Tag Archives: Democrat

Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters Loves Convicted Cop Killer, Terrorist Joanne Chesimard

7 May

Maxine Waters Loves Convicted Terrorist – WorldNetDaily

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is a staunch defender of convicted cop killer and domestic terrorist Joanne Chesimard, who just became the first woman ever to be placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.

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Chesimard, living under asylum in Cuba, also goes by her Black Panther name of Assata Shakur. She was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted by a jury of the 1979 murder of a New Jersey state trooper. Less than two years later, Chesimard escaped from prison and lived underground before surfacing in Cuba in 1984.

On Sept. 14, 1998, the House of Representatives, of which Waters was a member, passed a unanimous resolution requesting Fidel Castro extradite Chesimard to the United States. The name on the resolution, affirmed by Waters, was Joanne Chesimard and not Assata Shakur.

Waters said she only realized Chesimard’s identity after the vote and wrote a letter to Fidel Castro explaining that she, as chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and other CBC members had “mistakenly voted” in favor of the resolution.

Waters claimed the Republicans had “slipped” the bill into an accelerated calendar in order to look “tough on Cuba” for the November elections. Waters claimed the Republicans had deliberately used Chesimard’s given name to deceive. Had she known Chesimard’s identity, she wrote, she would have voted otherwise.

On May 2, 1973, Chesimard and a pair of accomplices were stopped by two troopers for a motor vehicle violation on the New Jersey Turnpike. At the time, Chesimard – a member of the violent revolutionary activist organization known as the Black Liberation Army – was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery.

According to the FBI, Chesimard and her accomplices opened fire on the troopers. One officer was wounded, and his partner – Trooper Werner Foerster – was shot and killed at point-blank range. One of Chesimard’s accomplices was killed in the shootout, and the other was arrested and remains in jail.

“Joanne Chesimard is a domestic terrorist who murdered a law enforcement officer execution-style,” said Aaron Ford, special agent in charge of the Newark Division. “Today, on the anniversary of Trooper Werner Foerster’s death, we want the public to know that we will not rest until this fugitive is brought to justice.”

Mike Rinaldi, a lieutenant in the New Jersey State Police and member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Newark, said the case “is just as important today as it was when it happened 40 years ago.”

“Bringing Joanne Chesimard back here to face justice is still a top priority,” he said.

Waters defends terrorist as victim

In 1998, Waters released a statement defending Castro’s right to grant asylum to Chesimard despite her conviction for murder in the U.S.

Stated Waters: “I support the right of all nations to grant political asylum to individuals fleeing political persecution. The United States grants political asylum to individuals from all over the world who successfully prove they are fleeing political persecution. Other sovereign nations have the same right, including the sovereign nation of Cuba.”

In her statement, Waters further defended Chesimard, claiming the convicted domestic terrorist was a victim of political persecution.

“The second reason I oppose this measure,” stated Waters, “is because I respect the right of Assata Shakur to seek political asylum. Assata Shakur has maintained that she was persecuted as a result of her political beliefs and political affiliations. As a result, she left the United States and sought political asylum in Cuba, where she still resides.

“In a sad and shameful chapter of our history, during the 1960s and 1970s, many civil rights, Black Power and other politically active groups were secretly targeted by the FBI for prosecution based on their political beliefs.”

Notably, domestic terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn named one of their children after Zayd Shakur, Chesimard’s associate who was killed in the gun battle with the police. Ayers’ and Dohrn’s son, a playwright, now goes by the name Zayd Dohrn.

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Democrat Leader Of New York Senate Indicted For Corruption

7 May

NY Democratic Leader Indicted For Corruption – Big Government

Democrat Sen. John Sampson, 47, the New York State Senate leader and former leader of the Democratic caucus, has been indicted on charges of embezzlement, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to the FBI.

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Sampson has been accused of embezzling $440,000 between 1998 and 2008. He used escrow accounts which were in his control when he negotiated foreclosures for the court to channel some of the funds into his attempt to be elected Brooklyn district attorney in 2005.

According to U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch:

Today we have unsealed a nine-count indictment that outlines a pattern of self-dealing and corruption that spans decades and covers several events. If there was money to steal, he would steal it. His oath as a lawyer, his oath as a state senator, his position on either the judiciary or the Senate Ethics Committee in no way impacts how he does business. In no way does it guide him, in no way does it illuminate him.

Sampson is also accused of trying to ferret out information from an employee of the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office. He told the employee that he wanted to know who was cooperating with authorities to implicate him so he could arrange to “take them out.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos stated:

John Sampson has been added to the list of recently indicted New York elected officials. Elected officials are referred to as “public servants” and that should not be confused with “self-serving.” The people of New York have a right to demand, at a bare minimum, that their elected representatives obey the law.

Sampson reportedly asked former Queens Sen. Shirley Huntley, who has been indicted for mail fraud conspiracy, to help him get a business friend expanded access to growing his business at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Huntley allegedly agreed and took $1,000 in bribes to do so.

Ironically, when Huntley’s indictment was made public in 2012, it was Sampson who stripped her of her position in the senate. He also stripped Sen. Carl Kruger the same way when Kruger was arrested in 2011 on conspiracy charges.

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Democrat Officials Convicted Of Fraud In Getting Obama, Clinton On 2008 Indiana Ballot

28 Apr

Dem Officials Convicted of Fraud In Getting Obama, Clinton On 2008 Ballot – Big Government

In 2008, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton got on the ballot illegally in the presidential primary in Indiana. On Thursday, two Democratic political operatives were convicted on all counts relating to the scheme.

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Former St. Joseph County Democratic party Chairman Butch Morgan Jr. was found guilty of felony conspiracy counts to commit petition fraud and forgery, and former county Board of Elections worker Dustin Blythe was found guilty of felony forgery counts and falsely making a petition. It was apparently a plan hatched by Morgan, who told Democratic officials and workers to fake the names and signatures on petitions so Obama and Clinton would be eligible for the state ballot. Blythe forged scores of names on the petitions.

Former Board of Registration worker Lucas Burkett was originally part of the scheme but then quit; he waited three years before he came clean with the plan. Meanwhile, Obama and Clinton, who both could have been thrown off the ballot if the petitions had been challenged, marched merrily on.

In Indiana, presidential candidates need 500 signatures from each of the state’s nine congressional districts to qualify for the ballot. With the help of the illegal plot, both candidates managed to garner enough signatures in St. Joseph County, which is the 2nd Congressional district; Obama netted 534 signatures, Clinton, 704.

An Indiana State Police investigator said the police perused the Obama petitions and, “selected names at random from each of the petition pages and contacted those people directly. We found at least one person (and often multiple people) from each page who confirmed that they had not signed petitions or given consent for their name and/or signature to appear.” The audacity of the forgers was so great that they even forged the signature of Joe Kernan, a former governor of the state.

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Michigan: White Democrat Caught On Tape Calling Black Town Supervisor An ‘Arrogant Nigger’

26 Apr

Local Michigan Democrat Caught On Tape Calling Town Official ‘Arrogant N*gger’ – Gateway Pundit

Typical Liberal who sees everyone through the prism of skin color… how progressive… or more accurately… regressive! Also the typical Liberal apology is served – not sorry she said it – only sorry if she got caught offending people. Let me emphasize, she’s not sorry if her racist attitude offended people, only sorry she got caught offending people.

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Favorite quote:

“Yea, I probably should’ve used a word like ‘ignoramus’ or something like that, but I didn’t, and I’m sorry for the word I used.”

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Mediaite reports the following:

Buena Vista Township Clerk Gloria Platko is resisting demands that she step down after another local official, Interim Township Manager Dexter Mitchell (a Democrat), taped a phone conversation in which Platko referred to Township Supervisor Dwayne Parker (also a Democrat) as “an arrogant nigger.”

The 63 year-old Democrat later apologized for the “slip of the tongue,” but shockingly insisted that her use of the slur doesn’t make her racist, because she has “eaten Thanksgiving dinner with black friends at their house.”

Mitchell said he recorded the call in January without Platko’s knowledge because he didn’t want her to twist his words. About six minutes into the recording, Mitchell asks, “Would you be willing to sit down with (Parker)?”

Platko told Mitchell that Parker is “just rubbing me the wrong way.

“He is just doing whatever he can. You know what I think of Mr. Parker right now, and I know you’re not even going to like this,” Platko said in the recording. “But he’s just an arrogant (N-word). And I’m sorry to say it that way, but that’s the way I feel.”

Here’s the relevant portion of the conversation (you can hear the full recording here), which includes Mitchell asking Platko “Why would you say that?”, to which she replies “Because that’s what he’s proving to be, he’s just arrogant.” It’s like being asked why you shot a guy, and responding “Duh! Because I’m lousy with a knife!”

As is often the case with these things, Platko’s apology didn’t really help all that much. She told local NBC 25 reporter Walter Smith-Randolph that she was “sorry to my five other board members, and I’m entirely sorry to this entire community,” but added that “I’ve eaten Thanksgiving dinner with black friends at their house. So I’m far from prejudiced. You need to go interview some of the black people who have supported me for the last four or five years.”

Smith-Randolph did just that, but didn’t have much luck finding any Platko boosters.

Read more here.

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Another Democrat Election Official Pleads Guilty To Multiple Felonies In Obama Nomination Petition Scandal

15 Apr

Another St. Joseph County Election Official Pleads Guilty In Obama Petition-Forging Scandal – Advance Indiana

It’s the big story that the media outside of South Bend, Indiana don’t want to report. It’s the story of how Democratic election officials in the St. Joseph Co. Board of Registration Office conspired to forge signatures on the nominating petitions of Barack Obama in 2008 so that he would have enough signatures to make the 2008 Indiana Democratic primary ballot. Without those forged signatures, Barack Obama’s name would not have appeared on the 2008 Indiana primary ballot, and in all likelihood, that blunder would have cost him the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

The South Bend Tribune, which broke the original story, reports on yet a second official charged in the petition-forging scandal pleading guilty to her role. This time it is Pam Brunette, the former head of voter registration in St. Joseph County.

Pam Brunette pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of Class C felony forgery, one count of Class D felony official misconduct and one count of Class D felony falsifying a petition.

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Three additional counts were dismissed. The former head of Democratic Voter Registration faces between two and eight years for the Class C felony and six months to three years for each Class D felony.

A sentencing hearing has been set for 10 a.m. May 9 before Superior Court Judge John Marnocha.

Brunette is the second person in the past two weeks to admit guilt in the case, which also involves former longtime county Democratic Party Chair Butch Morgan and former party member Dustin Blythe.

Bev Shelton pleaded guilty to one count of forgery and one count of falsifying a petition on March 28 as part of a plea agreement under which she has agreed to testify in the upcoming case against Morgan and Blythe.

Shelton, who worked under Brunette in Voter Registration, will be sentenced at the same time as her former boss.

According to the Tribune, Brunette didn’t actually forge the signatures but knew the petitions contained forged signatures that had been forged by party officials and certified the petitions knowing they contained forgeries.

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Bronx Democrat Assemblyman Arrested For Taking $20,000 In Bribes

5 Apr

‘Here We Go Again’: Eric Stevenson, Bronx Democratic Assemblyman, Arrested For Taking $20,000 In Bribes In Second Corruption Case In New York This Week – New York Daily News

Would the last honest politician in Albany turn off the lights – or simply steal the bulbs?

The ever-expanding cesspool of political corruption in New York claimed a Bronx assemblyman Thursday, barely two days after a state senator and five other political figures were busted in a separate bribery scheme.

The arrest of Eric Stevenson (D-Bronx) in a bribery scandal came with an unexpected twist: The two-termer was nabbed with the cooperation of a crooked Assembly colleague who became an informant.

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The secret aid of Nelson Castro, who flipped in 2009 after a perjury indictment, raised the specter of additional arrests while spooking many in the Bronx Democrat’s political orbit.

“Here we go again,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said after the latest criminal complaint was unsealed. “This has become something of a habit.”

Stevenson, his eyes bloodshot and his future uncertain, was freed on $250,000 bond Thursday afternoon after a hearing with his four co-defendants in Manhattan Federal Court.

“I’m all right,” he declared – a bold statement given the cache of audio and video recordings made as he allegedly collected $20,000 in cash bribes.

In return, he allegedly tried to help the other conspirators open a pair of Bronx adult day care centers. He did this largely by steering his constituents their way and sponsoring legislation to prevent competing centers from opening for three years , prosecutors said.

Stevenson took the payoffs despite his paranoia about informants and fears about wiretapping, his greed outweighing his caution, according to the complaint.

In one revealing conversation, Stevenson reinforced the perception of the state capital as a place where crooked deals are a fact of life.

“Bottom line… if half the people up here in Albany were ever caught for what they do… they … would probably be (in jail),” he said during a chat this past Dec. 27. “So who are they bullshitting?”

He went on to reel off the names of corrupt politicians and their sentences.

“Look what they gave (former City Councilman) Miguel (Martinez) from Washington Heights for $106,000… Five years for $106,000… (They were)setting an example, that’s why they did that to Miguel, right?” Stevenson said.

“Look what they gave (former state Sen.) Efrain (Gonzalez), seven years, they say, for $400,000,” he said. Referring to former Sen. Joseph Bruno, he added that Bruno “got off on appeal and never went back… they had him for a million.”

The 46-year-old Stevenson, who was reelected just five months ago, was handcuffed Thursday morning with the developers of the adult day care centers: Igor Belyansky, 42, of the Bronx; Rotislav Belyansky, 42, of the Bronx; Igor Tsimerman, 46, of Staten Island; and David Binman, 51, of Queens.

Eric Stevenson Complaint

The defendants face up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the top conspiracy charge in the five-count complaint.

The 28-page document detailed an outrageous alliance between Stevenson and the crew.

Last September, Stevenson purportedly received an envelope stuffed with $10,000 cash on a Bronx street – shoving the money into his pants pocket.

He insisted on taking the bribe outside a Bronx steakhouse, because he was worried about its security cameras, according to the complaint. Stevenson was unaware that cops were watching from an unmarked car, and the whole thing was captured on video.

Four months later, a failed Bronx political candidate – Sigfredo Gonzalez, working as a cooperating witness after he was caught making a bribe – presented Stevenson with his cut from a stack of 50 $100 bills inside an Albany hotel bathroom.

Gonzalez made another $5,000 payoff to Stevenson inside his car — with the politician placing a finger to his lips, insisting on a silent swap, the complaint charged.

In the plot’s most insidious twist, Stevenson introduced a bill in Albany on Feb. 20 imposing a moratorium on construction of similar adult day care centers – an attempt to eliminate the competition for his co-conspirators.

The bill never passed. But the scam was “an especially breathtaking bit of corruption, even by Albany standards,” said Bharara.

As the scheme evolved, Stevenson and the others referred to the illegal cash payments as “blessings” or “packages.”

“Are Igor (Belyansky) and them putting together a nice little package for me, huh?” Stevenson asked at one point around the turn of the new year. “I got my inauguration I gotta take care of, I got a lot of shit, man. I got to feed all the people.”

Gonzalez explained the allure of easy money to Stevenson during one of their many taped talks.

“When the money is good and there is a way you can get it and you start to do it, and then you do it once, and then you notice that you don’t get caught – then you go and do it again, and you keep doing it again, again, again,” Gonzalez said.

His words were prescient: Stevenson initially turned down an offer of payment, but was soon soliciting the cash in return for his help, the complaint charged.

Castro, 41, became a federal informant after being indicted in July 2009 for lying in an investigation of voter fraud in the Bronx.

“He has been working on looking into many avenues of possible corruption in Albany,” said one source familiar with the matter.

Castro’s work in the Stevenson case began in early 2012. Prosecutors recorded Tsimerman giving Castro a bribe and Gonzalez asking for a cut of the money. Gonzalez, who worked for the day care center developers, then turned around and worked to help prosectors gather evidence against Stevenson.

State officials were quick to condemn Stevenson, particularly after Tuesday’s arrests of state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) and City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Queens) in a scheme to buy Smith’s entry into the Republican primary for mayor through bribes.

“The events of this and the last few days fail… every standard of public service,” said Gov. Cuomo. “We must act quickly and aggressively to hold the guilty parties accountable.”

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver issued a statement calling for Stevenson to resign.

According to the complaint, in exchange for bribes, Stevenson also worked to expedite installation of a Con Ed gas line to one of the day care centers and to help get a certificate of occupancy.

But his biggest promise was to pass the moratorium on construction of new adult day care centers in the city.

According to complaint, Igor Belyansky estimated that the moratorium, had it been enacted, would have doubled his $350,000 investment in the two adult day care centers.

The developers appealed to Stevenson’s pride as well as his pockets: They allegedly offered to name their new center in honor of Stevenson’s late grandfather, an assemblyman in the 1960s.

Defense attorney Murray Richman said Stevenson would be exonerated.

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Democrat Front Group Hyped As Hunters By Media In Gun Control Fight

5 Apr

Democrat Front Group Hyped As Hunters By Media In Gun Control Fight – Washington Times

The liberal media will do anything to pressure lawmakers to support President Obama’s gun-control agenda.

Politico published a story Wednesday with this headline: “Hunting Group Wants Background Checks.” The story gave the false impression that the millions of hunters in the U.S. support Mr. Obama’s push for “universal background checks.”

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That is way off target. In fact, 31 well-known hunting and conservation groups sent a letter to Capitol Hill Thursday expressing opposition to intrusion by the federal government into private firearm transfers.

Politico only cites one small group in its story, Bull Moose Sportsmen, which claims 5,000 members. The story gives no context for the size of this group in relation to other hunting advocacy groups, nor its prominence in the community. The single poll cited in the Politico story is one commissioned by the group itself and claims 72 percent of hunters support “criminal background checks with some exceptions.”

None of the major hunting groups which represent the millions of law-abiding sportsmen was mentioned, nor the polling of those members.

In fact, Bull Moose Sportsmen is a fringe organization run by Democratic activists that has been rejected from membership into the major gun and hunting groups’ umbrella organization because it refuses to reveal its funding sources.

The American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP) is a consortium of 42 organizations, including major groups such as Safari Club International, Ducks Unlimited, National Wildlife Turkey Federation, National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The groups together represent 6 million individual members.

Members of AWCP tell me that Bull Moose has been denied entry into their organization because it refused to reveal its mysterious funding sources.

According to some public filings, the “non-partisan nonprofit organization” gave $17,000 in the 2012 federal election, and all of it went to Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado. It spent $117,540 in support of Mr. Bennet in the 2010 cycle. The group raised $354,228 in 2011 and spent $295,863.

While calling itself “nonpartisan,” Bull Moose Sportsmen is run by Democrats. Co-Founder Gaspar Perricone, who told Politico that, “Background checks fall within the ethics of responsible gun ownership,” is a former staffer for Sen. Mark Udall, Colorado Democrat. Politico also ran an op-ed by Mr. Perricone on Thursday entitled, “Hunters Chart Middle Ground on Guns.” The other co-founder of Bull Moose, Tim Mauck, was Mr. Udall’s finance director and was paid $4,743 by the senator’s campaign in 2012.

The real hunting groups do not want private transfers of firearms to be subject to government checks. On Thursday, most of the groups in the AWCP coalition signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to offer a five-point plan that would address the problem of gun violence.

Among the suggestions is to improve the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System so that it can effectively prevent access to firearms by those not legally qualified to possess them without criminalizing private transfers.

To make their collective position clear, they wrote that that, “We oppose unnecessary restrictions of our ability to attain and possess legal firearms and that have no foundation in addressing the factors that led [the Newtown] tragedy or like tragedies.”

The anti-gun media can slant its coverage to support Mr. Obama’s agenda, however hunters have been giving their guns to friends and family members for generations and don’t want to have to get Uncle Sam’s approval to do so now.

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Dumbass Democrat Robin Kelly: Conceal And Carry Failed In Aurora Shooting’s Gun-Free Theater (Video)

5 Apr

Robin Kelly: Conceal And Carry Failed In Aurora Shooting’s Gun-Free Theater – Big Government

A Democrat running for Jesse Jackson Jr.’s seat in Congress attacked the idea of concealed-carry firearms by citing the victims of the Aurora theater shooting, who could not defend themselves in a gun-free zone.

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Robin Kelly, candidate in the IL-02 congressional election, claimed Thursday evening that victims of 2012′s Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting failed to “pull out their guns to kill the gentleman that did all the damage that he did.”

Kelly, who faces Republican Paul McKinley in the April special election to replace Jackson, was speaking at her own one-person candidate forum, which she had convened rather than attend an NAACP-sponsored candidate debate with her opponent. Kelly made the controversial statement while arguing against conceal and carry rights for the residents of her district and the state of Illinois.

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She told the audience, “in the movie [theater], they have conceal and carry, but nobody pulled out their guns to kill the gentleman that did all the damage that he did.”

However, the Cinemark theater where the shooting took place was the only one within 20 minutes of suspect James Holmes’ apartment that had a policy banning guns from the premise. Victims and their families are preparing a lawsuit targeting Cinemark for allegedly failing to provide security for its patrons the night of the shooting.

Kelly prefaced her comments by telling the audience that the topic is “one thing I talk about,” implying that she regularly covers this angle in her arguments against personal defense rights.

Kelly began this line of thinking by lamenting that the Supreme Court has stated Illinois cannot ban conceal and carry. All 49 other states in the U.S. already have some form of conceal and carry on the books. “I’m hoping that we have the weakest conceal and carry,” she said in response.

Indeed, her opposition to conceal and carry is one of five pillars of an anti-gun pledge which serves as the banner of her official Facebook page. Kelly has openly campaigned on the promise that she “will lead on the issue of banning guns.”

After learning Kelly would not be at the Thursday night debate, her opponent McKinley told Breitbart News he attended a pro-Second Amendment rally with 150 2nd District constituents Thursday evening rather than attend a debate without his main opponent. McKinley released an explicitly pro-gun rights ad via YouTube on Tuesday:

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New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Independence USA PAC, which is strongly opposed to gun ownership and defense rights, has contributed over $2 million to Kelly’s campaign – starting in the Democratic primary where she faced Debbie Halvorson, a former Congresswoman with high marks from the NRA.

President Barack Obama endorsed Kelly on Tuesday. Obama is currently conducting a public relations campaign for expanded gun control legislation under discussion in the Senate. Kelly expressed support for the President’s desired legislation during her forum Thursday.

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Democrat Congresswoman Mocks Elderly Man, Says “You’d Probably Be Dead Anyway” If Confronted By Armed Criminals

3 Apr

Outrageous!… Dem Rep. Degette Mocks Senior Citizen, Says “You’d Probably Be Dead Anyway” If Confronted By Armed Criminals – Gateway Pundit

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On Tuesday night The Denver Post editorial board hosts a public forum on gun legislation at the national level. U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter, State Sen. Kevin Lundberg, and Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith are among the scheduled panelists. During the question and answer period a concerned Denver citizen asked Democratic Representative DeGette how he was supposed to defend himself under the new Colorado gun laws. DeGette smirked and mocked the senior citizen saying,

“The good news for you, you live in Denver. The Denver PD would be there within minutes. (laughing) You’d probably be dead anyway.”

Really? That’s the Democratic response to concerned homeowners? To mothers? To seniors protecting their homes?

“You’d probably be dead anyway.”

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Most Embarrassing Mayor In America, Tom (Mumbles) Menino, Finally Retires… And Yes, He’s A Democrat (Audio – Video)

28 Mar

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino Will Not Seek Re-Election After 20 Years In Office – New York Daily News

Boston’s longest-serving mayor, Thomas Menino, says he does not plan to seek re-election for an unprecedented sixth term.

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The popular Democratic mayor planned a formal announcement at 4 p.m. EDT Thursday at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall.

“This was the toughest decision I have made in my whole life,” Menino told WBZ-FM on Thursday.

Menino was hospitalized for eight weeks in the fall after a respiratory infection and a blood clot that was complicated by a spinal fracture and diabetes, but he told the Boston Herald health issues played a “small portion” in his decision.

“I feel better now than I did a year ago. That’s a fact,” he told the Herald.

The 70-year-old Menino promises to go “full tilt” until his last day in office.

His decision not to run again is expected to trigger a political scramble to replace him as a new generation of political figures eye the mayor’s office.

City Councilor John Connolly announced his mayoral intentions last month, regardless of Menino’s decision. But Menino had been considered a heavy favorite had he opted to run.

As recently as January, Menino delivered an upbeat assessment of the city during his annual state of the city address.

Menino used a cane to walk to the podium and spoke vigorously about his plans for Boston. At the time, Menino gave no indication of whether he’d decided to seek a sixth term this year.

“Our progress is real. Our future is bright. The state of our city is striking, sound and strong,” he said in prepared remarks that cited progress on economic development and crime reduction.

On Tuesday, Menino appeared at a rally at Boston City Hall plaza to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The previous day, he delivered a speech to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau in which he said he had never been more confident about the city and announced several new development projects and initiatives.

Menino became acting mayor after his predecessor, Raymond Flynn, left office in 1993 after being named ambassador to the Vatican. Menino, then president of the City Council, was automatically elevated to the mayor’s job.

The circumstances prompted some critics to label him the “accidental mayor,” a charge the sometimes-thin-skinned Menino was quick to reject. But he was elected mayor in his own right in November 1993 and won re-election by wide margins in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009.

The city’s previous longest serving mayor, the late Kevin White, was in office for four terms, from 1968 to 1984.

Menino’s longevity also exceeded the legendary Mayor James Michael Curley, who also served four terms, but not consecutively.

Menino built his reputation by focusing on the unglamorous nuts and bolts of running a major metropolitan city – fixing potholes, cleaning streets, even curbing the practice of saving a shoveled-out parking space by putting folding chairs or trash cans along the curb.

It’s everyday commitments like those that earned him the nickname of the “Urban Mechanic.”

The 2004 Democratic National Convention put Menino’s political and negotiating skills to the test when the city’s main police union threatened to picket over an unresolved contract.

It was only with the last minute help of other politicians, including Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, that a contract was reached in the early morning hours the day before the convention opened in the city.

During his years in office, Menino also became a vigorous national voice in favor of stricter gun control measures.

He co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and criticized the National Rifle Association’s call for more armed guards at schools after the Connecticut school shooting in December.

“That is crazy,” Menino said. “Every victim of gun violence and their families knows that’s crazy.”

Menino also built a reputation for creating an impressive political machine that handily defeated challengers.

Last year, Menino also played a crucial role in helping elect U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, campaigning with her at stops across the city.

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Related video:

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Related audio:

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Howie Carr: Mayor Menino Bids Adieu… In 9 Months

Howie Carr: Mumbles Menino Will Not Run

Howie Carr: Analyzing Mayor Menino’s State Of The City Address

Howie Carr: Does Mayor Menino Have The Right To Block A Chick-Fil-A In Boston?

Howie Carr: Menino’s Bum Zones

Howie Carr: Menino Says A Pox On The House Of Wal-Mart

Howie Carr: Mayor Menino Wants Your Soda

Howie Carr: Menino Mumbles

Howie Carr: Mayor Menino Mumbonics

Howie Carr: Chump Line – How To Tell When Menino’s Senile

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Anti-Gun Democrat From Colorado: Women Need To Eat Chipotle To Avoid Being Raped

27 Mar

Same Colorado Lawmaker Suggests Women Eat Chipotle To Prevent Rape – Clash Daily

A Colorado lawmaker who apologized last month for suggesting women should use a whistle instead of a gun to ward off rapists is in hot water again. Democrat state senator Joe Salazar said before the senate Monday he had been wrong for suggesting women’s best defense against rape was to carry a whistle to blow, although he maintained his anti-armed/gun stance, offering even more colorful prevention methods for women.

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“I admit, I was wrong about the whistle thing,” said Salazar. “It’s really Chipotle that is the best defense against rape. …You try raping a woman who’s been eating Chipotle and you’ll be in for one hell of a shock and regret… and mess!”

Silence reigned throughout the senate chamber after Salazar’s “Chipotle rape prevention” suggestion. Salazar, fearing he had perhaps again committed another anti-rape faux pas in the name of gun control tried to clarify his newest suggestion. “…Or maybe some extra-spicy Indian food… or some old Taco Bell burrito women could carry around in their purse and eat real quick before being attacked. Or even squirt some Visine down your throat.”

As senate colleagues still sat with mouths agape, Salazar continued, “We need to study multiple steps women can take to fend off rapists without using guns. But I’m telling you: a quick downing of Chipotle will do the trick.”

The McDonald’s-owned Chipotle franchise has grown nationwide for people seeking quick servings of decent Mexican food at affordable prices. Chipotle has also become the brunt of jokes about its food causing diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems among unsuspecting consumers.

Years ago Italian food was synonymous with uncontrollable flatulence and “solid” waste eruptions, then Chinese food and the popular growth of sushi in the 1990s, followed by Indian food last decade. Now Chipotle holds the unfortunate stereotype of wreaking havoc among consumers’ bowels, although the chain continues to grow in popularity.

“These are certainly explosive suggestions,” said Republican state senator Bill Cadman. “We all want women to protect themselves. But we still think carrying a firearm is the best defense for Colorado’s women, not carrying around some Chipotle burrito they’d have to wolf down in a second – literally a second – and pray it causes explosive diarrhea before her attacker has the chance to assault her.”

Fellow Democrat and Senator Mary Hodge agreed with Sen. Cadman, criticizing Salazar yet again for “ridiculous, implausible” suggestions on how women can prevent a rape without using a gun. Said an apparently angry Hodge to Senator Salazar after the senate’s adjournment Monday, “So, Joe, let me get this straight: I’m walking out to my car at night and am approached by a man that grabs me and begins assaulting me… You expect me to eat a red hot chili pepper Chipotle burrito in less than a second and then hope its effects hit me in time so I can uncontrollably excrete all over the guy, thereby warding him off and preventing a rape? Are you serious?”

Replied Salazar, “O-Okay then, how about Indian food or even some beans..? Anything that would cause an explosion in ‘that area’ in short order, you know?”

“Nonsense!” retorted Hodge. “Everyone knows that a milkshake made with curdled milk is the best defense against rapists!”

“Explosive” Infighting Compounds Senator’s Pleas

Among Salazar’s detractors are not only his fellow lawmakers, but the heads of various fast food chains (local and state). Said Huang Liu Chung, owner of Colorado’s largest Chinese take-out chain, Ming Dynasty Take-Out, to reporters Monday, “Senator Sarazar’s craims that eating Chipotre in the moments before an attack wirr cause quick enough ‘expursions ’ to ward off sex attacker are absurd. Anyone who’s ever eaten Ming Dynasty Take-Out know they wirr feer the effects within seconds! We are the champions of uncontrorrable expursions, and any woman who varues their safety knows it is Ming Dynasty they need to eat as they’re getting attacked, not Chipotre crap!”

Added Chung, “Senator Sarazar is prooving he is just in the pocket of Big Chipotre!”

William C. Weldon, CEO of Johnson & Johnson, which owns Visine, also chimed in Monday with his input on Senator Salazar’s Chipotle suggestion. Defending his product’s longtime reputation of causing involuntary diarrhea if ingested orally, Weldon issued a public statement condemning Salazar’s “Chipotle promotion,” saying that adding a few drops of Visine to any food would produce the effects Salazar hopes would ward off potential rapists. “It is not just an old wives’ tale,” said Weldon, “but ingesting Visine will cause explosive gas and fecal matter in a way never conceived by the recipient or the person attacking her. It is Visine women should carry with them at all times to prevent rape, not spicy ethnic foods.”

“That’s why we invented Visine in the first place,” Weldon added, “so people could play vicious pranks on each other by lacing each others’ food and causing uncontrollable diarrhea. Only years later did we discover (Visine) was also good at relieving dry, irritated eyes.”

Some non-food providers are also offering other solutions to Sen. Salazar’s how-to-prevent-rape suggestions. James Debney, CEO of the popular gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson was asked by reporters about the Salazar-Chipotle fray. Commented Debney to Duh Progressive, “All these (food-diarrhea) suggestions are well-intentioned. But I’ve never have heard of a rapist being stopped by a woman who had just eaten bowel-relieving foods. (Women) can try it, or even the whistle thing if they want. Good luck.”

Added Debney, “A woman can eat all these ‘explosive’ foods and Visine she wants, but nothing can stop a rapist better than offering him a .357 Magnum for ‘dessert.’ Let your potential rapist dine on a .44 hollow point and see how it goes. It’s kinda hard to rape someone when half of your face and skull are missing… studies have shown.”

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

New Jersey: Democrat Assemblyman’s Bondage Emails Leaked To Press

25 Mar

Bummer. Popular NJ Democrat’s Bondage Emails Leaked To Press – Gateway Pundit

File under: Horny Democrats behaving badly.

Assemblyman Joe Cryan – Working hard for New Jersey

Who knew? A top New Jersey Democrat who’s being touted for higher office is a big fan of bondage.

The New York Post reported:

A powerful New Jersey Democrat who’s being touted as the party’s next state chairman has an insatiable lust for bondage, oral sex and spanking, secret e-mails obtained by The Post reveal.

Assemblyman Joe Cryan, of Union, graphically spelled out his kinky proclivities in more than 150 e-mails that he sent to a lobbyist – and then fought to keep them hidden after he stunned the state political world by having her busted for stalking in 2006.

After her arrest, Karen Golding said that they were intimately involved – and that she had the e-mails to prove it. Cryan has denied the relationship.

Cryan urged prosecutors for years to keep the courts from releasing the e-mails’ sexually charged content, while Golding pushed to get them out, first referring to them in court papers in 2009.

With the case still playing out in court, the secret correspondence – racy enough to make any “Fifty Shades of Grey’’ fan blush – landed on the driveway of a Post reporter.

“What do you want to be spanked with?” the lascivious lawmaker asked Golding in an inappropriate workday exchange that spanned 14 hours on June 28, 2004.

“What will you wear to beg for it?”

“Available for a bj this morning?” Cryan lustfully queried. “I’m really hard and horny.”

Read the rest here.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Democrat Lawmaker Took Pictures Of His Genitals And Put Them On A Female Coworker’s Computer

22 Mar

Massachusetts Lawmaker ‘Took Pictures Of His Genitals And Put Them On A Female Coworker’s Computer’ – Daily Mail

A state representative in Massachussetts is being investigated after allegedly sending pictures of his genitals to a government computer.

……….

The investigation is ongoing and the committee has not formally reprimanded the individual in charge, but it is being widely reported that Democratic State Representative John Fresolo is the one behind the scandal.

He allegedly sent ‘lascivious photos of his privates’ to a computer at the State House, and an aide complained to the Ethics Committee to start the investigation.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo has not confirmed any accusations in the case except that he did say there was ‘sufficient cause’ for an investigation.

‘In order to protect the integrity of the Ethics Committee investigation, Speaker DeLeo will have no further comment on this matter,’ spokesman Seth Gitell said.

Local blogs and radio hosts have taken the case further, saying that it was definitely Fresolo who sent the salacious pictures.

Though he was curt and dismissive when a reporter from The Republican newspaper called him, he did not deny the claims.

‘I’m going to hang up now, but I want you to know I am not resigning,’ he said.

This is not his first scandal, as he has a history of violence towards his family members that has put him in trouble with social services.

In 2005 he reportedly physically abused his then-13-year-old daughter, and that came nearly a decade after he was arrested for beating his then-wife in 1996. She later dropped the charges.

Blogger Michele McPhee reports that he is now on paid administrative leave, which is allegedly angering his colleagues.

‘It’s bad enough that he pulled an Anthony Weiner and had pictures of his penis on State House computers, but then he tried to get his per diem pumped up. No one puts in for 220 days of commuting and with his commute that’s a lot of money,’ a state representative told her on the condition of anonymity.

Adding a dash of irony to the case, the accusations come on the same day that the state politicians underwent ethics training.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Democrat Politician Scolds Child With Special Needs In Restaurant, Skips Out On Bill

20 Mar

Everett Politician Accused Of Berating Child With Special Needs In Public – WFXT

An elected official for the City of Everett is accused of berating a child with special needs while dining at the Texas Roadhouse located in Everett on March 6.

The incident involving Wayne Matewsky, who is running for state representative, was discussed during Monday night’s meeting at city hall. The common council voted unanimously 16 to zero to have the city’s ethics committee look into the allegations.

…………………

Dozens of Everett residents attended the meeting; however, not all the residents were displeased with Matewsky or his alleged actions. Many said they would stand by Matewsky, his reputation, his commitment to the city, and his lengthy public service career.

“He is hard working very ethical and caring person. He represents this city with great dignity and honesty,” one such resident said.

Witnesses told FOX 25 that Matewsky got into a heated verbal argument with the child’s father because the child was being noisy; however, Matewsky denies that the incident ever happened and that the allegations are politically motivated.

A spokesperson for Texas Roadhouse painted a different story telling the city councilors in a letter that Matewsky used “foul language” and berated employees. The spokesman claims Matewsky left without paying his bill and even threatened to have the health department shut the restaurant down.

Revere resident and father Michael Toto says he was at the restaurant that night, and witnessed Matewsky yelling at the family because Matewsky felt the family couldn’t control the child, so Toto brought it to the attention of the common council.

Matewsky has since reportedly apologized to the restaurant’s staff.

“We are pleased that Mr. Matewsky has since apologized to our staff for this unfortunate incident. We are willing to forgive and forget, and consider this matter closed,” Texas Roadhouse said in a statement.

Matewsky, a 30-year veteran of Everett politics, topped four other Democrats, including former Mayor John Hanlon, in special election primary to replace Democrat Stephen “Stat” Smith, who resigned from the House after agreeing to plead guilty to casting invalid absentee ballots. He will face two un-enrolled candidates in the April 2 special election.

The ethics committee will begin their investigation and depending on what they find, they could expel Matewsky from the council. They are hoping to complete their investigation by April 4, but then again the special election for state representative is slated for April 2.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Democrat Mayor Kilpatrick Found Guilty Of Racketeering, Extortion, Bribery, Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, And Tax Fraud

11 Mar

Kwame Kilpatrick Found Guilty Of Racketeering – WJBK

The former mayor of the city of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick has been found guilty of Racketeering.

……….

Kwame Kilpatrick, Bernard Kilpatrick and Bobby Ferguson are accused of taking bribes and kickbacks during Kwame Kilpatrick’s time as mayor of the city of Detroit.

A total of 38 charges range from mail fraud and tax evasion to racketeering and extortion.

Here’s a breakdown from court:

Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy – KWAME KILPATRICK – GUILTY
Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy – BOBBY FERGUSON – GUILTY
Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy – BERNARD KILPATRICK – NO DECISION REACHED

A conviction on racketeering charges could carry up to 20-years in prison.

The government said Kilpatrick abused the Civic Fund, a nonprofit fund he created to help distressed Detroit residents. There was evidence that it was used for yoga lessons, camps for his kids, golf clubs and travel.

Kilpatrick, 42, was elected in 2001 at age 31. He resigned in 2008 and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a different scandal involving sexually explicit text messages and an extramarital affair with his chief of staff.

The Democrat spent 14 months in prison for violating probation in that case after a judge said he failed to report assets that could be put toward his $1 million restitution to Detroit.

Voters booted his mother, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, from Congress in 2010, partly because of a negative perception of her due to her son’s troubles.

The verdicts from the Kwame Kilpatrick federal corruption trial were read Monday morning. See them all below:

Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy
BERNARD KILPATRICK
No verdict reached

Count 2: Extortion – Sewer Lining Contract
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 2: Extortion – Sewer Lining Contract
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 3: Extortion – Amendment to Sewer Lining Contract
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 3: Extortion – Amendment to Sewer Lining Contract
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 4: Extortion – Baby Creek/Patton Park
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 4: Extortion – Baby Creek/Patton Park
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 5: Attempted Extortion – Oakwood Pump Station
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 5: Attempted Extortion – Oakwood Pump Station
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 7: Extortion – Outfalls Contract
KWAME KILPATRICK
No consensus

Count 7: Extortion – Outfalls Contract
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 8: Extortion – Asbestos Abatement
KWAME KILPATRICK
No consensus

Count 8: Extortion – Asbestos Abatement
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 9: Extortion – Repair of Eastside Water Mains
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 9: Extortion – Repair of Eastside Water Mains
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 10: Extortion – Eastside Sewer Repair
KWAME KILPATRICK
NOT GUILTY

Count 10: Extortion – Eastside Sewer Repair
BOBBY FERGUSON
NOT GUILTY

Count 15: Attempted Extortion – Sludge Contract
BERNARD KILPATRICK
NOT GUILTY

Count 16: Bribery – $90,000 Bribe
KWAME KILPATRICK
No consensus

Count 16: Bribery – $90,000 Bribe
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 17: Bribery – $75,000 Bribe
BOBBY FERGUSON
GUILTY

Count 18: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 19: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 20: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 21: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 22: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 23: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 24: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 25: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 26: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 27: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
NOT GUILTY

Count 28: Mail Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 29: Wire Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
NOT GUILTY

Count 30: Wire Fraud
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 31: Subscribing False Tax Return
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 32: Subscribing False Tax Return
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 33: Subscribing False Tax Return
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 34: Subscribing False Tax Return
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 35: Subscribing False Tax Return
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 36: Income Tax Evasion
KWAME KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Count 37: Subscribing False Tax Return
BERNARD KILPATRICK
NOT GUILTY

Count 38: Subscribing False Tax Return
BERNARD KILPATRICK
GUILTY

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Gun-Grabbing Colorado Democrat’s Criminal Record Exposed

7 Mar

Colorado Anti-Second Amendment Legislator’s Criminal Record Exposed – Red State

According to a Colorado Bureau of Investigations report obtained by Media Trackers, State Representative Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora) was arrested in 1976 on a charge of larceny and again in 1991 on a charge of shoplifting. Despite her own criminal record, Rep. Fields has sought to limit the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

…………………

An apparent mugshot of Fields was posted to the Magpul Industries Facebook page by a private user after legislation to limit gun magazine capacity, which was cosponsored by Fields, drove the company to announce that it was closing its doors in Colorado and moving out of state.

Rep. Fields has sponsored multiple gun control bills currently under debate in the Colorado Legislature, including legislation to ban magazines with the capacity to hold more that 15 rounds , criminalize the private sale or transfer of a firearm without a background check, ban concealed carry permits on the college campuses, and increase background check fees.

Fields has also co-sponsored Sen. Evie Hudak’s legislation which would not only strip anyone subject to a restraining order of their Second Amendment rights, but would also require the same to relinquish any firearms they own to the state.

Sen. Hudak has recently been in the national spotlight for remarks she made to rape survivor Amanda Collins. During testimony from Collins which detailed how her attacker was able to target her while she was unarmed due to a campus ban on concealed carry in Nevada, Hudak told Collins that “actually statistics are not on your side even if you had a gun.”

Additionally, Fields was the sole sponsor in the House to sign on to Sen. John Morse’s (D-Colorado Springs) legislation to institute civil liability on firearms manufacturers, sellers, and owner for any damage incurred through the use of their firearms.

Despite her criminal history, Rep. Fields has previously received campaign donations from the Aurora Police Association.

Media Trackers attempted to contact Fields at her office multiple times, but the Representative was unavailable for comment as the calls were unanswered.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

CT Democrat Stripped Of Deputy House Speaker Title For Making Lewd Remark To 17-Year-Old Girl (Audio)

1 Mar

Politician Stripped Of Title After Lewd Snake Comment – Connecticut Post

A veteran House member from New London was stripped of his deputy speaker title this week after he made a lewd comment during a budget hearing.

Speaker of the House J. Brendan Sharkey said Thursday that Rep. Ernest Hewett made a remark perceived as sexually harassing during an exchange with a 17-year-old intern from the Connecticut Science Center.

After the teenage girl said that working at the science center helped her overcome a fear of snakes, Hewett allegedly made reference to a snake with him, under his desk top.

.

.
“The public needs to know this is an environment where they will be respected,” Sharkey said. “That kind of language shouldn’t be used in any public setting.”

After hearing an audiotape of the incident, which occurred Feb. 21, Sharkey stripped Hewett of his deputy speaker title Wednesday. With the removal of the title goes $6,446 in extra pay above the rank-and-file rate of $28,000.

“After I first heard about it, I thought maybe in the broader sense maybe he was misunderstood and it may not be that big a deal,” Sharkey said in an interview.

“But based on the audio, it’s hard to interpret it that way. It’s hard for anyone who heard the audio or was there to think it was anything other than a sexual innuendo.

“I guess the best word I can use to describe this is disturbing,” Sharkey said.

Sharkey last week ordered sexual harassment training for all House Democrats who are not in their first or second term. In addition, he has invited women members of the 99-member majority caucus to meet with him and Hewett on Tuesday.

Hewett, a former mayor of New London who is in his fifth term in the House, said Thursday that he wanted to apologize to the young woman, whose identity he did not know.

“Secondly, I want to apologize to my colleagues for the statement I made,” he said.

“I take full responsibility for my actions. In hindsight, I can really see how this can be misconstrued as something sexual,” Hewett said.

Rep. Kim Fawcett, D-Fairfield, one of the lawmakers invited to the sit-down with Hewett next week, said lawmakers must find the 17-year-old intern.

“The apology needs to go to the 17-year-old girl who testified and the Connecticut Science Center who brought their intern to the Legislature, which submitted her to that kind of harassment,” Fawcett said.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Democrat Mayor Arrested On Bribery Charges

24 Feb

Democratic Mayor Arrested On Bribery Charges – Washington Free Beacon

Vicksburg Mayor Paul Winfield was arrested Wednesday on federal bribery charges for seeking $10,000 for a city contract, according to the Associated Press.

Winfield, who is serving his first term as mayor, met with a confidential source to discuss “pre-event disaster contracts.” He told the source he would need $10,000 to secure the contracts for the city.

Winfield agreed to take half the money up front and the rest after the contract was awarded, according to the complaint. The complaint says the source paid Winfield $5,000 in hundred dollar bills that had been provided by the FBI.

In August, Winfield called the informant and said he owed $4,300 in taxes and was “in a bind,” the complaint said. They later met in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Natchez, where the source gave Winfield another $2,000 and promised to give him the remaining $3,000 when the contract was awarded, according to the complaint.

Winfield is also caught up in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a former employee.

The employee says she was involved with the mayor in a sexual relationship, which ended when he became “physically abusive.”

She said the mayor continued to make unwanted sexual advances and offered to pay her overtime that she had not earned. The lawsuit alleges Winfield retaliated when he was rejected by eliminating her position as chief of staff.

Click HERE For Rest Of Story

Maybe the New Republic should change its name

14 Feb

The New Leftist maybe, or The New Statist? frankly they ought to do something because their Liberal mask has slipped off and the ugly face of unbridled Leftism is showing. But don’t take that from me, listen to the former publisher

The New Republic has abandoned its liberal but heterodox tradition and embraced a leftist outlook as predictable as that ofMother Jones or the Nation.”

– Marty Peretz, former publisher of The New Republic

After Facebook zillionaire Chris Hughes purchased The New Republic, he proclaimed that the magazine, which has long since lost the prestige it enjoyed in the 1980s and ’90s, would “strive to be free of party ideology or partisan bias.” This proclamation was instantly falsified by the magazine’s first print cover story under the new publisher, a smear of the Republican Party by Sam Tanenhaus.

Yes, they are non-partisan like MSNBS is. Stacy McCain has some fun at the expense of TNR

That inspired a memorable Twitter beatdown of Chris Hughes by Ace of Spades — if you haven’t seen it, you simply must — who pointed out that, despite its partisan heckling of Republicans as “The Party of White People,” The New Republic‘s editorial staff is a monochromatic swath of vanilla honkydom. What is true of The New Republic is, of course, true of liberalism in general. The folks who were most eager to brand the Tea Party movement “racist” were white liberals, and this tells you something about what Shelby Steele called the White Guilt mentality of liberals: “Vote Democrat, cracker, in order to signify your moral righteousness on race issues.”

Never mind, of course, whether the policies of the Democrat Party actually result in any genuine improvement in the quality of life for African-Americans: When all that matters is your bien pensant good intentions toward black people, the efficacy of policy can be ignored as a trivial concern. Skepticism toward liberal policies becomes evidence ofmala fides — for example, you’re a racist if you take seriously the “mismatch” critique of affirmative action – and intelligent examination of alternatives is thereby rendered impossible.

Essential to this way of thinking is the demonization of Republicans as representative of negative values: Racist, sexist, homophobic, greedy, redneck, theocratic, clueless, rich people. 

Rhetoric about ideological liberalism thus ignores the unthinking partisanship — the enthusiastic cheerleading mentality that views the success of the Democratic Party as necessary to the good of the American people — which is the genuine nature of “bias” in 21st-century political journalism. The press corps is nowadays overcrowded by propagandists who think of every story in terms of startling simplicity: How will this help Democrats or hurt Republicans?

That is about as honest a depiction as I can recall reading. Basically, the Left’s moral compass points one of two ways. What is good for Democrats, is moral, period. Just look at the Left’s soft-pedaling of Chris Dorner. Sue he killed innocent people in cold blood, but he decried racism, and supports gun control, AND he likes Michelle Obama’s new bangs so he can’t be all bad can he? The Left’s moral compass does the opposite for Republicans. The Tea Party? Why they are all RAAAAACIST, sexist, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, rednecks, bible thumpers, and they wear fur coats when they flush kittens down toilets!  Certainly the treatment they get on MSNBS, or any other Lefty blog or station will be far worse than the treatment given Dorner. But, again, that is the morality of the Left.

 

Democrat Ex-Mayor Gambled Away $1 Billion, Charged With Money Laundering

14 Feb

Ex-Mayor Gambled Away $1 Billion – U-T San Diego

Former San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor took $2 million from a nonprofit foundation to feed a gambling addiction in which she lost more than $1 billion over an eight-year period, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

O’Connor, 66, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to a money laundering charge as part of a deferred prosecution. Under the arrangement with federal prosecutors, she has two years to repay the $2 million taken from the R.P. Foundation, a nonprofit set up by her late husband, Robert O. Peterson.

Peterson was the co-founder of the Jack-In-The-Box restaurant chain and later Southern California First National Bank Corp., which eventually became part of the Union Bank empire.

Prosecutors said O’Connor, who is in poor physical health, had $1 billion in gambling winnings between 2000 and 2008, but she posted losses during the same period that were greater than that amount. They described her as “destitute.”

At a press conference with her attorneys after the court hearing, O’Connor said she had borrowed money from her husband’s foundation.

“I always intended to pay it back,” she said. “and I still intend to pay it back. In that period of time I lost my husband, three siblings, best friends.”

O’Connor teared up as she added, “Most of you know, I never meant to hurt the city.” She then left the room, using a cane and holding on to the arm of an escort.

According to a federal court documents, she gambled at casinos in San Diego, Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

O’Connor, a Democrat who served two terms as mayor from 1986 to 1992, is accused of transferring $2 million from the foundation beginning in September 2008 and March 2009. She never repaid the money.

The foundation went broke and closed in 2009, a federal official said.

Under terms of O’Connor’s deferred prosecution, she has to undergo psychiatric treatment for gambling addiction, obey all laws and try to pay back the money.

Her lawyer, Eugene Iredale, said O’Connor was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011, and she had surgery that led to brain swelling. He said her doctors have said it’s possible the tumor pressed on centers of the brain that affect judgement and reasoning, and could explain in part her gambling addiction.

During the court hearing, O’Connor appeared frail and had to sit down during part of the proceedings.

Her career as a civic leader was impressive. O’Connor rose from a job as a physical education teacher at a Catholic girls school to being elected to the City Council, where she served from 1971 to 1979. She served on the San Diego Unified Port District from 1980 to 1985, before being elected mayor.

She and Peterson were married in 1977. A wealthy philanthropist, Peterson died in 1994.

The R.P Foundation was created in 1968 as the charitable arm of the Peterson fortune.

According to federal tax filings, the nonprofit was overseen by a three-member board that included O’Conner and her sister, Mavourneen O’Connor, and John McCloskey. It is not clear whether that McCloskey is the former chairman of the defunct Citizens Western Bank.

The foundation is based out of a condominium on Eads Avenue in La Jolla Village. The property is owned by Harper Trust, according to county records.

Under federal law, nonprofit foundations must grant 5 percent of their holdings each tax year.

The R.P. Foundation for years made donations to groups dedicated to helping the sick and dying, including the Stepping Stone recovery center, Neighborhood House Association and the San Diego Hospice.

By the late 1990s, the R.P. Foundation was reporting total assets exceeding $3 million. The holding began to diminish in the 2000s, and declined to $2.1 million by 2008, tax records show.

The most recent tax filing, a public document that was submitted to the IRS in July 2011, lists no assets and an account receivable from trustee Maureen O’Connor in the amount of $2,101,900. Earlier returns show the foundation closing various trust and investment accounts, and even selling its artwork.

After leaving office, O’Connor kept a low profile. She authored a few essays for the opinion pages of The San Diego Union-Tribune between 2000 and 2005, but that was about the extent of her public pronouncements.

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