Rod Blagojevich Guilty of Corruption
The governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, was convicted on charges of corruption, extortion, soliciting bribes and wire fraud, among others charges.
However, the charge that is the most scandalous was the sale of President Barack Obama's vacated Senate in 2008.
The sentence was handed down on Monday, where the jury found him guilty on 17 counts.
The prosecuters brought in witnesses and tapes as evidence that Blagojevich was holding back legislation until he recieved campaign contributions.
At the trial there were appearances by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. , and former congressman Bill Lipinski who helped a lot in the performance of the case.
Blagojevich's lawyers, are doing everything possible to reduce his sentenced years (which will be many). No doubt the jury was not fooled by the innocence proclaimed by Blagojevich, who held it for 2 1 / 2 years .
Breitbart Steals Weiner Conference
Andrew Breitbart interrupted Anthony Weiner's conference, saying he appeared there "accidentally".
Weiner was holding a press conference at the Sheraton hotel in New York, where he publicly apologized for having phone conversations and inappropriate emails with several women. Visibly distressed, he continued when all of a sudden, Andrew Breitbart stormed the podium.
Breitbart, who is responsible for publishing the contents of phone calls and internet chats, said the he was heading towards an interview, just about 3 blocks away.
Breitbart said: "I'm here to see myself be vindicated ". His casual appearance lasted 12 minutes as he tried to gain attention from the media.
Republican Congressman Chris Lee Resigns
Republican congressman Chris Lee described himself as a "very fit fun classy guy" in his Craiglist ad that exposed his extra-marital fun and also forced him to resign after his shirtless pic was exposed.
Chris Lee, 46, resigned a few hours after Gawker had posted a topless picture of him which he had sent to a female admirer that he received from his Craiglist ad.
After receiving the picture the woman researched and discovered his true identity and sent the information to Gawker.
In his ad on the women seeking men section of Craiglist, Lee also said he was divorced when he actually married and has a son.
Lee responded saying:
"I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness."
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley Apologizes to Non-Christians
Recently elected Governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley apologized for his comment that insulted many non-Christians claiming that he believed his remarks at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where as a private citizen and not as a governor.
So what did Bentley say to upset non-Christians? At the Baptist church where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was once a pastor, Bentley said:
"There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit. But if you have been adopted in God's family like I have, and like you have if you're a Christian and if you're saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister. Now I will have to say that, if we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother."
Today Robert Bentley went before a crowd of Jewish leader and reporters to apologize saying, "I did not mean to offend anyone with my comments there."
Tom DeLay Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison
Former US House majority leader and Texas congressman Tom DeLay was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
DeLay is being sentenced for having conspired to direct $190,000 in corporate contributions in 2002 towards the Republic National commitee, which in turn sent the money to candidates in the Texas House.
DeLay still claims that he did nothing wrong, he said to the judge, "I can't be remorseful for something I don't think I did."
This past November DeLay was also found guilty of money laundering and was given 10 years probation instead of 5 years of prison.
But Tom DeLay won't be going to prison any time soon as his appeal could take month or even years.
Ashley Turton Dies in Car Fire
Director of Congressional affairs for Progress Energy, Ashely Turton, was found dead in a burning car on Monday morning in Washington, D.C.
According to the Washington Post:
"a preliminary investigation indicated that the car crashed into the garage of a home in the 800 block of A Street SE."
It seems that Ashely Turton crashed and was not able to exit her car. Firefighters reached the seen few minutes after the crash and found Turton's body inside the vehicle.
D.C. Fire spokesman Pete Piringer said:
"It’s quite possible that the victim was maneuvering the car and came in contact with some kind of flammable chemical materials."
Turton is survived by her husband Dan Turton, who is White House liaison to the House of Representatives.
Veteran U.S Diplomat Richard Holbrook Dies From Torn Aorta
Richard Holbrook sadly passed away yesterday Monday at the age of 69.
Holbrook was one of the top U.S diplomats and nicknamed "The Bulldozer" and "Raging Bull" because of his clever negotiating techniques.
Richard Holbrook died in Washington, D.C at the George Washington University Hospital.
Holbrook is responsible for writing part of the Pentagon Papers, was involved in the creation of the 1995 Bosnia peace plan and also was selected by President Barack Obama as a special envoy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was also a U.S ambassador for the United Nations during the Presidency of Bill Clinton. Of course these are a just a few of the things that Holbrook accomplished.
Richard had surgery this past Saturday to repair a torn aorta. He was meeting with Hillary Rodhan Clinton on Friday when all of a sudden he collapsed, was taken to the hospital and on Saturday went into surgery. Unfortunately he passed away on Monday. He is survived by his wife, Kati Marton.
Our condolences go out to his family and friends, he will be missed.
Obama Trip to India Cost – Read and Comment
A recent matter of discussion is Obama´s trip to India which is said to cost $200 million... per day!
Obama tells the public that he is worried about poverty in the US but spending $200 million per day for his trip to India seems like a good move, right?
The $200 million will be spent on Obama´s security and accomodations while in India.
So what is Obama´s trip to India all about? Here is how Reuters explains it:
A weakened President Barack Obama visits India this week to counter perceptions he has relegated the Asian power behind rivals China and Pakistan, but he may struggle to seal deals to help usher in billions of dollars of business.
Economic ties are booming but Obama's visit from Saturday to Monday may fail to live up to President Bill Clinton's 2000 trip that helped break the diplomatic ice, or President George W. Bush's visit in 2006 when a civil nuclear deal was hailed as a landmark in ties.
What do you think about the cost of Obama´s trip to India.
UPDATE:
Juan Williams Fired From NPR For Anti-Muslim Remarks
Senior news analyst for NPR (National Public Radio) Juan Williams was fired from his job yesterday after making anti-Muslim remarks on "The O'Reilly Factor".
What did he say? How did it happen? Many people believe that Juan Williams remarks where just free speech and now he is being punished for it.
On the show Bill O'Reilly asked Williams if he believed that the US was dealing with a "Muslim dilemma".
Williams responded saying:
"The cold truth is that in the world today, jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet. I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country," he said. "But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."
On Wednesday afternoon NPR fired Williams and said that his remarks:
"were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR."
Krystal Ball Leaked Photos
Krystal Ball is running for Congress in Virginia but recently several raunchy photos of her leaked online.
28 year old Democrat Krystal Ball is embarrassed but mostly angry. She believes the photos are "sexist" and "outrageous".
The photos feature Ball and her ex-husband. Ball is wearing a Santa hat and simulating sex acts with her ex-husband in the photos. These pictures where taken nearly 6 years ago.
According to Ball the photos where leaked by her Republican rival, Rob Wittman.