Posted on 11/07/2009 9:33:26 PM PST by Congressman Billybob
Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has regularly accused the Republicans in the House of displaying “a culture of corruption.” Yet the critical vote to get the House version of the health bill out of the House, demonstrates that Speaker Pelosi not only likes corruption, she counts on it. Remember her middle name because it figures in the proof.
On 7 November at 11:15 pm House bill 3962 passed by a vote of 220-215. Votes in favor of that bill included the following: Norm Dicks (D-Wash), Jane Harman (D-Cal), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Alan Mollohan (D-WVa). Jim Moran (D-Va), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Laura Richardson (D-Cal) and Peter Visclosky (D-Ind). If just three had voted against the bill, or had not been in the House to vote for it, the bill would almost certainly have failed.
Why that curious comment about not being in the House? A staffer for the House Ethics Committee put an internal document on a home computer with file sharing capacities. As a result, the complete list of Members of Congress under ethics investigations escaped into the press. These yes votes on the health bill were provided by Members who might have been expelled, had their possible ethics violations had been promptly and adequately examined, decided and acted upon.
Now, who has the power with a wave of her hand, to speed up or slow down the ethics investigation of any Member of the House? Why, that would be the ultimate power, Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. She’s been scrambling all this week to engineer the last few votes for passage.
Who would you expect to be the most reliable vote for the House bill, regardless of its contents, and regardless of whether the Member has read the bill? Logically, that reliable vote would come from a Representative who’s grateful to still be in the House, because the Speaker has so far saved him/her from an ethics violation.
Is the drive to success, regardless of ethics, logic, or even criminal violations, a new style for Nancy Pelosi? I grew up in Baltimore, and for a brief time lived next door to Nancy D’Alesandro. She was the daughter of Tommy D’Alesandro, Jr., then the corrupt Mayor of Baltimore.
To be sure, Tommy, Jr., never got charged with any crimes. But it was no secret that his political machine was a cash and carry operation whose sole criterion was victory at the polls and then victory on every vote on every issue. When Tommy, III, came along and became Mayor, he was charged with political corruption, along with a close ally, City Councilman Mimi DiPietro. Just before their trial was to begin, the essential witness against them disappeared.
The elected State’s Attorney then went into court and dismissed the charges for “lack of evidence.” The missing witness then promptly surfaced in a Las Vegas casino, one which may have had mob connections. Actually, the charges against the Councilman weren’t finally dismissed until 1971, when I brought it up in a news story. No one ever said that the D’Alesandro Machine left any of its supporters “twisting in the wind.” Loyalty was absolute, but like the drive for victory it was free of such minor concerns as ethics or legality.
Having used such tactics once, one should expect that Speaker Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi will continue use such tactics on close votes in the House, as long has she has enough grateful Democrats to work on. Oh, and expect the ethics charges for a corporate-paid trip to the Carribean by five Members of the Congressional Black Caucus to be dismissed shortly.
It seems that the person assigned to investigate that particular charge is Ethics Committee Member, G.K. Butterfield, (D-NC) who has two advantages. First, he is a fellow member of the Congressional Black Caucus. And, it happens that he went on the same corporate junket the previous year. Could Speaker Pelosi possibly have suggested to the Committee Chairmen that he pick Rep. Butterfield for this investigation?
The bottom line is clear: Speaker Nancy D’Alesandro Pelosi counts on corruption to get the votes she wants. She will likely continue to do that as long as she has the opportunity.
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About the Author: John Armor grew up in Baltimore, and spent s33 years practicing in the US Supreme Court. His eighth book, on Thomas Paine, will be published this year. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
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John / Billybob
Very telling that crook Rangel was up there with her tonight.
And boy, is Waxman an absolute midget, or what?
This whole weeks has sucked Nationwide.
So sad. Lord Have Mercy on us.
KV had a good idea turn the news off!
Gaither Bros now soothing our souls.
An audiance of Christ Loving Americans of all colors/ages.
I weep for my country tonight....
Wait until America discovers what they passed.
The wallets of the nation are empty enough.
Huge problems are about to accost the federal government as the people realize what these crooks have just done.
It will no longer be a passive population.
This law will not be enforceable if it passes. The people didn’t want it.
How do you explain the fact that Republicans never reverse socialist/commie/big government legislation?
Washington is just one filthy back slapping pit.
Seriously! Nostrildamus looked like a halloween ghoul with some dwarf gene
ping
Damn them all. Especially that woman running the show from her lavish Boeing 757.
Not really surprising.
bump
What’s not surprising? I still don’t have an answer to the question.
I already cough up $8,000 pre-tax annually on top of a similar amount contributed by my employer. One talk show host mentioned that the basic packaged being forced by the government will be $15,000 annually for a family of 4. No mention of whether that is pre-tax or after tax money. If you fail to have the required coverage, you are subject to CRIMINAL prosecution including enormous fines and time in prison. What a lovely bill.
No it isn’t. I truly dislike that btch.
Don’t play leapfrog with a unicorn
No sh!t. If you do you get what is coming to you.
How tall did Nostrilitis look? 5 feet?
Charge Nsncy Pelosi with treason.
The question never seems to come up....anywhere. It's like the two hundred pound unicorn in the 100 year long room.
I'm sure there must be some simple explanation...
I think the question is whether any of the ethics-violation-leaked Members of Congress would otherwise have not been present or would have voted no.
I have never noticed Harman or Richardson (my representative, and one from the next district over) being on any list of “maybes” or “nos” as to the healthcare bill, despite the fact that Harman is a blue dog. I think they both would have shown up and voted for it whether or not the ethics investigation had leaked.
If Pelosi leaked anything on Harman it was simply because she doesn’t like Harman. They have a conflict that goes back a few years. Harman should have had a defense-related committee leadership appointment that she did not receive because Pelosi wanted to spite her. In Harman’s place, a guy was appointed who knew absolutely zip about national defense. (This was a big deal in our local news because the aerospace/defense industry is important in our district.)
Did you read the article?
The question? Questions is more like it. I think Pelosi is a big crook & most of the people in DC are too. If I had my way we would test every single one of them for dementia & alcohol/drug abuse. Since they don’t hear what we the people say something has to be wrong with them. I’ve faxed & emailed about this bill over & over but those people refuse to hear what we the people want. They need to be tossed out . Tarred & feathered IMO.
No Sh!t.
Sorry to tell you but moving out of State will not help you. After they pass all this national takeover stuff the entire country will be under their thumb.
Do you follow my posts? I don’t recall saying I was moving on this thread....Kinda creepy on a night that is creepy enough.
Yep...a farm, maybe we can go in together. I'd like one with a big wall around it. Don't think it will keep the creeping Fed crooks out but it would be nice for a while.
These crooks are after every man woman and child of every race, sexual orientation, religious belief, right or left...you name it.
They don't give a d@mn about our rights or our freedom or even social justice. They tell both sides what they want to hear and then just do as they d@mn well please.
It's all about increasing their power.
Why are you asking me for an answer to your question?
No problem. I am going to be awfully mad if I can’t get my farm now. I think it might be a good idea for people to band together . However They would find some way to kill us for some reason or another. I never wanted much. Just to live quietly & bring my daughter up with values. I home school & just wanted a farm where I could grow some food & have my horses. Maybe rescue a few more. Now who knows if that is going to happen.
I don't know why I'm asking. You seem like a no messing around kind of person. I keep thinking someone will explain it so I'll stop thinking about how scr@wed we all are. Maybe some nice fluffy statements about hope and change.
56,000 mommy patriots and growing.
Thank you. I try to be. I doubt that I could give you an answer that would satisfy you. Stupid voters. Insane amounts of money to buy their loyalty. A nationwide shift from loyalty to principles to me me me mentality. 100+ years of corruption of the courts, Congress and the Executive.
Those are a few of the reasons I can name.
Thanks! I put it on my favorites. So can you farm?
You have a really good profile page. Nice!
It is a good page. Just read it myself. Wanna join the farm? lol
I’m in Richardson’s. I think there might be three or four conservatives in this gerrymandered district. No way Richardson would have voted any differently. The Republican who attempted to run against her went nowhere and had served time.
I do appreciate that the mob way, Pelosi’s way, is to keep your underlings grateful. But I doubt if she had had to replace all of the ethically challenged mentioned members that it would have affected the vote.
What would have affected the vote GREATLY would have been an unbiased mass media, telling every American what s/he was in for.
I thank you for the offer but at this time Mom and I are the only vegetables I am tending. ;^)
My family was a bunch of northeastern transplants from the 1800's. We don't do farm...but I can learn real quick. I'm getting myself a treadle sewing machine. Learning to can veggies. Looking to get off the elctric grid...all still looking like I came out of a Martha Stewart magazine. LOL.
Even thought about some chickens for eggs and a goat. I'll have to work my way up to that one. I've got tons of support though. Lots of really friendly farmers who share ideas, crops and seeds out here. Lots of land too.
“I’m sure there must be some simple explanation... “
Easy ... a corrupt body of only 435 Representitives introducing, “debating”, and passing legislation for 300,000,000 people. Do you have any idea how stupid that is?
Buying off 435 people is a piece of piss these days. You want the bronze buyoff, buy a Rep. The silver plan involves a committee member or US Senator. The gold plan gets you the President, maybe one or two Senators and a slew of Reps. The thing is that if you’d make the House the body it was supposed to be...the massive Democratic madhouse where legislation is introduced and debated ... you’d get very few laws and nonsense like this would never happen. Seriously, those looking to corrupt aren’t going to raise the cash nor convince a significant group of Representatives to vote one way on divisive legislation like this. Hell, we just witnessed a campaign in NY where millions were dumped into a friggin’ House race.....a HOUSE race....why in the name of hell should a Rep. from NY have so much attention from the nation assuming you understand the intention of the US House. While I liked Doug Hoffman from what I read, why in the name of hell was this one single race so important? What, to send the party in power a message that one district is mad at the President?
Now, in the case of a US Representative, I would wager that 10% of the people in their district even know their Rep’s first name!!!! Hell, I’d be surprised if they even knew their party affiliation or even what a Representative is for that matter. Still, we’ve let it get to a point where this one person is the voice of 750,000 people on average. The damn Nielson rating system is better than this!!!!!!!! Town Hall meetings are useless since nobody is going to get a decent feel for what their district really wants.
I actually believe the solution to this nightmare is a body of Representatives in line with what the US Constitution spells out. 1 Rep. per 30,000 citizens. Sounds crazy, but how would you buy that off AND wouldn’t your district vote for someone more in line with your district’s beliefs? I think more parties out there, from the ultra conservative to Red worshiping communists, would get more representation in congress. Our founders weren’t stupid....some claim they never envisioned the nation growing this large. The Founders created this country to scale accordingly and the system would work if it were followed.
A House with 10,000 members wouldn’t be the logistical nightmare it may seem to be with our communication technology we have today. I think that would be a major step on the road to recovery. This bullshit Healtcare vote strengthens that argument. There was a 5 vote difference on a bill that was “debated” for only 9 months. Trust me, were 10,000 people debating this bill that were in tune with the 30,000 citizens voicing their concerns, it would not have been a 5 vote difference for the Socialists. We saw what happened this summer.
Man am I angry. So much legislation that was passed in the early 20th Century has done so much to destroy this nation almost 100 years later. While it is a testament to the strength of the United States in that it has survived so much of this onslaught of idiocy, no system can withstand so much interference without collapsing.
If Healthcare makes it through the Senate, there are going to be some serious problems. I am not talking about Civil War or riots ... I’m talking outright economic collapse. If we throw cap-and-trade into the mix, I honestly think there will be a major world war in 20 years since we would have artificially put a strain on resources globally. You’d see a carbon credit collapse occur (and billions in wealth vanishing) and those that have abundant, untapped resources (i.e. the USA) will be in the crosshairs of every idiot dictator in the world.
OK, I’ll put my tin foil hat back on ... I am simply so angry :-) .
Thinking right down my line. Dehydrater, generator to keep my freezer going for stock up foods, fireplace converter from gas to wood burning. I’ve got old meat grinders, old grain mills and canning jars galore. We got them from our grandparents and kept them for sentimental reasons. Now I may be using them. Little House On The Prairie is looking better everyday.
Same here. I still have rag rugs my Baba made. Her coffee grinder & mixing bowels etc. I can’t part with family stuff. The 47 acre farm I am looking at has a spring that goes through the cold cellar. I remember playing in my Baba’s cold cellar with the little creek that ran through it. I was amazed by it. I was a city girl but loved my summers with her. Sure wish I had more time with her to learn more.
You have a great start and if you get with some other friendly people you can all share ideas. Sharing ideas with your neighbors would be a big change from the way things have gone in the last 25 years. Be sure you go to a place where at least a few people will have known of your family. Farmers have a hard time accepting outsiders...just a fact but it sounds like you have some family connections to the land.
Best of luck to you. And do join As A MoM. I've already met ten people from my area and a few from close by.
In a small community, call a few people and they will have your ID in a week! Talk with you later FRiend.
I would guess less than that. World War was the mechanics that saved FDR's sorry administration.
... since we would have artificially put a strain on resources globally. You’d see a carbon credit collapse occur (and billions in wealth vanishing)
It's not going to vanish. It's going to go into the carbon offset trading derivatives market and into the pockets of Algore and his buddies.
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