Seeking Sponsors With No Tolerance for Political Corruption!
Many Alaskans, while not being merciless and cold-hearted, were nonetheless, more than a little peeved with Corrupt Bastard John Cowdery’s sentece of six months home confinement…well, except for doctor’s appointments, and physical therapy, and church, and a couple other things. The thought of an elected official selling his office, and selling the people of Alaska down the river, while getting hit with nothing more than a fine, and having to sit at home in the La-Z-Boy for six months, watching TV, surfing the net, and sleeping in his own bed, was a little hard to swallow for many who had been following the trial.
Muckraker and former Senate candidate Ray Metcalfe showed up at Cowdery’s sentencing, hoping to be allowed to speak as a citizen of the state who had been harmed by Cowdery’s actions. He was not permitted. But, I did get an email today, written by Ray Metcalfe that I found interesting.
[Banging my gavel dramatically on the desk and causing my dog to wake suddenly from the sixth nap of the day]
In the Mudflats courtroom, Mr. Metcalfe is permitted to speak! He may proceed…. [Adjusting my powdered wig which has become askew, and smoothing my snazzy black robes]
The difficulty in prosecuting politicians like Cowdery is that much of what you would think is illegal is not. Politicians have exempted themselves from punishment through loopholes. Prosecutors find themselves relying on statutes made intentionally flimsy by the politicians they prosecute. To remedy this, I am collecting signatures to put the following proposition on the ballot.
“Anyone found using their public office to enrich themselves, their relatives, close friends, business associates; past, present, or anticipated employers or contributors, is guilty of a class A felony. Anyone found securing enrichment by inducing public officials to violate this statute is guilty of bribery, a class A felony.”
Believe it or not, what you just read is not illegal. If you’re willing, I need 100 sponsors to submit my proposal to the Lieutenant Governor’s office. I will be at Café del Mundo 341 East Benson Blvd at noon Monday the 16th. PS: Class A felonies = 20 years in jail.
Alternatively, print out one or more copies of the attached petition, get a few signatures and mail them to: Ray Metcalfe, PO Box 233809, Anchorage Alaska, 99523.
Petition link – felonyenrichment
[Banging gavel again...this is kind of fun!] Mudflats Court is adjourned!
hmmm
Go for it Ray. Sounds like a great idea and I’ll send you my copy tomorrow.
Is someone going to take the petition to the Capitol and see which of the politicians refuses to sign it?
My, my, my. Trickle down power.
Elected Officials take Notice !!
Use your tax-paid position for benefit of self, family, friends etc., shall be brought down.
I am thinking that while they were taking a “tax-paid” salary – while collecting goodies to “sell their vote / position” to the highest bidder with the best “kick-back” should return all tax paid funds to the treasury.
The fine shouldn’t be what was Offered or Taken Illegally —
It should be what they SOLD
And another Queen 1980 chorus:
“Another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust
Hey, I’m gonna get you too, another one bites the dust “
Can out of staters sign the petition?
Not on this one, unfortunately. This one has to be Alaskans only. But we do accept cheering and moral support!
AKM
all the loopholes need to be plugged.
I’m in….
Better watch it, Alaska! You’re gonna lose your Last Frontier, 5-Day Stubble, Slightly Gamey Long Underwear, Maverick-y, Don’t Tell Me What To Do, Influence Peddling, Bribe Taking Reputation.
I think it’s an excellent idea. It’s just a shame it can’t be applied retrospectively.
Yup, most laws can’t be retroactive- unless you Alaskans grandfather all of the potential miscreants into coverage (heh heh). We need the mudpup lawyers to give us their perspective and advice. Wheerree arrre yuoooo….
You got it AKM. I have on my cheering outfit, got my pom poms and my bull horn and I am cheering. Also I am sending virtual moral support to all the signers of this important petition. Yea! Yea! Yea! Go get ‘em Alaskan Mudpups!!
GOOD LUCK, Alaska! You need to bust open this oozing sore you have for a state government…bust it wide open! This corruption has got to cease and desist! I wish I had the answers…it makes me angry and I’m not even from there.
@wired differently
Better watch it, Alaska! You’re gonna lose your Last Frontier, 5-Day Stubble, Slightly Gamey Long Underwear, Maverick-y, Don’t Tell Me What To Do, Influence Peddling, Bribe Taking Reputation
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
love that! Alaska often reminds me of the ‘politics’ of the Old West
seems like this is the year for — State Clean Up.– The domino’s are falling, palin will be one of them, only a matter of time, I bet within 2 months
Hate to be a wet dog blanket here, but although I support the intent, I don’t see how this could be implemented. What does it mean to ‘enrich’? This is vague enough it seems like it would prevent legislators from voting for good projects because someone they know or used to know or might know in the future might make some money from a state contract.
Maybe I’m missing something ….
Sounds an awful lot like what republican Senator Greg Judd of New Hampshire did; and he was supposed to have been one of the good guys! What a disappointment he turn out to be; seems he is just another pol, just looking out for his and his connections money!!!
Loud cheering, and much moral support from among the apple orchards, onion fields, and pea vines of Oregon!
OT
Keep passing this around and vote. President Obama is at 59% with an F grade for performance.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093/
@Polly – it is not letting me vote!! Not fair just because I am outside of the States. Still am an American, grrrrrr
Can I ask somebody else to vote for me (Several times if you wish. I would if I could.)
Okay, so I’m not a legal mind here (in fact my mind may indeed be illegal in some states) but this statement is extremely vaguely worded. Too ambiguous. On the surface it sounds good. But a Law & Order atty could even pick this apart:
“Found” – which means that charges have to been brought forth, a trial before a jury of peers, and then the jury has to decided whether or not evidence as such is supportive of “found”. So what type of evidence would be admissible?
“Enrich” – again unspecific – does this include gifts like trinkets or really blatant examples like a house or money? And if monies are involved, how much is too much? What about contributions that are essentially tit for tat and how is that proven?
“Close friends” – define close. I may know someone for over 20 years but may not consider them a close friend. Or even a friend. May consider them an acquaintance –so how to prove close friend?
Statute seems poorly written. The spirit of the statute is fine, but most courts are conducted by the letter, not the spirit of the law. In fact, it’s rare these days for a court or a judge to even mention “the spirit or intent” of a law in their proceedings.
I’m afraid I agree with you, Greytdog. Too easy to get around this. It might even be unconstitutionally vague, if you have that legal concept there.
Unfortunately, I agree with Greytdog. It would be a shame to see a bunch of effort go into this and then the courts would probably overturn (my state is notorious for that). They need to get an attorney or retired judge to look it over IMO beforehand, if possible.
I totally agree with the idea, just want to see it WORK!
This should be done on a federal level, so as all states, and municipalities MUST follow the same letter of the law.
Think of it as a stimulus package. Many new prisons would need to be built. The bridge to nowhere could in fact lead to a shiny new prison.
And that’s a good thing……………..
just sayin
Anyone found using their public office to enrich themselves, their relatives, close friends, business associates; past, present, or anticipated employers or contributors, is guilty of a class A felony. Anyone found securing enrichment by inducing public officials to violate this statute is guilty of bribery, a class A felony.”
if you guys put in perspective of GINO we have cronyism-pretty much all her staff, britta hansen,Wasilla high school class of…, dud’s “bud’s” building the house, dairygate (I love cows)scarahPac, her contributors…if you look at it that way I can see several “gates” but yes a lawyer should rewrite it, but its a start…!
While I agree with Greytdog, I’m still cheerin!
“Put em up, Lock em up, Throw away the key!
We’re convictin’ you of a felony!”
Perhaps Ray knows a few good attorneys who could help to write this with more specificity (my $.25 word of the day)
I agree that a good lawyer needs to improve and tighten the wording before it is submitted to Gov Lite. And I also (too) agree that it is a great idea and long overdue. Go get ‘em!!
All it takes is one honorable decent person…oh, what does honorable decent person mean?
Good for you, just tighten your words and step up to the plate….
BTW, have been away a while…so, what does GINO stand for.
Wish I were in Alaska to help….
Itty
gino=gov. in name only
Now that’s respect eh? the legislature is a “kangaroo court” out to ruin Palins reputation, well, quite honestly I think she’s doing a darn good job of it all on her own…….sheesh, does everyone in that family blame anyone but themselves?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/the_bonus/03/10/palin/2.html
” as he puts it, “that kangaroo court down in Juneau tries to ruin my wife’s reputation.” Todd Palin is irked.”
hey todd….waaaahhh! Tiny violins tuning up.
COME ON ALASKA! DO SOMETHING RIGHT!!
Say NO to Palin in Politics
” as he puts it, “that kangaroo court down in Juneau tries to ruin my wife’s reputation.” Todd Palin is irked.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dud, have some cheese with that whine….! Is there not one palin who will accept responsibility???
“Its all their (media, kangeroo court, bloggers in pjs, msm,adn, insert another word here) faul!!! Geeze!
God I want them to go down sooooo very bad, then what will they say?
hmmmmmm, good grief……
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/11/gary-skoien-former-cook-c_n_174128.html
The former chairman of the Cook County Republican Party denies he was with two prostitutes when his wife allegedly attacked him over the weekend.
Say NO to Palin in PoliticsNo Gravatar (07:14:01) :
hmmmmmm, good grief……
———-
Yeah, in the children’s playroom…I can’t believe they charged the wife! Seems justified to me.
See you Monday, Ray!
OT – this is so good. Describes GINO, et. al, perfectly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_0ugbRMplM
Dear Republican Leaders: The Republican Party has become the party dedicated to sabotaging the American future. Check out the sermon I just delivered about the Republican Party on CNN when being interviewed by D.L. Hughley — and/or read on.
You Republicans are the arsonists who burned down our national home. You combined the failed ideologies of the Religious Right, so-called free market deregulation and the Neoconservative love of war to light a fire that has consumed America. Now you have the nerve to criticize the “architect” America just hired — President Obama — to rebuild from the ashes. You do nothing constructive, just try to hinder the one person willing and able to fix the mess you created.
I used to be one of you. As recently as 2000 I worked to get Senator McCain elected in that year’s primary. (McCain and Gen. Tommy Franks wrote glowing endorsements regarding my book about military service, AWOL.). I have a file of handwritten thank you notes from Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush I and II. In the 1970s and early 80s I hung out with Jack Kemp and bought into his “supply side” myth and even wrote a book he endorsed pushing his ideas.) There’s more, but take it from me; my parents (evangelical leaders Francis and Edith Schaeffer) and I were about as tight with — and useful to — the Republican Party as anyone. We played a big part creating the Religious Right.
In the mid 1980s I left the Religious Right, after I realized just how very anti-American they are, (the theme I explore in my book Crazy For God). They wanted America to fail in order to prove they were right about America’s “moral decline.” Soon after McCain lost in 2000 I re-registered as an independent in disgust with W. Bush. But I still respected many Republicans. Not today.
How can anyone who loves our country support the Republicans now? Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan defined the modern conservatism that used to be what the Republican Party I belonged to was about. Today no actual conservative can be a Republican. Reagan would despise today’s wholly negative Republican Party. And can you picture the gentlemanly and always polite Ronald Reagan, endorsing a radio hate-jock slob who crudely mocked a man with Parkinson’s and who now says he wants an American president to fail?!
With people like Limbaugh as the loudmouth image of the Republican Party — you need no enemies. But something far more serious has happened than an image problem: the Republican Party has become the party of obstruction at just the time when all Americans should be pulling together for the good of our country. Instead, Republicans are today’s fifth column sabotaging American renewal.
President Obama has been in office barely 45 days and the Republican Party has the nerve to blame him for the economic and military cataclysm he inherited. I say economic and military cataclysm because without the needless war in Iraq you all backed we would not be in the economic mess we’re in today. If that money had been spent here at home on renovating our infrastructure, taking us toward a green economy, putting our health-care system in order we’d be a very different situation.
As the father of a Marine who served in George W. Bush’s misbegotten wars let me say this: if President Obama’s strategy to repair our economy, infrastructure and healthcare fails that will put our troops at far greater risk because the world will become a far more dangerous place. So for all you flag-waving Republicans who are trying to undermine the President at home — if you succeed more of our troops will be killed abroad.
When your new leader Rush Limbaugh calls for President Obama to fail he’s calling for more flag-draped coffins. Limbaugh is the new “Hanoi Jane.”
For the party that created our crises of misbegotten war, mismanaged economy, the lack of regulation of our banking industry, handing our country to rich crooks… to obstruct the one person who is trying to repair the damage is obscene.
Just imagine where America would be today if the 14 to 20 million voters — “the rube base” who slavishly follow the likes of Limbaugh — had not voted as a block year after year thus empowering the Republican fiasco. We would have a regulated banking industry and would have avoided our current financial crisis; some 4000 of our killed military men and women would be alive; over to 35,000 wounded Americans would be whole; we would have been leaders in the environmental movement; we would be in the middle of a green technology boom fueling a huge expansion of our economy and stopping our dependence on foreign oil, and our health-care system would be reformed.
After Obama was elected, you Republican leaders had a unique last chance to send a patriotic message of unity to the world — and to all Americans. You could have backed our president’s economic recovery plan. Since we all know that half of our problem is one of lost confidence and perception, nothing would have done more to calm the markets and project resolve and confidence than if you had been big enough to take Obama’s offered hand and had work with him — even if you disagreed ideologically. You had the chance to put our country first. You utterly failed to rise to the occasion.
The worsening economic situation is your fault and your fault alone. The Republicans created this mess through 8 years of backing the worst president in our history and now, because you put partisan ideology ahead of the good of our country, you have blown your last chance to redeem yourselves. You deserve the banishment to the political wilderness that awaits all traitors.
Frank Schaeffer is the author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back Now in paperback.
I’m also not sure about the word “enrich,” which I think could even mean just accepting a salary for a job.
In California we have the same issue– people get frustrated with our legislature and so we have endless numbers of voter-written propositions that don’t always turn out to be enforceable. Or even legal.
Frank Schaeffer appears to be a critical thinker
- not just believing the “spin” and “talking heads”
Will look for the book – be interesting to read
Listenend to Megan McCain last night on Rachel Maddow
- she sounds like the next generational leader of the Republican Party
- however, as much as she touted “I love the Republican Party” – I hope she takes some time to digest the actions (or non-action) which has virtually destroyed much of the working class in this country
- as someone raised in “priviledge” … she needs to spend time living as a “common” person
Might want to take a look at HB 37:
“An Act prohibiting initiatives that are substantially similar to those that failed within
the previous two years; relating to financial disclosure reporting dates for persons,
groups, and nongroup entities that expend money in support of or in opposition to
initiatives, initiative information contained in election pamphlets, initiative petitions,
initiative petition circulators, and public hearings for initiatives; and requiring a
standing committee of the legislature to consider initiatives scheduled for appearance on
the election ballot.”
. . . The financial disclosure part sounds like it might be good, but the rest of HB 37 makes it a hell of a lot harder to submit an initiative. For example the sponsor has to hold public hearings in 30 of 40 house districts and they have to pay printing costs (I wonder how they would determine the amount) in the statewide election pamphlet. The legislature would also review the initiative to see if it is substantially similar to any other initiative that was introduced in the last 2 years (sounds unconstitutional to me). It should come as no surprise that the sponsors are republicans.
Say No – saw that !! DO NOT have food or beverage near computer when you read the comments…………..
@ Scrappy Kath: “and then the courts would probably overturn (my state is notorious for that)”
I’d say our (WA’s) courts are ‘meticulous’ rather than ‘notorious’. Unclear, unenforceable and unconstitutional laws need to be struck down.
OT–
Just a quick note and a ‘thank you’ to all of you for your thoughts on the coach’s baby. He’s doing great–eating and breathing on his own now. Seems to be out of the woods. We’re very happy.
Unrelated to this thread, but still worth pointing out in case Palin ever flaps her jaws over earmarks the way the hypocritical Repugs did regarding the Omnibus bill. Just something to keep on the back burner to bring up when the time is right. It’s not necessarily the earmarks themselves that are the real problem (since any politician can argue the merits of their own earmarks), it’s the argument that needs to be deflated. No doubt Sister Sarah will bring up earmark spending the same way she brought up the “Bridge to Nowhere”, twisting the truth the way she twisted that meme, so I thought I’d point this out so everyone can keep a running tab to call her out on it.
Defending America from Sarah one day at a time…
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/sarah-palin-earmark-hypocrisy
Lance the Boil aka Crust Scramble (07:47:16)
Thanks for sharing…Frank Schaeffer’s letter!! Saw his interview by D.L. Hughley and I was cheering at the tv.
New thread
BodieP (09:33:38)
Very happy to hear the coach’s baby is improving!
yeah, I second that about the coach’s baby. Always good to hear that early arrivals are pulling through and fighting back!
Don’t have anything in your mouth when you read the article itself! I almost choked on my gum (serves me right for chewing gum at work). I love the slow build…
“One afternoon in Nome, Palin comes out of his bedroom in the little apartment that he and Davis are borrowing. Freshly showered, he lumbers toward the TV. “Let’s see what’s on,” he says, twiddling at the remote. Grainy snow blasts onto the screen, so Palin flicks the thing off and just slumps on the couch. Silently, he stares out at the frozen Bering Sea, glittering in the sun, and you have to wonder: Is he thinking of what Herman Melville called the “dumb blankness, full of meaning, in a wide landscape of snows,” or is he thinking of nothing at all? ”
Priceless.
Gov Palin better hush up the griping……and why wouldn’t McCallister say which earmarks were requested by Palin? Is that her open and transparent policies at work? ahem, I do believe everyone, as in all US citizens, are supposed to be watching and making sure there is no screwing around with this economic recovery.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/03/sarah-palin-earmark-hypocrisy
“According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group, Alaska will receive more money, per capita, from the bill’s earmarks than any other state. (Alaska will pocket $209.71 for each state resident.) One hundred earmarks in the bill, worth a total of $143.9 million, are tagged for Palin’s state. ”
“Asked by Mother Jones about the Alaska earmarks, Bill McAllister, Palin’s communications director, pointed to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) as responsible for these provisions. But in an email, he noted that a “few of [the Alaska earmarks] were requested directly” by Palin. But how many? And which ones? McAllister declined to say. Mother Jones also asked McAllister if Palin believes it was appropriate for Murkowski and Young to insert these earmarks into the legislation and whether she will reject any earmarked funds. He did not answer those queries either.”
I believe GINO asked for 3 pipeline related items and some rocket update thingy. No regular infrastructure projects at all. And of course the pipeline isn’t even vaguely close to “shovel ready” so it doesn’t even fit the criteria laid out for the stim (shovel ready, basic infrastructure, etc.).