Senator Ted Steven's Conviction Voided

There is a bunch of discussion in the Blogosphere regarding the voiding of the conviction of Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens. I do have an opinion on this, I will share it after the quote.

Via NPR:

The Justice Department on Wednesday asked a federal judge to drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska.
A jury convicted Stevens last fall of seven counts of lying on his Senate disclosure form in order to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican in the Senate. However, he lost his bid for an eighth full term in office just days after he was convicted. Since then, charges of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing and prompted defense motions for a new trial.
In a move first reported by NPR, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he has decided to drop the case against Stevens rather than continue to defend the conviction in the face of persistent problems stemming from the actions of prosecutors.

There have been some very idiotic accusations by those on the far right, that this was a political move and that the Democrats somehow or another wanted this guy out and so on. There’s only one little problem with that. These charges were not level by the Justice Department under Eric Holder. They were issued by the Justice Department under Michael B. Mukasey, who of course, served at the behest of George W. Bush. Not to mention that there was some serious misconduct by some of persons involved, like the FBI and the prosecutors.

So, while it might be easy and convenient to blame the Democrats for this, I am quite afraid that those accusations are not founded in the truth. This was another one of the disasters, that was part of the rather sad process that was known as the Bush White House; and once again Obama’s White House is left to clean up the mess.

So, while as much as I dislike the Democratic Party’s Socialist Agenda; which is being implemented by the Obama Administration. I cannot sit here accuse the Democrats of something, that they had zero to do with. That would be abject foolishness, of which I want nothing to do with.

The Southern Avenger on "9/11 Truths"

How “911 Truth” conspiracy theorists who believe the U.S. government orchestrated 911, aren’t any more “crazy” than those who believe Saddam Hussein did.

The Southern Avenger’s Blog

The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine

Is the Obama Administration letting G.M.'s New C.E.O. do it's dirty work for them?

Full Disclosure: My Father is a Retired General Motors Worker and U.A.W. Member.

——-

It sure as heck looks that way to me here.

The reason I ask this question is because a new report from CNBC that the new C.E.O. of GM is essentially saying that bankruptcy is the only option:

General Motors’s new chief executive told CNBC that filing for Bankruptcy may be the best option for the struggling automaker.
In a taped interview to be aired tonight on NBC Nightly News, Fritz Henderson said that because of greater demands from the Obama administration to restructure, GM is considering the bankruptcy option. The auto giant previously had ruled out such a move, saying it would discourage people from buying GM cars.
Henderson’s comments came after President Obama bluntly rejected turnaround plans by GM and Chrysler and demanded that both companies make fresh concessions in order to get more federal aid.
Henderson, who was GM’s president and chief operating officer, was named the new CEO after the government forced the resignation of CEO Rick Wagoner on Sunday. GM’s board is also being restructured.
Henderson told reporters that the company would still prefer to restructure outside of court, but the level of support Washington is offering would help the company quickly restructure through bankruptcy.
Henderson says GM needs to work faster and go deeper to get more concessions from bondholders and the United Auto Workers union. President Obama has demanded that GM come up with a better restructuring plan in 60 days in order to qualify for more government aid.

I find it very interesting that President Obama, instead of doing the dirty deed himself, ousted the CEO of G.M. and basically has let the new G.M. head honcho be his fall guy for basically screwing the bond holders and also the unions. This way, Barry comes off clean. It is a strategy that is quite slick, quite risky; but none the less slick.

The Wall Street Journal has more:

Inside a windowless, ornate room Thursday just across from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama and a group of senior economic advisers began the job of remaking the American automobile industry.
The first order of business: Oust General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner.
It “wasn’t the hardest decision,” said one government official.
Steven Rattner, a former investment banker who is heading the administration’s auto restructuring; chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers; and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner were among those gathered around the polished wood table of the Roosevelt Room in the White House’s West Wing. They were there to decide under what conditions the government would continue to prop up once-powerful Detroit car companies GM and Chrysler LLC.
In the post-World War II boom, they were at the pinnacle of a quintessentially American industry. At Thursday’s meeting, once the Obama administration concluded the pair were running out of money, their effective dismantling began.
Beyond seeking Mr. Wagoner’s resignation, the officials also gave failing grades to GM and Chrysler for the restructuring plans they submitted to the government Feb. 17. They also set a deadline — one month for Chrysler, two months for GM — after which the government might force a bankruptcy restructuring of both companies and break up two of America’s business icons.
Many of GM’s problems didn’t start during Mr. Wagoner’s term, and most predate the economic downturn that sent car sales slumping, such as union contracts and the costs of paying for retiree health care. GM made a bad situation worse with huge bets on trucks and SUVs that piled up on dealer lots amid soaring gas prices last year.

While I will be the first to tell you, that General Motors has had its own share of issues. What Barack Obama did to G.M. and by proxy to the Union members and Employees of the company; was just flat out cowardly. Instead of forcing General Motors into bankruptcy himself. Obama is allowing the new head honcho of the company and his Auto Czar; do it for him. This way Obama does not burn through his political capital as quickly and more or less comes out looking like the hero. Of course, President TelePrompter will say that he inherited this mess, and by rights he did. But to pass off the basic executing of a company and it’s people to someone else, is quite the cowardly move in my book.

Hey Barry, If you ever happen to read this; Grow some freaking Gonads,will ya? I mean, come on. If you going to screw the American worker; why not do it yourself? Instead of letting your damned patsies do it for you. Just a thought.

The Southern Avenger on "AIG Bonuses are a Ruse"

How the controversy over the AIG bonuses imbedded in the stimulus obfuscate the root problem of spending in general.

The Southern Avenger’s Blog

The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine

About Reid's comments on Roberts

This is kinda odd.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that John Roberts misled the Senate during his confirmation hearings by pretending to be a moderate — and that the United States is now “stuck” with him as chief justice.
“Roberts didn’t tell us the truth. At least Alito told us who he was,” Reid said, referring to Samuel Alito, the second Supreme Court justice nominated by President George W. Bush. “But we’re stuck with those two young men, and we’ll try to change by having some moderates in the federal courts system as time goes on — I think that will happen.”
Reid’s comments, which came during a wide-ranging discussion hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, reflect Democratic concerns that Roberts presented himself as a neutral arbiter of the law but has wielded a relentlessly conservative agenda. Republicans reject the attacks, saying Roberts has been a fair judge and has been consistent in his opinions.
via Reid: Roberts ‘didn’t tell us the truth’ – Manu Raju – POLITICO.com.

I guess my only question is, why’d Reid believe him in the first place? I mean, the dude is a Conservative. You’d think that even Liberal Reid would know not to take his word for it.

Others: Power Line, Weekly Standard, The Sundries Shack, Fox News, Sweetness & Light and The Corner

(Via Memeorandum)

Follow up! Guest Voice – Chuck Baldwin: MISSOURI SCRAPS M.I.A.C. REPORT

Please note: The Opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the political or personal opinions of owner of this Blog.

However, I am very pleased by the news presented in this piece.

—–

Well, there is still hope for liberty after all! After multiple thousands of phone calls, emails, faxes, and other communications from outraged citizens, the State of Missouri has rescinded its controversial “militia” report. This proves the point I made in this column recently that the most effective way to fight an ever-encroaching federal leviathan is to focus on our individual states.

Let me review the events of the last few weeks so as to help readers familiarize themselves with this historic–and I do mean historic–episode.

On February 20, 2009, the State of Missouri, via its Department of Public Safety, issued what was called “MIAC Strategic Report: The Modern Militia Movement.” In this report, people who supported Presidential candidates Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and yours truly were referenced as being connected to potentially dangerous “militia members.” But the inference did not stop there. People of conservative ideology were also identified in the State Police report as being potentially dangerous. People who held political opinions opposing abortion, illegal immigration, the New World Order, the North American Union, the Income Tax, the U.N., etc., were profiled in the MIAC report.

Interestingly enough, no left-leaning political ideologies were identified. No Islamic extremists. No environmental extremists. Only people holding “conservative” or “right-wing” philosophies were identified in the MIAC report.

The MIAC report was categorized as “Unclassified/Law Enforcement Sensitive,” meaning the report was intended for law enforcement personnel only. Fortunately, an unidentified (for obvious reasons) Missouri law enforcement officer, who was extremely disturbed by this report, sent a copy to nationally syndicated radio talk show host Alex Jones. Of course, Jones immediately “blew the whistle” on the story. This was on March 11.

On March 14, the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune ran a story on the subject, and on March 17, I wrote my first column about it. From that point, the story went viral.

Internet sites, radio talk show hosts, and bloggers all over America picked up the story, and thousands of outraged citizens began bombarding the appropriate officials in Missouri with protests. Even Fox News Channel talk show host Glenn Beck ran a feature on the story on Friday, March 20, and again on Monday, March 23. The Constitution Party issued a “Travel Advisory” for the State of Missouri, warning tourists and residents about the possibility of being profiled by State Police for such things as having bumper stickers with political statements on their vehicles, etc. All of this commotion was not lost on several Missouri State legislators and executive officers, either.

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder called on Governor Jay Nixon (who had previously stood by and defended the MIAC report) to place Department of Public Safety Director John Britt on administrative leave pending an investigation into the report. In addition, several Missouri State legislators said they would introduce an amendment to the Department of Public Safety’s budget barring the agency from using “state or federal funds for political profiling.”

On March 23, DPS Director John Britt sent an apology letter to Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and me stating, “I have ordered that the offending report be edited so as to excise all reference to Ron Paul, Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin and to any third-party political organizations.”

While Ron, Bob, and I appreciated the apology and retraction from Mr. Britt, the overriding offense of the report still lingered: namely, the report, with a very broad brush, linked people holding conservative political opinions to dangerous and violence-prone “militias,” which Missouri law enforcement personnel were instructed to be on guard against. Therefore, public outcry against the MIAC report continued, Mr. Britt’s apology notwithstanding.

Then, on Wednesday, March 25, the head of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Col. James F. Keathley, ordered the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) to “permanently cease distribution” of this abysmal report. Keathley said that neither he nor Britt had read the report before it was distributed.

Keathley also noted that the report was filled with numerous spelling and grammatical errors and did not cite any sources for its broad statements about “right-wing” militias. He further said that his department would now review how the MIAC distributes intelligence reports to police officers. He said the process “needs improvement.”

Dear readers, please take a bow! Because of tens of thousands of patriotic, freedom-loving Americans–including thousands of courageous Missourians–the long arm of totalitarianism was shortened just a bit.

This sordid story is truly an embarrassment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State of Missouri. Governor Nixon, especially, is left with egg on his face for foolishly and stupidly standing behind the report, when he had either never read it, or, if he had, was just as guilty of political profiling as the ones who wrote the report.

Why DHS, you ask? Because the MIAC report is similar to several other reports currently circulating around various State police agencies courtesy of DHS-sponsored “Fusion Centers.” There is another side of this story that is even more sinister, however.

If we can continue to probe the details of the MIAC report, I am absolutely convinced we will find that this report actually originates with Morris Dees and his ultra-liberal Southern Poverty Law Center. And if my hunch (a very educated hunch, I might add) is correct, it means that the DHS and various State police agencies around the country are allowing a left-wing special interest group to use them to harass, intimidate, and profile people with conservative political opinions.

I would further proffer that those of us who are outraged by this event should not stop with the MIAC report being removed. While this is very good news, the fear and intimidation associated with those referenced in this report has already taken place. Are people opposed to abortion, illegal immigration, the Income Tax, the U.N., etc., now afraid to express their opinions publicly (especially in Missouri)? If so, this seems to me to be the basis for legal action, based on the abridgment of the First Amendment freedom of speech by a State (and perhaps federal) law enforcement agency.

There is yet another chilling question that must be answered: by saying Missouri State Police will “review” how MIAC distributes intelligence reports to police officers, does Col. Keathley mean that the State of Missouri’s law enforcement agencies will continue to promote similar reports, but simply make them “Classified”? In other words, will they (and other State police agencies around the country) simply employ greater secrecy when issuing such reports, but do nothing to change the content of future reports? Hopefully not, but we shall see.

With that said, here are the lessons all of us need to take to heart:

*Every police officer, deputy sheriff, and law enforcement officer in America who believes in constitutional government, individual liberty, and the Bill of Rights needs to be alert for any report that smacks of the MIAC report, and be willing to quickly “blow the whistle” on any such report they see.

*Lovers of freedom should be much encouraged to see what can happen when they are willing to stand up to their State governing officials as they see abridgements to their liberties taking place. I say again, the best way to fight these mushrooming despotic tendencies of government we seem to see everywhere is to focus on our State governments. Do you now see why I say that? Even if DHS was behind the MIAC report, it was the State of Missouri that had to implement it; and it was the State of Missouri that (under pressure) killed it.

See my column on this important subject here.

*Notice, too, that we did not need the major media to achieve this victory. We cut off this one branch of the tyranny tree without the help of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX NEWS (with the exception of Glenn Beck), or even the Drudge Report. Victory was achieved with the weapons of talk radio, syndicated Internet columns, Internet blogging, and word of mouth.

You see, folks, we can achieve victory without the major media. But we must stay focused and actively involved in our respective State governments. “We the people” are still the power of this country. And don’t let anyone deceive you into believing anything else. Therefore, take heart in knowing that your diligence convinced the State of Missouri to rescind its atrocious MIAC report. Now, don’t let it stop there. Let’s faithfully cut off the tentacles of tyranny wherever we find them. Amen?

Chuck Baldwin’s Website

The Southern Avenger on "What Happened to the War on Terror?"

On the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq, why are the loudest champions of the War on Terror no longer talking about it?

The Southern Avenger’s Blog

The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine

President Barack Hussein Obama's March Towards Communism

In all honesty…. it is more like a marathon run towards Communism actually.

Thanks to the stupidity of the Carter and Clinton Administrations and the inaction on the Republican controlled 2003 Congress. We are now becoming a Communist Nation. We have no one to blame, but ourselves.

The Communist owned Washington Post reports:

The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document.
The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.
Giving the Treasury secretary authority over a broader range of companies would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process. The Treasury secretary, a member of the president’s Cabinet, would exercise the new powers in consultation with the White House, the Federal Reserve and other regulators, according to the document.
The administration plans to send legislation to Capitol Hill this week. Sources cautioned that the details, including the Treasury’s role, are still in flux.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner is set to argue for the new powers at a hearing today on Capitol Hill about the furor over bonuses paid to executives at American International Group, which the government has propped up with about $180 billion in federal aid. Administration officials have said that the proposed authority would have allowed them to seize AIG last fall and wind down its operations at less cost to taxpayers.
The administration’s proposal contains two pieces. First, it would empower a government agency to take on the new role of systemic risk regulator with broad oversight of any and all financial firms whose failure could disrupt the broader economy. The Federal Reserve is widely considered to be the leading candidate for this assignment. But some critics warn that this could conflict with the Fed’s other responsibilities, particularly its control over monetary policy.
The government also would assume the authority to seize such firms if they totter toward failure.
Besides seizing a company outright, the document states, the Treasury Secretary could use a range of tools to prevent its collapse, such as guaranteeing losses, buying assets or taking a partial ownership stake. Such authority also would allow the government to break contracts, such as the agreements to pay $165 million in bonuses to employees of AIG’s most troubled unit.
The Treasury secretary could act only after consulting with the president and getting a recommendation from two-thirds of the Federal Reserve Board, according to the plan.
Geithner plans to lay out the administration’s broader strategy for overhauling financial regulation at another hearing on Thursday.

You see folks, this is where it starts. They start seizing businesses, and taking the assets for themselves. Then the Government decides to take YOUR assets; because they happen to think that you are making too much money. What amazes me, is the resounding silence from the Republicans, especially the Neo-Conservatives like Michelle Malkin and over at HotAir.com. Could it be that the Neo-Conservatives secretly approve of such actions? Possibly the Republican Party as well? Could it be that the Republican Party is now infiltrated with Communists to the point of having lost it’s true identity?

You decide.

Others: The Moderate Voice, Reuters, pw, , The Strata-Sphere,Bloomberg, Washington Monthly, Pajamas Media, Right Wing News, Sweetness & Light, Neptunus Lex, Stop The ACLU, Sister Toldjah, and Fausta’s Blog

(Via Memeorandum)

Editorial: The psychos are running the nuthouse!

Originally published over at my column at NolanChart.com:

It has been a while since I have written an article for my column; with all my days spent blogging about the political happenings post-Obama election, I just have not had the time to sit here and hammer out a good column. I have not forgotten to write, I just have not had the time to sit down and gather my thoughts and put my opinion to the current matters.

President Barack Obama has not been in the White House for 100 days yet and already it seems that our Country is headed for either one of two things; either economic disaster or outright European socialism. Although I tend to believe that one will follow the other, I do firmly believe that capitalism is in grave danger. I also believe that our Nation is going to be one that is going to become a society that rewards failure.

This applies in the area of the home mortgages; since when do we bail out people who have gotten in over their heads in debt? To be clear, I do understand that there were those who were victimized, and those who did this, to innocent people, should be prosecuted. However, those who knowingly got into mortgages that they knew they would not normally be able to afford, I have zero pity for. You make a stupid mistake you pay the consequences. That is how a free and democratic society works. You have to responsibility for your own actions.

Let me give you a personal example. When I was 19 years old, Discover Card sent me an application for a Credit Card. My parents came on as co-signers. Between the time that I first received that card and the time in 2004, when I finally filed for bankruptcy, I was over 14K in debt. Conversely it was over 18K of debt with the new truck that I bought, that I could not really afford; however because I had a job, I could make payments. One day the unthinkable happened, I lost my job; the gravy train stopped and threw me off. Those gravy trains never were known for their cordialness. After doing the obligatory and quite painful grunt and skid across the debt parking lot. I decided I had better go see a bankruptcy lawyer.

What does this have to do with what is happening now in the United States Government? It has quite a bit to do with it actually. Did the United States Government come in and offer to pay off my debt? No. Did the United States Government offer to come in and give me any kind of relief on my truck payments? Nope! I ended up losing that truck someone else owns it now. In other words, I was not rewarded for making stupid decisions, like going over my head in debt. Which by the way, was my own fault, I am the one that charged items on my discover card and got over my head in all that debt not anyone else, not that American taxpayers, but me.

Another way that the United States Government is rewarding failure is by losing their ever-loving minds over bonuses that were contractually awarded to employees of a company. Now I understand the reasons why people are upset about the bonuses. The problem is, the people on the left, or the Democrats are looking at this from a rather idiotic point of view. If the Democrats in Congress are so mad about these bonuses, then why in the heck did they vote to prop up these banks in the first place? The bonuses were a drop in the bucket to what we spent to take ownership in these companies. Why nationalize a company and then gripe about a bonus? It makes zero sense to me.

Again, even bailing out these companies in the first place is rewarding companies for failure. Sorry, I do not buy the notion of a business being too big to fail, that is simply stupid political double talk for a nationalization argument.

Let me give you another personal example of why I think this propping up a business is just simply stupid and why it teaches that it is okay to have a bad business model. I used to run a small electronics out of my house here. I would never buy more than one or two items at the most. I would always tell my customers, you want something, you pay up front, and I will order the item. I would get the money and order the item, and whatever I had left over, I kept for profit. That is called responsible business practices. However, what if I went out, got a loan for say $500.000, and bought a bunch of inventory and then the market fell out in the electronics business or what if I just did not bother to advertise? I would be stuck with a bill for the loan and a bunch of inventory that I could not move. Now would it fair for me to want the United States Government to bail me out of that situation? I think not. Nevertheless, that is what the Government is doing; they are essentially saying that some businesses are just too big to fail.

Not only this, but we are bailing these banks out with money that we do not even have. We are using money that we are borrowing from china, money that is not even ours. What we do not borrow from China, we are printing ourselves, which will devalue the dollar. It is as the title of this column says a case of psychos that are running the nuthouse.

Cry me a river!

Scott over at power line Blog is depressed because the Liberals are running the country.

Sorry dude, but I have zero pity for you or the Republican Party. They could have chosen a real Conservative candidate; but instead they ran a rich Mormon asshole, a crazy hick preacher, a half asleep old man who stumbled and cleared his throat alot and finally a senile old man, who really wasn’t even a Republican, but rather a RINO.

The senile old fool won the beauty contest and went up against the most hip, the most cool, and the first ever black Presidential candidate ever…..and he lost.

Those are the breaks.

Of course, there was one guy, who had two first names, someone who went against the grain and did not fall in line, and you all treated him like a special education student; in fact, he had to go have his own party, because you all would not even let him speak at your convention.

Now America is being lead by a Neo-Liberal, who wants to take America down the path of European socialism, and eventually into the path of full blown Communism.

Indeed, America’s Chickens are coming home……to roost.

Others:

Gaius / Blue Crab Boulevard: Depression — No, not an economic one. Not yet, at any rate.

Donald Douglas / American Power: The Folsom Cell Block National Culture

Victor Davis Hanson / Pajamas Media: Thoughts About Depressed Americans

Fausta / Fausta’s Blog: Am I depressed yet?

AJStrata / The Strata-Sphere: Obama Picks Dumb Fight With Most Powerful In America

Jules Crittenden: Not Safer! — That’s the word from Obama, who is advancing …

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard: Iran Responds: “Death to America”