TPM Muckraker

« previous | MUCK HOME | next »

The Daily Muck

The Israeli police have recommended that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be indicted on charges of bribe-taking, fraud and breach of trust. Olmert is accused of accepting large sums of cash from a Long Island businessman, Morris Talansky, who is currently under investigation by the FBI. Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is expected to decide whether to prosecute Olmert within a few weeks. (New York Times)

Iraqi leaders expressed surprise and disappointment at the recent revelation in a new book by Bob Woodward that the United States government has been spying on Iraqi politicians. A spokesperson for the Iraqi government said that the report, if true, "reflects that there is no trust" between the two governments. Other Iraqi politicians suggested that the report could make ongoing negotiations about U.S. troop levels more difficult. White House press secretary Dana Perino had no comment on the allegations. (Washington Post)

Leading members of Congress are demanding more information about the FBI's seven year investigation into the anthrax killings, unconvinced by the FBI's declaration that army scientist Bruce E. Ivins was behind the attacks. In a letter to FBI director Robert Mueller, Democratic congressional leaders argued that there were many lingering questions for the FBI to continue to investigate. Ivins committed suicide while under investigation this July. (New York Times)

A former FBI agent will stand trial for murder and conspiracy for leaking information to the mafia that led to the shooting of a prominent gambling executive. John J. Connelly is already serving a 10 year prison sentence for his involvement with "Whitey" Bulger's Boston gang, which he protected from prosecution for years as an FBI investigator. The FBI's connections with the gang have inspired several books and films, including the 2006 film "The Departed", as well as new federal ethics rules on the use of FBI informants. (AP)

A Pennsylvania state senator spent $3.5 million of other people's money on his own lavish lifestyle and political machine, according to prosecutors. Vincent Fumo allegedly took over $2 million of his own state campaign funds, and stole from a neighborhood charity to purchase three vacation homes, a 33 room mansion, and to hire political operatives to spy on his ex-wife and political rivals. Fumo will stand trial on 139 counts of fraud and obstruction. (AP)

A New Jersey politican and welfare reform advocate is accused of creating no-work government jobs at taxpayer expense. Wayne R. Bryant allegedly held a job with Gloucester County Board of Social Services that paid him more than $200,000 and increased his pension from $28,000 to $81,000 but required him to work only 15 total hours. Bryant is similarly accused of working a job at the University of Medicine and Dentistry that required no responsibilities at all. (AP)


3 Comments

| Leave a comment
user-pic

If the Iraqi's were so delusional that they didn't think the Bush Administration was spying on them...well, they deserve what they got then.

BushCo spies on everyone...noone is immune..wake up Iraq its time to smell the hypocrisy that is the Bush Administration.

We damn well should spy on those bastards. How delusional are they that they should think we'd be dumb enough to trust their crooked asses? Wait... We're trying to elect McCain... I guess we _are_ that dumb...


From:

Head of State

http://tinyurl.com/5mbefu

Sunday, September 07, 2008

"Actual Responsibilities": If You Can't Manage a Hockey Rink, Can You Manage Economic Policy and National Security?

From the Wall Street Journal:

Palin's Hockey Rink Leads
To Legal Trouble in Town She Led >

By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS

September 6, 2008; Page A5

WASILLA, Alaska -- The biggest project that Sarah Palin undertook as mayor of this small town was an indoor sports complex, where locals played hockey, soccer, and basketball, especially during the long, dark Alaskan winters.

The only catch was that the city began building roads and installing utilities for the project before it had unchallenged title to the land. The misstep led to years of litigation and at least $1.3 million in extra costs for a small municipality with a small budget. What was to be Ms. Palin's legacy has turned into a financial mess that continues to plague Wasilla.

"It's too bad that the city of Wasilla didn't do their homework and secure the land before they began construction," said Kathy Wells, a longtime activist here. "She was not your ceremonial mayor; she was in charge of running the city. So it was her job to make sure things were done correctly."

Ms. Palin, now Alaska's governor and Republican Sen. John McCain's running mate, has pointed to her two terms as Wasilla's mayor, from 1996 to 2002, as evidence that she has enough executive experience to take on the presidency, should the need arise -- more than Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, who touts his own background as a community organizer in Chicago.

"I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities," Ms. Palin said Wednesday in her acceptance speech at the Republican convention.

Litigation resulting from the dispute over Ms. Palin's sports-complex project is still in the courts, with the land's former owner seeking hundreds of thousands of additional dollars from the city.

Palin likes to say "Good judgment can make the difference between avoiding a crisis and managing a catastrophe."

Indeed.


Cite:

Head of State

http://tinyurl.com/5mbefu

Leave a comment

Advertisement
Please disable your adblocker!
Ads are how we pay the bills!

Subscribe
Tip Line

Josh
Marshall

Bio

Zachary
Roth

Bio

Advertise Liberally
Share
Close Social Web Email

"To" Email Address

Your Name

Your Email Address