Christy -

Re. the question in your title…..first prize in the ”if yer unaware, ya ain’t been payin’ attention” category.

OOO, I love it when you use words like “brazen” and “Imbecile”, Christy —

Remember last Sunday on Meet the Press:

PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Well, let me tell you this. Caroline Kennedy has become one of my dearest friends and is just a, a wonderful American, a wonderful person. But the last thing I want to do is get involved in New York politics. I’ve got enough trouble in terms of Illinois politics.

The stupid does indeed burn. I think I read somewhere this morning that governor B’s strongest defence at this point is the insanity defence. He’s made a good case for it, so far. The only problem with it, Virginia, is ‘There ain’t no Sanity Clause.’

The thing that blows my mind is that a person this idiotic managed to be elected governor of a state as large as Illinois. And that he had minions apparently even more gooberish than he was — but who apparently flipped on him in a heartbeat either through an attack of conscience or self-preservation.

Do none of these people ever read crime fiction or, god forbid, the news…at all?

Digg is open, folks.

Funny thing about sociopaths, they get so puffed up in their grandiosity that they usually end up stepping on their own pee pee’s. It is the strangest kind of delusional thinking that goes on with these narcissistic types. The grandiosity is their problem and why they seem so stupid.

Dugg.

Thanks for opening.

Thanks Christy.

Smack dab on/t, for a change -

Mike Flannery Political Editor CBS Chicago doing a most excellent job of spelling out specific examples in yesterday’s Fitz paperwork that indicate how much bloggie *didn’t* get to play ball with Obama. (Washington Journal).

Unbelievably stupid. Moronic.

He plans to plead not guilty by reason of stupidity.

LOL!

maybe his lawyer is named houdini ??

and i amazed by some stuff i’ve read elsewhere concerning ” hey .. he’s innocent until proven guilty” etc ..

naaaww .. not when they’ve got you on tape .. i believe in the “presumption of innocence” normally .. but how can anyone maintain it in a case like this one where the accusation is accompanied by statements which are … hmmmm ..what’s the term ..prima facie evidence .. sumpin’ like that ..

But it certainly does make for an amusing read through in the paperwork, I can tell you that. I’m having to re-read parts of this because it’s so fricking unbelieveable that I have to double check myself.

Seriously, if I wrote this as fiction, no one in their right mind would ever believe it.

Do none of these people ever read crime fiction or, god forbid, the news…at all?

Well, when there’s never any indication in the news that *anyone* (other than the little guy/girl) gets held accountable for their misdeeds, apparently people like bloggie assume they can get away with *anything*.

Can you say “insanity defense?”

That’s a tough one to swallow, given that his predecessor int he Governor’s office is sitting in a federal penitentiary, having been convicted by Fitz int he same corruption investigation, along with a number of Ryan’s aides and Blago’s aides as well.

Good morning christy,

These brazen imbecilic moves were waged by another sociopath. Government seem to attract a bunch of these, and obviously, they end up on both sides of the political spectrum. I’m happy this Soprano style thug is on his way out.

Rule of law, baby, rule of law!!!

i guess blagojevich’s real crime wasn’t corruption – it was stupidity.

True, dat. My bad.

Christy, I loved your irony here. Did you know that Ted Bundy, the serial killer was caught by his grandiosity. He was stopped by the police because he matched a description given by a victim who survived. The police asked if they could search his car and he said “sure”. There was a cut up body in the trunk.

I think the root of his problem is that he looks like a cabbage patch doll.

i mean, if corruption was a crime, wouldn’d paulson and bernanke be charged as well?

btw – TARP czar kashkari is going to testify before frank’s house finacial services committee today at 10am. details at oxdown.

As Fitz says, this is truly staggering. Given that the affidavit says that we only have a part of the haul from the wiretaps and given Fitz’s history of not laying out all of his cards on the first play, I’m at a loss to come up with what else will be revealed when we get to the courtroom.

Off-track point: around here, it’s Waffle House that rules.

Did I hear correctly that Illinois has had 4 Governors in the last few decades go to prison? I know that Blago’s immediate predecessor (Ryan) is in a Federal prison.

Me thinks that Fitz is a non-partisan law and order…no hanky panky on his watch type of guy. Of course anyone who watched him during the Plame investigation would know this.

How much do you think Fitz held back? It would be unlikely that he showed all he had. LHP thinks that he’s going after the wife also but I think that it’s bigger than that. I think he’s going after the father-in-law and some of the other Chicago pols. Fitz wants to clean up the city.

I hate to ask (makes me feel sorta stupid or mentally deficient), but maybe someone here can explain to me or remind me, why isn’t Fitz the best choice for Attorney General of the US again? Didn’t Obama say he wanted the best person for the job?

Chicago reporter on WJ right now. It seems that if Blago fights the charges, which he seems to be able to do, then everything else they’re talking about, like impeachment, will take too long. So Blago will still be the one who will appoint Obama’s replacement.

Nixon said that if the President does it, it’s not illegal.

Well, I lived in Providence, Rhode Island in the 80s, and thought I had seen it all in terms of the subtle blend of corruption, greed, and brazen behavior. Really, it is hard to understand how this guy didn’t end up in juvie, much less a big time politician with Presidential aspirations.

Dog! The reich-wingers are out in force on Washington Journal this morning; they’ve got Obama tried and convicted! *gag*

This relates to my thoughts…this guy was caught…great effort was made to uncover his clumsy and brazen criminal acts..and apparently few came to fruition. (am I right?)
Blagojevich and his wife wanted their piece of the corruption pie, the right of political entitlement that motivates some polititical people whose only passion is themselves.
But I suspect the self-satisfaction and incredulity we are exclaiming about them will be fuel to diminish the national outrage we should be screaming over the myriad of clever crimes Cheney et al perpetrated under the guise of government policy we disagree with but will not call crime. Are these crimes really equal to the destruction of another nation’s cultural heritage and daily life, the deaths of soldiers too young to fear more than fear and pride, the institutionalization of torture, the degradation of our environment… really?

The callers really came out of the woodwork this morning, didn’t they? A veritable roach motel.

Did you hear the caller who said that since Blago lied, and Obama might have lied about removing troops from Irag, then Obama lied about his involvement with Blago? Something is seriously wrong with that caller and I’m sure they have medicine for that.

Yesterday I was pondering what makes someone so stupid. Got the answer this morning. Blago has serious financial pressures to pay lawyers to defend him on his corruption charges. People under that kind of pressure often double down. I can actually understand his behavior now. Chicago reporter said that Blago had already fired one set of lawyers.

I’m with you. waaay too much for Fitz to pass up. and to think this pissant’s clumsiness may be the key to the whole magilla – oy, kinda like tape over the doorlatch at a certain DC hotel :D

Honk If You Bribed Blago !

Mornin’ All !

He also said that the state AG is talking about testing an article in the state constitution and taking Blago to the State Supreme ct. to have declared unfit to lead.

Yes, it was quite a roachfest. But corruption discussions have a tendency to do that.

I say that I love seeing corruption get reported. That means there’s some chance of doing something about it. You know it’s going on, and if you’re not reading about it, that means nothing is being done about it.

Yes, but how long will that take if Blago fights it? Presumably if the first court declares him unfit, Blago can appeal.

Oh, we’ve written a lot about the mendacity of Cheney and crew. Believe me. Try a bit of goggle and you’ll see what i mean… *G*

Wow. Now the whities are charging racism on the Black Caucus on WJ. Geez.

I understood that it would go straight to the State Supreme Court. Where can one appeal their decision?

Thanks mucho for the digg, Toby!

Oh, good lord. Are we back to the Archie Bunker crowd versus The Jeffersons again? Quick, someone call Norman Lear…

could be he thinks he has the goods on just too many people. Sort of reminds me of Buddy Cianci (former and probably future mayor of Providence.. who basically ran his city from a prison in NJ).

fhm @ 41

I didn’t catch that detail and IANAL, so you might be right.

did they offer up the photographs of Obama leaving the grassy knoll ? of he and Clinton spreading the Lindbergh ransom money around town ? :D

Good Morning Christy and Pups.

Boy! I cannot leave you guys for a sec. Was out of commission in waiting rooms all yesterday, and came home to a trillion articles or so to catch up with on this big scandal. Whoosh! FDL RULES!!!

OT: Christy, my fella got his new knee, & is now on the recovery track. Not comfy yet, but all seems to have gone well. Thanks for your good wishes yesterday. ;->

The guest ignored both of them. But yes, Archie Bunkers for sure.

Well here’s my few cents. It *does* seem that our sweet DOJ has targeted Dem governors guilty or not (siegelman). Maybe that’s just my perception. But I feel we’re looking at a long list of republikans who haven’t been penalized for contempt of congress, and a whole lot of other malarkey, including “easy money” policies, war profiteering etc.
And I am not questioning Fitzgerald’s competence or integrity. I just can’t help remembering the story of Petey Domenici and Heather Wilson’s phone calls to Iglesias. In other words, I guess I have so little confidence in the DOJ, I don’t feel like cheering any real victories on Fitzgerald’s part, unless it’s Karl Rove in handcuffs.

I should say devoted. I fondly remember the Cheney poetry slam.

I read the report and had to go back and see if the Gov. was a Republican or Democrat.
Shocked to find out he was a Democrat.
He must have attended the Republican School of Corruption and Governing and is masquerading as a Democrat.

And don’t you think any lawyer, looking at the situation, would have told Blago to keep his trap shut because there just might be wiretaps?

bwaaahaaahaaa ! saw somewhere yesterday a post on the Most Corrupt States and several Ocean Staters expressed their angered dismay with it’s exclusion. I do recall being horrified by Alan Dershowitz’s coverage of it’s Courts – carrumba !

You are obviously not an Illinois resident.
Corruption is bi-partisan here.

-amen! heh!

I suppose damage control is going to be somethin’ fierce with this mess.

I know you guys are masters at separating the unruly kids, rinsing and repeating facts with backup, yadda yadda.

Good luck with your day. Sic ‘em, pups!

cbl2 at #35: You take my prize of the day! hee hee.

Honk If You Bribed Blago !

someone should get the bumper-sticker makers revved up again.

JW @ 52

Maybe that’s why he fired his first set of lawyers.

But also, just because your lawyer tells you to do something, or not to do it, doesn’t mean you listen.

Heh. Current WJ caller outed the first two callers on their racism. Good on him.

yeah, that’s the ticket! The lawyers did it! uh huh. *g*

Or page 32, wherein “. . . Individual A advised that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is seeking a total of approximately $2.5 million in campaign contributions by the end of the year, principally from or through individuals identified on a list maintained by Friends of Blagojevich.”

it IS time for public finance of campaigns, this is crystal clear

the fund raising ability the gop enjoyed for the last 10 years

my old saying;

“power currupts, absolute power stupidifies”, the democrats WILL sell our law just as the republicans sold our law

it is time, we really can bring republican and democrat together, we really can unite this country and have both parties working toward the progression of america rather then the enrichment of their own bank accounts

there are few moments in politics that do not involve a war when concervative and liberal have a common enemy and a common agenda

we need the power of industrial and private investment in our law removed.

we CAN get public financing of campaigns, NOW is the time to do it, the window of oportunity opens and closes in the whisper of the night, we do not have much time

the powerful blogs, left and rigth, can contact each other and get this done

this would be the most powerful good we have accomplished in decades, possibly generations, time it is to “get er done”

Especially if you are terminally stoopid

good to hear the replacement went well. I know it’s a labor of love but send ((you)) prayers for strength and stamina as Caretaker In Chief just the same.

Blago is using his campaign funds to pay his legal bills.

So glad the surgery went well. :)

I loved the “Wire”. Too close to real to last.

Many years ago I was in a happening bar in a university town. Late in the evening a scholar-athlete positioned himself next to the females’ restroom. As the women exited, he would inquire of each of them in an explicit and extremely crude manner if they would spend the night with him. He had no takers and soon the bar was in an uproar over his behavior. In due course the bouncers grabbed him, drug him through the bar and violently threw him out into the street with the warning that if he ever returned the law would be summoned.

With this deviant out of the establishment, most of us went back to pursuing his goal in a slightly more genteel manner.

I never got the guys name, but it could have been Blogo.

Other legal news: 9/11 Detainees Postpone Guilty Pleas At Guantánamo. ACLU Says Flawed System Must Be Scrapped

Thanks. That’s very sweet of you. I guess I’m coach-in-chief, sorta, since i got both done almost a decade ago, same surgeon and hosp. Fantastic team.
& “our” patient is highly motivated by seeing how well mine have improved my life, so he’s been working hard for weeks prepping with exercises – in excellent shape; terrific prognosis. he just doesn’t feel so good right now, but he knows he will, and that it’s worth the effort in the meantime. My big job will be keeping the PT from falling in love with him. He’s taken, ahem. And Yes, he’s a honey. ;->

I trust I can count on you dear doggies to handle the neighborhood while I’m otherwise occupied. Does the Lake have a copyright on sanity and good old fashioned common sense? or does it just FEEL like it?!

Proud of the Lake residents, I am. Very very proud!

Blago is using his campaign funds to pay his legal bills.

which of course would be disallowed with properly written campaign finance law

Thanks Redd ;->

Mr. Adie will perk up considerably, knowing what you guys are up to. He lurks 2nd hand, a LOT.

is this appropriate just now? Just for old time’s sake. *g*

FITZ!!!

Yes.

I was pointing out that it is Blago’s financial pressures that account for his stupidity.

The Gooper leadership needs to settle-down their rhetoric and constituents – a heated-up Mob can turn on a dime.

As incredibly bad as Blago appears to be, he’s nothing compared to Bush’s Shakedown Crew.

If Plaxico can shoot himself, then Bush is plenty capable of impaling himself on the very pitch-forks he gave his own Goopers.

However, I will say that the Historical Gooper Ploy in advance of Bad News is to Put the Wurlitzer on 11 and have Rush and Sean pitch a Nanny-Nanny-Boo-Boo fingers-in-ears Hissy Fit.

My guess is the Goopers are anticipating another shoe to Drop – now that Dem Blago has gotten rung-up on Corruption, my money is on Hastert falling next on Corruption Charges…

I guess, but goodgoarshamighty!?!

Homer Simpson couldn’t have been this stooopid! D’OH!?!

The racists on WJ are just getting revved up.
I can’t believe the nonsense i’ve been hearing standing in line at the market lately.
I turned to some idiot in line the other day who was saying how Obama was gonna tax everyone into the poor house and asked him if he really thought we could go on spending obscene amounts of money on a war without paying for it with taxes. He looked at me like I was crazy.

Maybe I am but it’s about time someone spoke the T word; we cannot continue going on like this without raising taxes because pretty soon if we keep printing money even Monopoly money will be worth more than the dollar.

I’m determined to not allow this subtle racism that’s been used for far too long to continue. If I hear anyone referring to Obama or anyone else with their cute little code words I’m calling them on it. Enough is enough.

Good luck with that…

good on ya! ;->

Adie:
Lifting you and the Mr. up, up, up.
Yay for the new knee.

Adie @ 73

Adversity seldom improves people’s behavior.

How else was Blago going to do his extortion? Thru personal meetings? But wasn’t one of his contacts wearing a wire? Meet all the players in a dark parking garage at night and swear them to secrecy? Work thru third parties, but then how to trust them and how to communicate with them?

If you think about it, it’s hard to figure out a way of pressuring people and not leaving any tracks.

Not defending Blago, just trying to explain what led him to do what he did.

eCAHN @ 33 – Yeah, serious mental thought processing problems. @40 – Nuts, the both.

cbl2 @ 46 – breaking at 11:00.

Larry Craig seems pretty determined to fight his charges. I saw a clip of something along that lines last night. Poor Larry! That makes it all public again.
Now I am pretty agnostic about the charges, but I doubt the rethug party is.

Yesterday, Balloon Juice had the funniest line on that: “Larry Craig loses sex appeal.” Bwahahahahahahahaha…

They only sometimes call it bribery

Someone please explain to me what Blagojevich has done that is different in kind from the legalized bribery that is our non-system of campaign finance. Is it even clear that we have a difference in degree? If we were able to see all of BushCo’s e-mails and had transcripts of their bugged phone calls, would the author’s impression hold up that Blag’s operation was infinitely more moronic than Cheney’s crew?

The only difference is prosecutorial discretion.

There are plenty of problems with our non-system of campaign finance. There is the obvious point that it allows the folks with the gold undue influence in making the rules. Yes, this is ungood, but on the the other hand, people in power would be naturally inclined to favor the wealthy anyway, even if they weren’t on their payroll. A more serious problem is that a non-system that makes fund-raising ability the predominant focus necesary to survival in office, means that our politicians are not so highly motivated to devise and implement workable public policy as their main survival skill, therefore those abilities suffer in comparison.

But this is really the worst potential effect of a system that has politicians systematically doing things that the average jury could easily be brought to convict them for, if only prosecutors would bring the cases. Quids are being exchanged for quos all the time in our system, by just about all of our elected officials. What happens when somebody or some party, decides to milk this situation for political gain by just as systematically (well, with exceptions as dictated by that party’s interests) presenting juries with bribery cases against most of our political class? Especially now, in this economic crisis, rooting out this official corruption could be easily demagogued. And the Rethugs are fast running out of alternative, less drastic ways, to regain power. It’s only a matter of time before one of them decides that sacrificing his or her peers, even in their own party, is worth it if it buys them power.

Our politics now is a pay-to-play system, and it’s not just outliers like the Blag, who is really only an outlier in having it all on tape. It’s like playing with matches in a room full of turpentine and gunpowder. It will blow up on us, and soon.

Didja know that Blago’s a lawyer and a former prosecutor?
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..247547.php

Oh crap, the headlines are Appeals Court Rejects Craig’s Attempt to Pull Back Guilty Plea in Sex Sting. That makes Craig sound like a pimp and not a stupid shmuck who happened to hit on an undercover police officer.

OT
Congress is pretending to do TARP oversight on cspan, live.

mui – imvho, at the very heart of Republican Lock-Step Voting on Demand are Sexually Compromised Hypocrites who Vote as They are Told, or else.

Craig, Vitter, Foley are just the tip of the iceberg that passes for Republican Discipline…

Well, I know Craig is an apparatchnik. I am only agnostic about the charges as they might apply to anyone, including Craig.

Very good assessment. I think we’re on the same page. I really appreciate your comments, since I’m just plain out of the loop on this one, so far. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I got home and logged on last night. I couldn’t resist the cheap shot but, yeah, it’s stunning what desperate people can do.

I shouldn’t speculate since I’m so clueless about many details of this but…

Since Blago’s behavior has been so totally outrageous, I’m hoping he sticks out as a total rogue, and the fallout won’t harm the incoming administration so awfully much. But they’d better keep coming up with the solid stream of positive plans, just as fast as they can crank them out.
Am I off base on that? Time will tell?

thanks grrlfriend!

u keep an eye on this crew for me. mebbe u can explain stuff when i’m back and able to concentrate. this blago mess is unbelievagable. people never cease to amaze on occasion.

I’m with you, I’m not intending to condemn or praise the personal behavior choices involved.

Their Votes are being ‘flipped’ by Knowledge of the Shame of their Hypocrisy.

It’s the Hypocrisy – saying one thing while secretly doing the opposite – that makes them Vulnerable to Extortion by those who know their Secrets.

I missed all the fun yesterday also, ’cause we lost our internet connection for most of the day. The whole area had an outage. By the time I got on in the afternoon, I was like you. Yowza.
It was prolly a really good think I lost the connection, because I got a lot of work on the house accomplished. Two weeks until Christmas and my daughter and her fiancee will be staying with us for a few days. Getting organized, cleaned up, baking and feeling good and calm for the holidays.
BTW, sonnyboy has a new little project. He’s learning and assisting the guy on the sound board at church. It’s a fairly complicated board because of all the mikes for different instruments and such. The man who is teaching him was extremely impressed with how smart he is and how fast he is learning. And, of course he loves it and can take this skill to other venues if he wants. Thought you’d like to know.

It’s all that hair, it grew into his brain, giving the phrase “hair-brain” an whole new meaning. Maybe they will put Blagojevich’s pic next to the definition in the dictionary.

I really hate this; an enormous scandal right before Obama’s inauguration. Its’ really ,really bad.

The problem,as I see it, is not the fact that he is corrupt, or the fact that he is stupid. The problem is the freekin sheeple who keep reelecting/voting for these idiots. ie; Stevens, Jefferson, Dolittle, and on and on and on. It never ends. These assholes are guilty, yet the damn sheeple still vote for them. Just like the poor dumb sheeple who vote against their own self interests when they vote for the rethugs. We are a nation of sheeple, guarded by wolves who will do anything to enrich themselves. Yet the sheeple idiots continue to bleet and vote for them. We have to have the most uneducated, dumb electorate in the history of the US. Which is worse, that most voters don’t vote, or that some always vote yet have no idea what they are actually voting for? Rethugs=Hoover. AGAIN.

US Timeline to ultimate disintegration of the republic form of govt. 25-50 years and counting.Much depends on what the rethugs in congress do and what the sheeple are allowed to learn via the corporate MSM. Oligarchy=theocratic dictatorship. The outward forms of a republic remain, but the masses are easily led around by the nose to vote for the same people and what will become seats handed down generation to generation(happening already) Evangelicals who abhore science are already taking over local and state school boards, the Texas state school board is already lost, and as goes Texas, so goes the nation-as far as textbooks go. We have at least a 30% HS drop out rate nationwide. 83% of incoming college freshmen have to take remedial classes. Our economy is in meltdown, union busters are still attempting to destroy the unions. The middle class is falling down into the lower class. High paying jobs are going to other countries, minimum wage is what the multinational corporations want to pay. They-along with their bought and paid for congresspersons-always vote against raising the minimum wage. The people at the bottom of the pile are becoming debt slaves. I see a terrible future, and I see sheeple to dumb to think for themselves, I foresee a US with its citizens divided into uber wealth and extremely poverty(I have been in too many 3rd world countries in my lifetime to believe that the US is ultimately different), I foresee the US turning into a third world country, with a first world military-which will make war for the corporations- I am glad that I will be dead before the end of what was once a great nation. Obama can only slow down the decline, but if the dem congress leaders do not stand up and grow a spine, I see the decline and fall of the american empire speeding up. It started in 2000 with the election of a good ol boy over a smart but socially inept pol. That started the decline. It doesn’t really matter whether they be dem or rethug, they are both corrupt. The multis own them all. They will not vote their conscience as they have none.

Yep, legal bribery. The system will not be ended anytime soon because that is the way that congress likes it. Question; Will the sheeple rise up against a corrupt system? Sadly, not in my lifetime.

I agree with everything you say except the “election” part. 2000 was a coup de etat. We have been living in a dictatorship for the last eight years due to the privatizing of our election.
And I suspect that we WILL be around to see the ultimate demise of America. I think it’s really pretty much here, now.

I watched it start with Reagan. I’m just glad my mother isn’t alive to see what has happened to her beloved country, it’s hard enuff for me.

Maybe we will, we’re awfully pissed off!

Christy, I do not know if anyone has yet connected to this profile of Blago in the February 2008 Chicago magazine. The author uses the term “sociopath.” I am not able to link. Go to:

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chic…..opularity/

I don’t know about you, but if I found out I was the target of a Pat Fitzgerald investigation, I’d save him the trouble and commit suicide.

Oops! Hi back, if you were talking to me. I left just before your comment was posted.

Congrats to Sonny Boy. That’s fantastic. Sounds reminiscent of our older son. Developed a craze for electronic stuff as a kid. Bottom line so far, he’s basically made a pretty decent career out of the mostly self-taught part of his education. And he’s never stopped learning. Constantly studying up on something or other, just because …

Whatever you’re doing, Ma, keep it goin, because it sounds as if it’s working! ;->

Christy- Oh, I know that’s why I read you all, you give me the details my voice nneds to bolster my soul and commonsense…I What I said was not a rebuke, but a reminder… I apparently wrote poorly…what I meant is the following…
Crimes that are thought, said but actions unrealized, are not equal to active criminal behavior. It’s apples and oranges. I take no glee in the selfishness of Blago-types but they are much less dangerous to the fabric of our culture. We have joined in the chorus, he and his wife are easy targets. The sound of laughter at their stupidity may deafen the American crowd to the work that remains and may be left undone because “bad guys are on both sides.”
Similarly, Palin was (is) not as dangerous as the cynic republicans who chose her and pull her strings withfill her feeding bag with bits and bangles.