J's Cafe Nette

Archive for September 13th, 2007

There has been one absolutely terrific site on all things Hsu. Flip at Suitably Flip has filled in the holes which have been left in this story by the media.

The referenced post above is one you will, I do not believe see elsewhere as it is a direct communication from the DA handling Mr. Hsu’s case to a reader at Suitably Flip. It is a fascinating read and provides very valuable information.

Also while there you might want to take a look at this post entitled “Dems Lowballing Hsu’s Fundraising Totals”. It is chock full of facts and figures which again I am not sure will be available in such a comprehensive form either.

For those of us who have written on this topic extensively since the first news was broken, but do not have the resources, time or knowledge to go beyond the accounts in the major publications, Suitably Flip has been a tremendous source.

I would personally like to thank Flip for all of the time he has devoted and information he has made available for public consumption so those of us who believe this is a “real story” with possible far reaching implications, may close a few of the gaps.

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Rudy Giuliani is calling the New York Times’ bluff when they say they don’t consider the political message or affiliation when they discount ads.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) said Thursday that he is asking The New York Times for the “same heavily discounted rate they gave MoveOn.org” for his campaign to run an ad in Friday’s paper.

Giuliani, calling MoveOn.org’s controversial “General Betray Us” ad “abominable,” said his campaign is asking the paper for a comparable rate for an ad to run following President Bush’s speech on Iraq.

The former mayor said his ad “will obviously take the opposite view” from MoveOn.org, which argued in its ad that Gen. David Petraeus is “cooking the books” on Iraq and cherry-picking facts that support his recommendation to keep a large number of troops in Iraq for some time. …

…“It’s time for Americans to really insist that American politicians move beyond character assassination,” Giuliani said. “And this is exactly what they tried to do with Gen. Petraeus. Well, it’s one thing when politicians do it to each other. It’s another thing when it’s done to an American general who has put his life at risk to protect us.”

Let’s see if he gets the same discount Moveon.org got when they tried to ruin the reputation of a General who has more integrity in his small fingernail than Moveon.org has in its entire membership.

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John Edwards has already taped a two minute response to the president’s address to the nation that hasn’t been delivered yet.

I doubt many people will see it, as it will be shown on MSNBC, but he sits at a desk with a flag behind him, trying to give the impression of speaking from the Oval Office.

“Unfortunately, the president is pressing on with the only strategy he’s ever had—more time, more troops, and more war,” Edwards says in the ad, according to excerpts provided by his campaign.

That’s strange, because I just read here the president intends to announce he will be bringing home about 5,700 troops by the end of this year and will reduce the troops from 20 combat brigades to 15 combat brigades by next summer.

Maybe Edwards should re-shoot his ad because right now the only thing he’s shooting is his mouth off.

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I wonder how much major news coverage this story will get?

Audio portions of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s testimony from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal were released by the Pentagon Thursday.

The audio clips contain admissions by the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks that he plotted to kill President Clinton and Pope John Paul II.

“I was responsible for the assassination attempt against President Clinton during his visit to the Philippines in 1994 or 1995,” Mohammed says in English during his testimony before the tribunal. “I was responsible for the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul the second while he was visiting the Philippines,” Mohammed says.

Al Qaeda is no friend of Americans and pandering to their demands or wishes will not make make them our friends. Look at how far back it was that they planned to assassinate Bill Clinton, who was our sitting president at the time.

The party of FDR is now the party of George McGovern on steroids. Fold, give in, appease, kill them with kindness and all will be well. All will not be well, and anyone who is seriously thinking of the safety of our country will understand that, although we may disagree on how to handle the snakes. But never, ever leave that snakepit unattended until the last viper is gone or we will be sorry.

To read a summary of the full transcript go here.

If you wish to read the entire report go here. Both are pdf files and require a pdf viewer.

I’ve done a quick search and looked at the DOD site but I can’t find the audio. Strangely, I can’t find the story except on Fox, but it was partially written by the AP.

Update: Here’s the audio link.

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From the LAT:

Hsu’s undoing began two weeks ago with articles raising questions about his fundraising activities in the Wall Street Journal and about a criminal case in his past in The Times. In his letter, said a person familiar with its contents who asked to remain anonymous, Hsu contended that those articles were planted “by a politician who pledged ‘hope and change’ “ — an apparent reference to Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton’s main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“This is a sad and baseless allegation,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton said. “We had no knowledge of his past criminal behavior, fugitive status or a potential straw-donor scheme until reading it in the newspaper.”

Is the LAT now attempting to pass the buck to Senator Obama here and make Hsu and Senator Clinton victims? I hope not as they have done some strong reporting on this issue to this point.

There does not appear to be any proof in the statement about Mr. Obama planting anything, just supposition.

I said in an earlier piece I wrote on this whole affair that I feared we might just have a teflon candidate in Mrs. Clinton. Has that begun to materialize?

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It seems the Clinton family is having difficulty staying out of the news these days. Mrs. Clinton’s brother has made headlines this afternoon in regard to his legal difficulties stemming back to the days of the Clinton Presidency:

The SFGate reports:

A lawsuit accusing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton’s brother of failing to repay debts to a Tennessee carnival operator has been settled.

Tony Rodham was accused of failing to repay $107,000 plus interest to the bankrupt estate of Edgar Allen Gregory Jr. and his wife, Vonna Jo, both of whom received a presidential pardon in 2000.

The case was scheduled to go to trial on Thursday, but the parties reached a settlement agreement, said Rodham attorney Samuel Crocker. The terms were not disclosed.

Rodham had claimed in court documents the money he received from the Gregorys was for consulting services, but the trustee for the Gregory estate said it was a loan.

The Gregorys received pardons for a bank fraud conviction from President Clinton about two years after Rodham became a paid consultant to United Shows of America, a carnival business the couple owned.

Rodham has said he talked to his brother-in-law about the pardon, but he said President Clinton made the decision to grant clemency on the merits of their case.

After President Clinton left office, the Republican-controlled House Committee on Government Reform found that United Shows paid Rodham $240,000 for undocumented consulting services and that President Clinton was interested in the pardons solely because of his contacts with Rodham.

While we might not ever know the terms of this settlement, I am certain the Senator is happy to have closure on another issue that has prompted questions in the past about the former Presidents pardons. Funny though that now she finds it odd when the current President offers a pardon after having made this statement in the past:

Hillary Clinton, who has been critical of President Bush’s decision to commute the sentence of former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, said her husband’s pardons were simply a routine exercise in the use of the pardon power, and none was aimed at protecting the Clinton presidency or legacy.

Just a twinge of double standard in play there, don’t you think?

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Every state in this Union should have a voter identification system, period. This nonsense of claiming a persons rights would be violated by something as simple as a state issued photo card with not only proof of residency, but also proof of citizenship, is poppycock.

It should matter not to law abiding Americans to take a few moments out of their lives to secure proper ID so they may have their say in the electoral process. But to continue to allow those who are voting illegally for any reason to continue to do so is a slap in the face of the very foundation upon which we were established.

The following piece is encouraging in that at least in one County in Texas they are taking this issue very seriously.

Officials involved in a joint federal-state probe say that some of the dozens of people under investigation in a months-long Bexar County voter fraud case may be charged with both state and federal crimes.

Federal investigators are to meet this week with local prosecutors to coordinate the cases being developed and determine who’ll face state felony charges for voting illegally and who will be deported for violating federal immigration law.

No arrests have yet been made.

Authorities said they are anticipating charging some of the undocumented people alleged to have voted in Bexar County with felony violation of state law before they are turned over to immigration agents and likely deported.

As the federal portion of the investigation begun in late May winds down, Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed will determine how she’ll proceed in the case of the 41 people who allegedly voted, some repeatedly, despite being non-citizens.

Reed’s office will determine who will be charged with felony offenses after a meeting between Homeland Security Department investigators from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Adriana Biggs, Reed’s white-collar crime division chief.

“The joint federal-state strategy will likely be that (Bexar County) pursues felony voter fraud charges, while the parallel federal investigation will focus on violations related to identity theft, re-entry after deportation and other violations of (federal) immigration law,” ICE spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said Tuesday.

It is especially interesting how the names of some of the persons who allegedly voted illegally was uncovered:

Callanen earlier this year was updating the county’s list of eligible voters when she discovered some 330 people who should not have been on the rolls because they weren’t citizens.

Callanen compiled the list of names after she determined that they had stated on juror summons cards that they should be excused because they weren’t citizens.

Ms. Callanen should be commended for fulfulling her duties as an election official. Now if we could just get all the states to do the same it would eliminate at least some of the difficulties we face with elections in this country.

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When a supposedly talented “comedian” who has declared herself to be an atheist says, “Suck it, Jesus” and people laugh at it, is that acceptable?

The discussion that takes place on this video makes it sound as though it’s a statement made against the Catholic church. The last time I checked Jesus had no religion, but is the Savior of the world.

This is an attack by Kathy Griffin (whoever she is) on Christianity and not on any specific branch of Christianity.

And we wonder why our country is in the shape it is. It’s a wonder it’s not a lot worse with people like this feeling free to say what she said in public.

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The New York Times ran a sleazy ad just before Gen. Petraeus testified to Congress, calling him General Betray Us. Cute huh?

Well, it seems the New York Times was feeling extra generous that day:

WASHINGTON – The New York Times dramatically slashed its normal rates for a full-page advertisement for MoveOn.org’s ad questioning the integrity of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Headlined “Cooking the Books for the White House,” the ad which ran in Monday’s Times says Petraeus is “a military man constantly at war with the facts” and concluded – even before he testified before Congress – that “General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us.”

According to Abbe Serphos, director of public relations for the Times, “the open rate for an ad of that size and type is $181,692.”

A spokesman for MoveOn.org confirmed to The Post that the liberal activist group had paid only $65,000 for the ad - a reduction of more than $116,000 from the stated rate.

A Post reporter who called the Times advertising department yesterday without identifying himself was quoted a price of $167,000 for a full-page black-and-white ad on a Monday.

Serphos declined to confirm the price and refused to offer any inkling for why the paper would give MoveOn.org such a discounted price.

Citing the shared liberal bent of the group and the Times, one Republican aide on Capitol Hill speculated that it was the “family discount.”

Is there any doubt as to the liberal bias of the New York Times now? Not that there was for many of us before.

Hat Tip: Sister Toldjah. <):)

If you haven't heard about or read the ad go here.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he will block any potential nomination of Theodore Olson as Attorney General.

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed on Wednesday to block former Solicitor General Theodore Olson from becoming attorney general if President George W. Bush nominates him to replace Alberto Gonzales. …

…”He’s a partisan, and the last thing we need as an attorney general is a partisan,” Reid told Reuters in a brief hallway interview on Capitol Hill.

We certainly don’t want partisans in Washington, do we? Especially one with an impeccable record and credentials.

The White House says it hasn’t made a decision yet on who will get the nod for AG, but it appears whoever it is will be filibustered by the Democrats anyway.

It’s a good thing our founding fathers are dead or they’d all die from the sheer horror of what is happening in the country they founded. All for the party (either one) and never mind the good of the country.

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Norman Hsu has been released from the hospital and sent to jail to await a hearing on his extradition to California, where he has been listed as a fugitive for the past 16 years.

Today’s Wall Street Journal is reporting Hsu sent a suicide note to several recipients before heading for Chicago on an Amtrak train.

Before Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu skipped a court hearing and temporarily vanished last week, he typed out a suicide note and sent copies to several acquaintances and charitable organizations, according to people who received it.

The one-page note, signed by Mr. Hsu, “very explicitly said he intended to commit suicide,” said one of the recipients in an account corroborated by others, including law-enforcement officials. Mr. Hsu also apologized for putting anybody “through inconvenience or trouble,” the recipient said.

The letter, which began, “To whom it may concern,” arrived by FedEx at the addresses of several recipients last Thursday, the day after Mr. Hsu disappeared.

Was Norman Hsu simply a con man who got people’s money with his scams as has been suggested, or was he working for more sinister forces, as many suspect?

Why would a jail sentence cause him to run away and attempt suicide? Was there something else he was trying to hide?

Only time will tell if he talks or not and fills in all the blanks. I have my personal suspicions but no proof so I’ll just speculate that he was afraid of his real backers as they would have killed him in a way he wouldn’t have preferred. That’s just my opinion.

Update: Captain Ed is wondering why Hsu preferred suicide over running also.

Why commit suicide? Why not just run? Hsu had the resources to make a run for it, especially given his fleecing of Woodstock impressario Joel Rosenman. Forty million could get Hsu anywhere in the world, or even a small fraction of it could get him back to Hong Kong quietly enough. Could it be that Hsu feared something even worse than exposure — even worse than prison?

Why did Hsu work so hard to corrupt so many campaigns? Who wanted to buy influence, and why?

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Former Virginia governor Mark Warner is expected to announce his candidacy for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner in the November 2008 election.

He is expected to be opposed by either Rep. Thomas M. Davis III or former Gov. James S. Gilmore III.

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After the Petraeus report it seems the Congressional Democrats’ hope for Republican defections to order a quick withdrawal from Iraq is going to end up in frustration again.

Senate Republicans, bolstered by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ war report this week, are closing ranks and say Democrats will continue to fall far shy of the votes needed to force a pullout from Iraq.

Republicans facing intense antiwar pressure in home states, such as Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, and the party’s war critics, including Sens. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, say the general’s congressional testimony helped persuade them not to switch their votes.

“I’m supportive of a reasonable plan which they offered,” Mr. Lugar said on PBS’ “NewsHour” after Gen. Petraeus, U.S. commander in Iraq, called for withdrawing about 30,000 troops by July.

President Bush, in a prime-time address tonight, is expected to endorse the general’s plan to return to the pre-surge force strength of 130,000 troops by July.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who failed repeatedly to muster enough votes to compel the president to accept a pullout plan, yesterday said he will try again next week with measures to force significantly larger troop reductions.

“I call on Senate Republicans not to walk lockstep with the president as they have done for years,” the Nevada Democrat said. “It is time to come over and join us.”

Mr. Reid said Democrats will introduce four to six war bills, including measures for large-scale troop reductions and to transition the mission from combat to training Iraqi forces and conducting counterterrorism operations.

He did not provide details of the legislation, but the characterization of measures was nearly identical to failed bills from earlier this year.

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott has been checking the votes and feels the Democrats will, once again, fall short of the 60 votes necessary to pass any of these bills.

Someone once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. This is the very definition of partisan insanity on the part of the Democrats, but they really don’t seem to have any plan other than get out of Iraq.

Republican leaders also say the Democrat-led Congress’ fixation on the war is preventing action on essential legislation, such as fixing the alternative minimum tax and passing spending bills for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

Can anyone name any significant legislation passed by this Congress?

It’s been eight months since the Democrats took over the legislative branch of our federal government and, other than a minimum wage hike attached to a war funding bill, no significant legislation has been passed.

They say Americans voted for a change in November, and maybe they’re right, but I doubt the American electorate voted for the same futile votes to be taken over and over again.

The Senate is going to be hard for the Republicans in the next election due to retirements and so many senators’ terms being up for re-election.

Based on the last election I’d say things are very close in this country as the Democrats didn’t win huge majorities in either chamber or huge victories in many districts or states.

If the American people begin to see the surge working they are not likely to insist we give up. We like victory too much and I doubt we have changed that much over this one war.

Americans need to understand we must prevail in this war against radical Islam or we will all be doomed to their rule over us in the future.

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