The Enron verdict is in: Kenneth Lay guilty on all six counts, Jeffrey Skilling guilty on 19 of 28 counts. I can’t imagine any two people who deserve it more, unless it’s Andy Fastow, who’s already been sentenced to ten years in the Big House.
Yeah, yeah, I know this is supposed to be good for Birmingham in the long run. Right now, I’m more worried about the people who lost their jobs in last year’s SouthTrust/Wachovia merger and managed to find positions with either Regions or AmSouth. Their “back office” functions are likely to be on the chopping block again as the new company realizes up to $400 million in expected cost savings.
My brother-in-law has been with Regions for years, working with their phone systems, and a dear friend who works in internal audit moved from SouthTrust to AmSouth just a few months ago. I fear the human cost of this merger will be tremendous.
My father and I were speculating that it won’t be long before one megacompany owns every business in the US. He said the megacompany would be the government; I figured it would be some configuration of Halliburton. Either way, we think it will be the end of this country as we now know it. Just another unforeseen consequence of massive deregulation (note the Enron post below and check out Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room if you haven’t already).
Will the smartest guys in the room end up being the smartest guys in the pokey?
Shamelessly stolen from Poser at Between the Links.
A commenter on another post pointed out that Joe Copeland, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and advocate of universal birth control, gets automatic ballot access because of his party affiliation. Meanwhile, Loretta Nall, who actually has a platform based on addressing real issues, has to collect over 40,000 signatures by June 6 in order to appear on the November ballot.
I’m not making any endorsements here, but I’ll reiterate my belief in less restrictive ballot access for third-party candidates. If you agree, download and sign Loretta’s petition here (click on “Ballot Access”, go to bottom of page, click on “Ballot Access Petition”).
Some members of Congress aren’t very happy with the unprecedented FBI search of Rep. William Jefferson’s office, and they’re demanding the return of seized documents. Funny how loudly they squeal when they think their own rights were violated. Some of the same people who are so angry at what they see as Executive Branch overreaching were the same ones telling US citizens that it’s perfectly okay for the NSA to collect our phone records and perform warantless wiretaps, the same ones who’ve done next to nothing to stop rendition of terror suspects and who wink at torture of our supposed enemies, the same ones who implied that “innocent till proven guilty” was just a quaint anachronism.
Now those who let Bushco trample all over the protection from illegal search and seizure when it comes to ordinary citizens are pitching a fit because they’re being treated the same way. Is this what it will take to spur them to action on behalf of their constituents? Or will their complaints just piss off voters who see the privileged few once again expecting “special” treatment?
WASHINGTON - Some lawmakers are warning of a voter backlash against members of Congress “trying to protect their own” if party leaders keep escalating a constitutional dispute over the FBI’s raid of a representative’s office.
Yet not long after House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi demanded on Wednesday the bureau return documents it took, White House aides were in talks with Hastert’s staff about the possible transfer of the material, perhaps to the House ethics committee, according to several Republican officials.
The goals of any transfer, they said, would be to deny the documents both to prosecutors and to Rep. Willliam Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat ensnared in a bribery investigation, until the legal issues surrounding the weekend search of his office are resolved. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the confidential nature of the discussions.
“Criticizing the executive and judicial branches of our government for fully investigating a member of Congress suspected of criminal wrongdoing sends the wrong message and reflects poorly upon all of Congress,” Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., said in a statement. “They should not expect their congressional offices to be treated as a safe haven.”
There has been speculation that Speaker Hastert’s strong reaction is based on his own fears.
Meantime, the Justice Department twice denied ABC News reports that Hastert was under FBI investigation to determine his role in a public corruption probe centered around convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Hastert said he has not received any notice from the department that he was being investigated.
Late Wednesday, ABC said the department’s response was intended to deny that Hastert was a formal “target” or “subject” of the investigation. But ABC said federal officials confirmed that various members of Congress “including Hastert, are under investigation.”
The Justice Department counte[re]d with a new denial in response to the ABC late-evening update.
Article 1, Section 6, of the US Constitution was intended to protect legislators from intimidation while they are performing their duties of office. No one wants to see a vindictive chief executive swear out arrest warrants against members of Congress to prevent, for instance, their vote on articles of impeachment.
(The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.) (The preceding words in parentheses were modified by Amendment XXVII.) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
The exception for felonies would appear to cover the alleged actions of Rep. Jefferson. It’s the treason exception that concerns me. Knowing the Bush mindset, any opposition to his policies could be twisted into treason.
Perhaps our legislators should be concerned about that as well. When they’re pushed past the point of their go along to get along mentality, when their constituents get tired of being treated like criminals, when they finally decide to push back hard against an out-of-control executive branch, will they find that their privileged positions won’t protect them? Maybe they should ask that question now, not later. If not for our sake, at least for theirs.
Check out Wheeler’s take on Jeff Sessions in the Washington Post. Mean and dumb make a bad combination, especially in a senator.
Better late than never….(his birthday was Saturday)
Happy birthday, dear brother! I’m glad you were born. Thank you for the courage and eloquence you demonstrate every time you speak out in support of the LGBT community. I’m proud of you!
We’re home in Birmingham. It was a great trip! Here are a few more pictures from Washington:
The White House
The Willard Hotel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his “I Have a Dream” speech
Peace protesters across from the White House
The FBI appears to have really strong evidence of wrongdoing on Rep. William Jefferson’s part, so why is Denny Hastert complaining about a search of Jefferson’s office? Gee, I haven’t heard Denny complaining about warrantless wiretaps or data-mining of phone records — outrages that have been perpetrated on millions of innocent American citizens.
WASHINGTON - The FBI’s weekend search of the House office of a Louisiana Democrat under investigation for bribery may have overstepped Constitutional boundaries, House leaders said as the congressman under investigation pledged to stay in office.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert said the Justice Department had never before crossed a line that separates Congress from the executive branch by searching a congressional office while investigating a member of Congress.
The search warrant was issued by a federal district judge in suburban Virginia, based on an affidavit from FBI investigators outlining some of the evidence that have accumulated in the case, including video tape of the congressman accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant, who agreed to have her conversations with the congressman taped.
…”Nothing I have learned in the last 48 hours leads me to believe that there was any necessity to change the precedent established over those 219 years,” Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said in a statement Monday.
I guess it’s different when Denny’s constitutional rights are violated. The rest of us are just supposed to submit or risk being labeled un-American.
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said congressional independence from the executive branch protects Americans from abuses of power.
“Justice Department investigations must be conducted in accordance with Constitutional protections and historical precedent,” she said.
Oh, boo hoo.
Hey, guys, I really don’t blame you for being concerned. I wouldn’t want Alberto Gonzales anywhere near me either. So how about getting busy protecting my rights?
Montenegro has voted to become independent from Serbia, ending the last vestiges of Yugoslavia. The vote was extremely close, with independence supporters garnering only 0.4% over the 55% needed to validate the referendum.
In Podgorica, people fired celebratory shots in the air and drove up and down the main street, honking and waving the eagle-emblazoned flag used when Montenegro last enjoyed independence, from 1878-1918.
In Belgrade, the Serbian capital, officials urged calm. Ethnic Serbs make up 30 percent of the population and many strongly oppose separation from Serbia. Serbia did not want separation, but has said it will respect the decision.
The Serbia-Montenegro union is the last shred of the federation of Yugoslavia that began its blood-drenched breakup in the early 1990s.
Goodness! I hope this one doesn’t end up blood-drenched. Congrats to the people of Montenegro.