A blog for all seasons; A blog for one; A blog for all. As the 11th most informative blog on the planet, I have a seared memory of throwing my Time 2006 Man of the Year Award over the railing at Time Warner Center.
Justice. Only Justice Shall Thou Pursue
It's the latest installment of the Friday Night News Dump. This is where bad news goes to lie under the radar. In this instance, we've got Republican, Lt. Gov. Ken Ard of South Carolina, resigning in disgrace over criminal charges of spending campaign funds on personal expenses and fabricating donations.
He entered guilty pleas shortly after resigning this afternoon.
Apparently as part of a plea deal, Mr. Ard appeared before Judge G. Thomas Cooper of Circuit Court in Columbia, S.C., and pleaded guilty to all seven misdemeanor charges lodged against him. Judge Cooper then sentenced him to five years of probation, a $5,000 fine and 300 hours of community service. He could have faced up to $35,000 in fines and seven years in prison.
The indictment, announced by the state attorney general, Alan Wilson, charged Mr. Ard with what Mr. Wilson said was an effort to create “the false appearance of a groundswell of political support” by reporting $162,500 in “fictitious or bogus campaign contributions.” He also spent campaign donations on personal items, including iPads, clothes, football tickets and family vacations, the indictment said.
This also qualifies as a name that party situation since Ard's party affiliation isn't discussed until deep into the article.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley issued a statement saying that Ard and his family are "good people" but the fact is that Ard has been under investigation for some time and that this was probably as good a deal as he could get.
And once again South Carolina politics is embroiled in scandal - prior to Haley, Gov. Mark Sanford got into trouble and admitted violating campaign spending laws and was censured by state legislators after confessing to an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina (aka, hiking the Appalachian).
It's rather surprising how quickly voters in South Carolina have shifted preferences from Mitt Romney to Newt Gingrich. They're all too quick to ignore all of Gingrich's flaws - particularly the fact that his fellow Republicans essentially booted him from power as Speaker of the House over an ethical flap that resulted in a $300,000 fine. Since he left Congress, Gingrich has been a lobbyist and while he claims to be a historian, his fact-challenged rants and revisionist history over his own follies and foibles has actually won over South Carolina voters who once again found someone to vote for other than Mitt Romney.
Romney hasn't helped himself by several poor performances at the last two debates. Particularly, he hasn't answered key questions about his finances in a way that would silence the opposition. He's belatedly decided to release his tax returns, and also noted that his effective tax rate (the rate that he actually pays, rather than the rate that his tax would be computed under the statutory rate) is roughly around 15%. That's primarily because of his reliance on capital gains rather than wages.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this from a legal standpoint; Romney worked for a venture capital firm, and his compensation was all legitimate (though one can question whether his position and company created or destroyed jobs through decisions made by Romney and his coworkers). But by obfuscating on his tax returns and how much money he made, he created a problem for himself that was exploited by the likes of Gingrich and others.
Romney could have thwarted this kind of attack by going on the offensive. He should have defused the situation by claiming that not only will he release the tax returns, but that there's absolutely nothing wrong with making money. Making money is what our nation does quite well most of the time and the job of a venture capitalist is to decide how to spend large sums of money on companies that may or may not pan out. Gingrich and the other candidates who were questioning Romney's taxes are showing anti-capitalistic tendencies by claiming that he didn't pay enough in taxes even as they all rail against high taxes.
The compensation for those decisions is quite often not in dollars, but in stock in the companies in which the venture capital firm invests in. Thus, the venture firm and its employees often get compensated in stock - capital gains, rather than wages.
Delusions of grandeur and an overly inflated ego are what Newt Gingrich is all about. That's not just my assessment, but those of Republican Peter King, who represents parts of Queens and Long Island. He was among the Republicans who came in the class of 1994 that led Newt to become Speaker of the House.
“What I don’t get is why anybody is surprised by anything this guy does,” Rep. Peter King was saying yesterday afternoon, on his way to a Fordham-St. Joseph’s basketball game. “All Newt ever cared about was Newt. He’s the single most narcissistic guy I’ve ever met in politics — and boy is that ever saying something.”
Pete King, a Republican out of the 3rd Congressional district, out of Nassau and Suffolk counties, and somebody who was right there when Gingrich was Speaker of the House, was just getting started.
“(Gingrich) puts himself in a different universe from everybody else,” King said. “He actually does compare himself to de Gaulle and Churchill, and Reagan. And Margaret Thatcher. I believe the guy is suffering from some messiah complex, one where he believes it’s his destiny to save America and lead America.
“I know the guy a long time, and I can tell you that he absolutely doesn’t care if bringing Romney down destroys his own party. And remember something about these attacks: They aren’t coming from the left, whatever liberal wing there is in our party. They’re coming from a right-wing conservative like Gingrich. It would be like Democrats attacking Obama on health care.
“But Romney’s campaign hits Newt in Iowa, and now he’s willing to pull the whole house down on top of Romney and everybody else to get back at him. So at least one thing about the guy never changes: He can’t take it. When he was Speaker, he’d say anything he wanted about Democrats, call them corrupt and evil. Then one of them would come back at him, and he’d cry.”
Gingrich is a smug phony. So are those just discovering his true character, what a political scrub he is and always has been, even as he wants you to think he is smarter than everybody else in the room. Rick Perry joins Gingrich in these attacks on Romney now, talking about “vulture capitalism.” But Perry is like some third goon in on a hockey fight. He didn’t have the guts or the brains to go after Romney this way until Gingrich did.
Gingrich is more than willing to damage what chances the Republican party has to win in November all because he thinks he is entitled to win the nomination over Romney and thinks that Romney has done him wrong. Newt can't manage to get ahead of even Ron Paul in the first two races, and yet thinks he's entitled to being a front-runner. His chances keep slipping further and further away, but that's not going to stop Gingrich from continuing his attacks on Romney's business experience while at Bain Capital.
Indeed, Gingrich is doing all he can to turn business experience (something that would ordinarily be considered a positive by Republicans who key in on such experience over political experience or ties) into a negative and making the Democrats' arguments for him.
We'll know more about Gingrich's already less-than-admirable character and judgment after he fails once again in South Carolina's primary. If he does poorly once again, will he pack it in and quit the race, or will he continue to stick around so as to be a thorn in Romney's side? I'm betting on the latter - since Gingrich's oversized ego will not allow him to do anything other than that. He can't admit to himself that he's got no chance to be president and the most he can do is hurt the ambitions of a fellow Republican.
A series of Associated Press investigations into his travel showed the governor had for years used state airplanes for political and personal trips, flown in pricey commercial airline seats despite a low-cost travel requirement and failed to disclose trips on planes owned by friends and donors.
The State of Columbia newspaper also questioned whether Sanford properly reimbursed himself from his campaign cash.
The ethics commission conducted a three-month probe into the allegations, details of which have been awaited anxiously by legislators contemplating whether to force Sanford from office in January a year before his term-limited tenure expires.
The panel announced last week that Sanford would face "several" charges but did not reveal the specifics until Monday.
The governor's lawyers last week characterized the accusations as minor and technical and predicted Sanford would face no criminal repercussions.
The attorneys also said they looked forward to mounting a defense against the charges when the ethics panel holds a hearing into them early next year. They also confirmed that Sanford — as the state investigation was being conducted — added disclosures of his private plane flights to his ethics forms.
A deputy assistant attorney general who said he was on his lunch break when an officer found him with a stripper and sex toys in his sport utility vehicle has been fired, his boss said Wednesday.
Roland Corning, 66, a former state legislator, was in a secluded part of a downtown cemetery when an officer spotted him Monday, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
As the officer approached, Corning sped off, then pulled over a few blocks away. He and the 18-year-old woman with him, an employee of the Platinum Plus Gentleman's Club, gave conflicting stories about what they were doing in the cemetery, Officer Michael Wines wrote in his report, though he did not elaborate.
Corning gave Wines a badge showing he worked for the state Attorney General's Office. Wines, whose wife also works there, called her to make sure Corning was telling the truth.
Corning, a former Republican state legislator, hoped to get out of his mess by showing his DA's badge? That's typical of people in such positions of power. At least the officer did his job, and South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster sent Corning packing. Good for McMaster.
What is up with South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R)? First, he appeared to have dropped off the planet, and then it was claimed that he was out hiking the Appalachians naked. Ummm... Bizarre, but possible. Definitely not something I'd recommend for someone who had aspirations to seek the White House.
The oddball admission came a day after his staff explained his prolonged absence by saying Sanford had been hiking along the Appalachian Trail. They were only off by about 5,000 miles - give or take a sleeping bag or two.
"I wanted to do something exotic," Sanford told The State newspaper, adding that he planned to hike the trail before changing his mind at the last minute.
Sanford, who is married, insisted he went to Buenos Aires alone.
"It's a great city," he said.
The Republican governor hadn't been seen since Thursday. He declined to give further details on his South American trip, saying only that he drove along the city's scenic coastline. Sanford said he needed to recharge his battery after a grueling legislative session.
This report indicates that Sanford's latest statements don't pass the smell test either.
Sanford told The State he was alone on the trip to Argentina. He declined to give any additional details about what he did other than to say he drove along the coastline.
Trying to make such a drive could frustrate a weekend visitor to Argentina. In Buenos Aires, the Avenida Costanera is the only coastal road, and it's less than two miles long. Reaching coastal resorts to the south requires a drive of nearly four hours on an inland highway with views of endless cattle ranches. To the north is a river delta of islands reached only by boat.
Drive along the scenic coastline? If he stayed in Buenos Aires, that would take no more than a few minutes.
What exactly was he doing in Argentina? I don't think anyone knows, even his wife and family.
His presser being held now confirms, and there are conflicting questions over whether his wife knew. I don't think it matters. He's toast.
Who was the other person, and why the trip to Argentina? Who paid for the trip? If the taxpayers paid, we're looking at a bigger scandal. If not, watch him attempt to pull a Spitzer.
Also, he's resigned from the Republican Governors Association. His 2012 chances are done, which is fine by me.
UPDATE: Video added:
UPDATE: Ed at Hot Air also notes this is the end of the line, and pulls out a relevant South Park reference.
UPDATE: Anonymous emailer sends along the following from FoxNews, which can't quite get Sanford's political affiliation correct. He's a Republican.
UPDATE: The state newspapers have been sitting on the fact that he's been emailing the other woman since December. How they got the emails is unknown. But it is interesting that they chose to sit on the information for as long as they have. Waiting for the right time I guess (perhaps when Sanford decided to run for President?) Sanford's wife tried to forgive, but because of this, a separation is in order.
He has four kids. They're going to suffer all the more for this.
Disregard the spin that is sure to come off as the day goes on. The only thing that matters at the end of the day is the total number of delegates won.
For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton is looking to obliterate John Edwards on his home turf and stave off Barack Obama, who is currently leading in the polls. Hillary is playing a ground game to avoid losing too many delegates to Obama.
It's real nice considering that neither Obama or Edwards has contested either state after listening to the DNC after they sanctioned both states for moving their primaries up against DNC party wishes. Hillary essentially ran unopposed in both states. Now, Hillary wants to have those delegates seated, which would vastly increase her delegate count. Real slick.
Over on the GOP side, things are still tight between Romney and McCain according to polls, but the delegate count shows that things aren't as close as they appear. Romney holds a small lead at the moment, but if McCain can't hold on to South Carolina, his chances dim significantly heading into Florida.
UPDATE: This post will serve as my call for today's best and brightest. Bring out your links...
John McCain is not in the lead and doesn't have any momentum to work with. He's still trailing Mitt Romney in the only place that matters - total number of delegates. While McCain was busy winning South Carolina, Romney won in Nevada, and retains a significant lead in delegates.
Over among Democrats, Hillary won in Nevada for the popular vote, but Obama squeaked out a win on delegates. That would put Obama ahead in the only category that counts - delegates, but when you factor in the total number of delegates and superdelegates pledged to Hillary thus far, she retains a commanding lead.
The conventions select their nominations based on the total number of delegates pledged to the candidates, and not on the popular vote. I really wish the media would remember this inalienable fact.
Far from being an innocent dupe, one of the two suspects being held in connection to terrorism related charges admits to mkaing a bombmaking video that was posted to YouTube.
In a 12-minute video posted on YouTube, an Egyptian man wearing a white shirt, khaki pants and rubber gloves explains in Arabic how to turn a toy boat into a bomb.
His name is Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, and last month he was arrested in Goose Creek after authorities found four PVC pipes containing a mixture of potassium nitrate, kitty litter and sugar in his car’s trunk.
Mohamed told FBI agents he made the video to teach “those persons in Arabic countries to defend themselves against the infidels invading their countries,” according to federal court documents released late Tuesday.
Specifically, he told the FBI “the technology which he demonstrated in the tape was to be used against those who fought for the United States.”
Mohamed and Megahed, were University of South Florida students who were stopped for speeding August 4, 2007 on S.C. 176 in Goose Creek. Explosives and other assorted items were found in the course of searching the vehicle during the traffic stop.
I haven't seen this part reported before:
In the back of the patrol car on the way to jail on charges of possession of an explosive device, the two whispered in their native Arabic while a hidden recorder taped their conversation, according to court documents:
“Did you tell them there is something in them?” Mohamed asked, an apparent reference to the PVC pipes.
“Water,” Megahed said.
“Water! Right? The black water is in the Pepsi.”
A few seconds pass in silence. Mohamed speaks again.
“Did you tell them about the benzene (gasoline)?”
“I have nothing to do with it. I do the fireworks and so... so... so... that is it.”
I'm sure the defense team will try and get the audiotape excluded from evidence, but it is highly suggestive that the two were definitely not being truthful to officers about their intentions. Oh, and it wasn't fireworks but actual pipe bombs that were in their possession.
Goose Creek is home to a US Naval Weapons Station, including a military detention facility for enemy combatants. For prior coverage, see here and here.
This has been a developing story since the weekend, and it would appear that more light needs to be shined on the situation. Two men were arrested near a US Navy base for speeding, and in the course of a search of the vehicle, the situation became far more serious, as potential explosives and other suspicious materials were discovered. Indeed, two pipe bombs were discovered. What were they up to and why were they near a US Naval facility, which is used for training submarine naval personnel and is also where a US brig is situated?
Authorities say two Middle Eastern men arrested near a Navy base had several pipe bombs in their car.
Authorities say 24-year-old Ahmed Abda Sherf Mohamed and 21-year-old Yousef Samir Megahed were charged Monday with possession of an incendiary device.
An FBI spokeswoman says a joint state-federal investigation is under way to see if there was any terrorism connection but no link had been found yet. The Navy base is the site of a brig where enemy combatants have been held.
According to an affidavit with his arrest warrant, Mohamed admitted he made the pipe bombs from items he bought at Wal-Mart.
Defense attorney Dennis Rhoad says Mohamed and Megahed have a reason for having the devices, but he declined to comment further during their bond hearing.
I'd be real interested in knowing what legitimate reason these two could have for possessing a pipe bomb. Dan Riehl notes that the two are being charged with felonies that could land them 2-15 years in prison. Dan's earlier coverage is here.
Jammie Wearing Fool has been all over this story from the outset, and he noted a report that stated that the two men weren't citizens and were attending the University of South Florida. For those keeping score, that is home to Sami Al Arian, who has been implicated in providing funding for Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
UPDATE: Ace has been more circumspect on the reports claiming discovery of pipe bombs, especially if they're made of PVC. I'm not an expert in explosives, but if you have a given amount of explosives and place it in a sealed PVC pipe, that would technically be a pipe bomb, the purpose of which is still a mystery.
