Hissyspit
Hissyspit's JournalFormer Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman Says Presidential Pardon is "Last Hope for Freedom"
Source: Al.com Montgomery Bureau
Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman says presidential pardon is "last hope for freedom"
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 10:42 PM Updated: Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 11:07 PM
By Kim Chandler -- Montgomery Bureau
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Former Gov. Don Siegelman, who was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, told the Fox Business Network that a presidential pardon is his "last hope for freedom" and continued to criticize the 2006 case in which he was convicted.
Siegelman said a flaw in the law allowed a jury to infer a crime was committed when it didn't happen.
"Yes, we are asking the president, whomever it may be this November, to issue a clemency or a pardon or commute my sentence," Siegelman told the Fox Business Network in a Monday interview.
"Not only to set me free but also to draw attention to the courts and to Congress and to the president of this flaw in the law that allows juries to convict business men and women and politicians on the basis of an inferred or an implied deal. Businessmen and women ought to be trembling over the impact of this decision," Siegelman told Fox Business Network.
Siegelman will be headed back to prison Sept. 11 after an unsuccessful six-year fight to overturn his 2006 conviction in a bribery case. The Democrat said he is innocent of charges that he sold a seat on the Certificate of Need Review Board to former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy in exchange for $500,000 in campaign donations to his 1999 lottery referendum.
"So we are being sent to prison for something, one, that didn't happen. Nobody wants to go to prison but certainly nobody wants to go to prison for something they didn't do," Siegelman told Fox Business Network.
Read more: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/08/former_alabama_gov_don_siegelm_3.html
'Stars Earn Stripes,' NBC Reality Show, Criticized by Veterans, Military Reporter
Source: Huffington Post
'Stars Earn Stripes,' NBC Reality Show, Criticized By Veterans And Military Reporter
HuffPost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was joined by military veterans and HuffPost's Pulitzer Prize winning Senior Military Correspondent reporter David Wood Tuesday morning for a discussion on NBC's new reality show, "Stars Earn Stripes." The veterans, including US Army veteran Jennifer Hunt, Afghanistan veteran Matt Zeller, and retired US Army infantry soldier Joshua Flashman, criticized NBC for the show, which puts celebrities into quasi-basic training-like situation and features Todd Palin among its contestants.
"I hope it's canceled, and I hope it's replaced with a nightly review of the casualties lost that day," Zeller said, while Hunt focused her critique on the disservice the show pays to female service members.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/08/14/stars-earn-stripes-nbc-re_n_1776653.html
Julian Assange Will Be Granted Asylum, Says Ecuadorean Official
Source: Guardian
Julian Assange will be granted asylum, says official
Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has agreed to give the WikiLeaks founder asylum, according to an official in Quito
The Guardian, Tue 14 Aug 2012 19.42
Ecuador's president Rafael Correa has agreed to give Julian Assange asylum, officials within Ecuador's government have said.
The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up at Ecuador's London embassy since 19 June, when he officially requested political asylum.
"Ecuador will grant asylum to Julian Assange," said an official in the Ecuadorean capital Quito, who is familiar with the government discussions.
On Monday, Correa told state-run ECTV that he would decide this week whether to grant asylum to Assange. Correa said a large amount of material about international law had to be examined to make a responsible informed decision.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/14/julian-assange-asylum-ecuador-wikileaks
7 Scandals That Reveal the Real Mitt Romney
http://www.alternet.org/7-scandals-reveal-real-mitt-romneyAlterNet / By Steven Rosenfeld
7 Scandals That Reveal the Real Mitt Romney
Some great reporting reveals a self-serving man who is often tone-deaf to his impact on others and whose internal compass seems to spin wildly.
August 14, 2012 |
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But a more complete picture of Romney is emerging this summer. Some great reporting by journalists reveals that the man behind the smile isn’t just a political flip-flopper who can't be trusted, but a self-serving man who is often tone-deaf to his impact on others and whose internal compass seems to spin wildly.
These seven recent reports reveal the real Romney—starting with a young man who didn’t care how he made money, as long as he made it.
1. Bain Capital Launched with Funds Tied to Salvadoran Death Squads
People who start new businesses are always hungry for investors. But as Huffington Post reporters Ryan Grim and Cole Stangler found in their report, “Mitt Romney Started Bain Capital With Money From Families Tied To Death Squads,” there was no possible way that anybody in 1984 could "check out" these families and be convinced this money was clean, as Grim told Democracy Now.
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2. Romney Wants Tax Cuts For the Rich Paid By Higher Middle-Class Taxes
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The proposals, in an analysis cited by the Washington Post and others, would cut taxes for the wealthiest 5 percent but raise taxes on everyone else. Extreme Liberal's blog posted a graphic that shows exactly how it would work, saying, “You may notice that everyone pays more in taxes right up until you get to the top 5 percent of the population. According to the analysis, those who make $3 million dollars a year would get a TAX CUT of $250,000.”
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5. Intolerant Then, Intolerant Now
There is always the question of how much people change—or don’t—over a lifetime. Before Romney entered business and politics, he was an active member of the church who took his pastoral role seriously, even as a graduate student at Harvard University.
This Washington Post profile of Romney from that time—as the young but highest-ranking Mormon in Boston—notes how he told an older, recently divorced women who had converted to Mormonism not to have premarital sex. At the time, the Post said many Mormon couples were at Harvard and the women were curious about feminism. The report goes on to say that Romney tempered his views by the time he became Massachusetts governor—which the 2008 McCain campaign opposition research reports shows. Another report from that period in Vanity Fair notes how Romney told a Mormon single mother who became pregnant to put her child up for adoption—which she refused. When she faced serious medical issues, he refused to come to her hospital bedside.
MORE & LINKS AT LINK ABOVE
Steven Rosenfeld covers democracy issues for AlterNet and is the author of "Count My Vote: A Citizen's Guide to Voting" (AlterNet Books, 2008).
Deep earthquake with 7.5 Magnitude Hits Off Eastern Russia, North of Japan: USGS
Source: Reuters
Deep magnitude 7.5 quake off Russia, north of Japan
Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:19pm EDT
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck off the eastern Russian coast to the north of Japan, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Tuesday, but no tsunami warning was issued by Japanese authorities.
The quake was measured very deep at around 580 km (360 miles) below the earth's surface. Japanese television said the quake was measured at 7.3.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE87D03820120814?irpc=932
Romney Campaign Event at Miami Restaurant Leaves Bad Taste (Convicted Drug Dealer's Restaurant)
Source: Reuters
Romney campaign event at Miami restaurant leaves bad taste
By Tom Brown
MIAMI | Mon Aug 13, 2012 9:09pm EDT
(Reuters) - A campaign stop by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Miami on Monday was held at a restaurant owned by a convicted drug trafficker.
Romney, hoping to get support from the Cuban-American community in Miami, held an event at El Palacio de los Jugos, famed for its tropical juices, fruits and Cuban-style snack food.
Court documents show restaurant owner Reinaldo Bermudez pleaded guilty in 1997 to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The case in federal court in Miami led to a three-year prison sentence for Bermudez.
His plea was part of a drug conspiracy case that involved 11 other suspects with aliases including "Fat Boy," "Ali Baba," "Skeletor," "Mogley" and "Buckwheat."
Bermudez's criminal past was first reported on the website of the Miami New Times newspaper. It said the charge stemmed from a conspiracy involving more than one ton of cocaine imported from Trinidad to ports in south Florida.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/14/us-usa-campaign-romney-convict-idUSBRE87D01220120814
GD Thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021126681
TPM: Paul Ryan Insider Trading Rumor Quickly Debunked
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/paul-ryan-insider-trading-rumor-quickly-debunked.phpTPM2012
Paul Ryan Insider Trading Rumor Quickly Debunked
Benjy Sarlin
August 13, 2012, 4:35 PM
It had the makings of a scandal: Paul Ryan traded banking stocks during the financial crisis the same day as a meeting with top Treasury Department officials, a Virginia blog wrote Monday. But the rumor, which spread rapidly across the Internet, doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
The meeting in question took place on Sept. 18, 2008, between Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and congressional leaders including Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner and Harry Reid. The Richmonder, a progressive Virginia blog, noted on Monday that Ryan’s financial disclosure form from 2008 showed that he sold stock in Citigroup and JP Morgan, who were in crisis, the same day and bought stock in Goldman Sachs, which proved to be stronger. The blog claimed that Ryan also attended the meeting. The implication, they stated, was that he was using information gleaned from the briefing for personal profit.
It was wrong. In fact, the meeting with Bernanke took place in the evening after trading hours, meaning Ryan wouldn’t have had time to execute the move if he wanted to.
The Romney campaign said Ryan had nothing to do with the trades in the first place. They were part of a Russell 1000 index fund that automatically traded stocks as part of a pre-set formula. Ryan’s disclosure forms include several similar trade patterns at various points throughout the year.
MORE[p]
Nobel Laureates Call for End to TV's "Stars Earn Stripes"
Source: Reuters
Nobel laureates call for end to TV's "Stars Earn Stripes"
Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:32pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nine Nobel Peace laureates, including retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, on Monday called on television network NBC to cancel its "Stars Earn Stripes" reality show, labeling it a bid to "sanitize war by likening it to an athletic competition."
The competition show, due to air for the first time on Monday evening, puts eight celebrities such as singer Nick Lachey and politician Sarah Palin's husband Todd, through military-style training, including helicopter drops and long-range weapons firing.
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But in an open letter to NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, the Nobel prize winners said that "preparing for war is neither amusing nor entertaining.
"It is our belief that this program pays homage to no one anywhere and continues and expands on an inglorious tradition of glorifying war and armed violence.
"Real war is down in the dirt deadly. People — military and civilians — die in ways that are anything but entertaining," the letter added.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE87C11020120813?irpc=932
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/08/13-3"Trying to somehow sanitize war by likening it to an athletic competition further calls into question the morality and ethics of linking the military anywhere with the entertainment industry in barely veiled efforts to make war and its multitudinous costs more palatable to the public."
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"The group also pointed out that sanitizing war for a primetime cable show is a profitable business for at least one of NBC's parent companies, General Electric. "GE is a big weapons manufacturer," the group said, and having 'a retired general hosting a war-o-tainment show is another step in the normalization of permanent war.'l
Paul Ryan Not Qualified to Be President, According to Mitt Romney Proposal This Year
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/13/paul-ryan-qualifications-mitt-romney_n_1773303.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009Paul Ryan Not Qualified To Be President, According To Mitt Romney Proposal This Year
The Huffington Post | By Nick Wing
Posted: 08/13/2012 2:37 pm Updated: 08/13/2012 4:31 pm
GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is a skilled bowhunter and one-time Oscar Meyer Weinermobile jockey, but according to a proposal laid out earlier this year by Mitt Romney, he probably doesn't have the business accumen to serve as president.
Speaking at a campaign event in May, Romney appeared to endorse a supporter's idea for a constitutional amendment stating that a “president has to spend at least three years working in business before he can become president of the United States."
Romney continued, "You see, then he or she would understand that the policies they're putting into place have to encourage small business, make it easier for business to grow.”
(Video above via BuzzFeed)
Of course, the problem here is that Ryan, doesn't actually meet this criteria. From the Associated Press:
REST AT LINK[p]
Paul Ryan's Biggest Influence: 10 Things You Should Know About the Lunatic Ayn Rand
Bunch of links to really good articles here...http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/paul-ryans-biggest-influence-10-things-you-should-know-about-lunatic-ayn-rand
By Jan Frel
Paul Ryan's Biggest Influence: 10 Things You Should Know About the Lunatic Ayn Rand
Here's a treasure trove of background info on the woman who inspired Romney's VP pick to go into public office.
August 12, 2012 |
"The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand." That's freshly minted GOP vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan talking -- statements he would eventually recant -- at a party celebrating what would have been the prolific author's 100th birthday,
Rand's books are a big driver in the long-term right-wing campaign to delude millions of people into believing that there's no such thing as society -- that everyone must look out only for themselves. Lately, Rand's work has enjoyed a major revival of interest. Besides Ryan, she's inspired yoga-wear company Lululemon to publish her quotations on its products, and she's even made inroads into the North American semi-socialist enclave of Canada.
AlterNet has kept the pace with Rand's resurgence, doing our best to educate people about what a nutcase she was and how harmful her ideas are. These 10 articles, previously published on AlterNet, shed light on why Rand's influence on Ryan is so dangerous.
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2. Rand's Philosophy in a Nutshell
The bloggers at ThinkProgress explain that the philosophy Ayn Rand laid out in her novels and essays was, "a frightful concoction of hyper-egotism, power-worship and anarcho-capitalism. She opposed all forms of welfare, unemployment insurance, support for the poor and middle-class, regulation of industry and government provision for roads or other infrastructure. She also insisted that law enforcement, defense and the courts were the only appropriate arenas for government, and that all taxation should be purely voluntary. Her view of economics starkly divided the world into a contest between 'moochers' and 'producers,' with the small group making up the latter generally composed of the spectacularly wealthy, the successful, and the titans of industry."
3. Ayn Rand Railed Against Government Benefits, But Grabbed Social Security and Medicare When She Needed Them
AlterNet's Joshua Holland has the goods: "Her books provided wide-ranging parables of 'parasites,' 'looters' and 'moochers' using the levers of government to steal the fruits of her heroes' labor. In the real world, however, Rand herself received Social Security payments and Medicare benefits under the name of Ann O'Connor (her husband was Frank O'Connor).
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5. Billionaires and Corporations Use Rand's Writings To Brainwash College Students
Pam Martens reported that Charles Koch, who pushes "millions of dollars through his foundation into economic programs at public universities and mandating approval of faculty and curriculum in some instances," partnered with the "southern banking giant BB&T ... mandating that Ayn Rand’s book Atlas Shrugged is taught and distributed to students."
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7. Ayn Rand in Real Life
Author Hal Crowther writes, "For an eyewitness portrait of Ayn Rand in the flesh, in the prime of her celebrity, you can’t improve on the 'Ubermensch' chapter in Tobias Wolff’s autobiographical novel Old School. Invited to meet with the faculty and student writers at the narrator’s boarding school, Rand arrives with an entourage of chain-smoking idolaters in black and behaves so repellently that her audience of innocents gets a life lesson in what kind of adult to avoid, and to avoid becoming. Rude, dismissive, vain and self-infatuated to the point of obtuseness — she names Atlas Shrugged as the only great American novel — Rand and her hissing chorus in black manage to alienate the entire school, even the rich board member who had admired and invited her. What strikes Wolff’s narrator most forcefully is her utter lack of charity or empathy, her transparent disgust with everything she views as disfiguring or disabling..."
MUCH MORE AT LINK[p]
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