Category: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

NJ editor on Christie: ‘He lies’

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

bridgegate (1)

Well, it’s about time. Tom Moran, editor of the Newark Star-Ledger (who endorsed Christie for reelection), takes the unusual step of warning voters about Chris Christie’s pathological lying and causes quite an uproar:

They all lie, and I get that. But Christie does it with such audacity, and such frequency, that he stands out.

He’s been lying on steroids lately, on core issues like Bridgegate, guns and that cozy personal friendship with his buddy, the King of Jordan. I’ll get to all that.

But let’s start with my personal favorite. It dates back to the 2009 campaign, when the public workers unions asked him if he intended to cut their benefits.He told them their pensions were “sacred” to him.”

“The notion that I would eliminate, change, or alter your pension is not only a lie, but cannot be further from the truth,” he wrote them. “Your pension and benefits will be protected when I am elected governor.”

He then proceeded to make cutting those benefits the centerpiece of his first yearin office.

This, we know now, was vintage Christie. Other lying politicians tend to waffle, to leave themselves some escape hatch. You can almost smell it.

But Christie lies with conviction. His hands don’t shake, and his eyes don’t wander. I can hardly blame the union leaders who met with him for believing him.

“He seemed very sincere,” says Bill Lavin, head of the firefighters union. “Why doubt someone who tells you this is sacred to them?”

[…] “We just won a major court decision supporting the pension reforms that we put into place in 2011,” he told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.

Supporting the pension reform? The court found those reforms to beunconstitutional. Christie had to know that, because it was an argument put forward by his own lawyers so that he could escape the law’s provision requiring big payments into the pension fund.

These are painful moments for New Jersey reporters who cover Christie. Stephanopoulos and Kelly are facing a crowded Republican field with more than a dozen contenders. They can’t be expected to know this stuff. Which is why Christie prefers to sit down with the national press. It’s easier to get away with these lies. For now.

Is it fair to use the word “lies” to describe these moments? After all, an honest mistake is not a lie. And sometimes politicians make promises they intend to keep, but circumstances prevent them. So what qualifies as an actual lie?

Here is one that doesn’t make the cut: Christie broke his promise to make pension payments, which some consider a lie. But I don’t. The economy slowed down and he didn’t have the expected revenue. Democrats were surprised as well.

But the examples in the list above, which is only a sampling, are deliberate and serve Christie’s political purposes. None are course corrections based on fresh information.

Webster’s defines lie this way: “To make an untrue statement with intent to deceive.” That fits neatly.

And that’s my warning to America. When Christie picks up the microphone, he speaks so clearly and forcefully that you assume genuine conviction is behind it.

Be careful, though. It’s a kind of spell.

He is a remarkable talent with a silver tongue. But if you look closely, you can see that it is forked like a serpent’s.

SCOTUS to take public employee union dues case

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

supremecourt

It’s always been annoying to hear people bitch about being “forced” to pay their union dues, especially when you don’t hear them pushing to negotiate their own damned salaries. But I guess we all knew this was coming:

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court signaled Tuesday that it may be prepared to strike down laws forcing public employees to pay union dues, posing a major threat to organized labor.

The justices agreed to hear a California case next fall challenging the requirement that teachers contribute to unions, even if they don’t join them or agree with their positions on issues.

Two lower courts upheld that arrangement, but the high court in recent years has been hostile to the so-called “agency shop” rules. In two prior cases, Justice Samuel Alito has written majority opinions scaling back on the requirement.

Under the court’s 1977 precedent, unions largely have been allowed to collect dues from all private or public employees they represent. Those who object don’t have to contribute to political or lobbying activities, but they must chip in for the unions’ efforts in fighting for better wages, benefits and working conditions.

But in the most recent case last year, the court ruled 5-4 along ideological lines that home-care workers in Illinois do not have to pay dues to public employee unions. The workers said the unions lobbied the government, often on issues the workers oppose — thereby abridging their First Amendment rights.

In his ruling, Alito said that except in rare circumstances, “no person in this country may be compelled to subsidize speech by a third party that he or she does not wish to support.”

Black churches burning

~ susie

All those people who say they wish they grew up in the Sixties — well, here it is:

Four black churches burned overnight this week, and at least three have been attributed to arson, reports rawstory.com.

Last week’s shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME was perhaps the deadliest attack on a black church since the 1963 church bombing by the Klan in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four children.
At least three have been intentionally set on fire in recent days, according to a survey of news reports compiled by the Daily Kos.

On Tuesday, God’s Power Church of Christ in Georgia was intentionally set on fire, authorities told ABC News. Electronics and other equipment were also stolen in early morning fire. Authorities told reporters there is “no evidence” of a hate crime.

On Wednesday, Briar Creek Baptist Church in North Carolina burned in the middle of the night, causing $250,000 in damage, NBC News reports. Authorities are investigating whether the fire was a hate crime. It took 75 firefighters to bring it under control.

On Friday, Glover Grove Missionary Baptist Church in South Carolina, was virtually destroyed in an overnight fire, the Aiken Standard reports. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the FBI has been called in.

Another fire on Friday morning in Florida at predominantly-black Greater Miracle Apostolic Holiness Church caused $700,000 in damage. The fire is under investigation but fire officials believe it to be accidental, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

Justice

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

the tombs

Or “just us”?

A little over a week ago, a 23-year-old construction worker in the Bronx named Jeff Rivera got in an argument with his wife, from whom he is separated. During the argument, he struck her door, pushing in the screen.

Rivera was arrested and brought to court, where he was charged with criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, for pushing in the screen door. Though the sentence for being convicted of a misdemeanor offense like criminal mischief is hard to predict, the more immediate question for Rivera was whether or not he’d be jailed before trial.

Rivera had no reason to expect that he’d have to post bail to stay out of jail. Not only was the offense relatively minor, but he has no criminal history, is employed, and has a child and every reason in the world to show up for his trial. Judges are only supposed to set bail for two main reasons: if the defendant is a flight risk, or if he or she is a danger to the community.

“Bail is for guaranteeing that a person appears at trial. It’s not a punishment,” says Rivera’s lawyer, Alexandra Bonacarti of New York County Defender Services. “There’s absolutely no reason to set bail on someone like Jeff who has a job, a child, no criminal history, no history of missing a court date, and is not charged with a violent crime.”

But Rivera was unlucky. He went to court and stood before a judge who decided to set bail of $500 in his case.

Rivera didn’t have the money, which means he’d essentially committed two crimes, the second more serious than the first: he’d pushed in a screen door, and he didn’t have $500.
Continue reading “Justice” →

Get them

~ susie

ITT

This is the outfit I used to work for, and they’re very politically connected. I really, really hope he nails them:

Rohit Chopra, the former student loan watchdog at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is heading to think tank the Center for American Progress with a plan: To get embattled for-profit ITT Educational Service to change its ways.

On Wednesday, Chopra sent a letter to the company’s top investors encouraging them to push for reforms at one of the largest operators of for-profit technical schools. ITT is facing multiple lawsuits from state and federal authorities for steering students into predatory loans and lying to investors about the high rates of defaults on those loans.

Problems at ITT are being compared to those at now-defunct Corinthian Colleges, the for-profit chain that filed for bankruptcy last month. Allegations that Corinthian lied about the success of its programs and trapped students in predatory loans ultimately led to a series of government lawsuits and the loss of its access to federal funding. Now the government must forgive hundreds of millions of dollars in debt amassed by Corinthian students.

“The collapse of Corinthian Colleges was a reminder that so many students can find themselves in so much trouble. And many investors are worried that some of these companies may not be able to survive,” said Chopra, who as of Wednesday is a senior fellow at the CAP. “It’s important that investors become more engaged in making sure companies are doing what’s right by their students. That’s in the best interest of everybody.”

While at the CFPB, Chopra played a key role in exposing abuses within for-profit colleges and the student loan market. The bureau brought to light troubling lending practice at Corinthian and ITT in separate lawsuits last year.

In the case of ITT, the CFPB accused the company of providing zero-interest loans to students but failing to tell them that they would be kicked out of school if they didn’t repay in a year. When students could not pay up, ITT allegedly forced them to take out high-interest loans to repay the first ones, the CFPB said.

How’s your internet service?

~ susie ~ 4 Comments

Interesting, because my Comcast internet service has been sooooooo slow lately:

Net neutrality has been a big issue in recent months, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued new rules aimed at assuring all data is treated equally and to prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from holding data speeds hostage.

But a study released by BattlefortheNet concludes that the major internet access providers in the nation–AT&T, Time Warner, Comcast, and Verizon–are indeed slowing down data in dozens of cities across the United States, which affects 75 percent of all internet users in the country.

Tim Karr of Free Press, one of the groups that comprises BattlefortheNet, remarked:

“For too long, internet access providers and their lobbyists have characterized net neutrality protections as a solution in search of a problem. Data compiled using the Internet Health Test show us otherwise – that there is widespread and systemic abuse across the network. The irony is that this trove of evidence is becoming public just as many in Congress are trying to strip away the open internet protections that would prevent such bad behavior.”

And yet these same companies are seeking to get even bigger, which would leave customers with fewer options when it comes to who provides them access to the World Wide Web. AT&T recently announced plans to merge with DirecTV. Charter Communications has also filed notice of a plan to acquire Time Warner in a deal valued at $55 billion.

Um…

~ susie ~ 1 Comment
15 Nov 1960, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA --- At a meeting of the White Citizens Council of Greater New Orleans - a body formed in opposition to the idea of school desegregation - some members stand, wave Confederate flags and one holds a sign threatening the Federal judge, school board president, and mayor with deportation to Cuba. --- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
15 Nov 1960, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA — At a meeting of the White Citizens Council of Greater New Orleans – a body formed in opposition to the idea of school desegregation – some members stand, wave Confederate flags and one holds a sign threatening the Federal judge, school board president, and mayor with deportation to Cuba. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

As someone (I forget who) pointed out today, campaign contributions of that amount are solicited. So yes, they knew exactly whose money they were taking:

WASHINGTON — Two U.S. senators and one congressman from Nebraska and Iowa received political donations from the leader of a white supremacist group cited by Charleston church slaying suspect Dylann Roof.

The Guardian newspaper first reported that Earl Holt of Texas has given more than $60,000 to Republican campaigns in recent years. Holt is the leader of the Council of Conservative Citizens.

Those donations included $1,000 to Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and $2,000 to Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., in the last cycle. Both won in open-seat contests in their respective states.

Tyler Grassmeyer, Sasse’s deputy chief of staff, provided a written statement to The World-Herald.

Don’t get chumped

~ susie ~ 15 Comments

Colin Reed

Again: Just enough truth to tie in knots anyone who tries to rebut it. This is the next level of Republican propaganda — don’t fall for it. If you want to vote for Bernie, do so. Just don’t poison the well, because Clinton is the likely nominee:

For months now, America Rising has sent out a steady stream of posts on social media attacking Mrs. Clinton, some of them specifically designed to be spotted, and shared, by liberals. The posts highlight critiques of her connections to Wall Street and the Clinton Foundation and feature images of Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, interspersed with cartoon characters and pictures of Kevin Spacey, who plays the villain in “House of Cards.” And as they are read and shared, an anti-Clinton narrative is reinforced.

America Rising is not the only conservative group attacking Mrs. Clinton from the left. Another is American Crossroads, the group started by Karl Rove, which has been sending out its own digital content, including one ad using a speech Ms. Warren gave at the New Populism Conference in Washington last May.

“Powerful interests have tried to capture Washington and rig the system in their favor,” intones Ms. Warren, as images of Mrs. Clinton with foreign leaders flash by.

The new-style digital campaign captures some basic facts about 21st-century communication: Information travels at warp speed on social media, it is sometimes difficult to know where that information comes from, and most people like to read things with which they agree. The result, said Ken Goldstein, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco who specializes in political advertising, is something more sophisticated.

“Politics is usually basic math,” he said, “and this is a little bit of calculus, thinking a couple steps ahead.”
Continue reading “Don’t get chumped” →

A broken home

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Well, there you go. The shooter came from one very fucked up family.

And no, the problem isn’t that we look at mental illness when it’s a white shooter. It’s that we don’t look at it for EVERY violent criminal. The vast majority of violent criminals have serious trauma as children, much of it sexual. (A shrink once told me it’s almost a recipe for violent crime.)

Via the Daily Mail:

The white loner accused of shooting dead nine people at a black church was raised by a violent father who beat up his stepmother and hired a private detective to follow her when they split.
These shocking charges were made in court papers by Paige Mann – the ex-wife of Dylann Roof’s father Franklin – that were obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

Franklin Bennett Roof, 52, who is known as Benn, bought his son the gun he allegedly used for the massacre. He is also said to have subjected his wife Paige to a ‘pattern of control and mental manipulation’ that ended with a vicious assault.

Exclusive photographs obtained by DailyMail.com show multiple bruises to her body allegedly caused by him. She claims he battered her on the back of the head in 2008 and made her ‘world fall apart’.
Franklin is said to have shredded Paige’s self esteem during their ten-year marriage. He also kept her in a ‘virtual prison’ by calling her several times a day and demanding to know what she was doing.
Continue reading “A broken home” →