The Carona Trial-The Tapes

Yesterday, in the federal corruption trial of ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, jurors listened to tape recorded discussions between Carona and Don Haidl (now a government witness). Haidl, on the witness stand, helped explain the conversations and the meaning of the statements. The conversations centered around hiding the bribes he (Carona) had allegedly received as sheriff. A sampling:

Carona to Haidl on August 13, 2007: "And, by the way, if you go back and look, my answer's gonna be, yeah (the money)came from my account. Look at my ATM receipts."

In another exchange, Haidl tells Carona that he prefers crisp new dollar bills, to which "America's Sheriff" replies, "I do, too. But you know what? I like the old stuff, too. I'd roll around in it like a puppy dog."

In yet another exchange, Haidl says, "We can't take the Fifth."

Carona: "We wouldn't want to anyway 'cause all that does is just, you know, create a bigger, you know, target on your back."

At one point, Asst US Attorney Brett Sagel asked Haidl to define the purpose of the cash he had given to Carona. Haidl replied that the cash were bribes so that Carona wouldn't take other bribes.

More to follow.

What, Me Worry?

"What, me worry?


Had McCain won-American Embassy in France



"Welcome to the UK, Fousesquawk. Long live America!"



"Welcome to France, Fousesquawk"



"Another round of beer for our American friend"




Now that we have elected Barack Obama, a lot of my friends are asking me what I am going to do now-as if they think I am going to cut my wrists or move to Newfoundland.

Don't worry. Things are great. I always look on the bright side. For starters, the World loves us Americans again.

For example, next year, I plan to go back to my old stomping grounds in Germany and drink liters-many liters- of that fabulous beer. What's more, Germans will be lining up by the hundreds to buy the next liter for me since "I am an American". And I shall proudly accept them all in the name of my country.

I may even hit a few other countries to bask in the adulation that will greet American tourists over there. In fact, there was a piece in the Yahoo news about "no more ugly Americans". Just think, Frenchmen and French women will be throwing flowers at my feet as I walk down the middle of the Champs De L'Elysee (which will be closed off by the French gendarmes for my sole benefit). As I near the Place de la Concorde, near which the American Embassy is located, I can breathe a sigh of relief that McCain wasn't elected, which surely would have led to said embassy being burned to the ground. But it's all a mute point now. We are loved again.

Of course, I could head down to Italy, where I used to live when Republican presidents like Reagan were in power. Surely, Silvio Berlusconi will greet me and take me to some resort on the Italian Riviera, where we can work on our tans.

Maybe I could even take a Greek cruise. While I am there, I can be interviewed by that Greek newspaper, Avriani, and tell them that, yes, Jewish domination is over-just as their headlines blared on election night.

I might even hop up to merry old England and tip a pint with some of the local beastie boys, that is if the wacko Islamist community, that seems to be taking over, hasn't shut down the pubs yet.

Of course, I may have to lie a little-like tell them how I woke up at the crack of dawn to be the first in my neighborhood to vote for "The One". I can also tell them all about my blog (the Daily Kos), which tirelessly supported Obama from day one.

Or even better, I can tell them that I am a writer for the New York Times or that I am one of Keith Olbermann's inner circle of regular Bush-hating guests on his nightly "Meltdown".

And when I return from my grande tour of the Old World, I will pass through Customs and Immigration and probably find that my name is in the computer as a "dissident", "rootless cosmopolitan", "counter-progressive", hate-monger", or some such thing, at which point, I will be whisked off to Harvard University for "re-education" and a PHD!

Yes, indeed. It is truly a great time to be an American.

Obama's First "Change"-Rahm Emanuel?

News item: Rahm Emanuel appointed new White House Chief of Staff in Obama Administration.

"Nice Rahm. Say hello to our Republican colleagues, Rahm."

Meanwhile in Greece....

Avriani (Greece) Newspaper headline announcing Barack Obama's election.

Headline: "The end of Jewish domination."

sub-title: "Everything in America changes so that we hope it will be more democratic and humane"

Fousesquawk comment: Maybe Greece should worry more about their own "humane" society.

Happy Days Are Here Again......

News item: The Dow has dropped over 900 points since the election.

"Why it must be those d... Bush tax cuts for the rich."

Fousesquawk Prediction-Sometime in 2009

I told you Barack Obama couldn't walk on water.

Project Promise

The below is from Raymond Smalley and is posted with my pleasure.


"Dear Everyone,

Obviously, Tuesday was disheartening. While I sympathize with your emotional state, I have one more request. On November 7-11, Project Promise will hold an online event to raise money for our wounded veterans. They will post letters and essays, video and audio clips, poems and posts on Veteran's Day and soldiers in tribute to the sacrifice of these American heroes.

As a means for spreading the word, I am asking everyone to please link our website, which is enclosed. We would very much appreciate this."

www.projectpromisesoldier.com

Sincerely,
Raymond Smalley
Martin-Stewart

Keep up the good work on behalf of our wounded vets.

Who Are the "Unnamed Sources" in the McCain Campaign"

"Unnamed sources"


As the election came to its conclusion, in the waning days, "unnamed McCain campaign members" began leaking information to the press that Sarah Plain was hurting the campaign for a variety of reasons. After last night's defeat, the "unnamed sources" crawled out from under their collective rocks again blaming Palin for the defeat. In my view, even if true, it is dispicable for these people to take shots at Palin in anonymity.

For years, no decades, we have seen the press using unnamed insider sources to feed political stories. Notwithstanding the news media's need to "protect" their sources, I find this contemptible. If an insider is trying to reveal information about corruption, that is one thing-though I would still come right out and use my name if it were a disclosure of corruption. But this is merely a matter of personalities, pointing the finger of blame and revenge. In this case, this is nothing more than a couple of sore losers trying to get the message out that it was "Palin's f---in' fault.

To me, it is a matter of principle. If you want to take a shot at someone, don't do it anonymously. Put your name under it if you want credibility. Besides, what were these sources trying to protect-their next campaign job?

Years ago, during my DEA career, someone in our office wrote an anonymous letter to DEA HQs regarding alleged mismanagement by our bosses. One day in the office, I overheard a passing exchange between one of the managers and one of our agents (who the manager suspected might have written the letter). When the boss, asked, "You didn't write that letter did you?", the agent replied, "I sign all my letters."

That has been a lesson that has guided me ever since. It is why whenever I write a blog essay or send in a comment to another blog, I always sign my name.

Those "unnamed sources" from the McCain campaign are cowards.

The Election in Irvine- One Candidate Who Hid From The Voters

On October 10, 2008, I posted an essay entitled; "Guess who's running for City Council in Irvine?" It concerned Todd Gallinger, a Southern California attorney for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), who was running for Irvine City Council. In that essay, I described a lawsuit brought recently by Gallinger against Yale University Press on behalf of KinderUSA, a supposed charity group directed toward Palestinian children. Yale University Press had published a book entitled: "Hamas:Politics, Charity and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad", by Matthew Levitt, in which KinderUSA was described as a Hamas front group. Gallinger's suit was dropped when Yale filed a SLAPP countersuit against KinderUSA. (SLAAP means strategic lawsuit against public participation, in effect a suit designed to pressure someone who may not have the resources or will to fight in court.)

This essay was posted on Orange County-based blog, Red County, a blog that Gallinger reads and occasionally comments on-usually in defense of the Muslim Student Union at UC-Irvine. What resulted was a thread of exchanges between Gallinger, myself and a couple of other commentators. To be more accurate, Gallinger only "replied" three times to numerous questions from me. In his replies, he stated that if I had any further questions, I should send them to his official site and he would "try to get to them" though he was very busy with his campaign. I replied on two occasions that since he was a candidate for office, I would continue to ask him questions in a public forum to which he should reply publicly.


To summarize, I asked Gallinger throughout the course of the thread the below questions:

1 Is there a connection between CAIR and Hamas as alleged in the Levitt book?

2 Did he file a SLAPP-type lawsuit against Yale University Press designed to pressure them to pay a settlement and suppress a book?

3 Could he comment on an article in the Irvine Tattler to the effect that he and his political allies running for spots on the Irvine City Council had financed a newspaper called the Irvine Community News and Views-which was actually printed in Northern California and was basically a campaign newspletter sent to Irvine residents.

4 How could he put up campaign signs along the roads of Irvine with the phrase, "Homegrown leadership" when he had just moved to Irvine this past April in order to run for City Council?

5 Did he report an alleged telephone death threat he received to the police?


To this date, Gallinger has only replied to the last question (He did, in fact, file a police report.)


Here are his three replies:


Gallinger:


"I've talked about my work with CAIR on here before, you can draw your own conclusions based upon that. I'm proud of the work I've done with them, I know it has been in defense of civil rights and also national security.

I've never represented CAIR-National nor have I ever heard the story about there founding here. I honestly could't understand the claims, but its clear they're more attempts at guilt by association, which I reject.

My work with KinderUSA is described in the article.

If you have meaningful questions, just email me, I'll try to get to them, but am pretty busy right now."

October 12, 2008 2:36 PM


Gallinger:

"To Fouse - Yes, a police report was filed the day the threat came in. This of course was reported in both the OC Register & LA Times articles. You guys honestly amaze me with your intellectual laziness.

To whoever wanted a tape recording, I don't make it a habit of recording all incoming calls. Do you?

I don't see a need to. Also, if I did record every call, it would be in violation of CA law which requires permission before taping.

What do you all think of the McCain volunteer w/ the B on her cheek? Does this now mean every report by a white person is subject to suspicion?

Though I do occasionally read this blog, if you want to find something out, try using the google or emailing me. But it seems like you wouldn't want any knowledge which challenges your preconceived notions."

October 24, 2008 7:31 PM


Gallinger:

"Fouse -

You still didn't answer my question, will this make you less likely to believe crimes reported by white people, as you feel with the false report by the Muslim girl? Does this report discredit the McCain campaign & the Republican party, the same way you believe CAIR was discredited?

Also, you can email me and then post my response, rather than simply rely on me to read everything that gets written on here. I have dead time tonight, the first in a long time and likely the last for at least the next 10 days. Additionally, your question could have been answered by reading below the headline of any of the articles which were published on the threat, which I assume is how you originally heard of it."

October 24, 2008 10:10 PM

* Note: I did, indeed, answer Gallinger's question on the Pittsburgh hoax by posting my own essay on the incident.


During the past week of the election, I posted a daily comment to Red County blog asking, "Where is Todd Gallinger?" I kept asking Gallinger to reply to my questions before the election. He never did.

Yesterday, Gallinger, part of a 4 member team that was trying to be elected to the City Council/Mayor's Office, was the only one who failed. (Three spots were open plus the mayor's office.)

I am certainly not trying to take full credit for Gallinger's failed campaign. Of more concern to Gallinger is information being published by the Irvine Tattler website pertaining to him and his fellow candidates. Yet, his arrogance in dealing with my questions on the widely-read Red County blog could not have helped his cause.

If you are interested in reading the entire thread, go to;

http://www.redcounty.com/rccampuswatch/2008/10/criticism-of-todd-gallingers-a/

Where do the Republicans Go From Here?

Make no mistake about it. The Republicans suffered another crushing defeat last night. Not only did Barack Obama win the presidency, the Democrats made gains in both the House and Senate. The door is now open for Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to push a liberal agenda for the nation. The only saving grace is that Democrats didn't achieve a super-majority in Congress; thus, the Republican senators can put up some degree of a fight against any extreme measures.

As far as making any kind of comeback, the Republicans, in my view, have a major reconstruction in front of them. The public, rightfully or wrongfully, has laid the major portion of blame on their doorstep for the weak economy and the poor performance of Congress. George Bush, rightfully or wrongfully, will leave office with a horrible approval rating.

So what should the Republican Party do in the next two to four years?

First of all, they must look introspectively at themselves. They must look back as far as the 1990s when they gained control over Congress based on Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America". Did they live up to their promises? Initially perhaps, but they soon grew too fond of their newly found majority status. Republicans came to Washington-and decided they liked it there inside the Beltway. They learned how to make backroom deals just like the old pols had before them. They took advantage of the attention of the lobbyists, their gifts, their trips on planes to boondoggle destinations, and all the rest. They learned how to engage in earmarks to bring the pork back to their constituents who, in turn, re-elected them. Spending, rather than be cut, was greatly expanded. Some, married or not, took advantatge of their offices and power to enjoy more female attention than they normally would have.

In short, they became corrupted.

Not that the Democrats were squeaky clean all these years. They were doing what they had always done. But it was the Republicans who got all the attention, largely because they had always talked about family values. So when a Mark Foley got nailed chasing pages or a Larry Craig got nailed in a men's room, it severely damaged the Party. Meanwhile, when William "Cool Cash" Jefferson was revealed to have accepted a bribe from undercover FBI agents, the story didn't carry as much weight because it really didn't shock anybody.

Second, it is time for Republicans to clear out their deadwood and make room for a new generation of up and coming leaders. Fortunately, Craig is retiring. Ted Stevens, who has been convicted, yet apparently re-elected (at this writing), must be gotten rid of. If he returns to Washington in January, his Republican counterparts must do everything in their power to get him out of Congress. If he refuses, they should join with Democrats in expelling him. Along that line, Stevens' Alaska crony, Rep. Don Young should also be shown the door. (The FBI may take care of that problem.) The old horse traders and Washington pros, even if not tainted by corruption, must fade into oblivion

The Republicans do have rising young stars; Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindall, Lynn Swann, Paul Ryan, Michael Steele, and yes, Sarah Palin are prime examples of young conservatives who should be groomed for higher offices. What the Republicans need are young, energetic voices who can effectively articulate conservative values. George W. Bush could not. John McCain could not.

In addition, if the Republicans decide that they need to move closer to the Democrats and compete for their votes with a "we can do more for you" than the Democrats, I think it will be a huge mistake. Do they need to bring in more blacks and Hispanics? Sure they do, but they need to do it with a message that conservatism is the better way. For example, they need to convince blacks that they will be treated equally-not as handicapped children who need to be nurtured-as the Democrats do. With a black president, what need is there for nurturing?

As for Hispanics, Republicans need to convince them that their in-grained family values are more at home with Republicans than Democrats. Competing with Democrats in caving into border/immigration issues didn't accomplish much did it? Did the Republicans overlook a lot of Hispanic Americans who wanted new immigrants to play by the rules-as they had done? Who spoke for their voices? Who spoke for the Hispanics who wanted relief from illegal alien street gangs that were preying on their communities? Nobody, that's who.

All that is a round-a-bout way of saying that Republicans need to get back to their conservative base and sell it to the rest of the American people. They need fresh voices who can stand and debate with the Democrat liberals and show how wrong the latter are. They need to start now-even if inexperience costs them elections two years from now-elections they figure to lose anyway if the country is still basking in the Obama presidency.

The Republicans do have one thing going in their favor begiining in January. If things go bad in the next two years, there is only one party that can be blamed. In the meantime, let the rebuilding begin.

Obama is Elected

Since it is late and there are so many thoughts running through my head, I thought I would write down a few thoughts on Barack Obama's victory and save a longer essay for later when I am refreshed and had a chance to digest it all.

First of all, congratulations to Obama for a hard-earned victory. There is no doubt he ran a great campaign. I am also quite relieved that the victory was clear and decisive. There is no need to be divided over ACORN tonight. Whatever they did or did not do, it did not affect the outcome. There was no stolen election, thank God.

I think John McCain gave the greatest concession speech I have ever heard. Like him or not, he is a great American who has given more to his country that most all of us could imagine.

Tonight, watching the images on television, even I was a little swept away by the hope that this election might really be a turning point in America's long history of tortured racial relations. That remains to be seen because Obama's election does not wipe out the social-economic divide between the races. I do think, however, that it makes it a whole lot harder for people like Jeremiah Wright to say this is a racist country.

As for President Obama, he will, indeed, be tested by international events-specifically militant Islam. As our commander-in-chief, I will look to him to protect America from the likes of Al-Qaida.

The Republican Party has a lot of introspection to do. They need to decide what it is they stand for beyond getting themselves elected. They have a lot of deadwood that needs to be swept out and new blood that needs to be brought in. I hope they will return to their conservative principles and find leaders who can articulate that message to the public.

As for the new administration, there will be plenty of time for criticism and holding their feet to the fire. Now it will be us conservatives who have the opportunity to "speak truth to power" (to borrow a liberal line).

But for now, Obama will be our president, and he has my prayers.

Congratulations, Senator Obama and God speed.

Barack Obama's Grandmother Passes Away- a Time for Condolences

The news today that Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, passed away today in Hawaii is a sad event. In spite of my opposition to Obama's candidacy for the White House, we should all stop for a moment, say a prayer for the lady who raised Obama, and express to him our condolences.

Should Obama win the election tomorrow, it would have been nice if his grandmother had lived to see the moment. Sadly, she did not.