Perri Nelson's Website

For those we lost, We will not forget 09/11/2001

“If the bank loans you a million dollars, the bank has a problem. If the bank loans you a billion dollars, the US government has a problem.”
— Mark Steyn, September 17, 2008

“Actually, if the bank loans you a billion dollars, the U.S. Taxpayer has a problem.”
— Perri Nelson, September 17, 2008

The Culture of Corruption is alive and well

Published Thu, Jan 11 2007 3:51 PM
Technorati Tags: Corruption

How else to explain how congressmen in jail for taking bribes can still collect tens of thousands of dollars a year in taxpayer funds? The Washington Times reports:

James A. Traficant Jr., the former Democratic congressman convicted of racketeering and taking bribes, is wiling away prison time painting colorful pictures but also able to collect a congressional pension of nearly $40,000 a year.

He is one of about 20 former senators and congressmen with felony rap sheets who can receive the taxpayer-financed benefit.

"They have lost their cases, lost all their appeals and still collect the check," said Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, an Illinois Republican who introduced a bill that would stop future congressional felons from pocketing retirement pay.

"Millions of taxpayer dollars have gone to felons," Mr. Kirk said.

That's outrageous. But it's not a surprise.

Currently, only a conviction for treason or espionage results in a forfeiture of the pension.
...
Bills that would withhold the pensions from members of Congress convicted of major crimes have been introduced in the past and failed. They usually die in the Senate.

"They always worry that somehow they will get caught and lose their pensions," Mr. Kirk said of the senators. "They have always killed this common-sense reform."

Maybe if they weren't corrupt in the first place they wouldn't have to worry about getting caught. In most walks of life, the fear of getting caught and having to pay the penalty is usually a deterrent to crime. Apparently in congress the fear of getting caught is a reason to vote down any kind of reform.

The measure's supporters say they are optimistic this time because of the strong push for ethics reforms this session -- a response to voter anger at Washington corruption that is credited in part for Democratic gains in last year's midterm elections.

Isn't that funny? Anger at Washington corruption is credited in part for Democratic gains in the midterm elections. It can't have been that big an issue though, after all, Rep. William Jefferson was re-elected despite his freezer full of bribe money. Heck, he even received a standing ovation from the Congressional Black Caucus when he came back.

We'll see how far this goes. In my opinion it's just feel-good hand-waving anyway. The politicians seem to think that corruption is the reason for the Democratic victory, so they're eager to appear as though they're going to do something about it. This is the same sort of reasoning that took away our freedom of speech when John McCain and Russ Feingold wrote the incumbent protection act.

Back then, John McCain said that "everyone" is corrupt (apparently including himself), and that that was why we needed "campaign finance reform". A fat lot of good that did. It took away our freedom of speech, and opened the floodgates for even more cash to enter the "corrupt system" than was flowing before.

Still, the effort is encountering the usual skepticism among seasoned lawmakers in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle.

"I understand the image," Senate Republican Whip Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, said of the pension payments. "I think the concept is achievable, but we had better be careful about it."

"It is easy to pontificate and take this great ethical stand, but then you have to ask yourself, 'Well, what about this senator's or this congressman's innocent spouse who still has to live? What about the money that was actually paid into the retirement system?' "

So let me get this straight. In order to avoid punishing "innocent spouses", we are going to give "guilty senators" a pass?

The specter of punishing "innocent spouses" also was raised by Rep. Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

"I would think the type of offense committed should have some weight, especially for someone who violates the public trust," he said. "We shouldn't have any different standard than any other part of government."

Keep your eye on this one folks. Let's see who votes for it and who votes against it. Maybe then we'll know who's truly for and against ethics reform in Congress.

My guess is this will go down to defeat. It's all just a feel-good show to fool the voters into thinking they're serious about ethics reform.

The joke used to go "How can you tell when a lawyer is lying? His lips are moving." Maybe it should be "How can you tell a politician is lying? He's breathing."

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Random Yak, Big Dog's Weblog, Right Truth, basil's blog, Stuck On Stupid, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, Rightwing Guy, stikNstein... has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Dumb Ox News, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Published Thu, Jan 11 2007 2:06 PM
Technorati Tags: News and Politics

Mike Nifong's botched prosecution is in the news again. This travesty just goes on and on...

In her latest statement to investigators, the accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape case changed her account again about when the alleged gang rape occurred, who attacked her and how.

How many times is it now that this woman has changed her story? Surely it has to be more than the number of times King County "found" uncounted ballots in the 2004 governor's election.

Defense attorneys filed the statement in court today, arguing that it was more evidence that the woman is an unreliable witness.

The woman adjusted the timing of the assault to earlier in the evening, a time point preceding the well-documented alibi of one accused player, Reade Seligmann. The defense, however, introduced yet more alibi evidence for Seligmann: he was on the cell phone with his girlfriend during the height of the attack as the accuser now times it.

How convenient. There's a well documented alibi for one of the accused, so the story changes. Isn't it fortunate that the truth will still prevail? Even as her story changes it's still refuted by the evidence.

The new version of the events comes from a Dec. 21 interview by Linwood Wilson, chief investigator for Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong. The statement marked the first time anyone from the District Attorney's office discussed the case with the woman since charges were filed in April. The interview came less than a week after a private laboratory director testified that he and Nifong agreed not to report DNA evidence favorable to the three accused players.

What more proof do we need that this is a trumped up witch hunt ala Tawana Brawley? What more proof do we need that Mike Nifong is deliberatly railroading these three men to score political points? He suppressed evidence. He never bothered to actually get the story from the so-called victim.

The statement layers new and contradictory accounts over the woman's previous statements:

* In her latest statement she said the attack ended at midnight.

In previous accounts, the woman said the gang-rape ended shortly before she left in the car driven by Kim Roberts, the second dancer. Roberts called 911 as she was driving away at 12:53 a.m., according to police records. This new account leaves 50 minutes unaccounted between the end of the rape and the departure from the party.

The new statement runs contrary to time stamped photos of the party, which show the two women dancing between 12:00 and 12:04 a.m. in the living room of the house at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.

Even more proof of the lie...

* The woman now said her alleged assailants used multiple names.

In previous accounts, she said she was assaulted by three men named "Adam", "Brett" and "Matt." She has given conflicting descriptions of the three men and contradictory accounts of how they assaulted her.

In the Dec. 21 interview, she said for the first time that the players used multiple names. "Dan, Adam and Brett was used by Dave Evans," Wilson wrote. "Adam and Matt was also used by Reade Seligmann. She does not remember a name being used for Collin Finnerty or if he was called by a name."

Well, multiple names for the accused, multiple stories for the accuser. I guess that balances out.

* The accuser has changed her description of Evans. On April 4, she viewed a photograph of Evans and said it looked like one of her assailants, except that the assailant had a moustache. In the Dec. 21 statement, the woman said the assailant had a five o'clock shadow, not a moustache. Evans has a visible five o'clock shadow in the photograph.

The description of the "perpetrator" keeps changing.

Isn't it about time this was dropped? Shouldn't somebody file charges against this Tawana Brawley wanna-be for lying to investigators?

Where's Al Sharpton when you need him anyway?

Also linked at Hot Air, Pirate's Cove.

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Six Iranians arrested in Irbil

Published Thu, Jan 11 2007 11:20 AM
Technorati Tags: News and Politics, War on Terror, Iraq

While Iranians continue to arm and support the insurgency in Iraq, the Democrats and the left are saying that we don't need the "surge". Their willing accomplices at the A.P. trot out just about anybody that's opposed to the plan to undercut it. Even they have to give some credit to the plan though...via the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S.-led multinational forces detained six Iranians Thursday at an Iranian government office in the northern city of Irbil, Iraqi officials said, as President Bush accused Iran and Syria of aiding militants and promised to "interrupt" the flow of support as part of his new war strategy.
...
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. military would continue to target networks of individuals, regardless of their nationality, that are providing weapons designed to kill American troops in Iraq.

"I think it's instructive that in the last couple of weeks two of those raids that we conducted to go after these folks that are providing these kinds of weapons - two of those raids had policed up Iranians. So it is clear that the Iranians are complicit in providing weapons," he said.

Even as the A.P. reports that possibility though, they just have to get in a dig at the president.

Bush's new strategy, however, ignores key recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which in December called for a new diplomatic offensive and an outreach to Syria and Iran. Instead, the president accused both countries of aiding terrorists and insurgents in Iraq.

Who really thinks that an outreach to Syria and Iran is going to do any good? It's obvious that Iran at least wants the U.S. to fail. Iran is arming the so-called insurgency and fomenting the violence in Bagdad. They aren't really interested in cooperating with us in any way.

"We will disrupt the attacks on our forces," Bush said. "We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria."

At least the president gets it. The A.P. writer then trots out a long string of Iraqis and other officials to talk about what a bad idea bringing in more troops is. It's the usual suspects, including individuals who speak "anonymously" either because they're unauthorized to do so or for "fear of reprisals".

They do bring out one counter-opinion though.

Awad Mukhtar, a 35-year-old technician, said Bush's new proposals could be Iraq's "last chance" for peace.

"The security situation in Iraq is very bad, we are facing death at any moment daily," Mukhtar said. "I see the new Bush strategy as the last chance for Iraqis to save their lives ... we have no other choice, only to wait and see the results."

So while the leftists and Democrats try to engineer our defeat in Iraq, at least some Iraqis recognize that we need to succeed, and that the administration's plan is the best chance for that.

While I'll agree that not everything has gone as planned in Iraq, quitting now is not an option. Since the enemy gets a voice in what happens, we should be sure we have a stronger voice. More force in the region is a good way to get that voice.

After all, that's what the Iranians appear to believe. Why else would they be arming the enemy?

Trackposted to Rightwing Guy, The Random Yak, Big Dog's Weblog, Right Truth, basil's blog, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, Stuck On Stupid, Dumb Ox News, High Desert Wanderer, Conservative Cat, Right Voices, Pursuing Holiness, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Who's spying on U.S. Defense Contrators?

Published Thu, Jan 11 2007 10:33 AM
Technorati Tags: News and Politics

The A.P. (via the Seattle Times) reports that someone has been planting spy-gadgets almost worthy of James Bond on American contractors travelling through Canada.

WASHINGTON — Can the coins jingling in your pocket trace your movements?

The Defense Department is warning its American contractor employees about a new espionage threat seemingly straight from Hollywood: It discovered Canadian coins with tiny radio-frequency transmitters hidden inside.

In a U.S. government report, the department said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada.

...

Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security Service, which issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors.

"What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman for the security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a lot of questions."

...

Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with risks because the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it.

They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might not arouse suspicion if it were discovered loose in a pocket or briefcase.

This seems like a pretty weird bit of news to me. Who are the chief suspects? According to the article it could be Russia, or China, or this could all be about corporate espionage.

I wonder how hard it will be to corner the market on tinfoil?

Trackposted to Rightwing Guy, The Random Yak, Big Dog's Weblog, basil's blog, Pirate's Cove, Stuck On Stupid, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Two takes on Pachelbel

Published Thu, Jan 11 2007 9:49 AM
Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Music

My wife loves Pachelbel's Canon in D. We bought an album with several variants of it and she really likes it. Sometimes she plays it to go to sleep by.

Anyway, since I uploaded my drag racing videos, I was playing around on YouTube and remembered this video...

But here's someone that's tired of hearing the Canon...

Fun stuff...

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Racecar Sale (with video) and OTA Thursday!

Published Thu, Jan 11 2007 12:32 AM
Technorati Tags: Drag Racing, Open Trackbacks

This 1979 Corvette is for sale! This is the first pass I made in the car on one July day in 2005. It's not the first pass I ever made, just the first pass that day.

A couple of hours later I made this pass. This one was a time-only run.

These runs were just over 12 seconds. In 2006 with a different carburetor, different front wheels and a lightened front end, the car ran about a half a second quicker.

For details contact perri [AT] nofemotorsports [dot] com.

Remember: "racecar" spelled backwards is "racecar".

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