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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.'"

10 of 565 comments (clear)

  1. Meet the new Senator, same as the old Senator... by Grandiloquence · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  2. Duh by headhot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  3. The sad thing by internerdj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?

    1. Re:The sad thing by winomonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As an Alaskan, I would be a little hesitant to put any money on a wager against his being reelected. I know a lot of people who have hated him (or been staunch Democrats) and yet have voted for him. Those who disagree with his ability to be a decent person typically acknowledge that he has gotten our state a ridiculous amount of money and development.

      His being so ridiculously connected, and his serving as the chair of so many committees, has made a lot of people give up a vote to him. It is funny/sad to see people give up their own moral pride to keep the cash flowing in. On another note, for all of his crap and corruption, he has also done some good for the state and its many indigenous peoples.

      While I think that this is going to be a pretty major nail in the coffin of his political life, I am not convinced that it will really lay the issue to rest (it would take either a stake and some garlic or a severed spinal cord, depending on whether you tie his longevity to his being a vampire or one of the undead).

  4. Re:Nothing to worry about by megamerican · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, because only one party is corrupt!

    Clinton is well known for having pardoned many cocaine traffickers before leaving office. One of the first things Bush did when getting into office was block a congressional investigation into it.

    Whatever you do, don't research Mena, AK

    --
    If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
  5. I predict... by cplusplus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...a presidential pardon in 85 days.

    --
    "False hope is why we'll never run out of natural resources!" - Lewis Black
  6. Re:WTF?!!? by Snowblindeye · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... 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?

  7. Re:Could this hurt McCain/Palin? by rudedog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This pretty much ruined Ted's shot of being reelected

    They're so cute when they're in their young, naive stage. Too bad they grow up so fast.

  8. Re:Meet the new Senator, same as the old Senator.. by homer_s · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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."

  9. Re:Jail: "Just A Series of Bars" by GospelHead821 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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