The families of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campean are in need of financial and emotional support due to their incarceration. I’m still a bit at a loss as to why these guys are even in prison, much less why President Bush has allowed this situation to continue. Grassfire.org is coordinating a fundraiser for the Ramos and Campeans so that their families need not suffer any more than they already are. Please help them out by going here and contributing.
10
Dec
This is pathetic.
New Orleans re-elected William Jefferson yesterday. From most accounts I have read, the issue came down to this:
She wasn’t black enough.
New Orleans used to be one of my favoritest places in the world. I have several very fond memories of Bourbon Street. However, even with trying to still love the city because of Katrina, it’s getting more and more difficult as they just keep hammering home the issue that racism is alive, well, and thriving in New Orleans. First they re-elect the mayor who sold them out during Katrina, now they re-elect the laughingstock of the country who most likely won’t make it through his next term. In both cases, racial issues trumped OBVIOUS ethical problems. That’s pathetic.
You reap what you sew. If New Orleans wants the country’s help, they have to give us people we feel won’t steal our money.
In my home town, we had a whole bunch of hotly contested races that merited re-counts. One of the races that didn’t was the sheriff’s race. The incumbent won with 13,000+ votes, the challenger lost with about 5,000+. It wasn’t even close. So, guess who the only person to challenge the election will be? You guessed, the one guy who got creamed. Now, just a little math to preamble my silly conclusion, there are only about 25,000 voters MAX in this county. Which means the incumbent can’t be beat if his total is correct. So, why is the challenger doing this? He claimed his polls showed him leading in the race. Earth to candidate, your polls were bad wrong.
Why do people constantly rely on polls? There are so many nightmare stories of how bad wrong they are on such a consistent basis that I can not understand how anyone could rely on them. Nationally we had the Gore fiasco that was prompted mostly by polls. Historically there was the Truman "upset". Locally, this guy’s polls were wrong by about 100%. Candidates, like most people who rely on public image, gravitate towards the polls that favor them. It”s a Freudian thing.
Democrat Kentucky Attorney general Greg Stumbo immediately launched a hiring investigation into the newly elected Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher almost before Fletcher could hire anyone. Fletcher said it was political, Stumbo said he was trying to clean up the corrupt Republicans, who were doing what the Democrats had always done before ( that would include Stumbo ). Stumbo wasn’t impressed and dogged the Republican governor every single day for more than a year. The state media was more than happy to oblige Stumbo by documenting every single word he said. It got boring. It became almost nauseating watching the mean old lawyer relentlessly persecute the soft hearted doctor. Then, some funny ( as in odd ) things happened. Fletcher said Stumbo was doing it for political reasons, specifically because Stumbo was going to run for governor. Stumbo of course denied this. So, just to clear things up, Fletcher asked the state ethics committee to give an opinion. They said the investigation was OK so long as Stumbo was not running against the governor. Stumbo promptly dropped the investigation.
Now, Stumbo wants the ethics committee to re-think their opinion that the acting state attorney general should not be allowed to use their state funded position to further their political career by attacking potential competitors for the office they desire.
Fletcher was politically dead one year ago. The more Stumbo proves Fletcher was right in the first place, that Stumbo’s actions were purely politically motivated, the more political life-after-death Fletcher is getting. ( Now don’t get me wrong here, Fletcher is politically indept, but Stumbo is making him look better than he should right now. )
Three idiots got real lucky this week.
Now, these guys got real lucky not because Wisconsin has never seen fit to ban having sex with dead people, they got lucky because they got an incredibly stupid judge in charge of their case. Someone care to explain to that judge what the law is when a person attempts to have sex with someone without their consent?
I imagine there will now be a rush to pass legislation in Wisconsin to ban necrophilia. That’s a good thing. However, as long as they’ve got judges who can’t see the obvious, it won’t really matter right now will it?
And, per my norm, there’s some parents in Wisconsin that need to have a serious discussion with their offspring. When people talk of Grunking from now on, guess what they’ll be referring to.
California is doing what it can to compete with Kentucky when it comes to local politics. This one’s pretty fun actually.
The Governator was quoted saying Latinos are "very hot", as in hot tempered.
That wasn’t bad enough, he had to explain why. But, the odd twist is what
should have been a simple gaff has turned on the Democrats there as well.
Seems the recording was lifted from a secure part of the Governor’s server via
the internet. What’s pretty amazing is
how the Angelides campaign is
dealing with it:
The acknowledgement Tuesday that the campaign of Democrat Phil
Angelides leaked an embarrassing tape of Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger to the news media set off a new clash between the
warring camps over the standards of political ethics in a world
dominated by the Internet.Although a criminal investigation continues into allegations
of computer hacking, the manager of Angelides’ gubernatorial
campaign said members of her staff found four hours of
Schwarzenegger’s private tapes while perusing the governor’s Web
site and turned a small snippet over to the Los Angeles
Times….."The Schwarzenegger campaign’s continued
contention that someone hacked into their
computer system is a blatant attempt to mislead
the public, and they should stop the cover-up,
admit that their office made a mistake and stop
the finger-pointing," she said.
Gosh, seems to me the Democrats, who have accused Bush of lying for years,
and considered the "outing" of Plame an impeachable offense, would be a little
more sensitive to someone being upset about having their computer broken into
and information stolen. Guess it only goes one way for them.
What’s even dumber about this is their stating they were "perusing" the
Governor’s web site. You don’t "peruse" a site, you read what’s presented.
Their defense doesn’t smell right. Thirdly, the IP address is easily
identified these days via any number of services that basically tie back to the
Whois database. It only takes a
few seconds. So, this person "perusing" should already be known by now.
That’s why I think Cathy Calfo is tossing out the strawman argument that
complaining about being robbed is an attempt to mislead the public, a cover-up,
or someone else’s fault. They did a bad thing that is easily proven one
way or the other. If it truly was a hacker tied to Angelides’ campaign,
Cathy will have a LOT of explaining to do. Personally, I think she already
knows she’s in deep doo-doo.
Bottom line, I’m waiting for Nancy Pelosi to condemn Angelides as yet ANOTHER
example of the Culture of Corruption within the Democrat Party.
100,000 Ex-Felons Gain Right To Vote In Tennessee – In Time For November Elections
On September 5, 2006 at the Clarksville – Montgomery County Board of Education, Building 621 Gracey Ave., Clarksville, TN, starting at 6:30 p.m. a special panel of guests that will include:
Representatives from the Election Commission, TN Bar Association, The Brennan Center for Justice, as well as a Former Convicted Felon who will vote for the first time in his life, will participate in a "Get Your Right to Vote Back" Town Hall Meeting.
What was once the country’s most confusing voter restoration system, with six different procedures and sub-categories for restoration, has now been streamlined into a single restoration process which will give back the state’s 100,000 former felons their right to vote, has many of them flocking to town hall meetings hosted by the ACLU & NAACP across the state.
The meeting is expected to be attended by Former Felons, Family Members of Former Felons, Attorneys, Law Enforcement, City & County Officials, Judges, Politicians, Church Clergy, Etc. and a tentatively scheduled special appearance by TN Governor Phil Bredesen, who signed the bill into law in June 2006.
The League of Women Voters will be on hand to conduct voter registration for Former Felons and any other potential voters in the Community.
We urge you, the Media, to come out to cover and learn more about this important voting rights issue.
UNLOCK YOUR VOTING RIGHTS TODAY!
Now, Michelle asks if ex-cons will be the swing vote in Tennessee this year. What she doesn’t do is speculate on which races they will swing. Here’s the consumate guess from yours truly.
In the Governor’s race:
- Phil Bredesen (D)* – (Campaign Site)
- Jim Bryson (R) – State Sen. & Market Research Executive
- Howard Switzer (Green) – Architect & Ex-State Party Co-Chair
- George Banks (Independent)
- David Gatchell (Independent) – "None of the Above" Ballot Activist & ’02 Candidate
- Marivuana Stout Leinoff (Independent) – Businesswoman, Marijuana Legalization Activist & ’02 Candidate
- Charles Smith (Independent) – Ex-State Board of Regents Chancellor, Democrat & ’02 Candidate
- Carl "Twofeathers" Whitaker (Independent) – Native American Indian Movement Chief & ’02 Candidate
I’m going to place my bet on the woman’s who’s name sounds like something illegal who is advocating something illegal to take every single one of the votes. It may not be enough to push her over the top, but it should be interesting to see how well she does relative to years’ past for pro-pot independents.
For Senate:
- Bob Corker (R) – Ex-Chattanooga Mayor, Ex-State Finance Commisisoner & Ex-Developer
- Harold Ford Jr. (D) – Congressman & Attorney
- Chris Lugo (Green) – Freelance Journalist & Peace Activist
- Ed Choate (Independent)
- David Gatchell (Independent) – "None of the Above" Ballot Activist & ’02 Gov. Candidate
- Emory "Bo" Heyward (Independent) – Medical Software Company Employee & Conservative Activist
- H. Gary Keplinger (Independent) – Teacher & ’02 Candidate
Now, I’m gonna bet an attorney has no chance in hell of garnering a single ex-con vote. Gonna bet teh Conservative Activist is in the same boat. And, I doubt a Peace Activist appeals much either. That leaves Ed Choate as the prohibitive favorite to get them all, since he stands for nothing.
For Congress, First District:
-
David Davis (R) – State Rep., Businessman & ’96 Candidate
-
Rick Trent (D) – Morristown City Councilman & Businessman
-
Bob Smith (Green) – Navy Veteran & Peace Activist
-
Michael Peavler (Independent) – Bookstore Manager, Ex-Teacher & ’98/’04 Candidate
-
James Reeves (Independent) – Auto Mechanic
-
Mahmood "Michael" Sabri (Independent) – Engineer & Businessman
This one’s a tough call. However, I’m tending to think they would most likely identify with the Auto mechanic since a lot of them would have some experience working with license plates. Not sure what the district distribution of votes would be, so no clue how big of a factor this swing vote would be in the Congressional races.
District Two:
- John "Jimmy" Duncan Jr. (R)*
- John Greene (D) – Warehouse Worker & ’02/’04 Nominee
Something tells me the warehouse worker’s gonna get this vote here.
District Three:
- Zach Wamp (R)* – (Campaign Site)
- Brent Benedict (D) – Computer Programmer & ’04 Libertarian State Rep. Nominee
Zach Wamp’s a career politician, Benedict’s a computer programmer. Both careers I think appeal to the average ex-con. I’d call this one a split.
District Four:
- Lincoln Davis (D)* – (Campaign Site)
- Ken Martin (R) – Historian & ’04 Candidate
Davis is not only a lifetime politician, he’s from Byrdstown. I know Byrdstown very well, he’ll get all the felons’ votes. Every single one of them.
District Five:
- Jim Cooper (D)* – (Campaign Site)
- Tom Kovach (R) – Sign Langage Translator, Paralegal, USAF Veteran & ’94/’04 Candidate
- Scott Knapp (Independent) – Electrician & ’04 GOP Nominee
- Ginny Welsch (Independent) – WFRN "Radio Free Nashville" Director & Community Activist
Jim Cooper’s a lifetime politician with a background that doesn’t scream criminal activity. He won’t appeal to the felons, but the fact he’s running against a paralegal will probably appeal to some, with Scott Knapp’s possible organized labor connections appealing to the rest. My guess is Scott gets more than Cooper, but not enough to matter.
District Six:
- Bart Gordon (D)*
- David R. Davis (R)
- Bob Garrison (Independent) – Retired Instrument Technician
- Norman Saliba (Independent) – Physician & ’04 Candidate
Bart Gordon is an attorney, he’s screwed. David Davis is the alternative. The fact he’s so incredibly obscure on the internet probably appeals to the felon vote. The Independents are a wash. My guess, Davis gets a bump from the criminal crowd.
District Seven:
- Marsha Blackburn (R)* – (Campaign Site)
- Bill Morrison (D) – Teacher & Army Reserve Veteran
- Kate Culver (Green) – State Party Chair, Permaculture Designer & Natural Building Instructor
- Gayl Pratt (Independent)
- William Smith (Independent) – Homeschooling Parent & Ex-Social Worker
- James "Mickey" White (Independent) – Computer Programmer & Pro-Life Activist
In no other race will the careers be as meaningless and unappealing to a bunch of cons than this one. However, Blackburn is fun to look at. To boot, she’s a lifelong politician which should appeal to the felons.
District Eight:
- John Tanner (D)*
- John Farmer (R) – Quality Control Engineer & ’05 State Sen. Candidate
I don’t think one single felon will even bother to vote in this race. I really, really, don’t. ( 9/7/06 update ) If the comment I received is indeed who he says it is, Farmer deserves some merit for not only appealing to the felon vote, but actually giving felons a voice in government by hiring one! I will admit my ignorance of that race led me to make my original "assumption" based purely on the career of the candidate exclusively. I did not ponder at all the other efforts candidates may be making to appeal to this swing vote. For that, unless I’ve been duped, I do apologize to those candidates I have mis-judged.
District Nine:
- Steve Cohen (D) – State Sen., Ex-Shelby County Commissioner, Attorney & ’96 Candidate
- Mark White (R) – Businessman, GOP Activist & ’04 State Rep. Candidate
- Jake Ford (Independent) – Pharmaceutical Sales Representative & Brother of Congressman Ford
- Jesse Neely (Independent)
Cohen can forget this block. For that matter, I think everyone but Jake Ford can scratch this block. Not only is Jake trying to "keep it in the family", he sells drugs for a living.
This is a bad idea folks. Felons lose their voting rights for a REASON. Their respect for law is not what it should be. The people they vote for, get this, make the laws. Do the idiots in Tennessee not see the obvious conflict here? This is wrong folks, just plain wrong. If you’re not gonna live by the laws, you should NOT be allowed to affect those laws. Period. And no matter how many times they repeat it, there is no such thing as an ex-felon.
Mayor Ray Nagin has been busy this week. First he attacked the very serious issue of rebuilding the World Trade Center. Then he has to address the issue of who sits where on schoolbuses.
What I’ve not seen one peep from Nagin about is this:
On practically the one year anniversary of Katrina, nothing about Nagin has changed. Why you all voted for this idiot is beyond me.
New Orleans, you’re screwed. While Nagin’s playing political prima donna, I’ll do what he’s supposed to be doing, If he won’t say it, I will. GET OUT! If that path holds, you’ve got till next Thursday or so and then we’ll see if all those levees Nagin says are crap truly are or not. I for one would rather see who’s right sitting in Lafayette than the Sixth Ward.
- Michelle Malkin has more on Nagin. Without the infrastructure in place, or the levees fully repaired, he’s urging people to return to New Orleans just in time for hurricane season. She does get one thing wrong, “his” constituents apparently don’t think he’s an ass. They voted for him enough to get him back in as mayor.
In Kentucky, we have had to endure the longest, most nauseating "scandal" since, well, our last governor. In that case, the governor at that time was accused of giving state preferential treatment to his girlfriend. Nevermind the fact he was still married, it just wasn’t right. Although Patton was raked through the coals endlessly, no charges were ever filed.
Our latest scandal has the state attorney general, Greg Stumbo, accusing the governor of, get this, hiring people of his own party over those who voted against him. NO WAY! You say? YES WAY! That’s his crime. Stumbo made sure he got indicted over hiring people who helped him become governor. Today a judge came to the conclusion that he could not be tried in court while governor because he acted as governor. To that, Scott Crawford-Sutherland, who prosecuted the case, stated, "There is no state in this country that has extended the kind of immunity urged by the governor,"
I just wonder where Scott was living when Paul Patton was given a pass after being caught doing a lot worse? I mean, that’s not exactly ancient history. Has Stumbo/Crawford-Sutherland pursued those charges now that Patton’s out of office? Or, did they selectively offer immunity because Patton’s a Democrat as they are?
A lot of people, myself included, have felt this is a political witch hunt by Stumbo and his gang of thugs. For people like Scott Crawford-Sutherland to make that statement as his primary argument just proves it. He can’t be THAT naive. It must be something else.
The board had a 6-4 conservative majority that pushed the school systems to de-emphasize evolution at the expense of creationism. Apparently the voters didn’t agree with them.
Lesson learned? I doubt it.
