December 18, 2008

 

 

 

"...I took all that I desired, even crooks have to pay the rent.

     We swam like rats on fire right, right down to the reservoir

     We took all that we could carry but we tried to carry more.

 

     And you know you know you know it all went wrong.

     And you know you know you know it all went wrong.

 

     We choked on street tap water

     Well, I'm gonna have to try the real thing

     I took your laugh by the collar and it knew not to swing

     Anytime I tried an honest job well the till had hole and ha-ha 

     We laughed about payin' rent 'cause the county jails they're free.

 

     And you know you know you know it all went wrong.

     And you know you know you know it all went wrong.

 

    Deep Water, Deep Water

     Senseless Denial

    I went down like a rag doll as you would, child

    Deep Water, Deep Water

    Senseless Denial

    I went down like a rag doll as you would, child..." 

 

- Partial lyrics from the song "King Rat", by the

  group Modest Mouse.

 

 

To All,

     Well, it seems that there is no honor among thieves....

 

 

King Rat:

     Celeste Katz is reporting at the New York Daily News that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Daley Mob) has been passing information about Governor Rod Blagojevich and other local politicians to Federal investigators for a number of years now.

 

     Katz cites a statement by Jackson "spokeshole" Kenneth Edmonds, where it seems Jackson Jr.'s self-professed cooperation with the Feds was due to Blagojevich's past refusal to make Mrs. Jesse Jackson Jr. director of the Illinois State Lotto without the receipt of a $ 25,000 campaign fund lagniappe.

 

     It's going to be difficult, on the other hand, to square Jackson Junior's claims to have refused the payment for his wife's appointment to a state position with Jackson's reported fundraising cooperation as Senate Candidate # 5 on the Federal wiretaps noted Patrick Fitzgerald's complaint.

 

    But it should be clear by now that Jackson's actions, along with the reports that Congressman Rahm Emmanuel's continued negotiations (again as recorded on Federal wiretaps) in trying to secure the Illinois Senate seat for Obama crony Valerie Jarrett, may be but preliminary indications of racketing activities that may end up being under the purview of RICO legislation.

 

    What is more, it may just be that The Boys From Chicago may not be too "thrilled" with the idea that Jackson Jr. has been cooperating with any kind of Federal investigation into Chicago machine politics.

 

    But given the scrutiny here, it seems that the age old motto of "Every Man For Himself" may just be taking precedence. Governor Blagojevich seems inclined to stand tough against all claims and charges, even to the point of keeping Illinois government tied up in knots for the foreseeable future. And Jackson Jr. may just be more concerned with staying "viable" (read un-convicted in a court of law) than with remaining in the good graces of a political organization that seems to largely resemble Tammany Hall, circa 1870.

 

    As such, President-Elect Obama seems tripped up by the very machine that put him on the political map, and in the Oval Office. While his own tendencies appear to be to deal with the Chapter 7 Press with the kind of disdain reserved for streetwalkers by their employers, it's clear that the Fourth Estate is going to want to be respected in the Post Inauguration dawn light. And that can only be had by digging deep enough into Obama's claims to "street cred" that an outing of the Chicago Machine of classic (Read Upton Sinclair-like) proportions is probable.

 

    Critics of Obama do have one thing to worry about, though. An Obama wounded and cornered will most likely appeal to a Way-Left Base so as to hold on to approval numbers that will let him stay relevant in the first 4 years of a potential 8 year term of service. The damage to conservative causes by a sudden catering to the California Left Coast cannot be understated to the rest of the country. Given how Liberals are running California and New York into the ground, the country should be very afraid about the portents of Rule By All Liberals, All of the Time. Stay tuned. 

 

 Links at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/12/16/2008-12-16_jesse_jackson_jr_ratted_on_blagojevich.html

 

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1334979,CST-NWS-rahm17.article

 

 

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Update:

     Andrew Ross reports at Sfgate.com about the additional "fall out" of the Bernard Madoff swindle.

 

    It seems that a number of liberal foundations and groups have been harmed, or even weakened financially to the point of closure. Included in these is the Justice, Equality, Human Dignity, and Tolerance Foundation (JEHT) and the Death Penalty Clinic at UC "Berserkley's" Boalt Hall School of Law. Likewise grant's applicants from the University of San Francisco seem SOL when it comes to JEHT monies.

 

   Programs apparently effected by this loss of foundation largesse include those who would seemingly halt the death penalty, on one hand, and others who would seemingly support "death with dignity" (euthanasia) on the other (Don't you wish that they could make up their minds, somehow?).

 

    The financial fallout from the Madoff Swindle may take as much as 6 months to figure out, simply because the forensic accountant types hired by the SEC are going to need that long to figure out Madoff's books (Apparently said records are in serious disarray). But it seems clear that yesterday's machers may just be today's paupers, until such time they are compensated by Security Industry insurance policies or until the courts redistribute the remainder of the ill-gotten gains as has been done in the past by the courts when dealing with swindles such as these. Suffice it to say that lawsuits will continue for the foreseeable future , or at least through the next three or four political fundraising cycles. As such, the impact on the body politic portends to be a huge one.

 

Link at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/17/BUK514P25N.DTL

 

http://www.jehtfoundation.org/criminaljustice/

 

 

Stroke of a Pen, Law of the Land, BUMMER:

     It seems that the California Legislature is back to it's old tricks of trying to bypass the will of the people, in it's latest attempts to raise taxes and revenues outside of a constitutionally mandated process.

 

     Mathew Yi reports at Sfgate.com that Speaker Karen Bass (D-Baldwin Vista) and cronies are going to propose a budget that will, among other things, remove the current excise tax/sales tax combo from fuel sales ( $.18 per gallon plus 7.25% on top of the actual fuel cost and Federal excise tax) but replace it with a whopping 39% state gas "fee" that could be increased at any time by a simple majority ( Current gasoline taxes can only be raised by agreement of 2/3rds of the Legislature, plus with the agreement of the Governor, courtesy of the handiwork of St. Howard of Jarvis).

 

    It does not matter that the new fee combination will be, in reality, a sidestep way of increasing taxes (Fees, taxes, what's the real difference? It still comes from the wallets of taxpayers.). But it is indicative of the disdain that the Legislature holds those who are largely responsible for paying for Sacramento's profligacy. If they are not careful, a tax revolt of proportions not since since the Whisky Rebellion may be in the offing. And such a situation may not be good for job tenure for the Denizens of the Dome. Stay tuned.

 

Link at:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/17/BAVK14PUNK.DTL

 

Respectfully,

 

 

Anthony Canales

SFVMC-NRA