Bringing the Clean Up Crew to Ohio Politics
Not ready for French fries, yet they still fantasize of having a French maid
Dearest Readers, blogging should be more regular this week. The investigation Prissy was working on has been wrapped up, with a final report being readied.
If the case ends up in court, Prissy will post the filing here- as it will be big news here in Columbus...and could easily have ramifications on a national level regarding our election systems.
Rest assured, everything possible was done to ensure integrity in the vote and election process.
Yesterday there was a lovely event at the Columbus Athletic Club, with Ohio's new Governor-elect Ted Strickland. 
Let Prissy be the first to tell you, our Ted could go all the way-once he is done fixing Ohio.
Inside the lobby of the Columbus Athletic Club.
Ted let everyone know last night-"Have fun, and be prepared to get back to work to reclaim Ohio January 1st." You've got it, Governor! Prissy can't wait to get started. Hot Links
Ted, Ohioans are ready for change. We know the state needs a good scrubbing
From the desk of Patrick J Fitzgerald 24 - 7 - 365.2425
Harder working than Santa's elves, the dedicated team of professionals working in the field and at the J. Edgar Hoover - FBI Building 'round the clock (even on Christmas and Leap Day) investigating graft and corruption (my pet peeve) and locking up evildoers - an endless and often thankless task. Talk about results...
From Project on Goverment Oversight (POGO) and Patrick Fitzgerald...two of Prissy's favorite crime fighters.
CS Monitor Could Iran help the US stabilize Iraq?
Feeling vulnerable, Iran sent an unprecedented secret letter to the White House, offering to talk about everything from its controversial nuclear program to support for Hizbullah and Hamas militants.
But the Bush team dismissed the offer, and even scolded the Swiss ambassador in Tehran at the time for passing the message on. Today, with the US bogged down in Iraq and looking for a facesaving way out, it is the Iranians who want to define the terms of any cooperation.
They often cite Afghanistan in 2001, when Iran helped the US defeat the Taliban and push out Al Qaeda with extensive intelligence and diplomatic aid, only to be labeled part of the "axis of evil" weeks later.
"It's a game. We think the US wants to use Iranian power to solve their problem in Iraq before the presidential election in 2008," says Mr. Mohebian. "After victory ... then it will be back to the old 'axis of evil.'
Media Info Public Records Bill, Backed by Papers, Passes in Ohio
A bill that mandates public-records training for elected officials and stiffens penalties for withholding records has cleared the Ohio Legislature this week.
The bill also would increase the likelihood that those denied records will get their attorney's fees paid.
Times of India Saddam-era soldiers invited to join army
"The national unity government will pay pensions for those who are not reintegrated," added the premier, who has presented the broad-based talks as a fresh opportunity to end Iraq's vicious sectarian bloodletting.
Before the conference began, delegates said that, for the first time, the talks would include former members of Saddam's Baath party and representatives of some of the armed groups fighting the US forces.
Dubya, remind Prissy again why you went in there? One good reason will be sufficient...
LA Times Data mining won't catch terrorists
.Many business travelers prefer to sit in an aisle seat. Many also prefer to sit near the front of the plane so they may be among the first off when the plane lands.
Those also happen to be seats that might be desirable for terrorists bent on hijacking an airplane.
That common seat preference shared by business fliers and violent extremists could be earning innocent passengers additional scrutiny as they cross the U.S. border.
Last month, in a little-noticed filing buried deep in the Federal Register and first reported by the Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that for several years, it had been using a so-called Automated Targeting System to screen passengers entering and leaving the United States
And that's why ATS will have to go away, it targets airlines best customers. Duh
Centcom tells tall tales for Dubya Elections Represented Hope for Iraqis
The ballot for the Dec. 15, 2005, election was incredibly complicated, with hundreds of candidates running for office. Some were affiliated with nascent political parties, others ran on their own. Some parties were affiliated with a particular sect or tribe. Others cut across ethnic and religious boundaries.
Election Day (2005) in Iraq was also a triumph for the Iraqi security forces. "All the time and money you have spent training the Iraqi army, you harvest it today," Iraqi army Maj. Gen. Mobdir Hatim Hothya al-Delemy told then-3rd Infantry Division Commander U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Webster following a tour of polling places that day.
Middle East Times Baghdad kidnapping sows terror as Blair backs Iraq PM
The latest in a series of mass kidnappings spread terror in Baghdad Sunday as British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to support his embattled Iraqi counterpart Nuri Al Maliki.
More than 25 aid workers were hauled off at gunpoint from a Baghdad office of the Iraqi Red Crescent aid agency by a gang of 50 gunmen sporting police uniforms, the second such mass abduction in Baghdad in three days.
Yet our delusional Bush administration sees "progress". Perhaps it depends on ones view of "unnecessary deaths."
MSNBC Witnesses in Libby trial all expected to testify
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has signaled that none of the government witnesses he intends to call will refuse to testify in the upcoming trial of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Fitzgerald did not say if Cheney or other top White House officials were on his witness list. But, he says, that none of the proposed witnesses intend to assert executive privilege, in an attempt to exclude their testimony.
The vice president himself has said in a CNN interview in June, "I may be called as a witness."
He sure will be up there on the witness stand. Prissy hopes his testimony is public, its worth going to DC to blog live! Get him, Fitz...
The Economist Blair's rotten week
Worse, in the end, may be government efforts to deflect attention away from the two pieces of unwelcome news this week. Both the questioning of Mr Blair, and the government announcement that it was bowing to Saudi pressure over the corruption inquiry, took place on the same day that a much-awaited report was published into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Whether or not this was intentional, it looks as if the government was trying to bury bad news on a day when Britain’s aggressive media might have been distracted. For all his efforts to leave his mark on Britain and the world, he risks being remembered most for formidable efforts to “spin” the news.
Hat tip to Fitz. Here's what Prissy will be wearing when "Fitzmas" finally arrives...
Over the last two years, the FBI has convicted more than 1,060 government employees involved in corrupt activities, to include 177 federal officials, 158 state officials, 360 local officials, and more than 365 police officers. In FY 2005 alone, the Public Corruption Program saw a 25% increase in public corruption cases investigated, resulting in 890 indictments, 759 convictions, and 2,118 cases still pending. There are 622 agents currently working public corruption matters, an increase of 264 since 2002.
TPM Muckraker Roll Call Provides Scandal Scorecard of 19 members investigated of the 109th Congress
More to follow...
Rocky Mountain News The Suit that Jack Built one reporters tale
I found Sabatini at the impressive James Clothiers boutique at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va. He still had those suits and the expense that came with them.
Sabatini beamed as I walked through the door. He said I was built just like big Jack. A quick fitting confirmed it.
I bought two double-breasted suits in different shades of pinstripes and a spiffy blue blazer.
On the lining of one jacket, embroidered in bright gold script, is the name "Jack Abramoff."
Chicago CBS2Reid: Ailing Senator Shows Some Progress
Sen. Tim Johnson has shown significant improvement after brain surgery and doctors say "everything is going to be just fine," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Sunday.
Yet when asked whether the 59-year-old South Dakota Democrat was conscious, Reid said in a television interview: "I'm not a doctor. I have heard and talked to his family. You should talk to them. It's not appropriate to talk to me about that."
Reid, who has visited Johnson frequently after the surgery Wednesday following a brain hemorrhage, said "he's doing very well. ... His improvement has been significant."
The governor of South Dakota will have a fight on his hands if he attempts to fill the democrat senators spot.
Reuters Ahmadinejad's allies struggle in Iran elections
Friday's twin elections for the clerical Assembly of Experts and local councils, the first nationwide vote since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, will not directly impact policy.
But turnout of around 60 percent and Ahmadinejad's close identification with some candidates, particularly in Tehran, suggested a shift toward more moderate policies and away from the president's ultra-conservative line.
Although not Iran's most powerful figure, Ahmadinejad's anti-Israel and anti-Western statements alarm the West, which fears Iran is seeking an atomic bomb despite Tehran's denials.
"The results show that voters have learned from the past and concluded that we need to support ... moderate figures," the daily Kargozaran said in an editorial.
MSN Japan Japanese, US nuclear envoys head to Beijing for six-way North Korea talks
However, both Washington and Pyongyang have demanded concessions from each other while offering little in return.
The U.S. says North Korea must take concrete steps toward dismantling its nuclear arsenal, but the North has said the U.S. must first abolish its hostile stance toward Pyongyang and lift financial sanctions.
"I hope they come ready to make some progress, because we need progress," Hill told reporters in Tokyo early Sunday, before he left for Beijing.
"The issue is implementing the September (2005) statement," Hill said, referring to the North's agreement to abandon its nuclear weapons program in exchange for security guarantees and aid. "The question is what part of the September statement are they prepared to move on?"
Quotes of the Day
The real distinction is between those who adapt their purposes to reality and those who seek to mold reality in the light of their purposes.--Henry Kissinger (1923 - )
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.--Philip K. Dick (1928 - 1982), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Humankind cannot stand very much reality.--T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)
Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.--Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964), Taken Care Of ,1965
