A brand new scandal.
By on Jan 8th, 2006 at 9:59 am
A brand new scandal.
“In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions. Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz,” the LA Times reports. (Via War and Piece)
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Will it ever stop?
January 8th, 2006 at 10:04 am#1
I hope not until all the crooks are finally lined up and shot, or at least put away for a long time! My big concern is that even with all these indictments and charges the only thing that has happened is that every accused makes a plea bargain to rat out somebody else. It seems to be another Ponzi scam; when there is no politician left upon which to squeal, the taxpayers are stuck again. However, when it comes to DUHbya, Harry may have been right when he claimed “The Buck Stops Here.” Does he really think he can plea bargain with the old Repug standby: “Clinton did it too?”
January 8th, 2006 at 10:17 am.
Bu$h SCANDALs WILL NOT END
WHY ? well !
PLUTOCRACY KILLS DEMOCRACY DEAD
Copy Bu$h Gangster, NEW PROTEST IMAGES at
http://www.RogerART.com
Thank U, & Help Jail Em All, RogerART.com
January 8th, 2006 at 10:19 am.
.
STOP…
Let’s Try A NEW Idea 4 Our Planet
And All EARTH CITIZENS !
Why Not ? Have We Anything 2 Lose ?
http://www.OneGlobalCommunity.com
NOW, Up & Running, Ready 2 Go Today…
January 8th, 2006 at 10:27 am.
Impeach the bastards!
January 8th, 2006 at 10:32 am.
the Donkey Party is Lost !
the Elephent Party is Very, Very Sick !
Ck it out, Buffie, Buffer and the Little Buffs at…
http://www.TheBuffaloParty.com
January 8th, 2006 at 10:34 am.
Either the people we elect provide for the people that elected them or REMEMBER THIS next election. Don’t just vote like a mindless drone. We NEED to run these cocksuckers OUT OF TOWN.
IMPEACH!!! IMPEACH!!! IMPEACH!!!
January 8th, 2006 at 10:44 amThe GOP is corrupt to the core.
January 8th, 2006 at 10:47 amAnd the beat goes on.
January 8th, 2006 at 10:50 amThe GOP is corrupt to the core.
Comment by afterthought
Don’t kid yourself. The ENTIRE government is corrupt.
January 8th, 2006 at 10:52 am“Will it ever stop?”
Remember this?
That was a little over 10 years ago. The cycle will end. It is powered by Greed, a holey Profit. When Greed loses its power, the cycle will end. But Greed is a powerful Profit, for it is driven by the false illusion of immortality through amassed wealth and passing that wealth in perpetuity to one’s bloodline.
Whether or not manunkind survives past the end of the cycle remains to be seen.
January 8th, 2006 at 11:00 amMore and more at nauseum ,no end to this corruption , The press finally finds its voice .
January 8th, 2006 at 11:02 amWell #10,
When 2/3 of the government is controlled
January 8th, 2006 at 11:12 amby the GOP (maybe more considering the
overall strength of the executive branch),
the GOP will just have to own up to
being the largest part of the problem.
And here we were worried that all of this drama would blow over by the 2006 election just in time for people to forget… It’s politics – what ever were we thinking?
Sheesh, I’m almost afraid to find out how deep this cesspool really runs…
January 8th, 2006 at 11:12 amOne might even say that right now,
January 8th, 2006 at 11:13 amthe GOP IS the government,
partcularly the way the Rove WH runs everything
politically.
The Republican Party-The party of moral collapse.
-GSD
January 8th, 2006 at 11:18 amREPUBLICAN CONTRACT WITH AMERICA
As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.
Comment by Briseadh na Faire — January 8, 2006 @ 11:00 am
Excellent post… I think it’s seriously time for Campaign Reform.
We need to vote for representatives who will dismantle PACs, get Corporate America out of bed with Congress, and actually represent We the People, for whom they work… not the other way around as it has been for far too long now.
We need more parties with a Parlimentary Representation rather than another choice bewteen two rich white guys…
Enough is enough already!
January 8th, 2006 at 11:18 amThe new phrasiology has become “The ability to maintain power is very different from the ability to govern well.”
January 8th, 2006 at 11:22 amAnd no more proof is needed than the reality that Delay and Company never defended their practices. They still don’t. They’ll go down thinking they’re victims in a political game.
(rolling eyes)
Tom, just GO AWAY. And take that creepy smile with you.
January 8th, 2006 at 11:24 amIn away, I feel sorry for the average Republican voter.
I honestly don’t think they could have seen this coming. Heck, even WE didn’t comprehend the breadth of the Republican Party’s corruption and mendacity.
But I don’t feel sorry for the trolls. They read everything we read, but continue to defend the indefensible. They’re either idiots or paid hacks. I used to be willing to read their posts but they’ve lost all credibility.
The only good they serve is they sharpen and focus our arguments. The level of discourse here is actually pretty high compared to the Free Republic threads. Those people are just plain stupid. Just like the President.
January 8th, 2006 at 11:36 amDelay permanently gives up his leadership post and this news breaks today. I wonder what else is in the pipeline?
January 8th, 2006 at 11:50 amI say they are paid hacks.
-GSD
January 8th, 2006 at 11:54 amI completely agree with campaign reform and want to include election reform there too. All votes need to be counted with a paper trail. Nothing better than the good ol pencil and paper! Hell, make it a pen, that way it can’t be erased too easily. And let our representatives return to the tried and true form of campaigning: pounding the pavement. Actually getting out there and meeting their constituents! Limit air time (skewed commercials) and make sure that what’s being said is accurate; no more slime ball tactics. And if you don’t vote, STFU!
January 8th, 2006 at 12:06 pmHere’s a little more proof that the Bush Crime Family is going after innocent people who dissagree with him. We must DEMAND FOR IMPEACHMENT OF THE WHOLE ADMINISTRATION.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/5/85158/32663
January 8th, 2006 at 12:12 pmshouldn’t the title be: ‘A Brand new REPUBLICAN scandal‘. The distinction is important inasmuch as the repukelican defense (if you could call it that) is ‘democrats are corrupt too’…well no, so far the culture of corruption is uniquely republican. Many democrats may be bought and paid politicos, but so far they’ve a) done their mining within legal limits, and b) haven’t had the power to make good on anything anyway.
January 8th, 2006 at 12:16 pmHow about Homeland Security opening peoples private mail?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10740935/
January 8th, 2006 at 12:16 pmDisband the Ripon Society. Can the Republican Party be a terrorist organization? Looks like they are getting that way.
January 8th, 2006 at 12:21 pmAs another Poster wrote in another of the myriad Bogs on official corruption, The GOP needs to be oytlawed The same as the baathists in Iraq!
January 8th, 2006 at 12:32 pmI’m not entirely going to believe this. There’s no real proof that the Congressmen tried to influence anybody.
January 8th, 2006 at 12:34 pm#29 So printing documents that would be used against the criminal so that his lawyers can see the information in order for them to have a chance to change or get rid of incriminating evidence is not proof?
There was no reason for the 2 congressman to do that, unless they were working for the criminal.
For GODS sake man, WAKE UP!
January 8th, 2006 at 1:05 pm#29, Gary R. Read the link more carefully;
“documents recently obtained by The Times show………..Doolittle and Pombo…… used their power as members of the House Resources Committee to subpoena the agency’s confidential records on the case, including details of the evidence FDIC investigators had compiled on Hurwitz.”
“Then, in 2001, the two congressmen inserted many of the sensitive documents into the Congressional Record, making them public and accessible to Hurwitz’s lawyers, a move that FDIC officials said damaged the government’s ability to pursue the banker.”
Gary R., there’s plenty of proof and this will be revealed in court.
January 8th, 2006 at 1:11 pmJust caught Howard Dean’s interview w/ Wolf Blitzer on CNN. Dean was faabulous. Hesmacked down Wolf’s attempts to smear Dems with the Abramoff scandal brush with a point blank declaration that “No Democrats, not one, took money from Jack Abramoff. We carefully checked every FEC record to make sure of that,” he said. Then, (when Wolf mentioned Byron Dorgan) Dean went on to explain that Dems money came from the Indian tribes- and not at Abramoff’s behest. “not one democrat took money from Abramoff, the names mentioned in these indictments are all republicans,” Dean reiterated, and Wolf was stunned and speechless.
That was quite a rush!
January 8th, 2006 at 1:23 pmAnother link to the scandal?
How about checking these people to see if they are part of the Abramoff / Delay fund raising circle…
They were joyriding on the USS Greenville that crashed into a japanese ship and killed some students at the start of Dubya’s reign…The reports said that civilians were actually at the helm and making the (us taxpayer funded and supposedly important military asset) ship jump out of the sea like a fish… when it landed it hit the Japanese boat..
Jay Brehmer
Overland Park, Kansas
Carol Brehmer
Overland Park, Kansas
Jack Clary
Stow, Massachusetts
Pat Clary
Stow, Massachusetts
Helen Cullen
Houston, Texas
John M. Hall
Sealy, Texas
Leigh Anne Schnell Hall
Sealy, Texas
Mike Mitchell
Irving, Texas
Mickey Nolan
Honolulu, Hawaii
Susan Nolan
Honolulu, Hawaii
Anthony Schnur
The Woodlands, Texas
Susan Schnur
The Woodlands, Texas
Todd Thoman
Houston, Texas
Deanda Thoman
Houston, Texas
Ken Wyatt
Golden, Colorado
Catherine Graham Wyatt
Golden, Colorado
http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0102/submarine.names/frameset.exclude.html
January 8th, 2006 at 2:24 pmFor our attention-deficit culture watchers, this was one of Bush’s first disasters… it now seems small scale but
On 9 February 2001, while hosting a “Distinguished Visitor” cruise for several civilian guests, Greeneville conducted an Emergency Main Ballast Tank Blow, a dramatic maneuver that brings the boat to the surface so rapidly her bow rises high out of the water. Two of the civilian guests were at the submarine’s controls during this maneuver.
At about 1350 HST, Greeneville’s rapidly-rising stern struck the aft port quarter of Ehime Maru, a Japanese fishing and high school training vessel, operated by the Ehime Prefectural Uwajima Fishery High School. The specially reinforced upper blade of Greeneville’s rudder sliced through Ehime Maru’s engine room. Ehime Maru sank in less than ten minutes. Nine crewmembers of Ehime Maru drowned, including four high-school students
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Greeneville
January 8th, 2006 at 2:26 pmOne unidentified White House source told the Daily News that there was a “tremendous amount of nervousness at the White House about who these guys are.” The Cullen family has donated tens of thousands of dollars in soft money to the Republican Party.
And Roy Cullen donated $1,000 to George W. Bush’s presidential campaign.
http://the-catbird-seat.net/Greeneville.htm
January 8th, 2006 at 2:33 pmSlightly O/T, but fun:
WH now hunting down all photos of Bush with Abramoff.
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Bush_trying_to_round_up_all_0108.html
Search and destroy!
January 8th, 2006 at 3:23 pmAny one person on these Boards that feel sorry for anyone who voted for these Republican lunatics should themselves have their heads examined. Actually I have been in fervent favor of total collapse of everything because of these bastards. I regret that many of us who knew all along about the stupid brazen arrogance these sluts exhibited have to feel some pain but remember, an awful lot of rotten to the core self centered Americans allowed these sons of b….s to get away with all we know and more. They truly deserve to have their freedoms curtailed and their names on lists by the baathist Republicans and its lunatic President.
January 8th, 2006 at 3:57 pmThe GOP Scandal Resource Center has all the latest news, legal documents, timelines and other key materials for:
January 8th, 2006 at 4:20 pm- Tom Delay/Jack Abramoff
- NSA Spygate Scandal
- CIA Leak/PlameGate
http://www.justsaynoemore.com
take care ~~ Cathy Harris
January 8th, 2006 at 4:25 pmGhost of Japanese School Students
January 8th, 2006 at 4:25 pmThis tragic incident was gone from memory until today. I, too, would like to know how these people came to be aboard ship, was this the first reward for being Bush Pioneers?
Indeed, is Abramoff connected in any way?
Bush removal ended Guam investigation
US attorney’s demotion halted probe of lobbyist
By Walter F. Roche Jr., Los Angeles Times | August 8, 2005
WASHINGTON — A US grand jury in Guam opened an investigation of controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoff more than two years ago, but President Bush removed the supervising federal prosecutor, and the probe ended soon after.
January 8th, 2006 at 5:53 pmhttp://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/08/08/bush_removal_ended_guam_investigation/?p1=email_to_a_friend
The Republican Syndicate
Say it, write it, convey it. Make everyone aware that this political enterprise, formally known as the Republican Party, has been taken over by organized crime.
They Syndicate’s having a party….we’re paying the bill.
January 8th, 2006 at 6:25 pm[...] (via thinkprogress.org) “In a case that echoes the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, two Northern California Republican congressmen used their official positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a wealthy Texas businessman who provided them with political contributions. Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz,†the LA Times reports. [...]
January 8th, 2006 at 8:06 pmI would dance a whole night if both these assclowns got voted out.
Doolittle is safe in his district. Pombo has been untouchable,
but this year, it’s all different.
Ya know those Kleen-Sweep brooms they wave at baseball games when it looks like a sweep?
Wouldn’t it be nice….
January 8th, 2006 at 9:32 pmDo northern Califorians like their Congressmen whoring for Texas multi-millionates? Is that what they taxes for?
January 8th, 2006 at 10:26 pm#4 Interesting. The type set is a little difficult at first, but Familiar. Now to get My head Around the Diacriticals of it.
Esperanto, the international language, is a language developed to make it easier for people of different cultures to communicate. Its author, Dr. L. L. Zamenhof (1859-1917), published his “Lingvo Internacia” in 1887 under the pseudonym “Dr. Esperanto”. It is now spoken by at least two million people, in over 100 countries.
January 9th, 2006 at 4:30 am#Ghost of Japanese School Students
This tragic incident was gone from memory until today. I, too, would like to know how these people came to be aboard ship, was this the first reward for being Bush Pioneers?
Indeed, is Abramoff connected in any way?
Comment by Marie — January 8, 2006 @ 4:25 pm
Big Money Marie, more info on the occupants here,
http://www.americanpolitics.com/20010219SubMariners2.html
The Brehmers may not seem at first to have any oil, Texas or GOP connections — but interestingly, we find that a Public Records: Yahoo People Search yields the following
Jay Brehmer is a Company Director of Aquila Energy as of October 2000.
According to Oil and Gas Investor,
Aquila Energy expanded its financing role in the energy industry when it entered the capital markets in August 1998 with the start-up of Aquila Energy Capital Corp. (AECC). AECC is backed by Aquila Energy, the unregulated energy marketing subsidiary of $7.5-billion Kansas City-based UtiliCorp United (UCU). Since its creation in the mid-1980s, Aquila has grown to become one of the top five gas and power marketers in North America.
January 9th, 2006 at 4:51 amThe new phrasiology has become “The ability to maintain power is very different from the ability to govern well.â€
And no more proof is needed than the reality that Delay and Company never defended their practices. They still don’t. They’ll go down thinking they’re victims in a political game.
Comment by Gus the Loving OBGYN — January 8, 2006 @
January 9th, 2006 at 5:03 amAgreed, thats the problem today in our politicos, its become a Football Game replete with Cheerleaders, Announcers, Players and Halftime Antics.
All we Need Now is Janet Jackson to ‘BooBify’ it.
There’s no real proof that the Congressmen tried to influence anybody.
Comment by Gary Ruppert #29
Scary Pookbutt,
…and there’s no real proof DeLay ordered the Texas ANG to use federal planes to retrieve Texas legislators who’d left Texas in order to prevent a quorum and block deLay’s gerrymandering (of which likewise there is no proof).
…and there’s no proof that Bush was given favorable treatment and entered the Texas ANG during Vietnam (instead of active duty) because of his father’s string pulling…
…and there’s no proof that Dumb deLay’s golfing trip to scotland was Really paid for by Abramoff, or constitutes a quid pro quo…
…and on and on ’til th’ break-a-dawn!
Scary Pookbutt (inbred # 00000001) creating his own reality since the day he was born…
But!
…the curse is working…
January 9th, 2006 at 10:14 amArtimus – Hurwitz bought Pacific Lumber back in the 80’s with junk bonds. That’s the connection. Sad thing is Pacific Lumber didn’t have to sell to them. It was family owned & they had run their company in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. They didn’t over-cut. Hurwitz immediately doubled and tripled the harvest to pay off his junk bonds (which are still out there). That’s also why environmental types no longer look to Pacific Lumber as being a good corporate steward.
Throw da bums out!!!!!
January 9th, 2006 at 10:25 am#48, laugh — thanks for the link.
January 9th, 2006 at 1:47 pm47 From your link, the final sentence:
“One wonders if these VIPs, America’s secret leaders, will show more discretion and and care and skill at driving the US’ ship of state than they did at the helms of the USS Greeneville.”
Well, 5 short years later, I guess we know the answer to that question….
January 12th, 2006 at 10:19 am