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Ted "A Series of Tubes" Stevens Found Guilty
techmuse writes "According to a series of tubes sites, Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty of lying about free home renovations that he received from an oil contractor. He faces up to 5 years in jail, and the outcome of his current reelection bid is now in doubt. 'The conviction came after a tumultuous week in the jury room. First there were complaints about an unruly juror, then another had to be replaced when she left Washington following the death of her father. Finally, jurors on Monday discovered a discrepancy in the indictment that had been overlooked by prosecutors. Jury deliberations in this historic trial have at times been as contentious as some of the proceedings The Justice Department indicted Stevens on July 29, and the Alaska Republican took a huge legal gamble and asked for a speedy trial in order to resolve the charges before Election Day. Judge Emmet Sullivan complied with Stevens' request, and in less than three months from the time of his indictment, Stevens was found guilty.'"
Dubya will pardon him on his way out
Scooter will get a full pardon too (in addition to the sentence commutation he already got)
'pubs will take care of their own, don't you worry
I would celebrate, but I know in my heart he'll be replaced by someone just as bad. Our body politic is rotten to the core.
So your a Senator of one of the largest oil producing states, an you hire an oil services company to renovate your house, instead of say, a home builder.
Yea that doesn't look odd at all.
The truely sad thing is that if he is reelected then he can serve. Forgetting there being no law against a felon holding office. Shouldn't there be some law to protect the American people from legislators who commit felonies relating to their position?
This pretty much ruined Ted's shot of being reelected, but will this hurt the image of political figures from Alaska? So close to election day, could this affect Sarah Palin's image? Morality? (Which has already been questioned).
So what could this do to John McCain's campaign?
(Probably already missed first post)
OTOH, one has to think that a guy that can't control his household might be over the edges. That he is so much a part of the Washington Elite, that he might not distinguish between what is done to benefit the country and what is done to enrich himself. It really speaks to the accumulation of power, and the corruption that accompanies it. One can imagine that a dictator might not be such a bad thing, except eventually the accumulated power and privilege ends up warping the sense of reality to a mentally deformed image. It is kind of the story of this election, can a guy with 8 houses and 13 cars and a corporate jet and a young rich second wife really represent the bulk of the people who do not have any of these. I don't know. It will be a change in Alaska, and we will see if they can make it. If they have been broken from their benevolent benefactor, or freed from their father figure. I sure he did good, but perhaps did not get out when the good he did was not overwhelming.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
...a presidential pardon in 85 days.
"False hope is why we'll never run out of natural resources!" - Lewis Black
... there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress.
Aren't felons barred from voting? So, they can't be trusted enough to cast one vote in several millions, but they can be trusted enough to be a Senator?
232 years and counting, and that still hasn't happened. But sure, the next one will do the trick.
Corruption is a problem of availability, not so much moral strength.
Separate temptation from politicians and you will see fewer troubles. It would be far cheaper to grant politicians in key positions generous allowances for the rest of their lives and to clear all expenses over certain through some sort of oversight board forbidden to have any contact with the people they are overseeing. They should be very well taken care of and at the same time, isolated from their keepers. Then let the special interests make their arguments for legislation and let it be balanced against public interest groups and may legislators then make fair and balanced choices, actions and decisions.
No more revolving doors. No more contributions from special interests. Once a politician enters public service, he should never again need to consider private sector life and would therefore have less tempting him now and in the future.
Sure, how about pirating music?
From here:
" Among the articles of faith of "progressivism" is the theory - which never yields to experience - that you can fill the sea with enormous quantities of fresh red meat and then, Moses-like, successfully command the sharks not to devour it."
"As long as Uncle Sam continues to stock the Potomac by ripping from the body politic such enormous quantities of flesh and muscle - now more than three trillion dollars worth annually - sharks and vultures will inevitably swarm throughout Washington in a competitive struggle to gorge themselves on this unfortunate feast."
It would be far cheaper to grant politicians in key positions generous allowances for the rest of their lives
Indeed. Instead, we have many people (including many on Slashdot) advocating for term limits, which force those politicians to immediately start thinking about their income post-service, and what they can do now to ensure it.
I've always thought that being a lifetime public servant, if your constituents allow it, is far better than being another revolving door politician heading from a law degree into a cushy PR position at a company paying for the laws you gave them.
Obviously Ted Stevens decided he could keep the office and get the payback, too; he should have retired six years ago, after which time he could have gotten all the house upgrades he desired for the work he'd already performed for the oil industry.
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
Oh, that why cube farms feel somewhat like a prison?
I can take no pleasure in the thought of an 84-year-old man going to federal prison. Were he a younger man guilty of a more heinous crime, I could see the necessity or prudence of it. As it is, I will do no more than shrug and say "Let justice be served."
Virtue finds and chooses the mean.
Aristotle, Ethica Nichomachea
Comprimising our democracy for money? There can be no more heinous crime. For a member of Congress to take such a bribe should be a death penalty offense.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
What do you think are the odds of him getting a pardon?
I mean, really, why else would he want to have the trial finished before the election?
Yes there have always been corrupt politicians from all parties. The difference is Tom Delay and the K street project institutionalized corruption. That's why the Republican party is going down so hard in this election.
Either that or the government is in worse condition than we know and and the republicans want to make sure there are no republicans anywhere near government for the next four years. I don't know how else to explain the terrible campaigns being run by all republicans this year.
The "tubes" comment wasn't the ridiculous part... That's just the quickest short-hand for that whole speech he gave.
While the numerous mis-statements, like calling the internet "tubes", and repeatedly calling an "e-mail" an "internet" where stupid... The fact that he thinks an e-mail from his staff took 4 days to get to his inbox because the "tubes" were "full" of movies downloading is what really demonstrates his woeful ignorance.
But what really makes it really sad, important, etc., is the fact that he chaired the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, tasked with regulating the internet, and used his overwhelming clear ignorance to justify striking down network neutrality legislation.
John McCain got similarly criticized for getting the Sunni/Shia thing wrong while making a speech, and failing to correct his own mistake.
When you have a role of responsibility regulating something, and you demonstrate an utter ignorance of the subject, it's not "snickering" to point out that fact, as often as necessary.
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