parados wrote:Wow.. MM.. and there are those here that have claimed that the actions of a few Dems show that all Dems are corrupt.. Did you jump all over them for saying such a thing?
Hey, is this like bringing up Bill Clinton?
parados wrote:Wow.. MM.. and there are those here that have claimed that the actions of a few Dems show that all Dems are corrupt.. Did you jump all over them for saying such a thing?
If they say that all Dems are criminals because of the actions of a few,then yes I have and will.
But,I do think that all of the dem leaders (Kerry,Clinton,Reid,etc) all think the same politically and are out to destroy President Bush.
I have yet to hear any of them offer ANYTHING positive,all they have offered is doom and Gloom.
They have all criticized Bush,but none of them have offered any suggestions.
So,in the political sense,I do think that they are all alike.
Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal
Voting Rights Finding On Map Pushed by DeLay Was Overruled
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 2, 2005; Page A01
Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them and approved the plan.
The memo, unanimously endorsed by six lawyers and two analysts in the department's voting section, said the redistricting plan illegally diluted black and Hispanic voting power in two congressional districts. It also said the plan eliminated several other districts in which minorities had a substantial, though not necessarily decisive, influence in elections.
,'Justice Department lawyers concluded that the landmark Texas congressional redistricting plan spearheaded by Rep. Tom DeLay (R) violated the Voting Rights Act, according to a previously undisclosed memo obtained by The Washington Post. But senior officials overruled them and approved the plan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/01/AR2005120101927.html?referrer=email
Not a big surprise, that memo. The Justice Department in this administration has prostituted itself consistently in the service of ideology and party power.
Texas Redistricting Concerns Discounted
Texas Redistricting Concerns Discounted
By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer
Fri Dec 2, 2005
Justice Department lawyers objected to a Texas redistricting plan orchestrated by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, but top agency officials brushed aside concerns about diluting minority voting strength and approved the plan anyway, according to an agency memo released Friday.
The plan, designed to boost election chances of Republican candidates for the U.S. House, was approved by the Justice Department and the new districts were used in the 2002 elections.
Of the state's 32 House seats, Republicans held 15 before the 2002 elections. Under the DeLay-backed plan, Republicans were elected to 22 of the state's seats in the House.
The redistricting plan has been challenged in court by Democrats and minority voting groups claiming it was unconstitutional and that district boundaries had been illegally manipulated to give one party an unfair advantage. The Supreme Court is expected to announce soon whether it will consider the case.
"The Supreme Court is our last hope for rectifying this gross injustice. We couldn't count on the (lower) court. We couldn't count on the state, and we obviously couldn't count on the politically corrupt Justice Department," said Gerry Hebert, an attorney representing the challengers.
The plan was approved by the Republican-controlled state Legislature in special sessions after Democratic lawmakers fled the state capital in an effort to block votes on the new congressional boundaries.
An effort by DeLay to use federal resources to help track down missing Texas lawmakers led to a rebuke by the House ethics committee.
Because of historic discrimination against minority voters, Texas is required under provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to get Justice Department approval for any voting changes it makes to ensure the changes don't undercut minority voting.
"The State of Texas has not met its burden in showing that the proposed congressional redistricting plan does not have a discriminatory effect," Justice Department officials said in the memo made public by the Lone Star Project, a Democratic group.
Eight department staffers, including the heads of the Voting Rights Division, objected to the redistricting map, according to the memo which was first reported in Friday editions of The Washington Post.
"The fact that the White House has covered up this document for so long provides a smoking gun pointing out efforts, led by Bush political appointees and Tom DeLay, to systematically cripple the voting rights of minorities," said Texas Sen. Leticia Van De Putte, one of the Democratic lawmakers who fled to New Mexico to thwart passage of the redistricting plan.
DeLay is awaiting a Texas state judge's ruling on whether he must stand trial on charges of conspiracy and money laundering in connection with the 2002 elections. The charges forced DeLay to relinquish his House majority leader post in late September.
DeLay and two people who oversaw his fund-raising activities are accused of funneling prohibited corporate political money through the national Republican Party to state GOP legislative candidates. Texas law prohibits spending corporate money on the election or defeat of a candidate.
Several of the DeLay-backed candidates won election, giving Republicans a majority in the state House in 2001, when the congressional redistricting process began.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/06/D8EAJQUO4.html
AUSTIN, Texas - A judge dismissed a conspiracy charge Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay but refused to throw out far more serious allegations of money- laundering, dashing the congressman's hopes for now of reclaiming his post as House majority leader. Texas Judge Pat Priest, who is presiding over the case against the Republican, issued the ruling after a hearing late last month in which DeLay's attorney argued that the indictment was fatally flawed"
mysteryman wrote:parados wrote:Wow.. MM.. and there are those here that have claimed that the actions of a few Dems show that all Dems are corrupt.. Did you jump all over them for saying such a thing?
If they say that all Dems are criminals because of the actions of a few,then yes I have and will.
But,I do think that all of the dem leaders (Kerry,Clinton,Reid,etc) all think the same politically and are out to destroy President Bush.
I have yet to hear any of them offer ANYTHING positive,all they have offered is doom and Gloom.
They have all criticized Bush,but none of them have offered any suggestions.
So,in the political sense,I do think that they are all alike.
Oh, the irony of it all.
Or did you intend this as satire MM?
parados wrote:mysteryman wrote:parados wrote:Wow.. MM.. and there are those here that have claimed that the actions of a few Dems show that all Dems are corrupt.. Did you jump all over them for saying such a thing?
If they say that all Dems are criminals because of the actions of a few,then yes I have and will.
But,I do think that all of the dem leaders (Kerry,Clinton,Reid,etc) all think the same politically and are out to destroy President Bush.
I have yet to hear any of them offer ANYTHING positive,all they have offered is doom and Gloom.
They have all criticized Bush,but none of them have offered any suggestions.
So,in the political sense,I do think that they are all alike.
Oh, the irony of it all.
Or did you intend this as satire MM?
Sorry,I fail to see the irony in saying that they all think alike politically.
"...all think the same politically and are out to destroy President Bush."
Only Bush is capable of destroying Bush, and he's doing a yeoman's job of it too!
That's the reason Bush's performance ratings have been going south ever since 9-11.
Bush's war in Iraq: "F"
Bush's drug plan: "F"
Bush's social security plan: "F"
Bush's war on terrorism: "F" REF: 9-11 Commission Report
Bush's handling of Katrina: "F"
Bush's attempt to have the SC intervene in the Teri Schiavo case: "F"
Bush's support of ID: "F"
I'm sure there are many more.
mysteryman wrote: all think the same politically and are out to destroy President Bush.
It must be a vast left-wing conspiracy.
Another Abramoff partner agrees to testify against him. Wonderful. Each one of these weasels will bring particular and unique evidence to the prosecution and the more of them who do testify, the more likely it is that a full picture will present itself as to how large and how corrupt this crowd has been. As the noose tightens around Abramoff himself, the liklihood also increases that he will begin to seek bargains in exchange for testimony. And then the **** will hit the fan. That could certainly be the sort of earth-shaker that could do serious and permanent damage to the present republican machine in Washington. That's a consequence that isn't dependent upon Abramoff himself coming clean, but that consequence seems likely to be rather quicker if he does.
Quote:Abramoff Partner Pleads Guilty in Florida
From Staff Reports and News Services
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A07
A former business partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in Miami yesterday to fraud and conspiracy in the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats and agreed to cooperate in a congressional influence-peddling investigation.
Adam Kidan's agreement to provide evidence against Abramoff makes him the second partner of the fallen lobbyist to agree to cooperate in the investigation, which also includes congressional aides and Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio).
Kidan, 41, is prepared to testify against Abramoff and Ney, said Kidan's attorney, Joseph Conway.
Kidan pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiracy and fraud. He faces 10 years in prison.
Abramoff and Kidan were indicted in August for allegedly faking a wire transfer to make it appear they were putting $23 million of their own money into a $147.5 million deal with SunCruz Casinos. Two lenders agreed to provide $60 million in financing for the SunCruz purchase based on that false wire transfer, prosecutors said.
Abramoff, who has blamed Kidan in court papers, is scheduled to go on trial Jan. 9. Abramoff's attorney, Neal Sonnett, said of Kidan's plea, "We'll have to see what impact it has, if any."
Abramoff is also being investigated in Washington on suspicion of bribing government officials and lawmakers and defrauding tribal clients, according to court filings.
Another former Abramoff associate, Michael Scanlon, has agreed to cooperate in the SunCruz case as part of a plea agreement in the Washington matter.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/15/AR2005121501716.html
It now appears quite possible that Abramoff will also cop a plea and testify. Then the fun will REALLY begin...
Waiting for more good news...
It will be fun. A lot of these guys...DeLay, Ralph Reed, Grover Norquist for example, who continually bleat about how government is the big satan, have become multi-millionaires from operating within exactly the beast they claim to despise. They'll utilize the best lawyers their money can buy and they will, at least for a while, have access to the sort of movement and corporate funding that we saw last week with Cheney doing the DeLay fundraiser. But testimony from insiders will cut fatally for many.
Greed is bad enough. Criminal greed is worse. Add in the urge and actual accomplishment of substantial political control and you have these guys.
It will be fun to watch.
We've known for a long time how scummy these guys are; now it's all being laid out in the open.
Once Abramoff flips, Delay is screwed, along with many House Republicans.
The part about Ralph Reed and Norquist is just too nice for words; I'd love to see them laid out as the crooks they are.
Cheers to all!
Cycloptichorn
Re Reed, Norquist, Delay, etc.:
Of all their sins, it's their hypocrisy that I find the most compelling. But others may find other sins more significant...
It starts from the Bush presidency; he was never a good manager of anything.
