Judge G. Thomas Porteous is the first federal judge since Walter Nixon, pictured here, to be impeached. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Federal Judge G. Thomas Porteous has been removed from office by the United States Senate. Porteous was convicted on four impeachment counts by the Senate related to corruption charges. He cannot serve in public office ever again.

Senate convicts Federal Judge Porteous

Federal Judge G. Thomas Porteous has been found guilty on four different impeachment charges by the U.S. Senate and was therefore removed from office, according to CNN. Porteous was found to have engaged in conduct unacceptable for a federal judge, stemming from allegations of corruption. Judge Porteous, appointed to the bench in Louisiana under President Clinton, allegedly accepted gifts and cash from people that have been in his court in order to pay gambling debts, according to the Los Angeles Times. He cannot hold public office in the United States again.

How impeachment works

In impeaching federal officials, the allegations are weighed by the House of Representatives, who can vote to begin an impeachment trial or not. If the House votes to impeach, the Senate carries out the investigation and impeachment trial proceedings. Should a person be found guilty of an impeachable offense in the Senate trial, including misconduct, that person can be found guilty of impeachment articles and removed from office. The Senate has not had an impeachment trial since 1999, when then-President Bill Clinton was looking at impeachment for lying about sexual misconduct with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton was famously and very closely acquitted.

Eighth federal judge to be impeached

Porteous is only the eighth judge on the federal judge to be impeached. The last judge to be impeached and removed from office was Walter Nixon of Mississippi, who was found to have committed perjury and was removed from office in 1989. Last year, Judge Samuel Kent of Texas resigned after being impeached by the House of Representatives but before the Senate could try him for impeachment.

Sources

CNN

Los Angeles Times

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Photo Credit: Public Domain/Department of Defense)

Those who had hoped Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would become the first female U.S. president may have reason for disappointment, reports CBS News. As she has done in recent months, Clinton reiterated that she will not run for president in 2012, citing the strain of holding the position. But what is perhaps shocking is that she told the press that her current position as secretary of state will be “my last public position.”

Hillary Clinton was rumored as next secretary of defense

While Hillary Clinton has denied that she is interested in running for either president or vice president next election – reports indicate that she was notably out of the country during the midterm elections when Democrats lost the House – some experts believed that with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ retirement coming up next year, Clinton was a fine candidate.Yet even that rumor appears to have been squashed by her recent pronouncement that secretary of state is “my last public position.”

There has been no indication that the recent WikiLeaks embarrassment to the Obama administration (and Secretary Clinton’s office in particular) factored into her decision.

What’s next for Hillary Clinton

While government work sounds like it will be in Hillary Clinton’s rear-view mirror after her term as secretary of state ends, Clinton did say that she “would like to continue working to improve lives for others” on a global scale, as her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, has done with his Clinton Foundation. Clinton explained that advocacy work for women and children worldwide appeals to her. Reuters reports that Clinton says she had a “fascinating and rewarding” career before politics as a lawyer for the Children’s Defense Fund, which assists abused and neglected kids. Thus, it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see her return to these fields.

“I feel very lucky because of my parents, my education and the opportunities I’ve had,” Clinton said.

Sources

CBS News

Hillary Clinton on WikiLeaks embarrassment

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left, abstained from World Cup bidding in Zurich after allegations of corruption. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Currently, various nations are entering bids to win the hosting rights to the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, the bidding process is getting blasted for being rife with corruption. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has boycotted the voting procedures in Zurich.

Allegations of corruption in World Cup bidding

The bidding process is currently ongoing in Zurich, Switzerland, for the right to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup, or informally the Soccer World Cup. British media recently made accusations that Russia bribed an official to vote in Russia’s favor, which prompted Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to skip the proceedings, according to CNN. He strongly condemned the allegations as dragging the bidding process through the mud and accused the British of engaging in unfair competition with the accusations. Other political heavyweights, such as Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Bill Clinton, are in Zurich lobbying for their respective nations.

Nations in the Running

The front-runners for the 2018 World Cup, according to The Telegraph, are Russia and England, along with joint bids from Spain and Portugal and Belgium and Holland. For the 2022 World Cup, the leading bids are from Qatar, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia. The United States and England lead their respective groups, as both have the infrastructure and the cash to put on a World Cup easily. Both the U.S. and U.K. have hosted world cups before.

Rights for the World Cup are prestigious

World cups, such as the football, a.k.a. soccer world cup, cricket world cup or rugby world cup, bring prestige to the host nation, along with a lot of revenue. Thousands of tourists arrive to cheer on their countrymen and watch the pinnacle of world sport. It isn’t free, either; new stadiums often need to be built and the host country often has to pay the governing body a lot of money should the bid be successful.

Sources

CNN

The Telegraph

Charles Ponzi, the man whose scheme launched a thousand frauds (Photo: Wikipedia)

Manhattan, New York investment adviser Ken Starr – not to be confused with the attorney made famous by the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal – is the latest shifty-eyed money man to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He has been arrested by federal authorities for allegedly brewing a $30 million Ponzi scheme, reports NBC New York. The full slate of charges include wire fraud, investment adviser fraud, money laundering, IRS fraud and lying to a federal officer. Some of Ken Starr’s clients include famous portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz, Uma Thurman, Martin Scorsese and Wesley Snipes.

Ken Starr and Andy Stein were arrested

Ken Starr, an accountant and head of New York-based Starr and Co., was arrested by federal officers for the Ponzi scheme along with Andy Stein, former Manhattan borough president and the president of the New York City Council. Stein’s charges will likely include lying to law enforcement officers who were conducting the probe. Starr’s company has refused comment, while Stein’s office has yet to respond to press inquiries. Surely they’ll want the best attorneys paydayloans can buy.

Some of Ken Starr’s clients had their own troubles with the law

Wesley Snipes, star of the “Blade” film series, was a client of Ken Starr. Snipes had been convicted in 2006 for not filing tax returns in his home state of Florida. By 2008, Snipes was cleared of tax fraud and conspiracy. During the trial, Ken Starr was called upon to testify, and he told the court that he’d personally advised Snipes not to run afoul of the IRS.

Starr may have led Leibovitz and Sylvester Stallone into bad deals

In 2007, Ken Starr began an adviser-client relationship with photographer Annie Leibovitz. Allegedly, Leibovitz was advised to invest in Art Capital Group, a private bank that provides exclusive services to the art world. Leibovitz took a $24 million dollar loan in order to invest, but was unable to keep up with payments as the investment allegedly didn’t produce the returns Starr had promised. Five years earlier, Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone slapped Ken Starr with a lawsuit because the advice about investing in Planet Hollywood restaurant chain didn’t bear the returns Stallone was expecting.

Sources:

NBC New York

The complaint against Ken Starr

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Oklahoma City bombing victims are symbolized by empty chairs at a memorial on the former site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Flickr photo.

The Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City that killed 168 people 15 years ago today was the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history. As America looks back on the Oklahoma City bombing, disturbing parallels can be seen in today’s political climate and national mood. Violent anti-government rhetoric from right-wing extremists and Republican politicians, along with the shootings at Fort Hood last fall, and the suicide crash of a small plane into an IRS building in February are signals that domestic terrorism is on the rise.

Oklahoma City bombing victims remembered

The 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing was chosen by President Barack Obama as a National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism. Last Friday he issued a proclamation with these opening remarks:

“There is no greater evil than willful violence against innocents. On this National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism, we pause to remember victims of terrorism at home and abroad, we honor the heroes who have supported them, and we redouble our efforts to build the kind of world that is worthy of their legacy.”

Oklahoma City bombing & domestic terrorism

Remembering the Oklahoma City bombing victims of 15 years ago is putting a spotlight on the atmosphere of intolerance that is brewing today. Fringe conservatives like Minnesota congresswoman Michelle Bachman and right-wing Sarah Palin play on the ignorance of anti-government extremists to draw attention to themselves. Entertainers like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh manipulate the paranoia of a declining demographic of aging undereducated white males for their own personal gain. Sooner or later, a delusional psychopath who thinks Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is some kind of hero will follow in his footsteps.

Oklahoma City bombing underlines threat

The Oklahoma City Bombing occurred when Bill Clinton was President. Clinton, in an editorial in Monday’s New York Times, said:

” … we must all assume responsibility for our words and actions before they enter a vast echo chamber and reach those both serious and delirious, connected and unhinged. … In the current climate, with so many threats against the president, members of Congress and other public servants, we owe it to the victims of Oklahoma City, and those who survived and responded so bravely, not to cross [the line] again.”

Promoting domestic terrorism

Most reasonable people would take this sort of message to heart. Then there’s Bachman, who seems to have no concept of what is crass, especially on a day when America remembers a domestic terrorist act that killed 168 people and left 200 children with parents who were killed or disabled.

In Clinton’s Monday New York Times editorial he mentioned remarks Bachman made Thursday at a Tea Party rally in Washington when she called the Obama administration and Democratic Congress “the gangster government.”

“They are not gangsters,” Mr. Clinton said. “They were elected. They are not doing anything they were not elected to do.”

Bachman responded to Clinton’s editorial by saying:

“Because I’m using a statement like ‘gangster,’ I’m responsible for creating the climate of hate that could lead to another Timothy McVeigh and another Oklahoma City bombing. I’m in my second term as a Congresswoman, and the former president of the United States decides I’m important enough to take me out!”

Tea Partiers advocate domestic terrorism

A CBS News poll found that nearly 40 percent of Americans now believe domestic terrorism is a bigger threat than international terrorism, a marked increase from the foreign-focused fears triggered by 9/11. Meanwhile, The Nation’s Gregory Mitchell noted, “On McVeigh day, it’s worth remembering that the NYT/CBS poll found 1 in 4 tea partiers saying violence against gov’t can be justified.” According to the poll, 24 percent of self-identified Tea Party members answered yes when asked, “Do you think it is ever justified for citizens to take violent action against the government?”

Fifteen years ago one lunatic with a homemade bomb killed 168 people and left more than 600 survivors scarred for life. Perhaps the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing will make entertainers and politicians think twice about posing as faux revolutionaries … don’t hold your breath.

Thank you, Mr. Clinton. (Photo: thefrisky.com)

Not that Hillary couldn’t have gotten the job done. She’s more than capable. But Bill had already established a relationship with the North Korean government; they’ve even requested to meet with him specifically a few times over the past 15 years.

What job am I talking about? After “exhaustive conversation” with Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Bill Clinton has managed to secure amnesty for American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Ling and Lee had been detained in North Korea since March. The women allegedly crossed the China-North Korea border inadvertently, but in crossing without authorization, they violated North Korean law. Their sentence was 12 years of “reform through labor.”

For amnesty, a special pardon

Heejin Koo reports for Bloomberg that not only did Mr. Clinton’s negotiations with Kim Jong Il secure the freedom of the American journalists, but it may have made headway toward deescalation of North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons program. Despite the fact that negotiating terms of amnesty constitutes an acknowledgment that Ling and Lee violated North Korean law, the results will no doubt be more than satisfactory for their friends, family and anyone else concerned with freedom from oppression.

Yu Ho Yeol of Korea University in Seoul said that Bill Clinton’s successful exchange with Kim Jong Il “will certainly serve as a turning point in the U.S.-North Korean dialogue.” I’d like to suggest that they import cash advances and payday loans with no faxing, but one thing at a time. If you want them, however, apply right here:

What made the difference?

It is true that Bill Clinton is an excellent speaker and negotiator. His previous exchanges with North Korea may have made the difference, but there is a rumor circulated by North Korean Central News Agency that Clinton had been empowered to deliver a “special message” from President Obama. However, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied this.

This is not the first successful visit a former U.S. head of state has made to North Korea, however. In 1994, former President Jimmy Carter met with Kim Jong Il and was able to negotiate a freeze of the country’s nuclear activity at the time. This was followed up by visits from President Clinton in 2000 and then Secretary of State Madeline Albright, both of which were for the same purpose as Carter’s visit. However, it was revealed in 2002 that North Korea had resumed their nuclear program in secret, and testing commenced by 2006. The testing culminated in at least a dozen missiles being tested this year, despite international pressure against such action. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton obtained U.N. sanctions against North Korea as a result.

Calling the “New York channel”

Bill and Il (Photo: Bloomberg.com)

Kim Jong Il and North Korea had stated openly that they would not return to the table for nuclear talks with the U.S., China, Russia, South Korea and Japan. But just last week, they expressed interest in negotiations involving Bill Clinton or “a high-ranking Obama administration official,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap News.

Apparently much like the Bat Phone, Kim Jong Il’s administration had a kind of hotline that may have been established through Bill Clinton.  They used it to contact Congressman Bill Richardson on multiple occasions. Richardson had previously been President Clinton’s contact at the United Nations, and he was able to negotiate the release of an American pilot who’d been shot down, as well as the release of a U.S. citizen who’d been accused of crossing into North Korea in 1996. Much like Laura Ling and Euna Lee, this citizen had been accused of spying.

Does Bill Clinton have the magic touch when it comes to amnesty? Depending upon who you ask, he definitely has something that’s magical…

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