NEW YORK – (AP) – Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.
"But Judge, I'm 71 years-old, I'll never be able to serve 150 years!" ...Bernie, just do the best you can...
Scattered applause and whoops broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he lives “in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering I’ve created.”
Chin rejected a request by Madoff’s lawyer for leniency and said he disagreed that victims of the Ponzi scheme were seeking mob vengeance.
“Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll,” Chin said.
The judge said the estimate that Madoff has cost his victims more than $13 billion was conservative because it did not include money from feeder funds. (Read more.)
The Supreme Court today narrowly ruled in favor of white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., who said they were denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision by Judge Sonia Sotomayor and others that had come to play a large role in the consideration of her nomination for the high court.
The city had thrown out the results of a promotion test because no African Americans and only two Hispanics would have qualified for promotions. It said it feared a lawsuit from minorities under federal laws that said such “disparate impacts” on test results could be used to show discrimination.
In effect, the court was deciding when avoiding potential discrimination against one group amounted to actual discrimination against another.
The court’s conservative majority said in a 5 to 4 vote that is what happened in New Haven.
“Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer’s reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions,” wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the liberals on the court and said the decision knocks the pegs from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. (Read more.)
B.S. Report–It’s very discouraging when the Court, in a clear-cut, obviously wrong decision still divides along ideological lines. These firefighters were denied promotions simply because they scored higher than those of the “proper” races favored by liberal activists and judge/activists like Sotomayor.
This country has largely moved beyond race–it’s time that our politicians and liberal activists follow suit. Unfortunately, many of them have advanced their careers on the basis of playing the “race hustler” card. It’s too lucrative for them to admit that America is basically a fair country and that we should all be judged by one standard.
Waxman-Markey Energy Rationing Bill Is Worse Than Everything President Obama Has Done So Far…Combined
Of all the proposals in President Barack Obama’s breathtakingly ambitious agenda to foster long-term economic decline, by far the biggest is the Waxman-Markey energy-rationing bill, which the House of Representatives passed with the narrowest of majorities late Friday evening. This bill by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) and Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is more damaging than the $787 billion stimulus, the proposed huge increases in federal spending and corresponding increases in the national debt, the takeover of GM and Chrysler, and the proposed tax hikes on the wealthy – combined.
Enacting Waxman-Markey (H. R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act) would almost certainly make America a second-rate economic power. However, the bill is full of ironies and amusing touches. Were it not a looming disaster, the whole situation would be hilarious.
The bill is supposed to be about saving us from global warming. Yet its supporters have stopped talking about global warming. This might be because global temperatures stopped rising a decade ago. More likely it’s because the pollsters have told Democrats to shut up about global warming and green jobs. The new slogan: get America running on “clean energy.”
The bill’s advocates view it as merely a first step, as former Vice President Al Gore told “super-activists” (all 11,500 of “us”) on a conference call Tuesday night. It’s the biggest tax increase in the history of the world, the largest government intrusion in people’s lives since the Second World War (which was the last time gasoline was rationed) and, at 1,201 pages, a whopper of a bill. Requiring that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 is just the beginning.
The reason given for why it has taken years to pass major climate legislation is the bajillion dollars spent by fat cat corporate special interests–Big Oil, King Coal, etc. But a major push behind Waxman-Markey is the United States Climate Partnership (USCAP), whose members include two dozen or so major corporations (including Duke Energy, Dow, GE, Shell, BP, Ford, GM, Alcoa, PG&E, Exelon, DuPont, PepsiCo, even Caterpillar) and some of the same environmental pressure groups that blame big business for stymieing energy-rationing legislation.
Adding to the irony, the corporate CEOs who support cap-and-trade are fawned over for putting the good of the planet ahead of short-term profits. This is a shameful racket that is all about short-term windfall profits. When testifying before Congress, several CEOs of USCAP member companies said that passing Waxman-Markey was imperative but that they would have to oppose it if they had to buy the ration coupons at auction rather than be given them for free. Al Gore, too, could make hundreds of millions of dollars from his investments in alternative energy companies if Waxman-Markey makes them profitable.
The bill’s proponents talk about protecting consumers while intermittently acknowledging that cap-and-trade can only reduce greenhouse gas emissions by dramatically raising the price of energy derived from coal, oil and natural gas. President Obama said during the campaign last year that “under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” Dr. Peter Orszag, now head of the White House Office and Management and Budget, testified last year when he was head of the Congressional Budget Office that “price increases would be essential to the success of a cap-and-trade program.” (Read more.)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut woman mauled and blinded by a chimpanzee in February had feared the animal might hurt someone and described him as mean and so strong that she had to repair his cage several times, her brothers said.
Michael and Stephen Nash’s comments to The Associated Press provides the first public look at Charla Nash’s dealings with Travis, a 200-pound chimpanzee that went berserk when his owner asked Nash to help lure him back into his house. The chimp ripped off Nash’s hands, nose, lips and eyelids, and she has been hospitalized for months at the Cleveland Clinic, where she is in stable condition.
Nash was a friend and employee of the chimp’s owner, Sandra Herold of Stamford, Conn. Nash’s family has filed a $50 million lawsuit against Herold, saying she was negligent and reckless for lacking the ability to control “a wild animal with violent propensities.”
Nash’s brother Stephen said his sister mentioned problems people had with Travis, but he declined to elaborate.
“She even said she thought Travis might hurt somebody but she didn’t think it would be her,” Stephen Nash said.
Another brother, Michael Nash, said his sister welded Travis’s cage a few times after the animal had damaged it by banging it and throwing objects around his cage.
“He kept breaking it. It wasn’t sturdy enough for him,” Michael Nash said.
Herold’s attorney, Robert Golger, has said there was no way to predict Travis would attack Nash. He questioned why Nash would voluntarily go to Herold’s house if she was afraid of the chimpanzee. (Read more.)
Travis' cousin Archie shows no remorse for what Travis did...
EDITOR’S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.
Iran’s hardline president lashed out anew at the United States and President Barack Obama on Saturday, accusing him of interference and suggesting that Washington’s stance on Iran’s postelection turmoil could imperil Obama’s aim of improving relations.
“We are surprised at Mr. Obama,” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in remarks to judiciary officials broadcast on state television. “Didn’t he say that he was after change? Why did he interfere?”
B.S.–What happened to the “robust” debate?
“They keep saying that they want to hold talks with Iran … but is this the correct way? Definitely, they have made a mistake,” Ahmadinejad said.
Obama was strongly criticized at home and by many abroad, for his initial measured response to opposition allegations that Ahmadinejad was re-elected by fraud in the June 12 balloting and to the harsh crackdown on protesters. The Obama administration wants to improve contacts with Tehran, especially because of concern that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, and Obama appeared unwilling to jeopardize that goal with strong statements against Iran’s authorities.
But on Friday, he hailed the demonstrators in Iran and condemned the violence against them. (Read more.)
B.S. Report–President Obama put his finger in the air to measure which way the political winds were blowing and discovered that his tepid response wasn’t going over very well with the American people or the Iranian dissenters.
SAN ANTONIO HEIGHTS, Calif. (AP) — Deputies say a bear with an apparent sweet-tooth busted into a San Bernardino County home and gobbled up a box of chocolates from a couple’s refrigerator.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Alsky says the couple arrived home Saturday afternoon, found the bear chowing down in their kitchen and phoned for help.
The bear fled before sheriff’s deputies arrived.
Alsky says the animal appeared to have pushed aside vegetables in the couple’s fridge and gone straight for the two-pound box of sweets.
He says the bear also tried to open a bottle of champagne but was not successful.
1858 – George Washington Goethals
Chief Engineer of Panama Canal; died Jan 21, 1928
1861 – Dr. William Mayo
physician, surgeon; founder [w/sons William and Charles] of the Mayo Clinic [Rochester MN]; died in 1939
1901 – Nelson Eddy
actor, singer [w/Jeannette MacDonald]: Rose Marie, Naughty Marietta, Girl of the Golden West; died Mar 6, 1967
1910 – Frank Loesser
songwriter: Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, Baby It’s Cold Outside, On a Slow Boat to China, Once in Love with Amy, Luck Be a Lady, Thumbelina; died July 28, 1969
1912 – John Toland
Pulitzer Prize-winning author: The Rising Sun [1970]; died Jan 4, 2004
1915 – Ruth Warrick
actress: Citizen Kane, All My Children; died Jan 15, 2005
1919 – Slim Pickens (Louis Bert Lindley Jr.)
actor: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Howling, The Apple Dumpling Gang, In Harm’s Way, One-Eyed Jacks, The Outlaws, Hee Haw; Cowboy Hall of Famer; died Dec 8, 1983
1922 – Elmer J. ‘Mousey’ Alexander
musician: drums: group: Alexanders the Great; died Oct 9, 1988
1922 – Ralph Burns
musician: piano; composer, arranger: Apple Honey; died Nov 21, 2001
1925 – Cara Williams (Bernice Kamiat)
actress: The Defiant Ones, The Girl Next Door, Pete and Gladys
1930 – Robert Evans
actor: The Man of a Thousand Faces, The Best of Everything Robert Evans (Robert J. Shapera)
1941 – Kwame Ture (Stokeley Carmichael)
U.S. civil rights activist: SNCC [Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee], Black Panthers, All-African People’s Revolutionary Party [founder/chairman]; credited w/creating phrase ‘Black Power’; emigrated to Africa; married to South African singer Miriam Makeba; even as he was dying of prostate cancer [died Nov 15, 1998], he continued working to bring the African-American community into coalition … answering the telephone, “ready for the revolution.”
1943 – Roger Ruskin Spear
musician: saxophone, kazoo: group: The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band: I’m the Urban Spaceman, LPs: Gorilla, The Doughnut in Granny’s Greenhouse, Tadpoles, Keynsham
1944 – Gary Busey
actor: The Buddy Holly Story, Breaking Point, The Texas Wheelers, Warriors, Lethal Weapon, The Firm, Predator 2
1945 – ‘Little’ Eva Boyd
singer: The Loco-motion
1947 – Richard Lewis
comedian, actor: Anything But Love, Daddy Dearest, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Wagon’s East
1948 – Fred Grandy
actor: The Love Boat; politician: U.S. congressman
1948 – Ian Paice
musician: drums: groups: Paice Ashton Lord, Whitesnake, Deep Purple: Hush, Kentucky Woman, Hey Joe, We Can Work It Out, Help, Black Night, Strange Kind of Woman, Fireball, Smoke on the Water
1949 – Dan Dierdorf
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Univ. of Michigan All-American; St. Louis Cardinals; sportscaster: ABC Monday Night Football, CBS NFL Analyst
1953 – Colin Hay
singer: group: Men at Work: Who Can It Be Now, Down Under; solo: LP: Looking for Jack
1956 – Pedro Guerrero
baseball: LA Dodgers, SL Cardinals
1957 – Maria Conchita Alonso
actress: Roosters, Texas, Predator 2, Vampire’s Kiss, Colors, The Running Man, Extreme Prejudice, Blood Ties, Moscow on the Hudson, One of the Boys
1961 – Sharon Lawrence
actress: Ladies Man, The Heidi Chronicles, NYPD Blue
1962 – Amanda Donohoe
actress: The Substitute, Double Cross, L.A. Law
1964 – Stedman Pearson
singer: group: Five Star: System Addict, Can’t Wait Another Minute, Rain or Shine, The Slightest Touch
1967 – Melora Hardin
actress: The North Avenue Irregulars, Iron Eagle, Big Man on Campus, Absolute Power
“I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe.
I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman’s club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave.”
1860 – The last stone was laid at Minot’s Ledge (Massachusetts) Lighthouse. The stone tower replaced an iron-pile lighthouse that had been destroyed by a storm in April 1851. The new lighthouse was built of 1,079 blocks (3,514 tons) of Quincy granite dovetailed together and reinforced with iron shafts. Minot’s Light has lasted through countless storms and hurricanes, a testament to its designer and builders. The first 40 feet is solid granite, topped by a storeroom, living quarters and work space.
1897 – The Chicago Cubs scored 36 runs in a ball game against Louisville, setting a record for runs scored by a team in a single game.
1901 – The first edition of Editor & Publisher was issued. It was a newspaper for the newspaper industry.
1925 – A patent for the frosted electric light bulb was filed by Marvin Pipkin. What a bright idea. The frosting inside the light bulb created less glare because it diffused the light emitted, spreading it over a wider area, providing a much softer glow. Thank you Marvin.
1932 – The second daytime serial to be heard on network radio was Vic and Sade which debuted on the NBC Blue radio network this day. Radio’s first daytime drama was Clara Lu and Em, which premiered on NBC in 1931.
Vic and Sade rehearsal; from left: Art Van Harvey, Bernadine Flynn, Paul Rhymer and Bill Idelson
1941 – Joe DiMaggio got a base hit in his 41st consecutive game. DiMaggio passed George Sisler’s record for consecutive games with base hitsset in 1922.
1947 – Radio’s show with a heart made its debut. Strike It Rich became a favorite on CBS radio. Todd Russell was the original host. Warren Hull took over a few years later.
1951 – Bill Stern did his last 15-minute program of sports features for NBC radio. Stern had been with NBC for 14 years. He later moved to the Mutual Broadcasting System to finish out an illustrious sportscasting career.
1955 – Billy Haley and His Comets reached the top of the pop music charts with Rock Around the Clock. The smash hit stayed there for eight straight weeks. The song was featured in the film Blackboard Jungle. Most consider the hit song the first rock ’n’ roll single.
1956 – Charles Dumas cleared the high jump, which was set at 7’ 1/2″, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Dumas became the first athlete to break the seven-foot barrier.
1957 – Betsy Rawls won the U.S. Golf Association women’s tourney after Jacqueline Pung was disqualified for turning in an incorrect scorecard. Ooooops!
Betsy Rawls
1969 – Jim Northrup of the Detroit Tigers wound up a most exciting week. Northrup connected for his third grand-slam home run in seven days, setting a major-league baseball record.
1970 – NBC presented an evening of exciting and entertaining TV with the award-winning Liza Minnelli Special.
1983 – Pitcher Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers retired from baseball, after several unsuccessful attempts to return to the major leagues. Fidrych had his greatest year as a rookie in 1976, when he had a record of 19-9, with a 2.34 earned-run average. Fidrych, a crowd pleaser throughout the American League, was the All-Star Game starter in Philadelphia in 1976. He also earned Rookie of the Year honors that year.
1984 – Singer Bruce Springsteen kicked off his first U.S. tour in three years, before 17,700 fans at the Civic Center in St. Paul, MN. Music critics called the Boss “…the most exciting performer in rock.”
1987 – Vincent Van Gogh’s Le Pont de Trinquetaille brought in $20.6 million at an auction in London, England. No one knows who the anonymous European collector was who paid that staggering price for the piece of art. No one, that is, except the buyer.
1995 – For the first time, a U.S. space shuttle (“Atlantis”) linked up with a Russian space station (“Mir”). They remained docked until July 4. The joined craft were visible from earth as a fast-moving, shiny, star and carried a record 10 people (6 Americans and 4 Russians).
1996 – A really big shew this day at London’s Hyde Park. Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Alanis Morrissette, Ron Woods and The Who performed at the charity event for Prince Charles’ Prince’s Trust charity. 150,000 people showed up and brought about a million bucks with them for the good cause.
