Dr. Dreyfuss musings

4 Democratic Party workers sentenced to jail for tire slashings

Tossing aside a plea agreement that called for probation, Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Michael Brennan sentenced four Democratic Party workers today to jail for slashing the tires of 25 vans rented by Republicans to take voters to polls for the 2004 presidential election.

(Sowande Omokunde (right) hugs his motherm U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, during a break in the sentencing proceedings Wednesday in front of another defendant, Lewis Caldwell)

Calling the vandalism more than harmless hijinks, Brennan admonished the four men, including the sons of two prominent Milwaukee politicians, for disenfranchising voters. The judge said he had received letters from Milwaukee County citizens upset over the crime.

"They see you tampering with something they consider sacred and that's the ballot box," Brennan said during a two-hour sentencing this morning.

Michael Pratt, 33, and Lewis Caldwell, 29, were each sentenced to six months in jail while Lavelle Mohammad, 36, got five months and Sowande Omokunde, 26, got four months. Each was also fined $1,000. They will be eligible for work release and were allowed to surrender to begin their sentences within two weeks.

Pratt is the son of former Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt and Omokunde is the son of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.)

A plea deal was reached in January as a jury appeared deadlocked in a case that received national attention. Four of the five defendants agreed to plead no contest to misdemeanor charges instead of the original felony property damage counts. A fifth Kerry-Edwards staffer accused of crippling Republican vans, Justin Howell, 21, turned down the last-minute deal and was acquitted by the jury.

At the time of the plea deal, Assistant District Attorney David Feiss said that if the defendants paid a collective $5,317.45 restitution by today – which they did - he would recommend all four get probation. Misdemeanor property damage carries a possible maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.

But in an unusual move, Brennan disregarded the agreement and said a stiffer punishment was needed.

“This case has to be an example of what happens if you interfere in voters’ rights,” said Brennan.

Outside the courtroom Marvin Pratt shook his head and mentioned the three fired Milwaukee police officers recently acquitted in the Frank Jude Jr. beating.

“Isn’t it funny - in the city of Milwaukee you can beat a man half to death and get exonerated and here you’ve got four men who committed a property crime” and are sentenced to jail, said Pratt said.

Brennan said Pratt and Caldwell got longer terms because they have prior criminal convictions – Pratt was convicted in 1996 in a hazing incident while he was a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student and Caldwell was convicted of causing injury by drunken driving. Omokunde received the lightest punishment, Brennan said, because of his remorseful remarks to the judge during sentencing.

Omokunde told the judge that the 2004 presidential election sharply divided America but that no matter how divisive the election, no one had the right to commit vandalism.

“As a child I was taught honesty by my family and by my teachers. Your honor, I crossed the line,” Omokunde said, as his mother watched from the front row of the courtroom gallery.

Dr. Dreyfuss musings

Minutemen Gaining in Immigration Debate Apr 26 2:04 PM US/Eastern Email this story

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer

IRVINE, Calif.

Laurie Lisonbee worried about illegal immigration but figured it was somebody else's issue _ until she saw hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters marching across her TV screen.

Soon, Lisonbee had recruited several friends to attend a demonstration by the Minuteman Project, a volunteer group that patrols the border to keep out illegal immigrants. Now, the 51-year-old art professor checks the group's Web site daily and plans a summer trip to the Mexican border to help build a fence.

Minuteman organizers say this spring's marches have proved to be an unexpected recruitment tool for Americans who feel uneasy about the burgeoning immigration movement but may have considered the organization a pack of gun-toting vigilantes.

"We're not trying to be more mainstream _ mainstream has found us," said Stephen Eichler, the group's executive director. "They're saying, 'These guys actually have teeth, they don't all chew tobacco, they don't all have a gun rack in the back of their truck.' They're saying, `They believe what I believe,' and they're joining us."

Lisonbee, a registered Republican, said only one issue matters to her now.

"My vote will go to the candidate who's the toughest on immigration, whether they're Democrat or Republican," she said from her home in Orem, Utah. "Before, we were pretty much the types of people who would call our congressmen and not take to the streets. But that's all changed now."

The Minuteman Project first gained attention last year when Orange County resident and former tax accountant Jim Gilchrist helped lead its first 30-day patrol of the border in Arizona. The group has added mainstream political tools, including a network of local chapters and e-mail lobbying campaigns.

In December, Gilchrist, a former Republican, ran as a third-party candidate in a special House election in Orange County, Calif., finished a respectable third with 25 percent of the vote.

Since this spring's huge pro-immigrant rallies, 300 people nationwide have applied to start local chapters, according to Eichler. The group's goal is 500 chapters by December and a membership of 1 million within 1 1/2 years, Eichler said.

Eichler claimed the organization's membership has climbed to more than 200,000.

But Heidi Beirich, deputy director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, which monitors the Minuteman Project for racist rhetoric, said that estimate appears to be ridiculously high. She offered no estimate of her own.

"At the border during this last outing, they had maybe 50 people. If they have 200,000 people, it doesn't seem right," she said.

Beirich also questioned the premise that pro-immigrant rallies will help the Minuteman Project. She said many recruits may attend one or two rallies, but leave after they discover what she called the group's extremist attitudes.

"They get in there and they're like, `My God, I didn't sign on for this,'" she said.

In the coming weeks, the Minuteman Project plans to set out in a caravan from Los Angeles to Washington, with stops in 13 cities, including President Bush's vacation haven of Crawford, Texas. It is also raising money to build a private fence along parts of the California-Mexico border.

Increased security along the border is a popular idea on Capitol Hill, where the immigration debate will soon resume. How to treat the approximately 11 million illegal immigrants now here is where Congress splits _ a House bill would criminalize the immigrants, a Senate bill would offer guest worker status and a potential path to citizenship.

David S. Meyer, a professor of sociology and political science at the University of California, Irvine, said the growing Minuteman movement has "stiffened the spine" of conservative politicians who might otherwise be wary of publicly identifying with the organization's views.

He said the recent workplace crackdown at a pallet manufacturer that resulted in 1,100 arrests at 40 U.S. sites was part of an attempt by the Bush administration to appease the Minuteman Project and its congressional supporters. Bush supports a guest worker program.

"The debate has kind of come to them, and they're clever enough politically to realize that," Meyer said. "People in mainstream politics who are not associated with the Minuteman Project are essentially voicing their position, which is a victory itself."

Dr. Dreyfuss musings

China is rising fast and is expected to eclipse the United States economically in the future - its gross domestic product is tipped to overtake that of America by 2045.

Dr. Dreyfuss musings

Dusty Baker Not Worried About Cubs' Hot Start

April 13, 2006 | Issue 42•15

CHICAGO—Despite their impressive 4-2 start and the fact that their pitching and offense appears to be clicking on all cylinders, Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Wednesday that he has "no doubt" that his team will be able to turn things around in time to miss the playoffs.

"I know things look good right now, and you hate to see Cubs fans get encouraged early, but I'm certain that things will straighten themselves out and we'll be in third place by early May," Baker said at a press conference Wednesday. "With the talent and drive we lack, it's foolish to think that this team can continue playing at this rate all year."

"If it's September and we're still atop the division standings? Then we'll start panicking," Baker added.

In their disappointing series sweep of the rival Cardinals last weekend, the Cubs did all the little things right, winning ballgames with a combination of solid pitching, good defense, and timely hitting—fundamentals that Baker says his team will eventually ignore as the season goes on.

"The guys are in a bit of a groove right now, but they'll snap out of it," Baker said. "It's early yet. There's still plenty of time to get back off track and give the fans the kind of season they've come to know and expect."

"I'd love to go out there and lose all 162 games for this city, but both the players and the fans know that's not possible no matter how bad you are," he added.

Longtime Cubs fans have echoed Baker's sentiments, saying that, despite the emergence of Derrek Lee as a triple-crown threat and the acquisition of a top leadoff hitter in Juan Pierre, they still have complete faith that the Cubs have what it takes to make it all the way to October without ever factoring into the playoff picture.

"Sure, other teams may look just as awful on paper, but the Cubs have all the intangibles—the inability to play as a cohesive unit, management that always seems to make the wrong moves, a storied history of crushing, tragic defeats despite favorable odds," said Chicago-area resident Matt Grant. "No winning streak can get that lose-at-any-cost mentality out of our Cubbies' heads."

"This is the year," Grant added. "This is the year we extend our World Series drought to 98 years."

Baker cited several other reasons he thinks the Cubs will work into a slump and quickly get back under .500, including his inexperienced pitching staff returning to their usual form, his plan to rush injured stars Mark Prior and Kerry Wood back to action in time to inflame their injuries and cause enough arm damage to make them miss the entire season, and the fact that his son Darren is now older and larger than he was in the 2002 playoffs, and therefore capable of more effectively obstructing the basepaths while his team is trying to score.

Although his harshest critics say that the Cubs appear to be doing everything right so far, Baker points to Tuesday's 9-2 drubbing at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds as a clear indication that his team is moving in the right direction.

"Tuesday's loss was a prime example of the kind of baseball this team is capable of playing on a regular basis," Baker said of the game in which the Cubs managed to score only two runs while leaving 15 men on base and allowing six home runs. "The key is that this was a balanced attack against us. Any team can allow a big inning—as we did in the five-run sixth that featured a grand slam—but the Reds also scored a run in each of the first four frames. If we can consistently take that kind of well-rounded beating—and if any team can do it, it's us—I truly think we can lose 90 games."

Baker said that, although the box scores show that the Cubs won four of the first six games, in reality, they had the opportunity to lose "any or all of them."

"Unfortunately, we just happened to get some lucky breaks, some good bounces, and had some calls go our way—over the course of a long season, that's gonna happen to any team a few times," Baker said. "We'll be fine, though."

He added: "Talk to me in June."

Dr. Dreyfuss musings

Jack Ohman by Jack Ohman	previous date | no next date

Dr. Dreyfuss musings

We have a tie for asshole of the week.
You decide who gets the award?

Coach disciplined for distributing flier at school
Instructor urged Latino students to attend rally on immigration
By JENNIFER RADLIFFE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Rudy Rios was stripped of his duties as junior varsity baseball coach at Chavez High School last week after using a district copying machine to make a flier encouraging Latino students to attend a rally protesting restrictions on illegal immigration.

Rios, who still retains his duties as an English-as-a-second-language teacher, (wtf) was copying and distributing a flier that read:
"We gots 2 stay together and protest against the new law that wants 2 be passed against all immigrants. We gots 2 show the U.S. that they aint (expletive) with out us (sic)," according to district officials.
(Sounds like a real great 'English' teacher...)

"Mr. Rios used taxpayer-funded school equipment to copy and distribute to children an offensive statement," said Houston Independent School District spokesman Terry Abbott. "The principal exercised his authority to remove Mr. Rios as junior varsity baseball coach, and it certainly was an appropriate decision."

Chavez Principal Dan Martinez made the decision, but referred questions on the issue to Abbott. Rios could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to district records, Rios has been with HISD since August 2002. He earned about $42,000 a year.

Last week, Reagan High School Principal Robert Pambello was disciplined for putting a Mexican flag below the U.S. and Texas flags that fly at his school.

Gayle Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said many educators are struggling to keep their opinions on the controversial changes to the immigration laws out of the classroom.

"It's a very tough one for a lot of the teachers because it's a highly emotional issue," she said. "A teacher's role is to be informative, but not persuasive. They need to talk to students. They need to make sure they know the issues, but like any other political issue, their role is not to express a specific opinion."

Teachers would be allowed to demonstrate on their own time, including during duty-free lunches, she said. "A teacher is a citizen. A teacher has every right to — on their own time — be as public as they want, no matter how popular or unpopular their views," she said.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/metropolitan/3771915

Schakowsky ire phony as kited checks>

Published April 7, 2006

Every time Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky mentions "Republicans" and "scandal" and "accountability," she'll be sticking her husband's foot in her mouth.

The foot I'm talking about belongs to her spousal unit, Robert Creamer, the noted champion of the poor and the downtrodden and Democratic political organizer.

"More than anything, I am proud of who Bob is ... He has been a constant crusader," Schakowsky said the other day.

She said this after her constant crusader had been sentenced for a criminal check-kiting scheme and a tax fraud charge. For those of you who are unfamiliar with check kiting, here's how it works:

When you run out of money, you write a bad check. Then you write another bad check to cover the first one, and another, and millions of dollars later you might be convicted, like Creamer, the champion of the poor and the downtrodden. But when it comes to sentencing, you might run into a problem, if you're you, and not Creamer.

If you're yourself, regular old you, a taxpayer who's not married to a highly connected liberal Democrat who shrieks about how the little guy is always getting screwed by those evil Republican money grubbers, you'll go to prison for a very long time.

At least taxpayers know something about taxes: Every time taxes are raised, a liberal gets his wings. It's kind of like the bells for angels in "It's a Wonderful Life," only this one comes on April 15 and it doesn't ring. It tolls. It tolls for thee.

And since you're not Creamer, you probably won't have scores of prominent Democrats--like U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and a host of other progressive politicians--writing glowing letters to a federal judge about how wonderful you are.

Creamer's judge was U.S. District Court Judge James Moran, the former Democratic state legislator from Evanston. Moran's son-in-law is Democratic political consultant Peter Giangreco, who has worked politics with Creamer and Schakowsky and had a seat on the board of one of Creamer's many organizations.

Judge Moran says he thought about recusing himself from the trial, but the defense and the prosecution didn't ask him to leave. So he stayed.

A federal judge with a conflict of interest as glaring as that shouldn't wait to be asked. He should have walked away on his own. But he didn't.

This week, Moran gave Creamer 5 months in prison, which means he'll do about 4 months and change. And another year of home confinement, which in Creamer's case is a five-bedroom home in Evanston, said to be worth seven figures.

Five months isn't even a slap on the wrist. It's more like a lick on the wrist, or a kiss, but even a lick or a kiss involve contact and so might cause bruising. Think of Creamer's punishment as a breath on the wrist.

In his arguments for mitigation, Creamer portrayed himself as something of a saint, a fellow who fought against racial discrimination--although what that has to do with check kiting is beyond me.

His lawyers argued that he made no personal fortune off his check kiting, and that it was paid back. In essence, he gave himself zero-interest loans to keep his politics afloat, and though it was wrong, it was noble.

But they forgot to mention that the money was paid back only after he got caught, and that the feds warned him about this in 1990 and gave him a break then, but he kept doing it anyway.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Ferguson said Creamer "casts himself as a sort of latter-day, white-collar Robin Hood," but that he "seems not to appreciate that Robin Hood was a crook."

Creamer's defense argued that "Up until the present day, Bob Creamer spends nearly every waking moment focused on how he can serve the public interest--the interest of average working citizens, consumers, the elderly and the underprivileged."

Creamer and Schakowsky were probably focused on the underprivileged--when the underprivileged were serving them at the Four Seasons resort at Punta Mita, Mexico, in January. It was one of those congressional junkets paid for by a private organization, a six-day stay worth $7,045, part policy wonk navel-gazing, part fun in the sun. Think they tipped?

"There's no question it's a nice place," Schakowsky said in a Tribune article. "But it's very important policy work. It's serious."

A few days later, they flew back from their serious work at the resort and Schakowsky joined a crowd of Democrats scolding those Republicans about ethics. She looked extremely serious about ethics up there on the podium.

I'm not challenging her criticism of Republican weasels--personally, I'd like the political head of Republican White House Rasputin Karl Rove on a pike. And I'm not criticizing her for standing by her husband.

But she'll keep pontificating about political accountability, though her husband received only 5 months in the federal can. And the Washington media is probably too polite to call her on that spousal left foot in her mouth.

So I'll say it. Jan? Please put a sock on it.

By John Kass, Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/premium/printedition/Friday/chi-0604070150apr07,1,3...

Dr. Dreyfuss musings
I AM DRYFUSS DAMMIT!

Dr. Dreyfuss musings

Killing Bin Laden will inspire 10 more: Dalai Lama Mar 31 10:57 PM US/Eastern Email this story

The Dalai Lama says that were Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden killed that hatred would cause another 10 like him to spring up, in an interview with a British newspaper.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told The Daily Telegraph that terrorists should be treated humanely.

He also revealed the workings of his relationship with US President George W. Bush, said Westerners had become too self-absorbed and repeated his opposition to homosexuality in a wide-ranging interview.

The Dalai Lama said modern terrorism was born out of jealousy of Western lifestyles.

"Fundamentalism is terrifying because it is based purely on emotion, rather than intelligence," the 70-year-old monk said at the seat of his government-in-exile in the northern Indian hilltop town of Dharamsala.

"It prevents followers from thinking as individuals and about the good of the world.

"This new terrorism has been brewing for many years. Much of it is caused by jealousy and frustration at the West because it looks so highly developed and successful on television. Leaders in the East use religion to counter that, to bind these countries together."

Terrorists, he warned, must be treated humanely.

"Otherwise, the problem will escalate. If there is one Bin Laden killed today, soon there will be 10 Bin Ladens. Awesome. Ten Bin Ladens killed, the hatred is spread; 100 bombed, and 1,000 lose members of their families."

Although he appeared not to approve of the war in Iraq, he was admiring of Bush.

"He is very straightforward," said the monk.

"On our first visit, I was faced with a large plate of biscuits. President Bush immediately offered me his favourites, and after that, we got on fine. On my next visit, he didn't mind when I was blunt about the war.

"By my third visit, I was ushering him into the Oval Office. I was astonished by his grasp of Buddhism."

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 when Beijing crushed an anti-Chinese uprising there.

He is the first Dalai Lama to travel to the West and has been accused of being obsessed with the trappings of fame there.

"I never asked people like (US actor) Richard Gere to come, but it is foolish to stop them," he told the Telegraph.

"My attitude is to give everyone some of my time. If I can contribute in any way to their happiness, that makes me happy."

He told the broadsheet that Westerners had become self-absorbed, burdened with too much choice.

"It is fascinating. In the West, you have bigger homes, yet smaller families; you have endless conveniences -- yet you never seem to have any time. You can travel anywhere in the world, yet you don't bother to cross the road to meet your neighbours," he said.

"I don't think people have become more selfish, but their lives have become easier and that has spoilt them. They have less resilience, they expect more, they constantly compare themselves to others and they have too much choice -- which brings no real freedom."