Crime and Punishment

This guy should resign now:

Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state employees to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her, according to two people with direct knowledge of the governor’s actions.

Mr. Paterson instructed his press secretary, Marissa Shorenstein, to ask the woman to publicly describe the episode as nonviolent, according to a third person, who was briefed on the matter. That description would contradict the woman’s accounts to the police and in court.

Mr. Paterson also enlisted another state employee, Deneane Brown, a friend of both the governor and the accuser, to make contact with the woman before she was due in court to finalize an order of protection against the aide, David W. Johnson, the two people with direct knowledge said. Ms. Brown, an employee of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, reached out to the woman on more than one occasion over a period of several days and arranged a phone call between the governor and the woman, Mr. Johnson’s companion.

Again – was Spitzer really that bad New York?

Bernie Kerik, former NY police commissioner and BFF of Rudy 9ul1an1 has been sentenced to four years for lying and tax fraud. Let’s not forget that Kerik was also appointed by Bush to head up Homeland Security. Yup – another Republican hero.

Yesterday the king of idiots, Andrew Breitbart, started claiming that James O’Keefe and his pack of Little Rascals were denied access to an attorney for hours. Let’s think about that for a minute. These guys were caught on federal property, without authorization and carrying electronic devices in a post 9/11 America. Talk about something that could set off the terrorist alarms. If Bush was still President then they would end up at Gitmo.

This is just to priceless:

The FBI, alleging a plot to wiretap Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in downtown New Orleans, arrested four people Monday, including James O'Keefe, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group's credibility.

FBI Special Agent Steven Rayes alleges that O'Keefe aided and abetted two others, Joseph Basel and Robert Flanagan, who dressed up as employees of a telephone company and attempted to interfere with the office's telephone system.

A fourth person, Stan Dai, was accused of aiding and abetting Basel and Flanagan. All four were charged with entering fedral property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

James O’Keefe is a blogger for Andrew Brietbart’s BigGovernment web site and was one of the filmmakers who “exposed” ACORN. Over night O’Keefe became a hero of the right. I wonder how they will treat him now?

Meet Charles Dyer. He is a former marine and a member of the Oath Keepers militia. On top of that he is a ‘hero’ to the tea party movement and was a featured speaker at the Oklahoma tea party on July 4th of last year. Here is video of his appearance:

Dyer is not in some serious legal trouble:

Police said that when they served a search warrant, they uncovered evidence that now has federal officials looking into the case.

An ex-military man has been arrested on charges of rape of a child and forcible sodomy.

Charles Alan Dyer, 29, of Marlow, was arrested Tuesday afternoon by Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies, said Sheriff Wayne McKinney. Dyer served in the United States Marines in Iraq.

McKinney said charges included first degree rape and two counts of forcible sodomy. It is expected the charges will be formally presented in Stephens County District Court today, McKinney said.

Dyer’s problems don’t stop there though. He is also facing some serious federal charges:

During the search the sheriff’s deputies noted several firearms and a device believed to be a Colt M-203, 40-millimeter grenade launcher, a complaint filed in the United States District Court of Western Oklahoma by Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco Special Agent Brett Williams said.

[SNIP]

Deputies searched the National Crime Information Center database, according to the complaint, and found that the grenade launcher was one stolen from Fort Irwin, Calif., in 2006. The NCIC also indicated that there were two other grenade launchers stolen from Fort Irwin as they were being transported to Iraq.

According to Gossip-Boy, right wing extremists have already started circling their wagons around Dyer:

Despite the paranoid belief by the Patriot Movement that Dyer has been set up by the federal government, who they claim have had a programmed child make false accusations against their movement’s hero, Gossip Boy has learned that the alleged victim is a close family member of Dyer’s. [To protect the child from retaliation by militia members, we are not going to provide specific details that will identify the little girl.]

And with all this the media is remaining silent this morning. God forbid they have to say anything negative about the tea party or one of its heroes, no matter how horrible the crimes or the danger some individuals pose against our country. Instead John Edwards baby is the most important subject of the day.

So there you have it – a veteran who has become a very dangerous right wing extremist. If only our government could have warned us about this through some kind of report or something. And if only they could put that report out and not cave to screams of right wingers, who have had their feelings hurt (including people like Joe Scarborough). Yeah – only if.

Just received a breaking news alert from the Washington Post regarding this:

The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews. FBI officials issued approvals after the fact to justify their actions.

E-mails obtained by The Washington Post detail how counterterrorism officials inside FBI headquarters did not follow their own procedures that were put in place to protect civil liberties. The stream of urgent requests for phone records also overwhelmed the FBI communications analysis unit with work that ultimately was not connected to imminent threats.

A Justice Department inspector general's report due out this month is expected to conclude that the FBI frequently violated the law with its emergency requests, FBI officials confirmed.

There is a lot to digest in the 4 page article, so I’ll just direct you over to the Washington Post’s site to read the rest.

The self proclaimed “America’s toughest sheriff” is in some trouble:

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now the target of a federal grand jury probe, according to the Maricopa county manager.

Manager David Smith tells 12 News he has been called as a witness in the investigation, as well as Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson.

Sources say the investigation is tied to allegations of abuse of power relating to targeting political opponents and enemies for harassment and investigation. Smith says that includes threatening investigations against opponents when there is no probable cause and intimidating county employees at their homes.

The Gipper’s grandson had a little run in with the law:

Former President Reagan’s grandson is in jail this morning after police arrested him at his parents’ house in Van Nuys, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.

Cameron Reagan, 31, was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail at Van Nuys Jail, said LAPD Officer Bruce Borihanh.

Officers responded to a panic button call on the 4700 block of Allot Avenue about 12:20 a.m. and found Reagan exiting a rear door. He was drinking and “very uncooperative,” Borihanh said. Police did not know who was home at the time or who pushed the panic button.

[Updated at 9:11 a.m.: Reagan's father, Michael, said his son did not know that he had tripped an alarm when he arrived home with friends early this morning. When Cameron Reagan heard a commotion outside, he went outside and found the house surrounded by police, Michael Reagan said, according to the Associated Press.]

HMMM this really sounds familiar to me. Just switch Gates with Reagan and Crowley with “police” and you have the making of a beer summit.

UPDATE:

Just thinking back, I remember a bunch of Republicans saying how Gates should have just listened to the police. I wonder if they will offer this same advice to Reagan, or will he get a pass on such critique since he is a direct descendant of King Ron.

Also – this isn’t Reagan’s first run in with the law:

In 2001, Reagan was ordered by a judge to attend drug rehab and anger management after he was found with marijuana, the Times reported. Earlier, he was convicted of receiving stolen property and vandalism.

The party of family values:

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A onetime top attorney to former President George W. Bush is accused of trying to kill his wife at their Connecticut home by beating her with a flashlight and choking her.

Fifty-seven-year-old John Michael Farren is charged with strangulation and attempted murder. He was ordered held Thursday on $2 million bail.

His lawyer Eugene Riccio calls it "a tragic situation."

Farren was deputy White House counsel to Bush. He also worked on the campaign and transition for former President George H.W. Bush.

Stories like this really leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling about the people charged with protecting our airlines from having terrorists board:

They are the first line of defense in airport security but two troubling incidents involving TSA agents at LAX are raising concerns.

A TSA agent was arrested on January 3rd in Terminal One at LAX, a source told NBCLA. He had just gotten off duty and was behaving erratically, saying, "I am god, I’m in charge."  The agent was arrested.
Meanwhile, a TSA Internal Affairs investigation turned up evidence of LAX TSA agents using drugs at an after-hours party.

TSA officials say a videotape of the party was of poor quality and the employees were not in uniform, but 4 employees were tentatively identified.

All 4 were tested for drugs. One came back positive and that employee was fired.

People are absolute idiots:

The US Secret Service says it is investigating after an effigy of Barack Obama was found hanging in the home town of former President Jimmy Carter.

TV footage showed the doll hanging by a noose in front of a red, white and blue sign that reads "Plains, Georgia. Home of Jimmy Carter, our 39th President".

Witnesses said the effigy had President Obama's name on it.

Plains Mayor LE Godwin III said the fire department had been called to take it down.

In Washington, US Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan confirmed that the agency was investigating the case.

Here’s the local news report of the incident:

Doing this to any president is unacceptable – that includes those on the left that did the same thing when Bush was in office. This childish acts also makes it impossible to hold serious national debates on things like health care, global warming and terrorism.

Everyday I hate Walmart more and more:

A Pennsylvania Walmart Supercenter videotaped employees and customers in a unisex bathroom, several former and current Walmart employees alleged in a lawsuit filed this week.

Seven former and current employees from the Tire and Lube department at the Walmart in Easton, Pa., filed a lawsuit in county court against the Arkansas-based corporation and four local managers Dec. 21.

Several employees discovered an "off-the-shelf" video camera in a store bathroom March 31, 2008, according to the court filing. The unisex bathroom, which also served as a changing room, was used by employees and customers. Customers and employees were not notifed of the surveillance, according to the court filing.

"I am incredulous that anyone would think that it's appropriate conduct for any reason to photograph people in a changing room and bathroom," said Erv McLain, the plaintiffs' attorney.

Walmart said two workers were responsible for the camera.

"Two associates were terminated for placing a camera in an associate dressing room bathroom," Walmart spokesman Greg Rossiter said. "When store management learned of the camera, it was immediately removed."

Sounds like Walmart took the appropriate response until you reach the second page of the article:

McLain said some of his clients are "still clearly shaken by what occurred."

Three of the plaintiffs were terminated after complaining to store management about video surveillance, McLain said.

Now sure there could be other reasons these three were fired, but honestly getting fired in retail is extremely hard. They know the costs of unemployment and will do whatever to avoid having to pay it. I would love to see the reasons why they were fired. There’s a chance it could have been from legitimate reasons, but there is also a chance it could be some BS like not signing a form agreeing to not talk about this anymore.

(h/t Jennifer Van Grove)

This is totally priceless:

A former South Dakota lawmaker convicted of raping his two foster daughters has sent news organizations what he claims is a copyright notice that seeks to prevent the use of his name without his consent.

A letter and an accompanying document labeled ''Common Law Copyright Notice'' said former state Rep. Ted Alvin Klaudt is reserving a common-law copyright of a trade name or trademark for his name. It said no one can use his name without his consent, and anyone who does would owe him $500,000.

I am honestly speechless…

The biggest problem with the sex offender registry is that it has become convoluted with names of people who shouldn’t be on there. Here is a perfect example”

Freeman pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving force or coercion and was sentenced to probation in September 2003, court records show. By pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge, he admitted to having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend, who was two years younger. In Michigan, the legal age of consent is 16.

[SNIP]

Freeman, who had no criminal record, pleaded guilty to the fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with force or coercion charge on the advice of his public defender, he said.

While he broke the law by having sex with an underage girl, the police report says the victim was “not forced to commit any act” nor “did she ask him not to commit any act.”

A 17 year old and 15 year old have sex and it’s a crime. Actually according to this law it could be his 16th birthday today and his girlfriend’s tomorrow and if they have sex tonight it’s a crime. For this this young man must register as a sex offender until 2028.

This is a major problem with criminal justice in the United States and one that needs to be seriously addressed. Labeling someone as a sexual offender should be taken very seriously, not just thrown at people nilly-willy. Now that we have been doing that, the list has become essentially ineffective.

Fox News:

A man was arrested for allegedly throwing two tomatoes at Sarah Palin from the second floor balcony during a book signing event at the Mall of America in Minnesota, MyFoxTwinCities.com. reported.

Neither tomato came close hitting the former 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, but did hit a police officer in the face, the station reported.

The unidentified man may face charges for assaulting a police officer, according to the station.