Susan DeMuro
mommydoll@msn.com

Just one of a million daggers between the left and right that keep splitting this country in two. The biggest one has Osama Bin Ladens name on it and we’ll never be the same. It will take centuries to recover from this one.. Righties to intrenched to admit their mistakes, and Lefties to freakin angry to get behind any good idea, news or anything… let alone come up with a good idea themselves. Give me something to vote FOR, not against.

PS.. don’t ignore Fox, CNN, CBS, NY Times, Wall Street.. either take it all in, believe NONE of it, and come to your own conclusions, or ignore all of it and just be happy with yourself. But DO NOT just listen to one media source and believe EVERYTHING they say… then you’re just an idiot.

Someone in the middle where the air is a little cleaner….

…Couric Caught On Tape: Democrats Took Money From Abramoff Too, Mr. Dean…Real Estate Blog……

By JOHN SOLOMON and SHARON THEIMER
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid wrote at least four letters helpful to Indian tribes represented by Jack Abramoff, and the senator’s staff regularly had contact with the disgraced lobbyist’s team about legislation affecting other clients.

The activities _ detailed in billing records and correspondence obtained by The Associated Press _ are far more extensive than previously disclosed. They occurred over three years as Reid collected nearly $68,000 in donations from Abramoff’s firm, lobbying partners and clients.

Reid’s office acknowledged Thursday having “routine contacts” with Abramoff’s lobbying partners and intervening on some government matters _ such as blocking some tribal casinos _ in ways Abramoff’s clients might have deemed helpful. But it said none of his actions were affected by donations or done for Abramoff.

“All the actions that Senator Reid took were consistent with his long- held beliefs, such as not letting tribal casinos expand beyond reservations, and were taken to defend the interests of Nevada constituents,” spokesman Jim Manley said.

Reid, D-Nev., has led the Democratic Party’s attacks portraying Abramoff’s lobbying and fundraising as a Republican scandal.

But Abramoff’s records show his lobbying partners billed for nearly two dozen phone contacts or meetings with Reid’s office in 2001 alone.

For what it’s worth, Dean is trying to play a game of semantics, claiming that if Abramoff never physically handed a Democrat a check, it means they never engaged in corruption with him.

But… senate Minority Leader Harry Reid accepted thousands of dollars from an Abramoff client — the Coushatta Indian tribe.

The Coushattas sent a $5,000 check to Reid’s tax-exempt political group, the Searchlight Leadership Fund, the day after Reid interceded via letter with Interior Secretary Gale Norton over a casino dispute with a rival tribe. A second tribe represented by Abramoff sent an additional $5,000 to Reid’s group. Reid in total received more than $66,000 in Abramoff-related contributions between 2001 and 2004.

You gotta love the sad irony that Democrats have made this such a huge issue considering their own involvement in it.

RE: Post 197… Are you sure I’m defending a man I never voted for? Would that make you feel better? Ignoring the issue of corruption and it’s pervasiveness in Washington regardless of political party?

RE: Post 200… I might not be from Seattle, but the news reporting I’ve been seeing has Abramoff shifting money through people and bank accounts like he was playing a video game. But I guess it’s more important to attack the Republicans than clean up Washington.

RE: Post 202… Ooooh.. do my websites now!!! Please!!! Will I finally find true love?

RE: Post 203… You lost me with all that medical lingo. Well, that, and the fact you prefer to insult rather than discuss.

RE: Post 222… On the one hand, Couric is being attacked for being just a pretty faced shill… On the other hand, someone is attacked for being an ugly, fat, old shill. Never did understand where looks became the point. Besides, my momma said I’m pretty.

Ad hominem attacks, my fellow Americans, do nothing more than take up space. Poo poo heads.

And the song said, do dah doo…

I guess you didn’t care to actually read what I wrote, and went for the knee-jerk reaction instead. I’ve never said that any Democrats took any money from Abramoff, because I think it is quite clear that didn’t happen. Resting on a hope that none of his clients did, though, I think is a bit naive and run by partisanship.

Seixon, in your non-partisan zeal you overlook the main point of the outrage directed at Couric and Howell (and earlier Blitzer). Their mistake, and thus the fact that allows Dean to truthfully state that no Democrat received
Abramoff money is that the media speakpeople always confuse Abramoff money with Abramoff-related money.

I only “overlooked” that because it is quite obvious that Couric made that mistake because she has no idea what she is talking about, like many of the talking heads on TV (Chris Matthews comes to mind…). However, when Couric actually did hone in on something that was correct, talking about the millions of dollars that were directed at Republicans and Democrats from Abramoff’s clients, Dean jumped right back into talking point mode and basically kept clear of talking about the tribes’ role in all of this.

The reason for that, of course, is what managed to weasel its way into your last statement: “what Democrats received was Abramoff-related money which may or may not have had any actual connection with Abramoff”

Ah, so there is a possibility that Abramoff directed some of his clients to give money to Democrats? Gee, someone tell Howard Dean, ThinkProgress, and the rest of the partisan goons who are commenting here.

Partisans will quash any such possibility, for after all, it is a rule in the Democratic Party that Republicans are evil money-whores, while they are nothing of the sort. Thus any possibility that Democrats may have been tainted in this scandal must be erased immediately.

Just looking at the numbers of the amount of money going from the tribes to Democrats and Republicans, non-partisans such as myself wonder how the Democrats be so sure of themselves that their own didn’t take part in this. It’s almost as if they believe that the tribes magically became much more supportive of them, tribes who had connections to Abramoff, a lobbyist. Amazingly, both Democrats and Republicans were suddenly buried with money from the tribes.

Quite amazing. Shall I close my eyes now and pretend I don’t see any strange coincidences?

Here’s something to think about: if the Republicans knew that Abramoff was a crook, why in the world would they want him to show up in FEC records as having donated directly to them?

No. Those who knew he was a crook opted for the money-laundering operation through the tribes. Did those include Democrats as well?

Time will tell, and I hope I won’t have to say “I told you so” a couple months from now, but you should all at least get off your partisan horses and ponder the possibility.

I’m going to be nominated to run for the 4th District, CT Congressional seat against Chris Shays and Dem. Diane Farrell as the Green Party candidate. Last election I gave Diane Farrell very damaging letters that Shays had written. Farrell never used them, protecting Shays.

My story exposes actual criminal acts by Federal District Judge Alan H. Nevas who jury tampered (no joke), violated the Court Reporter Act by intimidating his court reporter to delete part of the transcript, and obstructed justice. The case went to the Supreme Court and lost. So much for checks and balances.

You can read the entire story titled JUST CAUSE JUST FACTS available on Amazon.com.

Thank You.

Comment by Cecil Graham #218

Ditto!

In Local State and Federal elections the Dems normally have the people who would donate thru an org or a pac write the checks directly to the politician instead of the org, pac or corp who is doing the actual fund raising.

I know, I have done this many times.

This way you get a list of individuals instead of special interest groups, but each politician is aware of who raised what and where the individual checks come from.

Yes the Dems did get that amount of money via Abramoff thru each group he represents, and yes the politician does know who is gathering those funds….This is actually a much slyer way of getting funds….The Repubs do not normally do this, they have a different policy.

So yes Dean is correct in saying No Dem has taken money from Abramoff, but he is being really dishonest in not disclosing the second half.

This system is also used to keep the books clean, you don’t list the actual group, instead individuals only show up and it is impossible to tell what groups they are with…….

I’m no great fan of Katie but let’s focus on what she says and does instead of what she looks like.

There’s a lot being written about Chris Matthews these days but so far I haven’t seen any comments about the fact that he’s an overweight, blowsy bleached blond. Certainly, no one has mentioned his legs.

I won’t even get into Tim Russert’s jowls…and neither should anyone else.

But if we’re going to talk about looks, the guys should be getting equal time.