Changed his mind since the election

[deliverance]

If you don't mind me asking, how much money do you receive from government subsidies?

[southpaw]

Not sure what you mean by subsidies? For the farm? Nothing.

[southpaw]

I got another one for you. Looking into my crystal ball I see........for Obama's AG.........Jamie Gorelick!

There not much tread left on that tire. Been recapped a few times. But we will all be told that she's the berries and a breath of fresh air.

Hmm, seems the scuttlebutt today is that Eric Holder is Obama's choice for AG. The same Holder who defended Hinkley and was Bill Clinton's attorney during impeachment, and I think was the person who persuaded Bill to pardon Mark Rich. Wonder how much they both made on the sly for that pardon? Wow he might be a more corrupt pick than Gorelick.

[once a runner]

I realize I'm a few days late with my response, but to back up a bit, I'll try to answer the questions. Southpaw, the reasons I voted for Obama were:

*His stance on education (earlier child intervention and reform NCLB...hopefully a lot of reform on that one!)
*His stance on using renewable energy. Investing in oil is kind of like investing in typewriters after the PC was invented. It may pay off in the short run, but we must look long term. We must be the first to create and use green technology if we are going to start to bring back jobs that have been lost overseas.
*His stance on health care. Although it's not perfect and maybe too ambitious, there has to be a start to providing health care for everyone. I know many may disagree that health care is not a right, but it's a form of class discrimination.
*I believe that he is open minded enough to listen to all sides of an argument before making a decision. I hope his decisions are based on what is best for the country and not the lobbyists or his cronies.

There are other reasons but those are the major points.

Vman, I fully believe what I write. I'm not a psychic and I may be wrong, just like many others were wrong about George Bush. To be honest, Obama's past associations don't matter that much to me. Obama is not guilty of any of the acts of Rev. Wright or William Ayers. If I saw any evidence that those associations have caused Barack Obama to make bad policy decisions, then it would have been part of the equation in how I cast my ballot.

The bottom line is this, we simply see the same things from a different perspective and there is nothing wrong with that. In my opinion, to demean the intelligence or logic of someone else because they view the world differently than you shows that you lack the depth or the will to try to see the other perspective. The fact that you don't understand my view doesn't make me the confused one.

[deliverance]

Wasn't Dick Cheney indicted on engaging in organized criminal activity, today?

[southpaw]

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN

(AP) U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, left, and Vice President Dick Cheney are shown in this 2006...
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McALLEN, Texas (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor.

The indictment returned Monday has not yet been signed by the presiding judge, and no action can be taken until that happens.

The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tuesday included one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some targeting public officials connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles.

Regarding the indictments targeting the public officials, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me."

Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guerra's tenure ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March.

Guerra said the prison-related charges against Cheney and Gonzales are a national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand jury.

Cheney is charged with engaging in an organized criminal activity related to the vice president's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.

Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on Tuesday, saying that the vice president had not yet received a copy of the indictment.

The indictment accuses Gonzales of using his position while in office to stop an investigation in 2006 into abuses at one of the privately-run prisons.

Gonzales' attorney, George Terwilliger III, said in a written statement, "This is obviously a bogus charge on its face, as any good prosecutor can recognize." He said he hoped Texas authorities would take steps to stop "this abuse of the criminal justice system."

Another indictment released Tuesday accuses Lucio of profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies. Guerra announced his intention to investigate Lucio's prison consulting early last year.

Lucio's attorney, Michael Cowen, released a scathing statement accusing Guerra of settling political scores in his final weeks in office.

"Senator Lucio is completely innocent and has done nothing wrong," Cowen said, adding that he would file a motion to quash the indictment this week.

Willacy County has become a prison hub with county, state and federal lockups. Guerra has gone after the prison-politician nexus before, extracting guilty pleas from three former Willacy and Webb county commissioners after investigating bribery related to federal prison contacts.

Last month, a Willacy County grand jury indicted The GEO Group, a Florida private prison company, on a murder charge in the death of a prisoner days before his release. The three-count indictment alleged The GEO Group allowed other inmates to beat Gregorio de la Rosa Jr. to death with padlocks stuffed into socks. The death happened in 2001 at the Raymondville facility.

In 2006, a jury ordered the company to pay de la Rosa's family $47.5 million in a civil judgment. The Cheney-Gonzales indictment makes reference to the de la Rosa case.

None of the indictments released Tuesday had been signed by Presiding Judge Manuel Banales of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region.

Last month, Banales dismissed indictments that charged Guerra with extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for personal business. An appeals court had earlier ruled that a special prosecutor was improperly appointed to investigate Guerra.

After Guerra's office was raided as part of the investigation early last year, he camped outside the courthouse in a borrowed camper with a horse, three goats and a rooster. He threatened to dismiss hundreds of cases because he believed local law enforcement had aided the investigation against him.

The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV.

Sound like a political witch hunt to me. I guess everyone that invested in Exxon in the 1980's is guilty of the environmental disaster in Alaska.

I tell you who should be indicted in Sen. Chris Dodd and the scandalous loan he got from Countrywide. Do you think there will be anything done? Nope.

[southpaw]

I realize I'm a few days late with my response, but to back up a bit, I'll try to answer the questions. Southpaw, the reasons I voted for Obama were:

*His stance on education (earlier child intervention and reform NCLB...hopefully a lot of reform on that one!)
*His stance on using renewable energy. Investing in oil is kind of like investing in typewriters after the PC was invented. It may pay off in the short run, but we must look long term. We must be the first to create and use green technology if we are going to start to bring back jobs that have been lost overseas.
*His stance on health care. Although it's not perfect and maybe too ambitious, there has to be a start to providing health care for everyone. I know many may disagree that health care is not a right, but it's a form of class discrimination.
*I believe that he is open minded enough to listen to all sides of an argument before making a decision. I hope his decisions are based on what is best for the country and not the lobbyists or his cronies.

There are other reasons but those are the major points.

Vman, I fully believe what I write. I'm not a psychic and I may be wrong, just like many others were wrong about George Bush. To be honest, Obama's past associations don't matter that much to me. Obama is not guilty of any of the acts of Rev. Wright or William Ayers. If I saw any evidence that those associations have caused Barack Obama to make bad policy decisions, then it would have been part of the equation in how I cast my ballot.

The bottom line is this, we simply see the same things from a different perspective and there is nothing wrong with that. In my opinion, to demean the intelligence or logic of someone else because they view the world differently than you shows that you lack the depth or the will to try to see the other perspective. The fact that you don't understand my view doesn't make me the confused one.

OAR could you enlighten us as to the specifics as to how Obama intends to do this? And how much taxpayer money its going to cost. He is the President-Elect and I for one would like to know from you an ardent supporter of him.

Education reform? What's going to be reformed from NCLB? and how much? I'm an educator so I'm anxious to see what your response is.

Renewable Energy? What draconian measures will he try to implement to reduce emissions? How much will that cost us in real economic growth? Do you believe in the man-made global warming hoax? How much in gov't subsidies will he spend to prop up these dubious so called "green" energy initiatives? How specifically will this "green" energy revolution create the 5 million in new "green" jobs he said during the campaign and how will this "green" energy initiative bring jobs back from overseas? I teach Biology, Have a BS in Biology, I am an Eco Farmer, Sit on the Board of the Conservation District and belong to several Conservation Organizations so I am anxious to see your response.

Heatlh care for everyone! That mandate will be bigger than social security! Yet more tax dollars to DC! Class discrimination the classic liberal scare tactic along with cutting social security and medicaid. I guess anyone with more money than the next guy in guilty of class discrimination. I guess everyone should be given an Escalade so they don't feel discriminated against! Hey there you go! The gov't can give everyone and Escalade and GM won't go bankrupt!

[southpaw]

You know its a real shame that Al Gore and Green terrorists have hijacked the debate on conservation with this fascist stance on the junk science man-made global warming hoax. This has overshadowed some real environmental problems that need our attention. One is pollution of freshwater and groundwater. The second is the depletion of groundwater sources specifically the Ogallala aquifer.

[Bball]

Not everyone has been given the same chances in life from the start.
Some people are born into wealth and actually are way worse people sometimes than those who have had to suffer and be held down by the system.

People that have been handed things all their lives and been basically given a comfortable life have no right to judge people that have suffered.

Not looking for a personal response here about your trials and tribulations.

[southpaw]

Life isn't fair. Get used to it and don't use it as an excuse to get a handout! Simple enough for you!