William F. Buckley

William F. Buckley died at his desk yesterday in Stamford Connecticut. Our paths have crossed several times. One was on Long Island Sound. I was out alone in my 24 foot Bristol sailboat for a late season afternoon sail. I came across another sailboat and noticed a member of the crew looking at my boat through binoculars as I drank my hot coffee from a thermos. I waved and he waved back. As the boat passed I noticed the name and recognized Buckley and the sailboat he had used when he sailed across the Atlantic. He wrote about this passage in such books as Airborne. Sometime later I met Buckley on land and went up to him and introduced myself as a fellow sailor and said that our paths have crossed on Long Island Sound. His eyes widened as he said "Oh my Gawd, I hope I did not run into you?"

McCain's Univision connection

Mickey Kaus and others have dug a little deeper into Ms. Iseman Juan McCain's "friend"/lobbyist and it turns out she was also working for the Spanish language network Univision too! Gee, I wonder why McCain worked so hard on the illegal immigration amnesty bill last year. Could it be Univision wanted to make sure it did not lose it's audience here in the U.S.? Oh yeah and here is another interesting the money quote:
"Former Univision CEO, controlling shareholder and Iseman client Jerrold Perenchio is a National FInance Co-Chair of McCain's campaign.

File this under Hola Suckers.
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Running across the border and running drugs in the U.S.

Amar C. Bakshi has an interesting profile of an illegal immigrant who came across the border looking for work but, ended up running drugs and worse Here is the money quote:
"Three years later, he was running drugs along the California coast, pocketing six thousand untaxed dollars per month, and sending his family at least US$800 per week. Hector says he fell deep into an underworld and ended up an unwitting accessory to murder."-Washington Post

It's an interesting read that the pro illegal activists, church groups and open borders crowds may not want to you to hear about.

Another wheel falls off McCain's straight talk express.

"Broadcaster Lowell "Bud" Paxson yesterday contradicted statements from Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign that the senator did not meet with Paxson or his lobbyist before sending two controversial letters to the Federal Communications Commission on Paxson's behalf". -Washington Post

Well now we know why Juan McCain hired D.C. power lawyer Bob Bennett. Let's see how this expensive legal counsel responds to this unfortunate piece of bad news for McCain.

"We understood that he [McCain] did not speak directly with him [Paxson]. Now it appears he did speak to him. What is the difference?"

Ah, maybe the difference Mr. Bennett is that someone is lying? Please Republicans someone slide the gun across the table to McCain. This is going to be too painful to watch. It's not too late to get another Republican candidate for us voters so we have a choice this election. One that was not picked by pundits, the media and party elites.

Bank of America's plan. Hola sucker taxpayers!

Yes the genius at the Bank of America are pushing a plan to help them out of the sub prime loan crisis. You remember Bank of America don't you? They are the geniuses who thought it would be a good idea to allow illegal immigrants to open up bank accounts with them. Then they went further and allowed illegal immigrants to get credit cards. Perhaps they should change the name of the bank to the Bank of Criminals.
Now these same corrupt banking officials have come up with a plan to help bail them out of their sub prime loan mess no doubt full of loans to illegal immigrants too. And guess who they want to be stuck holding the bag. Here is the money quote:

"Bank of America, which is in the process of acquiring Countrywide Financial and has potentially huge exposure, has circulated a proposal to create a new federal agency that would buy vast quantities of delinquent mortgages at a deep discount and replace them with fixed-rate federally guaranteed loans."-New York Times

Hola sucker taxpayers!

Sex, lies, lobbyists and John McCain's B. S. express

I was enjoying a nice piece of Talaipa with my homemade mussel sauce while watching Hardball on MSNBC last night. When Keith (BIGHEAD) Olbermann came on with the "breaking news" of Juan McCain's involvement with a forty year old lobbyist for the telcom industry. While MSNBC played up the sex scandal angle the Washington Post this morning has the more important details. Here are the money quotes:

"In the years that McCain chaired the commerce committee, Iseman lobbied for Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson, the head of what used to be Paxson Communications, now Ion Media Networks, and was involved in a successful lobbying campaign to persuade McCain and other members of Congress to send letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Paxson. "

In late 1999, McCain wrote two letters to the FCC urging a vote on the sale to Paxson of a Pittsburgh television station.

"At the time he sent the first letter, McCain had flown on Paxson's corporate jet four times to appear at campaign events and had received $20,000 in campaign donations from Paxson and its law firm. The second letter came on Dec. 10, a day after the company's jet ferried him to a Florida fundraiser that was held aboard a yacht in West Palm Beach."

As much as it would delight me to see Juan McCain do a Bill Clinton "I did not have sex with... " moment. The big story is how easily the wheels will come off of McCain's "straight talk express" . And how politicians like McCain think the American people are dumb enough to believe that his getting free rides on the Paxson Corporate jet had nothing to do with his writing letters to the FCC urging votes on an issue involving financial gain to a Paxson. It's clear that despite all the polished image of John McCain as a crusader he is still a creature of Washington and instead of sending him to the Whitehouse he should be sent back to Arizonia ASAP. It remains tho be seen if those Republicans who jumped aboard the McCain bandwagon will continue to ride his B.S. express all the way to defeat.

I am woman watch me steal. Update!

From today's Washington Post:
"Federal authorities think that nearly $50 million was stolen in an embezzlement scheme run out of the D.C. tax office, more than double the amount they had previously uncovered, four sources close to the investigation said.

The corruption at the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue went undetected much longer than initially thought, the sources said, extending back almost 20 years. In addition to tracking the missing money, authorities are looking into gifts suspected of being provided to co-workers and others by the woman accused of leading the scam, former tax office manager Harriette Walters."

I only hope that our Federal Prosecuters get down to the bottom of this and other thefts of taxpayer money. Because people who steal taxpayer money are stealing from everyone of us.

Obama and the audacity of the ripoff!

Barack Obama had a Joe Biden moment the other day. When he ripped off a speech that Deval Patrick gave in 2006. Oh but, according to Obama it's ok because he and Deval are friends.

John McCain's Gary Hart moment

Diggers Realm goes where the mainstream media liberal pundits dare not go. Before the Republicans and Conservatives jump on the McCain bandwagon they should watch this:

Bush in Africa

"COTONOU, Benin - President Bush opened a coast-to-coast journey through Africa on Saturday by highlighting how U.S. aid can help a small western African nation like Benin develop and save lives. "- Associated Press

"Those dollars come with great compassion," Bush told Thomas Boni Yayi, the president of Benin. "We care when we see suffering. We believe we're all children of God."

Who exactly is this "we" George?


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The Death of Adrienne Shelly

The death of Adrienne Shelly by illegal immigration has finally come to an end. Adrienne Shelly a new mother, accomplished actress and up and coming woman director had everything to live for until....

"A construction worker who admitted he strangled an actress while robbing her in her apartment and then hanged her to make the death look like a suicide pleaded guilty yesterday to manslaughter.
Diego Pillco, 20, admitted he killed Adrienne Shelly, 40, in her Manhattan apartment after going through her purse. He was promised a sentence on March 6 of 25 years in prison. Pillco admitted to the court that he was robbing her when he killed her. He said he had eaten his lunch in the basement and was walking back up the stairs to resume working when he saw Shelly going up to her apartment.

He said he saw her apartment door was open so he stepped in and grabbed her purse. "When I was trying to put back the purse, the lady came out of the room," Pillco said through a Spanish language interpreter. He said she went through the purse and saw something was missing and she was going to call the police.
"I took the phone from her," he said. "Out of desperation I covered her mouth. I was scared and didn't realize what was happening. I saw a sheet, and I decided to choke her." The judge asked, "And you tied the sheet around her neck and strung her up?" "Yes," Pillco replied, "and I made it look as if she had committed suicide."
Pillco was arrested in Brooklyn after witnesses told police they had seen him working near Shelley's apartment."

"State Supreme Court Justice Carol Berkman said Pillco, who is from Ecuador and is in the United States illegally, is subject to immediate deportation upon release from prison."

So that's what it takes to be deported! Somehow this story just does not have a happy ending for me and I am sure those who knew Adrienne.

Her memory can be honored by a donation to The Adrienne Shelly Foundation

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Cuban organized crime. Hola suckers!

Cubans immigrants over the years have received special treatment when it comes to immigration policy here in the United States. But, this special treatment does not seem to engender gratitude by some members of this community. Case in point:

"PHOENIX -- Forty-eight people accused of taking part in an immigrant trafficking ring -BCP MEDIA BIAS ALERT!: aka "illegal immigrant trafficking ring"] have been indicted on human smuggling and money laundering charges, authorities said. The group brought in as much as $130,000 a week moving people from Naco, Mexico, to its center of operations in Phoenix and then to destinations across the United States, Phoenix police Lt. Vince Piano said Thursday. Piano said the ring was believed to be one of the biggest operating in Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point into the country." -Washington Post

The smuggling operation of illegal immigrant according to authorities was run by two Cuban immigrants. Hola suckers!

The Stimulus Bill and the corruption that caused it.

President Bush and congress had their photo op yesterday with the signing of the "Stimulus" Bill. Since I have paid my bills and loans on time, saved money and had some investment and work income that will just barely put me over the threshold. I will probably not recieve a check from the IRS from this legislation. However, since the money for the refunds of the stimulus bill will be borrowed I will be helping to pay it back in the future. And they wonder why we taxpayers are getting so angry.

But, while the lapdog pack mainstream media is mostly drooling over the Roger Clemens testimony there are more important storys that deserve more attention from the media and we the people that are directly related to why the stimulas bill was even created. Luckily, Washington Post reporter Carrie Johnson has a look at the roots of this financial meltdown and the corruption that caused it. Here is one of the "money" quotes:

"FBI officials said yesterday that they are conducting criminal investigations of 16 companies, while their partners at the Securities and Exchange Commission are probing nearly two dozen more. Those federal investigations follow subpoenas from attorneys general in at least four states and class-action lawsuits that target home builders, lenders, credit-rating agencies and the banks that packaged groups of mortgages into securities. "


This is a much more important story than if Roger Clemens got needles stuck in his butt. I say to the FBI and Security and Exchange Commission investigators: GO GET EM!

Another Snow Job!

President Bush's former press secretary Tony Snow said on Imus this morning that Conservatives will need to go to McCain not the other way around. Uh, Tony who exactly needs votes to become President?

Bank of America, You've got to give them credit.

From today's Washington Post:
"Bruised by a rise in foreclosures, banks have been reluctant to lower rates for cardholders who have missed payments or had their credit scores slip, analysts and industry watchdogs said. Yet even some cardholders who pay on time have not benefited from the Federal Reserve's recent actions, as banks raise rates and fees to make up for losses in their mortgage departments, analysts said. "

Here is some more money quotes:

"Bank of America, for instance, notified some customers recently that their rates would increase as a result of a periodic review of their credit risk. "
Hmmmm Bank of America were'nt they the bank that .......
"In the latest sign of the U.S. banking industry’s aggressive pursuit of the Hispanic market, Bank of America Corp. has quietly begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers — typically illegal immigrants.
The new Bank of America program is open to people who lack both a Social Security number and a credit history, as long as they have held a checking account with the bank for three months without an overdraft. Most adults in the U.S. who don’t have a Social Security number are undocumented immigrants."

Bank of America. Higher standards? No! Higher rates.

The stimulation and anger of the American voter

"In a Gallup poll last month, only 24 percent of Americans said they were satisfied with the state of the country -- one of the lowest readings ever recorded. And it's not just George W. Bush they're mad at. Public approval ratings for the Democratic-controlled Congress are even lower than the president's. According to a 2006 poll taken by my former firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, 61 percent of voters say the two major parties are failing, and a survey last year by the Republican pollster Frank Luntz showed that 81 percent of voters would consider voting for an independent this year. "-Washington Post

I am not sure why voters like me are so angry. Despite paying taxes to the Federal Government to help protect the United States I still have hundreds of illegal immigrants standing around my neighborhood every morning. I have a choice of three "front running " candidates who look like they will not improve this situation. I pay my bills on time, paid off my school, home and credita cards. I pay as I go. But, even though the recently passed "stimulis" bill will give checks to most taxpayers and increase U.S. debt which I will also pay for. I will not be receiving a check. Here is the money quote:

"Voters today aren't just fed up with the status quo; they're furious."

Ya think?
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Marcela Sanchez is not an honest Hispanic

Today's Washington Post carried another disengenuious commentary by Marcela Sanchez. Who like many dishonest Hispanic pro-illegal commentators tries to make no distiction between legal and illegal immigration. here is the money quote:

"Yet, the anti-illegal immigrant sentiment will continue to loom large in this year's political contests at the state and local level. What's more, immigration will remain so contentious around the country that Republican and Democratic insiders predict that comprehensive reform of the kind President Bush pursued but failed to pass will be a non-starter for at least the next four years."

This is where Sanchez and others go off course. Immigration will not be a contentious issue and never has been in the current debate. Illegal immgration is the issue! Until disengenuious writers and open borders advocates like Sanchez start to know the difference between illegal and legal immigration there will be no progress in solving the problem. It's a very simple concept but, people like Sanchez do not seem to be able to understand it.

Howard Dean makes me laugh!

I got an email from Howard Dean yesterday. It made me laugh. I guess since I am a registered Democrat I'm on his mailing list. Here are some of the Dr. Deans lines of mirth:

"Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney are done. John McCain will be the Republican nominee -- he's the only one with a reasonable path to the nomination."

So Dean admits the fix is is in even though the voting is not over. Where was Howard Dean during the 2000 election? Seems that was the Republican argument for stopping the recount. How soon they forget.

"John McCain is a media darling, but don't trust his carefully-crafted image - he's worked for years to brand himself. From Iraq to health care, Social Security to special interest tax cuts to ethics, he's promising nothing more than a third Bush term."

John McCain media darling? Now this was a real laugh! A media darling as opposed to say Barrack Obama or Hillary Clinton? As they say people in glass houses should not throw stones. I bet there a few broken windows at the Democratic National Commitee offices today.

"On immigration reform, he's run as far to the right as he can, aligning himself with the most extreme elements of the Republican Party."

This is the biggest laugh of all from Dean. Memo to Howard Dean those of us who follow this issue and see illegal immigrants standing around in our communities everyday remember it was called the McCain/Kennedy illegal immigrant amnesty bill. If you think McCain has gone to the right on the issue you are truly delusional and if you think having the Dems go to the left on the issue offering amnesty will win middle class taxpayers like myself. Think again.

My Super Tuesday and my right to write in

I traveled back from Washington D.C. to come vote in the Democratic primary here in New York. I was not looking forward to it. Because I knew I could not bring myself to vote for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I was trying to decide on which of the other candidates who were still listed on the ballot I would vote for. It was a toss up between John Edwards or Joe Biden, I was leaning toward Joe Biden because I like his foreign policy talk and besides I had shaken hands with him soon after he announced. But, when I got to the polling place I decided to see to see if I could do a write in. This caused all kinds of confusion amoung the election workers. Finally someone said I could. OK, I said what do I need to do? You need to do it in the machine was the response. All right how do I do that? Again blank stairs and no reponse. I asked again what do I need to do?
Finally a poll worker came up to me and told me not tell anyone that I told you this but, you lift up one of the panels on the top row and write the name in there. So that's what I did. I lifted the metal panel and there on the blank space I wrote in Lou Dobbs. I left feeling much better about voting than when I arrived.

Super Tuesday

Well, here it is the big day the big media has been pushing on us voters for months. The corporate liberal mainstream media has already chosen a candidate for us on the Republican side and it is John McCain. But, they still have not made their minds up to tell us who they want on the Democratic side. Menwhile they ignore things like Mitt Romney's and Ron Pauls showing in states like Maine.
But, not everyone in the mainstream media is following the game plan by the two parties. Rush Limbaugh is calling for the Republicans to not make McCain the nomineee. I never listen to Rush but, after seeing McCain's back room involment on the McCain Kennedy Amnesty bill for illegal immigrants this summer I have to agree with him. Here are some money quotes from the McCain campaign regarding Limbaugh:

"Isn't it better to get behind a Republican you may disagree with from time to time than work for an outcome that puts a Democrat in the White House with whom you will disagree all of the time?"

I'd say when it comes to John McCain the answer is no.
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McCain is hot...headed

My girlfriend gets her haicut here in Washington D.C. She often comes back with the latest political scuttlebut from such visits. A few weeks ago she came back with info on McCain. That he was hot headed and a screamer. I dismissed it as just beauty parlor gossip until I read today's Washington Post:

"But others have outright rejected the idea of a McCain nomination and presidency, warning that his tirades suggest a temperament unfit for the Oval Office."
"The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine," Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), also a senior member of the Appropriations panel, told the Boston Globe recently. "He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

We've already had a guy who said "He's the decider." do we really want someone like McCain who also screams it at the same time. I think not.

Sub prime McCain?

"By last November, John McCain's presidential campaign was broke. To survive, he offered his fundraising lists as collateral for a $3 million line of credit from a local bank. But obtaining the loan required an unusual extra step: He had to take out a special life insurance policy in case he did not survive the campaign."-Washington Post

Well at least it was not an adjustable sub prime loan. When it comes to politics it is always useful to follow the money. Here is another money quote on McCain's loan:

"Cleta Mitchell, a Republican campaign finance lawyer who has been a critic of McCain's, said she believes the arrangement raises serious questions. "Did they base this loan on the fact that, even if he lost, he would still be a sitting senator and able to raise money?" she asked. "In my mind, that raises questions about whether he complied with Senate ethics rules," which bar members from using their position to negotiate financial terms that an average citizen could not. "

So John McCain gets a loan from this bank using his political donor list as collateral. I wonder how much of a loan the average person could get if they used their Christmas list as collateral. File this in the Hmmmm file.