[schrocat]

"Abramoff called his Indian clients "sophisticated business people" in the interview, which is in stark contrast to terms he used in private e-mails, first disclosed in The Washington Post in its ongoing examination of Abramoff, in which he called them "stupid" and "moronic." In other e-mails, released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, he referred to them as "idiots," "troglodytes" and "monkeys."

"I regret that in the heat of the locker room atmosphere of the lobbying world, I sometimes, rarely -- but sometimes -- I resorted to language more common to a drill sergeant or a football coach," Abramoff told Time. "Many of my e-mails have been maliciously taken out of context, another effort by those assaulting my career. As a result, I've been portrayed as a cynical barbarian preying on the very clients I was charged to defend."

[Ninong]

Yep, those emails can come back and bite you in the hiney! They're the modern equivalent of the Nixon tapes.

I knew about all the stuff John McCain had already uncovered about how Abramoff and his little pal Ralphie Reed of Christian Coalition fame were making money hand over fist by representing tribes that were competing with each other in the Indian casino business but I didn't realize he had other serious problems that were under federal investigation.

From the closing paragraph of this same Washington Post article:

By then, Abramoff had already embarked on another enterprise -- one that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would later brand a "truly extraordinary" example of "exploitation and deceit." During a three-year period, Abramoff and Scanlon took in $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes.

"We need that moolah," Abramoff e-mailed Scanlon on Jan. 16, 2002. "We have to hit $50M this year (our cut!)."

[Ninong]

I guess it's expensive being a Washington lobbyist -- having to fork out $1,000,000/year for skyboxes at three or four local stadiums, not to mention those expensive Cuban cigars! These Congressmen don't come cheap!

[Ninong]

On election night 2004, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) boasted:

"The Republican Party is a permanent majority for the future of this country. . . . We are going to be able to lead this country in the direction we've been dreaming of for years."

And to think that he based that prediction on the sweeping 51% landslide that President Bush immedately called a "mandate."

Obviously Mr. DeLay is forgetting about the 1964 election. Lyndon Johnson received 61% of the popular vote and 91% of the electoral college vote and yet he was out of office four years later. In fact, he didn't even bother running for reelection. I wonder if it had anything to do with Vietnam?!?

In fact, he's probably even forgetting about Poppy Bush's failed shot at reelection in 1992. Maybe he's been smoking too many freebie Cuban cigars or paying too much attention to a certain over-medicated wingnut windbag on the radio.

[schrocat]

"...I am not a federal employee. I am a constitutional officer. My job is the Constitution of the United States, I am not a government employee. I am in the Constitution." - From "Talk Back Live" December 19, 1995



"The judges need to be intimidated. They need to uphold the Constitution. (If they don't behave) we're going to go after them in a big way." - From the Washington Post 9/14/97

And my favorite, drum roll please:

"I am the federal government."

[Ninong]

I see where DeLay's friends are hosting a Tribute Dinner on May 12th. Uh, oh! You know you're in trouble when they start giving you tribute dinners. Remember all the tribute dinners Newty got just before he got the boot? Gives them all an opportunity to gather round and tell you what a wonderful job you're doing while they secretly discuss who should take your place just in case.

What's up with Laura Bush's imitation of a late night standup comic? That's not going over too well with "the base" at all. In fact, they're furious about some of her off-color jokes.

Speaking of "the base," did you see where James Dobson yesterday declared that Al-Qaida is NOT the most serious threat facing American today? No, siree! American judges are the most serious threat facing American today. Much, much worse than Al-Qaida!

And, while we're on the topic of religious crackpots in general, how about Pat Robertson's appearance on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" Sunday! Robertson, who ran for president in 1988, said if he were elected he would not appoint Muslims to his Cabinet and that he was not in favor of Muslims serving as judges. We can add that comment to that Baptist Seminary president's comment that only Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior should be appointed as federal judges.

At least it's not quite as bad as what Bush 41 said back in the 1980's when he was answering questions from the press at an airport before boarding his campaign plane. When asked if atheists could be good patriotic citizens, Bush said that atheists could not be citizens or patriots in this country because we are a country that believes in God. Let me repeat that. He didn't say they couldn't be good citizens, he said they couldn't be citizens. Period! And definitely not patriots!

Here we are in the middle of a battle in Iraq with religious fanatics armed with weapons and ammunition that we allowed them to take because we left the ammunition dumps unguarded and we have our own home-grown religious fanatics over here trying to poor oil (no pun intended) on the fire! I suggest that we give up, call it a crusade (like Bush 43 did in the beginning), and get all of our religious crackpots to go over there and fight the Islamic religious crackpots. Oh, that's right, that wouldn't work, would it. None of them would actually volunteer. Maybe if we could get James Dobson and Pat Robertson to promise them 72 virgins or something if they got blown to kingdom come?

[Ninong]

"The people of his district know that Congressman DeLay is guided by principles, not by polls."

That's the statement issued by DeLay's office in response to this latest poll in Houston that shows that the majority of the folks in his district are not happy with his job performance: http://www.click2houston.com/politic...45/detail.html

DeLay took his own poll a couple of days ago and 100% of the people he talked to told him he was doing a fine job. He asked his fellow passengers on the plane what they thought of his job performance and they all told him to hang in there. He's looking forward to the dinner scheduled for May 12th. where he expects 100% of the invited guests to say something similar.

[schrocat]

Originally Posted by Ninong

"The people of his district know that Congressman DeLay is guided by principles, not by polls."

That's the statement issued by DeLay's office in response to this latest poll in Houston that shows that the majority of the folks in his district are not happy with his job performance: http://www.click2houston.com/politic...45/detail.html

DeLay took his own poll a couple of days ago and 100% of the people he talked to told him he was doing a fine job. He asked his fellow passengers on the plane what they thought of his job performance and they all told him to hang in there. He's looking forward to the dinner scheduled for May 12th. where he expects 100% of the invited guests to say something similar.

100%

Saddam would be proud!!!

[Ninong]

That's not so unusual in Republican circles. One hundred percent of the people George Bush speaks to at his "public" social security townhall meetings agree with everything he says. Either that or they wouldn't have been allowed to attend in the first place. They learned that trick when they set up his campaign appearances.

So it's possible for both Bush and DeLay to say that almost all of the people they talk to agree with them.

P.S. -- On the president's new social security plan, I'm sure we're all relieved to know that the reductions will only apply to "wealthy Americans" -- those earning more than $20,000/year! Those earning less than $20,000 will see no change in benefits. And a $2 trillion transfer from the General Fund will allow for "personal" accounts.

[Ninong]

Bush campaign still owes Abramoff's former law firm $314,000 for work done on the Florida recount way back in 2000:

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne...t_bush_505.htm

[Ninong]

I think the real conservatives in the Republican Party (as opposed to the theo-conservatives) are trying to send a message to Majority Leader DeLay that he should step down without delay so that their party can move forward without DeLay. The "liberals" at the Wall Street Journal have now reached the astonishing conclusion that his trip to St. Andrews in Scotland was primarily for recreation and thus a violation of House rules.

According to new documents, the Wall Street Journal reports a "lobbyist-organized" trip by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) "to Scotland in 2000 may have been chiefly recreational and contrary to House rules."

Though the trip "was billed as an effort to promote an exchange of ideas with British conservatives," the new information "suggests instead that recreation was the primary purpose of going to Scotland, and the excursion appears more a gift and contrary to House rules defining 'necessary' travel expenses as not including 'entertainment or recreational activities.'"

Meanwhile, the Washington Post notes DeLay "delivered an emotional homily yesterday on the need for greater humility in public servants."

[NoSump]

Originally Posted by Ninong

On election night 2004, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) boasted:

"The Republican Party is a permanent majority for the future of this country. . . . We are going to be able to lead this country in the direction we've been dreaming of for years."

And to think that he based that prediction on the sweeping 51% landslide that President Bush immedately called a "mandate."

Ninong:

Nothing is "permanent" but with the voting trends of recent elections it could be a nice long ride for Republicans. I don't foresee the "Solid South" or mountain west states defecting to the Dems any time in the near future.

By the way, I was in you area this week, New Orleans. Great town.

Chuck

[Ninong]

It is difficult to predict what will happen 3-1/2 years from now. A switch of only 65,000 votes in Ohio in this past election would have put John Kerry in the White House, so from that standpoint it was a lot closer than most people want to admit.

I do not see the South or the Mountain West, with the possible exception of Colorado in the Mountain West and Florida in the South, voting Democratic in the near future. Of course, a lot depends on who the Democratic and Republican candidates are in 2008. The present trends seem to favor the Republicans nominating another social conservative and the Democrats nominating another liberal. If the Republicans were to somehow nominate an outsider like John McCain or if the Democrats were to somehow avoid nominating Hillary Clinton, things could get interesting.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Looks like Bill O'Reilly is about to make his Caribbean fantasies come true this November: http://www.ctscentral.net/OReilly_Cruise.pdf

Ooops!

Looks like not very many people were interested in enjoying the companionship of "The Factor" actor for eight days and seven nights:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/goss...p-271032c.html

[Ninong]

Here's a Republican who would make a good cellmate for Tom DeLay: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/p...2windfall.html

He sells his house for $1,675,000 to a defense contractor looking for business with the government. The defense contractor gets all kinds of new contracts. In the meantime, the house, which the defense contractor put on the market immediately after purchasing it from the Republican Congressman, remains unsold at the asking price of $1,675,000 for 261 days before it is finally sold for $975,000 -- that's a full $700,000 less than the Congressman got for it from his defense contractor pal and all of this happened when real estate in California was skyrocketing, except for that one exception.

Hmmm... Where have I seen that trick before. Oh, that's right, that's how a very well known mega car dealer got so many new franchises from a certain major Japanese car manufacturer and then managed to get as many hard-to-get models as his little heart desired while other dealers where struggling to get their fair share of these hot sellers. Buying and selling homes with the manufacturer's representatives did wonders for everybody involved until the feds finally got tipped off and hit him with an 11-count indictment.

That's one of the oldest tricks in the book. It looks especially sneaky when, as in the case of the deal with the Republican Congressman, an out-of-state company is used as the buyer in an attempt to conceal the "special" relationship involved in the transaction.

P.S. -- You were wondering where that Republican Congressman who sold his house at such a good price is living now? He's living aboard a 42-ft luxury yacht on the Potomac river. Whose yacht? Oh, by some strange coincidence the yacht just happens to be owned by the same guy who bought his house at such an inflated price. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...ck=2&cset=true

[Ninong]

I added a postscript to the above post on Rep. Randy Cunningham (R - San Diego) but I probably should have made it a new post instead. So this makes up for that error in judgment.

Read the P.S. above. It's interesting, to say the least.

[Ninong]

If I had only known in time, I could have gotten my picture taken with Sean Hannity and Zell Miller for only $1,000. But that was yesterday and I missed it.

Maybe next time.

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by Ninong

Ooops!

Looks like not very many people were interested in enjoying the companionship of "The Factor" actor for eight days and seven nights:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/goss...p-271032c.html

Ooops, indeed.

[schrocat]

Originally Posted by Ninong

If I had only known in time, I could have gotten my picture taken with Sean Hannity and Zell Miller for only $1,000. But that was yesterday and I missed it.

Maybe next time.

You may laugh now...
But imagine the conversation starting capability afforded your living room with a 8x10 glossy of you pointing and laughing hysterically at Sean Hannity.

Priceless.

[Ninong]

(07-01) 15:37 PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) --

Federal agents on Friday searched the California home of U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, along with the yacht in Washington, D.C., where he has been living, the FBI said.

Agents from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and the Defense Department's criminal investigative service also searched the Washington offices of a defense firm whose founder bought the congressman's previous home, leading to a federal investigation, said Debra Weierman, a Washington FBI spokeswoman.

Cunningham, 63, has said that he showed poor judgment in selling the house, but he acted honestly and predicted that an investigation would prove that.

On Friday, a Cunningham spokesman said he did not know anything about the raids and referred all inquiries to the congressman's attorney, K. Lee Blalack, who did not immediately return a call for comment.

The former Navy "Top Gun" fighter pilot and eight-term Republican congressman sold his home in November 2003 to Mitchell Wade, a campaign contributor and close friend.

Wade paid $1.7 million for the 3,826-square-foot house in wealthy, seaside Del Mar, just north of San Diego. He put it back on the market soon after and eventually took a $700,000 loss when he resold it in October 2004. During that span, home prices in San Diego County rose an average of nearly 25 percent.

Meanwhile, Wade's little-known company, Washington, D.C.-based MZM Inc., was increasing its federal contracting business. In 2004, MZM tripled its revenue and nearly quadrupled its staff, according to the company's Web site.

Cunningham is a member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, both of which oversee the kind of classified intelligence work MZM does for the military.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego is investigating the house sale with help from the FBI. Earlier this week, Cunningham's office disclosed that a federal grand jury has subpoenaed documents from him, though they declined to elaborate further.

Cunningham has also lived part-time on Wade's boat, docked on the Potomac River. He has said he agreed to pay dock fees and service and maintenance costs to Wade in lieu of rent to stay there. Living on Wade's boat without paying would violate congressional ethics rules.

The Defense Department halted orders this month on a five-year contract that provided MZM with $163 million of revenue over its first three years after the department's inspector general found that it did not satisfy rules on competitiveness.

This week, MZM announced that James King, a retired three-star Army general, was taking over as president and chief executive — a role held for years by Wade, who founded the company in 1993.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...w142458D41.DTL