Mood:  silly

Former Representative Michael Decker, center, arrives at the Federal Courthouse in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006. >>>>>
(Staff Photo by Travis Long)

Decker pleads guilty in Black probe

Former N.C. Rep. Michael Decker admitted in federal court today receiving $50,000 and a legislative job for his son in exchange for supporting Jim Black for a third term as House speaker in 2003.

The former Forsyth County lawmaker, who switched parties from Republican to Democrat, pleaded guilty to a single of charge of conspiracy to extort, commit mail fraud and launder money.

He is to be sentenced Nov. 1. He could get five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea agreement read in court today said that Decker met with a Democratic House member to discuss the political deal, but the papers did not name that person. Later, Decker received an envelope containing $38,000 in checks and $12,000 in cash, court documents said. An unnamed Democratic House member delivered the money, whose source was unclear. A prosecutor said that much of the money went into Decker's campaign account.

Decker's support created a 60-60 split in the House, allowing Black to remain as co-speaker. Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, in 2003 entered into a power-sharing agreement with Republican Rep. Richard Morgan.

Although Black was not named, he has testified in a Board of Elections hearing that he raised campaign money for Decker after Decker agreed to support him.

Decker reported spending campaign funds on a car and a trip to Florida to pick up the car. He pocketed a $4,000 contribution from Black, and State Board of Elections hearings found that Decker cashed $3,400 in contributions from Black's fellow optometrists that he did not disclose.

The News & Observer ** Decker pleads guilty in Black probe

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 7:14 PM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Democrats fail to win big Hispanic support

Democrats have made only "modest gains" among Hispanics during political battles this year over immigration reform, with 41 percent of those surveyed in a Democratic poll saying the issue will not affect how they vote in November.

Although the survey of 600 Spanish-speaking Hispanic voters by the New Democratic Network (NDN) showed a dramatic erosion in support for President Bush and Republicans since the immigration debate in Congress began, it found that Democrats have not made major advances with the nation's largest minority group.

Democrats still "have a lot of work to do" to explain what they stand for, said a memo from the NDN's Hispanic Strategy Center.

The poll's results were released July 19. Key findings in the survey showed pockets of significant support for Republicans and Mr. Bush among parts of the Hispanic community.

In one of the poll's findings, "while Democrats have made modest gains with this group, growing from 52 percent in 2004 to 59 percent, most of the movement this year has been away from Bush and the Republicans and not towards Democrats," an NDN analysis said.

"... While consistently far ahead of Republicans, Democrats regularly under-perform their 59 percent electoral performance and 65 percent party favorability. This indicates that, while Democrats are well-regarded by this electorate, they are not well-defined," the report said.

For example, despite the critical response of the electorate to the competing House and Senate immigration bills, "more Hispanics say that the immigration debate will not affect how they will vote this November -- 41 percent -- than say that it makes it more likely they will vote Democratic -- 36 percent," NDN said.

Moreover, despite substantial Democratic leads among Hispanics on most issues, particularly on the Iraq war, Republicans still draw more support on protecting national security and fighting the war on terrorism, the poll found.

Mr. Bush captured 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2004 presidential election and since then, Ken Mehlman, who managed his re-election campaign before he became the Republican National Committee chairman, has made Hispanic outreach a major part of the RNC's political agenda.

NDN said its analysis of the 18 percent of Hispanics who remain undecided "finds this group very favorable to President Bush and wary of Democrats.

"While unhappy with the direction of the country, this group will not be an easy one for Democrats to make substantial gains with," the analysis said.

Among the findings with this group, 48 percent "tend to have a more favorable opinion of President Bush," 53 percent have a favorable view of the Republicans, and 36 percent have an unfavorable view of the Democrats.

The survey of Spanish-dominant, registered Hispanic voters was conducted by LatinInsights for NDN between June 24 and July 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.

Washington Times ~ Donald Lambro ** Democrats fail to win big Hispanic support

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:26 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Puzzling breakdown

The July/August AARP Bulletin had a piece on federal aid for medical research in which it criticized the President Bush's request to freeze the National Institutes of Health's budget for fiscal 2007. The AARP correctly interpreted the move as a reduction in federal funding for disease research. Naturally, it advocated devoting larger sums to investigating better treatments for Alzheimer's disease, which primarily affects its core constituency.

But we were struck most by the accompanying morbid graphic, which broke down research grants per fatality. It is beyond dispute that a good chunk of federal research dollars is wasted on frivolous projects. But if it can be described this way, taxpayers get the best bang for their buck on stroke research, with gets just $2,143 per fatality. Heart disease was next at $3,649 per corpse. Surprisingly, cancer was well down the list at $14,006 per death.

The most stunning number, however, was $212,330, which is what taxpayers cough up for each HIV/AIDS fatality. In 2007, they will contribute a staggering $2.9 billion for HIV/AIDS research, which is only slightly less than the total for diabetes and Alzheimer's, respiratory and kidney diseases. They afflict tens of millions more Americans than AIDS, yet comparatively, they get the short end of the funding stick.

It's no secret the generous appropriations for HIV/AIDS research are dictated by political correctness rather than in response to a true public-health crisis. Moreover, HIV/AIDS is the most easily prevented cause of death on the NIH list; all that is required is a modicum of personal responsibility. In a perfect world, the NIH would dole out research dough proportional to the quantifiable health threat rather than the empty-barrel politics of HIV/AIDS.

Waterbury Connecticut Republican-American ** Puzzling breakdown

So, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, what a suprise. There's a "lube" joke in there somewhere, but...

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 11:48 PM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 1 August 2006 12:10 AM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

HEY - Weren't we being led to believe that a strike just hurt the Palestinians there???

Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad leader

AP Photo: Hezbollah flags are displayed for sale at a market in the center of the West Bank town of Nablus, Saturday, July 29, 2006. \/

NABLUS, West Bank - Israeli troops killed a top leader of the radical Islamic Jihad in a West Bank raid Saturday, the group said, and the Israelis pressed ahead with their offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Islamic Jihad said the leader of its militant wing in Nablus, Hani Awijan, 29, was killed by Israeli undercover troops. They came to arrest him while he was playing soccer with friends and relatives, the group said. Another Islamic Jihad militant was also killed.

The army confirmed soldiers operated in Nablus and said a militant was killed in an exchange of fire.

Israel Radio said Awijan was responsible for a series of attacks on Israelis. Over the past 17 months, Islamic Jihad has been responsible for all 12 suicide bombing attacks in Israel, killing 71 people.

Islamic Jihad announced Awijan's death from mosque loudspeakers, As news of the raid spread through Nablus, large crowds gathered. Militants burned tires in the streets and called for a general strike in the city. Shops were quickly closed.

While most attention is on the Israel-Lebanon conflict and the monthlong Israeli offensive in Gaza, Israeli forces carry out nightly arrest raids in the West Bank, searching for suspected militants. Often more than 20 are detained in a single night.

↓

Israel moved tanks and troops into Gaza and started an intensive campaign of airstrikes after Hamas-linked militants tunneled under the border and attacked an Israeli army post at a crossing point, killing two soldiers and capturing a third, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19.

Palestinian officials said they have not received a response to their demand that Israel guarantee that it will free women, children and long-serving Palestinian prisoners before Shalit is released.

Dr. Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas official, said Israel's refusal to guarantee the release of prisoners before the release of Shalit had created a stalemate.

Early Saturday, Israeli tanks moved back into Gaza a day after completing a two-day raid in the northern part of the seaside strip in which 30 Palestinians were killed. Most of the dead were armed militants, but some were civilians, including an elderly woman and a child.

Late Saturday, residents reported Israeli tanks moving east of Gaza City, a frequent area of Israeli operations to try to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israeli communities.

In airstrikes early Sunday, Israeli aircraft destroyed a house belonging to a militant in Gaza City, residents said. Israel warned the occupants to leave, and the house was empty. Another target was the house of a militant leader in the town of Beit Hanoun. Eight people were wounded in the attacks, three seriously, hospital officials said.

Also, Israeli aircraft fired missiles near the southern town or Rafah, knocking out electricity. The Israelis said they were aiming at a site where Palestinians were tunneling under the Gaza-Egypt border.

Since Israel pulled out of Gaza last summer, turning control of the border over to Egypt and the Palestinians, the Israeli military has said that cross-border smuggling of weapons and explosives has increased considerably.

Slideshow: Mideast Conflict

Yahoo News ~ Associated Press - Ali Daraghmeh ** Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad leader

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 30 July 2006 12:51 AM EDT

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Mood:  don't ask

Dead Baby Found In Aborting Clinic,
Clinic Closed

Authorities Suspect Employee Evidence Tampering

Hialeah Police Homicide Detectives are investigating the gruesome discovery of a dead baby’s body inside of an abortion clinic but conflicting stories may prove there's more to the discovery than meets the eye.

The body was found at “A Gynecologists Diagnostic Center,” 3671 West 16th Avenue in Hialeah.

Witnesses tell police that a young woman, whose identity has not been released, arrived at the clinic last Thursday at roughly 22 weeks pregnant for an abortion procedure.

Police say the woman arrived the next day after the procedure complaining of severe pain. Workers at the clinic explained to her that the doctor was not available and she'd have to wait.

The woman was taken into a recovery room and according to witnessess, gave birth in the clinic.

''Employees cut the umbilical cord, put the baby in a bag and walked away with it," Hialeah Lt. Ralph Gracia said.

An anonymous caller, who police believe to be a clinic worker, alerted officials that the baby was born alive and possibly killed. When officials arrived, however, there was no body to be found.

CBS4's Dave Malkoff reported that when police were called to the scene a second time Friday night, they found the body of a dead baby in a biohazard bag.

"In 24 years in law enforcement, I have never seen a case like this," said Hialeah Detective Tony Rodriguez, the lead investigator.

Detectives believe the abortion clinic tampered with the evidence. The fetus was reportedly 12 inches long and weighed 2-3 pounds.

Hialeah Police PIO, Frank Gonzalez, believe the baby was born premature and is unsure how the baby died.

The clinic's doors have been closed while the investigation continues.

Officials are awaiting the autopsy, scheduled for Saturday, to determine the exact cause of death.

No word yet if charges will be filed.

Video at origional site... CBS 4 News (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) ~ Dave Malkoff **
Dead Baby Found In Aborting Clinic, Clinic Closed

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 6:59 PM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 29 July 2006 7:04 PM EDT

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Mood:  suave

Abusing kids for "art"

By Michelle Malkin - July 28, 2006 11:56 AM

***scroll for updates***

This is unbelievably sick. A left-wing photographer, Jill Greenberg, deliberately makes toddlers cry and turns the pictures into a Los Angeles art exhibit called "End Times" to indulge her Bush Derangement Syndrome. She slaps titles like "Grand Old Party," "Four More Years," and "Apocalypse Now" onto photos of the poor children she manipulated and goaded.

The Guardian covers the exhibit here with links to the children's photos and reports how Greenberg deliberately provoked the children to tears:

When photographer Jill Greenberg decided to take a lollipop away from a small child, she had a broader purpose in mind.

"The first little boy I shot, Liam, suddenly became hysterically upset," the Los Angeles-based photographer said. "It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation."

As the 27 two- and three-year-olds featured in her exhibition, End Times, cried and screamed, demanding the return of the lollipop given to them just moments before, Greenberg snapped away.

Someone at YouTube has posted the gallery as well.

PopPhoto magazine has an interview with Greenberg, who used her own daughter in the exhibit as well, and speaks of the merits of children vs. monkeys as photo subjects:

When Jill Greenberg conceived the idea of photographing crying children back in 2004, she didn't anticipate the attention the project would bring to her fledgling art career, or the furor it would raise. Greenberg, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children, is already known as one of the country's most success commercial photographers, with work for ad clients like Microsoft, Kraft, and Procter & Gamble and magazines like New York and Time. She has emerged as a potent force in fine art with a series of acutely lit portraits of monkeys and apes, which in turn led to her work with children.

Your images have certainly caused an uproar. What do you say to people who call you a child abuser?

I think they're insane...Maybe getting kids to cry isn't the nicest thing to do, but I'm not causing anyone permanent psychological damage.

How many kids did you shoot altogether?

Around 35. Some were the children of friends, plus my own daughter; others came from the Ford or Jet Set model agencies. Kid models aren't very expensive—not as expensive as monkeys, for example.

The lighting is very dramatic. How did you accomplish that?

It's the same lighting I used for my portraits of monkeys, and I've been using it for some recent magazine cover portraits...

Greenberg talks about the larger purpose of her "work:"

I saw this little girl who'd come to a party with her mom, and she was beautiful, so I thought it might be interesting to photograph her. When they came to my studio, the mother brought along her toddler son, and I decided to shoot him too. We took off his shirt because it was dirty. He started crying on his own, and I shot that, and when I got the contact sheets back I thought, "This could go with a caption, 'Four More Years,'" like he was appalled at George Bush's reelection...

...That was one of the things that interested me about the project—the strength and beauty of the images as images. I also thought they made a kind of political statement about the current state of anxiety a lot of people are in about the future of the country. Sometimes I just feel like crying about the way things are going.

Other photographers are appalled at Greenberg's methods. See Thomas Hawk and Jeremiah McNichols. Read and listen carefully. Turns out her methods involved more than a quick provocation. The kids were stripped and she described how frustrating it was to have parents "step out of the studio for a couple minutes" in concerted attempts to make children cry who were not cooperating.

BoingBoing reported on Greenberg's attempts to harass and intimidate Hawk. More details from Hawk here. McNichols, who shares Greenberg's political views, condemns her corruption of art:

Perhaps the greatest irony of the work is Greenberg's overlaying of a political message, one preaching compassion and intelligence at that, to a process that involved the willful manipulation of toddlers to break down their toddler-sized psyches and leave them in a pool of their own tears...

...I believe that the moral dimension of "End Times" cannot be ignored, and that an artist need not profit from societal objections to their work if those objections are sound and widely shared. I further believe that Jill Greenberg's work should not be viewed through the art-historical lens of edgy, contemporary art, but is instead a cultural hiccup that should be shelved with divisive cultural artifacts like black minstrelry, art involving the physical abuse of animals, and other works that reflect a sensibility so alien that it is better approached not as art, but as the fractured product of a diseased mind or a necrotic culture.

Indeed, this woman makes Deb Frisch look like Mr. Rogers.

Someone should put together an art exhibit called "Unhinged Times." Here's a start.

And here's Greenberg appearing on cable TV last night:

Speaking of Frischness, here's the latest on that.

UK Guardian ~ Jill Greenberg ** End Times 
Michelle Malkin.com ** Abusing kids for "art"

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:10 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 28 July 2006 3:23 PM EDT

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Mood:  silly

Democratic Underground explained

From James Taranto:

QUOTE

Meanwhile, an unscientific DemocraticUnderground poll finds that, at this writing, 72% agree with the statement, "I deal with severe mental illness in my home."

Hat Tip: Lorie Byrd at Wizbang 

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:18 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 28 July 2006 1:25 AM EDT

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Mood:  loud

Is this part of their Drugs For Food program? We really need to start deporting these "diplomats" and other UN staffers until they either reform the UN or move it out of the country. Diplomatic immunity for these criminals my ass!

U.N. Employee Is Charged With Drug Smuggling

A U.N. employee used U.N. diplomatic pouches to smuggle illegal drugs as part of a ring that brought 25 tons of contraband into New York in the past year and a half, federal prosecutors and the FBI said yesterday.

The shipments of khat -- an illegal stimulant grown in East Africa -- were received by a mail clerk employed by the United Nations, Osman Osman, who sent them across America, according to an indictment unsealed yesterday.

Prosecutors say Mr. Osman, a Somali citizen who had been employed at the United Nations for 29 years, was an important cog in the largest khat trafficking enterprise America has known. Forty-four defendants were named in yesterday's indictment, and 14 were still at large, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Khat is an evergreen shrub grown along the Horn of Africa. Chewing the leaves has long been a custom in the countries of the region. Immigrants have brought the habit to America, where the active chemical in the leaf is as illegal as heroin. The trafficking ring exposed yesterday was responsible for importing more than $10 million worth of khat since the end of 2004, according to the indictment. A portion of the proceeds were sent back to Europe and the United Arab Emirates, in order to repay khat producers, according the indictment.

At a press conference yesterday, an FBI agent, Mark Mershon, said law enforcement officials hoped those arrested would cooperate with efforts to track down exactly where that laundered money went. The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Michael Garcia, said that the khat trade is a known source of funding for Somali warlords.

Several shipments of the drug entered this country through U.N. diplomatic pouches, while other bundles of khat were carried on trans-Atlantic flights, or shipped by mail, according to the indictment. From New York, khat dealers distributed the drug across the country, according to the indictment.

In Columbus, Ohio, home to one of the country's largest Somali communities, a police officer said he had heard of yesterday's bust and was not at all surprised by the proportions of the khat trade in this country.

The sergeant with the narcotics division in Columbus, Ben Casuccio, said that the department has been interdicting khat since the mid-1990s. He noted the difficulty that police had in preventing khat from being sold in coffee houses within the tightly-knit Somali community of Columbus. But Mr. Casuccio said his primary worry was not the local effect of the khat trade.

"Here is our concern -- there is an illegal government in Somalia currently and it's being run by warlords," Mr. Casuccio said, by telephone. "The funds are being sent back to facilitate those folks. We feel that some of the funds from khat are being sent back to these terrorist warlords."

Khat, which is chewed or brewed as a tea, causes euphoria, but can also lead to heart disease and violent outbursts, the indictment said.

The director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Omar Jamal, said that khat is taken socially in large segments of the Somali community, where it is seen as no more harmful than the "the average American buying a cup of coffee."

"This is what people do when they sit around and talk," he said.

About half the people charged in the indictment do not live in New York, according to law enforcement officials. Mr. Osman, the U.N. mail clerk, is listed in the indictment as one of four leaders of the organization. He pleaded not guilty late yesterday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. His lawyer is currently driving in from Ohio, said the attorney who represented him at the arraignment, David Gordon.

A spokeswoman for the U.N., Marie Okabe, confirmed that Mr. Osman has worked at the U.N. since 1977, but declined to provide further details of what role, if any, the mail room at Turtle Bay played in the drug trafficking. Mr. Osman, 47, lives in Rocky Hill, Conn., according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office.

The indictment suggests that "Operation Somalia Express," as the investigation was called, put an end to a well-organized criminal enterprise that was willing to use violence. One of the men charged, Bashi Muse, spoke of killing a customer who owed him money, according to the indictment. Khat trafficking charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, although five of the defendants face additional money laundering charges, which also carry a potential 20-year sentence.

NY Sun ~ Joseph Goldstein ** U.N. Employee Is Charged With Drug Smuggling

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:08 AM EDT

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Mood:  spacey

 Howard Dean Heads for Showdown with Hillary

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Try these headlines. (story) Dean calls Iraqi prime minister an anti-Semite. (story) Howard Dean compares Katherine Harris to Stalin during stop in West Palm Beach. (story) Howard Dean calls for end to divisiveness. (Laughing) Let's go to the audio sound bites. This is a speech at a Democrat Professionals Forum, actually, and here's the first of two bites.

DEAN: The president made a big deal about bringing the Iraqi prime minister to address Congress and met with him yesterday. The Iraqi prime minister is an anti-Semite. We don't need to spend 200, 300, and $500 billion bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn the Hezbollah.

RUSH: It's right here, Mr. Snerdley, this happened right across the bridge, right over there in West Palm Beach and I didn't even know he was here. Well, Howard, let me tell you something. You got a problem. If you're going to call Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq, if you're going to call him an anti-Semite, shall we also say that John Dingell is an anti-Semite? Should we say that John Conyers is an anti-Semite? How about Fortney Pete Stark, could we call him an anti-Semite? How about Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii? What do those three people, those four guys have in common? They all voted against House resolution 921 condemning the Hezbo attacks against Israel last week. So, Howard, some of the most prominent Democrats in the House of Representatives must also be anti-Semites, because they have also refused to condemn the Hezbos.

Let's go to the next sound bite from the Democratic Professionals Forum. Dawn, did you know where this was yesterday? Where was the Democratic Professionals Forum? What building was it in? Kiwanis Club someplace? Anyway, here's what he said.

DEAN: Thank God for Bill Nelson, because we'd have another crook in the United States Senate if it weren't for him. He's going to beat the pants off Katherine Harris. Didn't understand that it is ethically improper, if you're the chairman of the campaign, to count the votes at the same time. This is not Russia, and she is not Stalin, and she will go back to wherever she came from and Bill Nelson will be reelected to the United States Senate.

RUSH: Talk about holding a grudge. Man, well, she wasn't heading up the campaign when she was counting the votes and she didn't count the votes. She certified the count. She was the secretary of state. But you know what's interesting? He sits here and he condemns Katherine Harris, "This is not Russia and this is not Stalin," so he compares Katherine Harris to Stalin. Now, the real Stalin and the real Soviet Union, they loved! (Laughing.) They loved Castro, they loved Hugo Chavez. I mean, those guys are cool. The real Stalins, the real Lenins, they love these guys. Their political enemies, fellow Americans, are the real bad guys. George Allen had this to say in response.

ALLEN: This is the typical sort of thing that you're getting out of the Democrat leadership. He is not an anti-Semite. You know who is an anti-Semite? His predecessor, Saddam Hussein, who was paying families, parents, 25, $35,000 to send their son or a daughter into these murderous bombings in Israel. So it is just an absurd statement and this is unfortunate, because our country ought to be united, trying to help this government, this fledgling democracy stand on its own two feet.

RUSH: Before it's all said and done there's going to be a knockdown drag out between Hillary Clinton and Howard Dean over the fate of this party when we get to presidential election time.

END TRANSCRIPT

*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 9:50 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 27 July 2006 11:51 PM EDT

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