Bitter – Page 84 – Shall Not Be Questioned

Obama’s Messaging is Off

The Obama campaign has been paying protestors in Michigan to follow Mitt Romney around the state. They tried denying it, but the protestors admitted it to reporters, claiming they were pulling down anywhere from $7.25/hour to $17/hour. Pejman has the best explanation for why the denial from the Obama campaign is terrible messaging for the president:

Personally, I donâ€™t understand why Team Obama doesnâ€™t admit to paying the protesters. If they do, perhaps then the president can actually claim to have created a few jobs.

Where Do Small Government Supporters Turn When They Lose?

Why, the federal government, of course! Supporters of Ron Paul are upset that their candidate did not win. Instead of just learning what they can from the campaign and applying it to other candidates, they are filing a lawsuit asking the federal government to intervene in the nominating process of a political party.

The legal filing, which names Priebus and GOP chairmen in every state as defendants, “seeks the guidance of the court” on whether the plaintiffs are free to break with certain state party rules and vote for the candidate of their choice at the August convention.

The plaintiffs claim that so-called “binding” delegate rules â€“ in which delegates are required to vote for the winner of their state’s primary or caucus at the convention â€“ violate federal law and prevent delegates from exercising their “Constitutional right to vote their conscience” in Tampa.

I must have missed that part of the Constitution that specifies one’s right to vote at any private gathering. It’s worth adding that Ron Paul’s spokesperson says that they have nothing to do with this lawsuit and they do not support it at all.

This appears to be a case of folks who are all for small government until they decide they want to make government work for them to get what they want.

London Olympic Shooting Venue

I feel sorry for our Olympic shooters this year. They must suffer with this eyesore of a venue.

Pictures are from a walkthrough featured on Dezeen which adds:

The shooting galleries for the London 2012 Olympic games are covered in spots that look the suckers of an octopusâ€™ tentacles.

The rest of their description actually focuses on the function of the buildings, so go read the whole thing if you’re interested.

Hating on Pennsylvania Republicans

I really wish Democrats in my area were more aligned with me on anything remotely fiscal or on the right to bear arms. I need an alternative that’s serious about issues and not running for fun on a third party ticket. So much that’s wrong with the GOP in this area of Pennsylvania is represented by what has recently been uncovered about recent ethics violations, some by a Republican former lawmaker from this region as he heads up a government monopoly agency.

We’ve got favors in exchange for business opportunities and crony capitalism:

For six months beginning last summer, the report said, a top LCB aide devoted part of her time to searching for jobs for Conti’s brother and daughter. It was not clear from the report who had directed the aide to do this.

But earlier this year, the report said, Conti e-mailed Starr, recommending that the famed restaurateur hire his daughter.

In the same e-mail, Conti wrote: “On the business front, I would love to revisit the opportunity for a wine boutique in one of your future properties. Team PLCB could be [a] dependable partner. . . . And thank you for reading the info from a proud father in regards to his daughter . . . .”

Weeks later, Conti’s daughter was hired as an executive assistant for Starr Restaurants Catering Group, the report says.

We’ve got sponsorship gifts for the spouses organized by the bureaucrats:

The report concluded that Stapleton, the onetime LCB chairman, accepted several gifts from an LCB vendor, North Wales-based Capital Wine & Spirits.

The gifts included about $1,700 worth of alcohol for an event at the Hotel Hershey last year that Stapleton and his ex-wife organized – the annual Keystone Weekend, billed as a forum for business, civic, sports, and entertainment leaders to exchange ideas on current issues.

Stapleton solicited the alcohol and the LCB vendor donated 60 bottles, the report said. It quoted an e-mail sent to him last Sept. 12 by a Capital executive: “The wine and spirits for Keystone weekend is taken care of.”

The report said another LCB vendor, Majestic Wine & Spirits, lined up a celebrity chef for the same event.

We’ve got pay-offs with free tickets to major sporting events with companies seeking business deals with the agency:

It says one LCB vendor secured a round of golf with a pro for Stapleton during a tournament at Aronimink – and sent two employees to serve as Stapleton’s caddies.
…
Conti, according to the report, frequently attended Philadelphia-area sporting events last summer.

He and his wife, Molli, were described as guests of the Philadelphia Union during one of its soccer games last June – at a time when the team was trying to conduct business with the LCB. Weeks later, the Union invited Conti again, but Short, the LCB marketing director, ended up going in his place, the report said.

Conti, a former Republican state senator from Bucks County, was described as often attending Phillies games as a guest of LCB vendors. Investigators “found no evidence that Conti or his family members paid for the tickets.”

The problem in this is that it’s not business partners doing something nice for each other. The article points out that it’s a crime for these executives to accept gifts, and the state ethics laws also prohibit the employees from using their position to benefit their family members. Interestingly, this wasn’t even a thorough investigation because the investigators couldn’t interview staff or vendors. They relied solely on what the executives were admitting to in official emails.

Of course, members of the GOP in other parts of the state are largely responsible for stalling the privatization bills that would get the state out of the business of selling liquor so that these politicians-turned-bureaucrats wouldn’t even be in a position to use their offices to demand favors and jobs in exchange for business opportunities at taxpayer expense.

I know that in this area, the Republicans brag about not being too socially conservative. That’s fine, but not just because it’s more in line with my views, but because this area has a large population of NY and NJ transplants who aren’t socially conservative either. Then they also brag about not being fiscal conservatives, either. Everything the GOP leaders here say in public are very much about just staying in control as opposed to actually promoting good government or even ideas. It’s very frustrating because they don’t give me a single reason to vote for them as opposed to voting against the other guy in the race. We have a few exceptions here and there, but not many.

Ending Checks and Balances

Based on the comments of the President and a Democratic Congressman, I sometimes wonder if a new platform for the Democratic Party isn’t going to be that the Supreme Court can no longer serve as a check on the Executive and Legislative branches. This morning, Rep. Gerry Connolly said:

â€œItâ€™s not really up to the Supreme Court to second-guess the legitimate decision made by the elected representatives of the people, and if people want to change that law, they can do so by changing the legislators,â€ he said.

Of course, in April, Obama made comments that caused him trouble by challenging the authority of the Supreme Court to overturn laws passed by Congress and supported by the President.

“For years, what we’ve heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or the lack of judicial restraint, that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law,” he said at a news conference.
…
Mr. Obama said the court would take an “unprecedented, extraordinary step” if it overturns the law because it was passed by “a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

To continue in the over-the-top rhetoric from Connolly, he also added this statement on just how terrible opposition to the individual mandate would be:

Connolly said a ruling against the mandate would rank with the courtâ€™s worst decisions in its history. He compared the potential opinion with those now considered to be the Supreme Courtâ€™s biggest mistakes: Plessy v. Ferguson, which established the â€œseparate but equalâ€ doctrine, and Dred Scott v. Sandford, which said that people brought to the United States as slaves are not U.S. citizens with rights.

It almost comes off as saying that those opposed to the individual mandate are like people who support racism and slavery. Another decision by the Court that Connolly cites as a problem a case he refuses to name, but rather prefers to call “the very novel interpretation of the Second Amendment, overturning D.C.â€™s gun control laws.” Though that isn’t quite as evil a case as the challenge to healthcare. He just considers that to be an example of extreme partisanship on the part of conservatives on the Court.

Scott Walker’s New Political Opponents

Sure, he survived a tough recall election with better numbers than 2010, but Scott Walker has a new political opponent that’s so tough and determined, they once got a federal Constitutional amendment passed. They are now speaking out against his actions, and I’m sure he’s cowering in fear. It’s the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. No, I’m not kidding.

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which successfully lobbied for Prohibition in the 1920s and whose 5,000 members continue to spread its antidrinking message nationwide, criticized the serving of alcohol at the event.

“I don’t think it’s cool at all,” said Rita Wert, president of the group. “It sets a very poor example.”

Actually, the really sad news isn’t the fact that there are still a group of 5,000 women pushing for prohibition again. It’s the fact that Gov. Walker hosted a bi-partisan beer and brats event to promote the idea that lawmakers can, in fact, have a civil discussion about issues, even if they disagree. The event drew protesters who won’t settle for anything less than having their political opponents (Walker & the GOP) indicted.

Fudging Hiding the Philly Homicide Numbers

One has to wonder if there was a little tomfoolery going on at Philadelphia Police Department this morning and afternoon. Wyatt noticed something amiss this morning in the numbers the city was claiming for homicide rates.

The official homicide count in #Philly is 161. Now why would the PPD website claim it is only 153? Fuzzy math, Mayor Nutter?

— Darth Wyatt (@DarthWyatt) June 11, 2012

Huh. Isn’t that interesting? When I went to the city’s reporting website several hours later, the daily reporting numbers of murders were removed completely and the only 2012 data was in PDF form for the week prior. Commence minor Twitter conversation about the city hiding their numbers after they have been on a streak of averaging a murder a day.

Shortly thereafter, the data reappeared; this time it was correct. In all likelihood it was a glitch. It happens on the web. However, given that the separate descriptive text for graphic also disappeared, it seems a little odd. Mix it in with the fact that Chief Charles Ramsey has insisted upon using fuzzy math to avoid acknowledging the rising murder rate during the last three years, it seems the timing of it is a tad too convenient. It’s a city with leaders who say that it’s not fair to actually count all homicides in the final tallies, nor is it reasonable to question their failed campaign promises of fewer dead bodies.

It’s amazing how the city is running at 163 murders in 163 days (there was one this morning not counted in Philly stats yet) with 29 more murders than this time last year still has the nerve to try and convince their residents that homicides are down by nearly 10%.

More on Zimmerman Prosecutor Targeting Critics

It turns out that Angela Corey has a history of targeting critics, something that’s really getting attention ever since she threatened to sue Harvard Law School for employing a critic of her work.

She hinted at going after a newspaper columnist for libel (and called him stupid) for disagreeing with her treatment of another big case she’s handling. She also targeted the university that employees another critic of her handling of a different case by submitting records requests for the school to turn over all documents from the law professor regarding the other case Corey is handling. While there isn’t a claim in this article that she threatened to sue this critic or her employer, it does seem absurd for the prosecutor to waste her time on such an exercise.

Specifically, the act of calling a critic’s employers to rant and scream apparently isn’t a first. She has done the same thing two other times. (h/t Harold)

Angela Corey Goes Off on Critics

It would appear that questioning the quality of the job a prosecutor does during a case is unacceptable according to Angela Corey.

State Attorney Angela Corey, the prosecutor in the George Zimmerman case, recently called the Dean of Harvard Law School to complain about my criticism of some of her actions.

She was transferred to the Office of Communications and proceeded to engage in a 40-minute rant, during which she threatened to sue Harvard Law School, to try to get me disciplined by the Bar Association and to file charges against me for libel and slander.

When Harvard disputed this, she apparently emphasized that because they hire him as a professor, they can be sued for anything he says, even his personal opinions outside of the classroom. It would seem that if the woman has time to rant to a communications staffer for 40 minutes about the horrors of freedom of expression, she would have the time to review her cases a little more thoroughly to avoid the kinds of criticism that have been heaped on her by legal professionals.

Of course, this also leaves one to wonder if Corey is threatening other critics through their employers, but they don’t have the protection of tenure and academic institutions. If she has not done so yet, there will likely be plenty of time for her to do so, and likely many reasons for critics to speak up if her track record of submitting only facts that support her case continues.

Beyond the simple issue of trying to suppress speech against government actions, Legal Insurrection points out that she may be digging herself into a hole.

Corey now has made the prosecution a personal issue. Will she conduct the prosecution in such a way as to achieve justice, or to set herself up for a personal lawsuit against Dershowitz and Harvard?

Corey certainly has a right to protect and defend her reputation in civil actions, but she cannot interject those concerns into a prosecution. By threatening suit against a critic in the middle of the case, Corey has put her own financial interests at stake in the outcome and conduct of the prosecution.

So now, according to Corey’s own claims, she plans to seek financial gain from her prosecution of George Zimmerman. But we wouldn’t want to criticize her for such unprofessional behavior or she might threaten to sue us. Because who wants to live in a country where we are allowed to question the state’s prosecution of citizens? Freedom is just so overrated.

Which is More Important: Wisconsin or the White House?

Peter posed an interesting question to me today: Which is more important, Wisconsin recall or the presidential?

I had my own answer and reasons and he had his, but I’d be interested to hear your ideas.