stitching and impeachment

My TV was off. I put the borders on a quilt and have almost completed the basting. Also cut all the pieces for another baby quilt and started the piecing. Went to the fitness center and did my workout. Did some of the planning for an away "sew-in" that's coming up in March. :)

And we are wondering who all he's going to take down with him. Kind of doubt he'll go quietly and alone. Polly

On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:22:32 -0600, Polly Esther wrote (in article ):

My great fear is that he'll barricade himself in his office and then we'll have to figure out how to physically remove him.

You bet he won't. Can't believe that just about everyword out of his mouth is that he is inocent. Be glad when this is over with and then maybe my state can start makeing some progress. I hope.

GrammyKathy

One point that people are finally beginning to make is that this is NOT a criminal trial with the accompanying standards of proof, etc. It is, instead, a proceeding to decide whether he should be fired from his job. No matter how this comes out, though, he still faces the US Attorney and FBI in federal court.

I'm not much of a gambler but I betcha a fq that he is Never convicted in Federal Court. Polly

"Mary" One point that people are finally beginning to make is that this is

Oh, but, Polly, he's such a quiet, unassuming man. I'm sure he will cause no trouble at all.

LOL.

bit of a nutter, ain't he?

Cindy

I think that if the US Attorney presents evidence from some of the people the Guv actually shook down, chances of conviction are pretty good -- folks like the children's hospital administrator who was forced to put a bunch of money in the pot before money appropriated for the hospital would be released -- the board members who were told to change their votes (no vote dictated while the petitioners did not kick in the money, and yes vote dictated after the money was paid) -- contractors and those who sought contracts which carried price tags -- that sort of thing. What he has been saying in this media bitz can come back to bit him on the backside, too, since he is opening doors the US Attorney will be able to walk through and use his own tongue against him. (The Guv should really be saying NOTHING, but that would mean he would actually listen to his attorneys. Of course, they are quitting because he won't listen!) That added to the wiretap tapes and the actual financial records ought to do it. I think there's also a strong possibility that some of the Guv's staffers will testify in exchange for immunity or reduced sentences. This appears to be a stronger case than the one they had against George Ryan. The big unknown, I think, will be the jury pool.

If he is, IIRC he's be the 4th out of the last 8 Illinois governors to go to jail.

I still can not understand how my fellow Illinois voters elected him a second time. One major reason he won the second election was that the Republican party candidate had close ties to the last governor, George Ryan, who is currently in jail. "Blago" had lots of money available for campaign advertising to show the Republican candidate with George Ryan followed by a photograph of George Ryan in custody.

There is so much more to this story than just the sale of the Senate seat. Much of the New York media is only talking about the Senate seat. Don't they do their homework?

What really upsets me is the amount of money that the state must spend on the impeachment. He could have stepped aside until after the civil trial and returned to office if/when he was cleared of the charges.

I have read that Illinois staffers have gone with him to New York. Are we paying for their trip? At least he didn't take the state airplane. He often took the state airplane on his daily commute between Chicago (his home) and Springfield (the state capital). One Chicago newspaper calculated how much these flights have cost us. We provide our governor with a lovely home in Springfield but the current first family has never lived there, preferring instead to live in Chicago.

I can't stand to watch anymore of the "Blago" media.

Susan

iirc, the last administration also got elected twice... so its not just in Illinois. j.

"Susan Laity Price" wrote ... I still can not understand how my fellow Illinois voters elected him a second time.

With the current media blitz, the Guv's travel is being paid by the Guv (or the media interviewing him) and not by the taxpayers, except for the security people who accompany any Governor while travelling. The Guv also has to pay the cost of the PR firm from his own pocket. At least his legal fees have stopped accumulating for the poor fellow

--- his lawyers have quit because he won't cooperate with them!

With his commuting to and from work, I understand that IRS has been investigating this since commuting to and from work are considered personal expenses. Using the State airplanes to commute is considered taxable income. I personally hope IRS comes after him to get that value charged to him as personal, taxable income and levies not only the tax but also the interest and any applicable penalties. Any pilot can tell you to the penny how much it costs to run an airplane, and it's a lot more than just gas -- it is 1% of a required 100-hour maintenance check, .1% of the cost of replacing each engine if the engine is rated to last 1000 flight hours, multiplied by the number of engines, etc. It is figured by time, not mileage.

I hope that if and when he is convicted in federal court that all of the money he strong-armed for his campaign funds is stripped from him! There is a little-known thing about campaign funds, and that is that once a person leaves office, he can keep whatever is in the fund and just pays income tax on it! If these charges are proved, he certainly doesn't deserve to keep the fruits of illegal activities! And he will lose his pension.

On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:37:42 -0600, Kathy Applebaum wrote (in article ):

Sad, but true. Yes, 50% of our Governors go to jail.

Having met the "people", I'm not surprised they keep voting for these crooks.

On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:54:52 -0600, Susan Laity Price wrote (in article ):

We taxpayers apparently paid the salaries of the 2 State troopers who went with him. But since he's still Governor, we'd be paying those salaries anyway. We fortunately are not paying for travel and lodging. The various TV networks are paying for that.

He will lose his state pension but there is a question as to the possibility of his keeping his federal pension from when he served in the House. I have asked a Chicago reporter to investigate how much it costs the tax payers to keep the Springfield Governor's House open but never heard anything. When "Blago" was closing state parks I suggested that he board-up the Governor's mansion but that must not have been done because his lawyer stayed there a few weeks ago.

Susan