James Joyner at OTB, this morning brings news abot the latest action of Eric Holder’s Justice Dept:

Attorney General Eric Holder has dropped the case against Ted Stevens, NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports.

A jury convicted Stevens last fall of seven counts of lying on his Senate disclosure form in order to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, however, he lost his bid for an eighth full term in office just days after he was convicted. Since then, charges of prosecutorial misconduct have delayed his sentencing and prompted defense motions for a new trial.

According to Justice Department officials, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has decided to drop the case against Stevens rather than continue to defend the conviction in the face of persistent problems stemming from the actions of prosecutors.

The judge in the Stevens case has repeatedly delayed sentencing and criticized trial prosecutors for what he’s called prosecutorial misconduct. At one point, prosecutors were held in contempt. Things got so bad [...]

Read The Complete Article

Tags: Alaska, Barney Frank, Charles Schumer, charlie rangel, Chris Dodd, Corruption, Crime, Democrat, Eric Holder, justice department, Nancy Pelosi, Republican, schumer, Ted Stevens, US Senate, US Senator, william jefferson

We are thinking heavily here about how to present a systematic approach to understanding what we call “Conservatism”. Just this week, a fellow Iowa blogger Albert Bregar penned his thoughts at Red County Polk County and Iowa Defense Alliance.
Albert provides an excellent start with a view to how many of us think about defining the way conservatives see the world today (okay, such a view would include “Ronald Reagan came back for more”). We will certainly start looking around blogdom and start collecting a list of such statements as “Smaller Government” and build them into a resource.

But in stating the conservative view of today’s world, we do limit ourselves to more of a statement of “how does conservative thinking apply to today’s issues”. What I hope we may eventually find is more of a basis for conservative thought. It’s great to say [...]

I am not surprised at the guilty verdict handed down against US Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) on seven counts of making false statements. And nor should anyone else. I stated earlier in the year that Alaskan Republicans needed to find another candidate, but they failed. It amazes me that people like Ted can imagine that they are not only above the law, but that in the midst of failure they should continue on with their struggle for power when they should be focusing on dealing with the issue at hand… planning a appeal. From The Hill:

The senator vowed to “fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have” and said he would return home to defend his seat.

“I am innocent. This verdict is[...]

On Sunday I shared some initial thoughts about the Fed take-over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If you read it, you know I’m not exactly happy about the outcome.  My friend Bithead shared some great thoughts Monday, and I don’t disagree that something needed to be done.   He and I both agree [...]

Crude oil dropped to $105/bbl Monday, down $1.26.  After hours the price continued to fall, as of midnight it was hanging around $102/bbl.
Since hitting it’s high at 147.27 on July 11 (that’s still less than 2 months ago), the price has fallen almost 30%.  According to most Democrats, this would only be possible if actual [...]

Today US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced plans for the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to take Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into conservatorship.   The power to do this was provided in HR 3221 which was passed in July.
The move includes replacement of the CEO of both organizations, and an infusion of about $200 [...]

In this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, there is a report of an investment made by Nancy Pelosi and her husband.
They put somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 into T. Boone Picken’s company, Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
At first blush, the relatively small amount (compared to millions of dollars in assets held by the Pelosis) would make most [...]

Two big hits on prominant families this week.
Mr. Shawshank
One is Morgan Freeman.  You may recall he was in an automobile accident earlier this week and was in serious condition.  He was released later in the week after surgery with shoulder damage and a broken arm and elbow.  According to Fox News, Freeman and his wife [...]

Although we may all support the notion that one is innocent until proven guilty, we (and Stevens) have a responsibility to ensure that we not only keep our noses clean, we do all we can to avoid the appearance of impropriaty.  The fact that Ted managed to get himself in a situation where the FBI [...]

Encouraging news in an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal by Pat Toomey(former member of the US House and President of the Club for Growth) today.  A recent survey concludes that most voters would favor a congressional candidate that cuts spending over one that increases spending, even if it means no pork for their district. 
Some of [...]