Why didn’t Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar prosecute Jerry Sandusky the first time he was accused in 1998? We may never know, as Gricar disappeared in 2005.
By Teresa Masterson
Thursday, Nov 10, 2011
Updated 2:34 PM EST
It is strange that Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar never prosecuted Jerry Sandusky on child-rape charges 13 years ago, some speculate, because Gricar was known for being fiercely independent and hard on crime.
But it is even stranger that we cannot ask Gricar why Sandusky was not put behind bars, because the tough-as-nails district attorney disappeared in 2005. And though he was declared dead July of this year, his body has never been found.
"People ask why Ray did not prosecute, and I have no problem saying, because he clearly felt he didn't have a case for a 'successful' prosecution," Tony Gricar, Ray Gricar’s nephew , told The Patriot-News.
"... One thing I can say is that Ray was beholden to no one, was not a politician."
This district attorney had “a bitter taste in his mouth for the [Penn State] program, and its coach,” according to his nephew, and never prosecuted Sandusky. He disappeared on April 15, 2005 after telling his girlfriend that he was going on a drive.
Ray Gricar’s car was found the next day in a Lewisburg parking lot and his laptop, sans hard drive, was found in the Susquehanna River, according to the Patriot-News.
Ray Gricar’s friend, Montour County District Attorney Robert Buehner Jr., told the New York Times that if the ardent district attorney had committed suicide, he would have wanted his body found. But in the case of possible foul play, no suspects have emerged from investigations.
When it comes to the Sandusky case, friends and former co-workers are all of the opinion that Ray Gricar would never back down from a righteous prosecution.
“No one got a bye with Ray,” Anthony De Boef, who was an assistant district attorney under Gricar for five years told the NY Times. “He didn’t care who you were; he had a job to do.”
And, despite the fact that Ray Gricar had the mother of one of the alleged victims confront Sandusky while police listened, the 1998 report on Sandusky was labeled “unfounded” by the District Attorney’s Office, reports the Patriot-News.
Read Full Grand Jury Report [Warning: Graphic Material]
“I would say this about Ray: He would be extremely cautious in proceeding because he wanted to make sure that there would be a reasonable likelihood of conviction,” Buehner told the Patriot News. “You don’t want to go after someone high profile unless you have a compelling case.”
As for the 2002 incident, in which a graduate assistant told Penn State coach Joe Paterno that he witnessed Sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy in the PSU locker rooms, there is no indication that Ray Gricar was notified, reports the Patriot-Times.
Friday, November 11, 2011
TB breaks out at 'Occupy Atlanta'
November 10, 2011 1:55 PM
ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – The home base for Occupy Atlanta has tested positive for tuberculosis.
The Fulton County Health Department confirmed Wednesday that residents at the homeless shelter where protesters have been occupying have contracted the drug-resistant disease. WGCL reports that a health department spokeswoman said there is a possibility that both Occupy Atlanta protesters and the homeless people in the shelter may still be at risk since tuberculosis is contracted through air contact.
“Over the last three months were have been two persons who have resided in this facility who have been diagnosed with confirmed or suspected infectious tuberculosis (TB),” said Fulton County Services Director Matthew McKenna in a written statement to CBS Atlanta. “One of these persons was confirmed to have a strain of TB that is resistant to a single, standard medication used to treat this condition. All person(s) identified as positive have begun treatment and are being monitored to ensure that medication is taken as directed.”
The Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless has indicated that two cases have been made public knowledge to the group, the first coming from someone who contracted the disease in September. The identities of the people who have contracted the disease, however, have not been disclosed by the health department to this point.
The news of the tuberculosis contractions could force Occupy Atlanta to move once again. WGCL reports that more than 100 protesters made the move to the homeless shelter Oct. 30 after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed evicted Occupy Atlanta from Woodruff Park, citing that they were no longer allowed to camp out overnight. The homeless shelter is also facing an eviction of its own from the city.
Tim Franzen spokesman for Occupy Atlanta told WAOK’s Rob Redding that the group is not thinking about moving its headquarters from the homeless shelter because of the tuberculosis report. Read more about the report here
ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – The home base for Occupy Atlanta has tested positive for tuberculosis.
The Fulton County Health Department confirmed Wednesday that residents at the homeless shelter where protesters have been occupying have contracted the drug-resistant disease. WGCL reports that a health department spokeswoman said there is a possibility that both Occupy Atlanta protesters and the homeless people in the shelter may still be at risk since tuberculosis is contracted through air contact.
“Over the last three months were have been two persons who have resided in this facility who have been diagnosed with confirmed or suspected infectious tuberculosis (TB),” said Fulton County Services Director Matthew McKenna in a written statement to CBS Atlanta. “One of these persons was confirmed to have a strain of TB that is resistant to a single, standard medication used to treat this condition. All person(s) identified as positive have begun treatment and are being monitored to ensure that medication is taken as directed.”
The Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless has indicated that two cases have been made public knowledge to the group, the first coming from someone who contracted the disease in September. The identities of the people who have contracted the disease, however, have not been disclosed by the health department to this point.
The news of the tuberculosis contractions could force Occupy Atlanta to move once again. WGCL reports that more than 100 protesters made the move to the homeless shelter Oct. 30 after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed evicted Occupy Atlanta from Woodruff Park, citing that they were no longer allowed to camp out overnight. The homeless shelter is also facing an eviction of its own from the city.
Tim Franzen spokesman for Occupy Atlanta told WAOK’s Rob Redding that the group is not thinking about moving its headquarters from the homeless shelter because of the tuberculosis report. Read more about the report here
Shooting at VT #Occupy Camp
Future of Occupy Burlington encampment uncertain after police clear City Hall Park to investigate man's death
12:22 AM, Nov. 11, 2011
The city closed half of City Hall Park and put a halt to all camping at the Occupy Burlington site Thursday night while police investigate a shooting in a tent that cost a 35-year-old man his life. Meanwhile, the movement’s participants mourned a member of their community and planned the future of the encampment.
Just a day after the joyful spontaneity of a Gogol Bordello performance Wednesday night at City Hall Park, Thursday’s shooting that police believe may have been self-inflicted spiraled into a tense confrontation between Burlington police and some protesters over access to the park.
The evening culminated in this surreal scene nearly five hours after the shooting: Mayor Bob Kiss, standing hatless and coatless in a cold rain, talking a group of close to 100 City Hall Park occupiers down from a near riot.
Kiss had called a 6 p.m. meeting in City Hall’s Contois Auditorium to talk about modifications to the city’s rules for the encampment following the shooting, and Police Chief Michael Schirling told the large group that the tents would be off limits for at least 24 hours while police continued their investigation into the death of a man whose name has not yet been released.
It had been a good relationship between police and protesters since the encampment began Oct. 28, city officials said, but the death had changed the landscape in the park.
As Schirling began to explain that police would allow those who needed personal items from their tents to get them, after police checked them for evidence, a man rushed in shouting that police had arrested a protester and that police were blocking off the entire park. The crowd angrily pushed outside, chanting, “Let her go! Let her go! Let her go!”
The protesters pushed toward the officers detaining Hayley Mason, 23, of Burlington. It was not clear why she was detained.
Kiss waded into the crowd, speaking softly, trying to explain that the police weren’t ending the encampment but were trying to investigate the crime scene. The protesters began shouting, “Give us Hayley! Give us Hayley!”
One man at the edge of the crowd, asked by a reporter why he was shouting, replied with anger, “Because I can!”
By 6:30 p.m., at least 20 police officers were in the park, prepared with tear gas and other non-lethal devices to control the crowd. “We’re dealing with a large group of people,” Deputy Police Chief Andi Higbee said. “We have stuff available. We have to.”
Some protesters shouted they would fight, but Kiss continued to reason with them. As the crowd’s tone grew angrier, he turned to the police and told them to release the woman, which they did.
The mayor also said the encampment wouldn’t be torn down by the police. That placated the crowd, and what had become a near riot quickly calmed. Several protesters, ignoring some who were urging a confrontation, persuaded the group to march up Church Street to the First Unitarian Universalist Church, which had been opened by its minister to the group.
“We have got to mellow out,” one protester said, his words repeated by the crowd, in the style of the Occupy movement that began two months ago in a park near Manhattan’s Wall Street.
Plans to return
Some protesters vowed to return today in greater numbers to reclaim their encampment.
Kiss said he had asked the police to release the young woman in the interest of public safety.
“The bigger picture,” Kiss said as the protesters left, “is we’re in this together. I hope we can work our way through it tomorrow and in the days ahead. Violence isn’t the solution. I think we can work our way through it.”
Police reopened the northern half of City Hall Park to the public, but the southern half, where the tents and belongings of Occupy Burlington sit, remained cordoned off Thursday evening. A police cruiser idled in the middle of the park, with an officer inside watching the tents. At least three other Burlington police cars sat near the edges of the park.
Later Thursday night, the mayor’s office issued this statement:
“At this time, in order to ensure public safety, no tenting or camping will be allowed in the park. The discharge of a firearm under these circumstances is a serious concern. In light of today’s incident, the Burlington Police Department has concerns that they cannot ensure public safety for Occupy Burlington participants and the public where tents obstruct and obscure potentially dangerous activities in areas that are routinely open to access by the public. The city will continue to respect the right of speech and peaceful assembly in areas of City Hall Park that are not cordoned off.”
At the Unitarian Universalist church, officials offered the protesters a place to regroup, eat and plan strategy. Occupiers there said they would begin plotting strategy by about 9 p.m.
Church member Elz Curtiss said she’d been in contact with Interim Senior Minister Roberta Finkelstein, who is out of town, to discuss how to help the protesters.
The City Hall Park shooting prompted church leaders to have a chaplain ready to talk to anyone at City Hall Park who needed help, Curtiss said. “Roberta said if they need anyplace to go, you have the keys,” she said.
When it became apparent the demonstrators would not be allowed to stay at City Hall Park, Curtiss said she offered the church. “Ultimately, this is a community that experienced a terrible tragedy,” she said of the demonstrators. “It’s important that they not lose the shelter of each other.”
Curtiss said she was impressed that the occupiers repeatedly said during the tense moments in City Hall Park earlier in the evening that they wanted to be their best selves. “I felt very good about it,” Curtiss said. “This is why you do religion.”
Shortly before 9 p.m., the number of Occupy Burlington participants in the church had swelled to about 80. The group politely asked a Burlington Free Press reporter to leave, saying they wanted privacy to grieve for their friend and felt more comfortable discussing their next moves away from the media.
Participants said they would issue statements to the media concerning the outcome of the meeting.
The shooting
The day was thrown into an uproar beginning shortly after 2 p.m.
Police said they responded to a 2:07 p.m. report of a man in City Hall Park who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities said the man was a 35-year-old resident of Chittenden County, but provided no additional details about his identity.
The man was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care, where he died at about 5 p.m., police said.
Preliminary information from witnesses indicated the gunshot wound was self-inflicted, police said.
“However, this is an ongoing investigation and all investigative avenues will be explored,” Burlington police said in a statement issued Thursday night.
After the shooting, police said the public was not in danger and that a weapon had been recovered. Deputy Police Chief Andi Higbee declined to say what type of weapon was recovered.
Steven Sclafani, 39, of Burlington said he was walking through City Hall Park at around 3 p.m. when he heard a bang.
“I thought it was a loud firecracker,” he said.
Sclafani said he then saw smoke coming from a tent. Three people ran out of the tent, he added. “I heard someone say ‘He shot himself.’ I ran over and saw a man lying on his back,” Sclafani said.
The man was inside a tent, and at least one other person was trying to help him, Sclafani said. Sclafani said he immediately called 911 and police arrived in the park a short time later. Sclafani took a picture of a handgun placed on the park grass amid fallen leaves; he said he believed it was used in the shooting.
As police swarmed the park, rescue workers removed a motionless man from a green tent where blood was evident. Police were seen questioning several people as others standing in the park cried and hugged each other.
Mason, the Burlington woman who would later be temporarily detained by police over access to the park, said Thursday afternoon she had been involved with the Occupy Burlington movement since it established itself in the park Oct. 28. She said the man who was shot had been in the park for several days, at least.
“I don’t know a lot about his personality. He loves the outdoors. He’s been a member of our community,” she said.
Future of encampment
The shooting happened less than 24 hours after a point of great excitement at the encampment. Wednesday night about 500 people flocked to City Hall Park for an impromptu concert by internationally known gypsy punk musicians from the band Gogol Bordello.
Thursday, police said they were concerned with public safety.
“When you have a discharge of a firearm in a place like this, there’s good cause to be gravely concerned,” Higbee said.
Firearms are not allowed in City Hall Park. Mayor Kiss said the shooting raises questions about the easy availability of firearms.
“We need to reflect on guns in Vermont,” he said.
12:22 AM, Nov. 11, 2011
The city closed half of City Hall Park and put a halt to all camping at the Occupy Burlington site Thursday night while police investigate a shooting in a tent that cost a 35-year-old man his life. Meanwhile, the movement’s participants mourned a member of their community and planned the future of the encampment.
Just a day after the joyful spontaneity of a Gogol Bordello performance Wednesday night at City Hall Park, Thursday’s shooting that police believe may have been self-inflicted spiraled into a tense confrontation between Burlington police and some protesters over access to the park.
The evening culminated in this surreal scene nearly five hours after the shooting: Mayor Bob Kiss, standing hatless and coatless in a cold rain, talking a group of close to 100 City Hall Park occupiers down from a near riot.
Kiss had called a 6 p.m. meeting in City Hall’s Contois Auditorium to talk about modifications to the city’s rules for the encampment following the shooting, and Police Chief Michael Schirling told the large group that the tents would be off limits for at least 24 hours while police continued their investigation into the death of a man whose name has not yet been released.
It had been a good relationship between police and protesters since the encampment began Oct. 28, city officials said, but the death had changed the landscape in the park.
As Schirling began to explain that police would allow those who needed personal items from their tents to get them, after police checked them for evidence, a man rushed in shouting that police had arrested a protester and that police were blocking off the entire park. The crowd angrily pushed outside, chanting, “Let her go! Let her go! Let her go!”
The protesters pushed toward the officers detaining Hayley Mason, 23, of Burlington. It was not clear why she was detained.
Kiss waded into the crowd, speaking softly, trying to explain that the police weren’t ending the encampment but were trying to investigate the crime scene. The protesters began shouting, “Give us Hayley! Give us Hayley!”
One man at the edge of the crowd, asked by a reporter why he was shouting, replied with anger, “Because I can!”
By 6:30 p.m., at least 20 police officers were in the park, prepared with tear gas and other non-lethal devices to control the crowd. “We’re dealing with a large group of people,” Deputy Police Chief Andi Higbee said. “We have stuff available. We have to.”
Some protesters shouted they would fight, but Kiss continued to reason with them. As the crowd’s tone grew angrier, he turned to the police and told them to release the woman, which they did.
The mayor also said the encampment wouldn’t be torn down by the police. That placated the crowd, and what had become a near riot quickly calmed. Several protesters, ignoring some who were urging a confrontation, persuaded the group to march up Church Street to the First Unitarian Universalist Church, which had been opened by its minister to the group.
“We have got to mellow out,” one protester said, his words repeated by the crowd, in the style of the Occupy movement that began two months ago in a park near Manhattan’s Wall Street.
Plans to return
Some protesters vowed to return today in greater numbers to reclaim their encampment.
Kiss said he had asked the police to release the young woman in the interest of public safety.
“The bigger picture,” Kiss said as the protesters left, “is we’re in this together. I hope we can work our way through it tomorrow and in the days ahead. Violence isn’t the solution. I think we can work our way through it.”
Police reopened the northern half of City Hall Park to the public, but the southern half, where the tents and belongings of Occupy Burlington sit, remained cordoned off Thursday evening. A police cruiser idled in the middle of the park, with an officer inside watching the tents. At least three other Burlington police cars sat near the edges of the park.
Later Thursday night, the mayor’s office issued this statement:
“At this time, in order to ensure public safety, no tenting or camping will be allowed in the park. The discharge of a firearm under these circumstances is a serious concern. In light of today’s incident, the Burlington Police Department has concerns that they cannot ensure public safety for Occupy Burlington participants and the public where tents obstruct and obscure potentially dangerous activities in areas that are routinely open to access by the public. The city will continue to respect the right of speech and peaceful assembly in areas of City Hall Park that are not cordoned off.”
At the Unitarian Universalist church, officials offered the protesters a place to regroup, eat and plan strategy. Occupiers there said they would begin plotting strategy by about 9 p.m.
Church member Elz Curtiss said she’d been in contact with Interim Senior Minister Roberta Finkelstein, who is out of town, to discuss how to help the protesters.
The City Hall Park shooting prompted church leaders to have a chaplain ready to talk to anyone at City Hall Park who needed help, Curtiss said. “Roberta said if they need anyplace to go, you have the keys,” she said.
When it became apparent the demonstrators would not be allowed to stay at City Hall Park, Curtiss said she offered the church. “Ultimately, this is a community that experienced a terrible tragedy,” she said of the demonstrators. “It’s important that they not lose the shelter of each other.”
Curtiss said she was impressed that the occupiers repeatedly said during the tense moments in City Hall Park earlier in the evening that they wanted to be their best selves. “I felt very good about it,” Curtiss said. “This is why you do religion.”
Shortly before 9 p.m., the number of Occupy Burlington participants in the church had swelled to about 80. The group politely asked a Burlington Free Press reporter to leave, saying they wanted privacy to grieve for their friend and felt more comfortable discussing their next moves away from the media.
Participants said they would issue statements to the media concerning the outcome of the meeting.
The shooting
The day was thrown into an uproar beginning shortly after 2 p.m.
Police said they responded to a 2:07 p.m. report of a man in City Hall Park who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities said the man was a 35-year-old resident of Chittenden County, but provided no additional details about his identity.
The man was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care, where he died at about 5 p.m., police said.
Preliminary information from witnesses indicated the gunshot wound was self-inflicted, police said.
“However, this is an ongoing investigation and all investigative avenues will be explored,” Burlington police said in a statement issued Thursday night.
After the shooting, police said the public was not in danger and that a weapon had been recovered. Deputy Police Chief Andi Higbee declined to say what type of weapon was recovered.
Steven Sclafani, 39, of Burlington said he was walking through City Hall Park at around 3 p.m. when he heard a bang.
“I thought it was a loud firecracker,” he said.
Sclafani said he then saw smoke coming from a tent. Three people ran out of the tent, he added. “I heard someone say ‘He shot himself.’ I ran over and saw a man lying on his back,” Sclafani said.
The man was inside a tent, and at least one other person was trying to help him, Sclafani said. Sclafani said he immediately called 911 and police arrived in the park a short time later. Sclafani took a picture of a handgun placed on the park grass amid fallen leaves; he said he believed it was used in the shooting.
As police swarmed the park, rescue workers removed a motionless man from a green tent where blood was evident. Police were seen questioning several people as others standing in the park cried and hugged each other.
Mason, the Burlington woman who would later be temporarily detained by police over access to the park, said Thursday afternoon she had been involved with the Occupy Burlington movement since it established itself in the park Oct. 28. She said the man who was shot had been in the park for several days, at least.
“I don’t know a lot about his personality. He loves the outdoors. He’s been a member of our community,” she said.
Future of encampment
The shooting happened less than 24 hours after a point of great excitement at the encampment. Wednesday night about 500 people flocked to City Hall Park for an impromptu concert by internationally known gypsy punk musicians from the band Gogol Bordello.
Thursday, police said they were concerned with public safety.
“When you have a discharge of a firearm in a place like this, there’s good cause to be gravely concerned,” Higbee said.
Firearms are not allowed in City Hall Park. Mayor Kiss said the shooting raises questions about the easy availability of firearms.
“We need to reflect on guns in Vermont,” he said.
Two Fatal shootings one at occupy Oakland and the other at occupy Vermont.
Breaking: Shooting At #OccupyOakland
Thursday, November 10, 2011 - 8:29pm
Thursday, November 10, 2011 - 8:29pm
Cain Under Fire - No Fly Zone Over Clinton, JFK Sexcapades
“He’s got it coming to him,” said Ben Bradlee, former editor of The Washington Post. “You can’t do that in this town anymore. Probably could do it 50 years ago, but you can’t do it now.”
The “he” was Herman Cain. The “that” means sexual harassment. And the “got it coming” means the media firestorm around the Republican front-runner as he deals with the sexual misconduct accusations that threaten to derail Cain’s surprisingly strong candidacy.
Bradlee made the Cain comment while at a book party for MSNBC host Chris Matthews’ new biography about the Democratic Party’s icon, John F. Kennedy, handsome, dashing and forever young — who screwed around big-time on his popular and elegant wife. When asked what he liked about Matthews’ new book, Bradlee said, “I like the guy who wrote it, and I like the guy he wrote it about.”
The irony seemed to be lost on Mr. Bradlee.
Bradlee wags his finger at Cain for alleged “sexual harassment” and insists, “He’s got it coming to him.” But on the same night, Bradlee celebrates a man who not only serially cheated, but who jeopardized national security by sleeping with the girlfriend of a big-time Chicago mobster.
Certainly, “it was a different time,” with the all-male reporter’s boys club looking the other way. But Kennedy kept his affairs secret from wife and country for a reason. Try telling your wife — even in the ’60s — “Honey, this afternoon — when you’re out with your lunch friends — I’m throwing a nude pool party. There may be, some, you know, some 20-something young ladies, some actually wearing bathing suits. Oh, then I’m going out with the girlfriend of a gangster. Don’t wait up.”
“Certainly, dear”??? “Have a good time”??? “I’ll leave the porch light on for you”???
Not likely. Even in the ’60s, on a deal like this, Harriet ditches Ozzie, June leaves Ward, and Lucy drops Ricky.
And if 15-year-old allegations of “sexual harassment” rate high on the Democrats’ character scale, please explain the deification of Bill Clinton. OK, he balanced the budget. But there was …
Paula Jones: About whom a Clinton surrogate said, “If you drag a $100 bill through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find.” Apparently you find $850K to settle a lawsuit. Clinton accused Jones of lying about sexual harassment and filing a lawsuit that lacked merit, then settled the case out of court for $850K.
Gennifer Flowers: Clinton surrogates trashed her as a “saloon singer.” (Do we even still have “saloons”?) Clinton publicly called her a liar. Years later, Clinton finally admitted that, yes, Flowers told the truth when she said their relationship had been sexual.
Monica Lewinsky: Clinton publicly accused the White House intern of lying; then lied about the affair under oath; became the first sitting president in history to be found in contempt of court; was impeached for lying under oath and obstruction of justice — the first and only elected president to have been impeached; and temporarily lost his law license.
Kathleen Willey: Told “60 Minutes” that she visited Bill Clinton in the Oval Office, where, she says, Clinton hugged and kissed her. When she tried to push him away, “he touched my breasts with his hand … and then he whispered … ‘I’ve wanted to do this ever since I laid eyes on you.’ … He took my hand, and he put it … on his genitals.” Finally, says Willey, she managed to push him away. In a classic exercise in rationalization, feminist Gloria Steinem said, So what? “Even if (Willey’s) accusation are true,” Steinem insisted, Clinton is “not guilty of sexual harassment.” Why? Well, Steinem wrote, “(Willey) pushed him away, she said, and it never happened again. In other words, President Clinton took ‘no’ for an answer.
Juanita Broaddrick: Told NBC News that then-Arkansas Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Bill Clinton raped her: “I first pushed him away. I just told him ‘no.’ … He tries to kiss me again. He starts biting on my lip. … And then he forced me down on the bed. I just was very frightened. I tried to get away from him. I told him ‘no.’ … He wouldn’t listen to me.”
GOP haters delight in denouncing former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as “the guy who served divorce papers on his wife as she was in the hospital for cancer.” But as to JFK, the sexually reckless president from Camelot? Hey, whatever.
The National Enquirer, not the “mainstream” media, broke the story about John Edwards’ love child and his long extramarital affair — as his wife was dying of cancer. But the same slow-on-Edwards media snapped to attention on the Cain allegations. Are the Cain allegations newsworthy, legitimate areas for media investigation? Absolutely. Sexual misconduct and the gravity of the misconduct go to the issue of character.
Except, of course, when applied to Bill Clinton and Jack Kennedy.
The “he” was Herman Cain. The “that” means sexual harassment. And the “got it coming” means the media firestorm around the Republican front-runner as he deals with the sexual misconduct accusations that threaten to derail Cain’s surprisingly strong candidacy.
Bradlee made the Cain comment while at a book party for MSNBC host Chris Matthews’ new biography about the Democratic Party’s icon, John F. Kennedy, handsome, dashing and forever young — who screwed around big-time on his popular and elegant wife. When asked what he liked about Matthews’ new book, Bradlee said, “I like the guy who wrote it, and I like the guy he wrote it about.”
The irony seemed to be lost on Mr. Bradlee.
Bradlee wags his finger at Cain for alleged “sexual harassment” and insists, “He’s got it coming to him.” But on the same night, Bradlee celebrates a man who not only serially cheated, but who jeopardized national security by sleeping with the girlfriend of a big-time Chicago mobster.
Certainly, “it was a different time,” with the all-male reporter’s boys club looking the other way. But Kennedy kept his affairs secret from wife and country for a reason. Try telling your wife — even in the ’60s — “Honey, this afternoon — when you’re out with your lunch friends — I’m throwing a nude pool party. There may be, some, you know, some 20-something young ladies, some actually wearing bathing suits. Oh, then I’m going out with the girlfriend of a gangster. Don’t wait up.”
“Certainly, dear”??? “Have a good time”??? “I’ll leave the porch light on for you”???
Not likely. Even in the ’60s, on a deal like this, Harriet ditches Ozzie, June leaves Ward, and Lucy drops Ricky.
And if 15-year-old allegations of “sexual harassment” rate high on the Democrats’ character scale, please explain the deification of Bill Clinton. OK, he balanced the budget. But there was …
Paula Jones: About whom a Clinton surrogate said, “If you drag a $100 bill through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find.” Apparently you find $850K to settle a lawsuit. Clinton accused Jones of lying about sexual harassment and filing a lawsuit that lacked merit, then settled the case out of court for $850K.
Gennifer Flowers: Clinton surrogates trashed her as a “saloon singer.” (Do we even still have “saloons”?) Clinton publicly called her a liar. Years later, Clinton finally admitted that, yes, Flowers told the truth when she said their relationship had been sexual.
Monica Lewinsky: Clinton publicly accused the White House intern of lying; then lied about the affair under oath; became the first sitting president in history to be found in contempt of court; was impeached for lying under oath and obstruction of justice — the first and only elected president to have been impeached; and temporarily lost his law license.
Kathleen Willey: Told “60 Minutes” that she visited Bill Clinton in the Oval Office, where, she says, Clinton hugged and kissed her. When she tried to push him away, “he touched my breasts with his hand … and then he whispered … ‘I’ve wanted to do this ever since I laid eyes on you.’ … He took my hand, and he put it … on his genitals.” Finally, says Willey, she managed to push him away. In a classic exercise in rationalization, feminist Gloria Steinem said, So what? “Even if (Willey’s) accusation are true,” Steinem insisted, Clinton is “not guilty of sexual harassment.” Why? Well, Steinem wrote, “(Willey) pushed him away, she said, and it never happened again. In other words, President Clinton took ‘no’ for an answer.
Juanita Broaddrick: Told NBC News that then-Arkansas Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Bill Clinton raped her: “I first pushed him away. I just told him ‘no.’ … He tries to kiss me again. He starts biting on my lip. … And then he forced me down on the bed. I just was very frightened. I tried to get away from him. I told him ‘no.’ … He wouldn’t listen to me.”
GOP haters delight in denouncing former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as “the guy who served divorce papers on his wife as she was in the hospital for cancer.” But as to JFK, the sexually reckless president from Camelot? Hey, whatever.
The National Enquirer, not the “mainstream” media, broke the story about John Edwards’ love child and his long extramarital affair — as his wife was dying of cancer. But the same slow-on-Edwards media snapped to attention on the Cain allegations. Are the Cain allegations newsworthy, legitimate areas for media investigation? Absolutely. Sexual misconduct and the gravity of the misconduct go to the issue of character.
Except, of course, when applied to Bill Clinton and Jack Kennedy.
European far-right on the rise online
Inspired by the tens of thousands that have ‘liked’ far-right political groups such as France’s National Front party online, a new study published Monday examined who exactly are the supporters of Europe’s increasingly popular nationalist factions.
By Rachel HOLMAN (text)
When Marine Le Pen, head of France’s far-right Front National party, posted a wall photo of herself on her official Facebook page last week, 417 people jumped to ‘like’ it, 30 people ‘shared’ it, and 95 people left comments, one of which read “President Marine” with a heart shaped emoticon next to it.
Inspired by the type of endorsements exhibited on Le Pen’s Facebook page, British think tank Demos conducted the first-ever large-scale quantitative study of who exactly comprises Europe’s increasingly popular far-right political factions. Published on Monday, the report found that the far-right’s growing support base is young and online.
Even though the study looked at samples from several countries across the continent, the report could have particular significance for France, which is set to hold presidential elections in May.
“There are tens of thousands of people who are affiliated with [France’s far-right political party] the Front National or who have ‘liked’ the Front National. What we wanted to do was to find out who these people are”, said Jonathan Birdwell, one of the study’s authors.
Perceived erosion of national culture and values
Placing targeted ads on Facebook group pages dedicated to 14 different far-right political parties or grass roots organisations, Demos was able to collect data from more than 10,000 users, in 11 European countries*.
What they discovered was a growing support for hardline nationalist politics across Europe – particularly among men and the under 30s. Disillusioned with their own governments and the European Union, many of the survey’s respondents listed immigration, the perceived erosion of national culture and values, and Islamic extremism as their chief reasons for sympathising with far-right populist movements.
More important still, the study also points out that the number of people supporting far-right political groups online often outweighs actual party membership. While many in the past would argue that this data could be attributed to the fact that the Internet allows people to express themselves with a certain degree of anonymity, these supporters are not merely ‘liking’ from the safety of their own homes – their online activity carries into offline activism as well.
According to the study, 67 percent of online far-right supporters voted for their party in the last general or national election. On top of that, the report’s authors found that the percentage of respondents that said they participated in protests or demonstrations was significantly higher than the EU average.
“It signifies a change in the nature of politics – that people, particularly young people, relate to politics in different ways. Formal membership will never go away, but what is happening is that these online groups represent another layer of support that can be used for electoral success”, Birdwell pointed out.
Possible implications for French presidential elections
This could mean that traditional means of gauging political trends, such as opinion and exit polls, have underestimated just how many people support the far-right in different countries across Europe.
More specifically, the study’s findings could also have serious implications for France’s fast approaching presidential elections, which are slated to be held May 22, 2012.
Marine Le Pen, head of the Front National, already made headlines in France earlier this year after an opinion poll published in March revealed that she could possibly lead in a presidential race against incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, with 23 percent of the vote. Although her numbers have waned in recent months, Birdwell stated that this data could be unrepresentative due to the relatively untapped base of online supporters.
“The number of people who support the Front National online is very high – among the highest of all the groups we sampled”, Birdwell said. “Sixty-five percent of our sample [of Front National supporters] voted in the last election. That’s a significant number that could translate into votes this time around.”
Yet one drawback of the study is that it only measures the growing success of far-right parties such as the Front National by how many people sympathise with them. However, as Douglas Yates, a political scientist at the American University of Paris, points out, success can also be measured by how the popularity of a party or group's policies influence what's being discussed on the national stage.
Far-right shaping national agendas
According to Yates, the Front National's rhetoric on immigration and the perceived spread of Islam in France has already shaped a number of talking points that are expected to arise during the presidential campaign.
“The more success the Front National has using [immigration and Islamophobia] as a rallying point, the more the right will try to appropriate it. [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy and [Interior Minister] Claude Guéant have already shown their willingness to use it as a point of debate,” Yates said.
The data, which was collected in the months prior to when the euro zone crisis took a turn for the worse in August and September, found that economics played a small role in why people chose to support parties such as the Front National. However, as countries across Europe struggle to deal with the backlash of the bloc’s weakening economies, Birdwell admits that this could galvanise even more support for France’s far-right ahead of the elections.
*Counties included in the study: France, United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Belgium.
By Rachel HOLMAN (text)
When Marine Le Pen, head of France’s far-right Front National party, posted a wall photo of herself on her official Facebook page last week, 417 people jumped to ‘like’ it, 30 people ‘shared’ it, and 95 people left comments, one of which read “President Marine” with a heart shaped emoticon next to it.
Inspired by the type of endorsements exhibited on Le Pen’s Facebook page, British think tank Demos conducted the first-ever large-scale quantitative study of who exactly comprises Europe’s increasingly popular far-right political factions. Published on Monday, the report found that the far-right’s growing support base is young and online.
Even though the study looked at samples from several countries across the continent, the report could have particular significance for France, which is set to hold presidential elections in May.
“There are tens of thousands of people who are affiliated with [France’s far-right political party] the Front National or who have ‘liked’ the Front National. What we wanted to do was to find out who these people are”, said Jonathan Birdwell, one of the study’s authors.
Perceived erosion of national culture and values
Placing targeted ads on Facebook group pages dedicated to 14 different far-right political parties or grass roots organisations, Demos was able to collect data from more than 10,000 users, in 11 European countries*.
What they discovered was a growing support for hardline nationalist politics across Europe – particularly among men and the under 30s. Disillusioned with their own governments and the European Union, many of the survey’s respondents listed immigration, the perceived erosion of national culture and values, and Islamic extremism as their chief reasons for sympathising with far-right populist movements.
More important still, the study also points out that the number of people supporting far-right political groups online often outweighs actual party membership. While many in the past would argue that this data could be attributed to the fact that the Internet allows people to express themselves with a certain degree of anonymity, these supporters are not merely ‘liking’ from the safety of their own homes – their online activity carries into offline activism as well.
According to the study, 67 percent of online far-right supporters voted for their party in the last general or national election. On top of that, the report’s authors found that the percentage of respondents that said they participated in protests or demonstrations was significantly higher than the EU average.
“It signifies a change in the nature of politics – that people, particularly young people, relate to politics in different ways. Formal membership will never go away, but what is happening is that these online groups represent another layer of support that can be used for electoral success”, Birdwell pointed out.
Possible implications for French presidential elections
This could mean that traditional means of gauging political trends, such as opinion and exit polls, have underestimated just how many people support the far-right in different countries across Europe.
More specifically, the study’s findings could also have serious implications for France’s fast approaching presidential elections, which are slated to be held May 22, 2012.
Marine Le Pen, head of the Front National, already made headlines in France earlier this year after an opinion poll published in March revealed that she could possibly lead in a presidential race against incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, with 23 percent of the vote. Although her numbers have waned in recent months, Birdwell stated that this data could be unrepresentative due to the relatively untapped base of online supporters.
“The number of people who support the Front National online is very high – among the highest of all the groups we sampled”, Birdwell said. “Sixty-five percent of our sample [of Front National supporters] voted in the last election. That’s a significant number that could translate into votes this time around.”
Yet one drawback of the study is that it only measures the growing success of far-right parties such as the Front National by how many people sympathise with them. However, as Douglas Yates, a political scientist at the American University of Paris, points out, success can also be measured by how the popularity of a party or group's policies influence what's being discussed on the national stage.
Far-right shaping national agendas
According to Yates, the Front National's rhetoric on immigration and the perceived spread of Islam in France has already shaped a number of talking points that are expected to arise during the presidential campaign.
“The more success the Front National has using [immigration and Islamophobia] as a rallying point, the more the right will try to appropriate it. [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy and [Interior Minister] Claude Guéant have already shown their willingness to use it as a point of debate,” Yates said.
The data, which was collected in the months prior to when the euro zone crisis took a turn for the worse in August and September, found that economics played a small role in why people chose to support parties such as the Front National. However, as countries across Europe struggle to deal with the backlash of the bloc’s weakening economies, Birdwell admits that this could galvanise even more support for France’s far-right ahead of the elections.
*Counties included in the study: France, United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Belgium.
DEATH OF THE EURO
Friday November 11,2011
By Macer Hall, Political Editor
PREPARATIONS were under way last night for the break-up of the euro as Europe’s debt crisis spiralled out of control.
As Treasury officials worked through the night to soften the impact on Britain, David Cameron warned that the single European currency was facing its “moment of truth”.
Business Secretary Vince Cable went further and spoke about “Armageddon” while Brussels officials warned that the chaos threatened to plunge us all into a new recession.
Ministers are understood to be deeply concerned that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel are secretly plotting to build a new, slimmed down eurozone without Greece, Italy and other debt-ridden southern Euro- pean nations.
Well-placed Brussels sources say Germany and France have already held private discussions on preparing for the disintegration of the eurozone. SEARCH UK NEWS for:
At the same time, City insiders yesterday speculated that the “death warrant” for the euro had already been written, with a new economic bloc dominated by Germany and France almost certain to emerge in its place.
Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners, said the single currency experiment had failed.
“Undoubtedly it has failed. We know the concept of a single currency was flawed right from the start. There were too many big differences, in language, in culture and in the economies. There is absolutely no chance of the euro surviving in its current form. It cannot happen.
“There are limits to what the markets, the people and the voters will accept. That doesn’t mean the euro won’t carry on with fewer members, but it has been a failure.”
Stephen Lewis, of Monument Securities, said the search for some sort of Grand Plan or mega-fund to save the euro was corroding the whole project.
“Whatever they do, the underlying economic divergence will still exist,” he said. “It may be that there is no solution and that it would be better to finance an orderly break-up of the euro.”
Economist Nouriel Roubini said on Twitter: “It will be soon an end-game for the eurozone: restructurings and exits till break-up. Slow motion train wreck.”
And Gideon Rachman, of the Financial Times, said: “The euro is not an end in itself. The single currency is just an instrument, aimed at promoting economic prosperity and political harmony across Europe.
“As the evidence mounts that it is doing the precise opposite, it is time to think not about how to save the euro but about how to scrap it, or at least allow the weakest members to leave. Rather than insisting that the break-up of the euro is unthinkable, Europe’s leaders need to start planning for it.”
The secret plans being drawn up are for the creation of a “smaller eurozone” consisting of “fewer members” who would push towards economic and fiscal union.
RELATED: AN IDIOT'S GUIDE TO THE EURO CRISIS
Britain would be excluded from the new economic grouping, to the delight of many Eurocrats.
French and German officials have already set up a secretive cabal known as the “Frankfurt Group” to pursue their federalist agenda and bully Britain.
The Brussels source insisted the plan was not about creating a two-tier Europe but a radical re-drawing of the entire euro project.
Mr Cameron, in his starkest assessment of the crisis yet, confirmed that the Government was engrossed in contingency planning for the unravelling of the single currency.
“If the leaders of the eurozone want to save their currency then they, together with the institutions of the eurozone, must act now. The longer the delay, the greater the danger,” he said. “Here in Britain, outside the euro, we must prepare for every eventuality, and that is exactly what we will do.”
Mr Cable went even further by conceding that officials were examining the dangers of an “Armageddon narrative” in the eurozone.
Confirming that the Government’s contingency planning for a euro break-up was well under way, he said: “We have a plan. There’s a lot of scenario planning, thinking about all possible outcomes. We have to deal with the world as it is.”
He added: “I don’t think we should be panicking, and although the situation is very difficult and we’re inevitably affected by it, I think the extreme pessimism and gloom really isn’t justified in this case.”
Conceding that preparations for an economic doomsday scenario were under way, he said: “Certainly it affects our trade and potentially, in this Armageddon narrative, it affects the banking system, but we’re not there yet. We have a very clear commitment to stabilising our own country’s finances, and for shifting the base of the economy and its investments into manufacturing.”
Official European Union statistics yesterday slashed the growth forecast for the eurozone next year from 1.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent and raised fears that Britain will be hit by the fallout from the euro crisis.
And in a chilling admission that the continent’s debt crisis is having an even more ravaging impact than previously expected, EU finance commissioner Olli Rehn said: “Growth has stalled in Europe and there is a risk of a new recession.
“This forecast is in fact the last wake-up call. The recovery in the EU has come to a standstill and there is a risk of a new recession.”
The revised economic forecast from Brussels slashes predicted growth levels by nearly two thirds compared with six months ago. A section of the report dealing with the British economy said: “Risks from the euro-area sovereign debt markets and the banking sector heighten this uncertainty. As such, a contraction in Gross Domestic Product in at least one of the next few quarters cannot be ruled out.
“However, the outlook for corporate investment and net exports still appears positive enough to justify a forecast of modest positive growth, with the economy expanding by 0.7 per cent in 2011, 0.6 per cent in 2012 and 1.5 per cent in 2013.
“The substantial downward revision from the spring forecast is explained mainly by the bleaker outlook for household consumption, corporate investment and exports, offset partially by slower expected import growth.”
In Italy, the threat of crippling interest rates eased slightly as the country’s banks bought £4billion of Government debts and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed he will quit at the weekend.
By Macer Hall, Political Editor
PREPARATIONS were under way last night for the break-up of the euro as Europe’s debt crisis spiralled out of control.
As Treasury officials worked through the night to soften the impact on Britain, David Cameron warned that the single European currency was facing its “moment of truth”.
Business Secretary Vince Cable went further and spoke about “Armageddon” while Brussels officials warned that the chaos threatened to plunge us all into a new recession.
Ministers are understood to be deeply concerned that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel are secretly plotting to build a new, slimmed down eurozone without Greece, Italy and other debt-ridden southern Euro- pean nations.
Well-placed Brussels sources say Germany and France have already held private discussions on preparing for the disintegration of the eurozone. SEARCH UK NEWS for:
At the same time, City insiders yesterday speculated that the “death warrant” for the euro had already been written, with a new economic bloc dominated by Germany and France almost certain to emerge in its place.
Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners, said the single currency experiment had failed.
“Undoubtedly it has failed. We know the concept of a single currency was flawed right from the start. There were too many big differences, in language, in culture and in the economies. There is absolutely no chance of the euro surviving in its current form. It cannot happen.
“There are limits to what the markets, the people and the voters will accept. That doesn’t mean the euro won’t carry on with fewer members, but it has been a failure.”
Stephen Lewis, of Monument Securities, said the search for some sort of Grand Plan or mega-fund to save the euro was corroding the whole project.
“Whatever they do, the underlying economic divergence will still exist,” he said. “It may be that there is no solution and that it would be better to finance an orderly break-up of the euro.”
Economist Nouriel Roubini said on Twitter: “It will be soon an end-game for the eurozone: restructurings and exits till break-up. Slow motion train wreck.”
And Gideon Rachman, of the Financial Times, said: “The euro is not an end in itself. The single currency is just an instrument, aimed at promoting economic prosperity and political harmony across Europe.
“As the evidence mounts that it is doing the precise opposite, it is time to think not about how to save the euro but about how to scrap it, or at least allow the weakest members to leave. Rather than insisting that the break-up of the euro is unthinkable, Europe’s leaders need to start planning for it.”
The secret plans being drawn up are for the creation of a “smaller eurozone” consisting of “fewer members” who would push towards economic and fiscal union.
RELATED: AN IDIOT'S GUIDE TO THE EURO CRISIS
Britain would be excluded from the new economic grouping, to the delight of many Eurocrats.
French and German officials have already set up a secretive cabal known as the “Frankfurt Group” to pursue their federalist agenda and bully Britain.
The Brussels source insisted the plan was not about creating a two-tier Europe but a radical re-drawing of the entire euro project.
Mr Cameron, in his starkest assessment of the crisis yet, confirmed that the Government was engrossed in contingency planning for the unravelling of the single currency.
“If the leaders of the eurozone want to save their currency then they, together with the institutions of the eurozone, must act now. The longer the delay, the greater the danger,” he said. “Here in Britain, outside the euro, we must prepare for every eventuality, and that is exactly what we will do.”
Mr Cable went even further by conceding that officials were examining the dangers of an “Armageddon narrative” in the eurozone.
Confirming that the Government’s contingency planning for a euro break-up was well under way, he said: “We have a plan. There’s a lot of scenario planning, thinking about all possible outcomes. We have to deal with the world as it is.”
He added: “I don’t think we should be panicking, and although the situation is very difficult and we’re inevitably affected by it, I think the extreme pessimism and gloom really isn’t justified in this case.”
Conceding that preparations for an economic doomsday scenario were under way, he said: “Certainly it affects our trade and potentially, in this Armageddon narrative, it affects the banking system, but we’re not there yet. We have a very clear commitment to stabilising our own country’s finances, and for shifting the base of the economy and its investments into manufacturing.”
Official European Union statistics yesterday slashed the growth forecast for the eurozone next year from 1.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent and raised fears that Britain will be hit by the fallout from the euro crisis.
And in a chilling admission that the continent’s debt crisis is having an even more ravaging impact than previously expected, EU finance commissioner Olli Rehn said: “Growth has stalled in Europe and there is a risk of a new recession.
“This forecast is in fact the last wake-up call. The recovery in the EU has come to a standstill and there is a risk of a new recession.”
The revised economic forecast from Brussels slashes predicted growth levels by nearly two thirds compared with six months ago. A section of the report dealing with the British economy said: “Risks from the euro-area sovereign debt markets and the banking sector heighten this uncertainty. As such, a contraction in Gross Domestic Product in at least one of the next few quarters cannot be ruled out.
“However, the outlook for corporate investment and net exports still appears positive enough to justify a forecast of modest positive growth, with the economy expanding by 0.7 per cent in 2011, 0.6 per cent in 2012 and 1.5 per cent in 2013.
“The substantial downward revision from the spring forecast is explained mainly by the bleaker outlook for household consumption, corporate investment and exports, offset partially by slower expected import growth.”
In Italy, the threat of crippling interest rates eased slightly as the country’s banks bought £4billion of Government debts and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed he will quit at the weekend.
Cain blankets Florida and leads other campaigns with announcement of chairs in all 67 counties
The Herman Cain campaign just came out with a list of chairs and other backers in all 67 counties in Florida. It’s the most extensive network of supporters announced by any of the Republican presidential candidates so far. The release is 9 pages — and you can read it FRIENDS OF HERMAN CAIN CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES FLORIDA COUNTY CHAIRS.
posted by bshaw on November, 10 2011 6:29 PM
posted by bshaw on November, 10 2011 6:29 PM
Herman Cain Research Information
Continuing the Job Politico Refuses to Do
Thursday, November 10, 2011
First off, I want to apologize to people for the cruddy blog layout. As you can tell, I am NOT a professional blogger or scoop-type journalist, and I have no intention of robbing other videos or articles to post meaningless gibberish unless I intend to make a point. For this reason, I pull the following articles and videos as my reference points.
I also would like to say that the following is what I believe the evidence I’ve uncovered supports, but I make no guarantee as to the certainty of the theory. Instead, I leave it to you the reader to look at all the information I did and come to your own conclusion. If you think I’m full of it, that’s okay, maybe I am. If you think I’m right though, well that’s okay too.
Finally, a word of caution. Please do not go and harass the names identified here as a possible source of Cain’s accusations. Leave that to the professional conservative media to go down that alley as they are better staffed and equipped to handle such things. The only reason I created this blog, was that the information was ignored when sent to Rush, Levin, and Drudge, most likely because they get 10,000+ emails a day and I’m a nobody…nothing personal, that’s just how it is. They can’t evaluate every message they get, they’ve got to rely on the staff. Plus too, I may have stumbled upon a simple coincidence. I might just be talking out of my butt. Wouldn't be the first time, probably won't be the last.
With that said, let’s get onto the substance.
Last Thursday, I was reviewing the articles written by the Politico concerning the unidentified women that had accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment. It seems like our good friends Jonathan Martin took a certain joy in leading the public on charges based on “anonymous” sources. They provided what they thought were generic descriptions about the complaintants which would protect their identities. As of today, Karen Kraushaar, has come forward, while the New Jersey accuser (who is the subject of this post) has not.
For those that need a refresher, here’s a link to the Politico article and a restatement of the descriptions:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67581.html
Around 30 at the time of the incident
Was a “longer-term” employee
Worked in the Government Affairs Office
Managed the Political Action Committee
Left the NRA in May 1998
Now works in New Jersey for a Lobbying Firm
Was “Not getting along with her bosses at the time”
This seemed pretty general stuff indeed. However, I quickly noticed that all the general comments had something in common. That is, the types of information it presented was something that would be found on a RESUME! And surely, many professionals post their resume information on both LinkedIn and Monster, so I wondered if the New Jersey accuser had done the same thing.
At first, I didn’t find anything. That’s when I went back to Google and performed a specific search including the following search terms:
“RESUME” + “1998” + “NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION” + “NEW JERSEY” + “GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS”
I wasn’t sure if I’d find anything, but try it yourself. The 6th or 7th search yielded the following link and preview:
Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc. - Dale Florio - Trenton, NJ 08608
www.ecarnegietech.com/.../27323553-princeton-public-affairs-group...
Trenton NJ - Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc.
New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities .... If interested please email your resume to. Download David Smith's VCARD David A. .... his unanimous appointment by the Passaic County Freeholder Board in 1998. ... Lorna began her career in government affairs at The National Restaurant Association. ...
Aha! I quickly caught a hold of the last sentence. This made me perform a search for Princeton Public Affairs Group, looking for an individual name Lorna, whose biography was linked on the right hand side and I eventually ended up here:
http://www.ppag.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=19:lornaohara&Itemid=178
Wow. Based on the Second paragraph of her Bio, she seems to match everything. However, she looked kind of young and the Bio page didn’t have any links to dates, so now that I had a name, I went back to LinkedIn and found her. Her education ran from 1986-1991. I also looked at Zaba-Search and discovered she was born in 1968, which would have put her around 30 at the time of the incident. Assuming she joined the NRA in 1991-92 time-frame, served four years before taking over the PAC, it appears she would be in the position that the Politico article is talking about.
http://www.zabasearch.com/query1_zaba.php?sname=LORNA%20O\\\'HARA&state=ALL&ref=&se=&doby=&city=&name_style=1&tm=&tmr=
Now, again, this could all be one really, really, strange coincidence. You would think at worst, if she is not the Cain accuser in question, that she would at least have some insight into who is, or would could be a possible source to Politico. But how many other NJ lobbyists who managed the NRA PAC are there? She is the only one I could find.
Again, I am not accusing her of being Cain’s accuser. I am simply pointing out that there seems to be quite a bit coincidences between what was described in the Politico article, and her background.
Of course, I didn’t stop there, though. In the age of social media, I wanted to see if she had any Facebook / Twitter / Myspace profiles. Now that I had a name to work with, a simple Google search turned up the following Twitter Accounts:
http://twitter.com/#!/DarcyOHara
http://twitter.com/LornaDarcy
You will notice that she uses her middle name. This is because her and her mother have the same name, but different initials. On a side note, her parents donated $1000 each to Bill Bradley’s failed 2000 Presidential campaign (according to Newsmeat), but we’ll come back to that in a moment)
The first Twitter account seems to be a personal recreation one. Make what you will of the 2 ABC contact followers. It hasn’t been used in a few months.
The second Twitter account, however, shows up in Google search results, but Twitter shows that it no longer exists, meaning that it was recently deleted. I personally believe the 2nd Twitter account was her main account, but she deleted it when the press started hounding her. Unfortunately, Twitter does not cache it’s deleted pages, so I was unable to view the previous deleted account using the Internet Archive / Wayback machine.
So, onto Facebook. Here too, it appears she had a Facebook account, but deleted it. Here’s what I did. At Google, type in the phrase: “Lorna O’Hara Likes this”. Now, only pay attention to the Facebook results that pop up for the group page of Princeton Public Affairs Group or the Cape May Group. You will see from the Google search that at one time, she commented and “liked” things, but when you go to click on the Facebook link, you will she her comments and likes have disappeared, as it appears that account was deleted. Again, I tried using the Internet Archive / Wayback machine to see if I could view a cached page of it, but could not. But the fact the results still show up in Google leads me to believe that both the Twitter and Facebook accounts were recently deleted. Go ahead, try it yourself and see if you get the same results as me.
Okay, break, did you get all this? Does it make sense? Again, I’m going to keep repeating that for whatever reason, this indeed may still be one gigantic coincidence and I’m chasing a dead horse. It’s out there now and I leave it to you to decide whether we have a positive ID or not.
Now, as you know, that’s not the entire end of this story. If it turns out that she is indeed the accuser, if she didn’t talk to Politico, who did? From here on out, this is speculation, but I am throwing it out there because it needs to be looked at:
I want you to go back to Princeton Public Affairs Group’s homepage and check out the Bio for Mr. Brad Brewster, one of the Senior Partners:
http://www.ppag.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=11&Itemid=178
In particular, notice the last paragraph concerning his association with Mitt Romney. Now I know this says 2008, but just last month, after Chris Christie announced he wasn’t running and endorsed Romney, Brewster did the same again:
http://aboutmittromney.com/state/new.htm#NewJersey
Now, if the woman reported the incident to her employer concerning what happened at the NRA, how possible is it that Brewster was the one she reported to? He apparently has the DC contacts and the media credentials to get it out there, though I did not find a direct link between him and anything Politico-related. But it’s something that had to be looked at.
There was a potential motive, as a Christie supporter, and then a Romney one after Christie endorsed Romney. Perhaps there was a retaliatory strike against Cain for comments he made about Chris Christie on October 2nd.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/02/herman-cain-chris-christie-2012_n_991026.html
Again, this is speculation, but I believe it’s something that will need to be looked further into, especially if the New Jersey accuser was identified here.
Where does that bring us? Back to the Cracker Barrel article. I actually found this before I discovered any of the other information listed above. Here it is in case you haven’t seen it:
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=201676&c=7
The key item from this article is that Forth managed Political Affairs from Jan 1997 – April 1998. Now I may be generalizing Political Affairs / Government Affairs, but I am assuming that the offices are one and the same, and I believe that the NJ Accuser worked for Mr. Forth. Now, look at when Mr. Forth left, April 1998, the same month the alleged harassment took place. It seems the accuser wanted Mr. Forth’s job, but was denied it. Could this be a source of the why she cried harassment. I think the following CNN article may offer some veracity to this theory:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/08/friend-of-cain-accuser-recounts-allegations/
Again, this just may be another coincidence?
However, look what Forth was accused of doing at the Cracker Barrel PAC. Who’s to say he didn’t try the same thing while he was at the NRA, and the NJ accuser would have been in the position to know this or not. I have a sinking suspicion, that if the harassment charges don’t stick, the issue will turn to whether fraud was occurring.
If anyone has any updated information about what the media would find, I believe Johnny Isakson’s 2004 staff would. That story on Forth came out in 2003. They must have been saving it in case Cain had forced a run-off. Herman Cain also said that this employee had “performance issues” and “wasn’t getting along with her bosses”. Could this be why?
Okay people, this is what I have. You think it’s worth something, go with it. If not, then the Admins can delete it.
Again, from the advice I was given by an attorney today, I am not, repeat, I am not, making any accusations or statements of facts beyond what I’ve been able to find. If I’ve speculated, I said so. If it’s been my opinion, I’ve said so also. This could all be one incredible series of coincidences. If so, I apologize.
My goal was to go after Politico for not reporting the full story. I think I’ve shown there are several avenues that at least need to be investigated. I hope I’ve done more good than harm for Herman.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
First off, I want to apologize to people for the cruddy blog layout. As you can tell, I am NOT a professional blogger or scoop-type journalist, and I have no intention of robbing other videos or articles to post meaningless gibberish unless I intend to make a point. For this reason, I pull the following articles and videos as my reference points.
I also would like to say that the following is what I believe the evidence I’ve uncovered supports, but I make no guarantee as to the certainty of the theory. Instead, I leave it to you the reader to look at all the information I did and come to your own conclusion. If you think I’m full of it, that’s okay, maybe I am. If you think I’m right though, well that’s okay too.
Finally, a word of caution. Please do not go and harass the names identified here as a possible source of Cain’s accusations. Leave that to the professional conservative media to go down that alley as they are better staffed and equipped to handle such things. The only reason I created this blog, was that the information was ignored when sent to Rush, Levin, and Drudge, most likely because they get 10,000+ emails a day and I’m a nobody…nothing personal, that’s just how it is. They can’t evaluate every message they get, they’ve got to rely on the staff. Plus too, I may have stumbled upon a simple coincidence. I might just be talking out of my butt. Wouldn't be the first time, probably won't be the last.
With that said, let’s get onto the substance.
Last Thursday, I was reviewing the articles written by the Politico concerning the unidentified women that had accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment. It seems like our good friends Jonathan Martin took a certain joy in leading the public on charges based on “anonymous” sources. They provided what they thought were generic descriptions about the complaintants which would protect their identities. As of today, Karen Kraushaar, has come forward, while the New Jersey accuser (who is the subject of this post) has not.
For those that need a refresher, here’s a link to the Politico article and a restatement of the descriptions:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67581.html
Around 30 at the time of the incident
Was a “longer-term” employee
Worked in the Government Affairs Office
Managed the Political Action Committee
Left the NRA in May 1998
Now works in New Jersey for a Lobbying Firm
Was “Not getting along with her bosses at the time”
This seemed pretty general stuff indeed. However, I quickly noticed that all the general comments had something in common. That is, the types of information it presented was something that would be found on a RESUME! And surely, many professionals post their resume information on both LinkedIn and Monster, so I wondered if the New Jersey accuser had done the same thing.
At first, I didn’t find anything. That’s when I went back to Google and performed a specific search including the following search terms:
“RESUME” + “1998” + “NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION” + “NEW JERSEY” + “GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS”
I wasn’t sure if I’d find anything, but try it yourself. The 6th or 7th search yielded the following link and preview:
Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc. - Dale Florio - Trenton, NJ 08608
www.ecarnegietech.com/.../27323553-princeton-public-affairs-group...
Trenton NJ - Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc.
New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities .... If interested please email your resume to. Download David Smith's VCARD David A. .... his unanimous appointment by the Passaic County Freeholder Board in 1998. ... Lorna began her career in government affairs at The National Restaurant Association. ...
Aha! I quickly caught a hold of the last sentence. This made me perform a search for Princeton Public Affairs Group, looking for an individual name Lorna, whose biography was linked on the right hand side and I eventually ended up here:
http://www.ppag.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=19:lornaohara&Itemid=178
Wow. Based on the Second paragraph of her Bio, she seems to match everything. However, she looked kind of young and the Bio page didn’t have any links to dates, so now that I had a name, I went back to LinkedIn and found her. Her education ran from 1986-1991. I also looked at Zaba-Search and discovered she was born in 1968, which would have put her around 30 at the time of the incident. Assuming she joined the NRA in 1991-92 time-frame, served four years before taking over the PAC, it appears she would be in the position that the Politico article is talking about.
http://www.zabasearch.com/query1_zaba.php?sname=LORNA%20O\\\'HARA&state=ALL&ref=&se=&doby=&city=&name_style=1&tm=&tmr=
Now, again, this could all be one really, really, strange coincidence. You would think at worst, if she is not the Cain accuser in question, that she would at least have some insight into who is, or would could be a possible source to Politico. But how many other NJ lobbyists who managed the NRA PAC are there? She is the only one I could find.
Again, I am not accusing her of being Cain’s accuser. I am simply pointing out that there seems to be quite a bit coincidences between what was described in the Politico article, and her background.
Of course, I didn’t stop there, though. In the age of social media, I wanted to see if she had any Facebook / Twitter / Myspace profiles. Now that I had a name to work with, a simple Google search turned up the following Twitter Accounts:
http://twitter.com/#!/DarcyOHara
http://twitter.com/LornaDarcy
You will notice that she uses her middle name. This is because her and her mother have the same name, but different initials. On a side note, her parents donated $1000 each to Bill Bradley’s failed 2000 Presidential campaign (according to Newsmeat), but we’ll come back to that in a moment)
The first Twitter account seems to be a personal recreation one. Make what you will of the 2 ABC contact followers. It hasn’t been used in a few months.
The second Twitter account, however, shows up in Google search results, but Twitter shows that it no longer exists, meaning that it was recently deleted. I personally believe the 2nd Twitter account was her main account, but she deleted it when the press started hounding her. Unfortunately, Twitter does not cache it’s deleted pages, so I was unable to view the previous deleted account using the Internet Archive / Wayback machine.
So, onto Facebook. Here too, it appears she had a Facebook account, but deleted it. Here’s what I did. At Google, type in the phrase: “Lorna O’Hara Likes this”. Now, only pay attention to the Facebook results that pop up for the group page of Princeton Public Affairs Group or the Cape May Group. You will see from the Google search that at one time, she commented and “liked” things, but when you go to click on the Facebook link, you will she her comments and likes have disappeared, as it appears that account was deleted. Again, I tried using the Internet Archive / Wayback machine to see if I could view a cached page of it, but could not. But the fact the results still show up in Google leads me to believe that both the Twitter and Facebook accounts were recently deleted. Go ahead, try it yourself and see if you get the same results as me.
Okay, break, did you get all this? Does it make sense? Again, I’m going to keep repeating that for whatever reason, this indeed may still be one gigantic coincidence and I’m chasing a dead horse. It’s out there now and I leave it to you to decide whether we have a positive ID or not.
Now, as you know, that’s not the entire end of this story. If it turns out that she is indeed the accuser, if she didn’t talk to Politico, who did? From here on out, this is speculation, but I am throwing it out there because it needs to be looked at:
I want you to go back to Princeton Public Affairs Group’s homepage and check out the Bio for Mr. Brad Brewster, one of the Senior Partners:
http://www.ppag.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=11&Itemid=178
In particular, notice the last paragraph concerning his association with Mitt Romney. Now I know this says 2008, but just last month, after Chris Christie announced he wasn’t running and endorsed Romney, Brewster did the same again:
http://aboutmittromney.com/state/new.htm#NewJersey
Now, if the woman reported the incident to her employer concerning what happened at the NRA, how possible is it that Brewster was the one she reported to? He apparently has the DC contacts and the media credentials to get it out there, though I did not find a direct link between him and anything Politico-related. But it’s something that had to be looked at.
There was a potential motive, as a Christie supporter, and then a Romney one after Christie endorsed Romney. Perhaps there was a retaliatory strike against Cain for comments he made about Chris Christie on October 2nd.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/02/herman-cain-chris-christie-2012_n_991026.html
Again, this is speculation, but I believe it’s something that will need to be looked further into, especially if the New Jersey accuser was identified here.
Where does that bring us? Back to the Cracker Barrel article. I actually found this before I discovered any of the other information listed above. Here it is in case you haven’t seen it:
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=201676&c=7
The key item from this article is that Forth managed Political Affairs from Jan 1997 – April 1998. Now I may be generalizing Political Affairs / Government Affairs, but I am assuming that the offices are one and the same, and I believe that the NJ Accuser worked for Mr. Forth. Now, look at when Mr. Forth left, April 1998, the same month the alleged harassment took place. It seems the accuser wanted Mr. Forth’s job, but was denied it. Could this be a source of the why she cried harassment. I think the following CNN article may offer some veracity to this theory:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/08/friend-of-cain-accuser-recounts-allegations/
Again, this just may be another coincidence?
However, look what Forth was accused of doing at the Cracker Barrel PAC. Who’s to say he didn’t try the same thing while he was at the NRA, and the NJ accuser would have been in the position to know this or not. I have a sinking suspicion, that if the harassment charges don’t stick, the issue will turn to whether fraud was occurring.
If anyone has any updated information about what the media would find, I believe Johnny Isakson’s 2004 staff would. That story on Forth came out in 2003. They must have been saving it in case Cain had forced a run-off. Herman Cain also said that this employee had “performance issues” and “wasn’t getting along with her bosses”. Could this be why?
Okay people, this is what I have. You think it’s worth something, go with it. If not, then the Admins can delete it.
Again, from the advice I was given by an attorney today, I am not, repeat, I am not, making any accusations or statements of facts beyond what I’ve been able to find. If I’ve speculated, I said so. If it’s been my opinion, I’ve said so also. This could all be one incredible series of coincidences. If so, I apologize.
My goal was to go after Politico for not reporting the full story. I think I’ve shown there are several avenues that at least need to be investigated. I hope I’ve done more good than harm for Herman.
No Toaster For Herman Cain
By Wesley Pruden on November 11, 2011
The great media toaster isn’t broken, exactly, but it doesn’t work like it once did. By all accounts, Herman Cain should be toast now, served hot, a bit scorched around the edges and left unbuttered. But try as they might, his tormentors have not yet had him for breakfast.
The tormentors, journalists, lawyers and an assortment of ladies who appear to have been around the block a few times, have so far failed to destroy him and thus his candidacy. They still have to come up with lower-mileage ladies to make the accusations stick with the Republican base.
Mr. Cain’s remarkable—and unexpected—resilience has upset Democrats trying to find hope for change in their 2012 prospects in a reading of Tuesday’s off-year elections and referendums. The easily persuaded are even finding a little. Politico, the Capitol Hill tabloid that sometimes channels a Democratic party organ, concludes that “the Democrats are not dead yet.” But nothing has changed for President Obama. “For many Democratic candidates who will be sharing the ticket with Barack Obama in 2012,” quoth Politico, “the president is not going to be an asset. And in some states, it’s clear he is going to be a dead weight.”
These Democrats take comfort in two referendums, one in Ohio and another in Mississippi. In Ohio, a state with large and well-financed unions, voters repealed a reform law intended to curb unions’ abuse of workers, and in Mississippi voters overwhelmingly rejected the so-called “Personhood Amendment,” which would have effectively prohibited all abortions anywhere in the state. The amendment was supported, at least tacitly, by nearly every elected official in the state, Democrat and Republican, black and white.
However, Gov. John Kasich, who opposed repeal of the union-reform law in Ohio, remains popular with Republicans, and in Mississippi, Phil Bryant, the Republican, was elected governor in a landslide. Results were similarly mixed on election day across the nation.
The most telling phenomenon this year is the rise and improbable survival of Herman Cain, and what it says about the cheerful goodwill of an oft-maligned American public often accused by liberals of racism, bigotry, indifference, nativism and maybe even mopery. He has done almost everything wrong, as conventional politics is played. He offered conflicting details of his recollections of the allegations against him, and continued to rise in the public-opinion polls in the face of relentless mainstream-media coverage, which has taken everything said against him as gospel and treated his defense as improbable and even a little wicked. He blamed his Republican rivals for leaking misleading accounts of things that happened more than a decade ago. He blamed hacks of the press, who deserve it, but such criticism always sounds like whining. “I am not a creep,” even when true, sounds too much like “I am not a crook.” The checkered history and motives of the anonymous accusers were left unexamined by indifferent editors and lazy reporters posing as gallants and gentlemen.
Still, he has so far escaped the toaster, even when his Republican rivals began to think it was safe to start piling on. Mitt Romney, discreet at first, hinted that it was time for Mr. Cain to come clean. Newt Gingrich, ever the professor unable to stifle a runaway mouth, lectured his “good friend” that he has to “have an answer [to all the questions] and it better be accurate because if it’s not accurate it won’t stand.” You might think that the professor, with the history of emotional abuse of several wives, would have avoided the subject of the sins of others.
The real story here is that racial politics is dead, if the left will allow it. You might think that the prospect, unlikely as it still may be, of a black challenger, nominated by a white conservative party, against a black incumbent president, would be an occasion for cheers, or at least applause. Here’s evidence that the bad old days are swiftly fading into the past. But Mr. Cain is the wrong kind of black man. Some Democrats sneer that the Republicans only found a black man who “knows his place,” employing an insult from an earlier time and place.
The emergence of Mr. Cain as a credible conservative candidate undercuts the liberal canard that the Republican Party is a hopelessly racist party. That was the sub-text of the Democratic campaign four years ago and reprising that for 2012 was nearly all the hope Barack Obama had. Herman Cain’s escape from the toaster, even if temporary, changed that.
Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times.
The great media toaster isn’t broken, exactly, but it doesn’t work like it once did. By all accounts, Herman Cain should be toast now, served hot, a bit scorched around the edges and left unbuttered. But try as they might, his tormentors have not yet had him for breakfast.
The tormentors, journalists, lawyers and an assortment of ladies who appear to have been around the block a few times, have so far failed to destroy him and thus his candidacy. They still have to come up with lower-mileage ladies to make the accusations stick with the Republican base.
Mr. Cain’s remarkable—and unexpected—resilience has upset Democrats trying to find hope for change in their 2012 prospects in a reading of Tuesday’s off-year elections and referendums. The easily persuaded are even finding a little. Politico, the Capitol Hill tabloid that sometimes channels a Democratic party organ, concludes that “the Democrats are not dead yet.” But nothing has changed for President Obama. “For many Democratic candidates who will be sharing the ticket with Barack Obama in 2012,” quoth Politico, “the president is not going to be an asset. And in some states, it’s clear he is going to be a dead weight.”
These Democrats take comfort in two referendums, one in Ohio and another in Mississippi. In Ohio, a state with large and well-financed unions, voters repealed a reform law intended to curb unions’ abuse of workers, and in Mississippi voters overwhelmingly rejected the so-called “Personhood Amendment,” which would have effectively prohibited all abortions anywhere in the state. The amendment was supported, at least tacitly, by nearly every elected official in the state, Democrat and Republican, black and white.
However, Gov. John Kasich, who opposed repeal of the union-reform law in Ohio, remains popular with Republicans, and in Mississippi, Phil Bryant, the Republican, was elected governor in a landslide. Results were similarly mixed on election day across the nation.
The most telling phenomenon this year is the rise and improbable survival of Herman Cain, and what it says about the cheerful goodwill of an oft-maligned American public often accused by liberals of racism, bigotry, indifference, nativism and maybe even mopery. He has done almost everything wrong, as conventional politics is played. He offered conflicting details of his recollections of the allegations against him, and continued to rise in the public-opinion polls in the face of relentless mainstream-media coverage, which has taken everything said against him as gospel and treated his defense as improbable and even a little wicked. He blamed his Republican rivals for leaking misleading accounts of things that happened more than a decade ago. He blamed hacks of the press, who deserve it, but such criticism always sounds like whining. “I am not a creep,” even when true, sounds too much like “I am not a crook.” The checkered history and motives of the anonymous accusers were left unexamined by indifferent editors and lazy reporters posing as gallants and gentlemen.
Still, he has so far escaped the toaster, even when his Republican rivals began to think it was safe to start piling on. Mitt Romney, discreet at first, hinted that it was time for Mr. Cain to come clean. Newt Gingrich, ever the professor unable to stifle a runaway mouth, lectured his “good friend” that he has to “have an answer [to all the questions] and it better be accurate because if it’s not accurate it won’t stand.” You might think that the professor, with the history of emotional abuse of several wives, would have avoided the subject of the sins of others.
The real story here is that racial politics is dead, if the left will allow it. You might think that the prospect, unlikely as it still may be, of a black challenger, nominated by a white conservative party, against a black incumbent president, would be an occasion for cheers, or at least applause. Here’s evidence that the bad old days are swiftly fading into the past. But Mr. Cain is the wrong kind of black man. Some Democrats sneer that the Republicans only found a black man who “knows his place,” employing an insult from an earlier time and place.
The emergence of Mr. Cain as a credible conservative candidate undercuts the liberal canard that the Republican Party is a hopelessly racist party. That was the sub-text of the Democratic campaign four years ago and reprising that for 2012 was nearly all the hope Barack Obama had. Herman Cain’s escape from the toaster, even if temporary, changed that.
Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times.
'Right to Riot' Cemented in Campus Culture
Jonah Goldberg
"Of course we're going to riot," Paul Howard, a 24 year-old aerospace engineering student at Penn State University, told The New York Times. "What do they expect when they tell us at 10 o'clock that they fired our football coach?"
The coach in question, as we all know, is Joe Paterno, the decades-long patriarch of Penn State football. Paterno was fired by the board of trustees for his part in a reprehensible non-response to the alleged rape of a 10-year-old boy in the locker room showers.
You have to wonder what's wrong with our society when someone can say, "Of course we're going to riot," but not over the cover-up of pedophiliac rape. Rather, students feel it is their obvious right, perhaps even duty, to throw violent temper tantrums when a multimillionaire football coach is fired, simply because the coach is part of their "college experience."
"We got rowdy, and we got maced," Jeff Heim, 19, told the Times while rubbing his bloodshot eyes after police used pepper spray to disperse the rioters. "But make no mistake, the board started this riot by firing our coach. They tarnished a legend."
Really?
I don't think Paterno is anywhere near the worst offender among those who did considerably less than the bare minimum that decency and integrity require. But there's something deeply, pathetically sick about the idea that what tarnished Paterno's legend was his termination and not the fact that he never once bothered to ensure that an alleged child rapist was stopped.
Yes, yes: Journalistic niceties require that I say Jerry Sandusky, the longtime assistant coach accused of serial sexual abuse and exploitation of children, hasn't been proven guilty of anything yet. And that's true. But it doesn't exonerate Paterno and other officials. An eyewitness said he saw Sandusky sodomizing the boy in the shower. Unless officials thought it was a demonstrable lie, they had a moral and legal obligation to contact police. But they didn't think the witness was lying. They kept him on staff. And they simply barred Sandusky from bringing children to the facility. So once Sandusky was out of sight, his crimes were out of mind.
Obviously, the real horror here is in the alleged criminal conduct (and if you haven't read the indictment of Sandusky -- and have a strong stomach -- you should look it up on the Internet).
But there's a larger point to be made here. Several, actually. People keep saying the cover-up proves the corruption of college football. Maybe so. College football certainly has its myriad and manifest vices.
But what about the riots? These aren't simply a product of football culture, they're a product of a campus culture that teaches students they have an absolute right to whatever their hearts desire, starting with a fun-filled college experience and, afterwards, a rewarding career.
Imbued with a sense of victimhood, entitlement and cultivated grievance that can only be taught, their preferred response to inconvenience is a temper tantrum. Sometimes, as with the Penn State riots, they are physical. Other times, they are intellectual or theatrical. But the tantrums are always self-justifying. Arguments are correct not if they conform to facts and reason, but if they are passionately held. Unfairness is measured by the intensity of one's feelings.
Perhaps that's why a "right to riot" has become a staple of campus culture across the country, particularly at big schools. Students riot when administrators take away their beer. They riot when they lose games. They riot when they win games. They riot when the cops try to break up parties. Inconvenience itself has become outrageous.
It is also why idiotic protests have come to be seen as "part of the college experience," as if chanting inane slogans and spouting weepy canned platitudes is essential to a well-rounded education.
(We are now seeing an extension of the repugnant narcissism of campus culture setting up outposts in Occupy Wall Street encampments across the country. The bulk of their complaint seems to be that it is somehow unfair that the creature comforts of campus life should ever come to an end -- or come with a bill. Riots are undoubtedly the next act in that play).
Most of the time, I find campus protest culture to be shallow and predictable. But I would have cheered it this time around, if only someone rioted for the alleged victims of Jerry Sandusky.
"Of course we're going to riot," Paul Howard, a 24 year-old aerospace engineering student at Penn State University, told The New York Times. "What do they expect when they tell us at 10 o'clock that they fired our football coach?"
The coach in question, as we all know, is Joe Paterno, the decades-long patriarch of Penn State football. Paterno was fired by the board of trustees for his part in a reprehensible non-response to the alleged rape of a 10-year-old boy in the locker room showers.
You have to wonder what's wrong with our society when someone can say, "Of course we're going to riot," but not over the cover-up of pedophiliac rape. Rather, students feel it is their obvious right, perhaps even duty, to throw violent temper tantrums when a multimillionaire football coach is fired, simply because the coach is part of their "college experience."
"We got rowdy, and we got maced," Jeff Heim, 19, told the Times while rubbing his bloodshot eyes after police used pepper spray to disperse the rioters. "But make no mistake, the board started this riot by firing our coach. They tarnished a legend."
Really?
I don't think Paterno is anywhere near the worst offender among those who did considerably less than the bare minimum that decency and integrity require. But there's something deeply, pathetically sick about the idea that what tarnished Paterno's legend was his termination and not the fact that he never once bothered to ensure that an alleged child rapist was stopped.
Yes, yes: Journalistic niceties require that I say Jerry Sandusky, the longtime assistant coach accused of serial sexual abuse and exploitation of children, hasn't been proven guilty of anything yet. And that's true. But it doesn't exonerate Paterno and other officials. An eyewitness said he saw Sandusky sodomizing the boy in the shower. Unless officials thought it was a demonstrable lie, they had a moral and legal obligation to contact police. But they didn't think the witness was lying. They kept him on staff. And they simply barred Sandusky from bringing children to the facility. So once Sandusky was out of sight, his crimes were out of mind.
Obviously, the real horror here is in the alleged criminal conduct (and if you haven't read the indictment of Sandusky -- and have a strong stomach -- you should look it up on the Internet).
But there's a larger point to be made here. Several, actually. People keep saying the cover-up proves the corruption of college football. Maybe so. College football certainly has its myriad and manifest vices.
But what about the riots? These aren't simply a product of football culture, they're a product of a campus culture that teaches students they have an absolute right to whatever their hearts desire, starting with a fun-filled college experience and, afterwards, a rewarding career.
Imbued with a sense of victimhood, entitlement and cultivated grievance that can only be taught, their preferred response to inconvenience is a temper tantrum. Sometimes, as with the Penn State riots, they are physical. Other times, they are intellectual or theatrical. But the tantrums are always self-justifying. Arguments are correct not if they conform to facts and reason, but if they are passionately held. Unfairness is measured by the intensity of one's feelings.
Perhaps that's why a "right to riot" has become a staple of campus culture across the country, particularly at big schools. Students riot when administrators take away their beer. They riot when they lose games. They riot when they win games. They riot when the cops try to break up parties. Inconvenience itself has become outrageous.
It is also why idiotic protests have come to be seen as "part of the college experience," as if chanting inane slogans and spouting weepy canned platitudes is essential to a well-rounded education.
(We are now seeing an extension of the repugnant narcissism of campus culture setting up outposts in Occupy Wall Street encampments across the country. The bulk of their complaint seems to be that it is somehow unfair that the creature comforts of campus life should ever come to an end -- or come with a bill. Riots are undoubtedly the next act in that play).
Most of the time, I find campus protest culture to be shallow and predictable. But I would have cheered it this time around, if only someone rioted for the alleged victims of Jerry Sandusky.
Does the Government Work for Us, or Do We Work for the Government
Judge Andrew Napolitano
In America, the federal government seems to control everything. Light bulbs, shoe leather, refrigerators, even the water strength in your shower. Your banker, your doctor, your lawyer, your computer all are regulated beyond belief. What is it in America that the feds can't control? The answer is simple: human nature. We need to eat, and we need to move about; and that means we will use the free market in order to do so, with or without the government.
Every capable human engages in market exchanges, even in those countries where it's illegal. Through all of history, humans have advanced civilization by building up the avenues of trade so as to increase their standards of living. When you buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of gas, you are freely choosing to engage in what remains of the free market. I emphasize "what remains" because when you buy bread, you are paying the local or state government a tax for a product that was baked under conditions set forth by the feds and one of the 50 states, and when you buy fuel for your car, up to one quarter of the cost of the fuel consists of state and federal sales taxes.
Sales taxes constitute a grand theft concocted by politicians and bureaucrats so as to provide them with a never-ending supply of cash they can use to bribe people for their votes. Sales taxes also make items we need more expensive. And they intrude upon our privacy. Think about it. If I want a loaf of bread and you are a grocer willing to sell me one, what business is that of the government? None. What involvement has the government had? None. What has the government done to add value to that transaction? Nothing.
The protesters on Wall Street seem not to understand that free trade is a natural right -- like speech, travel, religion, self-defense, privacy -- and is mutually beneficial to the buyer and the seller. That's why at the end of a transaction, each party says "thank you." We have both benefited. It's a win-win. I have food and fuel, and the seller has revenue. So how is it today that this natural and daily activity has become much maligned and exploited and hated by government elites?
As the global economies have collapsed in the past decade, nothing has been certain except for uncertainty. The world's central banks, drunk on power, loaded their people up with debt and then slowly guided their economies to destruction. That's the consequence of government control of the monetary system and means of exchange. Prices in an economy are like traffic signals, signaling where goods and resources should go and how fast. Central banks distort those traffic signals and even give the wrong signals. That's why we get crashes -- because of government traffic signals, because the government has taken "free" out of the marketplace.
But free trade does occur in the United States in some ways. The black markets are where people trade what they want for the price agreed on, free of taxes and free of government regulations, and at prices that are acceptable to the parties. Simply banning the transaction will not deter some portion of the population from attempting to acquire something -- whether it's bread, tobacco, drugs or guns -- that the government doesn't want us to have, at prices we are willing to pay. People will always trade what they have for what they want or need. That's human nature. That's a natural human right. The government cannot stop that. But, of course, governments have tried to stop the exercise of this right.
During World War II, for example, FDR and his cronies rationed sugar, leather, tea, tobacco, guns, coffee, fuel and many other items our parents and grandparents needed for everyday use. The stated purpose was that the troops needed these items and there was not enough to go around, so the feds would decide who got what and how much all these things would cost. But there was a black market for all these items, and there, the items were plentiful and the price was freely agreed upon. If the government had stayed out of the picture, the market could have existed in the light of day. We now know that FDR was as much interested in control of the population as in supplying the troops.
The government fears trade because it can't control it. The feds would do well to remember the historical truth that where goods and services don't move freely, armies will; and where goods and services do move freely, armies don't. And when the black market becomes more prosperous than the one the government regulates, it will be time to change the government.
In America, the federal government seems to control everything. Light bulbs, shoe leather, refrigerators, even the water strength in your shower. Your banker, your doctor, your lawyer, your computer all are regulated beyond belief. What is it in America that the feds can't control? The answer is simple: human nature. We need to eat, and we need to move about; and that means we will use the free market in order to do so, with or without the government.
Every capable human engages in market exchanges, even in those countries where it's illegal. Through all of history, humans have advanced civilization by building up the avenues of trade so as to increase their standards of living. When you buy a loaf of bread or a gallon of gas, you are freely choosing to engage in what remains of the free market. I emphasize "what remains" because when you buy bread, you are paying the local or state government a tax for a product that was baked under conditions set forth by the feds and one of the 50 states, and when you buy fuel for your car, up to one quarter of the cost of the fuel consists of state and federal sales taxes.
Sales taxes constitute a grand theft concocted by politicians and bureaucrats so as to provide them with a never-ending supply of cash they can use to bribe people for their votes. Sales taxes also make items we need more expensive. And they intrude upon our privacy. Think about it. If I want a loaf of bread and you are a grocer willing to sell me one, what business is that of the government? None. What involvement has the government had? None. What has the government done to add value to that transaction? Nothing.
The protesters on Wall Street seem not to understand that free trade is a natural right -- like speech, travel, religion, self-defense, privacy -- and is mutually beneficial to the buyer and the seller. That's why at the end of a transaction, each party says "thank you." We have both benefited. It's a win-win. I have food and fuel, and the seller has revenue. So how is it today that this natural and daily activity has become much maligned and exploited and hated by government elites?
As the global economies have collapsed in the past decade, nothing has been certain except for uncertainty. The world's central banks, drunk on power, loaded their people up with debt and then slowly guided their economies to destruction. That's the consequence of government control of the monetary system and means of exchange. Prices in an economy are like traffic signals, signaling where goods and resources should go and how fast. Central banks distort those traffic signals and even give the wrong signals. That's why we get crashes -- because of government traffic signals, because the government has taken "free" out of the marketplace.
But free trade does occur in the United States in some ways. The black markets are where people trade what they want for the price agreed on, free of taxes and free of government regulations, and at prices that are acceptable to the parties. Simply banning the transaction will not deter some portion of the population from attempting to acquire something -- whether it's bread, tobacco, drugs or guns -- that the government doesn't want us to have, at prices we are willing to pay. People will always trade what they have for what they want or need. That's human nature. That's a natural human right. The government cannot stop that. But, of course, governments have tried to stop the exercise of this right.
During World War II, for example, FDR and his cronies rationed sugar, leather, tea, tobacco, guns, coffee, fuel and many other items our parents and grandparents needed for everyday use. The stated purpose was that the troops needed these items and there was not enough to go around, so the feds would decide who got what and how much all these things would cost. But there was a black market for all these items, and there, the items were plentiful and the price was freely agreed upon. If the government had stayed out of the picture, the market could have existed in the light of day. We now know that FDR was as much interested in control of the population as in supplying the troops.
The government fears trade because it can't control it. The feds would do well to remember the historical truth that where goods and services don't move freely, armies will; and where goods and services do move freely, armies don't. And when the black market becomes more prosperous than the one the government regulates, it will be time to change the government.
Penn State scandal could get much worse
New Jerry Sandusky Rumor Threatens To Make Penn State Scandal Much Worse
by Jason Kirk
11.10.11
Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing eight children, with something like a dozen more also claiming they were victimized. That's horrible. Powerful PSU figures appear to have attempted to cover up what they knew. That makes it even worse.
But if one rumor turns out to be true, this may become a story too awful to compare to any other.
There's been nothing reported by an investigative journalist or law enforcement official so far, but a handful of media members are talking about investigations into whether Sandusky may have shared some of his victims with other adult males.
From two days ago, here's Dan Bernstein of CBS Chicago:
@dan_bernstein FYI: names are being x-checked w/Sandusky's Second Mile, and there are other older adult men with "curious" relationships. Only the start.
Thursday morning, Mark Madden, a Pittsburgh radio host with a minimal journalistic reputation who wrote a story seven months ago envisioning Sandusky's downfall, went on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Morning Show to discuss the scandal. At the 7:15 mark here, he's asked about the "next shoe to drop." Here are his remarks:
I can give you a rumor, and I can give you something I think might happen. I hear there's a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile foundation. And, hold on to your stomachs because this is gross, I'll use the only language that I can, that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to donors. This is being investigated by two prominent columnists as I speak.
Madden also speculates it'll be revealed that Sandusky was told to retire as part of a cover-up.
CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel tweeted the following later in the morning, appearing to cite a source besides Madden:
Thursday morning, Mark Madden, a Pittsburgh radio host with a minimal journalistic reputation who wrote a story seven months ago envisioning Sandusky's downfall, went on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Morning Show to discuss the scandal. At the 7:15 mark here, he's asked about the "next shoe to drop." Here are his remarks:
I can give you a rumor, and I can give you something I think might happen. I hear there's a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile foundation. And, hold on to your stomachs because this is gross, I'll use the only language that I can, that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to donors. This is being investigated by two prominent columnists as I speak.
Madden also speculates it'll be revealed that Sandusky was told to retire as part of a cover-up.
CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel tweeted the following later in the morning, appearing to cite a source besides Madden:
We can hope none of this is true, but multiple outlets are saying it's being investigated. If it is, let's then hope investigators are able to find it never happened.
by Jason Kirk
11.10.11
Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing eight children, with something like a dozen more also claiming they were victimized. That's horrible. Powerful PSU figures appear to have attempted to cover up what they knew. That makes it even worse.
But if one rumor turns out to be true, this may become a story too awful to compare to any other.
There's been nothing reported by an investigative journalist or law enforcement official so far, but a handful of media members are talking about investigations into whether Sandusky may have shared some of his victims with other adult males.
From two days ago, here's Dan Bernstein of CBS Chicago:
@dan_bernstein FYI: names are being x-checked w/Sandusky's Second Mile, and there are other older adult men with "curious" relationships. Only the start.
Thursday morning, Mark Madden, a Pittsburgh radio host with a minimal journalistic reputation who wrote a story seven months ago envisioning Sandusky's downfall, went on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Morning Show to discuss the scandal. At the 7:15 mark here, he's asked about the "next shoe to drop." Here are his remarks:
I can give you a rumor, and I can give you something I think might happen. I hear there's a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile foundation. And, hold on to your stomachs because this is gross, I'll use the only language that I can, that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to donors. This is being investigated by two prominent columnists as I speak.
Madden also speculates it'll be revealed that Sandusky was told to retire as part of a cover-up.
CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel tweeted the following later in the morning, appearing to cite a source besides Madden:
Thursday morning, Mark Madden, a Pittsburgh radio host with a minimal journalistic reputation who wrote a story seven months ago envisioning Sandusky's downfall, went on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Morning Show to discuss the scandal. At the 7:15 mark here, he's asked about the "next shoe to drop." Here are his remarks:
I can give you a rumor, and I can give you something I think might happen. I hear there's a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile foundation. And, hold on to your stomachs because this is gross, I'll use the only language that I can, that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to donors. This is being investigated by two prominent columnists as I speak.
Madden also speculates it'll be revealed that Sandusky was told to retire as part of a cover-up.
CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel tweeted the following later in the morning, appearing to cite a source besides Madden:
We can hope none of this is true, but multiple outlets are saying it's being investigated. If it is, let's then hope investigators are able to find it never happened.
Investigator: Cain innocent of sexual advances
Updated: Nov 10, 2011 10:39 AM
By Mike Paluska
ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Private investigator TJ Ward said presidential hopeful Herman Cain was not lying at a news conference on Tuesday in Phoenix.
Cain denied making any sexual actions towards Sharon Bialek and vowed to take a polygraph test if necessary to prove his innocence.
Cain has not taken a polygraph but Ward said he does have software that does something better.
Ward said the $15,000 software can detect lies in people's voices.
CBS Atlanta's Mike Paluska played Cain's speech for Ward into the software and watched as it analyzed Cain's every word.
If he is hiding something this thing would have spiked way down here," said Ward. "He is being truthful, totally truthful. He is a man with integrity and he talked directly about not knowing any incident he is accused of."
The software analyzes the stress level and other factors in your voice. During the speech, when Cain denied the claims, the lie detector read "low risk." According to Ward, that means Cain is telling the truth.
During the section of Bialek's news conference where she says, "He suddenly reached over put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals he also grabbed my head brought it towards his crotch."
During the analysis of that section the software said "high risk statement." Ward said that means she is not telling the truth about what happened.
"I don't think she is fabricating her meetings," said Ward. But, she is fabricating what transpired."
Ward said nearly 70 law enforcement agencies nationwide use the voice software, including the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
Ward said the technology is a scientific measure that law enforcement use as a tool to tell when someone is lying and that it has a 95 percent success rate.
After listening to Cain's speech and analyzing it, Ward said there is no doubt, Cain is innocent.
"When he directly talks about the allegations against him there is no high risk," said Ward. "It is low risk, which tells me he is being truthful in his conversations to the public."
Copyright 2011 WGCL-TV. All rights reserved.
By Mike Paluska
ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Private investigator TJ Ward said presidential hopeful Herman Cain was not lying at a news conference on Tuesday in Phoenix.
Cain denied making any sexual actions towards Sharon Bialek and vowed to take a polygraph test if necessary to prove his innocence.
Cain has not taken a polygraph but Ward said he does have software that does something better.
Ward said the $15,000 software can detect lies in people's voices.
CBS Atlanta's Mike Paluska played Cain's speech for Ward into the software and watched as it analyzed Cain's every word.
If he is hiding something this thing would have spiked way down here," said Ward. "He is being truthful, totally truthful. He is a man with integrity and he talked directly about not knowing any incident he is accused of."
The software analyzes the stress level and other factors in your voice. During the speech, when Cain denied the claims, the lie detector read "low risk." According to Ward, that means Cain is telling the truth.
During the section of Bialek's news conference where she says, "He suddenly reached over put his hand on my leg under my skirt and reached for my genitals he also grabbed my head brought it towards his crotch."
During the analysis of that section the software said "high risk statement." Ward said that means she is not telling the truth about what happened.
"I don't think she is fabricating her meetings," said Ward. But, she is fabricating what transpired."
Ward said nearly 70 law enforcement agencies nationwide use the voice software, including the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
Ward said the technology is a scientific measure that law enforcement use as a tool to tell when someone is lying and that it has a 95 percent success rate.
After listening to Cain's speech and analyzing it, Ward said there is no doubt, Cain is innocent.
"When he directly talks about the allegations against him there is no high risk," said Ward. "It is low risk, which tells me he is being truthful in his conversations to the public."
Copyright 2011 WGCL-TV. All rights reserved.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Police: Occupy Portland May Be Linked to Molotov Cocktail Attack
Posted on November 9, 2011 at 1:09pm by Billy Hallowell
Wed Nov 09 06:12:06 PST 2011
Man arrested at Occupy Portland for Molotov cocktail bombing
Police arrested a man inside the Occupy Portland camp Wednesday on accusations related to a Molotov cocktail fire outside the Portland World Trade Center. view full article
Police in Portland, Oregon, are investigating who was responsible for setting off an improvised incendiary device outside of the city’s World Trade Center building. Authorities are looking into a potential connection to Occupy Portland, as protestors are camping out in parks located just one block away from the scene of the crime.
The Trade Center is home to an electric utility, government offices, law firms and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office. On Tuesday night, Lt. Robert King said that a Molotov cocktail (a device intended to ignite a fire rather than to instantaneously destroy as a bomb would) caused minor damage to an external stairwell.
According to King, preliminary information seems to indicate “a connection” to the protest movement. On October 31, police apparently gained knowledge through unconfirmed reports that gasoline-filled bottles were being produced (complete with cloth wicks) at the local encampments.
The Portland Tribune has more regarding information that was given in a press release put out by the local police:
The release described Molotov Cocktails as “a glass bottle filled with a flammable liquid such as gasoline, with a rag or cloth sticking out of the bottle as a wick. Once the wick is ignited, the person holding the Molotov cocktail throws it, breaking the glass and spreading the ignited fluid.” [...]
While it’s important to note that this information about Molotov “Portland Police Bureau investigators are working to learn more about this information and are asking for the public’s help.”
The release also said, “The storage and/or construction of Molotov cocktails represents a significant public safety threat of injury.”
Here’s another report from KOIN-TV:
Police are asking the public to help by volunteering any known information about the incident. Officials are also warning that more attacks are possible. At this point, aside from identifying the responsible parties, authorities will also be working to determine where these Molotov cocktails came from and whether there is cause to fear further use and production of the devices.
Earlier, the Blaze shared an expletive-filled rant that one Occupy Portland protestor spewed at a news reporter. Additionally, we’re reported on local arrests in Portland.
It should be noted that the Occupy movement’s involvement is only alleged at this point, though police seem to view it as a strong possibility.
(H/T: KGW.com)
Wed Nov 09 06:12:06 PST 2011
Man arrested at Occupy Portland for Molotov cocktail bombing
Police arrested a man inside the Occupy Portland camp Wednesday on accusations related to a Molotov cocktail fire outside the Portland World Trade Center. view full article
Police in Portland, Oregon, are investigating who was responsible for setting off an improvised incendiary device outside of the city’s World Trade Center building. Authorities are looking into a potential connection to Occupy Portland, as protestors are camping out in parks located just one block away from the scene of the crime.
The Trade Center is home to an electric utility, government offices, law firms and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office. On Tuesday night, Lt. Robert King said that a Molotov cocktail (a device intended to ignite a fire rather than to instantaneously destroy as a bomb would) caused minor damage to an external stairwell.
According to King, preliminary information seems to indicate “a connection” to the protest movement. On October 31, police apparently gained knowledge through unconfirmed reports that gasoline-filled bottles were being produced (complete with cloth wicks) at the local encampments.
The Portland Tribune has more regarding information that was given in a press release put out by the local police:
The release described Molotov Cocktails as “a glass bottle filled with a flammable liquid such as gasoline, with a rag or cloth sticking out of the bottle as a wick. Once the wick is ignited, the person holding the Molotov cocktail throws it, breaking the glass and spreading the ignited fluid.” [...]
While it’s important to note that this information about Molotov “Portland Police Bureau investigators are working to learn more about this information and are asking for the public’s help.”
The release also said, “The storage and/or construction of Molotov cocktails represents a significant public safety threat of injury.”
Here’s another report from KOIN-TV:
Police are asking the public to help by volunteering any known information about the incident. Officials are also warning that more attacks are possible. At this point, aside from identifying the responsible parties, authorities will also be working to determine where these Molotov cocktails came from and whether there is cause to fear further use and production of the devices.
Earlier, the Blaze shared an expletive-filled rant that one Occupy Portland protestor spewed at a news reporter. Additionally, we’re reported on local arrests in Portland.
It should be noted that the Occupy movement’s involvement is only alleged at this point, though police seem to view it as a strong possibility.
(H/T: KGW.com)
Report: Hezbollah Training Troops to ‘Conquer’ Galilee Region of Northern Israel
Posted on November 10, 2011 at 8:24am by Sharona Schwartz
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in recent weeks directed his military commanders to make sure their troops are prepared to move south to invade the Galilee region of Israel next time there is an armed conflict with Israel – this apparently according to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Joumhouria.
A new report from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, that examined Lebanese media reports, reveals that Nasrallah’s objective is to hit Tel Aviv with missiles and simultaneously dispatch forces “to conquer the Galilee.” The planning is with the direct help of Iran and is linked to Hezbollah’s fear of a possible military attack on Iran, since the group sees itself as the “first line of defense” against Israel. The report’s author Shimon Shapira writes:
• Hizbullah forces are being trained to fire at least ten thousand missiles, right at the war’s outset, at military and strategic targets such as airfields, military camps, and vital facilities including maritime ones, followed by the firing of rockets from launch sites whose location will come as a surprise to Israel.
• The operational plan was formulated in tandem with senior Iranian strategic experts and will include a force of five thousand fighters who have recently trained in Iran, tasked with taking over designated zones in northern Israel including Nahariya, Shlomi, and Carmiel.
• It was said that engineering units of the Iranian army had mined areas in the eastern Bekaa Valley that were seen as possible landing sites for Israeli special forces, and that Hizbullah had equipped itself with “smart” Iranian anti-tank missiles that can disrupt the defensive systems of Israel’s Merkava tanks.
Lebanon’s Naharnet reveals more details about the planning:
According to information obtained by the [Al Akhbar] daily, a delegation from Hizbullah military experts visited areas in Bekaa and the South [Lebanon] to check on the resistances’ positions, while 727 fighters from Hizbullah finished their military training in Tehran.
Outside Jerusalem, the Galilee is home to some of Israel’s most important religious sites including Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee.
Al Akhbar reports Hezbollah is counting on the help of “Palestinian resistance cells” in northern Israel – that is Arab citizens of Israel – to act as a fifth column. But this may be wishful thinking. During previous Israeli-Hezbollah altercations, even the most radicalized Muslim Israeli Arabs did not join in the fighting against Israel. On the contrary, in 2006, Hezbollah’s Katyushas killed Israeli Arabs, including in Haifa and in Nazareth where the three and seven-year-old Taluzi brothers were killed. The majority of Israeli Arabs live in Northern Israel:
“Israel will be surprised by attacks from within the Israeli towns via the Palestinian resistance cells,” sources told the daily.
They added that “the battles will be on the Israeli grounds; therefore targeting the Galilee is a definite option.”
The sources didn’t rule out Syria’s participation in the war “especially if the interior situation deteriorated further more.”
Last February, Nasrallah made public his hopes to one day invade Northern Israel. He told a rally:
“I say to the mujahideen of the Islamic resistance: Be prepared for a day when war is forced upon Lebanon, and the commanders of the resistance may ask you to take over the Galilee. In other words — to liberate the Galilee.”
In 2006, Hezbollah fired thousands of Katyusha rockets at towns in the Galilee and as far south as Haifa and Hadera (7 miles south of Caesarea), but did not manage to reach Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city.
It is now estimated to have an arsenal of more than 40,000 rockets, some that intelligence officials believe can hit Tel Aviv. Last week, Israel’s home front command staged a drill simulating a mass missile attack on the Tel Aviv area, as it does around the country several times a year.
In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Nasrallah’s threats saying that “no one should doubt Israel’s strength or its ability to defend itself.”
Mocking Nasrallah, who is often holed up in a bunker hiding from potential assassins as have struck his predecessors, Netanyahu said, “Whoever hides in a bunker should stay in the bunker.”
It would be wise to take well-armed, fanatically religious militia leaders at their word. At the same time, it’s worth remembering that boastful, sometimes exaggerated claims are a feature of Middle Eastern psychological warfare and are a useful ploy to keep supporters energized. After all, Saddam Hussein in 1991 promised the U.S. it would wage “The mother of all battles.”
If anything, talk of grandiose plans to invade Israel and occupy the Galilee reveal Nasrallah’s distress. With next-door neighbor Syria embroiled in revolt, Hezbollah would like to know who will replace Syria as its line of transport for Iranian money and weapons to Lebanon should President Bashar al-Assad’s regime fall. A Sunni regime may not be as sympathetic to the Shi’ite militia as the present leadership in Damascus, who are Alawite, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.
This as Hezbollah’s main benefactor Iran is facing international scrutiny and potentially more painful sanctions for its unbridled, once secretive race for nuclear weapons. Add to that threats of military action against Iran and for Nasrallah the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in recent weeks directed his military commanders to make sure their troops are prepared to move south to invade the Galilee region of Israel next time there is an armed conflict with Israel – this apparently according to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Joumhouria.
A new report from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, that examined Lebanese media reports, reveals that Nasrallah’s objective is to hit Tel Aviv with missiles and simultaneously dispatch forces “to conquer the Galilee.” The planning is with the direct help of Iran and is linked to Hezbollah’s fear of a possible military attack on Iran, since the group sees itself as the “first line of defense” against Israel. The report’s author Shimon Shapira writes:
• Hizbullah forces are being trained to fire at least ten thousand missiles, right at the war’s outset, at military and strategic targets such as airfields, military camps, and vital facilities including maritime ones, followed by the firing of rockets from launch sites whose location will come as a surprise to Israel.
• The operational plan was formulated in tandem with senior Iranian strategic experts and will include a force of five thousand fighters who have recently trained in Iran, tasked with taking over designated zones in northern Israel including Nahariya, Shlomi, and Carmiel.
• It was said that engineering units of the Iranian army had mined areas in the eastern Bekaa Valley that were seen as possible landing sites for Israeli special forces, and that Hizbullah had equipped itself with “smart” Iranian anti-tank missiles that can disrupt the defensive systems of Israel’s Merkava tanks.
Lebanon’s Naharnet reveals more details about the planning:
According to information obtained by the [Al Akhbar] daily, a delegation from Hizbullah military experts visited areas in Bekaa and the South [Lebanon] to check on the resistances’ positions, while 727 fighters from Hizbullah finished their military training in Tehran.
Outside Jerusalem, the Galilee is home to some of Israel’s most important religious sites including Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee.
Al Akhbar reports Hezbollah is counting on the help of “Palestinian resistance cells” in northern Israel – that is Arab citizens of Israel – to act as a fifth column. But this may be wishful thinking. During previous Israeli-Hezbollah altercations, even the most radicalized Muslim Israeli Arabs did not join in the fighting against Israel. On the contrary, in 2006, Hezbollah’s Katyushas killed Israeli Arabs, including in Haifa and in Nazareth where the three and seven-year-old Taluzi brothers were killed. The majority of Israeli Arabs live in Northern Israel:
“Israel will be surprised by attacks from within the Israeli towns via the Palestinian resistance cells,” sources told the daily.
They added that “the battles will be on the Israeli grounds; therefore targeting the Galilee is a definite option.”
The sources didn’t rule out Syria’s participation in the war “especially if the interior situation deteriorated further more.”
Last February, Nasrallah made public his hopes to one day invade Northern Israel. He told a rally:
“I say to the mujahideen of the Islamic resistance: Be prepared for a day when war is forced upon Lebanon, and the commanders of the resistance may ask you to take over the Galilee. In other words — to liberate the Galilee.”
In 2006, Hezbollah fired thousands of Katyusha rockets at towns in the Galilee and as far south as Haifa and Hadera (7 miles south of Caesarea), but did not manage to reach Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city.
It is now estimated to have an arsenal of more than 40,000 rockets, some that intelligence officials believe can hit Tel Aviv. Last week, Israel’s home front command staged a drill simulating a mass missile attack on the Tel Aviv area, as it does around the country several times a year.
In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Nasrallah’s threats saying that “no one should doubt Israel’s strength or its ability to defend itself.”
Mocking Nasrallah, who is often holed up in a bunker hiding from potential assassins as have struck his predecessors, Netanyahu said, “Whoever hides in a bunker should stay in the bunker.”
It would be wise to take well-armed, fanatically religious militia leaders at their word. At the same time, it’s worth remembering that boastful, sometimes exaggerated claims are a feature of Middle Eastern psychological warfare and are a useful ploy to keep supporters energized. After all, Saddam Hussein in 1991 promised the U.S. it would wage “The mother of all battles.”
If anything, talk of grandiose plans to invade Israel and occupy the Galilee reveal Nasrallah’s distress. With next-door neighbor Syria embroiled in revolt, Hezbollah would like to know who will replace Syria as its line of transport for Iranian money and weapons to Lebanon should President Bashar al-Assad’s regime fall. A Sunni regime may not be as sympathetic to the Shi’ite militia as the present leadership in Damascus, who are Alawite, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.
This as Hezbollah’s main benefactor Iran is facing international scrutiny and potentially more painful sanctions for its unbridled, once secretive race for nuclear weapons. Add to that threats of military action against Iran and for Nasrallah the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Atheists Angry After Wis. Gov. Changes ‘Holiday’ Tree Back to ‘Christmas’ Tree
Some enjoy reaping the paid vacation and gifts without honoring the reason for it
Posted on November 8, 2011 at 3:36pm by Billy Hallowell
Love him or hate him, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a man who sticks by his convictions.
He started by making Wisconsin more business-friendly, then took on the public sector unions. And now, the state lawmaker that has solidified a national name for himself is taking on atheists and non-believers — over the state’s “holiday” tree.
On Monday, Walker decided that he wanted to shake things up a bit. Rather than following recent tradition and referring to the (Christmas) tree that is placed in the Wisconsin’s Capitol Rotunda as a “holiday tree,” he’s changing course. For the past 25 years, lawmakers have referred to the evergreen that is decorated with ornaments and a star with this benign, uncategorized reference. Now, Walker plans to, once again, call the tree what it is — a Christmas tree.
From 1916 until 1985, the state did, indeed, refer to the tree as such. But in 1985, when lawmakers began getting nervous about government endorsement of religion, they began referring to it as a holiday tree. Walker, though, doesn’t want to continue doing so.
Rather than making a big deal out of the change, the governor simply put out a press release that referred to the holiday decoration as a Christmas tree. The release doesn’t note that any change in reference occurred. A portion of the document reads:
Today Governor Walker asked art teachers, parents, and youth all across Wisconsin to help the State of Wisconsin decorate the Capitol Christmas Tree. The theme of the tree this year will be Honoring 163 years of Wisconsin’s Veterans.
“As the holiday season comes, I am excited to announce that the Christmas tree displayed in our State Capitol will have homemade ornaments created by Wisconsin’s youth,” said Governor Walker. “I am hopeful we receive ornaments from all across Wisconsin so that we are able to showcase the diversity that makes up our great state. I invite all Wisconsin residents to stop by the Capitol and view our state’s holiday display.”
But when asked, spokesman Cullen Werwei confirmed that the decision was intentional. “It’s a Christmas tree,” Werwei said. “In all honesty, I don’t know what more to say about it.” In the Charleston Daily Mail, Don Surber echoed this sentiment, writing, “Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin just ended 25 years of stupidity.”
Not everyone agrees, though. The infamous Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group of atheists and “freethinkers,” doesn’t plan to let the change go unnoticed. Annie Laurie Gaylor, the group’s president, called the decision both rude and insensitive to non-Christians. Gaylor said:
“The reason that it was turned into a holiday tree was to avoid this connotation that the governor chooses one religion over another. It’s essentially a discourtesy by the governor to announce that. He intends that to be a slight and a snub to non-Christians, otherwise he would not do it.”
Considering the FFRF’s track record, it’s likely the group will be doing more than simply commenting on the matter. We’ll have to wait and see their next legal moves.
(H/T: Associated Press)
Posted on November 8, 2011 at 3:36pm by Billy Hallowell
Love him or hate him, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a man who sticks by his convictions.
He started by making Wisconsin more business-friendly, then took on the public sector unions. And now, the state lawmaker that has solidified a national name for himself is taking on atheists and non-believers — over the state’s “holiday” tree.
On Monday, Walker decided that he wanted to shake things up a bit. Rather than following recent tradition and referring to the (Christmas) tree that is placed in the Wisconsin’s Capitol Rotunda as a “holiday tree,” he’s changing course. For the past 25 years, lawmakers have referred to the evergreen that is decorated with ornaments and a star with this benign, uncategorized reference. Now, Walker plans to, once again, call the tree what it is — a Christmas tree.
From 1916 until 1985, the state did, indeed, refer to the tree as such. But in 1985, when lawmakers began getting nervous about government endorsement of religion, they began referring to it as a holiday tree. Walker, though, doesn’t want to continue doing so.
Rather than making a big deal out of the change, the governor simply put out a press release that referred to the holiday decoration as a Christmas tree. The release doesn’t note that any change in reference occurred. A portion of the document reads:
Today Governor Walker asked art teachers, parents, and youth all across Wisconsin to help the State of Wisconsin decorate the Capitol Christmas Tree. The theme of the tree this year will be Honoring 163 years of Wisconsin’s Veterans.
“As the holiday season comes, I am excited to announce that the Christmas tree displayed in our State Capitol will have homemade ornaments created by Wisconsin’s youth,” said Governor Walker. “I am hopeful we receive ornaments from all across Wisconsin so that we are able to showcase the diversity that makes up our great state. I invite all Wisconsin residents to stop by the Capitol and view our state’s holiday display.”
But when asked, spokesman Cullen Werwei confirmed that the decision was intentional. “It’s a Christmas tree,” Werwei said. “In all honesty, I don’t know what more to say about it.” In the Charleston Daily Mail, Don Surber echoed this sentiment, writing, “Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin just ended 25 years of stupidity.”
Not everyone agrees, though. The infamous Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group of atheists and “freethinkers,” doesn’t plan to let the change go unnoticed. Annie Laurie Gaylor, the group’s president, called the decision both rude and insensitive to non-Christians. Gaylor said:
“The reason that it was turned into a holiday tree was to avoid this connotation that the governor chooses one religion over another. It’s essentially a discourtesy by the governor to announce that. He intends that to be a slight and a snub to non-Christians, otherwise he would not do it.”
Considering the FFRF’s track record, it’s likely the group will be doing more than simply commenting on the matter. We’ll have to wait and see their next legal moves.
(H/T: Associated Press)
PSU Students Flip WTAJ News Van at Riot 11/9/11
Uploaded by YoungJizzow on Nov 9, 2011
Penn State students riot after the announcement of the departure of Joe Pa, the latest news in the Sandusky Scandal.
Alabama county seeks to file biggest municipal bankruptcy
By Melinda Dickinson
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama | Thu Nov 10, 2011 12:09am EST
(Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy court protection on Wednesday in the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Commissioners for the county, which is home to Birmingham, the state's biggest city and economic powerhouse, voted 4-1 to declare bankruptcy after meeting behind closed doors for two days in a last ditch-attempt to restructure its debt out of court.
A tentative deal reached with creditors in September to settle $3.14 billion in red ink had been widely expected to avert bankruptcy. But the deal fell apart over what the commission described as creditors' refusal to meet the terms of previously agreed economic concessions.
There was also frustration over the fact that the estimated savings from the September agreement had shrunk by about $140 million, commission sources said.
"In September 2011, the commission and receiver entered into a comprehensive term sheet setting forth a framework for the resolution of the sewer system crisis," the commission said in a press release announcing the bankruptcy filing.
"Creditors ultimately were unwilling to make the economic concessions contemplated in the term sheet and the receiver made additional demands inconsistent with the term sheet that the commission was unwilling to accept."
The commissioners, who are elected and not political appointees, are the final arbiters over much of the county's business and day-to-day municipal affairs.
The bankruptcy filing by the southern U.S. county will add to concerns about the risks in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market, which was hit recently by the high-profile debt crisis in Pennsylvania's capital of Harrisburg.
In addition to Harrisburg, which filed for bankruptcy last month, just two other cities -- Vallejo, California and tiny Central Falls, Rhode Island -- have declared bankruptcy in recent years since the onset of the U.S. financial crisis.
Jefferson County's debt escalated in the mid-2000s when bond issuance deals to upgrade its sewer system soured amid widespread corruption, bribery and fraud charges that led to some 22 convictions.
Costs ballooned as interest rates rose, and the county had teetered on the edge of insolvency since its debt was downgraded in 2008. With more than $5 billion in total indebtedness, the Chapter 9 filing on Wednesday surpassed that filed by Orange County California, in 1994.
Jefferson County, with a population of about 660,000, contains some of the richest neighborhoods in the country as well as pockets of urban poverty and blight.
Birmingham was the scene of one of the fiercest confrontations of the U.S. civil rights movement in 1963 when city leaders and police violently resisted a campaign for desegregation by demonstrators led by Martin Luther King Jr.
Larry Langford, a Democrat and former mayor of Birmingham, was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year for his role in corrupt business deals that fueled the multibillion-dollar sewer debt. Langford presided over the county commission during the height of the bond swaps that led to the run-up of the massive debt.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, who as late as Tuesday pledged to call a special session of the state legislature to facilitate the September deal, said the vote to file for bankruptcy was unfortunate.
"DARK CLOUD" OVER COUNTY
"I am disappointed by the commission's decision today, as bankruptcy will negatively impact not only the Birmingham region, but also the entire state," Bentley said in a statement.
Bentley was heavily involved in negotiations with creditors and had twice pushed the county to avoid declaring bankruptcy, fearing its impact on the state's economic reputation. Efforts to forestall bankruptcy had already triggered layoffs of government employees and cuts in municipal services.
There are also widespread fears that the bankruptcy filing could raise borrowing costs for other Alabama governments and school districts.
Creditors such as JPMorgan Chase & Co and the county in September reached a tentative deal calling for Jefferson County's sewer-system debt to be substantially reduced but final terms were not reached.
A sticking point discussed in a commissioners' meeting on Monday was adjustment of a $140 million difference between the originally agreed figure of $2.05 billion the county must repay to creditors. That amount crept up to $2.19 billion because certain parts of the deal terms shifted.
"The county has negotiated extensively and in good faith with its creditors and their representatives about restructuring the county's debts out of court," County Commission President David Carrington said in a statement after Wednesday's vote.
"Despite the county's best efforts, these negotiations have not produced a deal that fairly treats the county and its citizens, and there is no reason to believe that further out-of-court negotiations will lead to a fair, acceptable result," he said.
The county's biggest creditor, JPMorgan Chase, had wanted to avoid bankruptcy, according to company spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli.
"We offered very substantial financial concessions to make the deal happen, while keeping sewer rates within the parameters proposed by the county. While we're disappointed by the county's decision to file we will continue to work for a fair and reasonable solution," Zuccarelli said.
Alabama's attorney general said he would work to ensure that any sewer rate increases in Jefferson County were fair. The issue is highly contentious in the county, as many residents fear larger bills as part of a deal to settle the county's sewer bond debt.
But the sewer system's court-appointed receiver said the bankruptcy filing would inevitably translate into higher fees for the county's sewer system customers.
"This utterly irresponsible act makes the dark cloud hanging over Jefferson County even darker," the receiver, John Young Jr., said.
The September settlement would have meant a 6.5 percent rate increase for residential and non-residential customers but now those rises will be significantly larger because of the bankruptcy filing, according to Young.
The news will no doubt cause a lot of selling of municipal bonds in the next few days, said Jason Thomas, chief investment officer at Aspiriant, a registered investment advisory firm with $7.5 billion in assets under management.
"There is going to be a lot of selling pressure, and we expect that we will take advantage of it and do a lot of buying," he said.
The action should not be viewed as a harbinger of more filings in the municipal bond market, said Michael Walls, portfolio manager of Waddell & Reed Advisors Municipal High Income Fund and the Ivy Municipal High Income Fund.
"This is not systemic to the municipal bond market; it's a situation where there was gross mismanagement of a municipal water and sewer project," Wall said.
In a statement late on Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase said the Jefferson County bankruptcy would have no material impact on its financial results.
(Additional reporting by Matthew Bigg in Atlanta, Jessica Toonkel, Joan Gralla and Chip Barnett in New York; Writing and additional reporting by Michael Connor in Miami; Editing by Tom Brown and Eric Walsh)
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama | Thu Nov 10, 2011 12:09am EST
(Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy court protection on Wednesday in the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Commissioners for the county, which is home to Birmingham, the state's biggest city and economic powerhouse, voted 4-1 to declare bankruptcy after meeting behind closed doors for two days in a last ditch-attempt to restructure its debt out of court.
A tentative deal reached with creditors in September to settle $3.14 billion in red ink had been widely expected to avert bankruptcy. But the deal fell apart over what the commission described as creditors' refusal to meet the terms of previously agreed economic concessions.
There was also frustration over the fact that the estimated savings from the September agreement had shrunk by about $140 million, commission sources said.
"In September 2011, the commission and receiver entered into a comprehensive term sheet setting forth a framework for the resolution of the sewer system crisis," the commission said in a press release announcing the bankruptcy filing.
"Creditors ultimately were unwilling to make the economic concessions contemplated in the term sheet and the receiver made additional demands inconsistent with the term sheet that the commission was unwilling to accept."
The commissioners, who are elected and not political appointees, are the final arbiters over much of the county's business and day-to-day municipal affairs.
The bankruptcy filing by the southern U.S. county will add to concerns about the risks in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market, which was hit recently by the high-profile debt crisis in Pennsylvania's capital of Harrisburg.
In addition to Harrisburg, which filed for bankruptcy last month, just two other cities -- Vallejo, California and tiny Central Falls, Rhode Island -- have declared bankruptcy in recent years since the onset of the U.S. financial crisis.
Jefferson County's debt escalated in the mid-2000s when bond issuance deals to upgrade its sewer system soured amid widespread corruption, bribery and fraud charges that led to some 22 convictions.
Costs ballooned as interest rates rose, and the county had teetered on the edge of insolvency since its debt was downgraded in 2008. With more than $5 billion in total indebtedness, the Chapter 9 filing on Wednesday surpassed that filed by Orange County California, in 1994.
Jefferson County, with a population of about 660,000, contains some of the richest neighborhoods in the country as well as pockets of urban poverty and blight.
Birmingham was the scene of one of the fiercest confrontations of the U.S. civil rights movement in 1963 when city leaders and police violently resisted a campaign for desegregation by demonstrators led by Martin Luther King Jr.
Larry Langford, a Democrat and former mayor of Birmingham, was sentenced to 15 years in prison last year for his role in corrupt business deals that fueled the multibillion-dollar sewer debt. Langford presided over the county commission during the height of the bond swaps that led to the run-up of the massive debt.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, who as late as Tuesday pledged to call a special session of the state legislature to facilitate the September deal, said the vote to file for bankruptcy was unfortunate.
"DARK CLOUD" OVER COUNTY
"I am disappointed by the commission's decision today, as bankruptcy will negatively impact not only the Birmingham region, but also the entire state," Bentley said in a statement.
Bentley was heavily involved in negotiations with creditors and had twice pushed the county to avoid declaring bankruptcy, fearing its impact on the state's economic reputation. Efforts to forestall bankruptcy had already triggered layoffs of government employees and cuts in municipal services.
There are also widespread fears that the bankruptcy filing could raise borrowing costs for other Alabama governments and school districts.
Creditors such as JPMorgan Chase & Co and the county in September reached a tentative deal calling for Jefferson County's sewer-system debt to be substantially reduced but final terms were not reached.
A sticking point discussed in a commissioners' meeting on Monday was adjustment of a $140 million difference between the originally agreed figure of $2.05 billion the county must repay to creditors. That amount crept up to $2.19 billion because certain parts of the deal terms shifted.
"The county has negotiated extensively and in good faith with its creditors and their representatives about restructuring the county's debts out of court," County Commission President David Carrington said in a statement after Wednesday's vote.
"Despite the county's best efforts, these negotiations have not produced a deal that fairly treats the county and its citizens, and there is no reason to believe that further out-of-court negotiations will lead to a fair, acceptable result," he said.
The county's biggest creditor, JPMorgan Chase, had wanted to avoid bankruptcy, according to company spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli.
"We offered very substantial financial concessions to make the deal happen, while keeping sewer rates within the parameters proposed by the county. While we're disappointed by the county's decision to file we will continue to work for a fair and reasonable solution," Zuccarelli said.
Alabama's attorney general said he would work to ensure that any sewer rate increases in Jefferson County were fair. The issue is highly contentious in the county, as many residents fear larger bills as part of a deal to settle the county's sewer bond debt.
But the sewer system's court-appointed receiver said the bankruptcy filing would inevitably translate into higher fees for the county's sewer system customers.
"This utterly irresponsible act makes the dark cloud hanging over Jefferson County even darker," the receiver, John Young Jr., said.
The September settlement would have meant a 6.5 percent rate increase for residential and non-residential customers but now those rises will be significantly larger because of the bankruptcy filing, according to Young.
The news will no doubt cause a lot of selling of municipal bonds in the next few days, said Jason Thomas, chief investment officer at Aspiriant, a registered investment advisory firm with $7.5 billion in assets under management.
"There is going to be a lot of selling pressure, and we expect that we will take advantage of it and do a lot of buying," he said.
The action should not be viewed as a harbinger of more filings in the municipal bond market, said Michael Walls, portfolio manager of Waddell & Reed Advisors Municipal High Income Fund and the Ivy Municipal High Income Fund.
"This is not systemic to the municipal bond market; it's a situation where there was gross mismanagement of a municipal water and sewer project," Wall said.
In a statement late on Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase said the Jefferson County bankruptcy would have no material impact on its financial results.
(Additional reporting by Matthew Bigg in Atlanta, Jessica Toonkel, Joan Gralla and Chip Barnett in New York; Writing and additional reporting by Michael Connor in Miami; Editing by Tom Brown and Eric Walsh)
Days After Protesting WELLS FARGO, 'Occupy' Oakland Opens Account, Deposits $20,000...
November 9, 2011 3:37 PM
OAKLAND (CBS/AP) — A group of Oakland anti-Wall Street protesters who blame large banks for the economic downturn have decided that one of those institutions is the best place to stash their money for now.
Protesters at an Occupy Oakland meeting Monday voted to deposit a $20,000 donation into a Wells Fargo account. The move comes just days after one of Wells Fargo’s branches was vandalized during a massive downtown demonstration.
An Occupy statement said the money only will be with Wells Fargo temporarily while they work to establish an account with a credit union or community bank. Protesters said it was the easiest way to access the money to bail out people from jail.
Wells Fargo spokesman Ruben Pulido said the move demonstrates that Occupy Oakland recognizes the value and service the bank provides its customers.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
OAKLAND (CBS/AP) — A group of Oakland anti-Wall Street protesters who blame large banks for the economic downturn have decided that one of those institutions is the best place to stash their money for now.
Protesters at an Occupy Oakland meeting Monday voted to deposit a $20,000 donation into a Wells Fargo account. The move comes just days after one of Wells Fargo’s branches was vandalized during a massive downtown demonstration.
An Occupy statement said the money only will be with Wells Fargo temporarily while they work to establish an account with a credit union or community bank. Protesters said it was the easiest way to access the money to bail out people from jail.
Wells Fargo spokesman Ruben Pulido said the move demonstrates that Occupy Oakland recognizes the value and service the bank provides its customers.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
I was harassed by Gloria Allred
Call it sexual harassment or call it inappropriate behavior, never-the-less I was made to feel 'uncomfortable' by none other than attorney Gloria Allred! Allred has a knack for being in the news by representing people connected to high profile news stories. Yesterday she represented a woman accusing presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment. The press event (no questions allowed) was held in Manhattan at The Friar's Club, a formerly all male club for comedians. Allred liberated the Friars Club Beverly Hills and engaged in a little sexual hostility while doing so.
Sometime in the 90s Fortune Magazine assigned me to photograph Ms Allred Esq. at the Bohemian Club in San Francisco. You see the Bohemian Club is an all male club and Allred was and is opposed to all male clubs. Fortune wished to get to the bottom of the issue with assistance from a bottom feeder.
Allred agreed to fly up to San Francisco for the photo shoot. I picked her up at the airport and drove to the Bohemian Club. Arriving at the Bohemian Club my assistant and I began scoping out the exterior of the club for a suitable vantage point. We correctly assumed the club wouldn't allow a photo on its premises. Before we could begin shooting Allred stationed herself by the club entrance and began scolding members as they entered. As you would imagine this was not a one way conversation. Intending this to be a portrait rather than a re-enactment of the free speech movement I struggled to regain control of the situation. Having shots of Allred only from the backside would not be a career enhancer. This proved difficult so we moved Allred to a new location across the street.
Upon finishing Allred was freed to return to shouting at men entering the Bohemian Club. Rejoining Allred near the entrance she prevailed up me to enter the club lobby. There she requested an application for membership from the person at the reception desk. The receptionist directed Allred to a small phone booth across the lobby. Allred entered the booth and beckoned me to join her in the cramped enclosure. I did but she insisted I come even closer and place my head next to hers. Some would say this was to facilitate hearing her request over the shared telephone receiver, but could there have been another reason--perhaps one that was unsavory? Momentarily Allred's perfume altered my senses and I remain unable to recall much else.
Were these the innocent actions of a well-meaning socially active citizen, or perhaps worse? I'm ill-equipped to make that judgement without proper legal council. I wonder if Ms Allred would take my case?
Posted by Robert Holmgren at 3:16 PM
Bali for Barry and the Mrs.
OBAMA’S SCHEDULE THIS WEEK AND NEXT
VARIOUS INTERNET SOURCES
ON TUESDAY, THE PRESIDENT WILL TRAVEL TO PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
ON WEDNESDAY, THE PRESIDENT WILL DELIVER REMARKS AT THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S LAW CENTER’S ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER.
ON THURSDAY, THE PRESIDENT WILL ATTEND MEETINGS AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
ON FRIDAY, THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY WILL HOST A BREAKFAST WITH VETERANS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. AFTER, THE PRESIDENT WILL VISIT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY TO PARTICIPATE IN A WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY AND DELIVER REMARKS; THE FIRST LADY WILL ALSO ATTEND. LATER, THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY WILL TRAVEL TO SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA FOR THE CARRIER CLASSIC AND HONOLULU, HAWAII FOR THE START OF THE APEC SUMMIT.
HONOLULU ON NOVEMBER 12TH -13TH THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY WILL SPEND THE WEEKEND IN HONOLULU, HAWAII AT THE APEC SUMMIT.
AUSTRALIA 16TH-17 TH AT THE INVITATION OF PRIME MINISTER (JULIA) GILLARD, THE PRESIDENT WILL VISIT AUSTRALIA ON NOVEMBER 16-17 IN CONNECTION WITH THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANZUS ALLIANCE, WHICH PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE SECURITY OF THE ENTIRE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION.
BALI 18TH -19TH IN BALI AT THE EAST ASIA SUMMIT
VARIOUS INTERNET SOURCES
ON TUESDAY, THE PRESIDENT WILL TRAVEL TO PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
ON WEDNESDAY, THE PRESIDENT WILL DELIVER REMARKS AT THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S LAW CENTER’S ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER.
ON THURSDAY, THE PRESIDENT WILL ATTEND MEETINGS AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
ON FRIDAY, THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY WILL HOST A BREAKFAST WITH VETERANS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. AFTER, THE PRESIDENT WILL VISIT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY TO PARTICIPATE IN A WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY AND DELIVER REMARKS; THE FIRST LADY WILL ALSO ATTEND. LATER, THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY WILL TRAVEL TO SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA FOR THE CARRIER CLASSIC AND HONOLULU, HAWAII FOR THE START OF THE APEC SUMMIT.
HONOLULU ON NOVEMBER 12TH -13TH THE PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY WILL SPEND THE WEEKEND IN HONOLULU, HAWAII AT THE APEC SUMMIT.
AUSTRALIA 16TH-17 TH AT THE INVITATION OF PRIME MINISTER (JULIA) GILLARD, THE PRESIDENT WILL VISIT AUSTRALIA ON NOVEMBER 16-17 IN CONNECTION WITH THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANZUS ALLIANCE, WHICH PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE SECURITY OF THE ENTIRE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION.
BALI 18TH -19TH IN BALI AT THE EAST ASIA SUMMIT
'Occupy' plagued by reports of sex attacks
By Perry Chiaramonte
Published November 09, 2011
FoxNews.com
A rash of reports of sexual assaults at Occupy Wall Street protests across the country has both police and activists raising red flags.
Nearly a half-dozen assaults have been reported at Occupy camps, including three at the New York City protests, which have prompted protesters to set up a “women only” tent in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park to provide a safe haven.
“The concern would be the rapes and attacks that aren’t reported,” said Sgt. Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, a police union in New York City. “We have no way of really knowing. If you have three or five crimes reported, you really don’t know if it’s eight or 10 that happened.”
He also noted how young many of the protesters are.
"They are in the lion’s den, so it’s not surprising that they are more susceptible to crimes,” he said.
The first reported incident occurred on Oct. 8, when a man was accused of sexually abusing a woman who was in a sleeping bag at Zuccotti Park. The victim did not report the incident until a few days later, when she saw the suspect, David Park, 27, at the protest site again.
Park, a Connecticut resident, had been arrested for disorderly conduct at a previous march, and he had numerous warrants out for him in both New York and his home state before the protests began.
Another incident was reported last week when a Brooklyn man, Tonye Iketubosin, 26, was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in her tent at Zuccotti Park on Oct. 25.
Iketubosin, a volunteer at the Occupy Wall Street “kitchen,” was questioned about the alleged rape of a second woman on Oct. 29.
Reports of sexual abuse also surfaced in Dallas, where a 23-year-old man was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old runaway girl, and in Cleveland, where cops opened an investigation of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred on Oct. 15.
Organizers for Occupy Wall Street did not return messages seeking comment, but they released a lengthy statement addressed to the participants.
“As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence,” the statement reads. “We are working for an OWS and a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally… We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.”
The incidents of sex crimes, reports of petty theft, assaults and general outbursts of violence have sprung up not only around Wall Street, but in Occupy camps across the country.
And many of the protesters have become more aggressive overall in recent days.
The most serious incident was reported in downtown Portland last night -- cops responded to calls of a Molotov cocktail being set off near the city's World Trade Center. Authorities had received unconfirmed information a week earlier that people within the Occupy Portland encampment were constructing the crudely made bomb, which is normally fashioned from a glass bottle filled with gas and a soaked rag or cloth sticking out of the opening as a wick.
At the site of the Occupy San Diego camp, street cart vendors were forced to close up shop Monday when protesters, angry that they stopped receiving free food, ransacked and vandalized the carts.
The angry mob not only scrawled graffiti on the carts, they reportedly splattered them with blood and urine as well.
In addition, the vendors received death threats, according to local radio station KNX 1070.
Last weekend, a man was walking through Zuccotti Park taking pictures of the Occupiers' camp when an unidentified man approached him and struck him in the face, leaving his victim with a laceration to the face, according to law enforcement reports.
Also in lower Manhattan, a business owner made claims that she has been terrorized and her well-being threatened by Occupiers after she prohibited them from using her store's restroom to bathe.
Stacey Tzortzatos, owner of Panini and Co., located across from Zuccotti Park, got fed up two weeks ago when demonstrators broke a bathroom sink causing flooding in the shop and leaving her with a bill of $3,000 in damages, according to the New York Post.
In Boston, homeless protesters were removed from Dewey Square after they were discovered to have knives and stashes of illegal drugs.
“Paralysis is occurring across law enforcement. It’s becoming a Catch 22,” Mullins said. Referring to the protests in New York, he said, “To go in there to clear the park is going to cause confrontation. To not do so is detrimental.”
Published November 09, 2011
FoxNews.com
A rash of reports of sexual assaults at Occupy Wall Street protests across the country has both police and activists raising red flags.
Nearly a half-dozen assaults have been reported at Occupy camps, including three at the New York City protests, which have prompted protesters to set up a “women only” tent in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park to provide a safe haven.
“The concern would be the rapes and attacks that aren’t reported,” said Sgt. Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, a police union in New York City. “We have no way of really knowing. If you have three or five crimes reported, you really don’t know if it’s eight or 10 that happened.”
He also noted how young many of the protesters are.
"They are in the lion’s den, so it’s not surprising that they are more susceptible to crimes,” he said.
The first reported incident occurred on Oct. 8, when a man was accused of sexually abusing a woman who was in a sleeping bag at Zuccotti Park. The victim did not report the incident until a few days later, when she saw the suspect, David Park, 27, at the protest site again.
Park, a Connecticut resident, had been arrested for disorderly conduct at a previous march, and he had numerous warrants out for him in both New York and his home state before the protests began.
Another incident was reported last week when a Brooklyn man, Tonye Iketubosin, 26, was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in her tent at Zuccotti Park on Oct. 25.
Iketubosin, a volunteer at the Occupy Wall Street “kitchen,” was questioned about the alleged rape of a second woman on Oct. 29.
Reports of sexual abuse also surfaced in Dallas, where a 23-year-old man was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old runaway girl, and in Cleveland, where cops opened an investigation of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred on Oct. 15.
Organizers for Occupy Wall Street did not return messages seeking comment, but they released a lengthy statement addressed to the participants.
“As individuals and as a community, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to create an alternative to this culture of violence,” the statement reads. “We are working for an OWS and a world in which survivors are respected and supported unconditionally… We are redoubling our efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence. This includes taking preventative measures such as encouraging healthy relationship dynamics and consent practices that can help to limit harm.”
The incidents of sex crimes, reports of petty theft, assaults and general outbursts of violence have sprung up not only around Wall Street, but in Occupy camps across the country.
And many of the protesters have become more aggressive overall in recent days.
The most serious incident was reported in downtown Portland last night -- cops responded to calls of a Molotov cocktail being set off near the city's World Trade Center. Authorities had received unconfirmed information a week earlier that people within the Occupy Portland encampment were constructing the crudely made bomb, which is normally fashioned from a glass bottle filled with gas and a soaked rag or cloth sticking out of the opening as a wick.
At the site of the Occupy San Diego camp, street cart vendors were forced to close up shop Monday when protesters, angry that they stopped receiving free food, ransacked and vandalized the carts.
The angry mob not only scrawled graffiti on the carts, they reportedly splattered them with blood and urine as well.
In addition, the vendors received death threats, according to local radio station KNX 1070.
Last weekend, a man was walking through Zuccotti Park taking pictures of the Occupiers' camp when an unidentified man approached him and struck him in the face, leaving his victim with a laceration to the face, according to law enforcement reports.
Also in lower Manhattan, a business owner made claims that she has been terrorized and her well-being threatened by Occupiers after she prohibited them from using her store's restroom to bathe.
Stacey Tzortzatos, owner of Panini and Co., located across from Zuccotti Park, got fed up two weeks ago when demonstrators broke a bathroom sink causing flooding in the shop and leaving her with a bill of $3,000 in damages, according to the New York Post.
In Boston, homeless protesters were removed from Dewey Square after they were discovered to have knives and stashes of illegal drugs.
“Paralysis is occurring across law enforcement. It’s becoming a Catch 22,” Mullins said. Referring to the protests in New York, he said, “To go in there to clear the park is going to cause confrontation. To not do so is detrimental.”
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