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| Schiavo DCF Documents to be Released |
| Friday, April 15, 2005 |
Go to Blogs for Terri for a link to Judge Greer�s order and to read the rest. Isn�t it strange now that Terri is no longer alive all of a sudden the judge is getting cooperative? I actually have no idea what the reports say as the redacted copies have to be provided by Monday, April 18. Maybe there�s nothing in there we don�t already know. We�ll just have to see.
See the order here: Greers Order
An excerpt from Blogs for Terri:
�Judge George Greer has ordered the release of the nine abuse reports related to Terri Schiavo furnished by the Department of Children and Families. Greer writes, �Public access to the abuse reports will shed light on the investigation and handling of previous allegations made between 2001 and 2004 and whether they differed significantly from the latest investigations in which the DCF attempted to intervene in the guardianship.��
As I said, go to the Blogs for Terri site and pull up the court order.
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posted by J.R. @ 11:21:00 AM   |
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| Happy ending for 'grandma' Magouirk ? |
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Feuding family makes agreements on Ora Mae Magouirk
It appears there will be a happy ending to the story of Ora Mae Magouirk, the 81-year-old Georgia widow whose family has been at loggerheads over her medical care, visitation privileges and whether she should be "allowed to die" but now is reaching agreements on key issues.
Today, attorneys on both sides agreed Magouirk's brother and sister, A.B. McLeod, 64, of Anniston, Ala., and Lonnie Ruth Mullinax, 74, of Birmingham, will be allowed to visit their sister during regular visiting hours at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Medical Center in Birmingham, where she is receiving treatment for an aortic dissection.
Moreover, Jack Kirby, attorney for McLeod and Mullinax, told WorldNetDaily that under terms of the agreement, his clients will be allowed to talk directly to Magouirk's doctors about her condition, as opposed to having such information "filtered through third parties."
As reported by WND, when Magouirk was airlifted and admitted to UAB Medical Center on Saturday, her granddaughter and legal guardian, Beth Gaddy, 36, of LaGrange, Ga., left an oral order barring Magouirk's siblings and her nephew, Ken Mullinax, 45, of Birmingham, from visiting the patient in the critical care unit.
Ruth Mullinax has been a patient at UAB for the same condition, brought on, says her son, by the stress she's suffered worrying about her sister.
Kirby said he talked to Ruth Mullinax yesterday, and "she's doing very well." He did not comment on her sister's condition.
However, relatives say it appears Magouirk is pulling through, despite her aortic dissection and the starvation and dehydration she endured from March 28 to April 9 at Hospice La-Grange, where she was placed by her granddaughter.
McLeod told WND the two women visited yesterday in Magouirk's room, and "Ora Mae recognized [Ruth Mullinax] and they laughed and chatted briefly together."
In an e-mail, Ken Mullinax provided further details of yesterday's meeting, quoting remarks his mother, Ruth, made when he visited her at UAB early this morning.
"I visited with Sister Mae last evening, and she looks so much better now," Ruth Mullinax said. "Mae opened her eyes and when she saw me said, 'Where you been, Lonnie?'"
"I asked her how she felt and she whispered, 'I can't buck dance.'"
"So I stayed with her for 30 minutes, and when I got ready to leave she grabbed my hand and said, 'Bring me a brown sack and take me home.' That was a saying of Momma's that means pack up my stuff. I am so thankful to the Lord that Sister is doing so well now."
Ken Mullinax's mother also told him she had spoken with the charge nurse and learned her sister is listed as being in stable condition. She has an IV in her arm for hydration and is being fed through a temporary nasal feeding tube, but she is cognizant. She speaks very softly because her throat is still very sore from the dehydration, he said.
The meeting between the sisters was arranged by an attorney in Birmingham and the UAB Medical Center that agreed late Wednesday to allow McLeod and Ruth Mullinax limited visits each day for humanitarian reasons. Under this arrangement, the siblings could visit their sister at 5:30 p.m. each day for half an hour.
Kirby then drafted motions to file with the probate court in LaGrange, asking the court to order Beth Gaddy to allow the visits.
McLeod said neither he nor nephew Ken Mullinax had done anything to cause problems at the hospital or hospice.
"We didn't cause a scene, we didn't cause anything in our sister's room, and we think we ought to be able to see our sister," McLeod said.
A second motion was to demand Gaddy "show cause" as to why she refused to allow her relatives to visit her grandmother and prohibited doctors from discussing the case with them.
Gaddy relaxed her position. She agreed to allow full visitation privileges, but only if Ken Mullinax promised never to talk to the media again or communicate in any way with Internet bloggers.
Mullinax refused and was on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" yesterday, where he provided a nationwide audience with details of the case. Hannity quoted from an exclusive story on WND, which was the first national news organization to investigate and report on the Magouirk case.
In another twist, Troup County Probate Judge Donald Boyd, who has had charge of the case since April 1, voluntarily recused himself.
Kirby told WorldNetDaily that Boyd gave no reason for his decision.
"There was no hearing," Kirby said, "But I talked to the granddaughter's attorney [Danny Daniel], and they have agreed to let my people visit without restriction with Mrs. Magouirk while she's in the hospital, and they have agreed to allow my people to have access to information from the doctors regarding medical care and treatment."
Kirby said that at first, they "allowed visitation of 30 minutes a day, and I told him we appreciated the gesture and we would observe our 30 minutes a day, but we still intended to go forward to ask the judge to give us more than that."
After further discussions today, he continued, "they decided not to place any restrictions on visitation."
Kirby added he would not pursue the "show cause" matter, if what he'd been told on the telephone is formalized in a court order.
Although McLeod and Ruth Mullinax have visitation privileges, Ken Mullinax does not.
Kirby said that has not been worked out yet.
"My immediate concern was for my two clients, the brother and sister of Mrs. Magouirk," he said.
Kirby said he did not think there would be any restrictions in the long term and hopes the family dispute is near an end.
"I think this family is interested in healing their differences, and I think they'd like to stop airing them publicly and get back to being a family," he said.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:09:00 AM |
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| Lt. Pantano demands speedy court-martial |
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Claims government withholding evidence, Marines say pretrial hearing still scheduled
Claiming the government is withholding key evidence and witnesses, the U.S. Marine charged with murdering two Iraqis waived his right to a pretrial hearing yesterday and demanded a speedy court-martial.
Lt. Ilario Pantano addressing officers at basic training school in 2003.
But a Marine Corps spokesman told WorldNetDaily this morning that Lt. Ilario Pantano � whose case has drawn outrage from many veterans and pro-military supporters � still is scheduled to face the pretrial, or Article 32, hearing April 25 at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Spokesman Maj. Matt Morgan said the Marine Corps has received Pantano's request, but the hearing "will continue as planned until we announce otherwise."
Morgan, who noted the hearing date officially was set yesterday, said he could not respond to Pantano's claim the prosecution is not cooperating.
"The defense counsel has been putting out a lot of accusations since the beginning," he said. " ... The best place to discuss these details is in the court room."
As WorldNetDaily reported, Pantano's quick-reaction platoon operating in the Sunni Triangle town of Mahmudiyah detained the two Iraqis April 15, 2004, after securing a terrorist hideaway where the Marines found a weapons cache. Pantano contends the Iraqis disobeyed his order in Arabic to stop, prompting him to open fire.
Pantano waived his right to a hearing "in order to get a Military Judge to compel the prosecution to produce witnesses and evidence in his case," said his mother, Merry Pantano, in a statement given to WND.
Merry Pantano, a New York literary agent who has established an advocacy website for her son and others in similar situations, said the departure to Iraq in June of her son's former unit � 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment � adds to the urgency, because many of the requested witnesses probably would be unavailable.
"My son, our family, and millions of concerned citizens, Marines and soldiers were assured that the Article 32 pretrial hearing would bring everything out in the wash, and we have been patient with a process that has been grueling for my son�s family," Merry Pantano said. "The problem is that if the government is the machine and my son is the laundry, they are not adding any water."
The formal waiver, filed with the Piedmont Judicial Circuit of the Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary by defense counsel, Marine Maj. Phillip E. Stackhouse, says:
"I hereby knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waive my right to an investigation of the charges and specifications in accordance with Article 32, UCMJ. I base this waiver on the fact that the Government has indicated the Staff Judge Advocate and the Second Marine Division has already determined that no witnesses from farther than 100 miles will be produced at the hearing, regardless of relevance of the testimony; the fact that we have requested discovery (evidence) that has not been produced and is not likely to be produced by the Government absent a court order; and, my desire that I receive a speedy trial in accordance with R.C.M. 707 and the 6th Amendment of the United States Constitution."
Underscoring the necessity of a speedy trial, Merry Pantano said her son was denied requests for a Military Judge to act as an investigating officer, for the Rules of Engagement operating at the time and for intelligence reports that would illustrate the extremely volatile atmosphere in the "Triangle of Death."
A Military Judge has been employed in many important cases she said, because "only someone with real legal experience understands the laws of evidence and can compel the prosecution to provide the evidence they are supposed to provide."
She wondered how the government can "fail to provide the very rules he is accused of violating?"
Regarding denial of intelligence reports, she said, "Are we to believe that the thousands of men that were wounded and killed in that bloody month happened in a vacuum? Somewhere else maybe? Easy to believe in an air-conditioned office. Hard to swallow when it's happening all around you and the smell of burning flesh is filling your nostrils."
Merry Pantano said she understood the possible misperceptions the demand for a speedy trial could generate, but emphasized that with less than two weeks before the scheduled pretrial hearing, "half the facts are still missing."
"If all relevant facts and all relevant witnesses are not going to be considered during this hearing how can it possibly be fair?"
She said, almost one year after the investigation began, agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service "are only now conducting dozens of interviews of the men with whom he served."
"Had they done these interviews before, no doubt they never would have pressed charges to begin with, but now they are not even turning over their results until months after the interviews," she said.
Merry Pantano also claimed her son's chief accuser, radio operator Sgt. Daniel Coburn, has been engaged in "malicious behavior" toward him, "slandering and disparaging" him on various Internet chat rooms, despite insisting he bears no grudge.
She said "concerned citizens" were able to verify Coburn as the source of the online messages.
The messages alone should be enough to drop the charges, she contended.
"In believing that he could attack my son anonymously in order to damage my son's reputation and salvage his own career, he has once again demonstrated his disingenuous motives in launching his accusations," Merry Pantano said.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:06:00 AM |
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| Pantano supported from House floor |
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Congressman's letter asks Bush to ensure justice for Marine
From the floor of the House yesterday, a congressman urged President Bush to personally attend to the case of Lt. Ilario Pantano, the U.S. Marine charged with pre-meditated murder of two Iraqis.
Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., read from a letter to Bush in which he pointed out Pantano has asked that his right to a pretrial hearing be waived and the case brought to a speedy court-martial because of the "difficulty he, his family and his legal counsel experienced in trying to obtain justice."
As WorldNetDaily reported, Jones has sponsored a House resolution supporting Pantano and joined local veterans and others in fund-raising events.
"Unexplainably," Jones said, "the government denied Pantano his right under military law to access the evidence, witnesses and relevant material intended to be presented in his case."
As WorldNetDaily reported, Pantano requested that the pretrial, or Article 32, hearing be waived because the government is withholding key evidence and witnesses. A Marine Corps spokesman told WND that Pantano � whose case has drawn outrage from many veterans and pro-military supporters � still is scheduled to face the pretrial hearing April 25 at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Jones said it's "outrageous for a Marine to be treated this way by the very country he fought to defend."
The congressman said he believes that Pantano is innocent and his "unfair treatment" in the investigation and prosecution by the U.S. government "sends a horrible message to the brave men and women serving on the front lines of freedom."
"I know you have incredible demands on your time, but as Commander-in-Chief I respectfully request that you insure that 2nd Lieutenant Ilario Pantano is guaranteed his full and complete legal rights under the Uniform Code of Military Justice," Jones wrote to the president.
Jones thanked Bush for a response to a previous letter, sent on the president's behalf by Navy Secretary Gordon England, but said he was "compelled to once again ask for your personal attention" to the case.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:03:00 AM |
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| ACLU aiding illegal entry into U.S.? |
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Minuteman spokesman charges group with criminal activity
American Civil Liberties Union activists shadowing the Minuteman Project at the U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona are actively aiding and abetting aliens attempting to enter the country illegally, said a spokesman for the volunteer civilian force.
Grey Deacon told Joseph Farah's nationally syndicated "WorldNetDaily RadioActive" audience yesterday that ACLU monitors sent to the border to watch Minuteman activity and report civil-liberties abuses to authorities have begun flashing lights, sounding horns and warning off illegals and their "coyote" human smugglers from entering territory patrolled by the volunteers.
"They are actively engaging in criminal activity," said Deacon.
Deacon said the ACLU activists are resorting to new tactics because of the success the Minuteman Project is having in assisting the Border Patrol in spotting illegal aliens and in generating publicity about the insecure U.S.-Mexico border.
The ACLU dispatched its representatives to the 23-mile section of the Arizona border patrolled by the Minutemen after predicting the group would abuse the rights of illegal aliens. No such abuses have materialized to date.
"The ACLU's position is that illegal aliens have a right to enter our border and stay in this country as long as they want," said Deacon. "That's what one of the leaders of the group told me personally."
Deacon said the ACLU representatives make noises and flash lights as a signal to the illegals and their human smugglers that the area is being patrolled. Thus, he said, those intent on entering understand they should move on to other areas of the border that are wide open for illegal entry.
The Minuteman Project has attracted hundreds of volunteers, many legally carrying guns and waving flags, from across the country. They plan to keep watch around the clock until the end of the month, intimidating illegal aliens with their presence and alerting the Border Patrol via cell phones or radios when they see people crossing.
Just as important, they want to send a message to the White House and the rest of the country that something must be done about the country's border policies.
President Bush has referred to the Minutemen as "vigilantes." And some Border Patrol officials have suggested members of the group are interfering with the government's work.
The ACLU has claimed the group is creating a "powder-keg situation" on the border that could lead to violence.
Since the volunteers began arriving March 30, the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions along the stretch of border has dropped significantly.
"It's worked," said Chris Simcox, one of two primary organizers. "The news is going across the border, and we've virtually shut down this whole area."
In addition to assistance from the ACLU, illegals � including drug-runners � are getting assistance from the Mexican army, say Border Patrol sources and other officials including a U.S. congressman.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, has denounced the Mexican military for escorting illegals, their "coyote" human smugglers and drug-runners to other parts of the border unpatrolled by the Minutemen.
"President Bush should publicly denounce Mexico's latest act to curb U.S. law," said Tancredo. "The president of Mexico is threatening to sue any member of the Minutemen who have contact with a Mexican national, threatening to take the U.S. into the International Court of Justice at The Hague over the passage of Prop 200 in Arizona, and is providing transportation to Mexican nationals trying to sneak into the U.S. One could say he is acting in the best interest of his nation. Isn't it unfortunate we cannot say the same thing about President Bush?"
Border Patrol sources say the Mexican army recently moved about 1,000 troops to the Agua Prieta region, just south of where the Minutemen are. These troops, the sources say, are diverting all of the illegal alien and drug-smuggling traffic away from the Minutemen.
The volunteers focused on the border area near Naco, Ariz., because it had become one of the highest traffic corridors for border-crossing illegal aliens. Last year, more than 40 percent of the 1.15 million illegal aliens caught by the Border Patrol were taken into custody in the southern Arizona region.
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| posted by J.R. @ 10:58:00 AM |
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| German Intel Chief Says bin Laden Bribed Afghan Militias at Tora Bora Standoff |
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The head of Germany's intelligence agency says Osama bin Laden bribed Afghan militias for his freedom when he was cornered in Tora Bora in November, 2001.
In an interview with a German newspaper published Tuesday, August Hanning said the United States had made a "principal mistake" by relying on Afghan militias to hunt down bin Laden.
He said failing to quickly capture him has allowed the terrorist leader to gain friends among local tribes and to "create his own infrastructure in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area."
There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon.
Last month a U.S. Defense Department document indicated that the al-Qaida chief escaped capture at Tora Bora. U.S. officials have said they were not certain of bin Laden's whereabouts during the 2001 standoff at the Afghan cave complex.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
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| posted by J.R. @ 10:44:00 AM |
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| DeLay Small Fish in Big Pond of Congressional Nepotism |
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Dozens of lawmakers have hired their spouses and children to work for their campaigns and political groups, paying them with contributions they've collected from special interests and other donors.
A few family members earn enough to make a living. Many come cheap. They manage the books, give speeches, raise money and run the daily operations, according to an Associated Press review of records. Such hirings are legal, but the practice became an issue this month when it was reported that the wife and daughter of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay had been paid more than $500,000 since 2001. They worked for DeLay's political action and campaign committees.
Congressional bosses express no regrets about their family arrangements. "My wife raised $250,000 more than I ever raised with all the expensive consultants," Rep. Ron Lewis, R-Ky., told the AP.
Lewis hired his wife, Kayi, to be his campaign director and campaign manager about a year ago, and he pays her $50,000 a year. He estimated the hiring saved him more than $40,000 a year in salary and consulting fees.
Mary Hayworth, wife of Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona, earns $20,000 a year as the director and only employee of his political action committee.
"The minimal salary she's paid is far less than if you hired somebody in from outside," spokesman Larry VanHoose said.
AP's review identified roughly four-dozen lawmakers who hired family members for their campaign or political groups, from Connecticut Sen. and former presidential candidate Joe Lieberman to a House member from Utah who paid three of his seven children for campaign work.
"I think anytime someone does it they have to be ready and willing to explain what the relative does and justify the salary," said Larry Noble, head of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based campaign finance watchdog group.
"I think when you start putting a whole family on the payroll and start putting kids on the payroll, the scrutiny may increase," Noble added. "It's a form of self-dealing and anytime you're involved with self-dealing, questions are going to be raised."
A smaller number of lawmakers hire relatives for their congressional staffs. The wife of Rep. Jerry Lewis, a 14-term lawmaker from California, serves as his chief of staff at a salary of nearly $111,000. Before they were married, Arlene Willis was her husband's top aide when he came to Washington in 1979.
Lieberman's presidential campaign paid the senator's wife, Hadassah, at least $22,000, records show. His son Matthew received about $34,000 and his daughter Rebecca about $36,000.
Sherry Brown, who was the presidential campaign's chief of staff, said the Lieberman children were paid on par with other staff members doing fund-raising work. Payments to Hadassah Lieberman were for reimbursement of expenses, Brown said.
Lieberman wasn't the only one in the presidential race with a relative on the campaign payroll. Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary was paid about $81,000 by the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.
Laurie Stupak, wife of Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said she has earned about $36,000 annually during the past two years as the finance director for her husband's campaign.
She said she was paid slightly more - nearly $3,900 a month - for part of last year because she served as both campaign manager and finance director. She also received an election bonus of $2,500 last November.
The money was earned by working more than 40 hours a week and traveling long hours on weekends in a sprawling district, she said.
California Republican Rep. Elton Gallegly's wife, Janice, has run his campaigns since he was a mayor, continuing in that role since he first ran successfully for Congress in 1986.
She did the work for free until last year, when she began taking payment of about $2,600 a month after deciding she'd like more financial independence, Gallegly said in an interview.
"I think that it's important that she have a little more independence and not feel like she has to depend on me if she needs a couple hundred dollars or if she wants to buy something," he said.
Other spouses got raises, too.
For instance, Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark's wife, Deborah, received a monthly increase from $650 to $2,400 as a campaign consultant three years ago - around the time the couple had twins.
At the time, Stark, D-Calif., said his wife filled the roles of campaign manager, office manager and bookkeeper. "My position is, she's a bargain," he said.
Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, had three college age children working on his campaign last year. They organized events, distributed literature and spoke to state convention delegates. Emily was paid $5,425, Jane earned $9,508 and Laura - still employed by the campaign - received $17,766.
"It surprised me they didn't make more," Cannon chief of staff Joe Hunter said.
Freshman Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, employs his wife, Kathy, as his campaign manager, the campaign's sole worker at present. Campaign records show she was paid $21,791 over four months, including a $7,500 bonus last November.
"Kathy has her MBA and had been a fulltime teacher for a number of years until last year when she gave up teaching to work fulltime on our campaign," Gohmert said. He called her "the most important part of my campaign team."
Freshman Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said he employed his retired cousin Ken as a co-campaign manager last year. Ken Costa, an accountant by training who was retired from the state teachers retirement system, made about $45,000 helping out with accounting and other duties.
"He didn't want to take the money. He was enjoying it," Rep. Costa said. But it was only fair to pay him, Costa said.
Some candidates pay themselves using campaign money.
Starting with the last election, hopefuls who quit their jobs to run for office could make up the lost wages using campaign funds, a move federal election officials said would help political newcomers of poor or moderate means.
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| posted by J.R. @ 10:42:00 AM |
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| List of Lawmakers with Relatives On the Payroll |
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Lawmakers with relatives on their congressional or campaign staffs include:
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas: Wife and daughter were paid more than $500,000 since 2001 for working for DeLay's campaign and political action committees.
Connecticut Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman: Son Matthew received about $34,000 and daughter Rebecca about $36,000 for working on the senator's 2004 presidential campaign.
Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash.: Nephew Todd Reichert was paid $3,000 last year, plus several hundred dollars for mileage, for serving as driver.
California Democratic Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark: Wife Deborah earns $2,400 a month for serving as campaign consultant.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.: Wife Arlene Willis serves as congressional chief of staff at a salary of nearly $111,000.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich.: Wife Laurie Stupak earned about $36,000 annually the past two years as the finance director for her husband's campaign.
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio: Wife Elizabeth was paid about $1,730 a month during his 2004 campaign. She has worked as a campaign consultant for him since the 2001 election cycle.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif.: Cousin Ken Costa made about $45,000 for serving as a co-campaign manager last year.
Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah: Three college-age children worked on his campaign last year. Emily was paid $5,425, Jane $9,508 and Laura $17,766.
Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn.: Sister-in-law Sharon Davis has been his campaign treasurer since 1994,and daughter Libby Davis was his campaign coordinator in the last half of 2004. Libby Davis was paid about $2,334 a month; Sharon Davis was paid about $1,000 a month for bookkeeping last year.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, employs his wife, Kathy, as his campaign manager. She was paid $21,791 over four months, including a $7,500 bonus last November.
New York Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop: Daughter Molly was paid $46,995 as his 2004 campaign's finance director.
California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher: Wife Rhonda Carmony makes $40,000 a year as his campaign manager.
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| posted by J.R. @ 10:38:00 AM |
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| Harry Reid Family Cashing In |
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When it comes to cashing in on family connections, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's relatives can't hold a candle to the clan of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who's sponsored legislation that netted his family hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
So says top radio talker Rush Limbaugh, who first unearthed the dirty details on Reid's nepotism last week - a story that has the mainstream press feigning ignorance as they pull out all the stops to nail DeLay. In recent days, the top House Republican has been accused of having his family work on his campaigns - a charge that has Democrats clamoring for his scalp.
But there's been nary a peep of protest about a report that Reid's sons and son-in-law cashed in on Daddy's connections - a story first reported by the Los Angeles Times two years ago that was unearthed by Limbaugh last week.
For instance, the Nevada Democrat once sponsored an environmental bill that he touted as a bipartisan measure to protect the ecosystem and help the economy in America's fastest-growing state.
But as the Times reported: "What Reid did not explain was that the bill promised a cavalcade of benefits to real estate developers, corporations and local institutions that were paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in lobbying fees to his sons' and son-in-law's firms, federal lobbyist reports show."
The Howard Hughes Corp. alone paid $300,000 to attorney and son-in-law Steven Barringer to push a provision allowing the company to acquire 998 acres of federal land near booming Las Vegas. According to the Times, other provisions of Reid's legislation were intended to benefit a real estate development headed by a senior partner in the Nevada law firm that employs all four of the Senate minority leader's sons.
Seldom have so many close relatives directly profited off their familial connection to a powerful politician.
But as the Times noted, there's more: "The governments of three of Nevada's biggest cities � Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson � also gained from the legislation, which freed up tens of thousands of acres of federal land for development and annexation. All three were represented by Reid's family members who contacted his staff on their clients' behalf."
Reid's response to the obvious conflicts of interest?
"Lots of people have children, wives and stuff that work back here," he insisted. "It is not as if a lot of cash is changing hands."
Hundreds of thousands of dollars - not a lot of cash?
One wonders how journalists would have reacted had Tom DeLay said that.
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| posted by J.R. @ 10:33:00 AM |
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| House Democrat Engel: DeLay Trips OK |
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Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel tells NewsMax that GOP House Majority Leader Tom DeLay did nothing wrong by taking several trips abroad and having the costs picked up by lobbyists, and even praised the top Republican - after he was confronted with NewsMax's report detailing his own congressional junkets.
"Personally, Tom DeLay and I get along," Engel told WWRL Radio's Steve Malzberg and Karen Hunter, before offering the GOP leader backhanded compliment:
"Tom DeLay is a tough guy. You know something, I wish we had some of that toughness on the Democratic side."
Asked about his own junkets, which - as NewsMax reported on Wednesday, included stays in first-class hotels in San Juan, Las Vegas, Wyoming, Florida, New Orleans, London and Jerusalem - Engel was unapologetic.
"These people that talk about congressional trips - it's really silly," he insisted. "They're really saying that people in Congress shouldn't take trips at all."
The Bronx Democrat said that unless members of Congress are allowed to have their travel expenses picked up either by the taxpayers or private groups, only wealthy members who can afford to travel will be able to go on fact finding missions.
"I don't think it's good to only have multimillionaires in the United States Congress" able to travel, he told WWRL. "Some of us come from working families and we can't pay for these trips ourselves."
Asked to explain why he took wife, son and daughter on some of his fact-finding missions, Engel explained: "I'm a good father"
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| posted by J.R. @ 10:27:00 AM |
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| Dem Junketeers Make Delay Look Like Piker |
| Wednesday, April 13, 2005 |
Reporters are working overtime trying to convince their readers that three trips abroad taken by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were suspicious because they were paid for by special interests.
But if the same standard was applied to DeLay's House colleagues, more than a few Democrats would find themselves facing accusations of rampant corruption.
In mid-March - before the Texas Republican became the media's GOP target du jour - the Daily News surveyed the most prolific junketeers in the House's New York State delegation - and it turns out that DeLay can't hold a candle to this crew.
Those with an insatiable wanderlust include:
Democrat Maurice Hinchey, who - according to the News - "has clocked more miles than the other 28 members of [New York] state's delegation." The well-traveled liberal took 27 trips costing private groups $157,000 over the past five years.
And Hinchey traveled in style; luxuriating at resorts like the Four Seasons in Punta Mita and other sumptuous retreats in Morocco, Madrid, Budapest, Helsinki, Tunisia, Cancun, Italy, Vancouver, Shanghai and Grand Cayman Island.
According to the News, Democrat Elliot Engel "has whisked his wife to first-class resorts in San Juan and Las Vegas, Wyoming and Florida - and barely spent a nickel." He even scored a $5,300 junket to New Orleans for his daughter and took his teenage son to Seattle and London and Jerusalem, gratis.
Democrat Charlie Rangel jetted off to the Dominican Republic three times in recent years, courtesy of the Punta Cana Beach Resort in 2001, American Airlines in 2002 and the Dominican/American Roundtable in 2003.
Democrat Gregory Meeks has taken 37 trips in the last five years - 30 privately funded and seven government-paid. Destinations included Jamaica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, Venezuela and Honolulu. Total cost for Meeks' meanderings: $150,000.
Democrat Jerrold Nadler has traveled with his wife, Joyce, courtesy of the Association of American Railroads, on a pair of trips costing $5,500 and $6,600, respectively - while serving on the House Railroad Subcommittee.
Democrat Anthony Weiner took the longest and most expensive taxpayer-paid trip in the delegation - a fact-finding expedition to Antarctica. According to the Daily News, taxpayers wound up shelling out more than $350,000 for the nine-day, 12,500-mile marathon two years ago - with Weiner traveling as part of the 13-member Science Committee.
Democrat Joseph Crowley took the New York delegation's longest trip on record, a 13-day, $8,900 getaway to India and Bangladesh sponsored by an Indian trade group. Crowley has also taken his wife, Kasey, on freebies to India, New Orleans and the Dominican Republic.
Again - those are just the jaunts taken by the House's New York delegation.
What about reports that Tom DeLay paid family members to work on his campaigns?
It turns out he's far from alone. The MediaNews Group reported Wednesday morning:
"Rep. Bernard Sanders [Ind.-VT] used campaign donations to pay his wife and stepdaughter more than $150,000 for campaign-related work since 2000, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission.
"Jane O'Meara Sanders, his wife, received $91,020 between 2002 and 2004 for "consultation" and for negotiating the purchase of television and radio time-slots for Sanders' advertisements, according to records and interviews."
Ooops.
Perhaps it's time for Mr. DeLay to launch a full-blown probe into the rampant abuse of House privileges by his Democrat colleagues.
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| posted by J.R. @ 3:38:00 PM |
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| How Terri type case was Handled in Argentina |
| Tuesday, April 12, 2005 |
The Supreme court of the province of Buenos Aires recently resolved a case of a 38 year old woman hydrated and fed by feeding tube in stomach who is otherwise healthy and breathing on her own, coughing and blinking. The husband asked for the disconnection of the feeding tube and the parents and brother were opposed. The court ruled in favor of keeping the woman alive and denied the husband's request to have the feeding tube removed.
The judge ruled that the feeding tube was NOT an extra-ordinary means of keeping a patient alive and said they (the court) had an obligation to ensure a person was kept alive wherever possible when only ordinary means of support are required. Our judicial system has no rules or laws other than those that defend life.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:48:00 AM |
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| George Soros behind Bolton opposition? |
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Billionaire globalist said bankrolling effort against Bush nominee
Billionaire globalist George Soros is helping to lead the opposition to John Bolton becoming the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, says watchdog group Accuracy in Media.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:32:00 AM |
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| Report: Al Sharpton pocketed donations |
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The FBI, as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the Rev. Al Sharpton, secretly videotaped him pocketing campaign donations from two shady fund-raisers in a New York City hotel room and then asking for more, it was reported yesterday.
One of the donors was later recorded on a wiretap saying Sharpton may not have reported to the Federal Election Commission tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash, as is required by the law, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The FBI launched the probe into Sharpton's fund-raising for his failed 2004 presidential run after his name surfaced on wiretaps in an unrelated Philadelphia City Hall corruption case, the Inquirer said.
The Post confirmed the FBI investigation of Sharpton. The two dubious donors whom Sharpton met with in the hotel on May 9, 2003 � Democratic fund-raisers La-Van Hawkins and the late Ronald White � suggested that nearly $90,000 was missing from the official campaign report Sharpton filed with the FEC.
Hawkins is currently on trial in Philadelphia on corruption charges unrelated to the Sharpton case; White also was going to be indicted, but he died before charges could be brought.
An FBI wiretap picked up Hawkins telling White he believed they had raised more than $140,000 for Sharpton in the previous quarter � but Hawkins fretted because Sharpton had reported only about $50,000 on his federal election filing.
"He's a train wreck � a plane crash waiting to happen," Hawkins told White about Sharpton, according to the paper.
FEC records show Sharpton reported raising about $54,000 during the period, the second quarter of 2003.
Sharpton has denied any wrongdoing.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:26:00 AM |
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| Justices to be booted in Massachusetts? |
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Panel hears bill targeting 4 who voted for same-sex marriage
A measure to oust the four justices who voted for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts will be considered today by the state legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee.
Massachusetts Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall speaking at the annual dinner of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association in 1999 when she was an associate justice.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the Massachusetts-based group Article 8 Alliance is promoting a "bill of address," a Massachusetts provision allowing lawmakers to remove judges who fail to fulfill their duties.
The measure, filed by Democratic state Rep. Emile Goguen filed in April 2004, contends the justices violated multiple articles in the state constitution prohibiting courts from nullifying existing laws and requiring that laws remain in effect until the legislature repeals them, regardless of the actions and opinions of the judiciary branch
The bill names Chief Justice Margaret Marshall and justices John M. Greaney, Roderick L. Ireland and Judith A. Cowin.
The last time Massachusetts lawmakers removed a Supreme Judicial Court justice was 1803. A failed attempt was made in 1922. But Article 8 director Brian Camenker, who launched the campaign in January 2004, has said lawmakers privately say "this was a completely illegal ruling, it has no basis in law at all, and that this is really what needs to happen."
The legislators, Camenker believes, are afraid of the Boston Globe and other mainstream media, and homosexual activists and their lawyers, and they don't want to be seen as trying to oust a judge.
In addition, Gouguen has accused Chief Justice Marshall of conspiring with homosexual activists before her 2003 ruling, citing alleged violations of the state's Code of Judicial Conduct and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.
Pointing to Marshall's speech to the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association in 1999, when she was an associate justice, Gouguen contends she aided and abetted Mary L. Bonauto, the attorney who argued the same-sex marriage case for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
In the speech, Marshall, praised the "growing body of gay-friendly international jurisprudence," including that of her native South Africa.
Gouguen argues Marshall's appearance before the homosexual group should have disqualified her from the same-sex marriage case. He notes the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct stated at the time, "A judge should disqualify himself in a proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned." The code's language was strengthened last year, changing "should" to "shall."
John Haskins, Article 8's associate director, says his group is trying to arrange testimony by constitutional experts, including one or more from Harvard Law School.
He said the House and Senate leadership "appears to have conspired to schedule this hearing without notifying us until it was too late to introduce testimony or alert the media."
Haskins said it's the opinion of more and more legal experts that, "for the entire country, a great deal depends on our scaring the Massachusetts political estabishment back into at least faintly constitutional parameters."
Last July, Article 8 charged the state Legislature's Rules Committee violated legislative rules by holding a secret vote on the bill at a meeting that was not advertised in advance.
Goguen caught wind of the meeting but was told by the chairman it was a private "executive session" and he would have to leave, despite House rules requiring it be open to the public.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:23:00 AM |
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| Three Indicted on Terror Charges in U.S. |
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Three men have been indicted on charges they targeted for attack financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington, federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
The three men, whom authorities have not yet identified, already are in custody in England. They had been picked up there last year in a separate investigation that yielded evidence they scouted the New York Stock Exchange and Citicorp Building in New York, the Prudential Building in Newark, N.J., and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, said two officials who discussed the case at this sensitive juncture only on grounds they not be publicly identified. The indictments are under court seal, they noted.
An announcement was expected later Tuesday, at the time the indictments are to be unsealed.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:18:00 AM |
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| What's Wrong With Bolton Supporting US Interests, Group Asks |
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There's nothing wrong with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations putting U.S. interests first, John Bolton's supporters say.
Move America Forward -- an organization that wants the U.S. to cut all ties to the U.N. -- is now running TV ads supporting Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador.
Move America Forward Co-Chair Howard Kaloogian described Bolton's confirmation hearing on Monday as a "clear display of the 'blame America first' mentality that permeates the United Nations today."
Kaloogian noted that some senators on the Foreign Relations Committee seemed to be offended by the idea that Bolton would advance U.S. interests before U.N. interests.
"John Bolton is a man of accomplishment who has never wavered in his commitment to defending America's best interests," Kaloogian said in a press release. "As the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., he will speak truth to power," Kaloogian said.
"So far we've seen nothing but inexcusable grandstanding from those still bitter that their party lost in the last presidential election, and they keep clamoring for a different foreign policy than was endorsed by the American people," Kaloogian said.
The Democrats who are attacking John Bolton seem to have forgotten that John Kerry -- the candidate who advocated a 'global test' for U.S. foreign policy -- was defeated at the polls, Kaloogian added.
Bolton faces a second day of confirmation hearings on Tuesday. A former State Department official was testifying about Bolton's alleged efforts to "intimidate" intelligence analysts who disagreed with him.
On Monday, Republicans defended Bolton as the right man for the job, and Bolton told the committee he views the U.N. "as an important component of our diplomacy."
But Democrats weren't buying it. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) accused Bolton of having "nothing but disdain for the United Nations," and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) told Bolton, "You appear to believe the U.N. is at best irrelevant and at most harmful."
Move America Forward Co-Chair Melanie Morgan said Democrats should be ashamed of attacking a man who stands up for American values.
"The hostility and rudeness emanating from Senators Feingold and Boxer is disgraceful. They have treated John Bolton as if he was someone who advocated anti-American policies and views," Morgan said.
"The senators who have ambushed John Bolton seem more in tune with Kofi Annan and the tyrants, despots and dictators who dominate the U.N. than President Bush and the interests of the American people," Morgan said.
It's still not clear if the Foreign Relations Committee will approve Bolton's nomination, thus sending it to the full Senate for a vote. As Cybercast News Service has reported, Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) may hold the key vote.
Chafee repeated on Monday that he is still "inclined" to support Bolton's nomination.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:07:00 AM |
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| Bush Expected to Speak Out on Gas Prices |
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| White House officials say the President will become increasingly vocal in public about fuel costs, seizing on concerns to push ahead with his long-stalled energy bill, as well as delivering speeches on energy issues.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:02:00 AM |
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| Az. Revives Bill to Let Police Deport Illegals |
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| Arizona considers taking its immigration problem into its own hands; and problems with the $239 million Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System (ISIS), which U.S. officials call crucial to defending the country against terrorist infiltrators, are under investigation.
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:01:00 AM |
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| Former Saddam Regime Member Captured |
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| Iraq said it captured a former high-ranking member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party on Tuesday who is believed to have organized and funded attacks carried out as part of Iraq's insurgency.
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| posted by J.R. @ 10:58:00 AM |
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| Senators May Have Named CIA Operative |
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Senators may have blown the cover of a covert CIA officer yesterday.
During a hearing on John R. Bolton's nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton and members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee referred to the analyst as "Mr. Smith." They were discussing one of the officials involved in a dispute over what Democrats said was Bolton's inappropriate treatment of an intelligence analyst who disagreed with him.
"We referred to this other analyst at the CIA, whom I'll try and call Mr. Smith here," Bolton said at one point.
But the committee chairman, Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) mentioned a name that had not previously come up in public accounts of the intelligence flap.
In questioning Bolton, Kerry read from a transcript of closed-door interviews that committee staffers conducted with State Department officials before yesterday's hearing.
"Did Otto Reich share his belief that [the person in question] should be removed from his position? The answer is yes," Kerry said, characterizing one interview. "Did John Bolton share that view?" Kerry asked. Again, he said the answer was yes.
"As I said, I had lost confidence in Mr. Smith, and I conveyed that," Bolton replied. "I thought that was the honest thing to do."
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| posted by J.R. @ 9:57:00 AM |
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| BlogsForTerri Exclusive: Judge Donald Boyd's Complete Response |
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What follows are first my observations and comments, which include most if not all of Judge Boyd's comments. Judge Boyd's actual email letter is in the extended post.
In a nutshell though, I deem Judge Boyd's actions to be entirely appropriate; but I do question some of his inactions(although even in regard to possible inactions on his part - legally, he might have had his hands tied, I'm not a lawyer). However, it's not over yet, and given what he knows now, hopefully we'll all see Judge Boyd take care of possible past inactions in the future. Having spoken with Judge Boyd several times and now having received his written explanations, I believe him to be sincere, but perhaps inexperienced with the Beth Gaddys of the world. I'll withhold including Michael Schiavo's name with hers until we know just a little more about her possible motivations.
There are several points in Judge Boyd's letter that caught my attention, none of which makes me believe that Judge Boyd has done anything out of order, except perhaps not question why the grandchildren were so dead set(sic) to have their Grandmother in a hospice instead of a "proper" medical center for treatment(such as UAB Med. Ctr. in Ala, where she is now):
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