Recently, I have been quite upset over the general lack of punishment (or, rather, rewards) for the members of the Bush administration who have so obviously been involved in scandal and crime. The Daily Show, as usual, has done an excellent job of editing together only a portion of the insanity (oh, and more from John Oliver. Love!). Though this isn't Karl Rove caliber, I got to feel just a little bit better today when Ted Stevens was caught concealing more than $250,000 worth of gifts that he received from an Alaska oil services company. Some of those "gifts" included a new first floor, a finished full basement, a wraparound deck, plumbing, electrical and heating work for his Alaska home. Of course, he says he is innocent. Whatever, dude- I'm sure VECO Corp just accidentally gave him a quarter of a million dollars, and reporting it just slipped his mind! It happens to the best of us!
"According to the indictment, the total amount of gifts that Sen. Stevens is alleged to have received over the duration of the offense is greater than $250,000. Also according to the indictment, these items were not disclosed on Sen. Stevens' financial disclosure forms, which he filed under penalties of perjury, either as gifts or as liabilities, and further, that Sen. Stevens did not reimburse or repay VECO or its chief executive officer for these items." — Matthew Friedrich, chief of the Justice Department's criminal division. (Associated Press)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Ted "Series of Tubes" Stevens Gets Slapped with Seven Felony Charges
Thursday, July 10, 2008
So long 4th amendment!
So the FISA amendments bill went through yesterday, and not only did the Dems hunker under their desks to avoid lawsuits, but even Barack Obama voted for the "compromise," even after showing vivid opposition to any sort of telecom immunity. But, for those who don't know, this bill just isn't about retroactive immunity for the telecoms. It also widely expands surveillance capabilities of the government, and removes a vast amount of oversight from the process. This allows the system to be easily fitted for massive domestic surveillance, especially in the online world. Illegal online gambling, p2p sharing, you name it. Americans have been screaming and protesting this issue for three years now, and all for what? Nothing. This is one issue the dems could have fought easily, brought more support into the party, and finally show that they really aren't spineless like everyone always says. Way to fit their stereotype! Whoever believes the spin that this is some sort of compromise is completely wrong, there is no such thing as compromise on an issue like domestic spying...you can't "compromise" the 4th amendment!
What a pathetic failure of our government.
Giving it the respect it deserves, I'll quote the 4th amendment...and bid it farewell...at least until our representatives have the courage to stand for this country's founding ideals.
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Fox News: In Need of New Graphic Artist
Disgusting. Media Matters is reporting that Fox News Channel digitally altered photos of New York Times reporters. I'm sure Media Matters is considered to be just another liberal hate machine or some other nonsense, but they are just reporting what is so obviously a lack of journalistic integrity on behalf of FNC.
Though the changes were so blatant and poorly done I enjoyed a good laugh, it was absolutely inappropriate and frankly, immature. How bad, you ask?
Reporters Jacques Steinberg and Steven Reddicliffe, before and after:
Personally, I find the blur tool to be quite obvious.
Video of the absurd content can be found here.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Covert action in Iran
If ignorance is bliss, Seymour Hersch wants to make sure we're miserable. Read his stunning article about the covert actions being taken in Iran (and how the Democratic leaders approved them) here. (Thanks for the right link!)
