Judicial Watch, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization published its list of "Washington’s 'Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians' for 2007". Included in the organization's list of ethically challenged noteables were Presidential Candidates, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) and Senator Barak Hussein Obama (D-Ill).
Mrs. Clinton made number one on the list of "Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians for 2007" due to her long and sordid ethics record according to the organization. The group cited the Junior Senator from New York for blocking release of her official White House records, casting suspicion that these records would yield a wealth of information about her role in various Clinton era scandals. Also mentioned were the Senator's repeated filing of false financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Senate.
Former Govenor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee was cited for 14 ethics complaints noted by the group including his use of campaign cash, his use of a non-profit entity to subsidize his income, his subsequent lawsuits against the state ethics commission along with his attempt to shut down the ethics investigative process in his state.
Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giulliani made the group's list, after it was revealed that he billed various City of New York agencies for security and transportation while the Mayor was engaged in an extramarital affair with his then girlfriend, Judith Nathan who is now his wife. The city was charged for trips to the Hamptons along with the expense of providing a police vehicle and a city driver for Ms. Nathan.
Senator Barak Hussein Obama moved up from the Judicial Watch's "Dishonorable Mention" category last year to number eight on the group's "Ten Most Wanted" list for 2007 when it was discovered that after only two months in the Senate, Obama purchased $50,000 in speculative ventures whose major investors were among his biggest campaign contributors according to Judicial Watch. The report also claimed that a biotech concern benefited from legislation that the Junior Senator proposed only two weeks after purchasing $5,000 of the company's shares.
Other well known politicians that made the group's list were Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Larry Craig (R-ID), Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Judicial Watch's full list can be seen
here.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's position as number one on the group's list comes as no surprise here. Scores of books, articles and opinion pieces along with hundreds of hours of air time have chronicled the Clinton's sundry pecadillos for years. As Hillary's handlers have said in response to various accusations about her chicanery and moral turpitude, "that's old news". It's a tactic that employs the usual Clinton camp bob and weave around questions regarding her lack of character and moral fiber. That canned response never answers the question but merely deflects it and swats it away as though it were a fly in hopes that it will go away or drop to the floor. As Peggy Noonan
writes,
the Clintons perfected a new method of scandal management that starts with "These are lies spread by a partisan conspiracy," proceeds to "That's old news," and ends a few years later, when detailed books come out, with "That's rehash for cash." This way, the Clinton's give themselves a pass and go on to their business as usual behind closed doors.Is it any wonder that a journalist of Noonan's stature who has observed Hillary for years
recently commented,
Mrs. Clinton is the most dramatically polarizing, the most instinctively distrusted, political figure of my lifetime. Yes, I include Nixon.The addition of Giulliani and Huckabee to the list is a bit of a stretch since both are not part of the Washington political class per se but only aspire to become D.C. politicians. Yet the entries of these men provides us with a glimpse into their character. Based on their past indiscretions, perhaps the inner workings of a (shudder the thought) Giulliani or (worse yet) Huckabee administration might morph from line items on a web site to headlines in future editions of the nation's newspapers and magazines if either of these gentlemen made their new residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.Obama is new to the Washington establishment but appears to have learned quickly how business is done in the political arena. If you look at these and other politicos named in Judicial Watch's list, a pattern becomes obvious. Someone gains a position of decision-making power or influence in government through the help of others looking for favors, grants and contracts from the government. Once the person gains office he/she returns the favor by pushing for beneficial legislation for their sponsors or they garner earmarks for friends, relatives and cronies or secure government contracts to improve land adjoining their own private investment properties. The corrupt politician then builds up his/her own wealth at the expense of the very taxpayers they claim to represent! Those who helped the corrupt politician attain office get the benefit of their new found position. Those who didn't help are ignored and those who opposed them earn their wrath.
In a perfect world this would be called influence peddling. Politicians who claim to represent the little guy and "stand up to the big bad corporate interests" are playing a game of political soap opera for us the unwashed masses while the old media provide them with a stage. They use all the buzz words their focus groups say will resonate with their audience. They have a standard sales pitch approved by their sponsors. They put that sales pitch to use while they're on the campaign trail. Unscrupulous politicians align themselves with companies and industries that are friendly to their cause with the understanding that the candidate will return the favor or look favorably upon the business ventures of the supporter in the future once the candidate is in office. The fact that such politicians villanize one group of businesses and cannonize another is merely a function of the team they have chosen to play on. In debating the differences between such candidates you and I may as well engage in useless arguements as to which is a better car, Chevy or Ford or who's the better football league, AFL or NFL.
Glenn Beck may be onto something when he said the political class have been very successful in dividing the nation ideologically between Democrat and Republican, left and right, ethnic group against ethnic group, one man's religion against another. We need to wake up. We need to recognize that we are first Americans who are committed to the safety, prestige and prosperity of the nation and take note of the fact that nations and peoples around the world aspire to attain the freedoms, comforts and standard of living we take for granted in the USA. These freedoms we have were not granted by any man but given by God. This election let's pray that the person who attains the highest office in the land is worthy of the supreme trust our people will place in the new occupant of the oval office. Let's pray that person will serve the people of the United States out of a love of God and country, devoted to carry out the responsibilities that office with integrity and honor.
Dark ruby/mulberry color. Big, galumphy, earthy nose: lots of spicy blackberry, olivey-vegetal scents, with some smoky earthy componenets too. Full-bodied, with broad flavors of mixed berries, granite, and lemon. Good, buoyant acidity helps prop up the large-boned physique (think Yao Ming). Fairly long finish. 88. Drink soon, as I think that this will become more angular with age. Was about $16 at Whole Foods on Bellaire.
Dark ruby garnet color. Medium intensity nose of ripe chokecherries and smoky stones. Broad, soft, lightish mouthfeel, with flavors of cherry, new leather, and spice. Lovely, long finish. Not a blockbuster, but very polished. 89. I would drink this now, as I'm not convinced it's going to improve over the next few years. $29 and change at Spec's on Smith.
Dark black ruby color with the barest hint of amber at the rim. Intense, low-toned nose of cassis, smoke, and a pencil lead/graphite component. Concentrated and medium full-bodies in the mouth, with flavors of dark cassis extract and minerals. Still lots of ripe tannins, which, in conjunction with the deep fruit, lead me to conclude that this guy could age for a few years further still. Impressive for an $8 bottle. 88. (Caveat: I've heard that the regular bottlings of this winery in more recent vintages are not up to the standards it set in 1999-2002 -- so more recent vintages might not measure up to this one.)
The first Christmas: Luke 2:1-20
This wine was very light and lean, but had correct Nebbiolo scents and flavors.
Saturated black ruby, with some glints of purple still showing at the rim. Intense nose of blackberry and blueberry extract, with some sweet, spiced woodsmoke and hard lemon candy notes. Inky cassis and blackberry fruit, with a nice smoky, bacony component lurking in the background. Full and long in the mouth. Some very soft tannin in the finish augurs for the capability of 2 to 3 more years of aging. 90. Was $15.33 at Spec's on Smith.
Dark ruby-garnet. Complex nose of bright, sweet cherries, menthol, earth, and a sweet, high-toned woody component. Focused and concentrated cherry/mineral flavors, with a long, lean, youthful-feeling finish. There is some tannin for structure here, but it's ripe and soft, not gritty or chalky-textured. Will certainly soften and improve for a year or two. 88. Was $18.89 at Spec's on Smith.
Medium dark ruby with magenta at the rim. Very nice, straightforward nose of ripe berries and fur. Clean, focused fruit in the mouth, with a nice, stony-minerally component. Good persistence. Based on the 2004 and 2005, I'm guessing that this winery goes in for carbonic maceration fermentation -- like they use in Beaujolais -- for all or at least part of the fruit for this wine. Good value, and would match well with a wide variety of foods. I'm not sure, but I think I got this at Central Market for about $7 or $8. 86. 
Very light straw color. Light intensity nose of chalky minerals, apples, and peach pits. Precise, light-bodied flavors of pear and stones. Although light-bodied, it had an interesting pleasantly oily texture. Lots of minerals in a medium-long finish. 86. Was $12.79 at Richard's on Shepherd.
I don't want to talk about Putin. He's a scheming little devil. Like the Clintons, people around him mysteriously die. You can take the boy out of the KGB but you can't take the KGB out of the boy.
Nearly saturated brooding black ruby. Medium intensity nose of blackberries, graphite, and toasty balsa wood notes. More angular in the mouth than the nose would lead you to believe -- blackberry extract competing with equal intensity components of peppery minerals and an unusual, high-toned perfumey earthiness. 87. Was $13.49 at Central Market.
You may not agree with me about the Dems being united. However, by next Spring they will be united behind Hillary. Well, not as much united behind Hillary as they are united against conservatism and the GOP.
I'm not a scientist. I'm not a climatologist. I'm not a meteorologist. I'm not a proctologist. But I know when someone is trying to give it to me in the posterior.
Saturated black ruby/purple color. Richly fruity nose of oozingly ripe spicy black raspberries and sweetly smoky scents. Round and soft on the palate, with great persistence of fruit -- mostly blackberry. Spicy and creamy components as well. Not the most complex or mach style of Zin, but very rich, flavorful, and hedonistic. Very nice balance too for a wine with 15.6 % alcohol. 89. Was $24 and change at Spec's on Smith.
Very light color. Delicate nose of herby gooseberries and chewy caramel, with a teensy amount of underlying earthiness. Broad mouthfeel, but with very understated, polite flavors -- the strongest being a metallic, minerally component, with bitter herbs too. 83. Nowhere near worth the 25 smackeroos I plunked down.