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Holder Voids Case Against Ted Stevens. But Why?

Holder Voids Case Against Ted Stevens. But Why?

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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 [...]

When The Majority Gets Desperate

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You have never seen a majority party more desperate to take advantage of its position of power, knowing that their days are probably numbered. Democrats in your state have probably already tried:
  • Giving in to Unions with Prevailing Wage and Fair Share
  • Giving in to Populist attempts to circumvent the Constitution
  • Giving in to attempts to minimize the value of the family by elevating gay unions as marriage
  • Giving in to solutions lacking real problems, such as Worker's Compensation Physician's Choice
  • Giving in to their lust for spending, a long-term need for greed that feeds a push to raise taxes... yes, your state government is probably trying right now to raise your taxes!
If you don't believe all this, just look to Iowa. Smack dab in the middle of the country, normally expected to be a follower, Iowa politicians (that is, the Democratic majority party in the Iowa General Assembly) have been trying their darnedest to do all of these things. Iowans are watching this year. Very closely. Republicans are taking a strong stand on these and other issues, and some of the more conservative Democrats are also helping stem the tide despite the strong-arming of party leaders. Keeping these [...]
Holder Voids Case Against Ted Stevens. But Why?

Obamanomics

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Somehow, I managed to stay awake for last night's Presidential press conference. Say what you will about President Obama's communication skills--and they are considerable--he is no macro economist. Which is a shame, because he has access to two of the brightest macro-economists of our generation: Ben Bernanke and Larry Summers. He should listen to them; learn from them. They have much to teach him. My reaction to watching the President last night is that he is clueless as to how the economy really works, and his recent historical perspective is revisionist. First, kudos to the media. As opposed to the first press conference, they asked him some hard, direct questions. Unfortunately, President Obama is incapable of answering these questions in a transparent, straightforward manner, but the questions were direct even if the answers weren't. Now to the revisionist Obamanomics. First, President Obama claims he inherited a $1.2 trillion budget deficit. According to the [...]
Holder Voids Case Against Ted Stevens. But Why?

Getting The Constitution’s Attention

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Next to the Holy Bible, the US Constitution is probably the most important document you will ever come in contact with. Some may argue whether the Bible actually takes precedence, but that's a discussion for another time. But few would debate that that, in a world where we put aside our differences with regard to faith, the document hammered out in 1787 to replace the failing Articles of Confederation is the most important bullwork to protecting our liberties. And yet, without the accepted social contracts that the Constitution implies we operate under, and the willingness of those who "lead" our nation to maintain the integrity of the purpose and protections the Constitution affords us, we would likely drift into chaos. But as long as we can point longingly at that document and proclaim it's efficacy to protect our rights, we are safe. Oh dear. On Saturday, I spent my usual morning perusing my favorite daily periodical, the Wall Street Journal. As I began reading an interesting piece by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey on the D.C. Voting Rights Act (an excellent treatise on the issue), my dear wife (who likes to [...]
Holder Voids Case Against Ted Stevens. But Why?

Thank Goodness The Media Are Unbiased

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A friend of mine (John Bloom) shared a "letter to the editor" that his brother (William S Bloom) wrote to the Quad City Times. For those of you that are outside Iowa and Illinois, the Quad Cities are Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline in Illinois. Anyhow, the piece, as edited by the newspaper, can be found on their web site at this link. The text of the original letter is below. Although I understand the concept of editing letters to conserve space, and a few of the edits made sense in that regard, there are still some key parts that were cut out. You be the judge... starting with the second paragraph (the first one was rewritten by the editors) I have used strike-out to highlight the text below where it was cut.

Are Americans Once Again In The Wilderness?

Last Sunday, I was listening to "Father Joe" (Father Joe Scalisi, Trinity Church, Rock Island), as he gave his Sermon for the first Sunday of Lent. Father Joe was talking about the role of "the Wilderness" in the Bible. How sometimes people hid there, how Jesus [...]

The Conservative Reader

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As we continue our inexorable national slide into socialism, as our freedoms begin to slowly, but surely, be taken away, I have made the following observations (while I still can). President Obama promised the following during the 2008 Presidential campaign:
  • Fiscal responsibility/no new earmarks. Apparently someone has forgotten to tell him about the 8,500 earmarks in the current omnibus spending bill and the projected $1.9 trillion (that's trillion with a "t") budget deficit.
  • Bi-partisanship. I'm not sure what that looks like, but I'm sure the Republicans don't feel like anyone is listening to them and addressing their concerns right now (other than Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins).
  • Economic growth. After less than two months in office, my retirement plan can't take much more of President Obama's "economic growth".
The markets are nervous, and it reflects in current stock market indices. As I write this, the Dow is [...]
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