60 Minutes: The Prosecution of Don Siegelman
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I've been following the Don Siegelman case for a couple of months, but as much as I know about this case, it didn't prevent my blood pressure from leaping up dangerously high. Imprisoning political rivals? Someone tell me again how tyrannical Castro was, because I sure don't recognize this country as my own when things like this happen.
(Grant) Woods is one of the 52 former state attorneys-general, of both parties, who’ve asked Congress to investigate the Siegelman case.
“I personally believe that what happened here is that they targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square. This was a Republican state and he was the one Democrat they could never get rid of,” Woods says.
Now a Republican lawyer from Alabama, Jill Simpson, has come forward to claim that the Siegelman prosecution was part of a five-year secret campaign to ruin the governor. Simpson told 60 Minutes she did what’s called “opposition research” for the Republican party. She says during a meeting in 2001, Karl Rove, President Bush’s senior political advisor, asked her to try to catch Siegelman cheating on his wife. [..]
She says she spied on Siegelman for months but saw nothing. Even though she was working as a Republican campaign operative, Simpson says she wanted to talk to 60 Minutes because Siegelman’s prison sentence bothers her conscience.
Simpson says she wasn’t surprised that Rove made this request. Asked why not, she tells Pelley, “I had had other requests for intelligence before.”
“From Karl Rove?” Pelley asks.
“Yes,” Simpson says.
Simply horrifying how low Karl Rove and company will go. Someone definitely needs to be spending some serious time in prison...but I'm pretty sure it isn't Don Siegelman. Scott Horton of Harper's (who is scheduled to speak with Sam Seder on AirAmerica at 4:00 pm est) has been covering this story from the beginning, and truth squads some of Rove's statements. Guess who isn't telling the truth?
The full segment and transcripts available here. If you live in Alabama, that's the ONLY way you'll get to see the whole segment.
Karl Rove is a douchebag. All that can really be said.
I'm curious to learn of the official explanation as to why some (if not all) of the CBS affiliates failed to air this segment or all of "60 Minutes" on Sunday night.
Turdblossom and the entire Busholini cabal need to be indicted, convicted and incarcerated!
But Siegelman is probably a baby killer, so it's justified, right Karl?
[Deleted]
More GOP scum-baggery that deserves GOP jail time in which nothing will ever be done.
sigh :(
Scott Horton has been doing great work on this. Kudos to him.
Whom ever wins in November I hope he or she tries to put an end to this awful shit. In the name of power and winning, the Bush crime family has shitted on all of us and our reputation.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Democrats_wont_commit_to_ending_using_0225...
The Democratic candidates will not commit to ending the precedent of Bush's signing statements to Congressional Legislation.
How telling...
What else won't they commit to ending?
How about the Military Commissions Act
How about the Patriot Act
How about the Presidential Directive 51?
How about renditions?
How about the war(s) for empire and oil resource consolidation?
How about warrantless wiretapping and electronic surveillance?
Remind me again why the Bush Administration has had such a hankerin' for broad wiretap capabilities? Anyone who doesn't believe that they'd wiretap their political enemies for political reason must be part of Bush's delusional 19% of supporters...
I think it's beyond obvious the man was railroaded and imprisoned for no other reason than he was a Democrat that the shitflower and criminal buddies could not bribe or beat down.
Unfortunately it doesn't matter.
It wouldn't matter if you had video tape of every illegal thing the turd ever did. Who's going to go after him? Who's going to stop any of them?
Even if someone tries they'll just laugh and ignore it. Just like they've done with everything else.
The story needs to be told, yes.
But unfortunately it won't change a thing.
Albatross @ 9:
Sorry, quoting myself, but my brain kept connecting the dots. Belatedly, I know, a lot of you already get this, but I just figured it out. But it's obvious why Bush wants blanket telecom immunity. It's not for their sakes. It's because then the telecoms can't be called to testify about his administrations broad abuses of those wiretaps to spy on domestic political enemies. And they can't cut prosecution deals, either.
I hope someone is connecting these dots in Congress...
Now let's not go and destroy Karl Rove's career like he did to Spiegelman.
Sike!
The Repugs MUST be stopped! However, the rose colored glasses that the Obama campaign has managed to blind most progressives with with be the end of us. What a wonderful world if a nice smile and a promise of "change" would magically result in a bi-partison legislature. NO, these Repug bastards will stop at nothing for their own means and the naive Obama approach will lead to complete defeat.
I'm ready to see someone in the Bush Administration go to jail - no "get out of jail free card" like Scooter Libby got.
And that won't happen until after January 20, 2009.
Rove should take up waterboarding and see how he likes it. How did Jabba the Hut's first cousin get a position of such power, I'll never understand.
CBS WILL RUN THE STORY AGAIN IF THERE IS ENOUGH POSITIVE RESPONSE...
DO YOUR PART. EMAIL THEM!!!!!!!!!!
60m@cbsnews.com
[Quit posting in all caps, rasta-Sitemonitor]
Truth B Told @ 8:
Are you just assuming that the Democratic president will simply follow Busholini's lead in issuing HUNDREDS of signing statements? According to the article you linked to, signing statements are nothing new -- Ray Gun rejuvenated their use, but no President in history has used them like the Chimperor.
favor from MSM and political hacks:
the meme that kkkarl rove is a 'genius', ummm yeah, it no longer holds water.
actually, it never did, but y'all laid out a convincing case for a bit, back in '04, and some (not me) were convinced.
now that some journalists (a rare breed) have been uncovering his totalitarian-esque strategy, now that we have seen that his desire for a permanent republican majority is a fool's dream (in big part BECAUSE of rove himself), now that we have had a peek behind the curtain it has become glaringly obvious that kkkarl rove is anything but a genius. he is more like the GOP's rasputin. his soothsaying and advice (coupled with being a traitor [see, valerie plame]) has proven to not only be ineffective but it has crippled the GOP.
it goes to show that the best way to bring down an organization is from the inside. so, let me be the first liberal to give a big THANK YOU to kkkarl rove. thanks fat-face!!!!
WHNT in Huntsville, Alabama blacked out the first part of this segment. The part about Rove and some big name Alabama Repubilicans. The station ran a trailer stating "We apologize that you missed the first segment of 60 Minutes tonight featuring 'The Prosecution of Don Siegelman.' It was a technical problem with CBS out of New York." Scot Horton of Harper's contacted CBS News in New York and was told that "there is no delicate way to put this: the WHNT claim is not true. There were no transmission difficulties.
For details see: cannonfire blogspot
Dr. Acula @ 15:
Come on. All these candidates are just front men/women for the real power in this country. They all belong to an interconnected web of globalist institutions/think tanks/secret societies. They ALL do. No one gets to run successfully unless they are a made member of the oligarchy.
Left&Left @ 7:
Actually...the word is "schat".
What bothers me the most about all this, is the fact Roves gets away with it.
Plus that the Alabama news stations putting a kink to this story get my blood to boil even more. This is fascism in the outright. Downright commie good ole boys attitude from the supposedly only true natural blue born-and-bred cowboys in America. If this is America, it stinks !!!!
Liberal AND Proud @ 20:
hmmm. I thought it was 'shat.'
We know what happened to Susan McDougal, why is this surprising to anyone?
Dr. Acula @ 16:
signing statements = bad and, imho, unconstitutional
when a bill is submitted to the pres she/he should either sign it or veto it. i think it should be that simple.
anyhoo, check out this tidbit:
Q: Is it true that George W. Bush has issued many more signing statements than any other president?
A: No, Bill Clinton issued many more signing statements. The controversy is about the kind of signing statements Bush has issued.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/signingstatements.php#q8
DanInAlabama @ 18:
How they thought no one would notice -- or look into this -- is truly amazing. This stunt will probably do more to call attention to the case than 60 Minutes itself could have.
I hope Fox is paying Rove a good buck at his new gig as Fox News pundit. He'll be needing it for attorney fees. You know what they say... What goes around comes around.
Why are these CRIMINALS in the WHITE HOUSE??? Why isn't Karl Rove in Prison for outing Valerie Plame??? IMPEACH THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND THE NEO-CON CONSPIRACY!!
Thoroughly disgusting, repulsive, and criminal... that pigfaced KKKarl Rove. What's it gonna take to put an end to this shit?! Seriously...
We live in Soviet America and have for awhile. And if those of us who know this don't scream, yell, fight and revolt, it's all our fault and not theirs.
Joementum @ 25:
Where's the frickin' FCC? isn't this something they need to investigate and sanction the station in Alabamy for?!
Maybe this will send Rove to jail.
There were some juicy details missing from the C&L clip.
Watch them here...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/22/karl-rove-60-minutes-expo_n_879...
This is cause for revolution.
Scy @ 29:
NO, we live in a free market slave state. But... either way... Lock and load.
Nicole
Thanks for bringing this forward. I didn't know much about this (figured it was "local" politics) until I read a Huff headline last night. I read the story and followed this links provided by the reporter. When I finished my jaw had dropped to the floor. This story is WAY more than local and way more than just dirty politics. It involves illegal intervention from DOJ, intervention by the White House to prevent CBS from running the story, reporters being threatened, and most importantly censorship to the American people.
We all know Rove is the most evil bastard to draw a breath on this earth, but you will not know how evil without reading all the details. For instance, this ex governor was hauled away in shackles the day of the sentence. Think about it, all the dirty boys, DeLAY, Abramhoff, Lay, Libby, were running around and still some are free, pending their appeals, not this guy he was taken away in shackles. Rove had his hand in everything and with the apparent blessings of the White House. Why is this important today? Rove is still involved in politics and I believe he will covertly shape the 08 elections.
If you want to read more, follow the all the links in the reporter's story. You will simply NOT believe this could happen in America.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larisa-alexandrovna/parts-of-60-minutes-br...
I've never intentionally posted an off topic comment but I just read this and it's possibly the scariest thing I've ever read:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2004/feb/22/usnews.theobserver
This is a must read, and something to spread as much as possible.
Again, my apologies for being off topic.
Frankly Rove's role in this was a no-brainer.
A large portion of the blogosphere - at least - have understood the role Rove has to have played in manufacturing the reality of a spineless and complicit Democratic Congress.
The best way to make everyone, including Democrats - Yes-men for Bush, was to get the dirt on them. Who doesn't know that Rove is absolutely and completely this nefarious?
*
I think someone should go after Rove and the folks in Alabama using the RICCO statutes (not sure about the acronym) that they used to prosecute organized crime families.
It's alarming and shameful what the Republicans have wrought. And yet millions of our fellow citizens, through ignorance, stand up in support of this kind of derailment of our democratic system.
in Amerika @ 38:
No.
Both parties - and a combination of uninformed, debt-distracted, dumbed-down, apathetic, or secretly enthusiastic majority of the American people -
have caused this.
But give extra weight in the formula to the fraud of the dialectic political system. There is only one party.
According to CBS, the local Alabama station, WHNT, cut off the 60 Minutes program about Siegelman. CBS said WHNT made an "editorial" decision. Guess who WHNT is owned by: The Bass brothers, Bush Pioneers, who raised $100,000 for Bush campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
Dana Jill Simpson, who recently testified before Congress, about Rove's involvement in the Siegelman case...had her house mysteriously catch fire after she testified. What a coincidence.
The Bush administration is nothing but a bunch of criminals. Why isn't Congress holding them to the Constitution and impeaching them? Why aren't they up before the Hague? Why aren't they in jail? Just asking....
Truth B Told @ 39:
POINT NADER!
Because Amerika, Bush has Christian values!
BoilThemInTheirOil @ 13:
Thanks for this comment. They all have blinders on to think Obama has any idea how to fix the enormous problems bush has created. I am suspect of where his money is coming from and the corporate media who is giving him a free ride. Hillary is our only hope to save our country and the constitution and bring justice to the criminals who have done these type of things a 1000 times over. 60 minutes did not even tell the whole story. He actually won the second election and the GOP recounted the votes in the middle of the night and reversed the results. We can call rove dirty names all day, everyday but it won't change anything. NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD PEOPLE TO COME TO THE AID OF OUR COUNTRY!!! Help Hillary get elected.
I think we'll see more of these stories since the media can see the handwriting on the wall and realize the vast majority of Americans are no longer willing to be dupes.
As more and more of these stories become MSM driven the Repukicans will start turning on themselves like rats in a trap pointing fingers wanting to pretend they were not part and parcel of the disgusting cancer spread by their fellow Repukicans.
WHNT is owned by Local TV LLC, and the CEO is a man named Bobby Lawrence.
Now, why is that relevant? Let's have a look at what Robert Lawrence has given to politicans:
LAWRENCE, ROBERT
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
3/29/2006
$1,000
Chabot, Steve
LAWRENCE, ROBERT
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
SELF-EMPLOYED/BROADCASTER
1/26/2004
$1,000
Portman, Rob
LAWRENCE, ROBERT
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
JACOR COMMUNICATIONS/CO-CHIEF OPERA
1/14/2002
$1,000
Portman, Rob
LAWRENCE, ROBERT
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
JACOR COMMUNICATIONS
5/29/1996
$1,000
Pressler, Larry
LAWRENCE, ROBERT L
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
8/31/2000
$7,000
Republican National Cmte
LAWRENCE, ROBERT L
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
LOCAL TV/CEO
12/21/2007
$1,000
Black, Stephen L [Democrat, running against Jean Schmidt in Ohio]
LAWRENCE, ROBERT L
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
LACOR
6/22/1993
$300
Portman, Rob
LAWRENCE, ROBERT L MR
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
JACOR COMMUNICATIONS/CO-CHIEF OPERA
6/23/2003
$2,000
Bush, George W
LAWRENCE, ROBERT L MR
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
KEATING MUETHING KLEKAMP/ATTORNEY
3/27/2007
$1,000
Romney, Mitt
LAWRENCE, ROBERT L MR
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
INFO REQUESTED
9/3/1999
$1,000
Quayle, Dan
LAWRENCE, ROBERT L MR
CINCINNATI,OH 45243
LACOR
3/5/1993
$500
Portman, Rob
I wrote some more about this here:
http://bluegirlredmissouri.blogspot.com/
#43 Tricia -- Hillary's ties to the GOP and corporate America run much deeper than Obama's. Did you see the recent Nation article titled The Problem with Mark Penn?
It makes me laugh, your country is so quick to judge cuba. Yet I see this show on 60 minutes. Someone please tell me again how america is supposed to be the greatest country on earth, when this travesty of justice is allowed to happen
tricia @ 43:
That's complete and utter bullshit.
No surprise here, this kind of dictatorial banana-republic bullshit is becomming very normal & acceptable by Americans who don't seem to care.
Democracy, freedom, & the rule of law is no longer our aspirations.
ZombieNation @ 49:
Nope, the ignorant masses who glommed onto the subprime mortgages will be the ones to bring down the "house of cards" economy created by Bushco. What kind of a f*cking moron is it that takes a $300,000 mortgage while earning only $25,000 per year?!!!! Sure, the mortgage institutions were negligent, but give me a break!
liberalNmoderation @ 48:
I mean really! You'd rather have Hillary? Really? Just what exactly makes her anymore qualified than Obama? The fact that she's was first lady for 8 years? The fact that she's been in the senate a whopping TWO years more than Obama?
I bet it's because she's just as corrupt as any republican you care to mention. She'll work REAL good with them.
The Alabama GOP has responded to the "60 Minutes" story, and WHNT has linked to the response.
Jay Severin Has a Small Pen1s @ 12:
Excellent... best idea I've heard in hmmm... 7+ long years!
Comments #43 and #51 are good at ignoring what is happening today and why it is happening. Sure, let's all ignore the potential impact of the ORIGINAL story: corruption, government interference, injustice and Karl Rove shaping state politics. Let's just push forth our own agendas and ignore everything else. No wonder we are where we are today.
*sigh* I know it's Republicans who are ALSO asking for an investigation but I don't think after these 8 years I will ever be able to automatically give Republicans the benefit of the doubt
Dr. Acula @ 50:
Let's agree that there was mutual stupidity from both parties. Both acted recklessly. Both should suffer the consequences.
However, having said that, what are the odds that it will be revealed years from now that the home-buyers were not presented with all the facts and got conned into making such a stupid purchase? If they were that stupid, wouldn't they not be able to find a bank or apply for said mortgage?
Or am I giving too much benefit of the doubt?
I happened to watch 60 minutes last night and saw this...I took away two thoughts from the segment...
1. Not a damed bit surprised Karl Rove had his dirty fingerprints all over this political vendetta shit!
2. Karl Rove needs to be the one behind bars! Or maybe hanging at the end of a rope... I'd be willing, today, to defer to others on that......JD
Terry Cunningham @ 52:
Oh, the irony. They link to the GOP response to a story they didn't air. lol -- Well, case closed then.
Joementum@ 25, and right on! @30
I hope you're right about it calling attention to the wrongful conviction of Don Siegelman, and the blackout here in North Alabama should definitely be investigated by the FCC.
And while they're at it they should investigate the election fraud that went on here that put our oh so crooked Governor Riley into office in the first place.
Leslie @ 40, good points. Hardly anyone here in Huntsville knows one thing about Dana Jill Simpson's brush with fire, or about her car being ran off the road either.
God, how did I end up in Alabama! I mean it is beautiful, but its politics are Blood Red.
Got to go before I blow a gasket.
liberalNmoderation @ 51:
Obama is an attractive sweet talker that has won over the hearts of the progressives at exactly the same level that Bush won over the "I wanna have a beer with him" crowd in years past. There is little substance, and he's barely been tested. Hillary has been through the grinder (as first lady and as senstor). Bill's been even more vetted, while Michelle Obama is about to be ripped to shreds, now that her free pass is about to expire. In November you will be wishing that Hillary had been nominated. Obama has is about locked up. He will lose to f wad McCain.
Word has it that Siegleman apparently went to bed the night of the Gov election
being told he had "won" - only to wake up in the morning to find that the AL GOP had "found" several thousand more votes somewhere, mysteriously during the night,
and Siegleman had lost the election. Anyone looking into this election fraud ?
Not likely !
Its got Shit Blossoms and President Petulant Fucktards fingerprints all over it.Nothing to see there though. Not as if it was a blow job or anything.
BoilThemInTheirOil @ 60:
blah blah blah
BoilThemInTheirOil @ 60:
not this shit again!
no wonder Hillary ran out of funds...hey! Hillary mismanaged her own campaign, Obama didn't! What will Hillary mismanage as President?
What Won't Obama mismanage as President?
Stupid Git @ 35:
When has Bush-boy or any other of his posse listened to the Pentagon or any other office when it didn't suit them.
my apologies as well.
Blue Lensman @ 63:
Yeah, talk is cheap. But it probably won't be anymore with one more, perpetual, Repug "voted" in. Hillary will likely win. Obama will likely lose.
blah blah blah. Enjoy it while you can Blue Lensless.
tricia @ 43:
If you think Hillary or Barrack will fix this mess, you are crazy. This is the kind of stick that stays in your pores. I feel sorry for both candidates. Watch. Karl has been subpoenaed. Again, he just ignores its. You don't know the power of the dark side.
"Simply horrifying how low Karl Rove and company will go"
Really? False convictions bother you? Welcome to America. And I hardly think that this scheme that put Siegleman in jail is lower than say the scheme to dupe the country into war and kill hundreds of thousands (very conservative number) of people.
Ya, Siegleman got screwed, and he should be freed immediately, if not, then pardoned and verdict set aside by the next pres, but this little imbroglio hardly registers on the Bush & Co Fucked-Up-O-Meter.
DanInAlabama @ 59:
I wouldn't count on the FCC to do anything that's going to make a GOP-friendly station cry. But ... WHNT's bogus explanation of the 60 Minutes blackout stinks to high heaven of a coverup. That alone should generate some local coverage -- and get people who otherwise couldn't be bothered to take an interest in the case.
I agree that this entire episode is a travesty.
That said, did or didn't Siegelman commit a crime? According to 60 Minutes, he helped a developer get a conflicting position on an authoritative board in exchange for a donation to Siegelman's cause. Isn't that a no-no?
If Siegelman knew that these guys were chasing him for five years, why did he throw caution to the wind?
Or, did the witness lie?
greg @ 67:
At least you admit your guy is evil. Sure, the Dark Side can be powerful, but sometimes good can triumph.
I think it's kind of sick how you idolize him for being the bad guy. Your republicans are truly morally bankrupt.
To KKKarl Rove, it's only politics. The real problem is that he has to win at all costs. Ruining a political opponent is all he understand. He's one hell of a sociopathic menace to the DOJ, the constitution, and anyone who stand in his way.
Only Guantanamo for forty years would make us safe from the turd.
KKKill them all, KKKarl...
Rich in San Bruno @ 27:
Tricks like this are why they are in the White House.
Our Democratic Congress are only enablers. (And I am NOT going to vote for Nader . . .)
*
Ed in Socal @ 70:
natisman @ 65:
Well, according to the date on the article, you're off-topic and four years late
"Sunday February 22 2004 " is when this article first ran...even more scary...the ship has been sinking for all this time, and now we notice the water coming over the top deck!
Leslie @ 40:
ALL re-PIG-licans are complicit in their criminality in my mind.
I have a few former friends I wouldn't give the time of day to anymore.
*
Even worse, Bush has been more concerned with political vendettas than National Security!
Ed in Socal @ 70:
The star prosecution witness lied about the check and dates that convicted the governor. (He co-operated with the prosecution to lessen his own conviction.) This info was withheld from the defense and the jury.
The clip below describes those details missing in the C&L clip... it looks the same, but towards the end you see the specific problems with the case.
It was/is a sham.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/22/karl-rove-60-minutes-expo_n_879...
It's sick that Rove & Co go this low, it's infuriating that anybody allows them to do it, it is mind-boggling that the larger part of the American population doesn't seem to care and it is amazing that Rove and the Alabama tv affiliate enablers aren't ever going to jail for doing any of this.
Beam me up Scotty, these people are whack.
Ed in Socal @ 70:
With the obvious kangaroo court Siegelman was given who will ever know the truth?
Ed in Socal @ 70:
Dr. Acula @ 50:
You see the mortgage institutions is "only being negligent"? Those criminals were only interested in collecting their up-front fees, knowing the outcome. Intentionally taking advantage of working people trying to improve their living standard is not negligence.
Bush truly is, and is surrounded by, Simian Poop-throwers!
Well, the inevitable Civil War will be exciting....I was hoping to reach 60-years-old...I guess I'll be keeping my boots on from now on.
DLM @ 61:
You're right.
And the issue here is that they want us USED to voting irregularities so that people are reluctant to cry "foul" -- this will be a major factor in the upcoming elections.
*
How many other prosecutions/persecutions are being inflicted on the American public? Seems to me that this adminisetration, every damn one of them, operates in quiet and secrecy. You only find out about the public cases AFTER it is too late. There seems to be an intentional effort to quickly and quietly strip away individual rights. Is this where we are going, dissent and off to prison with you?
aquarius2 @ 80:
Republicans in Alabammy, conspiring to put a Democrat behind bars?!!? Say it ain't so!!!
Come on folks...this was so OBVIOUSLY a set up by Rove and his minions.
aquarius2 @ 85:
yup!
worst of all, the majority of drones won't even notice.
"Simply horrifying how low Karl Rove and company will go".
Yeah, next thing you know they'll try to Big Lie the country into unleashing war.
LongTooth @ 88:
...like somewhere there's lotsa oil, but a percieved non-presence of retaliatory forces?
Trittydi @ 73:
Again, you don't know the power 0f the dark side. Maybe Barrack Skywalker or Princess Hillary will save us by using the force. Not! Remember, Darth Cheney will still be around - somewhere.
Trittydi @ 84:
I'm thinkin folks are gonna be goin over the election results this go round with a fine-toothed comb. I think if anything, people are more sensitive to it. And will cry foul more readily. But...as I've said before...I could be mistook.
Karl Rove is simply very effective at politics and he works for the RepubliCANs. If you DemocRATs can't handle that then do something about him or move to another country. Fox News has seen fit to hire Rove as a pundit of campaign analysis. Fair and Balanced as they are at Fox, this hiring in and of itself should indicate the high moral character of Mr. Rove to all you malcontents. Attack Karl Rove for this? Next thing you know, you guys will be claiming that Bush Jr. and Co. have lied us into a war that has cost the United States Citizenry more than one thousand thousand million Dollars, 20,000 American casualties and between 100,000 and 600,000 non-combatant civilian deaths. You guys are NUTS.
TimeForNewLeadership @ 92:
This can only be considered as a joke.
Alabama TV network blanks out the Siegelman segment of 60 Min. Blames feed from CBS NY. CBS NY says, feed fine, must be editorial decision.
Welkom to Amerika
NY Times Lede
enor @ 93:
Maybe an exaggeration but trust me, they will not get him. Watch, it will be in the news cycle for a couple of day, there will be another investigation, and nothing will happen. Sad but true.
TimeForNewLeadership @ 92:
RepuliCANs as:
CAN lie about getting us into war
CAN politicize the Justice dept.
CAN politicize the Supreme Court
CAN wittle away our rights (As in CAN destroy the constitution)
Can drive us into a $4,000,000,000.000.00 debt
CAN expand the government (largest ever!)
Shall I go on?
CAN steal elections
CAN torture
CAN shift more money from the middle class to the upper class
CAN sell/giveaway our precious resources and airwaves to the highest bidder
CAN pass the worst, most repressive and intrusive laws in our short history
CAN ignore international laws and treaties
CAN destroy our environment
CAN destroy peoples lives for their own gains
...and CAN you get the point I am trying to make here?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K08akOt2kuo
tricia @ 43:
Jeebus Christopher! If Hillary is your only hope you are in a dungpile of trouble. And if anyone has to explain that, you are in even deeper problems than you will ever know.
Do someone have contact information for Don Siegelman?
I would like to write email or even a letter to him stating that I believe him to be true American and thank him for his fight.
And encourage him to continue his fight.
It is important to investigate and bring charges to true criminals but it is equally important to provide support to Don Siegelman.
I do hope that more people the other side of the aisle come forward before and after the event.
It only brings hope to America as a whole that we can bring back or make America better.
We live in a police state people. If we don't get this ship turned around, it's a goner.
TimeForNewLeadership @ 92:
Best laugh I've had all day. Thanks!
This is what Habeas Corpus used to be for, until it was suspended by Bushco.
napu @ 99:
Not to sound like too much of a hardcase, but getting fucked by Bush & Co. doesn't make you a true American. Being railroaded doesn't mean you're innocent.
Our legal system has been putting innocent people in jail for a loooong time, often for reasons as simple as expediency. Or trying to get a promotion.
For me this issue only has value if it helps bring down bush & co. The false imprisonment is a whole other issue, with people far more deserving help than a guy with a 7 year sentence in a minimum security fed prison. There are innocent people on death row cause a detective saw an easy way to close a case, because a DA was up for election.
Samson- @ 24:
Not even close Samson. Clinton issued 140, Bush is passing the 750 mark. Bush Sr. also beat Clinton with 232.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/04/30/bush_challenges_hu...
This is what Congress should be investigating
Not steroids in baseball
Or republicans on pages.
liberalNmoderation @ 101:
Me too. Mel Brooks is insane. I am a little weary of politics right now. I need a vacation from the news. Think about it. Its available 24 hours a day. Thanks for the laugh. I am not watching the news this evening and tomorrow morning.
Yet another crime by this Admin. Toss it on the pile, sweep it under the rug and show us more pix of Paris and Britney.
By no means should we IMPEACH NOW, right?
Interesting how under the repug dept of injustice, he's taken out of court in leg-irons
While scooter libby the traitor has his sentence commuted.
Ed in Socal @ 70:
If you watched the segment you would know the guy was already on the board -- and was appointed to it by a previous (Republican) administration -- and Siegelman just renewed his appointment.
The guy also just contributed to a cause backed by Siegelman, not to his own pockets. As the Republican attorney general, Grant Wood, said, if you prosecuted every politician getting those kinds of contributions, then you'd have to build three new federal prisons right away. For instance, look at the contribution levels of people who are appointed to cushy ambassadorships.
EMPY @ 104:
if you follow the link you will realize that that is not MY claim...
that is pulled straight from UnivCali Santa Barbara...
i did check your link, and you are right, the boston globe indicates that bush has used signing statements more often. and, btw, i think savage did a great job covering that story.
of course there is this, too:
Clinton and the line-item veto
"President Clinton frequently issued signing statements, and in 1996, signed into law the Line Item Veto Act, which sought to curb pork barrel spending, allowing the President to veto specific portions of a bill yet still sign the remaining portions into law. The law was declared unconstitutional two years later in Clinton v. New York (1998), which states, "If this Act were valid, it would authorize the President to create a law whose text was not voted on by either House or presented to the President for signature."
Many scholars describe the modern signing statement as a de facto line-item veto, as the President is, in essence, stating that he will not execute certain portions of a bill, even though legally he is forced to either sign an entire bill or send Congress a veto. By not allowing Congress the opportunity to override a veto, creating law despite Presidential objection, signing statements seem to then drastically reduce legislative control over the rule of law."
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07132007/signing_statements.html
but whether or not clinton used signing statements more or less than bush (and, for what its worth, i'll defer to the amazing charlie savage), what remains a cold-hard fact is that clinton DID use signing statements, and the line item veto act.
but where were the democrats who attack bush for using signing statements then, when clinton was using them? or is the problem democratic politicians have with signing statements only in regards to how frequently they are used? or is it their existence?
if it is just their frequency the dems are fighting a loosing, and dishonest, battle.
to me, that is a crucial detail.
Just had a rant in the lunchroom. Someone said it's a great idea that we need passports to cross the Mexican and Canadian borders. I said it was a waste of time, just like taking off your shoes and standing in long lines at the airport. Then I got 'shoe bomber, towers fell' and all of that and I went off - I said, "it's all about keeping people afraid, won't do any good, plenty of security in place before 9/11 - Bushies told 'system blinking red' FBI agents sending unread reports, if it didn't work then, why will not being able to pack shampoo work now?" Then I left because I was afraid I'd get too personal - words like sheep and stupid. God, this nightmare can't be over soon enough.
I thought the Don Siegelman was a little scary, but after watching the 60 minute piece, I think it is terrifying.
This is the crime that will put both rove and fredo in jail. Just dont let loose of this folks. CBS has more they've dug up but held back because of White House pressure. Get on them. And any correspondence to congress critters on Judiciary either in the house or senate should be beat on as well.
Scott Horton at Harpers.org/Nocomments is all over this case. So is Josh Marshall.
Clevenative @ 26:
Hahah! In fact, I think FAUX NOISE is probably feeling pretty sore at this point, given that they've just signed a contract to pay Rove a huge pile of money to be a political pundit, but will now have to keep him out of sight and off the air. (Although, as many of you will have figured out, the fact that Rove won't actually be appearing on Faux is immaterial. His contract with Faux, which is an unofficial branch of the Republican party, was just a PAY OFF for his services to Bush, the Repubs, and their corporate sponsors. It was either pay him a seven figure a year salary to be a pundit for Faux, or pay him to be a speaker for the Heritage Foundation. The fact that he now won't even have to bother showing up for his weekly TV appearance is just a bonus for him.:)
Siegelman is not a clean Gene. Repeat, he's not clean. That said, he was made a target by the G.O.P., for political crimes that others in BOTH PARTIES have been committing for years. If Siegelman belongs in jail (and he probably does), DeLay should be executed.
Thank you, CBS, not only for the story on Siegelman, but also for pursuing it with so much pressure form the white house. Please, do not let this story die. We would like to know, also, exactly what that pressure consisted of.
Wayne Slater, author of a biography of Karl Rove, said, not in these exact words, that Rove doesn't defeat his opponents, he destroys them. Exactly.
It is beyond me that he and the rest of the administration have gotten away with this and similar actions, for, as you are well aware, there have been many more.
Chances are, even if Siegelman is ever retried or released before his time is up, it will take years, and still, Rove will be scott free. At least let the country know what evildoing Rove and his minyans are responsible for.
Why hasn't the media given more attention to this very important story? Where is the outrage? This is something right out of Fidel Castro's Cuba, and shows just how low the right wingers will go to get rid of their political enemies. The story was also mysteriously blacked out in Northern Alabama. What does that suggest? When will Karl Rove and his minions ever pay their due for all the corruption, abuse of power, and damage they've done to this? The idea that these guys would stoop to falsely imprisoning people is just beyond the pale, and the fact that it's being conveniently ignored by our wonderful MSM is even worse.
Powkat @ 111:
Feel your pain, Powkat. Hang in there and don't every start to doubt yourself...that's essentially what I want to say here.
Powkat @ 111:
If you think it will be over with Obama or Hillary you have another thing coming. Obama's big time advisor/neocon brzezinski. Hillary voted to deem the Iranian army as terrorists. The nightmare continues unless you people wise up and vote for the congressman from the 14th district of Texas.
There is no hell hot enough for BushCo and the Rethuglican party.
Hey, can we throw Bush in jail for doing the same thing?
/snark
Hmmm, the way to save the country from criminal repug atrocities and insane conservative ideology is to vote for a another insane conservative repug for president. Yeah, that's the ticket.
I have a better question ,,, where is the outrage from our democrats like they shown against Moveon.org for "FREE SPEECH" when they join the republicans in condemning them.
We need to get rid of more of the democrats in office no matter how they try to say they have changed before their re-election comes up.
I believe that the republicans put some kind of BS on the election of Dasher the previous speaker of the House which was a true democratic fighter. Something we are missing in our senate at this time.
We have other democrats falling in line behind the republicans-democrats in charge of our party.
We need to rid our party of all these non-democrats and change the leadership of our party.
Pelosi, Reid , Feinstein, Feingold , Mikulski and the other republican supporters.
They are the most spineless group of democrats I have ever seen in my life. We need an change in the way they keep their seat in office , so we can recall them when they do as they d... well please.
All I have to say is VOTE. If you look at the primaries in same state contests, democrats were showing up with 2x the numbers of republicans. If all those people show up in Nov and check down the list and vote democratic in every senate and congressional race, we will have a huge majority and the republicans will be irrelevent, subpenoas for everyone! I'm sure the Gov will be set free and the persons responsible for his wrongful incarceration will be prosecuted as well. One thing you would have to admit, a democratic president would never be able to get away with the kind of stuff GWB has gotten away with, Hell anyone remember Travelgate? I think if you transported that congress from then to now, change GWB from a Republican to a Democrat. and voila' he's in prison for life and on trial in the Hague for warcrimes.
They don't call him Rove Wormtongue for nothing.
Why was Siegelman impossible to beat? I read a couple of years ago about the governor of Alabama coming out and saying that Christians have a religious responsibility to help their fellows. The story was this guy was advancing social programs to aid the poor. Was Siegelman the same guy?
well, Dan Abrams just threw down the gauntlet on this, "I am calling on A.G. Mukasey to open up a re-examination of this case. I will be contacting him & we will be following up on this on the show." I think this case has push him over the Olbermann line.
imagine C&L will be getting video of that segment of the Abrams Report soon, it was very good.
EliteLemming @ 33:
Did you know that in the Italian legislature, fascists and communists both sit on the right side of the hall? That's because both movements rely on exploiting government coercion to achieve their goals, different as they may be. Interestingly, both systems wind up becoming so barbaric that the people eventually reject them with great violence.
I have been following this story for a while and the more I dig into it the more disgusted I become. It was at the forefront of my mind during all the recent tut tutting about Fidel and Cuba. But all you have to do is go to the Amnesty Int. website and you will see that there are at most 60 or so prisoners of conscience in Castro's Cuba. In Gitmo alone we hold over 800 prisoners without due process. What I want to know is how come the ScaredOcrats allowed this to happen to one of there own? They should have shut down Congress and sent the Congressional guards to arrest Gonzo and Turdblossom. Maybe they could deputize Nader for the job. It would be the first helpful thing that prick has done in two decades.
"If you live in Alabama, that’s the ONLY way you’ll get to see the whole segment."
I don't get it. Why is the Alabama blackout of this 60 Minutes segment merely listed as almost an afterthought at the end of the article above? Why isn't this travesty given it's own post?
Since the justice (sic) department refuses to turn over documents that gets me to think that they are a sham also officials refuse to testinfy in the case of Rove I'd throw a comtempt of congress on his ass and throw him into a max security prison (after all what they did to siegelman was overkill) as for the justice department refuses to do the right thing I'd ask for a congressional pardon. I mean scooty libby outed a agent and that was much much worst crime
It is mind-boggling that such criminal activity as practiced by the Rethuglicans does not automatically preclude them from further participation in the democratic process.
The maxim holds true that government is the most successful form of banditry.
Joementum @69 and TC-14@131
Nail on head.
Gosh, when I was a kid, a hundred years ago, the news was controlled, but at least they respected us enough to lie to our face. Now, partisan owners of our consolidated media - F you very much Michael Powell, FCC, et al - just block out anything they don't want you to hear.
What WHNT did is actually just a (on) visual representation of what the rest of the MSM does on a daily basis by not saying a single word about certain subjects - subjects that expose the MIC/MSM and their big time supporters for the morons, criminals, and propagandists they are.
God, I hate Fascism, Dictatorship, and Tyranny – unfortunately for me/US, the bush administration has been hitting the Trifecta for 8 grueling years.
It is evident that we now have our own "Dreyfus" affair with the political imprisonment of Don Siegelman.
Is this an "I accuse" moment or will the public doze off again?
I wish this was seen on the news more.. and more.. this is horrible.
what goes around comes around.
All of those who put this man in jail will one day have to atone for their sins.
Yes, this should be broadcast on the news - CNN, MSNBC where are you ?
Filthy Harry @ 103:
Same Filthy Harry focusing on Listeners not understanding true intention of Billo's "Lynching Party"? Did you even watch or read about the 60 minute segment about Don Siegelman? And did you even read my post? I was referring his years of battle with Republican machine while in office and while trying to get back into office. They kept going after him but he is too clean of a person to make anything stick. Until they found a crook within his administration who made a deal to get himself a lighter sentence. Please read the whole situation before commenting. It wasn't matter of him getting screwed by Bush administration. If that is the case, we have USA getting screwed for past 7 years and years to come. Not to mention Iraqis and other parts of the world.
I just got a call from a top white house official that Jill Simpson's Husband, who works undercover and is in deep cover in al Qaeda...told her to say that....He also send a picture to post so people would know that her Husband was CIA...Undercover....
Eddie Curran is fighting for his credibility now that his past articles are being reviewed. I feel between now and the November elections that there will be many investigators looking real close at how, Rob Riley, Ralph Reid, Toby Roth, William Canary, Dan Gans, Dax Swatek, Willian Pryor and Karl Rove managed to smear Siegelman's Education Lottery, and get Bob Riley elected twice all funded by millions of dollars from lobbyist Michael Scanlon's and Jack Abramoff's Mississippi Indian clients.
A lot of voters are wondering why John McCain didn't expose Alabama's corruption. McCain is the chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee who headed up the investigation and wrote a very detailed June, 2006 report on how Scanlon and Abramoff used scare tactics as lobbyist to steal 84 million dollars of gambling money from six Indian tribes; however, E-Mails reveal that he covered up vital evidence when the money crossed over into Alabama to be used as bribe money for Riley to block and oppress the Alabama Poarch Indians and to stop Siegelman who the Choctaw Indians feared would create a lottery and allow the Al. Poarch Indians to be licensed to compete with the Choctaw Indians.
This is the only state where a large portion of the money flowed that U.S. attorneys never launched an investigation. No one was ever arrested, question or prosecuted. Where were you Eddie Curran when we needed an investigative reporter to blow this Abramoff and Scanlon rat hole wide open?
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