An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia

David Martin is a columnist I have followed in the years since my political awakening. He has a fantastic number of postings at his site.

He made me aware of his most recent posting - I recommend that you take some time and read about the horrible policy decisions made by our government. Dear readers, I present to you, An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia.

The Ongoing Battle Against Scumbaggery Continues

I have encountered a new voice of illogic on CounterKnowledge, who goes by the nom de plume of GeekEngineer. His first visit to the page was to take me to task for my posting "Open-Air Fires CANNOT Melt Steel". I noticed something that I didn't immediately pounce upon, but now I'm going to. I am reposting my response to a tirade by one of the regular retards, which follows:

If John Thames has a “striking penis fixation”, as you assert, it may be because he has borne witness to our whore representatives sucking on so much cock, it makes him sick to his stomach. All of that uncircumsized tiny schvantze (Ron Jeremy notwithstanding) eagerly taken in the mouths of Pelosi, Hoyer, etc. - herpes and all.

GeekEngineer…I hoped for the best…ah, well. Let’s go back to your first posting here, in reference to my blog posting, http://911liarsexposed.blogspot.com/2009/09/im-attempting-to-hammer-this-point.html - you mumbled something along the lines of, and here I directly quote: “Blah blah blah… “BOMBS or similar methods”… blah blah blah… JEWS… blah blah blah…”

Hmmm…I’m just wondering…where did you find the word “JEWS” in the entirety of that posting?

I did a word find with the web browser, just in case my “hatred” was blinding me; alas, I was unable to find A SINGLE REFERENCE to “JEWS” in that posting.

Could it be that you came here with some preconceptions? I’d say so.

moRON - the one thing you’re refusing to accept is that the assassination of JFK and the attack upon Pearl Harbor are both FALSE-FLAG ATTACKS, regardless of whatever tripe is offered up by the various networks as “research”.

GeekEngineer - you’ll notice that I haven’t yet made fun of your nom de plume…but that is contingent upon your next response to me. If the best you can do is to ignore the fact that you COMPLETELY MADE UP AN ARGUMENT WITH WHICH YOU USED TO TAKE FAULT WITH MY POSTING, you will find said nom de plume mangled, as befits all scumbags.

And do yourself a favor - don’t cite NIST as an expert in anything, except maybe in inserting their collective cranial cavities into the anus of Larry “Two Sheds” Silverstein and everyone else who assisted with the murder of over 3,000 Americans. Those nitwits couldn’t even come up with a convincing lie to explain why WTC 7 collapsed.

I'm well practiced in dealing with the reality-challenged, as you can witness here in my nearly five-month ping-pong with some maniac named Ben Plonie at the God Blog - some back-and-forth between Ben Plonie and I...I'll provide just a snippit:

“Songbird” McCain will do nothing but bring about the end of Israel as we all know it - don’t think of him as a friend…he will say what he thinks will appease his audience.

Remember…he made propaganda videos for the Viet Cong to receive preferential medical treatment, while his fellow soldiers sat in pain, but divulged no information with which the United States could be harmed.

I don’t begrudge Israel’s existence, but I do begrudge the actions taken against the indigenous population therein. Please understand that “never again” means that for EVERYONE.

Comment by hANOVER fIST on 6/02/08 at 10:54 am
_____________________________________________

I cannot believe that an entity called the Jewish Journal would host the comments of anti Israel, anti-Zionist, antisemitic cockroaches like the posters above. McCain has provided the only moral clarity in this discussion and has fired a shot across the bow of the upcoming election. The democrats will be reduced to “homina-homina-homina” in the face of this statement of support for Israel.

Obama would throw Israel under the bus faster than his white grandmother. Many, many Jews will die if Obama becomes President. And many, many Arabs will die if Obama becomes President.

The USS Liberty? Are you kidding? This has been debunked many times. Either it was a mistake (based on the boat being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a legitimate hit on a vessal coopted by the NSA to pass on Israeli troop movements to the Egyptians. [comment from hf - Phil Tourney, James Ennes, you may wish to state to the contrary to this assertion...]

Israel is as close to a US state as it is possible for another country to be. As McCain said, our shared values make it so. America was founded in the first place by people inspired by the freedom of the ancient Israelites from tyranny.

And let hanover learn the true meaning of ‘indigenous’. Jews are indigenous to Palestine/Israel, not Arabs. Period. Learn some true history.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 6/02/08 at 5:47 pm

You can read the rest of this scintillating exchange at The God Blog.

As always, I await your comments.

What's Next...Chickens For Colonel Sanders?

Recently discovered two things: the first being hanger steak...apparently, it is just an awesome, heretofore unknown cut of meat (at least, the GF had no bloody idea what it was!), and I did a hell of a job making dinner two Sundays ago.

The second thing I recently discovered was a blog titled Pennsylvania For John McCain. You know...I didn't know that the retarded were allowed to procreate.

Yes...I know. That was unbelievably harsh...but we need to address something very important. I'm going back to 1963 and to the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and I want for you to put on your critical thinking caps. I want for you to think of the possibilities of any "lone nut" assassinating ANY PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE/CANDIDATE - I surmise that you'll agree with me that the possibility is near nil...that is, at least, if all of the spying being performed by our clandestine services are performing in the way that they should - that being ensuring the safety of WE THE PEOPLE, and not merely attempting to stifle lawful dissent to policies designed to undermine and remove our rights as Americans.

So...there's a bit of talk about assassinating the Democratic nominee for the office of the President of the United States. We have actually had successful assassinations...but by whom were they performed? Let's list attempts as well (* denotes that I disagree with the findings):

Andrew Jackson was shot at by Richard Lawrence; both shots misfired

Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth

James A. Garfield was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau

William McKinley shot twice by Leon Czolgosz; died eight days later

Theodore Roosevelt was shot by John F. Schrank

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was shot by Giuseppe Zangara

Harry S. Truman was shot at by two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists, Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo

John Fitzgerald Kennedy's life was threatened by Richard Paul Pavlick; he was later assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald*

Not necessarily pertinent, but being included regardless, Robert Francis Kennedy was killed by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan*

George Wallace was shot by Arthur Bremer; who had previously threatened to assassinate Richard Milhous Nixon; Nixon was also threatened by Samuel Byck

Gerald Ford had two attempts on his life; the first by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, the second by Sara Jane Moore

Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.*

George Herbert Walker Bush was said to have been threatened by sixteen men in the alleged employment of Saddam Hussein, in retaliation for Gulf War the First; attack foiled by Kuwaiti officials

William Jefferson Clinton was said to have been threatened first by Frank Eugene Corder, who flew a single-engine Cessna into the White House; Francisco Martin Duran fired at least 29 shots with a semi-automatic rifle at the White House

George Walker Bush was supposedly threatened by Robert Pickett, who shot at the White House; Vladimir Arutyunian attacked him with a hand grenade - amazingly, the handkerchief used to obfuscate its appearance delayed the explosion

So...that was a mouthful. There are events that I dispute occurred as recorded; please feel free to write in and challenge my discernments - any and all arguments are welcome.

So...I did bring up a lot of distasteful memories for some...but there's a reason I've done so, and I could have begun and ended with JFK's assassination...and that point is THIS:

There is no bloody way that what occurred in 1963 could EVER recur in this, these modern times. There are simply too many media devices being used by everyday people - if we possessed this level of technology back in 1963, we would never have heard of Dan Rather...Abraham Zapruder would simply have been one of a cast of thousands to have captured the footage of the day; I daresay that the attempt may have been forestalled with the advent of personal media recording devices.

At the very least, Thane Eugene Cesar would either be rotting away in prison or feeding worms for his role in the assassination of RFK.

What Do You Mean, "Songbird" McCain Wasn't Tortured...?

Oh, dear...it appears that someone has taken on my challenge...namely, putting the lie to John "Songbird" McCain's POW experience. Oh, what fun we're having now...I found a link that leads to scads of goodies regarding the walking cadaver. One of the links discusses the circumstances of McCain LEAVING BEHIND fellow POWs.

In a court of law, one lie is enough to have one's entire testimony disregarded...so are going to hear more from our Stenographer Whores on this point?

Oh...I'm SURE that they'll do their jobs and keep Americans apprised of threats to our way of life, through malfeasance and outright lying by our elected officials, right? I mean, Watergate proved what side the "mainstream media" is on, right?

Watergate, as it was reported, was an obfuscation of events that America was told to keep the lid on the true danger occurring...that of the pedophile sex ring and outright prostitution happening daily with our sons and daughters, our wives, our husbands, our loved ones...all being used, abused and discarded...some painfully and fatally, if the rumours regarding Icepick can be verified.

NYC Pinocchio Protests - Get Yer Nose On; R.I.P. Baird Jones

NYC Pinocchio Protests

Challenge McCain's Lies & Smears when he comes through NYC on Tuesday, by wearing Pinocchio noses and doing a "Lie-In." People with Pinocchio noses are hounding McCain & "Flintstones" Palin all across the country. Come be part of it here in New York City!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_results?circle_id=74631

Everything you need to participate in this fun, visually powerful, and right-message-for-right-now protest, is available at:
http://www.pinocchiopolitics.org/

Pick up a Pinocchio nose at your local Halloween costume store if you can - organizers will have a few extras.

Tuesday, October 14 at 5:30 PM
Protest McCain Lies in NYC
Grand Hyatt Hotel
109 East 42nd Street (in front of Grand Central)
New York, NY 10017
RSVP:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/gs5qhv


Wednesday, October 15 at 8:00 PM
Protest McCain Lies outside 3rd Debate
We will hold a huge game of Liar's Bingo outside the debate. Come play!
http://pinocchiopolitics.org/bingo
Hofstra University
1000 Fulton Ave
Hempstead, NY 11549
RSVP:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/gs5qkk


Thursday, October 16 at 6:00 PM
Protest McCain's Lies in NYC
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
100 East 50th Street
New York, NY 10022
Challenge McCain's Lies & Smears when he comes thru NYC on Thursday, by wearing Pinocchio noses and doing a "Lie-In." McCain will be speaking at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
RSVP:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/organizing/gs5qh2

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October 15-21

FRONTRUNNERS is a smart and funny political documentary that follows the student council presidential
campaign at one of the country's most prestigious public high schools: Stuyvesant High School in New
York City.

An entertaining and symbolic campaign film, put forth in classic verite style, we follow four charming and
idiosyncratic candidates as they navigate an electoral process that is said to be one of the most
competitive at the high school level. These teenaged candidates face the same issues as candidates of
any age, such as picking the "right" running mate, shaking as many hands as possible, preparing for
televised debates, impressing the pundits and journalistic community, addressing sensitive race-related
issues, and mobilizing an apathetic voter base.

A microcosm of the U.S. Presidential elections, Caroline Suh's film shows politicking and pluralities
through the lens of the adolescent experience.

Director: Caroline Suh
Release Date: October 15, 2008 in New York. National expansion on October 24, 2008.
Running time: 83 min
Rating: Not Rated by the MPAA
World Premiere: SXSW Film Festival 2008

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Wednesday, October 15 - Debate Parties

7:00 pm
Presidential Debate Watch Party - Final Round!
doors open at 7:00 pm; debate begins at 9 pm
Tonic Times Square Bar & Lounge
727 Seventh Avenue
(between 48th and 49th Streets)
Free for annual members; $10-non-members
Please RSVP!
http://www.dl21c.org/rsvp.php?event_id=291


7:30 Doors / 8 Comedy / 9 Debate
THE FINAL DEBATE WATCH PARTY.
Beforehand, an all-female Laughing Liberally
presented by the Hysterical Festival,
featuring Lizz Winstead, Katie Halper,
Erin Judge, Negin Farsad & Mindy Raf as Leibya Rogers
(Suggested donation: $5 for the comedy / Debate FREE)
The Tank @ DCTV (note location!)
87 Lafayette btw Walker & White
http://www.thetanknyc.org
http://thehystericalfestival.com/festcal_wed.html


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Friday October 17 - 7 pm

Larry Litt, "What is Political Art Really Worth?"; and Joe Pontillo
Free Political Comedy at Pratt Manhattan

Larry Litt, co-star with Eleanor Heartney of The Blame Show, has performed his satiric, critical, ranting characters across America and around the world at festivals, art biennials, colleges, libraries, and galleries. He is pretty damn famous for his successful fundraising art auctions. Political art auction action tonight.

One of the fastest rising stars on the comedy scene today Joe Pontillo brings his everyday rumblings and political satire to the stage. Having been featured in the New York Times and Newsday, Joe is well known for his quick wit and hardcore lunacy. As well as performing at many of the top comedy clubs on the east coast Pontillo is also a regular performer at many colleges and universities throughout the country.

Refreshments are available at all perfromances.

Pratt Manhattan
144 West 14th St, 2nd floor

For more information please visit
http://www.partyheadquarters.org

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October 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 31, November 1, 2 (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) at 7:00 pm in the HERE mainstage.
Election Night Event Tuesday, November 4, starting at 6:00 pm.

Life After Bush: A Musical We Can Believe In.

TARIK DAVIS as Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Josh Bolten, Uncle Sam, and others
NOAH DIAMOND as the Narrator, the Country Doctor, Rudy Giuliani, Dick Memmons, and others
BRIAN LOUIS HOFFMAN* as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Mr. Abortion, and others
SADRINA JOHNSON* as the Patient, Peggy Patty Prentiss, the Singer, Michelle Obama, and others
KIM MOSCARITOLO as Mopsy Jimenez-Tippington, Sherilyn, Nancy Pelosi, Cindy McCain, and others
AVI PHILLIPS as John McCain, John Hagee, Victor, Michael Hayden, and others
AMANDA SISK as Hillary Clinton, The Country Nurse, Emily, Sarah Palin, and others
*Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

Produced and Directed by Noah Diamond and Amanda Sisk.

Change is the key word of the election, and it's the key word of the show. All of the NERO FIDDLED shows are topical, and we're used to adding new material as news breaks. But doing a show about an election, and opening three weeks before Election Day, is really keeping us on our feet.

Obviously, we say this with no objectivity whatsoever, but this is a special show and a special experience. From where we're sitting now, Life After Bush looks like our funniest show, and also our most serious; wrapped up in this comedy is everything we're feeling about this election, this presidency, this country, and its future.

HERE Arts Center 145 Sixth Avenue, NYC
(Between Spring & Broome; enter on Dominick)

Tickets $18 (or $15 with DEMS15 discount code)
Click here
http://www.noahdiamond.com/lifeafterbush-tickets.html
or call (212) 352-3101

###

Volunteer for Obama!
Compiled by Cheryl Guttman

Phonebank Swing State Voters at 7th Ave & 28th Street, every Tues & Thurs
Obama volunteers in NYC thave set up a phonebank to call voters in the crucial swing state of New Mexico.
When: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6-9pm
Where: PKPR, 307 7th Ave. Suite 1004, at 28th Street.
Bring: Landlines will be available, but if you have a cell phone and/or a wireless-enabled laptop, please bring it.
RSVP: http://www.nyobama.com/events/nyc/#102hatch

Volunteers for Official Obama Phonebank, Manhattan, Weeknights, 5-7pm&7-9pm
The NY office of Obama for America is running a phonebank in Manhattan. Volunteer to call swing state voters and get out the vote to take back the White House. Where: Teamsters Union, 216 W. 14th Street, 6th Floor When: Weeknights, two shifts: 5-7pm & 7-9pm RSVP: (please rsvp to ensure they have enough phones)
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/officialevent/gshqqj

To find a phonebanking party, go to the Event Finder on the official Obama site:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_simple
Then click on advanced search, and under “Type of Event” click on “Phonebank.” Enter other relevant data (your location, dates, etc) and it will give you a list of phonebanking events in your area.

Just a few upcoming New York City phonebank parties: Call Philadelphia, EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT, 6:30-8:30 pm RSVP to
William Finkel: 917-653-2425 Call New Hampshire on Oct. 2, 6:30-8:30 pm RSVP to Justin Henning: 718-757-7686

Here is Sat. day trips to Obama headquaters in Pa from Penn Sta, Manhattan
http://www.dl21c.org/campaign-08.php

Entire weekend trips (incl. hotel) to swing states this weekend and next with group--they also go to a pub together Sat. night!
http://www.dl21c.org/buspp-08.php

and if you want to go to Ohio, where they have early voting http://www.americavotes.org/page/s/traveltoohio08


Protect the Vote

If you are a law student, attorney, have poll watcher experience or legal training, volunteer for the Obama Voter
Protection Program, Counsel for Change. Sign up at
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/vpcvol2

Election Protection is working to protect the vote, stopping voter caging and challenges to student registration. They have a free hotline to a legal team that will be active on Nov. 4. Tell everyone you speak with to write down this number now, and call it if they have any problems voting on Election Day.

1-866-OUR-VOTE

--

If this sounds like a Obama-love fest, fear not...but he's clearly not the two-faced scumbag McCain is...he thinks he can obscure TWENTY-SIX YEARS of taxpayer-raping legislation with one bloody non-Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac vote?

McCain...get in the coffin and nail it shut from the inside.


In other news...my bud Baird Jones passed away...he was 53.

A Vote For McCain/Palin Is Like Chickens Voting For Colonel Sanders

Just remember - 26 years of voting for DE-REGULATION for financial institutions, as opposed to "that one's" FISA vote and his "bailout/American ripoff" vote.

Let's spell it out, so even the slow kids can understand:

Twenty-six years of saying, "Oh, sure, the market can regulate itself...I'm SURE that NO ONE will GAME THE SYSTEM for their OWN INTEREST"...nosiree, bob.

America need John "Songbird" McCain and Sarah "Flintstones" Palin like Jennifer Levin needed Robert Chambers.

I'm a Republican, and I'm sick of the muttonheads that have been chosen to represent my party in the last thirty-odd years.

Sick.

Here's Keating Economics:

How an Obama sweatshirt got one Columbus woman banned from UDF for life

No Shirt, No Shoes, NObama

How an Obama sweatshirt got one Columbus woman banned from UDF for life
By Kitty McConnell
Published: Thursday, October 2, 2008 12:13 PM EDT

Forget about politics for a moment.

Forget your feelings about Obama and McCain. Forget that Columbus voters are among the most polarized in the nation. Forget swing states, vice presidential debates and the quickly approaching day of decision. That all comes later.

Remember, instead, the night Hurricane Ike blew through Columbus, tearing trees out by the roots and plunging much of the city into darkness for days.

Like many, Renee Barker spent that humid Sunday night without power. When sleep without air-conditioning proved futile, Barker and her fiancé packed their dogs in the car and went in search of batteries and candles. The neighborhood Giant Eagle was black. The only place Barker could find still operating with power was the United Dairy Farmers store on West Fifth Avenue near Grandview.

Barker walked into the store while her fiancé and their dogs waited in the car. After being told the store had no batteries, the clerk behind the counter, Mark Medina, offered up a curious request: “Can I tell you about my candidate, John McCain?” he asked her.

The comment caught Barker off-guard momentarily. She noticed he was looking at her chest. Then it clicked—she was wearing her Obama sweatshirt. “He picked the wrong girl on the wrong night,” said Barker.

She fired back, “I probably know more about John McCain than you do,” and says she told him, “If you’re really for McCain, I’ll take you down to the local recruiter myself so you can be all that you can be.”

“In the (store surveillance) video, you could see me pointing at my sweatshirt saying ‘Are you kidding me? You’re going to give me a hard time because I wore the wrong thing into your store?’” said Barker, a petite 36-year-old Victorian Village resident.

Barker admits she’s passionate about her politics and other social issues. A former Whole Foods employee who’s recuperating from recent surgery that left six pins in her back, she rescues thoroughbred horses in her spare time. She’s preparing to leave for Uganda in the spring to teach English.

She says she’s donated money to the Obama campaign and concedes she’s not afraid to engage in any challenge to her political beliefs. On this night, though, wearing her political beliefs on her sleeve created a situation that turned quickly from the absurd to the surreal.

She says what she thought would become little more than a political debate turned confrontational when another employee—who Barker describes as “a little hip-hop girl in big clothes”—emerged from the back. Medina told his employee that Barker was a “stupid loud-mouthed liberal,” according to Barker. After a few more words, Barker says she turned to leave as the female employee stepped toward her shouting, “get out of the store.”

Barker insists there was no physical contact, no property damage and, toward the end, only minimal profanity. “I asked him valid questions, and he just put his head down and started sweeping,” said Barker, “and I’m like, ‘You brought it up—you don’t do that to the consumer.’”

Barker’s fiancé watched the encounter from their car, puzzled. “I thought, you know, it might be politics, it might be the weather,” he said. Barker’s fiancé, who asked to go unnamed, said he didn’t think too much of the incident until Medina came to the front of the store as Barker emerged, phone in hand, and began copying down the couple’s license plate number.

At that point, Barker’s fiancé, a recent MBA graduate, who Barker describes as normally easy-going and reserved, approached Medina himself, asked him what he was doing and, when told he was filing an assault charge with police, grabbed the paper with their license number from him, tossed the store’s phone on the ground, left the store and drove home.

Medina called 911—at the same time the police were receiving a higher –than-usual volume of calls due to city-wide power outages—and reported that the couple, whom he described as a white woman and a Mexican (Barker’s fiancé is of Pakistani descent), were intoxicated and had assaulted him and his female coworker. Medina filed a criminal trespass report against Barker and her fiancé, stating they “became verbally aggressive and refused to leave” the store. (Barker denies refusing to leave.)

“He’s calling in 911 like it’s life or death,” said Barker, who heard a transcript of the call, “‘Some Mexican and drunk woman are raising hell.’ That’s why an officer had to show up in the middle of the blackout and take case of that BS.”

Barker and her fiancé went home and, after talking through the incident, decided to call police on their own and find out if, indeed, the UDF employees had filed some police report. When told a report had been filed, and that both she and her fiancé were described as intoxicated, Barker invited police to her Victorian Village home to test them, worried that a phony police report could wind up on their record. Police declined, and have not filed charges against the couple. Barker says when she explained to police what had happened; they advised her to contact United Dairy Farmer’s to get things straightened out. But things only got worse.



Cincinnati-based United Dairy Farmers was founded and owned by the Lindner family, who are no less shy about their politics than Barker herself. Patriarch Carl Lindner Jr., a self-made billionaire and former CEO of the Cincinnati Reds, is a major financial backer of the Republican Party on local and national levels.

The family ranked 205th on this year’s Forbes’ “400 Richest Americans” list. In 2004, Lindner was named by the National Republican Committee as one of George Bush’s 62 “Super Rangers,” the highest fundraising designations for donating in excess of $300,000 to the GOP. In December, the Washington Post reported Lindner was the national co-chair of Mitt Romney’s run for the GOP presidential nomination, while his son, Carl Lindner III, backed Mike Huckabee.

When asked if they allowed political canvassing in any of their stores, consumer relations representatives in the Cincinnati corporate offices responded, “No, we do not,” before declining to give a name or further comment.

Numerous other calls to UDF store and corporate personnel were not returned or declined for comment.



Immediately following the Sunday night incident, which occurred around midnight, Barker called UDF’s corporate offices. Monday evening, she received a call from Medina’s supervisor, which registered as a blocked number on her phone records.

“She was sweet as sugar, told me she’d get back to me,” said Barker. Another day passed. “Once I realized they were doing nothing,” Barker said, she followed the advice of the police dispatcher and called the store for the contact information of a higher supervisor.

Though it was 4:21 Tuesday afternoon, Barker said Medina answered her call and refused to give the supervisor’s number. She called the corporate office again, and was connected, not with a supervisor, but with the senior security specialist for the Columbus UDF zone, Carl Rankin.

“They (were) doing nothing about it, they (were) basically like giving me the finger, especially the head of security was very threatening,” said Barker. “He never listened to my side. I told him I was just trying to reach a manager and he’s like, ‘look Miss Renee. . .’”

Barker hung up with Rankin unsatisfied. An hour after her call to the Fifth Avenue store, Barker’s phone records show she received a blocked call, which she says was a threat. She called police.

According to the Columbus Police report of the incident, Barker stated that the caller told her, “Watch your back, I’m watching you,” and “I know where you live,” then asked her how her pets were doing and that the caller had seen them at UDF the night of the blackout.

“It does not take a brain surgeon to figure out that my number popped up on the UDF phone,” Barker said. “I call to ask for a supervisor and an hour later I get a threatening phone call?” As of Wednesday, police had issued a second round of subpoenas for the identity of the blocked caller.

Later that evening, Barker called the corporate offices once again and reported the threat. “He told me it was not a UDF issue, but that he’d try to give me a call in a couple of days,” Barker said.

A few days later, on Sept. 22, Barker received a letter from Rankin, UDF’s district head of security. The letter cited a “situation” she was involved in at the Fifth Avenue store along with “harassing phone calls to Corporate offices” between September 14-16.

It stated further: “You are being advised that you may not enter any United Dairy Farmers store or property,” and that “several police reports have been made as a result of your actions.”

Neither the Columbus Police nor the city prosecutor’s office have record of the harassment reports Rankin referenced, nor has she received any official notification that charges and/or formal complaints have been filed against her.

“Just because you receive a threatening letter from the corporate office doesn’t mean (everything). They can come down here and attempt to pursue charges, but (even if they do) that doesn’t mean they automatically get them,” said assistant city prosecutor Bill Hedrick.

Barker’s phone records indicate she made 15 calls in all, to the Cincinnati corporate offices, the Lewis Center district offices and Grandview store between early in the morning September 15 through the evening of September 17. Phone records indicate that seven of those calls were spent in transfer or on hold between customer service representatives.

It should come as no surprise that things are so heated on the ground in Columbus this election year. CNN’s broadcast of the first presidential debate last week featured correspondent Soledad O’Brien’s live polling of a focus group in Columbus because it consistently polls as being split by a narrow margin in favor of the Democratic Party. Political analyst for CNN John King noted Franklin County’s prominence on the Ohio map as the only blue county in a sea of red.

“She’s in a central area and a persuadable area,” King said of his colleague in Columbus, “a swing area of a very critical state…in this election and in every election.”

It might be easy to dismiss the whole chain of incidents as personal politics boiling over on a stormy night in total darkness, smack in the middle of a city completely polarized in its electoral politics.

But Barker is no longer amused when that political passion becomes a police incident. “I’m not a patient person, I admit flat out, and I do not like being threatened,” Barker said. “There are a lot of uninformed shoppers who run into UDF stores across the country—a lot of Democrats—and this is where it all began. Now it’s a safety thing for me.”

She’s awaiting the results of the telephone subpoenas and intends to file criminal charges against the caller.

Barker says she’s also considering a civil action against UDF. “Civil litigation is not to be entered into lightly,” she said.


Copyright © 2008 - The Other Paper

The Obama Campaign Just Launched a Nuke At the McCain Campaign

Posted by berni_mccoy in General Discussion: Presidential
Mon Oct 06th 2008, 07:59 AM
And it just arrived in my email.

Here it is folks: McCain and the Keating 5

Over the weekend, John McCain's top adviser announced their plan to stop engaging in a debate over the economy and "turn the page" to more direct, personal attacks on Barack Obama.

In the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, they want to change the subject from the central question of this election. Perhaps because the policies McCain supported these past eight years and wants to continue are pretty hard to defend.

But it's not just McCain's role in the current crisis that they're avoiding. The backward economic philosophy and culture of corruption that helped create the current crisis are looking more and more like the other major financial crisis of our time.

During the savings and loan crisis of the late '80s and early '90s, McCain's political favors and aggressive support for deregulation put him at the center of the fall of Lincoln Savings and Loan, one of the largest in the country. More than 23,000 investors lost their savings. Overall, the savings and loan crisis required the federal government to bail out the savings of hundreds of thousands of families and ultimately cost American taxpayers $124 billion.

Sound familiar?

In that crisis, John McCain and his political patron, Charles Keating, played central roles that ultimately landed Keating in jail for fraud and McCain in front of the Senate Ethics Committee. The McCain campaign has tried to avoid talking about the scandal, but with so many parallels to the current crisis, McCain's Keating history is relevant and voters deserve to know the facts -- and see for themselves the pattern of poor judgment by John McCain.

So at noon Eastern on Monday, October 6th, we're releasing a 13-minute documentary about the scandal called "Keating Economics: John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis" -- it will be available at KeatingEconomics.com, along with background information that every voter should know.

Watch a preview right now and share it with your friends.

The point of the film and the web site is that John McCain still hasn't learned his lesson.

And this time, McCain's bankrupt economic philosophy has put our economy at the brink of collapse and put millions of Americans at risk of losing their homes.

Watch the video to see why John McCain's failed philosophy and poor judgment is a recipe for deepening the crisis:

http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo

It's no wonder John McCain would rather spend the last month of this election smearing Barack's character instead of talking about the top priority issue for voters.

But if we work together, we can make sure the focus stays on the economy -- and how to fix it.

Please forward this email to everyone you know.

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

P.S. -- The documentary will be live at noon Eastern at www.KeatingEconomics.com.


Hey...not familiar enough with the background of the Keating Five scandal?

Dear readers...never say that I left you hanging:

CHAPTER VII: THE KEATING FIVE

As a war hero and U.S. senator, John McCain has been chronicled in pictures.

There are grainy mug shots of a young McCain, printed in U.S. newspapers after his jet was shot down over North Vietnam. There are black-and-white images of his return, grinning and waving.

In happier times, there is McCain holding his newborn daughter while his wife, Cindy, smiles from her hospital bed.

But it is an innocent vacation picture that carries the reminder of the scandal that threatened his political career.

In the picture, taken in the Bahamas, McCain is seated on a bandstand while wearing an outrageous straw party hat. Next to him on the dais sits Charles Keating III, son of developer Charles H Keating Jr.

McCain calls the Keating scandal "my asterisk." Over the years, his opponents have failed to turn it into a period.

It all started in March 1987. Charles H Keating Jr., the flamboyant developer and anti-porn crusader, needed help. The government was poised to seize Lincoln Savings and Loan, a freewheeling subsidiary of Keating's American Continental Corp.

As federal auditors examined Lincoln, Keating was not content to wait and hope for the best. He had spread a lot of money around Washington, and it was time to call in his chits.

One of his first stops was Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.

The state's senior senator was one of Keating's most loyal friends in Congress, and for good reason. Keating had given thousands of dollars to DeConcini's campaigns. At one point, DeConcini even pushed Keating for ambassador to the Bahamas, where Keating owned a luxurious vacation home.

Now Keating had a job for DeConcini. He wanted him to organize a meeting with regulators to deliver a message: Get off Lincoln's back. Eventually, DeConcini would set up a meeting with five senators and the regulators. One of them was McCain.

McCain already knew Keating well. His ties to the home builder dated to 1981, when the two men met at a Navy League dinner where McCain spoke.

After the speech, Keating walked up to McCain and told him that he, too, was a Navy flier and that he greatly respected McCain's war record. He met McCain's wife and family. The two men became friends.

Charlie Keating always took care of his friends, especially those in politics. McCain was no exception.

In 1982, during McCain's first run for the House, Keating held a fund-raiser for him, collecting more than $11,000 from 40 employees of American Continental Corp. McCain would spend more than $550,000 to win the primary and the general election.

In 1983, as McCain contemplated his House re-election, Keating hosted a $1,000-a-plate dinner for him, even though McCain had no serious competition. When McCain pushed for the Senate in 1986, Keating was there with more than $50,000.

By 1987, McCain had received about $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates.

McCain also had carried a little water for Keating in Washington. While in the House, McCain, along with a majority of representatives, co-sponsored a resolution to delay new regulations designed to curb risky investments by thrifts such as Lincoln.

Reluctant participant

Despite his history with Keating, McCain was hesitant about intervening. At that point, he had been in the Senate only three months. DeConcini wanted McCain to fly to San Francisco with him and talk to the regulators. McCain refused.

Keating would not be dissuaded.

On March 24 at 9:30 a.m., Keating went to DeConcini's office and asked him if the meeting with the regulators was on. DeConcini told Keating that McCain was nervous.

"McCain's a wimp," Keating replied, according to the book Trust Me, by Michael Binstein and Charles Bowden. "We'll go talk to him."

Keating had other business on Capitol Hill and did not reach McCain's office until 1:30. A DeConcini staffer already had told McCain about the "wimp" insult.

When he arrived, Keating presented McCain with a laundry list of demands for the regulators.

McCain told Keating that he would attend the meeting and find out whether Keating was getting treated fairly but that was all.

The first meeting, on April 2, 1987, in DeConcini's office, included Ed Gray, chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, as well as four senators: DeConcini, McCain, Alan Cranston, D-Calif., and John Glenn, D-Ohio.

(Years later, McCain recalled that DeConcini started the meeting with a reference to "our friend at Lincoln." McCain characterized it as "an unfortunate choice of words, which Gray would remember and repeat publicly many times.")

For Keating, the meeting was a bust. Gray told the senators that as head of the loan board, he worried about the big picture. He didn't have any specific information about Lincoln. Bank regulators in San Francisco would be versed in that, not him. Gray offered to set up a meeting between the senators and the San Francisco regulators.

The second meeting was April 9. The same four senators attended, along with Sen. Don Riegle, D-Mich. Also at the meeting were William Black, then deputy director of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp., James Cirona, president of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, and Michael Patriarca, director of agency functions at the FSLIC.

In an interview with The Republic, Black said the meeting was a show of force by Keating, who wanted the senators to pressure the regulators into dropping their case against Lincoln. The thrift was in trouble for violating "direct investment" rules, which prohibited S&Ls from taking large ownership positions in various ventures.

"The Senate is a really small club, like the cliche goes," Black said. "And you really did have one-twentieth of the Senate in one room, called by one guy, who was the biggest crook in the S&L debacle."

Black said the senators could have accomplished their goal "if they had simply had us show up and see this incredible room and said, 'Hi. Charles Keating asked us to meet with you. 'Bye.'"

McCain previously had refused DeConcini's request to meet with the Lincoln auditors themselves. In Worth the Fighting For, McCain wrote that he remained "a little troubled" at the prospect, "but since the chairman of the bank board didn't seem to have a problem with the idea, maybe a discussion with the regulators wouldn't be as problematic as I had earlier thought."

McCain concedes that he failed to sense that Gray and the thrift examiners felt threatened by the senators' meddling.

'Always Hamlet'

The five senators, including McCain, seemed like a united front to Black.

"They presented themselves as a group," Black said, "and DeConcini is the dad, who's going to take the primary speaking role. Both meetings are in his office, and in both cases it's we want this, with no one going, 'What do you mean we, kemo sabe?'"

According to nearly verbatim notes taken by Black, McCain started the second meeting with a careful comment.

"One of our jobs as elected officials is to help constituents in a proper fashion," McCain said. "ACC (American Continental Corp.) is a big employer and important to the local economy. I wouldn't want any special favors for them. . . .

"I don't want any part of our conversation to be improper."

Black said the comment had the opposite effect for the regulators. It made them nervous about what might really be going on.

"McCain was the weirdest," Black said. "They were all different in their own way. McCain was always Hamlet . . . wringing his hands about what to do."

Glenn, a former astronaut and the first American to orbit the Earth, was not as tactful.

"To be blunt, you should charge them or get off their backs," he told the regulators. "If things are bad there, get to them. Their view is that they took a failing business and put it back on its feet. It's now viable and profitable. They took it off the endangered species list. Why has the exam dragged on and on and on?"

DeConcini added: "What's wrong with this if they're willing to clean up their act?"

Cirona, the banking official, told the senators that it was "very unusual" to hold a meeting to discuss a particular company.

DeConcini shot back: "It's very unusual for us to have a company that could be put out of business by its regulators."

The meeting went on. McCain was quiet. DeConcini carried the ball. The regulators told the senators that Lincoln was in trouble. The thrift, Cirona said, was a "ticking time bomb."

Then Patriarca made a stunning comment, according to transcripts released later.

"We're sending a criminal referral to the Department of Justice," he said. "Not maybe, we're sending one. This is an extraordinarily serious matter. It involves a whole range of imprudent actions. I can't tell you strongly enough how serious this is. This is not a profitable institution."

The statement made DeConcini back off a little.

"The criminality surprises me," he said. "We're not interested in discussing those issues. Our premise was that we had a viable institution concerned that it was being overregulated."

"What can we say to Lincoln?" Glenn asked.

"Nothing," Black responded, "with regard to the criminal referral. They haven't and won't be told by us that we're making one."

"You haven't told them?" Glenn asked.

"No," said Black. "Justice would skin us alive if we did. Those referrals are very confidential. We can't prosecute anyone ourselves. All we can do is refer it to Justice."

After the meeting, McCain was done with Keating.

"Again, I was troubled by the appearance of the meeting," McCain said later. "I stated I didn't want any special favors from them. I only wanted them (Lincoln Savings) to be fairly treated."

Black doesn't completely buy that argument. If McCain was concerned about Keating asking him to do things that were improper, why go to either meeting at all?

Black said McCain probably went because Keating was close to being the political godfather of Arizona and McCain still had plenty of ambition.

"Keating was incredibly powerful," Black said. "And incredibly useful."

McCain's reservations aside, Keating accomplished his goal. He had bought some time, though the price was very high.

Short-lived reprieve

A month later, the San Francisco regulators finished a yearlong audit and recommended that Lincoln be seized. But the report was virtually ignored because of politics on the bank board.

Gray was being replaced as chairman by Danny Wall, who was more sympathetic to Keating.

The audit, which described Lincoln as a thrift reeling out of control, sat on a shelf.

In September 1987, the investigation was taken away from the San Francisco office, away from Black and Patriarca. In May 1988, it was transferred to Washington, where Lincoln would get a new audit.

It was a win for Keating. A battle, not the war.

Back in San Francisco, Black was fuming.

"Clearly, we were shot in the back," he would say later.

Despite the reprieve, Keating's businesses continued to spiral downward, taking the five senators with him. Together, the five had accepted more than $300,000 in contributions from Keating, and their critics added a new term to the American lexicon: "The Keating Five."

The Keating Five became synonymous for the kind of political influence that money can buy. As the S&L failure deepened, the sheer magnitude of the losses hit the press. Billions of dollars had been squandered. The five senators were linked as the gang who shilled for an S&L bandit.

S&L "trading cards" came out. The Keating Five card showed Charles Keating holding up his hand, with a senator's head adorning each finger. McCain was on Keating's pinkie.

As the investigation dragged through 1988, McCain dodged the hardest blows. Most landed on DeConcini, who had arranged the meetings and had other close ties to Keating, including $50 million in loans from Keating to DeConcini's aides.

But McCain made a critical error.

He had adopted the blanket defense that Keating was a constituent and that he had every right to ask his senators for help. In attending the meetings, McCain said, he simply wanted to make sure that Keating was treated like any other constituent.

Keating was no ordinary constituent to McCain.

On Oct. 8, 1989, The Arizona Republic revealed that McCain's wife and her father had invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center in April 1986, a year before McCain met with the regulators.

The paper also reported that the McCains, sometimes accompanied by their daughter and baby-sitter, had made at least nine trips at Keating's expense, sometimes aboard the American Continental jet. Three of the trips were made during vacations to Keating's opulent Bahamas retreat at Cat Cay.

McCain also did not pay Keating for some of the trips until years after they were taken, after he learned that Keating was in trouble over Lincoln. Total cost: $13,433.

When the story broke, McCain did nothing to help himself.

"You're a liar," McCain said when a Republic reporter asked him about the business relationship between his wife and Keating.

"That's the spouse's involvement, you idiot," McCain said later in the same conversation. "You do understand English, don't you?"

He also belittled reporters when they asked about his wife's ties to Keating.

"It's up to you to find that out, kids."

The paper ran the story.

In his 2002 book, McCain confesses to "ridiculously immature behavior" during that particular interview and adds that The Republic reporters' "persistence in questioning me about the matter provoked me to rage."

"I don't know how (The Republic journalists) would have reported the story had I been more civil and understanding or just more of a professional during the interview," McCain wrote.

At a news conference after the story ran, McCain was a changed man. He stood calmly for 90 minutes and answered every question.

On the shopping center, his defense was simple. The deal did not involve him. The shares in the shopping center had been bought by a partnership set up between McCain's wife and her father. (The couple also had a prenuptial agreement that separated Cindy McCain's finances and dealings from his.)

But McCain also had to explain his trips with Keating and why he didn't pay Keating back right away.

On that score, McCain admitted he had fouled up. He said he should have reimbursed Keating immediately, not waited several years. His staff said it was an oversight, but it looked bad, McCain jetting around with Keating, then going to bat for him with the federal regulators.

"I was in a hell of a mess," McCain later would write.

Meanwhile, Lincoln continued to founder.

In April 1989, two years after the Keating Five meetings, the government seized Lincoln, which declared bankruptcy. In September 1990, Keating was booked into Los Angeles County Jail, charged with 42 counts of fraud. His bond was set at $5 million.

During Keating's trial, the prosecution produced a parade of elderly investors who had lost their life's savings by investing in American Continental junk bonds.

Verdict: 'Poor judgment'

In November 1990, the Senate Ethics Committee convened to decide what punishment, if any, should be doled out to the Keating Five.

Robert Bennett, who would later represent President Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones case, was the special counsel for the committee. In his opening remarks, he slammed DeConcini but went lightly on McCain, the lone Republican ensnared with four Democrats.

"In the case of Senator McCain, there is very substantial evidence that he thought he had an understanding with Senator DeConcini's office that certain matters would not be gone into at the meeting with (bank board) Chairman (Ed) Gray," Bennett said.

"Moreover, there is substantial evidence that, as a result of Senator McCain's refusal to do certain things, he had a fallout with Mr. Keating."

Among the Keating Five, McCain took the most direct contributions from Keating. But the investigation found that he was the least culpable, along with Glenn. McCain attended the meetings but did nothing afterward to stop Lincoln's death spiral.

Lincoln was the most expensive failure in the national S&L scandal. Taxpayers lost more than $2 billion on the bailout. McCain also looked good in contrast to DeConcini, who continued to defend Keating until fall 1989, when federal regulators filed a $1.1 billion civil racketeering and fraud suit against Keating, accusing him of siphoning Lincoln's deposits to his family and into political campaigns.

In January 1993, a federal jury convicted him of 73 counts of wire and bankruptcy fraud in the collapse of American Continental and Lincoln. Keating was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison but served just 50 months before the conviction was overturned on a technicality. In 1999, at age 75, he pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud. He was sentenced to time served.

In the end, McCain received only a mild rebuke from the Ethics Committee for exercising "poor judgment" for intervening with the federal regulators on behalf of Keating. Still, he felt tarred by the affair.

"The appearance of it was wrong," McCain said. "It's a wrong appearance when a group of senators appear in a meeting with a group of regulators because it conveys the impression of undue and improper influence. And it was the wrong thing to do."

McCain noted that Bennett, the independent counsel, recommended that McCain and Glenn be dropped from the investigation.

"For the first time in history, the Ethics Committee overruled the recommendation of the independent counsel," McCain said. For his part, DeConcini is critical of McCain's role in the affair. The two senators never were particularly cozy, and the stress of the public scrutiny worsened their relations.

In his memoir Senator Dennis DeConcini: From the Center of the Aisle, he praises the decision to keep McCain on the hook.

"It became clear to me, and it was later confirmed by Ethics Committee members, that Bennett was attempting to dismiss the charges against McCain, and in order to appear nonpartisan, he included Glenn in this effort," DeConcini wrote with co-author Jack August. "Thanks to the three Democrats on the committee and perhaps with the help of Senator (Jesse) Helms (R-N.C.), however, the charges remained in place for all the senators under investigation. So all of us had to attend the 23-day public hearing, which was indeed a trial, before the six-member Senate Ethics Committee."

In the book, DeConcini reiterates his allegation that McCain leaked to the media "sensitive information" about certain closed proceedings in order to hurt DeConcini, Riegle and Cranston. It's a fairly serious charge. The Boston Globe revisited the Keating Five leaks in 2000. The story paraphrased a congressional investigator, Clark B. Hall, as personally concluding that "McCain was one of the principal leakers." The newspaper also reported that McCain, under oath, had denied involvement with the leaks.

McCain owns up to his mistake this way:

"I was judged eventually, after three years, of using, quote, poor judgment, and I agree with that assessment."

John McCain Kicks Librarian Out of Town Hall Event

All is not well in the McCain campaign, methinks:



By the way, did you know that Rick Davis was on the payroll of Freddie Mac at the tune of $15,000 a month?

That's some good payola...but what did it buy? It bought them lessened restrictions on trading...in other words...they did NOT have to be responsible with their financial transactions.

Because of the non-existent oversight placed on these institutions, we are in the state of looming recession/depression.

The Keating Five scandal was mentioned on FOX News...albeit briefly (kudos to Michael Rivero).

In other news, Michael Moore has released Slacker Uprising as a free download; in fact, he encourages everyone to make copies and distribute!

This is a couple days old...but still funny and sad: GOP delegate's hotel tryst goes bad when he wakes up with $120,000 missing
By David Hanners
dhanners@pioneerpress.com
Article Last Updated: 09/17/2008 08:32:27 AM CDT

He met her in the bar of the swank hotel and invited her to his room. Once there, the woman fixed the drinks and told him to get undressed.

And that, the delegate to the Republican National Convention told police, was the last thing he remembered.

When he awoke, the woman was gone, as was more than $120,000 in money, jewelry and other belongings.

The thief's take stunned cops.

"It's very, very, very rare," Minneapolis Police Sgt. William Palmer said. "I can think of a couple of burglaries where we had that much stolen, but it's the first time I've heard of this kind of deal."

In a statement released today, Gabriel Nathan Schwartz, 29, of Denver, put the figure at much less.

"It's embarrassing to admit that I was a target of a crime. I was drugged and had about $50,000 of personal items stolen, not the inflated number that the media is reporting from an inaccurate police report," he said.

"As a single man, I was flattered by the attention of a beautiful woman who introduced herself to me. I used poor judgment."

Contacted by the Denver Post Monday, Schwartz declined to speak on the record. In the statement released today, Schwartz said he would decline further interview requests.

The haul included a $30,000 watch, a $20,000 ring, a necklace valued at $5,000, earrings priced at $4,000 and a Prada belt valued at $1,000, police said.

Schwartz is a single attorney and a fixture in Colorado Republican politics. He
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was one of the state's delegates to the convention this month in St. Paul.

Reached by phone at his law office Monday, Schwartz said that because the case still was under investigation, "I think at this point, I don't want to make a comment on it."

During the convention, Schwarz wasn't shy about talking to the media. In an Associated Press article about Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech, Schwartz was quoted as saying that as far as oratorical skills go, McCain "has more experience in his little pinkie" than Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

In an interview filmed the afternoon of Sept. 3 and posted on the Web site LinkTV.org, Schwartz was candid about how he envisioned change under a McCain presidency.

"Less taxes and more war," he said, smiling. He said the U.S. should "bomb the hell" out of Iran because the country threatens Israel.

Asked by the interviewer how America would pay for a military confrontation with Iran, he said the U.S. should take the country's resources.

"We should plant a flag. Take the oil, take the money," he said. "We deserve reimbursement."

A few hours after the interview, an unknown woman helped herself to Schwartz's resources.

The theft happened at the Hotel Ivy, a luxury hotel in downtown Minneapolis. (The Colorado delegation was housed at the Four Points Sheraton, several miles away on Industrial Boulevard Northeast.)

The theft occurred early on Sept. 4, hours after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave her speech accepting her party's vice presidential nomination. A police report said Schwartz told officers he met a woman at the bar and took her to his $319-a-night room.

"Victim reported suspect made victim drinks, told him to get undressed, which is the last thing he remembers," a police narrative said. "Upon waking, victim discovered money, jewelry gone; total loss over $120K."

A police report notes the crime occurred between 4:22 and 5:46 a.m., and Palmer said investigators believe Schwartz was drugged, although he declined to discuss details.

Aside from the watch, ring, necklace, earrings and belt, Schwartz also reported a $1,000 purse or wallet, a $1,500 cell phone, $500 in cash and a couple of rings worth $50 had been taken.

Alister Glen, general manager of the Hotel Ivy, called the theft an isolated incident and said no hotel personnel were involved.

"I don't know if I'm at liberty to discuss it," he said. "It's still under police investigation."

Schwartz was a supporter of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, donating $2,300 — the maximum individual donation allowed by law — to his presidential campaign last year, according to records from the Federal Election Commission.

After Giuliani dropped out, Schwartz switched his allegiance to McCain, and records show he donated $2,300 to the Arizona senator's campaign in April.

In biographical sketches of Colorado's delegates published in the Rocky Mountain News, Schwartz said he was single, didn't have any pets and most admired Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, "as he has served our party for many years and has served in the military."

He said his idea of a "dream ticket" was McCain and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.

On the Web site for his Denver law practice, Sandomire & Schwartz, the lawyer describes his experience as a civil and criminal lawyer and points out he is a regular guest on "Colorado State of Mind," a public affairs program produced by Rocky Mountain PBS. The show, according to its Web site, says it gathers "opinionated and passionate people from across the state" to discuss a wide range of issues.

In his interview on LinkTV, Schwartz seemed opinionated and passionate.

He said an attack on Iran was needed to protect Israel, and he offered how it could be accomplished through "strategical airstrikes."

"Hopefully, just bomb the hell out of them from the sky. No troops," he said.

Schwartz was asked if he had a message to the protesters who filled the streets of downtown St. Paul.

"Get a job," he replied.

David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.

--

Three words...what a TOOL.

Green Jelly - MISADVENTURES OF SHITMAN; Ranting About

This is what we need - a huge hunk of dung to lay the smackdown on John "Songbird" McCain.

What brought this on, you might ask? It was the crapfest, half of which I read on the train going home Thursday evening - McCain Flub? Republican Says He'd Fire SEC Chair as President.

I have a little rant there in the comments section, but I'd rather go on a new rant here...

When I was growing up, I realized the advantages of physical superiority. However, I did not take advantage of them, preferring to use brains over brawn.

It has served me well in life to have been able to obtain and attain what I have and possess, not having to have forced anyone to do so.

But I wonder...is coercion any better than outright thuggery?

I participated in Mock Trial back in my high school days...our team did fairly well, until we went against one of the top schools. I spoke to the judge later on, after the tournament. In theory, he agreed with my premise; however, the opposing team was able to circumvent my arguments; in other words, they were able to COERCE testimony not prevalent in the case, which cost our team the winning judgement.

This was a learning experience...this is when I first discovered that the LAW was not necessarily JUSTICE.

My second opportunity was when we had a lawyer visit us, and we were able to pose to him a multitude of questions.

One of my questions pertained to the stock market crash of 1987. I inquired, "If an individual murders another individual, he is tried for murder...yet, if an unscrupulous broker caused the dissolution of a investor's funds by unsound business practices and simple greed, and this occurs to numerous investors, whose life savings are now gone, wouldn't that be considered mass murder?"

I never really got a satisfactory answer to that question, but I do remember the initial reason offered...it was because they were not FORCED to do so.

I am the guy who, when confronted with a gun to my temple, told the would-be robber that if he wanted my walkman (and this was not an iPod...this was a cassette player!), he could take it from my cold, dead body, but that I wasn't going to give him ANYTHING.

I still have that walkman...but I digress.

Here's the point - I really don't see why criminals should benefit from profitting from more than one victim...but this is exactly what the law entails.

I don't see a real difference in disenfranchising one individual versus entire families...in the end, they are devoid of their valuables, are they not?

I happen to think that not being given the choice to fight for your valuables make the crime more heinous. With a mugging, the perpetrator is right there - you have a face to go with the crime; in the other instance, you stand around, impotent without being able to point a finger concretely.

Ivan Boesky bilked a number of clients. After he served his time (apparently, it wasn't a very long sentence, nor was he subject to the tender mercies of being in general population), he sued his ex-wife. He said that he "couldn't live as a poor man".

Apparently, the judge agreed with him.

So...who says that crime doesn't pay? It certainly bloody worked in this case. He is living on funds diverted to his ex-wife from his ill-gotten gains.

What puzzles me is...why aren't perpetrators of financial crimes not made to return ALL of their ill-gotten gains?

Let's say that I am the guy who made those short sells on American and United Airlines. I have $2.5 million dollars that is owed to me...but do I dare retrieve them? I mean...what's the real penalty? There is the matter of foreknowledge...but that will have to be proven in a court of law. I can always say that I had a dream...or a little birdy told me that those four days would be profitable...meanwhile, I'll pay a tidy fine, and I'll suffer the odd looks from neighbors...but you know what?

I'll probably retain most of that $2.5 million, so WHO CARES?

I'll get new neighbors who appreciate my new art collection as it comes in daily from auctions.

What I am saying here is that in a world where no one cares about MORALS, and everyone is consumed with MONEY, civility does NOT matter.

All's fair in love and war, right?

How do you rehabilitate repeat offenders, when that is the maxim of the world in which they live?

You already know the answer.

Look at our elected officials - they know what the answer is: take as much as you can get, and bugger all to your constituents...after all, who paid for the Maserati you're driving?

Is it a coincidence that practically all of our elected officials are MILLIONAIRES? How do they represent the common man and/or woman?

I'll leave you with this...because I have to go read something funny...If Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous returned to television...and we DO have a return to the days of the Great Depression...that show will have a spinoff called The Lifestyles Of The Recently Eaten and Dessicated.

Bob Cesca has a good head in this debate.

Had to add this - IT’S THE DERIVATIVES, STUPID!
WHY FANNIE, FREDDIE AND AIG ALL HAD TO BE BAILED OUT

Vote For This Scumbag - I DARE You.

Founding Member of the Keating Five
Back in the old days, defendants in famous trials got numbers -- the Chicago Eight, the Gang of Four, the Dave Clark Five, the Daytona 500. McCain was one of the "Keating Five," congressmen investigated on ethics charges for strenuously helping convicted racketeer Charles Keating after he gave them large campaign contributions and vacation trips.
Charles Keating was convicted of racketeering and fraud in both state and federal court after his Lincoln Savings & Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $3.4 billion. His convictions were overturned on technicalities; for example, the federal conviction was overturned because jurors had heard about his state conviction, and his state charges because Judge Lance Ito (yes, that judge) screwed up jury instructions. Neither court cleared him, and he faces new trials in both courts.)

Though he was not convicted of anything, McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating after Keating gave McCain at least $112,00 in contributions. In the mid-1980s, McCain made at least 9 trips on Keating's airplanes, and 3 of those were to Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas. McCain's wife and father-in-law also were the largest investors (at $350,000) in a Keating shopping center; the Phoenix New Times called it a "sweetheart deal."

What a deal, eh? Americans get raped up the wazoo...and he WALKS.

Whistling like a songbird, surely.

By the way...recently declassified documents prove of his collaboration with the Viet Cong - link is repeated in my blog listing under US Documents...

Former POW says McCain is "not cut out to be President"

So...take it from a man who KNOWS.

It's amazing what can happen in 48 Hours - Part The First

"Songbird" McCain goes ahead and does what I thought impossible:

He finds someone actually less qualified than Joe "Israel First, America After Last" LIEberman.

Dear readers, here is Vice Presidential nominee, current Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin:


Michael Rivero of What Really Happened has turned what could have been a typical Labor Day Weekend into something truly special. Check out the video above, once again...but I want you to focus on one specific thing:

Focus on the object of McCain's focus...and you will notice, that on practically EVERY OCCASION where he can get away with it, that he is all over her TUCHIS.

In other words...he's checking out the booty juice, dear readers; at 1:54, he must've noticed a really tender moment, because he does what I like to call the Happy Cringe.

Don't Ask; Don't Tell...that's my motto.

As far as the campaign goes, he thought that he'd attract PUMA and the other various "disaffected" women by nominating a woman to be his Vice President. LIEberman was Albert "Global Warming will make me RUCH!" Gore's kiss of death; Mitt "Helmet-Head" Romney would only had added to Songbird's true status of being one of the so-called "elite"; but Palin's surprise nomination, on a Friday, and just before Labor Day Weekend, was maybe the single most shrewd moment in the eight bloody years that the Republican Party has ever displayed.

And John "Songbird" McCain could have COMPLETELY SCREWED IT with his lack of self-control.

Either that, or...remember the world in which we are now living...it's ENTIRELY POSSIBLE that this will get Songbird the Presidency.

How, you ask, dear readers?

The Happy Cringe will ingratiate him with horny men throughout the United States proper. They will all go, "Man, that McCain knows a good piece-of-ass when he sees one, right?"


I kid you not.

I actually got to see Pay It Forward, and I must say...I've some mixed feelings about the ending of said movie.

I'll bet the original treatment didn't end with the candlelight vigil...you'd think there'd be a triumphant moment as peace and love is spread through the country...yet, it's all stifled.

Kevin Spacey is fucking brilliant, as always; Helen Hunt is at once smokin', tragic, and yet, a MOTHER to Haley Joel Osment's character...that is what you call ACTING. She is excellent from beginning to end. Actually...if you haven't seen this in a while, I'd advise you to take in a viewing before this weekend ends...for two reasons:

1. The sexual undertone that runs through the movie are of the same subtle tone that is part of the RNC's strategy - not in your face (unless you got the scratch to get away with about 240 seconds worth;

2. Forget that ending! Instead..think of everyone around you, "Paying It Forward"...your neighbor made a pot roast, but the in-laws never made it for the visit...they call you up and offer you some dinner...the next day, you see another neighbor walking the street...you know that they usually drive...you stop and ask if they need a ride...you find out that the car's in the shop...they just needed some eggs.

Give them a ride.

I got one...not too long ago.

I'm still "paying it forward", just as I have been since before I had ever heard of the concept.

One last bit of info: McCain Lies About Supporting Katrina Investigation - I got my tag-line in there...maybe it's time for T-Shirts!

Here is my gem:

America needs John "Songbird" McCain like Kim Phuc needed NAPALM.

I'll leave you with a documentary on Brazil:

John Songbird" McCain - A Doddering, Petulant Fart

Oh, "Canary Boy"...I'm reasonably sure that you'll put on a manhunt to try and find me, if by some amazing sleight-of-hand you attain the office of the President Of The United States...of course, I might shit me the keys to Heaven, but I don't think that's too likely, eh?

That's my nod to Garth Ennis, who created Preacher with Steeldrivin' Steve Dillon, and never called me (Steve - love that headshot of John Constantine in between Black Death chain smokes).

I missed comic book GOLD.

That italicized line belongs wholly to Garth, and I do have a copy of Preacher #1; just not a first printing.

Before I get into my Garth Ennis love-fest, let's get back to the corpse-who-would-be-pResident:

Your fellow POWs hate your guts;
you sell out veterans on a daily basis;
you think that "gooks" is cool to say;
your rendition of "Barbara Ann" with the lyrics, "Bomb, Bomb Iran" was FUCKING STUPID;
I predict that your running mate will be Mitt "Helmet-Head" Romney, thereby cementing the TRUE ELITIST in the current campaign;
but most of all...you think that being an angry old coot is excusable.

Do us all a favor, and get in the coffin now.

Okay...heard about the woman who was molested and almost strip-searched at JetBlue terminal?

Maybe they thought she was carrying two huge bombs on her chest!

Haw!

Have any of you read The Boys? It's a comic book produced by Dynamite Entertainment, written by the aforementioned Garth Ennis, and drawn by Darick Robertson, formerly of the magnificent Transmetropoitan, written by Warren Ellis.

Come to think of it...he didn't inform me either...odd.

Issue #21 came out, and it's a doozy. Basically, the tale is of a botched attempt at a hijacking gone completely bonzo by the addition of poorly-trained superheroes.

I've already ruined the story by telling you that...but I can't help but to notice the weird parallels to the events of September 11th, 2001.

The last page says it all.

So, please understand this: I AM the guy who will crow, "I TOLD YOU SO...NYAH, NYAH...", but that isn't WHY I say what I do. I say it because it's the TRUTH. Your actions, however noble, also need to be fueled by TRUTH, or...well, read this book - you'll see what's gained from non-noble intentions.

Garth...a pint of Guinnes on me if I ever run into you at a convention...and I can guarantee you I'll not have gone to the bogs and left a floater anywhere around...

Fabled Enemies; Randy Scheunemann

Fabled Enemies by Jason Bermas


I'm anxiously awaiting the release of this film...I've a feeling that it pulls NO punches. Jason...good also to hear you on Alex Jones' show - excellent call coverage.

A great article by Grant F. Smith - Why Bush Will Pardon AIPAC for Espionage...

...and another - The Mother Of All Myths - the fun just never ends!

Let's get a li'l bit into Randy Scheunemann.

Here's his membership:

John McCain 2008 Presidential Campaign: Senior Foreign Policy Advisor
Project for the New American Century: Former Director
Committee for the Liberation of Iraq: Former Head

Interesting, yes?

By the way...love this crowd:

Hammering The Point Home - "Songbird" McCain is NO P.O.W.!

P.O.W.? How about P.O.S.?!?

McCain's Mansions: The Houses That Greed Built

"Most working families today do not have homes that have anywhere near ten rooms. John McCain has ten houses. Many working people in America have to work two and three jobs to provide for their families and pay their car loans. John McCain hops on a private jet. Is it any wonder why McCain champions a George Bush agenda of cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, helping oil companies turn record profits, and leaving working families to fend for themselves? McCain's velvet world leaves him utterly unprepared to make the tough choices we need to restore the middle class and ensure that everyone in America has quality, affordable health insurance."

- Andy Stern, President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Dear Supporter,

John McCain is soaring to new heights of hypocrisy on his wife's personal jet. He flies around the country bent on duping the public into believing he's "one of them," a regular guy who can empathize with Americans facing an overwhelming economic crush. What's more, he disparages those who oppose his ridiculous policy proposals as "elitist." But who's the real elitist?

The REAL McCain is a multimillionaire who owns ten luxurious homes. The REAL McCain backs President Bush's tax cuts for big corporations. The REAL McCain empathizes only with the interests of our nation's wealthy minority, not its money-strapped majority. But far too many are buying into McCain's deceit because the corporate press won't present the whole picture, so we created this video to educate the public about the REAL McCain.

Watch the video and send it to everyone you know.


Together, you have been a force in making sure The REAL McCain videos have been seen by nearly 6.5 million people. But as Frank Rich noted in his NY Times column yesterday, 40% of Americans hear too little about McCain from the mainstream media, meaning "the public doesn't know who on earth John McCain is." That's why it's crucial you ensure this video is seen by as many as possible, and that we use each and every tool at our disposal to get the word out. Send this on to five friends and family members, and tell them to send it to five people they know. Get it to your local news outlets and blogs and networking sites like Digg. Raise hell about McCain's economic duplicity!

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney summed it up best when he said McCain "simply doesn't understand the challenges America's working families are facing because he isn't remotely affected by them." It's up to us to tell people who McCain really is, a jet-setting elitist more concerned with corporate lobbyists than hard-working Americans.

Yours,
Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New team

---
Brave New Films is supported by members like you, please consider making a donation. You can get our latest videos on email, iTunes, RSS, Facebook, and YouTube here. We are located at 10510 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.

McCain can't even conduct an honest debate...shameful.

This was sent by a pal:

McCain's Georgia Policy

Robert Creamer
08.18.08

At first the unfolding conflict between Russia and its neighbor the Republic of Georgia seemed to be just what the McCain candidacy needed: a foreign policy crisis that would allow him to demonstrate a "tough, decisive, experienced" mastery of foreign affairs, and a new rationale for why Americans should choose experience over change in a dangerous world.

But it hasn't taken long for the developments in the Caucuses to become a growing political liability instead.

First, the unfolding conflict provides a fresh example of how McCain's War in Iraq has sapped American power and weakened American security.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned last week that Russia's actions in Georgia might fundamentally alter its relationship with the United States. Of course that is exactly what the Russians have in mind, since they are not at all happy with their current role in the world -- or the way they believe the United States and Western Europe have sought to limit their influence, especially with their neighbors and former client states.

Russia has been smarting for years over its inability to prevent the US-lead NATO action that allowed Kosovo to secede from its long-time ally Serbia. It is none too pleased at the agreement to base a US "anti-missile" defense system in Poland.

First and foremost, the Russian action in Georgia has been intended to support separatist pro-Russian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. But it is also intended to demonstrate to other former Soviet Republics that their alliances with the West have very little value if they come into conflict with Russian interests. The Russians know that the Bush Administration's management of U.S. security policy has left the US with very few options to limit resurgent Russian influence.

Of course the crisis in Georgia is just the latest example of how the War in Iraq has massively limited American's ability to respond to this -- or any other -- security crisis.

America already had one major military operation underway in Afghanistan when the Bush administration -- with McCain's full support -- recklessly poured most of our other military assets into the invasion of Iraq. Today most Army and Marine units are either deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, preparing to deploy or recovering from deployment. The fact is that at the present time, we do not have the wherewithal to respond militarily to a crisis even if such a response were necessary or appropriate.

As a result, John McCain's strident statements following Russia's military actions only place into relief the reality that he has continuously supported Bush policies that make us weaker -- in spite of his tough talk.

Secondly, as the situation in Georgia develops it becomes clearer by the day that the Bush-McCain Iraq policy has severely undercut our diplomatic options as well. Apart from generally poisoning the good will of countries around the world, the Bush-McCain invasion of Iraq lowered the bar for the rest of the world when it comes to justifying the invasion of one country by another.

It has made it very difficult for the U.S. to take the moral or political high ground against Russia when just six years ago our country invaded and occupied another nation that had not attacked or immediately threatened us -- and didn't have the weapons of mass destruction that were used to argue that they might "potentially" threaten our security.

Finally, the Georgia conflict has shined a spotlight on McCain's chief foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann.

Scheunamann was a major organizer of the campaign to get the U.S to invade Iraq. He was a board member of the Project for a New American Century that circulated the now-famous manifesto signed by key Neo Cons that first called for the Iraq invasion. He was a founder of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. More recently he has been a paid lobbyist for a number of foreign governments including Macedonia, Taiwan and, most importantly, the Republic of Georgia.

According to records from the Justice Department's foreign agents registration office, Scheunamann's two-person firm has received $830,000 from Georgia since 2004. Though Scheunamann now claims to have taken a leave of absence from lobbying, his latest contract, with Georgia's National Security Council, was signed as recently as April 17th. According to the Los Angeles Times, McCain spoke by phone with Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili that day and then issued a statement denouncing Russian moves to "undermine Georgian's sovereignty."

The paper also cites lobbying forms filed by Scheunamann's firm Orion indicating that McCain sponsored or co-sponsored four Senate resolutions on behalf of Georgia and other Orion clients: Latvia, Macedonia, Romania and Taiwan.

The poor judgment McCain showed by appointing a man who was serving as a paid foreign agent to be his chief foreign policy adviser is simply breathtaking. It is even more so because of the history of the current conflict.

There is more than appearance of conflict of interests. Before Georgia's President Saakashvili sent Georgian troops to reassert control in the semi-autonomous region of Ossetia, even the US State Department says it repeatedly warned him against precipitous action that might provoke a Russian response. He did it anyway. In other words, the government of the United States and Georgia had different agendas, different interests, and different policies with respect to the Ossetia conflict.

Where were Scheunamann's loyalties? Did he represent the position of the government of the United States, or of his old client Saakashvili. Do the actions and statements of McCain represent his independent judgment of what is in the best interests of the United States, or the views of a top adviser who made just short of a million dollars representing a foreign power?

What's more, if Scheunamann and McCain did encourage Saakashvili to send troops to Ossetia, it once again calls into question their simple strategic judgment. Saakashvili's action has been a disaster for the Georgian government that has lead to the rout of the small Georgian army, and increased the likelihood that he will ultimately be replaced by someone more acceptable to Russia. This is exactly the kind of poor strategic judgment that McCain and Scheunamann used to lead America into the War in Iraq. Americans don't want more of that kind of judgment.

Odds are, the more we learn about the involvement of McCain and Scheunamann in the Georgia fiasco, the more that McCain's foreign policy judgment will be called into question. Many Republicans have prayed for a foreign policy crisis that could refocus voter attention on foreign affairs and away from the domestic economic disaster. Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for.

Robert Creamer is a long time political organizer and strategist and author of the recent book: Stand Up Straight. How Progressives Can Win, available on Amazon.com.