I’m so not shocked.
John McCain is the most lobbyist tied presidential candidate ever.
Category: Corruption
Not Enough Bullets…Again
It appears that former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg is less than satisfied with the deal he got when the US Government bailed out the insurance company, and he has written a letter to current CEO demanding more money.
In related news, Greenberg has invoked the Fifth Amendment with regards to inquiries from the New York State Attorney General.
Sarah Palin Her Emails, and Her Blatant Disregard for the Truth
Or perhaps is’s a disregard for reality. With her, it’s hard to tell.
In any case For what it’s worth, the Anchorage Daily News just cut her a new one* over her claims of vindication.
In any case, we now have her ordered to preserve her private emails from her Yahoo account, given that they are likely official records under the scope of Alaska’s law.
It also looks like the State Personnel Board’s investigation into Troopergate will be more aggressive than envisioned. It appears that the lead investigator, one Tim Petumenos, is a real pit bull, who has, “broadened to include other ethics complaints against the governor and examination of actions by other state employees.”
Then again the intent was not to cover up forever, it was to push it past election day, which it will.
In any case, in response to a request from the press for copies of emails to Todd “The First Dude” Palin from state officials, Palin is now saying that it will requre a payment of $15 million to process such a request, and that the records will not be turned over before the election.
What else is she hiding? This has gone from a standard Republican stonewall to something that would make Dick Cheney blush.
*Full discl
osure, I actually helped to design designed a tool to, “cut a carcass a new one”, the Jarvis Products bung dropper. You can see a video of it in action here.
It’s a Small World, But I am Not Painting it
Martin Eisenstadt discovered some interesting facts about “Joe the Plumber”. aka Joe Wurzelbacher.
It turns out that he’s related to Robert Wurzelbacher….
…wait for it….
Who was a senior vice president of American Continental Corporation
…wait for it….
Which was the parent company of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan.
…wait for it….
And he pled guilty to three federal fraud counts in response to the failure of that institution.
…wait for it….
Also it turns out that he was the son in law of
…wait for it….
Charles Keating!
Someone on the McCain campaign staff is reading this somewhere, and invoking Bender when he shouts, “We’re boned!
SEC Failed to Monitor Bear Stearns Well Before Collapse
The SEC prematurely folded an investigation of Bear Stearns involvement in collateralized debt obligations:
In the report, obtained by CNBC, SEC Inspector General David Kotz says the agency inexplicably dropped the case in 2007, even after Bear Stearns had offered to pay a monetary settlement.
The report says the director of the SEC’s Miami office, David Nelson, had an “ongoing personal relationship” with the Bear Stearns attorney in the case. In dropping the case, Nelson allegedly told his friend, “Christmas is coming early this year,” adding Bear Stearns “can keep their money.”
More importantly, the SEC’s Inspector General notes that this investigation would likely have uncovered the problems that led to the demise of the investment bank.
On Bob Schieffer as Debate Moderator
He should not be moderator. He is a close friend of George W. Bush, and his brother was appointed ambassador by him.
I hope that Obama brings this up to put him on the defensive.
Bush Broke the Law….Again
That is the conclusion of a Bipartisan majority on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which says that the decision by Bush and His Evil Minions™ to withhold the FBI interview with Dick Cheney on the Valerie Plame outing.
Same sh%$ different day.
If there is any justice in the world, Dick Cheney will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
I Really Hope that He’s Right
William Volk, a long time denizen of the tech industry,* wonders if the financial crisis spells the death of Web 2.0, or more accurately whether it spells the death of the venture capital supported business models for internet companies.
I hope so, because I am sick to death of the kule kidz business model.
What is going on here is that the capital costs of creating an internet presence are vanishingly small, look at the cost of building just one automobile assembly plant, so silicon valley snake oil salesmen are(were) able to get money and line their pockets.
To be fair, there are two groups of people making out like raped apes on this bit of dishonest persiflage, the owners of the internet firms with non-existent business models, and the VC firms that get a commission every time that they spend other people’s money.
It’s been a profitable scam for some time, funded largely by the stupidity of Alan “Bubbles” Greenspan, and now it looks like the the carnival is over.
*He was actually at the legendary meeting where a senior executive doubted the marketability of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a video game. The company also turned down licensing the Simpsons when they were still just a short bit on the Tracy Ullman Show.
This is What Happens When You Allow Republicans to Reflag as Democrats
Rep. Tim Mahoney (“D”-Fla.) has been accused of using the threat of firing to maintain an affair with a subordinate.
What’s more, he’s released a statement that seems to confirm the affair, if not the sexual harrassment.
Here is the small story with the big lesson: He’s a reflagged Republithug.
What’s more, Rahm Emmanuel and His Evil Minions™, made sure he won the primary to run for Mark Foley’s seat, beating out a real Democrat in the primary, who would also have won once Foley’s hitting on Congressional pages was revealed.
Damn.
They Have Emails
And the US Attorney prosecuting Ted Stevens wants them:
Even as Sen. Ted Stevens’ corruption trial nears an end, federal prosecutors are still asking for correspondence between the Alaska senator and his wife, Catherine, as well as e-mails she may have sent to 37 people connected to the couple’s home renovation and other gifts the senator may have received.
Stevens’ legal team filed a motion over the weekend asking that a judge intervene and prohibit the government from subpoenaing thousands of documents from Catherine Stevens’ law firm, Mayer Brown. They’re looking for conversations between her and anyone with a U.S. Senate e-mail address, as well as documents relating to anything of value given or provided to Stevens, his wife or his daughter, Lily. That includes “any documents relating to diamond earrings,” according to the motion.
Yeah, this guy is as pure as the driven snow.
That being said, the prosecutors are lucky that Stevens is not just guilty, but unbelievably guilty, because they have run a piss poor case.
Big Surprise, IP Monopolists Pull Numbers out of their Tuchus
One of the frequent refrains about the “costs” of “piracy” is, “750,000 and $200 to $250 billion”.
Well Aris Technica took a look at this number to figure out where it came from, and the answer is: Nowhere.
The Commerce department did a study recently, and said, “$60 billion,” but the authors admit that this is a guess, based from data collected from self selected respondents who are overhwelmingly tied into IP intensive business models.
All they could show on their own was $23 billion.
Of course, $23 billion ain’t chicken feed….That’s what 50 days in Iraq?
Well Knock Me Over With a Sledge Hammer
The investigation of Sarah Palin says the she abused her powers for personal considerations, which is not a surprise, and the Republican-dominated legislative council voted unanimously to release the report, which was a surprise.
My take on this: they know that McCain is going to lose, and the Republican primary for governor of Alaska just started.
Palin may not realize it, but her political career is over.
Troopergate Report Released
Unfortunately, at least at this moment, this only applies to members of the Alaska state legislature. The Republican dominated committee has to vote to release the report to the public.
I’m not holding my breath.
Not Enough Bullets…Again
The AIG executive’s posh “retreat” on our tax dollars.
Put a Fork in Him, Ted “Hulk” Stevens is Done
Even though the judge excluded some evidence and will notify the jury that the prosecutors were untruthful, I think that he’s done.
He will be convicted.
This because they have “Uncle Ted” on tape saying that they might go to jail for what they had done:
In the three conversations between Mr. Stevens and Mr. Allen played for a federal jury on Monday, Mr. Stevens repeatedly says he believes they did nothing wrong, but also raises the possibility they could go to jail if they are not careful.
“They’re not going to shoot us,” Mr. Stevens reassured Mr. Allen on Oct. 18, 2006. “It’s not Iraq.” At worst, he said, “we might have to pay a fine and serve a little time in jail.”
Mr. Stevens added, “I hope to Christ it never gets to that, but I don’t think it will.”
It doesn’t matter how stupid the prosecution is, Stevens admitted that he was doing something illegal on tape.
It doesn’t matter how many character witnesses there are, and the list includes Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, and champion dog mushers, and “Hobo Bob.”
The man has been a cancer on good governance for a very long time, and while his exit may not serve the Alaskan people, it will serve the American people.
Special Prosecutor in US Attorney Gate a Coverup
Here is an interesting tidbit on Mukasey assigning a special prosecutor to look at the US Attorney firing scandal: “
Because of the litany of public corruption cases Dannehy, 47, has prosecuted, she has a reputation as a pitbull, say attorneys. But in actuality, they say, she’s merely meticulous, hard-working and dedicated to her job. To that end, lawyers involved in cases with her know she sometimes calls meetings on Sunday evenings. And given Mukasey’s request for a report in 60 days, Nora might well log some weekend work between now and Thanksgiving
Enough time so that nothing comes out before the election, but not enough to send it to the next administration, clever, Mukasey, clever.
I have to believe that Mukasey’s actions have gone beyond mere hypocrisy. He is actively obstructing justice, and needs to be criminally investigated too.
H/T Emptywheel
Totally Not Surprised
Palin Aids to Testify in Troopergate
In light to judge saying that the investigation was legal, and the subpoenas binding, 7 members of Palin’s staff have agreed to testify to the State Senate investigator, Steve Branchflower.
When all is said and done, this entire bit was stupid. With only minor effort, they could have put off any meaningful report until after the election, and the report will likely be inconclusive anyway.
For some reason, however, they chose to create about 6 weeks of coverup stories.
Crap
“Dollar Bill” Jefferson, the indicted lawmaker with cold cash in his freezer, made the Nov 4 runoff in his Congressional district.
Damn that corrupt son of a bitch.
Self Dealing and Corruption, Check
It looks like Hank Paulson is setting about recruting his buddies to purchase toxic assets from themselves.
Delightful.