Jefferson Group also asked for the right to “construct and operate a free zone with revenue sharing,” and the opportunity to “develop, operate or otherwise establish” enterprises in fields such as banking, telecommunications, and import/export.

Archie told the prime minister that if a final deal was reached, representatives of The Jefferson Group would make a “due diligence” visit to the country and would be prepared to deposit $50 million towards construction of the port facility. “We are requesting a timely response from you and look forward to meeting with you in São Tomé very soon,” the letter said in closing....

...One final item: Archie's letter to the prime minister was sent from the following e-mail address: tmwilson@angelfire.com. I'd be grateful if anyone out there can tell me who used that e-mail address. I wonder if the address might have belonged to Noreen Wilson (or an associate), who was deeply involved with a small Houston-based oil company called ERHC, which has a big stake in Sao Tome's oil fields. Wilson and various associates have made past campaign contributions to Jefferson, and the congressman appears to have advocated on the company's behalf with São Tomé officials. Wilson did not return a phone call and no one replied to an email I sent to the address, which is apparently no longer active.

----
How can that guy still be in office? The only one defending him was Denny Hastert.
----

Uh Huh

March 28, 2007 More than a month after Democratic leaders announced Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) appointment to the Homeland Security Committee, his chair still sits empty in the hearing room. And one member of the Democratic leadership is getting impatient.

“I have made it clear that I favor Mr. Jefferson’s [appointment],” said Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.). “It is unfair to the people of Louisiana who have the right to be heard on the House floor.”

[Neo]

Reading throught the SCOTUS ruling on ALBERTO R. GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL, PETITIONER 05–380 v. LEROY CARHART ET AL. and ALBERTO R. GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL, PETITIONER 05–1382 v. PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA, INC., ET AL. you begin to get the feeling that this was the target of the House and Senate hearings.

[Specter]

What happened with Corzine was what we normally call an accident. Granted - there should have been no hurry at all over the non-incident with Imus.

OTOH - Over the years I have driven quite a bit for work. Lots and lots of highway driving. I can't tell you the number of times I have been passed by a State Trooper (from many different states)when I was going 80 mph+ - and they passed me like I was sitting still. If you ask about it you get the story that "Troopers are trained" to drive at high speed. I guess even those trained can make mistakes.

[obsessed]

If the people of Louisiana are dumb enough to reelect a guy who steals money and brags about it, they forfeit their right to be heard on the House floor. And Clyburn is obviously a jerk.

Well, congratulations - you've completely distracted me from Doolittle. But you'll need something more substantive to get him off the hook legally.