The ACLU undermines the CIA

This is unbelievable:

WASHINGTON POST: The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors involved in the agency’s interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques.

If detainees at the U.S. military prison in Cuba are tried, either in federal court or by a military commission, defense lawyers are expected to attempt to call CIA personnel to testify.

The photos were taken by researchers hired by the John Adams Project, a joint effort of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, to support military counsel at Guantanamo Bay, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the inquiry. It was unclear whether the Justice Department is also examining those organizations.

Both groups have long said that they will zealously investigate the CIA’s interrogation program at “black sites” worldwide as part of the defense of their clients. But government investigators are now looking into whether the defense team went too far by allegedly showing the detainees the photos of CIA officers, in some cases surreptitiously taken outside their homes.

Via -Lawyers Showed Photos of Covert CIA Officers to Guantanamo Bay Detainees – washingtonpost.com

…and what is the liberal argument for doing this?

This:

That’s what I asked Joshua Dratel, Chair of the John Adams Project Advisory Committee and a prominent defense lawyer who has represented numerous terror suspects before. Speaking this morning after the news broke that the Department of Justice is investigating military defense lawyers representing terror suspects, Dratel said he couldn’t talk about the specifics of the investigation. But he explained that even if defense lawyers had shown photos of people who might have interrogated their clients, that wouldn’t be breaking the law as long as they didn’t get those photos from the government, or know they were classified or deemed “protected” information by the government or a court.

There are no court rules or rules in the military commissions that would prohibit showing detainees photos “as long as you obtained them from an unclassified source, and they weren’t otherwise covered by a protective order,” said Dratel.

In general, lawyers cannot show their clients information that is classified. And like anyone else, they can’t intentionally reveal the identity of a covert CIA agent knowing that the agent is or recently was playing a covert role with the CIA. It’s not clear if any lawyers showed their clients photos of interrogators who were acting covertly, but it’s also unclear how an official questioning a terror suspect on behalf of the CIA would be covert.

In any event, defense lawyers are troubled that the Justice Department decided to leak news of the investigation to reporters. The Washington Post and The New York Times both reported the story this morning.

“It’s unfortunate that someone in a position to know better decided to go public with this and attempt to smear people in a way that they can’t do legally,” Dratel said. “The investigation is something that’s extraordariny not only for the fact that it’s occurring, but for how it’s occurring, with people being confronted by law enforcement,” said Dratel.

Government agents reportedly approached three lawyers from the Judge Advocates General’s Corps two weeks ago and informed the military lawyers of their right to remain silent, then asked whether they’d shown their clients photos of CIA officials.

“Normally, when a prosecutor wants to subpoena a lawyer, they have to get permission and jump through a lot of hoops,” said Dratel. “I see this as heavy-handed.”

It also could be a way to intimidate the lawyers from aggressively defending their clients. Yesterday, American Civil Liberties Union president Anthony Romero vigorously defended the defense lawyers, who are receiving assistance from the ACLU through the John Adams Project, which has organized private attorneys to assist the military lawyers in defending terror suspects.

Identifying who tortured our clients and what they did to them and when is an essential part of defending their interests in these sham proceedings,” Romero told The Times.

Sham proceedings. Spoken like a true communist. To the far left, the war on terror is a sham; that is because the liberals sympathize with the terrorists. Because of their hatred of this country and its capitalistic system, and by the way, that argument will not hold up in a court of law.  The CIA people who identities are supposed to be protected, are that way for a reason, and these guys are blowing the whistle on them. I mean, the left threw a fit about Valerie Plame. But this is perfectly okay? Can you say double standard?

Of course, seeing that we have a liberal President and a Liberal Federal Prosecutor, nothing will become of it. Watch and see.

others: Michelle Malkin, Power Line, Threat Level, , The Jawa Report, Hot Air, Townhall.com, Wizbang, Gawker, Moonbattery, Sister Toldjah, Weekly Standard, Stop The ACLU, GayPatriot

The White lowers the flag….

While it might a minor one, this is a victory for civil liberties.

The Video:

The Story:

Following a furor over how the data would be used, the White House has shut down an electronic tip box — flag@whitehouse.gov — that was set up to receive information on “fishy” claims about President Barack Obama’s health plan.

E-mails to that address now bounce back with the message: “The e-mail address you just sent a message to is no longer in service. We are now accepting your feedback about health insurance reform via http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck.”

The “flag” service was introduced Aug. 4, with a White House blog post saying: “There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances

to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email

or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said at a briefing shortly after the service launched: “We’re not collecting names from those e-mails. … All we’re asking people to do is if they’re confused about what health care reform is going to mean to them, we’re happy to help clear that up for you. Nobody is keeping anybody’s names.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote a letter to Obama raising privacy concerns about what the senator called an “Obama monitoring program.”

“I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward e-mails critical of his policies to the White House,” Cornyn wrote. “So I urge you to cease this program immediately.”

In a later statement, Cornyn said: “Of course the White House is collecting names. … It is inevitable. Anyone with access to the flag@whitehouse.gov account has access to the names and email addresses that are collected in that account. … How are they purging names and e-mail addresses from this account to protect privacy?”

via White House disables e-tip box – Mike Allen – POLITICO.com.

This is just another blunder in a flurry of blunders carried about by this Socialist Administration. Almost as a idiotic as the Nixon Administration’s Enemy list that he had; and just as corrupt. This should be a lesson the Obama Administration that Chicago style politics does not work in Washington D.C. Although, knowing this Administration, that lesson will not be learned very soon at all.

Others: PoliGazette, Hot Air, Babalú Blog, JustOneMinute, Fox News, AmSpecBlog

Update: Letter from the Attorney of the Conservative Black Beaten by SEIU thugs

Here is a letter from the Attorney of the Black Conservative man who was beaten by SEIU union thugs.

This comes from the St. Louis Tea Party Blog: (H/T Gateway Pundit)

August 7, 2009

Dear Mr. Hennessy:

I am Kenneth Gladney’s attorney. Kenneth was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County. I was at the town hall meeting as well and witnessed the events leading up to the attack of Kenneth. Kenneth was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags to other conservatives. The SEIU representative demanded to know why a black man was handing out these flags. The SEIU member used a racial slur against Kenneth, then punched him in the face. Kenneth fell to the ground. Another SEIU member yelled racial epithets at Kenneth as he kicked him in the head and back. Kenneth was also brutally attacked by one other male SEIU member and an unidentified woman. The three men were clearly SEIU members, as they were wearing T-shirts with the SEIU logo.

Kenneth was beaten badly. One assailant fled on foot; three others were arrested. Kenneth was admitted to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center emergency room, where he was treated for his numerous injuries. Kenneth was merely expressing his freedom of speech by handing out the flags. In fact, he merely asked people as they exited the town hall meeting whether they would like a flag. He in no way provoked any argument or altercation, as evidenced by the fact that three assailants were arrested.

We hope that Kenneth fully recovers from his injuries; however, he is in great pain at this time. We will be pursuing legal action at our discretion. This was a truly senseless hate crime carried out by racist union thugs. Regretfully, Representative Carnahan’s statements blaming Kenneth for being a disruptive force are wholly untrue and slanderous. We would like to think that an elected official in Representative Carnahan’s position would gather accurate information before carelessly rushing to judgment.

Kenneth supports conservative ideals, although he subscribes to no particular political party. We are calling on the SEIU, Representative Carnahan, and President Obama to condemn the racist actions of these union thugs. In the days to come, we will be investigating whether these thugs are working at the behest of Representative Carnahan and how strong their alliances to various organizations–such as ACORN–may be.

We hope the St. Louis Tea Party and tea party organizations around the country will protest Representative Carnahan’s offices and also protest SEIU offices in every major city across the U.S. These Democratic strong-arm tactics must end now.

Regards,

Attorney David B. Brown

Contact the SEIU and demand that they renounce this violence:

TELL THE SEIU THAT WE OPPOSE VIOLENCE

SEIU
5585 Pershing Ave.
Suite 130
St. Louis, MO 63112

PHONE: 314.367.0013
FAX: 314.361.8704

Contact the AFL-CIO and demand that they condemn this act of violence:

AFL-CIO
815 16th St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
Contact these unions and DEMAND that they condemn this act of violence:

Name: Air Line Pilots Association
Address: 1625 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 703-689-2270
Website: www.alpa.org

Name: Amalgamated Transit Union
Address: 5025 Wisconsin Ave., N.W. 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-537-1645
Website: www.atu.org
Name: American Federation of Government Employees
Address: 80 F St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-737-8700
Website: www.afge.org

Name: American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada
Address: 1501 Broadway Suite 600
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-869-1330

Name: American Federation of School Administrators
Address: 1101 17th St., N.W. Suite 408
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-986-4209
Website: www.admin.org

Name: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Address: 1625 L St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

Phone: 202-429-1000

Website: www.afscme.org

Name: American Federation of Teachers
Address: 555 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-879-4400
Website: www.aft.org

Name: American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Address: 5757 Wilshire Blvd. 9th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323-634-8100
Website: www.aftra.org

Name: American Postal Workers Union
Address: 1300 L St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-842-4200
Website: www.apwu.org

Name: American Radio Association
Address: 1755 East Plumb Lane Suite 111
Reno, NV 89502
Phone: 510-281-0706

Name: American Train Dispatchers Association
Address: 1370 Ontario St. Suite 1040
Cleveland, OH 44113
Phone: 216-241-2770

Name: Associated Actors and Artistes of America
Address: 165 W. 46th St.
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-869-0358

Name: Actors’ Equity Association
Address: 165 W. 46th St.
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-869-8530
Website: www.actorsequity.org

Name: American Guild of Musical Artists
Address: 1430 Broadway
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-265-3687
Website: www.musicalartists.org

Name: American Guild of Variety Artists
Address: 363 7th Ave. 17th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-675-1003

Name: Screen Actors Guild
Address: 5757 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323-549-6675
Website: www.sag.org

Name: The Guild of Italian American Actors
Address: Canal Street Station PO Box 123
New York, NY 10013-0123
Phone: 212-420-6590
Website: www.giaa.us

Name: Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union
Address: 10401 Connecticut Ave.
Kensington, MD 20895
Phone: 301-933-8600
Website: www.bctgm.org

Name: Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
Address: 917 Shenandoah Shores Road
Front Royal, VA 22630
Phone: 540-622-6522
Website: www.brs.org

Name: California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee
Address: 2000 Franklin Street
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-273-2280
Website: www.calnurses.org

Name: Association of Flight Attendants
Address: 501 Third St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-434-1300
Website: www.afanet.org

Name: California School Employees Association
Address: 2045 Lundy Ave
San Jose, CA 95131
Phone: 408-473-1000
Website: www.csea.com

Name: Communications Workers of America
Address: 501 Third St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-434-1100
Website: www.cwa-union.org

Name: Farm Labor Organizing Committee
Address: 1221 Broadway Street
Toledo, OH 43615
Phone: 419-243-3456
Website: www.floc.com

Name: Federation of Professional Athletes
Address: 1133 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-756-9100
Website: www.nflpa.org

Name: Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union
Address: 608 E. Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063
Phone: 610-565-5051

Name: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada
Address: 1430 Broadway
New York, NY 10018

Phone: 212-730-1770

Website: www.iatse-intl.org

Name: International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-383-4800
Website: www.ironworkers.org

Name: International Association of Fire Fighters
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W. Third Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-737-8484
Website: www.iaff.org

Name: International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
Address: 9602 M.L. King Jr. Highway
Lanham, MD 20706
Phone: 301-731-9101
Website: www.insulators.org

Name: International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Address: 9000 Machinist Place
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Phone: 301-967-4500
Website: www.iamaw.org

Name: International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers
Address: 753 State Ave. Suite 570
Kansas City, KS 66101
Phone: 913-371-2640
Website: www.boilermakers.org

Name: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Address: 900 Seventh St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-3886
Phone: 202-833-7000
Website: www.ibew.org

Name: International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers
Address: 501 3rd Street, N.W. Suite 701
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-239-4880
Website: www.ifpte.org

Name: International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Address: 1188 Franklin St. 4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: 415-775-0533
Website: www.ilwu.org

Name: International Longshoremen’s Association
Address: 17 Battery Place Suite 930
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-425-1200
Website: www.ilaunion.org

Name: International Plate Printers, Die Stampers and Engravers Union of North America
Address: 906 Dennis Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20901

Name: International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers

Address: 1950 W. Erie St.
Chicago, IL 60622
Phone: 312-738-0822
Website:

Name: International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Address: 620 F St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: 202-783-3788
Website: www.bacweb.org

Name: International Union of Elevator Constructors
Address: 7154 Columbia Gateway Drive
Columbia, MD 21046
Phone: 410-953-6150
Website: www.iuec.org

Name: International Union of Operating Engineers
Address: 1125 17th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-429-9100
Website: www.iuoe.org

Name: International Union of Painters and Allied Trades of the United States and Canada
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-637-0700
Website: www.iupat.org

Name: International Union of Police Associations
Address: 1549 Ringling Blvd. 6th Floor
Sarasota, FL 34236
Phone: 941-487-2560
Website: www.iupa.org

Name: Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association
Address: 444 N. Capitol St., N.W. Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-638-5355
Website: www.d1meba.org

Name: Professional Aviation Safety Specialists
Address: 1150 17th Street, NW Suite 702
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-293-7277
Website: www.passnational.org/

Name: National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Address: 1325 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-628-5451
Website: www.natca.org

Name: National Association of Letter Carriers
Address: 100 Indiana Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-4695
Website: www.nalc.org

Name: National Postal Mail Handlers Union
Address: 1101 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-833-9095
Website: www.npmhu.org

Name: Office and Professional Employees International Union
Address: 265 W. 14th St. 6th Floor
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 800-346-7348
Website: www.opeiu.org

Name: Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association of the United States and Canada
Address: 11720 Beltsville Drive Suite 700
Beltsville, MD 20705-3166
Phone: 301-623-1000
Website: www.opcmia.org

Name: Seafarers International Union of North America
Address: 5201 Auth Way
Camp Springs, MD 20746
Phone: 301-899-0675
Website: www.seafarers.org

Name: Sheet Metal Workers International Association
Address: 1750 New York Ave., N.W. Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-783-5880
Website: www.smwia.org

Name: Transport Workers Union of America
Address: 1700 Broadway 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10019-5905
Phone: 212-259-4900
Website: www.twu.org

Name: Transportation Communications International Union/IAM
Address: 3 Research Place
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 301-948-4910
Website: www.tcunion.org

Name: United American Nurses
Address: 8630 Fenton St. Suite 1100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301-543-8320
Website: www.uannurse.org

Name: United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada
Address: Three Park Place
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: 410-269-2000
Website: www.ua.org

Name: United Mine Workers of America
Address: 8315 Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: 703-208-7200
Website: www.umwa.org

Name: United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union
Address: Five Gateway Center
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: 412-562-2400
Website: www.usw.org

Name: United Transportation Union
Address: 14600 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44107-4250
Phone: 216-228-9400

Name: United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers
Address: 1660 L St., N.W. Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-463-7663
Website: www.unionroofers.com

Name: Utility Workers Union of America
Address: 815 16th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-974-8200
Website: www.uwua.net

Name: Writers Guild of America, East Inc.
Address: 555 W. 57th St. Suite 1230
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-767-7800
Website: www.wgaeast.org

Contact these unions and ask them, do they approve of violence against Black men expressing their opinions?

Al Sharpton’s Organization:

National Action Network
Crisis Department
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039
(212) 690-3070
(877) NAN-HOJ1

William Jefferson found guilty on 11 of 16 counts

One Word…. Good.

Via Nola.com:

In the 16-count indictment, Jefferson was charged with soliciting bribes and other crimes for a series of schemes in which he helped American businesses broker deals in West African in exchange for payments or financial considerations to companies controlled by members of his family, including his brother Mose, his wife, Andrea, their five daughters and a son-in-law.

01nwJeffCase
William Jefferson - Shakedown Artist

Jefferson, 62, who represented the New Orleans-based 2nd Congressional District for nine terms, will now face sentencing by Judge T.S. Ellis III, who earlier meted out stiff sentences for lesser figures in the case. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Jefferson faced 235 years in prison if convicted on all counts, and will still face substantial prison time.

Prosecutors asked that Jefferson be held as a flight risk, but the judge allowed him to remain free pending his sentencing scheduled for Oct. 30. A forfeiture hearing will be held Thursday to decide what assets Jefferson will have to surrender.

The verdict comes four years after the Aug. 3, 2005 raids of Jefferson’s homes in New Orleans and Washington, D.C., in which the FBI found $90,000 in cash hidden in the freezer of his D.C. home, money the government said Jefferson was going to deliver as a bribe to Atiku Abubakar, then vice president of Nigeria, to gain his help with a telecommunications deal in Nigeria being pursued by Lori Mody, a Northern Virginia businesswoman.

The money was the lion’s share of $100,000 in FBI cash that the congressman was videotaped receiving packed in a briefcase days earlier in a suburban Virginia parking lot from Mody, who, beginning in March of 2005, had become a cooperating witness for the FBI, secretly taping her conversations with Jefferson.

The jury did not find him guilty on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which was the count linked to the money in the freezer.

While Mody did not testify at the trial, the jury heard segments of her taped conversations with Jefferson along with more than six weeks of testimony from government witnesses, including iGate Inc. CEO Vernon Jackson and Mody financial adviser Brett Pfeffer, both of whom are serving time after pleading guilty to their involvement in the bribe schemes, and hoped to see their sentences reduced in exchange for their testimony against Jefferson.

Jefferson did not testify in his own defense and his formal defense lasted only about two hours. In his closing argument, lead defense attorney Robert Trout presented his client as a man whose dealings had placed him in an ethical “gray” area, but who had not broken the law.

I will simply say this; as a non-partisan Conservative blogger who knows full well that there is corruption on both sides of the aisle, I will simply say this. I am very pleased that this man was caught. I only hope now that it does not stop this guy; but rather continues with others that are extremely corrupt up on capital hill.

Exit question: How long till the race baiters like Al Sharpton come out saying that this bust was racially motivated?

Others: Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, , Macsmind, Flopping Aces, Blue Crab Boulevard Wizbang, Patterico’s Pontifications,

Michelle Malkin does “The View”

In all honesty, it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I thought that it would devolve into a swearing and screaming match and that someone would end up with a black eye. I was kind of actually hoping that Michelle would clock Joy Bayhar into the eye or something. I hate that Bitch with a passion. AngryBut Alas, it was quite civilized.

Quoting Michelle on the experience:

Just finished up on The View, where I sparred with the ladies about Culture of Corruption.

[……]

Best part: Every single member of the audience got a copy of the book!

Second best part: Whoopi Goldberg, who didn’t read the book, asserting that I called the administration the most corrupt ever in the book when I was on the set — and then waiting for me to leave to falsely assert that “that young lady” said it on the Today Show.

No, I didn’t.

[……]

As I said on the show, my argument is that the Obama administration needs to be held to its own standards and rhetoric — and by that standard, it is one of the most corrupt in recent history — a point I made on the Hannity show last Monday when I launched.

You know you’ve won the argument when the ladies of the View are reduced to arguing how corrupt Team Obama is, and not whether.

Here’s the video: (H/T to AllahPundit)

I have to say that I loved the quip by Michelle; when she referred to Elizabeth is the friendly side of the table. Hee hee I also found it extremely ironic, that the three liberal suck bags; when they saw that they were losing the debate on the Obama Administration, they began bringing up the Bush Administration and the Iraq War. The old classic “We’re losing here, so, let’s change the subject.” Also, About the Iraq war, We won the war and have mostly withdrawn from Bagdad.   I wonder what the Iraqi people think about the United States of America just pulling out of that Country and leaving it to chaos. Hello! Does anyone remember Vietnam? Idiots. They are the ones that caused America to lose that war. They see it as a major victory.

Anyhow, It is an enjoyable video to watch, you can buy Michelle’s book, by going here:

Also, here are Michelle Malkin’s other books as well:

Others: Top of the Ticket, The Anchoress, RealClearPolitics Video Log, Pundit & Pundette, Media Blog, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, American Power and And So it Goes in Shreveport

Police State?: Is Virginia State Police targeting Tea Party Protesters?

Just a short story via Linda Gelbhaar on twitter…

Seems the Virginia State Police is now targeting Tea Party Protesters.

A called Blog Tertium Quids has the story:

Another troubling matter regarding Tea Party organizers, Rep. Tom Perriello, Obama administration functionaries and the Virginia State police. Via email:

Danville TEA Party chairman Nigel Coleman said Virginia State Police officers Monday came unannounced to the home of another member of the group to question him about attending a town hall meeting Saturday in Blairs which featured Perriello and two Obama cabinet secretaries.

And this…

Saturday, Coleman, the group’s chair, and other TEA Party leaders were refused an opportunity to ask Perriello a question during the event, and then were instructed by a plainclothes police officer to leave the property when they attempted to display signs urging the congressman to follow the Constitution and oppose Pelosi’s “socialized medicine scheme.” Coleman said he and the others peacefully complied, but were followed to a restaurant by an officer in an unmarked car, who then exited his vehicle, walked over to the activists’ cars, and called in their license plate numbers over the phone.

Go read the rest of this there and let people know about this one. Because if the police are now targeting Tea Party protesters; we have a serious problem.

Virginia State Police contact info is here:

7700 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, VA 23235

Phone: (804) 674-2000

Click here for e-mail

Remember, no threats, and be polite; just ask them why they are targeting tea party protesters.

Police State:Alabama Cops Taser and Arrest a Deaf Black Man….. For being sick

This is just damn wrong….

Video: (Via the Republic of T)

The Story: (Via the AP)

MOBILE, Alabama (AP) — Police in Mobile, Ala., used pepper spray and a Taser on a deaf, mentally disabled man who they said wouldn’t leave a store’s bathroom.

The family of 37-year-old Antonio Love has filed a formal complaint over the incident on Friday.

Police tell the Press-Register of Mobile that officers shot pepper spray under the bathroom door after knocking several times. After forcing the door open, they used the stun gun on Love.

Police spokesman Christopher Levy says police didn’t realize Love had a hearing impairment until after he was out of the bathroom. The officers’ conduct is under investigation.

The newspaper says the officers attempted to book Love on charges including disorderly conduct, but a magistrate on duty wouldn’t accept the charges.

Sorry to say it, but is because of crap like this right here, is why stuff like THIS Happens: (Warning Graphic Language and Content)

Police State? You Decide.

Welcome to the New Socialist World Order police state. Brought to you by the Washington Elite.

Mobile Alabama’s Chief of Police: 251-208-1701 (No threats and be polite please, demand that something be done!)

Update: The Mobile police they were justified, here is their stupid and asinine justification for tazering a deaf and mentally handicapped man:

A spokesman for the Mobile Police Department said the officers’ actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon — an umbrella.

But relatives of Antonio Love, 37, have asked for a formal investigation and said they plan to sue both the police and the store.

“I want justice,” Love’s mother, Phyllis Love, said Tuesday.

The woman said her son hears only faintly, has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old and didn’t realize that it was the police who were trying enter the bathroom.

[…]

Police spokesman Christopher Levy said Tuesday store workers called officers complaining that a man had been in the bathroom for more than an hour with the door locked. Officers knocked on the door and identified themselves, but the person didn’t respond.

Officers used a tire iron to open the door, but the man pushed back to keep it shut. Officers saw the umbrella and sprayed pepper spray through a crack trying to subdue the man, Levy said. They shot the man with a Taser when they finally got inside, he said.

Officers didn’t realize Love was deaf or had mental problems until he showed them a card he carries in his wallet, Levy said. He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, but officers released him and took him home after a magistrate refused to issue a warrant.

Levy said officers were justified in using force against Love since he had an umbrella.

“The officers really worked within the limits of our level-of-force policy,” he said. “We had no information about who this guy was.”

An umbrella…. Yes, you read that correctly; an umbrella. What in the name of Almighty God has gotten wrong with this damned country, when the police can arrest you and jolt you with something that has enough electricity that can potentially kill you, over something as simple as having an umbrella? Something is wrong with this Country my friend, something is horrifically wrong. When will the people rise up and take this Country back, from the Military Police that controls it? When?!?!

I know some of you are wondering about I wrote here, about Black people. These are two different issues; for one, the man is deaf, for two, the man is handicapped, and for three. This man was doing nothing wrong. His race has zero to do with it; that is unless your a idiot White Nationalist. Which I am not.

Michelle Malkin Promotes Her Book on Hannity

I will be the first to admit; I have not always agreed with Michelle Malkin in the past. But I am totally in agreement with her on the Obama Administration and on Matters of the Military; and most importantly on the subject of the war on terror.

Michelle has released a new book on the Obama Administration. It is called:

michellemalkinbook

Here the video of Michelle on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News Channel: (H/T and Thanks to the guys at HotAir.com)

I might even buy me a copy of this book, but really, I have blogged about most of it; so, for me, it would be a huge review. Big Grin

You can get Michelle Malkin’s Book right here or by clicking the link on the picture of the book above:

The Obama White House Tries to Bully the Congressional Budget Office House

This is more of that Far-Left Liberal Politics at work:

Via CNN:

The White House has criticized the Congressional Budget Office’s findings that the Obama administration’s proposal to control Medicare costs would yield a moderate savings of $2 billion over the next decade.

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said the CBO’s analysis — which it relayed to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Saturday — could feed a perception of the office’s bias toward “exaggerating costs and underestimating savings.”

“The point of the proposal … was never to generate savings over the next decade,” Orszag said in a letter posted on Saturday.

“Instead the goal is to provide a mechanism for improving quality of care for beneficiaries and reducing costs over the long term.”

CBO Director Doug Elmendorf’s letter to Hoyer on Saturday was in response to the Senate Majority Leader’s request for analysis on “possible approaches for giving the President broad authority to make changes in the Medicare program,” Elmendorf wrote.

The Obama administration is touting a proposal to give a medical advisory council the power to help decide the scope of coverage that would be eligible for reimbursement under Medicare.

Administration officials say the proposed “Independent Medicare Advisory Council” would both improve health care quality and control costs. Some health care industry groups object to the proposal, saying such a council would not be qualified to make those judgments.

The CBO’s review of the proposal found that “the probability is high that no savings would be realized … but there is also a chance that substantial savings might be realized,” Elmendorf wrote.

“Looking beyond the 10-year-budget window, CBO expects that this proposal would generate larger but still modest savings on the same probabilistic basis.”

Orszag, a former director of the CBO, pointed out that “it is very rare for CBO to conclude that a specific legislative proposal would generate significant long-term savings so it is noteworthy that, with some modifications, CBO reached such a conclusion with regard to the IMAC (Independent Medicare Advisory Council concept.”

But he also criticized Elmendorf’s findings.

“As a former CBO director, I can attest that CBO is sometimes accused of a bias toward exaggerating costs and underestimating savings. Unfortunately, parts of today’s analysis from CBO could feed that perception,” Orszag said.

“In providing a quantitative estimate of long-term effects without any analytical basis for doing so, CBO seems to have overstepped.”

Just another attack from a worried White House, who wants their agenda passed, no matter the cost to the people or to our Nation.

Some Reactions from the Conservative Blogosphere:

Keith Hennessey:

With this letter CBO has killed the President’s IMAC proposal.  It almost certainly would have died even without CBO’s letter.  The proposal would have transferred an enormous amount of power from Congress to the Executive Branch.  Turf-conscious Congressional committee chairmen would have fought it to protect their power base.  Medicare provider interest groups (hospitals, doctors) were starting to lobby against it.  They prefer Congress making these decisions because they’re easier to lobby and influence.

The only chance IMAC had was if CBO had said it would save gobs of money, allowing House leaders simultaneously to make Blue Dogs happy for being fiscally responsible, and to remove from their bill other, more politically painful, spending cuts or tax increases.  IMAC was drafted so weakly that it became a budget gimmick.

[….]

Yes, the Administration could submit a fundamentally different proposal and call it a “tweak” of their existing one.  To achieve the stated goals of bending the government health cost curve down and reducing future deficits, such a proposal would need to actually cut spending in an enforcable and unavoidable way.  If they want to throw in a new council to shuffle money around within the mandated lower levels, that’s a separable question.  The President’s advisors know, however, that a proposal like this with real teeth would never get off the ground in Congress.  That’s too bad, because we desperately need the long-term deficit reduction.

The death of IMAC is a black eye for the Administration and another step backward for the pending health care reform bills.  This result was both predictable and avoidable.

Ed Morrissey:

In a Hot Air exclusive, I contacted Chuck Blahous of the Hudson Institute, formerly the deputy director of George Bush’s National Economic Council about the open and aggressive attack on the CBO from Orszag and the White House.  Blahous finds it unseemly:


“It’s routine for OMB and CBO to have scoring differences. It’s also routine for the two agencies to separately acknowledge, explain and quantify them. What’s not routine is for each to overtly criticize the other. This is a bad road to go down in any case, but even more so because OMB probably has the glass house here. Institutionally, they’re just different; CBO is purely a referee, while OMB is part referee, part player because they’re part of the President’s policy development team. Moreover, OMB’s February budget presentation attracted a lot of justified criticism for its economic assumptions and for moving various deficit-expanding policies into the budget baseline. Furthermore, most of the claims about long-term cost savings from health care reform have been purely speculative, with no data from the actuaries to back them up. Still, I don’t expect CBO to hit back and to criticize OMB scoring, nor should they. Hopefully folks will walk back and cooler heads will prevail.”

Orszag has been an embarrassment as OMB director, and now he’s becoming dangerous to the separation of powers between the branches of government. Either Obama should put Orszag on a leash, or get rid of him immediately — and find a real budget director, not just a liberal-agenda hack.

Steve Gilbert over at Sweetness and Light:

It’s hard to puzzle it out from this article, but this is an extension of Obama’s efforts to wrest control of Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements away from Congress so that he can call the shots.

And, despite what Mr. Orszag now claims, that was and is touted as a way to bring about tremendous savings.

Congress asked the CBO’s opinion, since they want to keep this power for themselves.

Needless to say, it should be nigh unto impossible for the CBO to predict whether the Obama people would raise or lower the reimbursement levels.

So naturally they tried to have it both ways:

[….]

And still the White House slammed them.

William A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection:

What a pathetic joke the Democratic legislative effort has become. Loss of freedom and no meaningful cost savings. The opposite of “you get what you pay for.”

As Rahm Emanuel and Henry Waxman push to have a vote next week, it is clear that neither the Congress nor the White House has any clue as to the consequences of what they are proposing (if they even have read it). All the more reason we need to see the bill, debate it, and let our representatives know how we feel before they vote.

So give double thanks this weekend. First, for the CBO not giving in to political pressure. And second, for the fact that the CBO works on Saturdays.

I cannot say that I honestly disagree with that. This whole thing is a page right out of Saul Alinsky’s book, Rules for Radicals. It also could be a page out of the old Clinton playbook as well. What you cannot change or control; you contain it by discrediting it. If you cannot do that, then kill it. Just ask Vice Foster‘s family about that. Come to think of it, there are quite a few families that could be asked about that.  Conspiracy theories?  You decide.

Hope! Change! Intimadation! Discrediting of your Enemies! All just another day in the Presidency of Barack Hussein Obama.

NJ sting nets Mayors and Rabbis

An interesting story….

Via CNN:

The New Jersey officials and their associates charged in a federal probe of public corruption exchanged hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in parking lots, restaurants, boiler rooms and bathrooms, an acting U.S. attorney said Thursday.

The investigation netted 44 defendants — 29 on corruption charges and 15 for alleged money laundering, acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra Jr. said at a news conference.

Defendants were to begin appearing Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Newark.

Among the 15 are five rabbis, including the national leader of the Syrian Jewish community. They are alleged to have laundered more than $3 million in a “high-volume, international money-laundering conspiracy,” Marra said. Their alleged dealings stretched to Israel and Switzerland.

“These complaints paint a disgraceful picture of religious leaders heading money-laundering crews, acting as crime bosses. They used purported charities … as vehicles for laundering millions of dollars in illicit funds,” Marra said.

The rabbis named in the indictments are accused of setting up charitable tax-exempt organizations at their synagogues that they used to launder money.

According to the indictments, a confidential witness working for federal authorities approached the rabbis and offered to make donations to the charities in return for the rabbis writing back a check to the undercover agent. The rabbis collected a fee for the service by writing a smaller check back, sometimes returning $45,000 for a $50,000 donation to the charity, the indictments said.

Charges against the rabbis include bankruptcy fraud, bank fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

Marra said more than $650,000 in bribes was paid to those accused in the criminal complaints. “And the politicians willingly put themselves up for sale,” he said.

I suppose that some of you think that I am going to go on some sort of Anti-Semite rant here, right? Well, Surprise. 😐

Anyone that would use this simple case of corruption to say something to the effect of, “See? All ‘dem Jews are corrupt!”; has got a serious problem.  Corruption is corruption and it does not discriminate against race, color or creed. White Anglo Saxon’s are just capable of being corrupt; as Jews, Blacks, Latinos, or any other race. Anyone that says a anything other than this, is either; 1. Stupid or 2. Anti-Semitic or a racist bigot. (I know, redundency)

So, let me go on record as being quite happy that the justice system is actually, in this case, doing what it is supposed to; for a change.

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