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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Land Shark who wrote (72903)	2/2/2006 1:26:45 PM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 81568

It appears that the Democrat Party is closer to imploding than the Republican. How else to explain the ongoing attempts by Democrat Party Chairman Howard Dean to destroy Senate Majority [sic] Leader Harry Reid? According to knowledgeable DNC sources, Dean about ten days ago was shown opposition research documents generated by the Republican National Committee more than three years ago, which laid out facts regarding Reid and his family's lobbying and ethical conflicts. Dean, according to the sources, was fascinated by the details, and asked that his staff research and independently confirm everything on the documents. "Basically he oppo'd a member of his own party," says a DNC source loyal to Dean. "Basically, we were looking at three- or four-page documents that made Jack Abramoff's lobbying work look like that of a rank amateur," says the DNC source. "Between the minority leader's past in Nevada and here in Washington, and the activities of his sons and son-in-law, there probably isn't anyone in this town with more conflicts. The Reid family is the symbol of what's wrong with Washington; it's their behavior that enabled the culture that spawned people like Abramoff." Dean then went public over the weekend, saying that Democrats with an Abramoff problem would be in trouble, not only with voters, but with the Democrat Party. But why attack a senior member of his own party? According to Democrat Party watchers and DNC staff, Dean has grown increasingly frustrated at how he is treated by the likes of Reid, Sen. Dick Durbin, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who leads the House Democrat candidate recruitment effort. "They treat him like a lackey, not as an equal," says another DNC employee. "Just last week, they were all badmouthing his fundraising activities, when clearly he's done a good job. What this comes down to a fight for the soul of our party, and if the chairman has to draw a long knife on a few of his colleagues, he's more than willing to do so."

To: Land Shark who wrote (72903)	2/2/2006 3:26:00 PM
From: longnshort	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Former Conn. Lawmaker Gets Five Years on Corruption Charge By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: February 2, 2006 BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- Former state Sen. Ernest Newton, once one of Connecticut's top minority leaders, was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison and three years probation for accepting a $5,000 bribe and other charges. Newton apologized to his family and community before he was sentenced, but U.S. District Judge Alan Nevas rejected the notion that he simply made a mistake. "You wanted to make money," Nevas said. "You turned your service in the General Assembly into a business." Newton was ordered to report to prison April 7 and to pay $13,862 in restitution to the state. He did not speak to reporters as he left U.S. District Court on Thursday. The Bridgeport Democrat, known for his flamboyant suits and outspoken style, pleaded guilty in September to bribery, tax evasion and mail fraud. He resigned his Senate seat a day before his plea. Supporters packed a courtroom for the sentencing hearing, to which Newton wore a conservative brown suit. "I apologize to this court, to the federal government, to my family, to my community and to members of the legislature," Newton said. "Not only have I let you down but I've let myself down." Nevas asked Newton if he stood by past statements that prosecutors targeted him because of his race. Newton is black. "This is not about black and white," Newton replied. "It's about wrong and right, and I was wrong." But Nevas slammed Newton for the comments anyway. "That was a despicable thing to say," Nevas said. "It was offensive and you should have known better."

To: Land Shark who wrote (72903)	2/2/2006 10:22:15 PM
From: Skywatcher	Respond to of 81568

MORE SCANDAL....I WANT OUR MONEY BACK AND NOW Former US Official in Iraq to Plead Guilty to Corruption By James Glanz The New York Times Wednesday 01 February 2006 A former American occupation official in Iraq is expected to plead guilty to bribery, conspiracy, money laundering and other charges in federal court on Thursday for his actions in a scheme to use sexual favors, jewelry and millions of dollars in cash to steer reconstruction work to a corrupt contractor, according to papers filed with the court. The official, Robert J. Stein Jr., served as a comptroller and funding officer in 2003 and 2004 for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which governed Iraq after the American-led invasion. Four Americans, including Mr. Stein and the contractor, Philip H. Bloom, have been arrested in the case. Mr. Stein's plea, apparently with the understanding that he will cooperate with prosecutors, is the first to be made public. The court papers depict a sordid exercise in greed and corruption that was spread much more widely that previously known. Including the four people already arrested, the papers indicate that a minimum of three other still unnamed co-conspirators also played a role in the scheme. In order to give more than $8 million in contracts and millions more in stolen cash to Mr. Bloom, the papers say, the conspirators accepted bribes, valuable goods and other favors. Two of the Americans already arrested, Lt. Col. Debra Harrison and Lt. Col. Michael Wheeler, are senior Army reserve officers. The court papers indicate that the remaining unnamed co-conspirators are also Army reserve officers, for a total of at least five officers involved. But the papers suggest that others, identified only by opaque designations like "person H," may also have been involved in one way or another. The goods included first-class plane tickets, watches and other jewelry, alcohol and cigars, the court papers say. They add that Mr. Bloom kept a villa in Baghdad where women dispensed "sexual favors" in exchange for official actions in his favor or for refraining from exposing the scheme. Mr. Stein is accused of stealing outright at least $2 million in cash of American taxpayer money and Iraqi money that had been set aside for the reconstruction of Iraq by the American occupation. He also accepted more than $1 million in bribes and at least $600,000 of additional goods and cash that were the property of the C.P.A., the papers say. The actions took place in a vast territory surrounding the Iraqi city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, where Mr. Stein was put in charge of at least $82 million of reconstruction money despite a previous conviction for felony fraud, which his Pentagon background check apparently missed. Mr. Bloom and some of the others wired money back to the United States to buy weaponry like grenade launchers and machine guns that Mr. Stein was prohibited from owning because of his conviction or that were illegal in themselves. The court papers indicate that Mr. Stein has agreed to plead guilty in Federal District Court in Washington to counts of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering conspiracy, a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun. The e-mail exchanges between Mr. Stein and Mr. Bloom, as detailed in the papers, are remarkable in their illustration of the daily business of apparently greed and graft. "I love to give you money," Mr. Stein wrote on Jan. 3, 2004, as he began steering work on an Iraqi police academy to Mr. Bloom. At other times, Mr. Stein warns Mr. Bloom about others who are threats to expose their scheme or may want to get in on it themselves. "I will warn you to be very careful what you say around him," Mr. Stein writes on Jan. 27, 2004, about someone identified only as person D. "If he ever knows what we are doing he will want 'his cut!' " Other exchanges show the day-to-day realities of doing business in Iraq with Westerners who are far from the routine pleasures of home. "Thanks for the booze," Mr. Stein wrote on Jan. 27. "That will give me some bargaining material here and there." -------

To: Land Shark who wrote (72903)	2/3/2006 11:54:04 AM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 81568

Culture 'Bombshell' "Naomi Wolf's utterances on everything, from childbirth to Al Gore's demeanour, have a disproportionate effect on public opinion. This latest confessional, a self-acknowledged 'bombshell,' will make a generation of feminists cringe. ... Wolf's very soul is about to become a theological battleground, and she knows it. "'I am not going to be in the closet about this any more. I'm on a spiritual path, I answer to a higher authority,' she says. ... "'Yeah, God. I believe absolutely that every single one of us is here with a spiritual mission. We come in knowing it and then we forget. ... "But when one of the foremost feminists in the world, who is Jewish to boot, says she has met Jesus, the ultimate figure of Christianity and the redeemer of lost souls, it's more than a little disconcerting. "'I was completely dumbfounded but I actually had this vision ... of Jesus, and I'm sure it was Jesus. ... "'On a mystical level, it was complete joy and happiness and there were tears running down my face. On a conscious level, when I came out of it I was absolutely horrified because I'm Jewish. This was not the thing I'm supposed to have confront me.'?" -- Torcuil Crichton, writing on "Revered as a feminist icon ...," Jan. 22 in the Sunday Herald of Scotland