Year: 2008

Racism Best Explanation for Wesley Snipes’ Sentence

Trish
Why isn’t this tax evader in jail?

I’m no great legal scholar but come on. Prosecutors in the Wesley Snipes tax evasion case are overstepping their bounds to make an example out of the actor.

Snipes was convicted in February on three misdemeanor counts. U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges handed down the maximum sentence and said he felt it was important to create a general deterrent against tax defiance…

The judge said prison officials would notify Snipes when to begin serving his sentence. Snipes said he would appeal the verdict but prosecutors vowed to oppose any request to allow him to remain free on bond while the appeal is pending.

Prosecutors said Snipes had earned more than $38 million since 1999 but still had not filed tax returns for the years 1999 through 2007 or paid any taxes prior to Thursday…

They said the notoriety of the case presented a “singular opportunity” to deter tax crimes nationwide.

If this doesn’t boil down to being about black and white, I need someone to explain it to me

But what we have here are two separate things. One is Snipes’ crimes — three misdemeanors — of which he is guilty. The other is the government’s desire to discourage us from not paying our taxes. Because Snipes is guilty as charged does not give prosecutors the right to exploit his situation for their own aims. His sentence should be about his punishment for tax evasion, not about a government marketing message.

It’s too bad Snipes is the only famous person to owe the I.R.S. — and his lawyers say he does owe them $400,000. They could have made an example out of someone else, if only there had been someone earlier in a similar situation.

Oh yeah, Willie Nelson is walking around after leaving an original upaid bill of $17 million in back taxes. The I.R.S. worked out a settlement with the red-headed stranger, selling his ranch and taking an interest in one of his albums and other assets. They also agreed to take less, $12.6 million for the nearly $17 million debt. There was never any discussion of prison.

I don’t want to see Willie locked up but I’m really struggling to understand how this is fair. If it doesn’t boil down to being about black and white, then I need someone to explain it to me.

Maybe rapper Foxy Brown could. She was sentenced to one year in jail for a parole violation after having an altercation with a manicurist. While Brown served her sentence, the world watched the spectacle of Paris Hilton, tapped with a mere 45 days for violating parole with repeated drunk driving offenses, cry her way to serving less than half of even that lightweight punishment.

Craig Ferguson’s Lines at Correspondents’ Dinner

Trish

I confess to liking Craig Ferguson. He was the best part of the Drew Carey Show, but I guess that’s not necessarily high praise.

Having him as the host of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this year had to beat the crap out of last year’s pick — Rich Little. At least nobody has to consult DeadorAlive to see if Ferguson is still with us.

Here are some of his lines from the dinner.

Ferguson: “I’m a late night television show guy. I make up crap that isn’t true then I say it on TV. I’m like Fox News.”
  • “I spoke to a lot of journalists about how I should speak up here. And all the journalists said ‘Craig, Your duty is to speak truth to power. That’s what you do, you hold the truth up for everyone to see, that’s your job.’ I’m sorry. I don’t see it that way. That’s your job. You’re journalists. I’m a late night television show guy. I make up crap that isn’t true then I say it on TV. I’m like Fox News. I’m not a journalist.”
  • “It’s your task to watch the government, to make sure they don’t exceed their power. [Stops and looks over at Dick Cheney.] And well done with that, by the way, the last eight years.”
  • “The New York Times unfortunately did not buy a table. They felt, I just want to make sure I got this right, they felt this event undercut the credibility of the press. It’s funny. You see, I thought that Jayson Blair and Judi Miller took care of that.”
  • “Listen, I don’t envy the person who wins the Democratic nomination for the presidency because they, he or she will face the full force of the Republican attack machine come the election. Bill Kristol, Bob Novack, George Stephanapoulos.”
  • [Turning to Bush] “You’re retiring as a young man. What does a president do? You could look for a job with more vacation time.”
  • “During your administration there was not one single sex scandal in the White House except the time when Barney humped the Pope’s leg.” [That one had to be repeated to Bush, who didn’t get it the first time. The second time he laughed.]
  • “Tonight we mark the end of an era. George W. Bush leaves in eight months. The vice president is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon.”

Campaign Report from North Carolina

Buck Banks

A friend in Wilmington sent this report on what’s happening in the Tarheel state as we slouch toward the primary:

O.K. newspapers in Raleigh and Wilmington have picked up on theme of Obama not being around much. Hillary and Bill energized and everywhere. Hillary’s TV ads on economy are sharper than his which are somewhat unfocused. But as the Raleigh paper said in an editorial, the truth is he’s concentrating on Indiana because it’s a closer race (mind you they are condemning him for this, saying North Carolina is a big state and shouldn’t be ignored, blah, blah).

So Obama sneaks into the state Monday night for a Chapel Hill speech before heading back to Indiana on Tuesday. Bill Clinton’s in town here again for a big military thing on the battleship in town. Essentially, Bill and Hillary are running around the mid-sized blue-collar cities; Barack shows up at various universities. Both shore up their base; she is undoubtedly cutting into his lead.

But Barack is probably doing the right thing by showing up at gas stations in Indiana. Thirty-eight percent of the registered democratic voters in Carolina are black; he ain’t going to lose that vote and he won’t lose this state even if he is the title of a Ralph Ellison book, so he may as well concentrate on Indiana. If he wins both primaries our pant-suited friend should have plenty of time on her hands to go back to her true love: duck hunting in Scranton.

Fortunately, the N.C. Republican party is making a mistake with the Wright adds. It appeals to Republicans, but gives Obama the edge in the victim outrage department that is essential to the Democrats very being.

Plus, his biggest advantage can be summed up in two words: Open Primary

Thanks to M.D. for the update.

UPDATE: Note that our friend from N.C. appears to be a little confused over the nature of the North Carolina primary, as was one of our commenters. North Carolina’s primary is closed, which means that only voters who have declared a party affiliation can vote. Independents (or fence-sitters, as Trish calls us) cannot vote in North Carolina’s primary. Oh, and they might have done away with the poll tax, but I’m not sure about that. — Buck

Mainstream Media: Yes, Our Heads are In Fact Straight Up Our Asses

Trish

The biggest stories on ABC…

…and CNN

I guess it was a slow news day, and that’s why the MSM is focused on Barack Obama and his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. There just wasn’t any good competition. Let’s see…

Actual news stories today, from Reuters:

Baghdad Green Zone blasted under cover of storm

Militants bombarded Baghdad’s Green Zone with rockets on Sunday, taking advantage of the cover of a blinding dust storm to launch one of the heaviest strikes in weeks on the fortified compound…

Reuters correspondents heard the missiles whistling overhead and exploding inside the heavily fortified government and diplomatic compound on the west side of the Tigris River in Baghdad…

Karzai escapes assassination bid

Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped unhurt on Sunday from an assassination attempt by Taliban fighters who fired guns and rockets at an official celebration near the presidential palace in Kabul.

Fiancee says police acquittal like another death

The fiancee of an unarmed man who was killed in a hail of 50 police bullets said on Saturday the acquittal of three officers charged in his death was like “they killed Sean all over again.”

“That’s what it felt like to us,” said Nicole Paultre Bell in her first public comments about Friday’s verdict…

California wildfire forces 1,000 to evacuate

A wildfire that began along a popular hiking trail forced 1,000 people to evacuate their homes in the hills northeast of Los Angeles on Sunday, officials said.

Middle class taps nest eggs to keep homes

Trapped by rising mortgage payments and falling house values, a growing number of squeezed middle-class homeowners are tapping into their treasured retirement nest eggs to ward off foreclosure…

Apart from being a fresh sign that the housing crisis has spread up the U.S. income ladder, tapping tax-deferred savings accounts like 401(k) plans could have profound effects on taxpayer welfare, social security and employment patterns, economists and financial advisers said.

Yeah, looking at the lightweight competition, I can understand why CNN and ABC had to just churn up some crap with “Obama” in either the headline or the lede. I mean, what else was there to really engage the public? Since the public, is, you know, anything but bitter at being played and manipulated and underestimated by the Bush administration for eight years.

Lupica on Clinton: She Can’t Win and She Won’t Quit

Trish
The woman with the plan

New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica’s sportswriter background is showing but he makes more sense than most of the strictly political pundits.

Through it all, Clinton continues to run on the idea that she is ready “day one” to be President, when she wasn’t ready on day one for a rookie like Obama.

…She is supposed to be the one with the great sweeping plan for America, and she didn’t have one for Obama. Now she is where she is and so is her campaign.

So the Democrats don’t run against John McCain or against the ruling party that has given us this President, the biggest lightweight and most unpopular of anybody’s lifetime. The Democrats don’t run against record disapproval ratings for a Republican President and record foreclosures and record oil and gas prices…They continue to run against each other. The campaign is about the campaign.

The Democrats continue to run against each other. The campaign is about the campaign.

…This system was tailor-made for her by Terry McAuliffe when he was running the Democratic National Committee, before he became Clinton’s boy cheerleader. She had the name, the money, she was favored everywhere; the whole thing was supposed to be like a first-round knockout.

But the candidate who was supposed to have all the answers didn’t have an answer for Obama.

Now she talks about “who would be the best candidate against McCain,” as if only the superdelegates should get to decide, as if she wants this to be selection by committee. As if this is the NCAA basketball tournament.

So they slouch toward Indiana and North Carolina. She can’t win, and won’t quit. Maybe in two weeks. Clearly she and her finger-wagging husband, who makes Richard Nixon look like a model of grace as an ex-President, still can’t believe it ever came to this.

You are allowed to be as cynical as you want about Obama, and ask the same question Clinton asks about why he can’t put her away, even though a much better question is why she didn’t put him away at the start of this.

Will the Democratic Candidate Go Broke Before the General Election?

Trish

The Democratic primary, or as many refer to it, our long national nightmare, will be remembered for a lot of reasons. One of the biggest — literally — is the amount of money spent.

John McCain continues to be the main beneficiary of this wasting of Democratic bucks

Obama and Clinton have spent a combined $110 million on TV ads to this point; we’ve had a race that’s literally gone on since last summer for ad spending,” said Evan Tracey of TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group…

“We’re beyond what has been record spending in previous presidential nomination campaigns. John Kerry spent close to $20 million to get the nomination four years ago. Barack Obama’s already approaching $70 million.”

$50 million more than four years ago? In the primary? But wait, it’s not over yet.

Meanwhile, John McCain continues to be the main beneficiary of this wasting of Democratic bucks. The big question is, will Clinton or Obama be able to keep going back to their respective wells of financing? At some point — and $4 per gallon gas might be that point — people just run out of extra money.

Tell Sen. Liddy Dole to Stop Despicable N.C. GOP Ad Featuring Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Jon Ponder

The North Carolina Republican Party appears to have jumped its track. They have ignored demands from John McCain and the Republican National Committee that they stop running the now-famous Swiftboat-style ad linking Barack Obama and two Democratic candidates for governor, Bev Perdue and Richard Moore, to controversial statements of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former pastor.

At some point soon, Sen. Dole’s silence about the ad will morph into an endorsement.

Here is a transcript of the ad copy:

“Narrator: For twenty years, Barack Obama sat in his pew listening to his pastor.

Jeremiah Wright: And then wants us to sing God Bless America. No, no, no. Not God Bless America, God (censored) America.

Narrator: Now Bev Perdue and Richard Moore endorse Barack Obama. They should know better. He’s just too extreme for North Carolina

Chairman Linda Daves: The North Carolina Republican Party sponsored this ad opposing Bev Perdue and Richard Moore for North Carolina Governor.”

Besides falsely insinuating that Obama endorsed Wright’s statements and making a specious connection between the Wright controversy and Perdue and Moore, close observers of Tar Heel politics suggest the imagery in the ad may also present a subtle racist message — an advertising tactic routinely employed by former Sen. Jesse Helms.

The most senior Republican in the state is Sen. Liddy Dole, who occupies the seat once held by Helms, and who has been silent on the ad. At some point soon, her silence will morph into an endorsement.

Go HERE to sign the petition demanding the Sen. Dole tell the NC GOP to stop running the ad.

Update: Two of the biggest stations in the state — WSOC in Charlotte and WRAL in Raleigh — have refused to run the ad, according to the Charlotte Observer:

“I just don’t think it’s appropriate to be on our air,” said Joe Pomilla, general manager for WSOC-TV. “I think it’s offensive, and I’m not real comfortable with the implications around race.”

…Pomilla said the issue isn’t about limiting debate.

“There are other values that come into play. Ethics come into play,” he said, “and you’ve got to draw the line somewhere.”

Jim Hefner, WRAL’s vice president and general manager, called the ad “inflammatory” and said his station has turned down ads from conservative and liberal groups, including MoveOn.org.

“We’re not just an ATM machine,” Hefner said. “We’re going to make decisions, and it’s not going to be a popular decision with all folks.”

McCain Spiritual Adviser Recants Earlier Statement That God Damned New Orleans with Katrina

Jon Ponder

John McCain’s spiritual adviser, John Hagee, has apparently gotten the word from on high and has now recanted his assertions that Katrina was God’s curse on New Orleans because it hosted an annual gay event:
“Ultimately neither I nor any other person can know the mind of God concerning Hurricane Katrina. I should not have suggested otherwise.”
— Hagee

“As a believing Christian, I see the hand of God in everything that happens here on earth, both the blessings and the curses. But ultimately neither I nor any other person can know the mind of God concerning Hurricane Katrina. I should not have suggested otherwise. No matter what the cause of the storm, my heart goes out to all who suffered in this terrible tragedy. There but for the grace of God go any one of us.”

Hagee first declared that God damned New Orleans in September 2006:

“I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they are — were recipients of the judgment of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other Gay Pride parades.” He later added, “I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.”

Just last week Hagee reaffirmed this assertion:

HAGEE: The topic of that day was cursing and blessing. Moses taught in the book of Deuteronomy that everything in life is either a blessing or a curse. There are days that things happen that at the time look like a curse. In the passing of time, they may become what appears to be a blessing. An illustration is Joseph, when he was sold into slavery it looked like a curse, it looked like the worse day of his life. When his brothers came into Egypt looking for food, what looked like a bad day 13 years before turned out to be a blessed day. What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God, in time if New Orleans recovers and becomes the pristine city it can become it may in time be called a blessing. But at this time it’s called a curse.

The timing of Hagee’s statement on April 22 was embarrassing for McCain because it pulled focus from his campaign stop in New Orleans two days later.

Hagee is best known for espousing the belief that the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon referred to in the Book of Revelation.