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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (6699)	9/3/2003 7:30:13 PM
From: MSI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793640

These invasions aren't the "president's balls", UW These are American lives, blood, and treasure. There's a difference. The pres is a servant of the people, not vice-versa, as it is now. As much as the bureaucrats in DC would love it, there's nothing in the Constitution that says bureaucrats can create a Disneyland of invasions around the world, putting American lives at risk and resulting in 9/11 among other effects. It's called a Constitutional Republic. If we're lucky Americans may learn to play that again, as we did in past centuries. Of course, if you or anyone else wishes to play merc, you are free to do so, within the laws of the countries involved. The objection is to sitting in an armchair sending others to their deaths, for whatever reason, short of Constitutionally-mandated invasion of America. The only thing 9/11 entitled us to was invade the homeland of the hijackers, Saudi Arabia, possibly Afghanistan, except that neither has turned up the purported leadership. And our enemy Saudi Arabia spends pleasant BBQs here in the states. That's the game, played by both Dems and GOP, against the interests of the American people.

To: unclewest who wrote (6699)	9/4/2003 3:01:34 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793640

How to buy slots for your Gambling Hell in California. Tribe's donation to Bustamante attacked $1.5 MILLION CONTRIBUTION: STATE SENATOR THREATENS LAWSUIT TO PREVENT USE OF FUNDS By Barry Witt Mercury News As an Indian tribe announced Tuesday that it was making what may be the largest donation to a candidate in California history, Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante came under sharp attack for his use of a loophole to avoid contribution limits. The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, a San Diego-area tribe with casino interests, said it was donating $1.5 million to Bustamante's 2002 campaign committee, which unlike campaign accounts established for the current recall race, is not subject to the $21,200 contribution cap voters imposed when they passed Proposition 34. The tribe's move follows contributions ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 reported last week to Bustamante's old campaign fund from two other casino-owning tribes and two labor unions. Bustamante campaign officials have said they intend to transfer the money into his 2003 campaign fund and that the move is allowed under state law. But in a letter to the Fair Political Practice Commission Tuesday, state Sen. Ross Johnson, R-Irvine, one of the authors of Proposition 34, contended that any such transfer would violate the measure's spending limits. Johnson, who has endorsed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, urged the FPPC ``to not simply stand idly by and witness the single greatest violation of campaign finance laws ever seen in California.'' Johnson said the FPPC should go to court to prevent use of the money in the Oct. 7 recall election and said he would do so himself if the commission did not act ``immediately.'' A commission spokeswoman declined comment on Johnson's letter. Wealthy politics Bustamante campaign officials did not respond to four telephone requests seeking comment about Johnson's statements. But the campaign has said in the past that it is simply following the law and that the contributions level the playing field for a candidate running against wealthy Republicans. Bustamante campaign adviser Richie Ross, who is also a lobbyist for the Viejas tribe, conceded earlier Tuesday that the campaign has ``concerns about perception problems'' because of the size of the tribal donations. But he said the contributions have been made because of Bustamante's longstanding relationship with the tribes and do not guarantee any benefits if he becomes governor. The campaign expects tribal gaming interests, which are the state's most prolific political donors, to contribute roughly a third of Bustamante's total money. They have already contributed more than $2.3 million. The loophole, first reported by the Mercury News last week, involves an FPPC-sanctioned accounting process for moving money from old committees not subject to Proposition 34 into new committees that are bound by contribution limits. Over the objections of political reform advocates, the commission in 2001 ruled that unlimited contributions could be made into old committees. Proposition 34 itself contains language allowing money to be moved from one committee into another as long as the dollars are ``attributed'' to individuals who made donations to the old committee. No more than $21,200 can be attributed to any single donor. In practice, Bustamante can split up the $1.5 million he's getting from the Viejas Band among 71 donors to his former committee -- even though those old donors had nothing to do with the new contribution. In response to news reports, the FPPC issued a statement on Thursday outlining fund-raising rules and emphasized that candidates ``may not solicit contributions'' into old accounts ``for the purpose of using those funds in a post-Proposition 34 election.'' Asked Tuesday to define the term ``solicit,'' a commission spokeswoman pointed to regulations referring to ``written solicitations.'' There is no evidence that Bustamante ever wrote to his donors asking them to put the money into his old account. Bustamante's campaign attorney, Lance Olson, is a long-time lawyer for state Democrats and was one of the primary drafters of Proposition 34. He could not be reached Tuesday. In addition to the $1.5 million contribution to Bustamante's 2002 committee, the Viejas Band said it would donate $21,200 to his 2003 gubernatorial committee and put $479,800 into an independent expenditure committee -- which is not subject to contribution limits if it acts without direction from Bustamante's campaign -- to help reach Latino voters on his behalf in San Diego and Imperial counties. That makes a total campaign investment of $2 million from a tribe with about 160 adult members. Election experts said that with the exception of wealthy candidates who self-fund their campaigns, they have no record of any prior contribution to a candidate that matched the tribe's $1.5 million check. Chair defends donation Bobby Barrett, the tribe's vice chairman, said the donations were necessary to allow Bustamante to compete with the resources of wealthier candidates, such as Schwarzenegger and Republican Peter Ueberroth. ``We do not believe, in the last analysis, that this race should come down to only the few millionaires who have the personal deep pockets to fund an expensive media blitz in the campaign's final days,'' Barrett said in a statement. ``Today, the Viejas Band has the means and, we believe, the obligation to support others who care about those who receive marginal or little representation.'' Schwarzenegger already has criticized Bustamante's reliance on tribal gaming contributions and unveiled a new 15-second television ad Tuesday in which he says ``special interests have a stranglehold on Sacramento.'' Gaming experts say Indian casinos are now a $5 billion industry in California. The tribes must negotiate with the governor over compacts that authorize their casino activities, and Gov. Gray Davis earlier this year floated a proposal -- later withdrawn -- to impose new taxes on casino profits. Local government officials in some California communities also have been seeking state assistance in stopping the spread of Indian gaming, and a law is now pending in the Legislature that would give Indians new influence over development near sites considered to have cultural links to tribes. Mercury News Staff Writer Howard Mintz contributed to this report.