If 2009 was a personal and legal roller coaster for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, next year doesn’t promise to be much smoother with his criminal trial looming in the summer.

Blagojevich’s legal team has turned on its head the usual defense strategy in big corruption cases to say or reveal little before trial, letting him embark on media blitzes in part to promote his book. There’s no reason to think that aggressive approach won’t be evident at a trial that could last months.

“The man has said it a thousand times, and that’s why he’s out there. If you’re not guilty, you don’t shy away,” said Sam Adam Jr., one of Blagojevich’s lawyers. “And he’s going to take the stand at his trial, and he’s going to answer his accusers.”

The strategy carries obvious risks: The former governor’s denials could be used against him at trial by prosecutors armed with extensive undercover recordings and the testimony of former Blagojevich insiders.

“That might hurt his ability to testify without being submitted” to an attack on his sincerity on cross-examination by the government, said Dean Polales, a former veteran federal prosecutor.

Blagojevich’s lawyers are likely to counter by trying to show that the former governor acted in good faith in the often rough-and-tumble world of politics and government and didn’t seek to enrich himself.

“I would say they probably would not say this is politics as usual in front of a Chicago jury,” said Polales, now in private practice. “But they will say he acted in good faith and that he was serving legitimate political interests.”

Read More at Chicago Tribune

Marg Delahunty (Mary Walsh) of This Hour Has 22 Minutes tries to talk to Sarah Palin at a book signing in Ohio.

“Keep the Faith!”

NO PUNISHMENT | Says testimony was ‘misleading’

Sen. Roland Burris was reprimanded Friday by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics for his “inconsistent, incomplete and misleading” testimony before Springfield lawmakers about his appointment by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the seat once held by President Obama.

The Senate panel issued a “public letter of qualified admonition,” a stinging rebuke of Burris’ shifting explanations about his appointment.

The panel concluded that Burris’ actions “reflected unfavorably on the Senate” but did not rise to the level of necessitating hearings that could have resulted in censure or expulsion.

Burris said he was “pleased that after numerous investigations, this matter has finally come to a close” in a statement that focused on the panel’s finding that there was no evidence to support allegations of “actionable violations of the law.”

Burris ignored the harsh language aimed at how he conducted himself before and after he was appointed to the Senate by Blagojevich.

After Blagojevich was arrested on Dec. 9 and charged with public corruption, including trying to trade the Senate appointment for jobs or campaign cash, Democratic leaders in Illinois and Washington — including Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate leader — urged the governor not to make an appointment.

Burris, a former Illinois attorney general and comptroller — but by then a political has-been — accepted the appointment from the tainted governor, but the U.S. Senate was reluctant to seat him under the circumstances.

Under a deal struck with Senate leaders, Burris agreed to appear before the Blagojevich impeachment panel, the Illinois House Special Investigative Committee, to testify about the circumstances surrounding his appointment.

After he testified, the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that Burris had failed to initially disclose under oath to the House panel that he was hit up for up to $10,000 in campaign cash in three conversations with Robert Blagojevich, the governor’s brother and fund-raiser who also now faces federal charges.

Burris released changes to his testimony after the Sun-Times raised questions about his contacts with Blagojevich’s camp.

Those revelations triggered an investigation by the Sangamon County state’s attorney and the six-member U.S. Senate ethics panel, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer of California.

On June 19, the Sangamon prosecutor determined that Burris’ testimony before the impeachment panel was “incomplete” but the omissions did not fit the legal definition of perjury under Illinois law.

The U.S. Senate panel also wrestled with whether Burris crossed a line and noted in the letter of admonition that Burris’ omissions were notable in the context of Blagojevich’s arrest on corruption charges. The panel said he “should have known” that any questions about conversations he had about fund-raising should have been fully answered. “Your shifting explanations about your sworn statements appear less than candid,” the letter said.

Earlier this year, because of the controversy, Burris decided not to seek election to the seat in 2010.

Durbin has kept his distance from Burris, and at one point, he suggested Burris should step down. In a statement released Friday, Durbin said: “The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee has completed its review into this matter and found that Sen. Burris’ actions have brought discredit on him and the Senate. The letter of qualified admonition from the Ethics Committee speaks for itself.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has publicly stated that he wants to give the Federal Reserve Bank more power. Dr. Ron Paul of Texas totally disagrees as he wants to reduce the Fed’s power and actually audit the Fed. Paul’s book “End the Fed” remains extremely popular as many Americans are tired of seeing Wall Street bailed out with money that is printed out of thin air by the Federal Reserve Bank.

In a national poll almost 75% of Americans voted that the Federal Reserve Bank needs to be audited. Currently over two thirds of Congress supports Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Fed. There are 309 co-sponsors of the bill with 130 of those being Democrats so it is a very bi-partisan bill. Dr. Paul feels that the Fed has avoided the tough questions and no one really knows where all of this printed money is going.

If taxpayers continue to foot the bill for bailouts then they should know where the money is going. Unfortunately there has never been a system to audit the Fed. Another issue that Dr. Paul has with the Fed is that the paper currency they are printing is not backed by any type of physical commodity. There is nothing in law that states that one dollar is actually worth one dollar. There is actually no definitely of a dollar as it is just a piece of paper currency with ink on it. With no backing by physical commodities Paul feels that the dollar is worthless. If the Fed gets more power they will continue to print paper currency and the value of the dollar will continue to decline.

Sub Prime Blogger

In a May 2008 Poll 20% of the people that voted believed the Constitution was outdated, while an overwhelming 80% said it was not. Those that said it was not, cited that the US Constitution has the ability to be amended to bring it up to the current needs, wants, and times of its citizens.

BLURT IT

We here at Comedy.com like to prank people. Specifically, we like to prank politicians. This week we took on New Jersey State Senator Frank Lautenberg. Our blogger, Tony DiGerolamo, posed as Comedy.com friend and spiritual adviser Pastor Dom Moccey. Dom just wants to get his daughter an internship in politics. While internships in the Senator’s office don’t seem particularly difficult to come by, Dom’s daughter has some special needs. Check out our email exchange.

Original Letter: Tony, as the good pastor, introduced himself and his fake daughter in the letter below. She’s the perfect candidate for an internship. She’s smart and politically active. There’s only one drawback if you hire Katey. Sometimes she will call you a b*tch.

Response: Here is the real and earnest response Tony received from the Senator’s office. The life of an intern sounds pretty sweet. Maybe we’ll actually apply.

Our Follow Up: We are completely unable to leave well enough alone. Tony kept the email exchange going with the reply below. Wow, the fake Pastor Moccey’s fake daughter has a lot of problems. Don’t you hate it when you touch the wrong sort of paper and puke? We do.

See the original page at BIG STUPID IDIOT

The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.

- Theodore Roosevelt

We keep hearing a lot about how Amsterdam is such a shit hole, though, I don’t live there and can really care less, but someone lives there and probably doesn’t like people talking shit about their city.

Anti cannabis journalists get owned