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Saturday, July 20, 2002
Gatherings
Family coming in from Houston, Chicago and Eastern Pennsylvania today. Everyone wants to see the shiny new baby. Unlikely to post much this weekend.
Friday, July 19, 2002
Good News for the Wife
This story on a new study.on breast cancer and breast feeding
Traficant , Time to Receive the Boot
The House Ethics Committee unanimously voted to recommend expulsion for Jim "It's only paranoia if they are not out to get you" Traficant. The full House will probably take up the matter next week. Expulsion requires a 2/3 majority vote -- this is not expected to be a problem.
Traficant dismissed yesterday's procedures as part of government reprisals against him for vocally criticizing such figures as former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
"The Justice Department has had a bull's-eye on my back for years," Traficant said earlier in the day. "I have friends in low places, and the people of this institution have never supported me."
He insisted he'll continue his independent bid for re-election, even if he's sent to prison.
There is the interesting thing. Even if he is expelled, if he wins reelection and is sentenced to prison in Ohio, he can still serve, and the House has to accept him back into their ranks.
This also has an interesting effect on the make-up of the House. Governor Bob Taft (Republican) has not stated when or whether he will announce a special election after Traficant is expelled. Ohio law does not allow a simple appointment to fill the job for the duration of the term.
Ohio law says that when a vacancy occurs in the term of a congressman, the governor "shall issue a writ of election directing that a special election be held." It doesn't put any timetable on the governor.
...
But Taft's communications director, Mary Anne Sharkey, said yesterday no decision has been made on whether to call a special election because of concern over its cost and the limited time Congress will be in session during the remainder of the year. Sharkey said a special contest could cost an election board as much as $400,000 to stage.
Any special election would be held in the 17th District as currently constituted - Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties - with the term running only until early January. When voters go to the polls on Nov. 5 for the general election, they will be electing a House member for a full two-year term in a newly drawn district.
Most Democrats want a special election as soon as possible, betting that their general election candidate, State Sen. Tim Ryan of Niles, would prevail in the old, overwhelmingly Democratic 17th District. If so, Ryan could carry the mantle of incumbency into November against Republican Ann Womer Benjamin and two independents - labor leader Warren Davis and, possibly, Traficant.
I don't know how powerful Ryan would be as an "incumbent" for all of 2 months (working from the unlikely assumption that they held the special election by the beginning of August), but the Republican party would probably like the special election delayed or skipped to prevent the addition of another Dem. in the House.
Thursday, July 18, 2002
Bipartisan Campaign Rform into FECA
BNA has a copy of the FECA, as fully amended by the BCRA available.
Prudes at the Guardian
Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland complains about too much sexual violence in ads. Freedland couches most of his complaints more in terms of violence towards women then, sexual activity, (going so far as to link Britney Spears to promoting sexual violence?) but it seems as if the article could have been cribbed from the notes of the left's present boogeyman, John Ashcroft:
But these ads are worth noticing. They show a man at the mercy of a prostitute in dominatrix gear, while he drools over an especially spicy Pot Noodle. He begs for the snack to do its worst, ending with the slogan: "Hurt me, you slag."
Maybe it's just a joke, building on Pot Noodle's self-description as "the slag of snacks", a downmarket, trashy product with no pretensions. Perhaps, though, it is the latest in a series of ads, songs and even clothes which are doing their best to make sexual violence seem mainstream - no big deal and even a bit of a laugh.
Some of his railings against "violence against women" border on the absurd, or reflect a complete cluelessness:
Other commercials have wandered into the same territory, usually placing a physically attractive woman on the receiving end of violence. First Sport ran a poster of a busty woman suffering from two black eyes: "Next time, wear a sports bra."
That is being on the receiving end of violence?
Too..
many...
jokes...
overloading...
on...
puns...
Who Green Lights These Projects?
Joe Bob Briggs reviews, actually decimates would be a better way to phrase what he does to Halloween: Resurrection.
Perhaps we should look at it from a different point of view. Is it worse than "Halloween III," previously famous as the worst sequel in horror history, with the possible exception of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3"?
Yes, I'm afraid it is. At least those two failures were trying to break new ground. Despite having Jamie Lee Curtis in an opening sequence as Laurie Strode, imprisoned in an insane asylum where she pretends to be catatonic and plots to kill the same Michael Myers that we thought she killed at the end of "H20," this whole movie seems to be made in some kind of psychological time warp, as if all the "Scream" movies that made fun of the "Halloween" conventions didn't exist.
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I would say the killings are by-the-numbers, but that would be an insult to the numeric notation system. What's odd about this is that Rick Rosenthal directed, and he's the director of "Halloween II," which is probably the best previous sequel.
Apparently he spent the last 20 years watching the Lifetime Network or something.
Traficant, Day Four -- Update
Big shock. The House Ethics Committee has found Rep. Jim "No. Really, it's my real hair" Traficant guilty of ethical violations based on that whole federal conviction for bribery, tax evasion and fraud thing. Sadly, the HEC kept the voting records closed. The HEC now must make its recommendation to the full House as to how to punish (expusion) Jimbo.
Traficant, Day Three -- Wrap Up
Day three of the Jim "people just wanted to work on my farm for free, just to bask in my presence" Traficant House Ethics Committee hearing ended the testimonial phase. The next phase is private deliberations and the recommendation to the full House.
Naturally Jimbo was eloquent and understated in his closing statements:
But Traficant, pounding his fist on the table in his own finale, accused the government of framing him and its witnesses of lying.
"You're looking at the No. 1 target of the Department of Justice. And I hate those bastards," Traficant said.
Then he tried to turn on the charm with colleagues who looked uncomfortable as he called on them by name.
Admitting he'll likely go to prison when U.S. District Judge Lesley Wells sentences him on July 30, Traficant asked Rep. Steve LaTourette of Madison to get highway money for his constituents when he's gone. And Traficant asked Ethics Committee Chairman Joel Hefley to secure money for an Air Force reserve unit based at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
He joked about his denim suits with Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Cleveland and assured Rep. Howard Berman, a Jewish Democrat from California, that he's not an anti-Semite despite his campaign to prove that Seven Hills autoworker John Demjanjuk wasn't the notorious concentration camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible.
What a guy.
Not that his arguments are showing innocence of the charges:
However, Hefley indicated to Traficant that his complaints about a government conspiracy against him might not be working. "Many of your arguments are great for your appeal, but they have little relevance here," Hefley said.
Quite frankly, I did not find the whole thing as amusing as I had hoped or others seemed to find it. Maybe it's because I've heard it all before. I lived in the Mahoning Valley for 2 years. For the truly funny s**t in this matter, you need to go to Youngstown and talk with Traficant apologists. They are hysterical.
The other thing that bothered me was the piss poor coverage from the media in Northeastern Ohio. A lot of their work appeared to be cribbed from or based on the wire service stories. The best coverage probably came from the Washington Post, which even featured one of the Youngstown reporters in the story (about the closest that reporter will ever come to having one of his stories in the WaPo.
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Diaper Rash
Parent/family duties reared their head today. The little one has had a nasty case of diaper rash that the wife got worried about. She called the doctor who told us to come in. Then her doctor wanted to see her because some blood came out of her incision. Neither matter was that serious. The pediatrician now has us spackling her behind with a mix of vaseline, maalox and nystatin (an antifungal cream) -- ah the joys of parenthood. The wife's bleeding was from a single stitch that had not fully sealed, but no infection. Still, my work day ended by noon; and I spent the rest of the day with the wife and daughter. Not the worst way to spend a Wednesday.
They All Want the Credit
Three Palestinian terrorist groups: Hamas, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade; claimed to be behind the bus attack yesterday. The victims included an 8-month-old girl, her father and grandmother; and "Yehudit Weinberg, 22, who was in her eighth month of pregnancy. Shot in the pelvis and legs, she gave birth by Caesarean section to a baby boy who died early Wednesday, hospital officials said."
When I read of purposefully targeted victims like this, the only thing I can think is that I hope the IDF hunts down and kills, yes kills, the animals responsible for this, the spokespersons for all three terror groups that want the credit for this atrocity, and the entire leadership of the terror groups. They have forfeited any right to life or humanity.
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
Traficant, Day Two -- Update
Rep. Jim "I'm being railroaded" Traficant showed up late for his own hearing today. With a start like that, you know it can only get better.
"I will probably go to jail, but you know what? There's a lot of good people who go to jail," Traficant said during a break in the hearing.
Answering questions for the first time on the charges, the 61-year-old Traficant insisted that all of the witnesses in the criminal trial lied and were forced to do so under threat of reprisal by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.
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Committee Chairman Joel Hefley, R-Colo., however allowed Traficant to joke and rant against former Attorney General Janet Reno, the IRS, the federal courts and the Justice Department.
"I have felt that he needs to have the leeway to put on the best defense he thinks he can put on," Hefley told reporters. "I don't think it will work, but I would like for him to go away from here feeling, however it comes out, that it's fair, that he's had a fair opportunity."
Jimbo's rants against the "conspiracy" used up almost half of his allotted time to present his defense. Of course there is actually someone on the House Ethics Committee backing Traficant, Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), who sadly, is now my Representative.
Traficant also verbally sparred with the chairman of the ethics subcommittee, Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., whom Traficant accused of being biased. On several occasions, Traficant also scolded lawmakers for not listening closely or for smirking.
"Is there something funny with me discussing my life?" he asked Rep. Howard Berman, a California Democrat. Traficant later said that he and Berman "haven't gotten along all that well."
....
Members of the subcommittee briefly questioned the ethics committee lawyers. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, a Madison Republican who is one of Traficant's closest friends in Congress, asked several questions that seemed designed to poke holes in the prosecution's case.
Addressing charges that Traficant accepted excessive amounts of money for his boat from Cafaro, LaTourette inquired about whether it was possible that Cafaro actually paid the fair market value.
...
After the hearing, LaTourette shrugged off suggestions that his friendship with Traficant created the perception that he was biased.
"I really don't want to talk about perceptions," LaTourette said. "People have sat and judged people they don't like, so I don't think it means I am being automatically disqualified because I'm fond of people."
...
"If they put me in jail in Ohio, I just might be the first American to win a congressional seat when incarcerated," said Traficant, who is running for re-election this year as an independent. "Plans of my total demise I think are premature."
The scary thing is, ole Jimbo is probably right
Of course his hometown paper has such a glowing view of Jimbo and is so giddy about his potential for reelection
To hear the poor, old son-of-a-truck-driver congressman tell his sad story before the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct yesterday, James A. Traficant continues to be the victim of a government vendetta. But fans of the former-Democrat, now Independent, and convicted felon shouldn't worry, because, as he insisted at the hearing to determine whether he will be expelled from the House of Representatives, he'll be the first congressman elected from prison.
Traficant should have given the same message to his lawyer so that they'd have their stories straight. Cleveland attorney Richard E. Hackerd has just filed motions in U.S. District Court asking Judge Lesley Brooks Wells to consider sentencing Traficant below the guidelines and to stay his incarceration pending appeal because "Incarceration will devastate his chances in the upcoming election, end his political career and deny the residents of the Mahoning Valley a fair opportunity to choose their representative of choice."
The Mahoning Valley should be so lucky.
But hearing the contradictory litanies from Traficant and his lawyer should come as no surprise — neither should his obnoxious behavior, his reiteration of favored irrelevancies nor his unfounded accusations against the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service, former Attorney General Janet Reno, the Internal Revenue Service, the Jews and Judge Wells, among others.
And just as he tried to finagle delays in his federal racketeering trial, he tried the same stunts in front of the Ethics Committee: he needed more time to read the case against him, his witnesses couldn't be there, committee members had tampered with testimony.
...
Of course, Traficant wasn't playing his role as aggrieved good guy for the eight members of the committee. His show was designed for his supporters around the country watching CSPAN, the men and women who buy into his absurdities and really believe that the government is out to get him. They honestly believe that he's been fighting for the little guy when all along he's been taking the little guy's hard-earned tax dollars to feather his own nest and line his own pockets.
Come on Vindicator, take the kid gloves off and be honest about how you feel.
Not Another Ethics Policy
Allan Murray's Political Capital (subscription req'd) column in the WSJ, makes a very interesting point about the accounting/business scandals:
Capitalism has never depended on trust in corporate managers to put the shareholders' interests above their own. Nor has it depended on government regulation. Instead, the key to successful capitalism is having owners of capital who look after their own interests. And in today's complex economy, that places a particular burden on the people who run large mutual funds and pension funds, since they alone have both the resources to keep a close eye on corporate managers and the clout to bring them into line when they stray.
The scandals of Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc., Global Crossing Ltd., Tyco International Ltd., et al., represent a massive failure by those money managers. They are the ones who should have been keeping executive compensation in line. They should have demanded clearer accounting for complex partnership transactions. And they should have ridden herd on companies engaging in insider deals. Instead, they sat back all-too-passively and watched it happen.
I think he is making a good point. While the number of Americans invested in stocks grew like never before in the 90s, it wasn't like everyone was designing their own portfolio - they were invested through mutual funds, 401(k) programs, pensions, etc.
Now that the crisis has hit, those money managers are asking Washington to bail them out. And there are signs that some are becoming more passive still. Stunned by blame for the bad investments they made in troubled companies, pension-fund managers are increasingly considering "indexing" their portfolios -- matching them to an index like the S&P 500, so they wouldn't have to pick stocks themselves.
It seems that this approach also could cut down the number of money managers working. How many are needed to run index funds? Seems like something ideally suited for a good computer program.
A few people out there get this problem. Blackstone Group Chairman Peter Peterson, one of the senior statesmen of Washington and Wall Street, has assembled a group of graybeards under the auspices of the Conference Board, a New York research organization, to devise a code of conduct for corporate executives and directors. The code of conduct would be enforced by big-money managers. He envisions a code that covers everything from accounting for stock options to setting bonuses to hiring and firing auditors. Money managers then would insist this code be adopted by companies in which they invest.
Oh, god, no more codes of conduct! Codes of conduct are the biggest joke at times. (I wish Instaman was not on vacation to do some of the heavy lifting on this.) Codes act as a red herring most of the times. Something pointed out to show how pure of motive and goal a company is, while the people ignore them.
You know what industry has some of the most stringent set of codes of conduct out there? The toughest rules of ethical conduct? Defense industry contractors! They've had them since at least 1986, and all signatories have been or are presently under investigation for one thing or another.
If only...
This story is for all of the Yankee haters out there. Rob Neyer tells of how a vicious, greedy baseball owner and his new manager (NY Giants) sought to destroy a team (Baltimore Orioles) from a rival league in '02 (1902). Instead, the team ended up moving to NYC as the NY Americans, then to the Highlanders, until in 1913 they took the name they still use -- New York Yankees.
Noble Freedom Fighters
Palestinian terrorists killed at least seven.
Palestinian gunmen disguised as Israeli soldiers set off a roadside bomb alongside the bus from Tel Aviv and then sprayed surviving passengers with automatic weapons fire as they fled the vehicle.
This happened shortly before the meeting in NY between representatives from the US, EU, Russia, and the UN to restart the "peace process" -- which for 3 out of the 4 participants means getting Israel to put more of its population at risk as a gesture of good faith. Explain to me again, why Israel is expected to make the concessions?
"Basically we see that nothing has changed. Anytime that the Palestinians see that there is some chance for progress in the peace process, this is what they do," said Arye Mekel, an Israeli government spokesman.
Traficant, Day One -- Summary
Jim "I just like to help people" Traficant's first day before the House Ethics Committee wrapped up. The hearings are being broadcast on C-Span. Apparently even Traficant knows that the outcome is set.
"Even as he yelled during an hour-long opening statement before a House ethics subcommittee (he eventually asked onlookers for a cough drop), Traficant acknowledged that his legislative days are probably about to end. Serving as his own lawyer, Traficant -- convicted this spring of evading taxes and accepting bribes and kickbacks -- delivered a passionate and occasionally rambling allegation that federal prosecutors conspired to punish him for questioning the FBI and former attorney general Janet Reno.
"I'll be damned if I'm going to be pushed around by the Justice Department," he said. "I'm prepared to be expelled. I'm prepared to go to jail, because I didn't do this."
That doesn't mean he won't go without throwing a fit.
"The pressure from the government to get Traficant courses through every charge," said Traficant, who shouted, paced and stressed points by writing them on a giant pad with a black marker.
Committee Chairman Joel Hefley, Republican of Colorado, warned that Traficant's complaints about government tactics are irrelevant to the House disciplinary process.
"We're not interested in why you got here," Hefley said. "We're interested in: Did you do the things they accuse you of?"
Oooh! Ooooh! I know, I know the answer!
Yes! Yes he did! He's guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
I can't wait to see what today brings.
Monday, July 15, 2002
The Fuse is Lit
Convicted felon, overall piece of sleaze, and member of the US House of Representatives, Jim Traficant, faces off against the House Ethics Committee this week. Jimmy will be "acting" in his own defense before the HEC.
Ole' Jimbo didn't waste any time as he, "lashed out at those he said are staging a "sideshow" and "lynching." " You know federal prosecutors, the judge, and of course:
He specifically turned on the media, telling the camera crews covering the hearing to give him some room.
"This is disgusting. If I had a gastric emission it would destroy the cameras," Traficant said.
He stands an excellent chance of getting his wish as far as distance from the media and cameras for the hearing
[House Ethics Committee Chairman Joel] Hefley [R-CO] warned Traficant that any antics would cause the committee to hear his case privately.
"Any breach of decorum or of these guidelines by any of the participants may result in a determination by the subcommittee to close the remainder of the procedures," Hefley said.
When this happens, expect, of course, Jimbo to complain loudly and bitterly to the media of a dark conspiracy of forces seeking to prevent him from speaking the truth to the media and the people. Await Jimbo's statements of how he is being martyred by the true corrupt forces.
Update: Here is a really good piece from Roll Call on the case before the committee, including the one fact that I wished and hoped would not be mentioned in the media too often (I'll leave it to the observant readers to figure out what that fact is).
Gone Too Far
Now the EU has crossed the line (link via Tim Blair).
BRUSSELS killjoys want to wipe the smiles off drinkers’ faces by BANNING pub happy hours.
Euro MPs will vote next month on outlawing the practice of cutting booze prices for an hour or two to attract punters.
Scandinavian socialists in the European Parliament claim big pub firms lose money on happy hours simply to crush rival bars that can’t afford discounts.
If there is one thing that would help push England and Ireland away from the EU, I'd like to think this was it.
The socialistic instinct to "level" every playing field at the expense of the individual consumer is startling. It is also a dumb policy from an overall economic model. The idea of a "happy hour" is to get the patrons coming to the bar. The hope is that they will like it, stay beyond happy hour (and thus pay full price), and/or come back at other times (again when there is no happy hour). A law that removes any incentive for price comparison reduces the likelihood that as many people will venture to different bars. This favors either established bars already known to the consumer or the "big pub firms" that can do more advertising and attract patrons. It also favors the "big pub firms" that can run other promotions to encourage new patrons.
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