Fun With Dick & Jane

There was a lot to talk about today. MA just passed a $27B budget which adds an additional billion dollars in taxes on the Massachusetts citizens. Dick added that in addition to a 25% increase in sales tax, Governor Patrick still wants a 19 cent gas tax.

I wanted to talk about the Cap and Trade bill, including my experience contacting Representative Richard Neal’s office last Friday. Representative Neal is my representative in the 2nd District. When I inquired whether representative Neal would vote for the Cap and Trade bill, his staff member replied: “I don’t speak for Representative Neal.” I then asked if knew whether Representative Neal supported Cap and Trade and again he said “I don’t speak for him.” I was apparently under the mistaken impression that Representative Neal worked for me. Apparently accountability to his constituents does not include telling us where he stands on an issue.

We need some new politicians.

I mentioned Monica Conyer’s guilty plea to conspiracy to commit bribery last week. While she is awaiting sentencing, her husband, Representative John Conyers, in charge of ethics in the House, decided that he would halt any investigation into ACORN’s suspected use of the President’s donor list to funnel funds to the Obama campaign illegally. Now at least the people charged with sentencing representative Conyer’s wife will no linger have to worry about an ethics investigation of the executive branch. We will see if her sentence reflects the executive’s gratitude.

We talked about the President’s reversal on his pledge to not raise taxes on the middle class, as well as his immediate support for the Honduras dictator in consort with Chavez and Castro, and compared his response to how long it took him to come out for the Iranians.

We hashed over the Ricci decision, and the Court’s chastisement of Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor for her failure to avail the firefighters with due process.

There was more, but you will have to listen!

Enjoy!

AIG was all over the broadcast today. Dick is mad at the bonuses – I’m mad at the smokescreen, and the power grab. Dick no longer hides his disdain for the current President, and even backed off on his adoration for Andy Cuomo particularly when I pointed out Cuomo’s role as President Clinton’s HUD secretary where he forced risky loans on banks the same loans that led to the current economic crisis.

The usual suspects – Barney Frank and Chris Dodd made an appearance, as did Governor Patrick and others in the cast of characters robbing us blind.

Enjoy! And don’t forget to plan for the April 15th tea party at a location near you!

Two stories caught my eye today. The first, about Ted Stevens, I’ve known about for a while. Seems Ted Stevens didn’t get a fair trial. The prosecutor cheated.

In July of 2008 Stevens was indicted on 7 counts of concealing gifts from a private corporation and lying about it. During the trial the prosecutor was admonished by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for sending a subpoenaed witness back to Alaska “a move that defense lawyers asserted was intended to hide exculpatory evidence.”

As luck would have it, Steven’s trial wrapped up right before the November election. The Jury believed the prosecutor and convicted Stevens on all seven counts. The following Tuesday, election day, Stevens was defeated by a mere Democrat Mark Begich by a margin of about 3,000 votes.

On Friday there was another development in the Steven’s case.

The federal judge who presided over the trial and conviction of former Senator Ted Stevens on ethics charges ruled Friday that four Justice Department lawyers involved with the case were in contempt of court.

The judge, Emmit G. Sullivan, was angered over the failure of the Justice Department to produce 32 documents he had asked for to help him assess a statement by an F.B.I. agent who had accused the prosecution team of willfully concealing evidence helpful to the defense.

It remains to be seen if the Judge will overturn the verdict, order a new trial, or decide the prosecutor’s conduct was not material to the conviction. We can certainly speculate that if Stevens were not convicted, he would have retained his senate seat.

The second story that caught my eye is more fallout from the Rod Blagojevich scandal. Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell President Obama’s senate seat. Before he was removed from office with an impeachment conviction, he appointed democrat Roland Burris as Obama’s replacement in the Senate.

At first Harry Reid and senior Illinois senator Dick Durbin refused to seat Burris citing the appointment as “tainted”.
Burris went on a media blitz implying Reid was racist, prompting a Reid capitulation and withdrawal of his objection. Meanwhile Burris testified at the Blagojevich impeachment panel, and as we learned today, perjured himself. From Capt Ed:

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother solicited U.S. Sen. Roland Burris for up to $10,000 in campaign cash before Blagojevich named Burris to the coveted post — something Burris initially failed to disclose under oath before an Illinois House impeachment panel, records and interviews show.

We can also speculate that had Harry Reid known that Burris was communicating with Blagojevich, he would not have been allowed to take Obama’s senate seat.

If Stevens won and Burris had not been seated, most likely, the trillion dollar Porkulus bill would have been defeated.

Funny how things work out.

The confrontation yesterday between Barney Frank and his posse at the Financial Services Committee was a sight to see. In this corner we have the guy who along with Chris Dodd at the Banking committee repeatedly refused to regulate Fannie and Freddie . That refusal to act pretty much forced banks into oblivion via the subprime mortgage mess. In the other corner, the Presidents of those banks who while losing assets in record speed were lining their pockets even faster.

It was very hard to decide which set of crooks to root for but I finally made up my mind. Until we find some way to get testimony under oath from Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of the elected officials who have become rich beyond expectation on an elected official’s salary, I’m going with the bankers.

Tough choice, I admit.

We start today with MA Governor Deval Patrick, who Dick is not thrilled with; then move on to the stimulus bill and President Obama’s first press conference. I get in the mandatory disgust about pork, the medical provisions stuck in the so-called stimulus bill, and the wrestling of the census from the Commerce Department to the White House. Meanwhile we watch the market crash in reaction to the Geithner speech.

Dick then talks about a proposed fiat by the Massachusetts Speaker of the House who is introducing legislation to prohibit the elected leadership in Massachusetts to serve “in leadership” after indictment. (I kid you not)

That leads us to talk about how pols protect each other, regardless of party, and how we really need to throw the bums out. We end with Dick’s usual rant about Sarah Palin, who I am convinced he has a crush on.

Dick and I discuss President Bush’s final press conference, media bias, the non-vetting of Obama, media bias, Pay for Play, media bias, health insurance, media bias, corruption in government and media bias.