Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) retiring.
By on Jan 25th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) retiring.
The Crypt reports that Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) will be announcing his retirement today, “becoming the 25th House Republican not to run for re-election this election cycle.” In 2006, the LA Times revealed that Weldon earmarked money for Tom DeLay’s allies in return for political contributions.
UPDATE: “The surprise announcement comes within hours of the congressman’s daughter, Katie Weldon, being arrested and jailed, accused of attacking an employee at a Brevard County bar.”
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This 2008 election is starting to have the look of the 1932 election. A complete tidal wave of change!!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:22 amAnother Repug bites the dust!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:24 amAnother republican’t with ties to delay decides to spend time with his family, before he goes to jail.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:25 amAnother Abramoff co-conspirator:
http://www.madcowprod.com/06202005.html
June 21, 2005 -Venice, FL.
by Daniel Hopsicker
While Abramoff’s Indian gaming troubles may be getting the most publicity, his other major ‘area of concern’ is where the real scandal resides. Involvement with Mob-run casino boats may turn out to be a faux pas, even for Republicans.
Less than a week before the 9.11 attack, Atta and several other hijackers were aboard one of Abramoff’s casino boats. What no one seems able to answer is this:
What possible thrill could gambling offer men getting ready to die in less than a week? To this date, their Sept 5 visit to a gambling vessel overrun with retirees remains unexplained.
‘Islamic fundamentalist’ Atta may have felt right at home in the world of fast cash and unlicensed gambling boat ‘cruises to nowhere’ of Republican lobbyist (and observant Jew) Jack Abramoff. He would almost certainly have been comfortable with the “gangland-style hit straight out of ‘Goodfellas†that cemented Abramoff’s prominent position in that industry.
Two SunCruz executives, Jack Abramoff and Ben Waldman, are walking examples of the strange alliance between the family-values party and the gambling industry. Both men have strong ties to Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition, which is adamantly opposed to gambling; Waldman was Robertson top aide in the televangelist’s run for the presidency.
Abramoff, who perhaps wisely only took the title of vice president (less heat) has been connected to the Christian right since a student at Brandeis University, where as head of the College Republicans he enlisted Top Christian Ralph Reed as his top deputy. The two have remained close friends ever since.
A man named Adam Kidan became Sun Cruz’s new chairman. Kidan’s mother had been murdered in a gangland-style hit in New York. Madonna’s one-time boyfriend and South Beach restaurateur Chris Paciello, was eventually convicted in the case.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida led the way in parlaying mom-and-pop bingo parlors into today’s $19 billion a year Indian casino industry. Along with legendary Chief James Billie (Wrestles with Alligators) Rob Tiller was a seminal figure in this growth.
Tiller is also a South Florida aviation insider and former business partner of terror flight school owner and secretive financier Wally Hilliard. He even met Atta and Marwan one day after a meeting with Hilliard, he says, with whom he was working on an airline start-up called Havana Air.
Small world.
A week before Gus Boulis was murdered, Tiller was called to take a meeting with him. Tiller says Boulis was scared. Boulis hadn’t wanted to sell.
Now he was worried he’d be whacked.
“He called me to a meeting at the Ocean Reef Club. Very snooty. You cant even land there without permission. I flew my airplane down to meet him,†Tiller recalled.
“He said, ‘I want out. People think I make a lot more money than I really do. I don’t need the headache anymore. I want to sell my casino boats to the Seminoles.’â€
What was Tiller’s response? “I said, ‘Gus you’re sure rocking a lot of people’s boats here.’â€
â€A couple days later, I hear he’s been blown apart dead. See, Gus wanted to muscle his way into the casino business in a real bad way. His Miami subs were everywhere. He was using them to launder money, big-time, for somebody.â€
Who might that be? Even asking the question brings a shiver.
He wrote a check?
At the time Boulis was murdered, suspicion focused on company chairman Adam Kidan, also an active Republican and campaign contributor. He had been in Israel at the time of the murder. His alibi held.
But then news surfaced that just before Boulis’ death Kidan had written at least $30,000 in checks to a reputed Mob enforcer named Anthony Moscatiello, a one-time associate of crime boss John Gotti.
A man in a BMW was driving down a quiet side street after an evening meeting at his Fort Lauderdale office when a car slowed to a stop in front of him. A second car boxed the BMW in from behind, then a dark Mustang appeared from the opposite direction. The Mustang’s driver pulled alongside and pumped three hollow-point bullets into the BMW driver’s chest.
“Boulis was murdered in the exact same way as Don Aronow, Bush’s other partner,†he stated.
Bush’s other partner? The question hung in the air.
“Something is really going down bad here,†Tiller stated. “Don Aronow. Gus. Jim Shore…All tied in to Bush.â€
Less than two months later, Sun Cruz announced plans to move a 150-foot, $10-million floating casino to the Northern Marianas.
Almost every article we’d read cites Abramoff & Delay’s interest in the Marianas being sweat-shop related. Meaning they’re in favor of them. Their primary focus wasn’t sweatshops. It was gambling.
When NBC’s Dateline did a story recently about sources of terrorist funding right here in the U.S., they made bold to announce “the emerging threat of a new alliance between al Qaeda and common criminals.â€
In truth, the idea that Mohamed Atta and his henchmen needed help from an outside organization while they were in the U.S. was easy to understand… Logistical support is difficult to arrange from caves.
Still, the FBI stepped in and quickly put a kibosh on that kind of talk… “Government sources now say that the investigation so far suggests the 19 had ‘no major help’ in the United States,” said a story in the Washington Post which came out soon after Blair’s alarming faux pas.
“The 19 hijackers who carried out the worst act of terror ever to occur on U.S. soil worked with little outside help as a single, integrated group,†the Post reported.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:26 amGiven the fact that Dean and the Democratic leadership has disenfranchised Florida, I wouldn’t count on a Democrat taking over that seat.
Comment by good_golly — January 25, 2008 @ 11:26 am
Gigi, please quit saying stupid things here.
We know you’re just doing it to get attention. So, okay, you look very pretty today. Now run along.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:29 am* According to Florida Today, Florida Congressman Dave Weldon (R) said that “he had no idea that Edwin Buckham” had a stake in Map Roi when he wrote a $1.55 million earmark to Florida Tech, of which $500,000 went to Map Roi. The original Los Angeles Times story quoted a university newletter that pronounced, “U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon was instrumental in bringing Map Roi to Florida Tech.”
* The Washington Post reports on a taxpayer funded junket that Senators Arlen Spector (R-PA) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) are on right now to visit “the actual birthplace of the matzoh ball.” Okay, they’re also talking about drug interdiction, guest worker plans, and global warming but it’s Passover so I had to go with the matzoh ball angle.
* The West Viringia media has been picking up the Mollohan story. Here’s a story from the West Virginia State Journal.
– Paul Blumenthal
Buckham Lobbying and Investing Mixed:
The dirt keeps piling up for ex-DeLay chief of staff Ed Buckham. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Buckham got Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) to insert a $1.55 million earmark for the Florida Institute of Technology which then turned around and signed a lobbying client and business partner of Buckham to do the work.
With the assistance of Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), a DeLay political ally, Buckham had $1.55 million set aside in late 2003 in a federal appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Labor to fund a program for small businesses.
The money was awarded to the Florida Institute of Technology, which promptly signed a contract with Map Roi Inc., a client and partner of lobbyist Buckham.
At the time, Buckham’s lobby company, Alexander Strategy Group, held options on 500,000 shares of Map Roi stock, records show.
Map Roi, a Guam-based company, enjoyed success after securing the FIT contract attracting $3 million from a group of venture capital firms. Buckham had encountered Map Roi through his dealings with Jack Abramoff in Guam. The FIT earmark was not the only one sought by Map Roi. There was an effort to obtain $20 million in earmarks from the federal government that strikes current Abramoff lightening rod Sen. Conrad Burns☼ (R-MT):
http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:mjl-tUD9Cf8J:www.sunlightfoundation.com/taxonomy/term/138+abramoff+%2B+dave+weldon&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us
January 25th, 2008 at 11:31 amCan an indictment be far behind….?
January 25th, 2008 at 11:40 am6 – HAHAHAHAHAH!!! Ralphie…have I told you lately that I love you? :oD
~A
January 25th, 2008 at 11:41 amStop it Annie, I’m blushing. You always do that to me.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:44 amRepublican retirement=lawyer up to fight prosecution.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:44 amAnother Republiscum who has seen the handwriting on the wall.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:52 amRepublican retirement=lawyer up to fight prosecution.
Comment by Dirty Hippie — January 25, 2008 @ 11:44 am
That’s obviously the most likely equation, DH. But you’re forgetting their Plan B:
Republican retirement = commencement of lobbying career.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:52 amGee, goony, yer reallllll cute when you’re angry!!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:58 amRalph, I look pretty every day. But I don’t plan on “running along†any time soon. Weldon’s district is a Republican district, usually by about a 57-43 margin, so don’t get too excited.
Comment by good_golly
when I see the name good_golly I visualize the pus running out of a boil when it’s squeezed.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:58 amRalph, I look pretty every day. But I don’t plan on “running along†any time soon. Weldon’s district is a Republican district, usually by about a 57-43 margin, so don’t get too excited.
Comment by goon_golly — January 25, 2008 @ 11:54 am
See, that would have been a relatively intelligent response. Dragging Howard Dean into it is an example of your typical moronic comment, totally unrelated to, well, reality.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:59 amWeldon’s district is a Republican district, usually by about a 57-43 margin, so don’t get too excited.
Comment by good_golly — January 25, 2008 @ 11:54 am
Ah, but that’s not what you said. You said, “Given the fact that Dean and the Democratic leadership has disenfranchised Florida, I wouldn’t count on a Democrat taking over that seat.”
Much different analysis. Why do you flip-flop on your opinions, Gigi?
And, yes, you DO look pretty every day. But you look especially pretty today. Now go look in your room. I think there’s a My Little Pony Tea Set in there. In the closet. Way in the back. Keep looking.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:00 pmRalph, I look pretty every day.
Comment by good_golly
when I see the name good_golly I visualize the blue bottle flies swarming a big fat dog turd in the summer heat.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:01 pmAnother Scumbag bites the dust! Good riddance to bad rubbish and the GOP is nothing but bad rubbush. Weldon may have jail time in his future??
January 25th, 2008 at 12:04 pmWeldon’s “lawyering up” as we speak…..prison may be too good for this scumball.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:05 pmOne more repukian crime lord turd circling the toilet of shame.
Buck Fush
January 25th, 2008 at 12:07 pmComment by good_golly — January 25, 2008 @ 12:06 pm
Whatever, Gigi.
You find that Tea Set yet? It’s a real nice one.
It’s probably hidden under some stuff, keep looking.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:11 pmComment # 1: We can only hope that the weak democrats don’t find a way to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. They have been going along to get along with the President and Republicans too long. People might get the idea that they are just another rubberstamp Congress because he act as if Dubya has a 99 percent approval rating. They cave at the sign of trouble and give in before they can fight for what’s right. I’m a die hard Democrat, but the Congress is the weakest congress I’ve seen in 40 years. But that’s what we get when you put a mormon and a women in charge. They are afraid to hurt Dubya’s feelings so they just go along. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m sick and tire of being disregarded by my party.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:20 pm18. I respectfully disagree. Dean is the current head of the DNC and made the decision to not count Florida’s delegates in November because Florida decided to hold its primary before Super Tuesday. Many Florida Democrats feel disenfranchised, and this cannot help the Democratic party’s efforts to win key races in this key, swing state come November.
Comment by good_golly — January 25, 2008 @ 12:06 pm
As if you personally know “many Florida Democrats” ?
How ? They stop by to discuss your needing to move your trailer out of everyone’s eyesight ?
January 25th, 2008 at 12:24 pmIn the closet, Gigi. Your bedroom closet.
Way in the back.
Go.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pmTo many of us here in Brevard County FL, getting rid of Weldon is like having a bad ulcer removed.
January 25th, 2008 at 2:22 pm28 – Awwww, Ralph!! Yer killin’ me here!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
~A
January 25th, 2008 at 2:47 pmIn the closet, Gigi. Your bedroom closet.
Way in the back.
Go.
Comment by ralph the wonder llama — January 25, 2008 @ 12:45 pm
Now I need to clean the coffee off my monitor! Thanks!
January 25th, 2008 at 4:10 pmI did need the laugh though… ;)
More RePugniScum as$wipes!! Father, daugther, brother, mother…RePugniScums!!
January 25th, 2008 at 8:55 pmGG: “Weldon’s district is a Republican district, usually by about a 57-43 margin, so don’t get too excited.”
I live in the district and I must admit that it’s highly populated by under-educated rural folk who tend to vote for the GOP and against their own best interests.
Having said that check out Dr. Stephen Blythe who’s running as a progressive Dem (and now he’s not even battling a incumbent!). He’s right on the ball politically and goes so far as to blog: “I think that many who are uncomfortable with continuing more of the same still do not, or cannot, see that we have been moving towards fascism – steadily, and not so slowly.”
Blythe “08!
http://www.blythe2008.com/
January 26th, 2008 at 12:06 pm