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Showing posts with label e-mails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e-mails. Show all posts

Thursday, January 9, 2014

CHRIS CHRISTIE: 6 NJ Residents File Lawsuit Over "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal (Sovereign Immunity Applies)



#BRIDGEGATE


6 NJ RESIDENTS SUE STATE.....CHRISTIE.....& PORT AUTHORITY OVER "BRIDGEGATE" BUT THEY WON'T GET ANYTHING DUE TO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

Documents detailing an Investigation of the "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal will be released Friday by members of the NJ General Assembly.

Can you say "2016 Politics"??

#BRIDGEGATE

BREAKING CHRISTIE BEFORE 2016 ARRIVES: DEMOCRATS & THE TEA PARTY

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2016 NOMINATION HILLARY CLINTON & MARTIN O' MALLEY!!

Although I still believe NJ Gov CHRIS CHRISTIE handled himself very well Thursday during his "BRIDGEGATE" Presser, it ain't over yet!

By the time OBAMA'S Election Machine (for HILLARY)........NSA "Big Brother" Surveillance......and CLINTON Loyalists, are through with CHRISTIE I doubt he'll be in any shape to ever seek Public Office again.

That's too bad.

I really wanted to see another Meat & Potatoes Campaign in 2016 between HILLARY & CHRISTIE, just as it was with OBAMA & ROMNEY in 2012.

Unfortunately for CHRISTIE even the TEA PARTY hates him.

People like LINDSEY GRAHAM and his SOUTH CAROLINA RACISM are sitting somewhere laughing hard right about now.

RAND PAUL appears to be a good guy but he's linked to the TEA PARTY.

The TEA PARTY has undeniably RACIST Roots.

I don't care if there are a few BLACKS in the TEA PARTY (David Webb), it's still by and large a RACIST Organization.

So thanks to Stupid RACIST TEA PARTY Supporters, DEMOCRATS are most likely going to WIN again in 2016.

Why??

There is absolutely NO way a TEA PARTY Candidate can Defeat HILLARY CLINTON.

NEVER!!

So when HILLARY'S name is called as the WINNER in Nov 2016, I don't want to hear a peep from the GOP.....RNC.....nor any TEA PARTY Leaders because You had someone who could have went toe-to-toe with HILLARY and You blew it!

2016 WILL BE A WALK IN THE PARK FOR HILLARY.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2016 NOMINATION HILLARY CLINTON & MARTIN O' MALLEY!!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT.

BREAKING CHRISTIE BEFORE 2016 ARRIVES: DEMOCRATS & THE TEA PARTY







ARTICLE: "Bridgegate: Six N.J. Residents File Lawsuit Against Christie, Port Authority"

Six New Jersey residents have filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Chris Christie, the state of New Jersey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and others over traffic jams in September.

The suit filed in federal court Thursday appears to be the first civil claim over traffic that appear to have been caused as political punishment for the Fort Lee mayor.

The plaintiffs want it certified as a class action.

Lawyer Rosemarie Arnold says she filed it after learning this week that lane closures on an approach to the George Washington Bridge were "deliberate actions." She says that her clients were late for work and that one suffered a panic attack.

Christie has denied involvement. His spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Sources: AP, CNN, NJ.com, NorthJersey.com, Youtube






CHRIS CHRISTIE Fires Top Aide BRIDGET ANNE KELLY For Her Direct Involvement In "BRIDGEGATE"






#BRIDGETKELLY


POLITICAL SCANDALS 101: HOW TO FIRE SOMEONE SWIFTLY


When faced with a POLITICAL SCANDAL it is imperative Elected & Appointed Officials Terminate someone.

Especially those Individuals Responsible.

It's a fact that Someone has to be FIRED Swiftly!

Someone has to be the "Fall Guy or Fall Fall Girl"!

If Not.........

Then Constituents will view the SCANDAL as an act of IMPROPRIETY........ CRONYISM........or WEAKNESS.

And if Voters don't TRUST their POLITICIANS all is lost!

Prior to speaking at his "BRIDGEGATE" Press Conference, Gov CHRISTIE Terminated one of his Top Aides BRIDGET ANNE KELLY aka the "Fall Girl".

A "Fall Girl" who was deeply mired in this "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal of her own free will.

STUPID!




ARTICLE: "Gov. Christie apologizes For GWB Scandal/ Fires Bridget Anne Kelly"

Governor Christie has fired Bridget Anne Kelly, the deputy chief of staff who ordered the lane closure at the George Washington Bridge in September as political payback to the Fort Lee mayor who did not endorse the governor for re-election.

Christie also instructed his close advisor Bill Stepien to withdraw from pursuing state GOP chairmanship and his consultancy for the Republican Governor’s Association – the powerful group that Christie is leading in 2014.

At a packed news conference in Trenton where he announced the firing, Christie apologized “for my failure to understand the true nature of this problem sooner than I did.”

At a packed news conference in Trenton where he announced the firing, Christie apologized “for my failure to understand the true nature of this problem sooner than I did.”

He also said he had "no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or execution" and was stunned by the "abject stupidity that was shown." Nevertheless, he said, he was responsible for what happened.

He said it was “completely unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for the appropriate role of government and the people we're are trusted to serve.”

He also said he had "no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or execution" and was stunned by the "abject stupidity that was shown."

Nevertheless, he said, he was responsible for what happened.

He said it was “completely unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for the appropriate role of government and the people we're are trusted to serve.”

The governor said he has instructed his staff to cooperate with the General Assembly investigation, the Port Authority Inspector General Investigation and any law enforcement investigation.

“I have nothing to hide,” Christie said. “We have nothing to hide. My administration has nothing to hide.”

He said he plans to personally interview his staff to root out if others had knowledge of or were involved in the lane closures. He said that if anything else is discovered he will make it public.

Christie said he was "embarrassed and humiliated" by his staff, one day after emails and text messages revealed his administration may have closed highway lanes to exact political retribution.

He added he was firing Kelly, "because she lied to me."

Christie said he is going to Fort Lee later today to apologize to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and borough residents.

The mayor has said he does not want to meet with the governor, but Christie is traveling to Fort Lee anyway.

The Record and other media reported Wednesday that Kelly, one of Christie's deputy chiefs of staff, had sent an email to David Wildstein, a Christie appointee at the Port Authority, saying "It's time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

While many believed the closures were retribution against Sokolich, a Democrat who did not join other members of his party in endorsing Christie, Christie said previously that his staff and campaign had no knowledge of what caused the days-long tragic jam in Fort Lee. He said he believed Bill Baroni, who he appointed as deputy executive director of the transportation agency, who said the traffic jams were caused by a traffic study.

Both Wildstein and Baroni have resigned.

Christie said he was “blindsided” by the news.

Christie said he first learned of the issue after he had finished his workout and was called by communications staff that the story had broken on The Record’s website: NorthJersey.com.

“This is not the tone I set over the last four years in this building,” Christie said.

After the documents revealed Christie's staff and campaign had knowledge of the lane closures and Kelly apparently ordered them, the governor cancelled a planned Superstorm Sandy recovery announcement Wednesday. Six hours later Christie released a statement saying he had been "misled" by a staff member and that "people will be held responsive for their actions."

Christie said he knew nothing about the lane closures until they were eventually reopened four days later.

“I first found out about it after it was over,” he said.

He said he isn’t a micro-manager and gives his subordinates — staff and cabinet — discretion to make decisions. Christie said he didn’t know his campaign was even trying to pursue Sokolich’s endorsement. “I didn’t see this as political retribution because I didn’t see him do anything to us,” Christie said of Sokolich.

Christie said has not spoken to Kelly since the e-mail came out and does not know why she ordered the lane closure. He said he spoke to Port Authority Chairman David Samson on Wednesday and was convinced he did not know about the lane closure scheme.

Christie also apologized for a flip remark he made at a previous news conference that he had arranged the traffic cones himself when asked about the closures.

“I would never have made that joke if I knew the facts that came out yesterday,” Christie.

Christie said Stepien, his campaign manager on his last year’s reelection, was asked to leave his organization at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Kelly was fired at 9 a.m. today, Christie said.

He said Stepien had told him earlier that he had no involvement in the lane closures.

“I lost confidence in his judgment,” Christie said.


Sources: AP, NorthJersey.com






Wednesday, January 8, 2014

CHRIS CHRISTIE: E-mails Surface Linking Him To GW Bridge Closings For POLITICS (Decision 2016)










#CHRISTIE

DEMOCRATS SEE CHRISTIE AS A SERIOUS THREAT IN 2016

DEMOCRATS & The TEA PARTY are trying to take down CHRIS CHRISTIE before 2016.

Now DEMOCRATS claim to have E-mails directly linking him to recent POLITICAL Bridge Closings.

DEMOCRATS want HILLARY CLINTON to Win in 2016.

The TEA PARTY wants RAND PAUL.







ARTICLE: "E-mails Among Christie Appointees Suggest Political Vendetta"

E-mails emerged on Wednesday purportedly from top aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie bolstering the case that George Washington Bridge lane closures last year that tied up traffic were borne from a political vendetta and not bureaucratic incompetence as his administration claimed.

Christie's office could not be reached for comment, but he has previously said he knew nothing about allegations of political retribution against the Mayor of Fort Lee, where the traffic lanes feed into the nation's busiest bridge across the Hudson River, for not endorsing him in his re-election bid.

Those cited in the series of e-mails and text messages subpoenaed by Democratic legislators and obtained by CNN and other news outlets did not respond to requests for comment or to verify the communications.

The politically charged controversy comes with Christie considered a likely candidate for President in 2016 and leading national polls for the Republican nomination.

The e-mails, if accurate, are the most damaging information to surface supporting Democratic suspicions of political retaliation in this case involving the Christie administration, which has put the blame on a mishandled traffic study.

The exchanges began three weeks before the closures in September, which caused heavy traffic backups, and cite a senior Christie staffer and political appointees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs, said in an e-mail to David Wildstein, then the highest-level appointee representing the state at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

"Got it," Wildstein replied.

Democrats allege the lane closures were to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie in his re-election effort.

Christie acknowledged that mistakes were made but forcefully denied the lane closures were politically motivated.

He said at a news conference last month that he could only repeat what another appointee, Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, had said publicly blaming the lane closures and resulting congestion on the transportation analysis.

"Which is, they believed the traffic study was necessary and that they ordered it, but the way they did it was mistaken and they didn't follow protocols," Christie said.

Christie said at the time that Baroni would leave his job, which he has. Wildstein also has resigned since the controversy broke.

In response to a phone message from Sokolich regarding an "urgent matter of public safety in Fort Lee" on the first day of the lane closures, Kelly asked Wildstein in an e-mail if the Mayor's call had been returned.

Wildstein wrote to Kelly: "Radio silence. His name comes right after mayor Fulop."

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat who also didn't endorse Christie, raised his own suspicions.

He claimed this week that his decision to not endorse the Governor was met with news that New Jersey Cabinet and other high ranking officials were canceling meetings with him and that a pension reform bill he had worked on was scuttled by a Democrat who had backed Christie.

On the second morning of the closures, Sokolich apparently sent a text to Baroni: "Presently we have four very busy traffic lanes merging into only one toll booth. ... The bigger problem is getting kids to school. Help please. It's maddening."

Seeing that text, a person whose name has been redacted from the e-mails and text messages writes to Wildstein: "Is it wrong that I am smiling?"

"No," Wildstein responds.

"I feel badly about the kids," the unknown person writes.

"They are the children of Buono voters," responds Wildstein.

Barbara Buono was Christie's Democratic opponent in the election last November.

On September 13, Wildstein wrote to Kelly that New York authorities gave "Fort Lee back all three lanes this morning. We are appropriately going nuts. Samson helping us to retaliate."

David Samson chairs the Port Authority's Board of Commissioners and is a close Christie ally.

Sokolich reached out to Wildstein on September 17 seeking an explanation.

"We should talk. Someone needs to tell me that the recent traffic debacle was not punitive in nature. The last four reporters that contacted me suggest that the people they are speaking with absolutely believe it to be punishment. Try as I may to dispel these rumors I am having a tough time. A private face-to-face would be important to me. Perhaps someone can enlighten me as to the errors of my ways. Let me know if you'll give me 10 minutes. Regards,"

Mark," Sokolich wrote.

Wildstein sent the texts to Baroni.

"Have not heard back from Bridget," Wildstein noted.

"F**k," Baroni wrote back.

On September 18, Wildstein e-mailed Bill Stepien, Christie's campaign manager, and forwarded him a story from the Wall Street Journal titled "Bridge Jam's Cause a Mystery."

"I have empty boxes ready to take to work today, just in case," Wildstein wrote, an apparent reference to being fired. "It will be a tough November for this little Serbian," an apparent reference to Mayor Sokolich.

On October 3, Baroni asks Wildstein what the "Trenton feedback" is. Trenton is the capital of New Jersey and where Christie's headquarters are.

"Good," Wildstein wrote.

"Just good?" Baroni wrote. "S**t."

"No I have only texted brudget (sic) and Nicole they were VERY happy," Wildstein responded. "Both said you are doing great. Charlie said you did GREAT."

The Port Authority, which is run jointly by New Jersey and New York, oversees the tunnels, bridges and seaports between the two states, as well as the metropolitan area's airports.

Christie, who's now criss-crossing the country, campaigning for fellow GOP governors as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is seen as prime political target for national Democrats, who rarely attacked Christie during his re-election campaign but are now becoming more aggressive with the bridge controversy unfolding.

"These revelations are troubling for any public official, but they also indicate what we've come to expect from Governor Christie - when people oppose him, he exacts retribution. When people question him, he belittles and snidely jokes. And when anyone dares to look into his administration, he bullies and attacks,"

said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chair, in a statement.

A source close to Christie said "there will probably be some sacrificial firing and that'll be it."


Sources: Associated Press, CGI America, CNN, NJTV, NJ Assembly Democrats, Wikipedia, Youtube



Monday, July 2, 2012

Paterno Conspired With Penn State To Cover Up Sandusky's Child Sex Abuse Crimes: E-mails Suggest Cover Up Conspiracy














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E-Mails Suggest Paterno Role in Silence on Sandusky

Joe Paterno appears to have played a greater role than previously known in Penn State’s handling of a 2001 report that Jerry Sandusky had sexually assaulted a boy in a university shower, according to a person with knowledge of aspects of an independent investigation of the Sandusky scandal.

E-mail correspondence among senior Penn State officials suggests that Paterno influenced the university’s decision not to formally report the accusation against Sandusky to the child welfare authorities, the person said.

The university’s failure to alert the police or child welfare authorities in 2001 has been an issue at the center of the explosive scandal — having led to criminal charges against two senior administrators and the firing of Paterno last fall.

The university’s much maligned handling of the 2001 assault began when Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant in Paterno’s football program, told Paterno that he had seen Sandusky assaulting a boy of about 10 in the football building showers. McQueary has testified several times that he made clear to Paterno, and later to university officials, that what he had seen Sandusky doing to the child was terrible and explicitly sexual in nature.

To date, the public understanding of Paterno’s subsequent actions has been that he relayed McQueary’s account to the university’s athletic director and then had no further involvement in the matter.

But the e-mails uncovered by investigators working for Louis J. Freeh, the former F.B.I. director leading an independent investigation ordered by the university’s board of trustees, suggest that the question of what to do about McQueary’s report was extensively debated by university officials. Those officials, the e-mails show, included the university’s president, Graham B. Spanier; the athletic director, Tim Curley; the official in charge of the campus police, Gary Schultz; and Paterno.

The existence of the e-mail correspondence was first reported by CNN. The person familiar with aspects of the Freeh investigation was not identified because the investigation is continuing and no one is authorized to speak about it.

The Penn State e-mails, according to the person with knowledge of the Freeh investigation, indicate that Spanier, Curley and Schultz seemed at one point to favor reporting the assault to the state child welfare authorities, recognizing that if they did not, they could later be vulnerable to charges that they had failed to act.

But in one e-mail, Curley wrote that after talking to Paterno, he no longer wanted to go forward with that plan.

In the end, the university told no one other than officials with Second Mile, the charity for disadvantaged youngsters founded by Sandusky.

The e-mails suggest that the officials decided that Sandusky could be dealt with by barring him from taking children onto the campus and encouraging him to seek professional help.

Not reporting the accusation to the authorities, the men determined, was the more “humane” way to deal with Sandusky, according to the e-mails.

Curley and Schultz were indicted last fall on charges of failing to report the assault to the police and child welfare authorities, and then lying about their conduct under oath before a grand jury. Curley and Schultz, through their lawyers, have insisted that they were never told of the graphic nature of the assault in the showers, saying they were under the impression that it had amounted to little more than “horsing around.”

Lawyers for Curley and Schultz, contacted about the e-mails, issued a statement saying in part: “For Curley, Schultz, Spanier and Paterno, the responsible and ‘humane’ thing to do” in 2001 “was to carefully and responsibly assess the best way to handle vague but troubling allegations. Faced with tough situations, good people try to do their best to make the right decisions.”

Spanier, who resigned as Penn State’s president in November, declined to comment when reached by phone on Saturday.

Paterno died of lung cancer in January. When reached by phone Saturday, his son Jay Paterno deferred comment to the family’s spokesman, Dan McGinn.

McGinn said there was no evidence that Joe Paterno interfered with any investigation and that the e-mails could be interpreted in various ways. “If Joe Paterno wanted to interfere, why did he report the incident immediately” to university officials? McGinn said, adding that he was disturbed by what he called the “selective leaking” of the e-mails. “You are only seeing a piece of the puzzle,” he said.

Wick Sollers, a lawyer for the Paterno family, said in a statement: “To be clear, the e-mails in question did not originate with Joe Paterno or go to him, as he never personally utilized e-mail.

“From the beginning, Joe Paterno warned against a rush to judgment in this case. Coach Paterno testified truthfully, to the best of his recollection, in the one brief appearance he made before the grand jury. As he testified, when informed of an incident involving Jerry Sandusky in 2001, Coach Paterno followed university procedures and promptly and fully informed his superiors. He believed the matter would be thoroughly and professionally investigated.”

The e-mails have been turned over to the state attorney general’s office. That office, which began its investigation of Sandusky years ago, successfully prosecuted him. He was convicted June 22 by a jury in Bellefonte, Pa., of 45 counts of sexually abusing boys, including rape and sodomy. Sandusky was convicted of several counts involving the child attacked in the football building showers in 2001.

If accurate, the recently uncovered e-mail correspondence could further damage Paterno’s reputation and legacy. When he was fired, the university’s board of trustees said that his failure to act more aggressively after learning of the attack amounted to a failure of leadership. But if Paterno played a role in the decision not to report the attack to the child welfare authorities, his failure of leadership would seem more grave.

When they testified before the grand jury, none of the four men — Spanier, Curley, Schultz and Paterno — detailed internal discussions about what to do with Sandusky. Certainly, none of the men spoke of any involvement by Paterno beyond his initial report to Curley.

Freeh’s investigation, begun last fall, is expected to be the most thorough examination of the university’s dealings with Sandusky, including the question of whether there was a cover-up involving the 2001 accusations.

To that end, Freeh’s investigation has identified previously undisclosed billing records showing that officials of the university, when deciding what to do in 2001, consulted with the law firm that served as its outside counsel on their legal obligation to report the assault, the person familiar with the inquiry said. It is unclear from the billing records whether the officials disclosed the nature of the accusations against Sandusky or simply made a general inquiry. Several hours were billed, beginning on a Sunday night, the person said. The lawyer who represented the university at the time did not return a phone call requesting comment.

Freeh’s investigators are also exploring the circumstances surrounding Paterno’s decision to eventually hire McQueary as an assistant, the person familiar with the investigation said. McQueary, a former quarterback for Paterno at Penn State, has testified under oath that when he first contacted Paterno to inform him of what he had seen in the showers, Paterno assumed he was calling to ask for a job, and that Paterno brusquely told him he would not be hired.

McQueary was ultimately hired over another, more experienced candidate, and investigators are curious about whether that development came as a consequence of what he told Paterno that morning in 2001.

It is not clear when Freeh’s investigation is expected to be made public.




Emails show Paterno legacy, Penn State officials should face reckoning

Joe Paterno's statue has to come down. That's clear today, now that CNN has released emails that bury Paterno and his Penn State cronies with their own dirty words.

Paterno's statue outside Beaver Stadium has to come down, because otherwise Penn State would be celebrating a man who helped talk school officials into leaving Jerry Sandusky alone in 2001, letting an alleged pedophile escape detection for another decade, giving that alleged pedophile -- and it's not "alleged" anymore -- unfettered access to campus for another decade.

After the statue comes down, then what? Well, then his statue would be disposed of, possibly melted down into prison bars -- maybe the bars that will hold Sandusky. Or maybe someone could just toss Paterno's statue into a landfill, throw it away as easily as Paterno and his underlings threw away the lives of so many boys in their community.

But that's not the only thing on my wish list after reading the poisonous details of the CNN story. After someone disposes of Paterno's statue, and I mean in the next few days, prosecutors need to pursue jail time for former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, who face perjury charges stemming from a 2001 grand jury appearance where they denied knowing about Sandusky's behavior.

That looks to be an outright lie. The CNN story seems to prove that, and not with words from prosecutors or police or unnamed sources. CNN has words it says came from Tim Curley and former Penn State president Graham Spanier.

As for Spanier, well, prison doesn't look possible for him. He hasn't been charged with perjury, and I'm not sure the immoral negligence and the despicable cowardice he showed a decade ago are crimes. So if Spanier can't spend time in prison, fine.

He can pay another way.

The civil suits are coming, and they probably will name Spanier along with Curley, Schultz, Paterno's estate and of course Penn State itself. Everyone should pay, but the first check must be written by Graham Spanier. It needs to have a one, followed by a lot of zeroes before he even thinks about writing the decimal. A million dollars? That's a start, but how much does he have? Sell his house. Raid his 401(k). Take the damn dentures out of his mouth and hawk them on eBay.

If that affects the next generation of Spaniers, denying them of the inheritance that would have been theirs, so be it.

Think of what Graham Spanier helped to deny the next generation of State College young men, 10 or more who were abused by Sandusky. Officially the count is 10, but few believe that's where the actual number lies. When it comes to serial offenders like Sandusky, the actual number is never as small as the one that comes out in court. For starters, that poor little boy in the shower in 2001? The kid that former Penn State assistant Mike McQueary said he saw being raped by Sandusky? That kid wasn't one of the 10 reported victims in the case that ended last week with Sandusky's conviction. Prosecutors never found that kid.

Penn State officials never even looked for him, even though they knew he existed in 2001.

They were too busy protecting themselves.

That CNN story is bad, people. It's so bad, I'm writing about this scandal again, for the third time in a week, and I didn't want to do it. I don't want to write it, you don't want to read it, most of us just want to do what those 10 victims and their families will never be able to do -- move on.

But how can we move on? Did you see what Paterno and his cronies did? Did you see what some of them wrote?

CNN found emails between Curley, Spanier and Schultz -- weeks after McQueary reported seeing that rape in 2001 -- that showed the Penn State officials deciding to do the right thing: They would confront Sandusky, they would speak with the folks at his Second Mile grooming grounds, and most importantly they would report the incident to the Department of Welfare.

If there was anything to stop in March 2001, by God, that would have stopped it.

But then they changed their mind. Why?

Because Joe Paterno got involved.

CNN found an email from Curley that said: "After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe [Paterno] yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps. I am having trouble with going to everyone, but the person involved."

In other words, Curley still wanted to confront Sandusky, Paterno's longtime defensive coordinator. But call Second Mile to warn them Sandusky was using the charity to groom potential victims? Call child welfare officials to tell them of the predator in their midst?

Curley didn't want to do that. Not after "talking it over with Joe."

And Spanier, gutless cretin that he is, signed off on the new plan.

"I am supportive," Spanier wrote in an email obtained by CNN. "The only downside for us if the message isn't heard and acted upon, and then we become vulnerable for not having reported it."

Read that again.

The only downside for us if the message isn't heard and acted upon is that we become vulnerable for not having reported it.

Never mind the downside of another boy -- or 10 more boys -- being molested by a pedophile. That wasn't the downside that scared Spanier. What scared Spanier? That Penn State, and Penn State officials, would be "vulnerable."

This isn't Penn State now, but that was Penn State then. And that was so bad, it hurts. Do you have bile in the back of your throat as you read this? I do, as I write it. Men should go to jail for what happened in 2001, and not only Sandusky. Curley and Schultz do not deserve their freedom. Spanier does not deserve whatever happiness his money can buy.

Joe Paterno does not deserve a statue. Or his reputation as a good man.

The mask has been almost fully lifted, and I say "almost" because who knows? Maybe it gets worse.

Maybe it's bad enough. Maybe enough's enough. Time for the gloves to come all the way off. Time for the men in charge of Penn State -- living and dead -- to face their day of reckoning for the monster they let roam free in 2001.



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Sources: ABC News, CBS Sport, NY Times, Youtube, Google Maps

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Richard Cebull Should Resign Or Be Impeached By Congress; Misuse Of Office & Racist Behavior In Workplace









Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy




Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy






Federal Judge Richard Cebull (9th Circuit), a Federal Judge Appointed by George W. Bush in 2001, has Publicly Apologized for sending out an extremely Racist E-mail about Pres. Obama via his Official Judicial E-mail Account.

The E-mail suggests Pres. Obama was Conceived after his Mother had Sex with a Dog.

OMG!
That is so Disgusting!

Such Disrespectful Behavior from a Federal Judge!
A Publicly Apology from Richard Cebull is NOT good enough.

As a Federal Judge Appointed by a U.S. President & Confirmed by Congress, Richard Cebull is expected to Serve & Conduct himself in a Professional, Respectful Manner before the Public.

This is especially so whenever referring to a Sitting U.S. President.

How in the World can Richard Cebull be expected to continue Serving in his role as a Federal Judge and be expected to Treat Everyone Fairly, if he has expressed to the Entire United States via a Racist E-mail that he has a Problem with a BLACK, Elected President?

No a Public Apology isn't good enough!

Judge Richard Cebull Needs to Voluntarily Resign or Congress Should Impeach Him!
Period!







Richard Cebull says he sent Racist Obama e-mail


Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull apologized Wednesday for sending a racist email about President Obama from his office to a few friends.

"To say it's inappropriate and stupid is an extreme understatement," Cebull said Wednesday afternoon in his courthouse chambers in Billings.

"There is no doubt it's racist. It wasn't forwarded for that purpose," Cebull said. "If anything, it was political."

The judge admitted he forwarded the racially charged email he received to seven friends, including his brother, on Feb. 20 from his office computer.

The email eventually was forwarded to the Great Falls Tribune, which published it Wednesday. The Tribune said the email text read as follows:

"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this.

Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

"A little boy said to his mother, 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?'
His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack!

From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"

Cebull took responsibility, calling it "a hard lesson to learn. I apologize."

The judge said he is not a racist although he acknowledged people will think that because of the email.

"And I don't blame them. The fact is that isn't how I've conducted myself as a federal judge. Never has anybody asserted I was racist," he said.

Cebull was nominated to the bench by former President George W. Bush and confirmed in 2001. He has been Montana's chief judge since 2008. Prior to becoming a district judge, Cebull served as a U.S. magistrate judge in Great Falls and had been in private practice.

Cebull said he does not remember who sent him the email and said he had deleted it before Wednesday. The judge also said he did not write the introduction.

The judge said he was at a loss to explain why he forwarded the message.

Friends send him emails of a political nature, he said.

"It was a private communication. I didn't intend for it to go public," he said.
As a judge, Cebull said, he can't express in public political preferences but was naive to not consider the public consequences of his actions.

The judge has said he is not an Obama supporter.

Cebull said he has emailed the other federal judges in Montana apologizing for his conduct. He said he will never forward or send another email from his office that isn't business related.



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Sources: Billings Gazette, CNN, Current TV, MSNBC, Washington Post, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Richard Cebull: Judge Nominated By Bush Sends Racist E-mail Calling Pres. Obama's Father A Dog!








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Federal Judge Richard Cebull Nominated by George W. Bush, admits to Forwarding an extremely Racist e-mail about Pres. Obama.
The e-mail explains a "Joke" which suggests that Pres. Obama's Mother had Sex with a Dog.
OMG!

Can Federal Judge Richard Cebull be forced to Resign for Speaking out & using Incendiary Racist language against a Sitting U.S. President?

Unfortunately Federal Judges can NOT be Fired or Forced to Resign.
They can ONLY be Impeached by Congress.

Federal Judges can't be Fired or asked to Resign even when using Incendiary Racist language against Sitting U.S. Presidents.
A Complaint can be Filed against Federal Judges but its highly unlikely they are ever Impeached.

The subject line of the email, which Cebull sent from his official courthouse email address on Feb. 20 at 3:42 p.m., reads:
"A MOM'S MEMORY":

"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

"A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?'" the email joke reads. "His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"





Chief U.S. District Judge sends racially charged email about President Obama


Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers.

Cebull, of Billings, was nominated by former President George W. Bush and received his commission in 2001 and has served as chief judge for the District of Montana since 2008.

The subject line of the email, which Cebull sent from his official courthouse email address on Feb. 20 at 3:42 p.m., reads: "A MOM'S MEMORY."

The forwarded text reads as follow:

"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

"A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?'" the email joke reads. "His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"

Cebull admitted Wednesday to sending the email to seven recipients, including his personal email address.

The judge acknowledged that the content of the email was racist, but said he does not consider himself racist. He said the email was intended to be a private communication.

"It was not intended by me in any way to become public," Cebull said. "I apologize to anybody who is offended by it, and I can obviously understand why people would be offended."

Cebull said his brother initially sent him the email, which he forwarded to six of his "old buddies" and acquaintances.

He admitted that he read the email and intended to send it to his friends.

"The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan," Cebull said. "I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. I sent it out because it's anti-Obama."

Travis McAdam, executive director for the Montana Human Rights Network , said the email contained highly racist rhetoric unbecoming of a federal judge.

"It's one thing if the judge is not a fan of President Barack Obama, but you would think someone in his position would articulate that in a way that criticizes his policy decisions or his position on issues," McAdam said. "We have a hard time believing that a legitimate criticism of the president involves distributing a joke that basically compares African Americans with animals."

Cebull said he does not consider himself prejudice against people of other races or ethnic backgrounds, and that his actions in his courtroom have demonstrated that.

"I have never considered myself that way," Cebull said. "All I can emphasize is I've treated people in my courtroom all these years fairly. I don't think I've ever demonstrated racism. Nobody has ever even implied it."

Montana immigration attorney Shahid Haque-Hausrath was on the receiving end of a racially charged email sent by a top Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official last fall. That official was suspended after sending Haque-Hausrath an email implying that Muslim Americans must prove their allegiance to the United State.

Haque-Hausrath, who is in an interracial marriage and recently fathered a child with his wife, said Cebull's e-mail was "deeply troubling."

"Another federal official who is entrusted to do his duties fairly and impartially has yet again sent an email from his work account during work hours that espouses deeply racist and bigoted views," Haque-Hausrath said. "The reason why I think it's so troubling, is it espouses the deeply racist view that interracial sex is equivalent to bestiality. For a federal judge to be equating the two, and say since Barack Obama is of mixed racial background, that his mother was somehow committing acts of bestiality is incredibly racist and troubling.

One of the recipients of the email Cebull sent forwarded it to another person, who in turn forwarded it to another person. The email was eventually pass along to the Great Falls Tribune, who contacted Cebull. Cebull said he was surprised the recipients of the e-mail passed it along with his name on it.

"This is a private thing that was, to say the least, very poor judgment on my part," Cebull said. "I did not forward it because of the racist nature of it. Although it is racist, I'm not that way, never have been."



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Sources: Billings Gazette, Great Falls Tribune, MSNBC, TPM, Wikipedia, Google Maps

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Solyndra Scandal Linked To Valerie Jarrett (Did She Rush DOE Loan Procedure?)















Solyndra: A Big Story for the Wrong Reasons


A bankrupt green energy company will create both real and political problems for President Obama today, as the U.S. House of Representatives continues its investigation into how Fremont, California-based Solyndra LLC used its access to the president and his inner circle in order to secure and lose half a billion taxpayer dollars.

Until last Thursday, the investigation into Solyndra had been coming only from the legislative branch of the federal government. In February, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Michigan ) opened a probe into a $535-million loan guarantee awarded to the maker of innovative solar panels by the Obama Department of Energy. That loan followed multiple visits to the White House by Solyndra officers and by George Kaiser, a Tulsa, Oklahoma billionaire and Obama fundraiser. Late in August Solyndra announced it would declare bankruptcy.

Last week, following a cycle of negative news coverage and revelations about the company’s close ties to the president, the executive branch response began with a raid on Solyndra’s headquarters by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy’s Inspector General. News coverage highlighting DoE Inspector General Gregory Friedman’s hawkishness about insufficient due diligence in making lending decisions suggests the Obama Administration’s image management apparatus is making an effort to show the president takes the Solyndra scandal seriously.

Because of the depth and documentation of Obama’s relationship with Solyndra, as well as new House revelations that White House officials pressed the Energy Department to expedite its lending to the troubled company, the effort to distance him from the scandal will almost certainly fail.

Obama did a photo opp at Solyndra headquarters last year and has emphasized the company’s cylindrical solar panels in his propaganda for green energy subsidies. Kaiser, whose Argonaut Ventures owned a 35 percent stake in Solyndra, bundled nearly $100,000 for Obama’s 2008 campaign. Solyndra executives met with White House executives about 20 times. In the period before and just after the March 2009 loan guarantee (Solyndra eventually borrowed and blew through $527 million), Kaiser met with senior advisors Austan Goolsbee, Pete Rouse and Valerie Jarrett; chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and others.

FBI and Energy both report to the president. While suspicion of overt crime could have triggered the executive-branch investigation, the involvement of these two departments clouds what had been a straightforward congressional investigation. In addition to the risk that Obama appointees can steer investigators away from evidence harmful to the president, the involvement of a competing presidential investigation detracts from what has so far been very effective work by the House.

Shortly after Solyndra announced its bankruptcy, I made the none-too-daring prediction that this scandal would prove to be durable. The figure of a half-billion dollars is easy to understand yet still incomprehensibly large. There is no distance between the president and the scandal. And the company name is memorably goofy enough that there’s no need to add the lame suffix “-gate.”

Ron Bailey remarked earlier that Solyndra is already getting shoehorned into Republocrat he-said-she-said. Although it would be a shame if this lesson in the folly of subsidizing industry degenerated into simple point-scoring, it’s also true that in this case it is because of competitive politics that we know about the scandal at all. Solyndra’s dim financial prospects, its dubious technology and its unlikely survival as anything other than a ward of the state were known before the loan was approved. (In a Business Insider article, Bruce Krasting says the company’s only valuable item may be its net operating loss.) Yet in the period after that loan, Solyndra continued to behave as a green-energy market leader, even attempting an initial public offering. Who knows how much longer the company could have gone on wasting public money, deluding investors and delaying formal bankruptcy, if not for Upton’s investigation?

It’s also clear that “contextualizing” the Solyndra scandal in the way Bailey regretted (by noting that Republicans do it too) only makes the story more infuriating. While Solyndra will be useful as a campaign issue, the real outrage is that the government is proudly putting your money into companies that private investors are unwilling to put their own money into. Once this violation of common sense has taken place, the story can only end, as it appears to have ended here, in suffering and crime. That’s not a corruption of the system. It’s the natural way the system works.





Solyndra's loans were rushed

Republican lawmakers, escalating the political furor over the collapse of a solar equipment manufacturer that received a $528 million government loan, released excerpts from Obama administration emails Wednesday suggesting that the White House pressed federal officials to wrap up their review of the loan quickly for political purposes.

In the emails, officials at the Office of Management and Budget expressed frustration that they were being put under time pressure to sign off on the loan to the company, Solyndra, two years ago so that Vice President Joe Biden could announce its approval at a groundbreaking for a factory.

The White House wanted an announcement that would show progress on job creation.

The disclosure became a focus of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing Wednesday about the loan to Solyndra, which has developed into a political headache for the Obama administration. The administration used the company as a prime example of stimulus-bill dollars creating "green jobs."

But Solyndra recently filed for bankruptcy protection and closed its factory, and its headquarters was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, apparently in connection with the loan.

The bankruptcy filing and the raid "clearly show that the committee was more than justified in its scrutiny of the deal," said the panel's chairman, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich. "Why did the administration think Solyndra was such a good bet?"

Critics of the loan have focused on whether political considerations played a role in awarding the loan to Solyndra, which the Obama administration denies. But the hearing also cast doubt on the government's competence to assess how sure a bet it is making, regardless of politics.

Officials of the Energy Department's loan office and the White House budget office defended their decisions, which they said were carefully reviewed and not politically inspired. The administration said the emails showed only that the White House wanted to know when a decision would be made for its planning.

"As the emails indicate, there was interest in when a decision would be made because of its impact on whether an event involving the vice president could be scheduled for a particular date or not," said Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman. "But the loan-guarantee decision was merit-based and made by career staffers at the Department of Energy, and the process for this particular loan guarantee began under President George W. Bush."

Suspicions that the administration might have pushed the loan for political reasons have centered on the fact that a major investor in the company is a charitable foundation associated with George B. Kaiser, a billionaire from Tulsa, Okla., who raised $50,000 to $100,000 as a "bundler" for President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

Logs show that Kaiser visited the White House on several occasions during the spring and summer of 2009, while the loan to Solyndra, based in Fremont, Calif., was being considered. Among the officials he met with were chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Pete Rouse and Valerie Jarrett, both senior advisers to Obama.

"It seems like crony capitalism was trumping the smart decision-making," Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said at the hearing.

Campaign finance records analyzed by OpenSecrets.org show that there were about 235 other bundlers for the Obama campaign in Kaiser's range, while about 326 bundlers raised significantly larger sums.

Administration officials said the White House meetings were not about Solyndra but rather were related to Kaiser's charitable interest in policy matters such as early-childhood education. The George Kaiser Family Foundation has said that Kaiser "did not participate in any discussions with the U.S. government regarding the loan."

Three factors pushed the market price of solar arrays below Solyndra's cost of production, according to experts. The cost of silicon, a key ingredient in competitors' cells but not in Solyndra's, fell sharply. The economic crisis in Europe cut demand for solar cells. And China subsidized a huge increase of solar equipment production, producing a surplus.





Furor Over Loans to Failed Solar Firm

Republican lawmakers, escalating the political furor over the collapse of a solar equipment manufacturer that received a $528 million government loan, released excerpts from Obama administration e-mails on Wednesday suggesting that the White House pressed federal officials to wrap up their review of the loan quickly for political purposes.

In the e-mails, officials at the Office of Management and Budget expressed frustration that they were being put under time pressure to sign off on the loan to the company, Solyndra, two years ago so that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. could announce its approval at a groundbreaking for a factory. The White House wanted an announcement that would show progress on job creation. The emails were first reported by the Washington Post and on the Web site of ABC News, in partnership with iWatch.

The disclosure became a focus of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Wednesday about the loan to Solyndra, which has developed into a political headache for the Obama administration. The administration used the company as a prime example of stimulus bill dollars creating “green jobs.” But Solyndra recently filed for bankruptcy protection and closed its factory, and its headquarters was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, apparently in connection with the loan.

The bankruptcy filing and the raid “clearly show that the committee was more than justified in its scrutiny of the deal,” said the panel’s chairman, Representative Fred Upton, Republican of Michigan. “Why did the administration think Solyndra was such a good bet?”

Critics of the loan have focused on whether political considerations played a role in awarding the loan to Solyndra, which the Obama administration denies. But the hearing also cast doubt on the government’s competence to assess how sure a bet it is making, regardless of politics.

Officials of the Energy Department’s loan office and the White House budget office defended their decisions, which they said were carefully reviewed and not politically inspired. The administration said that the e-mails showed only that the White House wanted to know when a decision would be made for its planning.

“As the e-mails indicate, there was interest in when a decision would be made because of its impact on whether an event involving the vice president could be scheduled for a particular date or not,” said Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman. “But the loan guarantee decision was merit-based and made by career staffers at the Department of Energy, and the process for this particular loan guarantee began under President George W. Bush.”

Suspicions that the administration might have pushed the loan for political reasons have centered on the fact that a major investor in the company is a charitable foundation associated with George B. Kaiser, a billionaire from Tulsa, Okla., who raised $50,000 to $100,000 as a “bundler” for President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Logs show that Mr. Kaiser visited the White House on several occasions during the spring and summer of 2009, while the loan to Solyndra was being considered. Among the officials he met with were the chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and Pete Rouse and Valerie Jarrett, both senior advisers to Mr. Obama.

“It seems like crony capitalism was trumping the smart decision-making,” Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, said at the hearing.

Campaign finance records analyzed by OpenSecrets.org show that there were about 235 other bundlers for the Obama campaign in Mr. Kaiser’s range, while about 326 bundlers raised significantly larger sums.

Administration officials said the White House meetings were not about Solyndra but rather were related to Mr. Kaiser’s charitable interest in policy matters like early childhood education. Mr. Kaiser has declined to comment directly about the meetings. But the George Kaiser Family Foundation has said that “he did not participate in any discussions with the U.S. government regarding the loan.”

While Mr. Kaiser’s connection to the Obama campaign and to Solyndra, based in Fremont, Calif., have helped draw attention to the loan, he was not a major topic of discussion at the hearing on Wednesday. Republicans did, however, press those testifying on whether the Solyndra bankruptcy offered proof that the government should not be lending to companies that have trouble raising money from private investors.

“In this time of record debt, I question whether the government is qualified to act as a venture capitalist, picking winners and losers in speculative ventures and shelling out billions of taxpayer dollars to keep them afloat,” Mr. Upton said.

Three factors pushed the market price of solar arrays below Solyndra’s cost of production, according to experts. The cost of silicon, a key ingredient in competitors’ cells but not in Solyndra’s, fell sharply. The European economic crisis cut demand for solar cells. And China subsidized a huge increase of solar equipment production, producing a surplus.

While taxpayers could lose the $528 million the company borrowed from the Treasury, Jeffrey D. Zients, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, said that the system for evaluating such loans was sound. He said it was inevitable that some cutting-edge firms would fail but that over all, the investments would prove worthwhile. He did allow, “The lesson learned here is that marketplaces can change even more rapidly than one would have anticipated.”

Executives from Solyndra are scheduled to testify before the subcommittee next week.

Meanwhile, the White House provided about 900 pages of e-mails this week to the committee, which had asked for all correspondence between Obama aides and Solyndra executives. Most of the correspondence concerned logistics for a visit by Mr. Obama in the spring of 2010.

However, several e-mails from the company to the White House flagged and sought to discredit a handful of articles that had questioned the company’s financial viability as far back as July 2010. A Solyndra official, David Miller, called one such report baseless and noted that Solyndra “had no intention of going out of business” and that its goal was to be “a true success story for this administration to point to.”

Another Solyndra e-mail, from this past May, informed the White House that “things are going well” at the company and that it had “good market momentum, the factory is ramping up and our plan puts at cash positive later this year. Hopefully, we’ll have a great story to tell toward the end of the year.”

A White House official, Greg Nelson, replied: “Fantastic to hear that business is doing well — keep up the good work! We’re cheering for you.”




Solyndra "Scandal" Is Washington Business as Usual

I haven't written much about the California solar company Solyndra, which recently went bankrupt after receiving over $500 million in taxpayer money as part of the Department of Energy's program of loan guarantees for renewable energy companies. Short story: the sudden demise of the California-based company—which went out of business on Aug. 31, costing more than 1,000 employees their jobs—raised speculation that the Obama Administration may have channeled money toward Solyndra for political reasons.

Republicans in the House launched an investigation, and turned up emails that seemed to show White House staffers pushing officials at the Office of Management and Budget to sign off on the loans in time for a major public appearance by Vice-President Joe Biden at Solyndra's headquarters.

On Sept. 14 , a House subcommittee held hearings on the Solyndra affair, and Republican representatives tried to portray the Solyndra loans, and the White House's renewable energy support policy, as an expensive, politically motivated failure.

My response: meh. TIME's Michael Grunwald has covered this from the start, and while he's unhappy—to say the least—with executives at Solyndra for misleading the government on its financial health, the solar industry more broadly is doing well, thanks in part to the money the Obama Administration has channeled towards more successful companies. And it's worth noting that in addition to government loan guarantees, Solyndra also scored over $1 billion in private capital—including from GOP-friendly investors like the Walton family of Wal-Mart.

Solyndra turned out to be a bad investment—the company failed in part because it made the wrong bet on solar technology, failing to foresee that silicon prices would drop drastically.

Bad investments are a part of business, especially a cutting-edge industry like renewable energy, and failure is a necessary ingredient for innovation. (Just ask the famously fired Steve Jobs.) The idea that the collapse of one solar company discredits the entire solar industry is absurd.

Still, many Republicans would argue that the real question here is whether government policies like loan guarantees and subsidies can actually help support companies and create new jobs rather than simply engendering failure and waste. That's a fair debate to have. But the haters are being hypocritical.

Nosing for federal money and federal support is the name of the game in Washington—otherwise the expense accounts of lobbyists on K Street wouldn't be so generous.

Oil and gas and coal companies all spend millions in lobbying, putting former government regulators on their payrolls to ensure that policy goes their way.

House Speaker John Boehner himself has received more than $1.5 million from the coal industry—money that was spent well. It's not just Republicans—Democrats from oil or coal states know to look out for industry.

And it's not just the energy industry either—every major business sector is happy to lobby in Washington and bend legislation to their favor. That's the way things work—or don't, I suppose.

If Solyndra threw its weight around Washington to pull in that $500 million-plus loan guarantee, the firm was only copying its more entrenched competitors. In fact, maybe it was a sign that the renewable energy industry was finally ready for prime time. You can criticize the White House for spending public money foolishly in support of one of the President's signature policy objectives: building green jobs. But there's nothing here that makes the Solyndra debacle special. It's business as usual.



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Sources: Bloomberg TV, CNN, NY Times, Open Secrets, Reason.com, TIME, Twin Citizens.com, USA Today, Washington Post, Youtube, Google Maps

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Allen West Viciously Slams Debbie Wasserman Schultz! (Florida Medicare Cuts)





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Democrats using Allen West’s rant against Debbie Wasserman Schultz for fundraising


National Democrats are seizing on Rep. Allen West’s (R-Fla.) e-mail tirade against Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) in an effort to raise money and mobilize their supporters.

Wednesday morning, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) sent a message to supporters containing an excerpt from West’s Tuesday night e-mail, in which the Florida Republican wrote to Wasserman Schultz, “You are the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. ... you are not a Lady.”

“I wish I could say I was surprised,” Israel wrote in the fundraising e-mail. “Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of partisan tantrum we’re used to from House Republicans as they push our economy to the brink of disaster while pandering to their Tea Party base. We can’t let this shameful display go unanswered.”

Israel charged that West has often “riled up his extremist right-wing base by attacking progressive women for ‘neutering American men,’ calling supporters of President Obama, ‘a threat to the gene pool’ and writing for a misogynist magazine that denigrated women with words I’d be ashamed to even repeat.”

“And now that he’s in Congress, West thinks he can attack a respected legislator like Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz with this kind of hate-filled screed,” he added.

The political action committee EMILY’s List, which seeks to elect female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, also sent out a message to supporters highlighting West’s remarks.

“Cong. Allen West’s angry, hostile tirade to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is truly despicable,” reads a message on the EMILY’s List Web site. “If you had any doubt about the Republican war on women, look no further than West’s email -- it’s threatening, sexist and demeaning. We can’t sit by and watch such an appalling action from one of our elected officials. Tell Allen West that you are standing with Debbie against this outrageous and despicable behavior.”

The group had already been targeting West for some his more controversial comments and has endorsed former West Palm Beach mayor Lois Frankel (D) in her bid to unseat the freshman Republican.

Wednesday morning, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) took to Twitter to defend Wasserman Schultz.

“@DWStweets - got your back. Truth’s like ice water. It was all just the facts,” Edwards tweeted.

A West spokeswoman on Tuesday stood by the congressman’s comments, saying in a statement that Wasserman Schultz’s “actions were unprofessional and cowardly.”



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Sources: AP, MSNBC, Politico, Sun Sentinel, Washington Post, Google Maps