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Anti-Game-Violence Legislator Arrested, Faces Gun Trafficking Charges
Several readers sent word that California State Senator Leland Yee was arrested today. He's accused of conspiring to traffic guns and commit wire fraud, to defraud citizens of honest services, and bribery. The complant (PDF) also names 25 other defendants. Yee is known for pushing legislation that would ban the sale of violent video games to minors.
"Federal prosecutors also allege Yee agreed to perform official acts in exchange for the money, including one instance in which he introduced a businessman to state legislators who had significant influence over pending medical marijuana legislation. In exchange, the businessman -- who was actually an undercover FBI agent -- agreed to donate thousands to Yee's campaign fund, according to the indictment. The indictment also describes an August 2013 exchange in which [former school board president Keith Jackson] told an undercover officer that Yee had an arms trafficking contact. Jackson allegedly said Yee could facilitate a meeting for a donation."
There for a while he was pushing for a ban on a bit of a work around that 'gun-nuts' in California came up with to get around it's ban on so called 'Assault Weapons' A weird little device called a bullet button that makes it so that the magazine in a firearm can't be easier removed. Pretty clever work around for a completely asinine law.
Glad they nabbed him.
He'll probably get a month's probation.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Rule of thumb:
If it don't have a letter,
It's a Democrat matter
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
[Parent poster talks of ONE of his many anti-gun (i.e. anti-gun-in-private-hands) projects.]
Prohibition of something means the illegal providers of it have less competition and can thus sell for a higher price. So it's very convenient for those sellers. Thus, for instance, drug lords are just fine with keeping the drug laws strong and complex, and opposed to legalization of their product (which would put them in competition with efficient conglomerates who could compete the pants off them).
(Incidentially: I suspect Yee's opposition to video games was a spinoff of his antigun agenda.)
By the way: Pro-gunners are celebrating tonight. (The call from a friend a few hours ago with the news made both my wife my own day. B-) )
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
the irony.
It makes complete sense. If those kids can play GTA, some of them might be inspired to go into competition with him.
in which [former school board president Keith Jackson] told an undercover officer that Yee had an arms trafficking contact. Jackson allegedly said Yee could facilitate a meeting for a donation."
Didn't catch the guy with a cache of weapons...
Didn't catch the guy with a known weapons trafficker...
All they have is hearsay from a guy kicked out of public office, probably with an axe (non-assault weapon) to grind...
Suborbital [spaceflight] is the special olympics of spaceflight. - Rei
If you want to make anything and crime go hand in hand, make that thing illegal. This has worked more times than there are rivets on the underside of your bridge.
only because people like you drive up the cost of drugs for a chance at finger wagging and sanctimonious preaching.
Btw, I bet I'm cleaner than you are.
Politicians like to keep pointing fingers at other people at being the bad guys so less people points fingers at them.
As long as the law says it is legal to bribe politicians with campaign contributions, the only way someone will get in a significant office is if they're willing to take bribes. The system is designed to get crooks in office and keep honest folk out. Mandatory corruption is generally unsustainable in the long run.
God spoke to me
it's wild. Apparently the guy running the show was the "Dragonhead" of a tong in San Francisco. Seriously? They still have titles like that? It's like a freakin' Bruce Lee movie.
This kind of behavior should be banned, will hurt others!
This is nothing more than a 160+ year continuation of San Francisco Chinatown corruption and bizarre happenings. It has nothing to do with party.
But the press trumpets party when a Republican, and hides or omits it when Democrat.
There's really not much difference between the parties. The reason to vote Republican is that the press pays FAR more attention to Republican corruption, and sweeps Democrat-branded corruption under the run as long as possible. The Democrat in this story would not have been able to run a gun-smuggling operation for nearly so long had he been a Republican, he would have had the press sniffing all around him much earlier.
Both sides having corruption is also a great argument for smaller government, which by its nature reduces corruption.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I'm a Republican (or at least that's what the card says), and I have no idea what party this politician happens to be, nor do I care.
I myself am a Libertarian, and I DO care. I care very much that the press tries to harm as much as possible one major party and tarnish every member with the brush of a few lunatics, while shielding the Democrats as much as possible from any negative behavior by members and making sure that each and any infraction is isolated from any and every other Democrat.
The reason I care is because the press is supposed to be the watchdog that keeps people honest. Instead it's busy rigging the game in conjunction with politicians, and if you don't care about that then all is lost.
I'm not making it a source of division, I'm pointing out a major flaw with an institution that's supposed to keep politicians in check.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
He's actually a Democrat. It's not mentioned in the article, but he's definitely a Democrat.
Of course he is. If he were a Republican, it would have been in the summary in all capital letters, bold, italic, and blinking.
The summary didn't mention party affiliation. Therefore it was safe to assume he is a Democrat.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
Replace marijuana with alcohol and you could have made exactly the same argument during prohibition.
I'm mildly allergic to marijuana (its only effect on my brain is to make it hurt, a lot), so I have no personal stake in legalisation. But I do want to see people who smoke it taxed at the same rate that I am when I buy a beer.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Don't dismiss this too soon. As an anti-violence in games person, he must have done lots of thorough investigation into exactly what kind of violence is actually in games. So it's actually quite possible he was influenced by all the violence and crime he's seen depicted in these games and as this has lead to him pursuing it in the real world.
Why would any sane person dedicate their life to 'public service'. In the majority of the 'civilized world', meaning that portion which operates under a more-or-less democratic system, Politicians work long hours for negligible direct reward. End result, they are looking to maximise their 'expenses' and 'allowances' and are highly partial to the odd junket or two to build up relationships with folks who will employ them in other capacities... What we should do is pay them a very good salary and ban them and their family from receiving any perks or benefits or taking on any outside roles. Build in a satisfaction vote at polling time, and if the incumbent has done a good job they can be voted a bonus at the end of their term. Of course that would mean that the vast army of lobbyists, analysts, opinion peddlers, marketeers and PR people across the country would be redundant, and the 'hospitality industry' would lose a big chunk of business, but hey we would actually be paying people to represent us instead of 'fact-finding' in Bora Bora! Until then, it's a human type compromise - we get by with good enough and the odd bad apple gets found out sooner or later...
(Courtesy John Winterton)
davecb@spamcop.net
As a candidate for a local school board, I decided not to accept any money for my campaign. Easy to do in a local election, I get enough exposure in the paper and at candidate forums, but not so easy to do on a state or national level. We have created a system where, it seems, the more dollars a candidate can raise the better their chances of getting elected. Let's stop the madness and make it illegal to take any (or spend any) money for a campaign. Rely on media coverage as they must give equal time and allow a personal website and whatever other social media that is free. That would certainly eliminate the temptation to do what Yee did and might help to bring in new blood.
California State Senator Leland Yee (D)
Except if TFS is to be believed, he wasn't pushing for an overall ban on violent video games, just ban their sale to minors. And while he might act like a child, he is still legally an adult, so his actions cannot be seen as hypocritical.
Unless the arms trafficking that he was involved with was giving guns to minors. Then maybe it could be hypocritical of him. Or maybe he just didn't want any competition (kids aren't buying my guns because they're buying violent video games and staying inside).
And my lawyer has advised me to clarify that I am not accusing Mr Yee of anything.
I think you missed it the hypocritical part is him trafficking guns illegally well being an anti gun person publicly
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
The use of police for political oppression has been with us for a long time, but the upgrade to military hardware has largely been in response to increasingly well-armed gangs - nobody is going to come out and authorize military upgrades to put down protestors. And the gang militarization is an utterly predictable outcome of prohibition.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
the upgrade to military hardware has largely been in response to increasingly well-armed gangs
No, it has not.
nobody is going to come out and authorize military upgrades to put down protestors
This is exactly what is happening. See Occupy Wall Street, protests on campuses, etc etc. What flavor is the Kool-Aid this week, anyway?
After all, if he is right in the middle of it, so must everyone else
I think it's more a case of "if guns are harder to get, illegal gun sales will be more profitable"
Well, Kent State comes to mind, but back in those days they just called in the actual military instead of paramilitary police, so you are technically correct.
>This is exactly what is happening.
Can you offer an example where police forces received military upgrades for the stated purpose of assaulting protestors?
Note that I'm not saying the hardware isn't *used* against the protestors. Hell, that may well have even been the actual long-term intent - gotta be able to keep the rabble in line as the fist closes after all. But very few politicians would put their name on a funds allocation based on that rationale. But fighting violent gangs in the manufactured drug war? Now *that* is something that looks good come re-election time. It may only be an excuse to serve other purposes, but remove that excuse and there's very few other plausible reasons to militarize police, forcing the elite to either reduce/refrain from militarization, or expose their actual objectives much more clearly.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Except if TFS is to be believed, he wasn't pushing for an overall ban on violent video games, just ban their sale to minors.
It's okay; he's only trying to oppress some people.
And while he might act like a child, he is still legally an adult, so his actions cannot be seen as hypocritical.
I don't see how they could be seen as hypocritical unless he was playing a violent video game and was a child.
[End Of Line]
With how commonplace it is for Republicans fundraisers to embezzle, moralists to molest, and budget hawks to feather with pork, it's important that "Democratic party affiliation" be mentioned, because otherwise we'd assume it was just another Republican and "patriotic Americans" would just carry on and ignore the story.
I'm in favor of prosecuting crooks with power, no matter their affiliation. Bold type on Republicans? Really? People would think that was the average weight of a font if we did that.
>>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
Obama has been unable to make most of his Federal prosecutor appointments and it's been clear that as much as 7 times more investigations occur on Democratic appointments and politicians. While we have the IRS scandal, Republican connected 401C charities were investigated less and stopped less.
We also have minorities targeted more often by random drug sweeps and stop and frisk in certain parts of the country - and that results in more arrests of minorities.
Your chance of using a "Stand Your Ground" law is something like 384 times more likely if you are caucasian than you are a minority.
If Republicans and Caucasian established people never get investigated and handled with kid gloves -- then apparently that should mean it's not a crime if you are a caucasian Republican. Let's not pretend we are living in a society that is rapidly falling apart because of different standards of justice.
>>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
This makes absolutely no sense....In America, isnt "agreeing to perform official acts in exchange for the money" a fundamental part of how the American government works?
Isnt this how their Senate operates? The media tend to call it "lobbying", and the "lobbying industry" has sprung up around this practice, so how come this politician was arrested for this?
Im confused, isnt this a perfectly legal thing in the USA? Its been going on for so many decades, why start charging people now?
Anytime a politician is arrested and the media doesn't report the party, you can assume that they're a Democrat
This article vs. the recent one about a Republican doing something bad, and his party is right there early in the summary.
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/...
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