Pardon Me!

Seems like Brent Wilkes isn’t the only one who wants out of jail.  The New York Times reports that Duke is seeking a pardon from President Bush:

In addition, prominent federal inmates are asking Mr. Bush to commute their sentences. Among them are Randy Cunningham, the former Republican congressman from California; Edwin W. Edwards, a former Democratic governor of Louisiana; John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban; and Marion Jones, the former Olympic sprinter.

The requests are adding to a backlog of nearly 2,300 pending petitions, most from “ordinary people who committed garden-variety crimes,” said Margaret Colgate Love, a clemency lawyer.

In 2002, when Duke was in Congress, he tried to get a pardon for Tommy K., the Greek businessman and convicted felon who had purchased the honorable gentleman’s yacht. Today, the 66-year-old Cunningham is in a federal prison “camp” in Tuscon with an expected release date of 2013.

Jimmy Hoffa, Richard Nixon, Marc Rich, Patty Hearst all got pardons, so maybe Duke’s got a shot.

Idiocracy

From The L Magazine

UPDATE: A friend writes, “You ARE awsome. And I admire you for not being ashamed to show skin on your blog. Very healthy color; clearly you’re getting your Omega-3. But I hope you can get the other two tats removed—I would have stopped at one. Nevertheless, you’ve insipred me, and I’m running out to get my own shoulder-length “Nollige Is Good” right now.”

Brent Wilkes' Secret Admirer

So, a secret admirer of Brent Wilkes wants to help him get out of prison.

The former defense contractor was sentenced in February to 12 years for bribing former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham with hookers, cash, and meals at DC’s Capital Grille. But Wilkes has been eating daily specials at Terminal Island FCI in San Pedro because he can’t come up with $1.4 million in collateral to secure relase.

A few days ago, his attorney said that some unnamed person was willing to bail Wilkes out, but only if he or she can shield their identity from everyone but Judge Larry Burns. Mr. or Mrs. X was concerned that public disclosure would impact his or her ability to make a living.

This seems a bit odd. If you can plunk down the couple hundred Gs Wilkes needs (his family has pledged the rest) your livelihood would seem to be fairly secure, no?

Not surprisingly, prosecutors don’t like this. According to them, Wilkes has misled the court with “false affidavits and questionable dealings” over his assets:

…the government believes that the sealing of traditionally open proceedings, which may prove crucial to securing the defendant’s release, will only raise the specter of undue influence and favoritism being exercised on behalf of a formerly well-heeled, white collar criminal that would not be afforded to his less-advantaged fellow felons.

The government only likes secrecy when it suits its own interests. Prosecutors bent over backward for fellow Cunningham briber Tommy K., who pleaded guilty in a secret hearing and then flew off to stay at a 5-star hotel in Greece.  We still don’t know why that happened because … the government is still keeping secrets!

A hearing is set for later this month. I think Wilkes will be wearing his jumpsuit and plastic sandals for a while longer. Judge Burns doesn’t seem to like Wilkes very much. Burns said he “doubts Mr. Wilkes’ trustworthiness” because Wilkes testified he had never seen the prostitute who screwed him in Hawaii. Twice.

If You Think Bush's Approval is Low…

07/01/2008 Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters by Rasmussen Reports

“Okay, how do you rate the way that Congress is doing its job?”

2% Excellent
7% Good
36% Fair
52% Poor
2% Not sure

Congratulations, Congress! Single digit (9 percent) approval ratings! A new low!

La Raza = The Race?

The San Diego Union-Tribune story today on the outcry over the name of the largest Hispanic organization in the United States.

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – The National Council of La Raza spends most of its time protecting and advancing the rights of Latinos through advocacy and community work. But as it wraps up its convention downtown, it has found itself defending its name.That’s because activists who oppose illegal immigration are saying in e-mails, during street protests and through the media that “La Raza” means “The Race,” and have been calling the organization a hate group.

Activists are saying that, are they? Well, my Spanish-English dictionary also happens to say the same thing. Not so, according the folks at La Raza:

Many people incorrectly translate our name, “La Raza,” as “the race.” While it is true that one meaning of “raza” in Spanish is indeed “race,” in Spanish, as in English and any other language, words can and do have multiple meanings. As noted in several online dictionaries, “La Raza” means “the people” or “the community.” Translating our name as “the race” is not only inaccurate, it is factually incorrect. “Hispanic” is an ethnicity, not a race. As anyone who has ever met a Dominican American, Mexican American, or Spanish American can attest, Hispanics can be and are members of any and all races.

It’s an interesting debate, but only now that the convention’s over does the newspaper feel comfortable enough to write about it. The Union-Tribune is acting more and more like the house organ of the Convention & Visitors Bureau. We wouldn’t want to upset all those conventioneers spending their dollars in America’s Finest City, would we?

This debate has been going on for quite a while now. There was an outcry when the City Council declared July 8 La Raza Day in San Diego. Right-wing talk show host Roger Hedgecock was beating this like a drum all last week.

Hedgecock appeals to the basest, most virulent nativist instincts. He described La Raza as the “Ku Klux Klan with a tan.” The group’s true goal was “the dismemberment of the United States of America.” He makes Lou Dobbs seem like an intellectual by contrast.

Hedgecock was once a “progressive Republican” former mayor who left office when he was CONVICTED of conspiracy and perjury. He then shifted gears and decided to make a living bashing Mexicans. Last week, he was chatting up his idea for his own group — “La Raza Blanca” — until a listener gently reminded him that … ahem … you might want to knock that off.