On Tuesday, federal prosecutors presented Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak in a different light, not as reformers, but modern versions of Boss Tweed, who used the sixth-floor commissioners office in downtown Scranton to run a criminal enterprise that collectively generated at least $475,000 in kickbacks or bribes from vendors looking for county contracts.
The alleged kickbacks came from companies working at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, planning the botched intermodal bus station in downtown Scranton that cost taxpayers almost $1 million and a cell phone tower deal at the county's 911 center.
Besides the cash, there were the perks, including a free trip to Monte Carlo that one contractor, identified as Company #8, paid for Mr. Cordaro in May 2006, and another free trip in 2004 to the Playboy Mansion that was paid for by Charles "Chuckie" Costanzo, who used some of the almost $650,000 he stole from the county's workers compensation fund, a job Mr. Cordaro gave him in a no-bid contract, according to the indictment.
Munchak, Cordaro indicted on corruption charges
Bob Cordaro: A leader falls far and hard
A.J. Munchak: A partner in government and, feds say, in crime
After indictments, controller calls for more-open bidding in county government
Scranton vs. Wilkes-Barre: which is more corrupt?
Hey, what's going on here? We are more corrupt! - Wilkes-Barre/Luzerne County "Kids for Cash" judges
Don't forget about us!!!
the Wilkes-Barre/Luzerne County Federal Corrupton Probe Page
The Wilkes-Barre/Luzerne County "Kids for Cash" Judges scandal:
Jon Stewart pretends he has the same rights as a corporation:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| In Dodd We Trust | ||||
| ||||
Banks apply pressure to keep fees rolling in. Industry mounts campaign aimed at keeping billions flowing into coffers
Michelle Bisutti borrowed $250,000 to pay for medical school. The debt has since ballooned to $555,000.
Michael Moore on fixing Wall Street and thanking Dennis Kucinich for standing up for millions of Americans:
The video that will put Geithner behind bars:
Holy Sh*t
The Catholic Church punishes Patrick Kennedy for being pro-choice, but takes 20 years to suspend a pedophile priest.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Holy Sh*t | ||||
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Rush Limbaugh represents: BILLIONAIRES AGAINST HEALTH CARE
Special Commentary by Big Dan: "WHO exactly is against health care reform? Bush was the president from 2000 to 2008 and the Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate from 2000 to 2006 and they proposed NO HEALTH CARE REFORM. Not even 'pre-existing condition' - NOTHING! And now they just say no to all health care proposals with none of their own. So, it's safe to say that Republicans are against ANY type of health care reform. Filthy rich people don't need health insurance. If you're a millionaire or a billionaire or even extremely well off, you can pay cash for any health care you want. Even if you live in Canada or England and have universal health care, if you're filthy rich you can go out of the system and simply pay cash, so if we had universal health care here, it wouldn't affect our millionaires and billionaires. They could pay cash for whatever they wanted outside the system. The health insurance companies do NOT want health insurance reform, or they wouldn't be paying politicians hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying against it and they wouldn't be be spending the same amount on advertising (propaganda) against health care reform. So, Republicans, the filthy rich or well off people, and health insurance companies don't want or need health care reform - they are against health care reform. Now here are the Americans who WANT health care. If you're one of 50 million Americans with NO health care, it's safe to say you want health care reform. If you're one of the several hundred million Americans who have lousy, overpriced health care where you're paying $1,000.00/month for it, your claims get denied and you're always on the phone fighting with them, your co-pays keep rising, your deductibles keep rising, your premiums have tripled or rose 39% for less coverage, you have a 20% CO-INSURANCE (that means your health insurance DENIER won't cover 20% of every single thing - a $100,000.00 heart operation? fork over $20,000.00 even though you're covered!), then you want health care reform. So, it sounds like hundreds of millions of Americans want health care reform, and an extreme minority do not: Republicans, the filthy rich or well off, and health insurance companies. If the majority of Americans want health care reform and only an extreme minority do not, then why does the mainstream media and the government not reflect that? Because the government is made up of filthy rich people (with the best health care coverage paid by taxpayers who don't have it) who are paid off by the filthy rich health insurance companies and the media is OWNED by filthy rich people and corporations who want us to think the media THEY OWN AND CONTROL is 'LIBERAL'!!! It's also funny how they can tell us how much covering all Americans with health care will cost and that we cannot afford this cost, but those SAME people never tell us how much the wars are costing and how we can't pay for that, either. They say they don't want their tax money (that they're not paying because they have accountants who get them out of it) to go towards health care for all Americans, but they want OUR tax money to go towards the wars we're against, instead of towards health care for US. Here's something you will never see on THEIR media they want us to think is liberal: an American with no health care saying they don't want health care! There's only people on THEIR media WITH great health care saying they don't want the REST OF US to have health care like they do! The rich people with great health care are the ones on TV telling us that WE don't want health care while OUR tax money is instead being used for wars and bailing out filthy rich banksters. That is TAXATION without REPRESENTATION! THAT is a reason for a Tea Party protest!"
About 1 in 4 in California lack health insurance, a UCLA study finds. The jump in 2009 to 8.2 million adults and children from 6.4 million in 2007 stems largely from job cuts and the loss of employer-sponsored coverage amid the recession.
Republicans Are A Disease…dot com...
Sadly, I have to post from Russian Television and other foreign news far too often. See my comment above about who OWNS the media in the United States:
Webster Tarpley: 'Virtual flag terrorism' is next threat
Connect All The Dots – Solve The Entire Global Crime
Is this what they have planned to derail health care reform???
Final destination Iran? Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran.
In honor of the beautiful sunny weather we've been having here in NEPA, here's 3 "SUN" songs by my favorite group The Beatles:
Test post.
ReplyDeleteTEST POST.
Here is a little advice from my personal experience for all of the people who are so fired up about health care, Rush Limbaugh, the wars, 9/11, tasers, the news, police, money, greed, voting machines and everything else that you simply have no contol over...why not try to LOVE.....find LOVE....nurture LOVE....find a person and LOVE that person until they RUN FOR COVER...and then LOVE them some more....take it from me....life will take on a new meaning as soon as you let all of that hate leave your mind and body. And if you are extremely fortunate, your LOVING will grow into a FAMILY, which is the ULTIMATE LOVE HAVEN....then all of your hate will be so trivial that you will just laugh it all off....come on people..don't you see how short life on earth is? Do you want to die holding on to your money, greed and hate? Open your heart and let that blackness pour out...only then will the LOVE be able to flow in....drumbo
ReplyDeleteAppreciate the sentiment, Drumbo, but love under martial law is less desirable than love in a free society.
ReplyDeletehttp://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/16/did-addington-oppose-911-commission-questions-to-avoid-independent-evaluation-of-torture-program/#comment-225604
BB2 [Moderator] 10 hours ago
ReplyDeleteIs there a way on your end to make the page reload to where you left off? Now, any time you click a link, you're returned to the top of the page when you return? On long comment lists like today's it's a bitch to find where you were every time.
EVERY time I EVER open a link, I right-click and hit "open in new tab". Always, for years, so that the previous window or tab I'm in, remains in the same spot. I don't think Discus can do what you're asking, but I don't have that trouble because I got in the habit of right click/open in new tab (or new window). Been doing it for many years. Let's put it this way: I NEVER open a link without doing that. That's why I end up sometimes with 15-20 windows open. But then again, I never say: "Gee, I wish I didn't close that window, now I can't remember where that was!"...because it's still opened!
The Luzerne County (Wilkes-Barre) federal probe moves to Lackawanna County (Scranton):
ReplyDeleteMunchak, Cordaro indicted on corruption charges
Vowing to reform Lackawanna County government by cutting waste and cronyism, Republicans Robert C. Cordaro and A.J. Munchak broke a 20-year Democratic grip on the county commissioners office in 2004, proclaiming the days of old-time politics were over.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors presented Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak in a different light, not as reformers, but modern versions of Boss Tweed, who used the sixth-floor commissioners office in downtown Scranton to run a criminal enterprise that collectively generated at least $475,000 in kickbacks or bribes from vendors looking for county contracts.
The alleged kickbacks came from companies working at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, planning the botched intermodal bus station in downtown Scranton that cost taxpayers almost $1 million and a cell phone tower deal at the county's 911 center.
Besides the cash, there were the perks, including a free trip to Monte Carlo that one contractor, identified as Company #8, paid for Mr. Cordaro in May 2006, and another free trip in 2004 to the Playboy Mansion that was paid for by Charles "Chuckie" Costanzo, who used some of the almost $650,000 he stole from the county's workers compensation fund, a job Mr. Cordaro gave him in a no-bid contract, according to the indictment.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/munchak-cordaro-indicted-on-corruption-charges-1.685175
Bob Cordaro: A leader falls far and hard
ReplyDeleteBob Cordaro always saw himself as a leader - from his days as president of the Dunmore High School class of 1979 to his four years at the top of Lackawanna County government.
If the federal charges lodged against him Tuesday are true, Mr. Cordaro turned from leadership into one of the region's great followers, the latest purveyor of a long and dubious local tradition: public corruption.
Long expected, the 49-year-old Dunmore lawyer's indictment Tuesday induced another tumble in perhaps the greatest downfall of a local politician in county history.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/bob-cordaro-a-leader-falls-far-and-hard-1.685622
A.J. Munchak: A partner in government and, feds say, in crime
ReplyDeletehttp://thetimes-tribune.com/news/a-j-munchak-a-partner-in-government-and-feds-say-in-crime-1.685648
After indictments, controller calls for more-open bidding in county government
ReplyDeletehttp://thetimes-tribune.com/news/after-indictments-controller-calls-for-more-open-bidding-in-county-government-1.685780
The Mighty Wurlitzer is in hyperdrive:
ReplyDeletehttp://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/17/kiriakou-cia-ig-report-confirmed-they-waterboarded-before-getting-approval/#comment-225630
Figure out what was really going on with that Tweety interview. It seems to me like Matthews is shilling for the CIA - and the intent of the piece is to allow this operative to come on and let him spew about the justification for waterboarding in 2002...but then Matthews appears stunned when the guy goes off-script and contradicts himself (covers his own ass?). Anyone else feel that way?
ReplyDeleteRevealed: Ashcroft, Tenet, Rumsfeld warned 9/11 Commission about ‘line’ it ’should not cross’
ReplyDeletehttp://rawstory.com/2010/03/revealed-ashcroft-tenet-rumsfeld-warned-911-commission-line-should-cross/
FireDogLake's Marcy Wheeler speculates that this was an attempt by the Bush administration to ensure that its torture of certain detainees, which has since been widely documented, remained secret.
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/03/16/did-addington-oppose-911-commission-questions-to-avoid-independent-evaluation-of-torture-program/
ERROR going to that Raw Story link!!!
ReplyDeleteError establishing a database connection
I'm getting that error ON ALL RAW STORY LINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGo to Raw Story and see if it's happening to YOU:
http://www.rawstory.com/
Better take a snapshot of RS's headlines:
ReplyDeleteHealth bill protesters jeer at man with Parkinson’s disease
Hawaii considering law to ignore Obama 'birthers'
Kucinich flips health care vote to 'yes': Soon...
Analysts: US may be seeking Israel 'regime change'
Revealed: Ashcroft, Rumsfeld warned 9/11 Commission about 'line' it 'should not cross'
Feds ignore ACLU's demand for drone data
Premiums will rise under Democrats' health plan
Loud sex enough for cops to search your home, court rules
Afghanistan issues blanket pardons for war crimes
Postal Service pot seizures soar - Holder: Bin Laden won't be taken alive
More FOIA secrecy now than ever - Obama rejects intel oversight
Maybe Raw Story is getting a "stern talking to" from the guys running the government!
ReplyDeleteYup - looks like the CIA has about had it with the truth coming out. That Hardball video isn't even available to view on the hardball web site, and RAW is offline.
ReplyDeleteProbably just a vast right wing coincidence.
The main Raw link now returns this result against a white background:
ReplyDeleteWelcome to nginx!
Bollyn's Book:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bollyn.com/solving-9-11-the-book
big dan this ones for you.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.commondreams.org/video/2010/03/17-0
Robert Schopmeyer posted on Raw Thread:
ReplyDeleterschop [Moderator] 0 minutes ago
It is obvious what was the reason the Bush administration did not want the 9/11 Commission to interview the detains, and in particular Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
They did not want these detainees to reveal that they had been at the Kuala Lumpur al Qaeda planning meeting in January 2000 planning both the attacks on 9/11 and the Cole bombing.
All of the al Qaeda terrorists at this meeting were photographed by the Malaysian intelligence for the CIA and almost all were identified.
If these detains were interviewed they would reveal to the world that the CIA had photographed them at this al Qaeda Summit, and then let them walk away to carry out the Cole bombing and the 9/.11 attacks.
The CIA would be completely destroyed by this revelation, since they would be unable to explain their actions when they clearly knew who was at Kuala Lumpur. At the time of this meeting KSM even had a $2,000,000 reward on his head, for the Bojinka plot. and Bin al-Shibh was roommate to three of the 9/11 pilots. Had the CIA not hidden this information both al Qaeda plots could have been prevented. The proof of this is the fact that while 12 al Qaeda terrorists were identified at Kuala Lumpur, the CIA has only released photographs of three of these terrorists, Walid Bin Attash, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi.
This even explains why the CIA will never release the rest of the photographs.
http://www.eventson911.com/
http://prior-knowledge-of-9-11.blogspot.com/2008/09/who-else-in-us-government-and.html
Here's 3 "sun" songs by the Beatles, in honor of the beautiful, sunny weather we're finally having here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHTPdbpogRE&feature=PlayList&p=9274A344658E2A94&index=0&playnext=1
I just went for a LONG walk with my daughter and our dog Buddy. I gots ta get in better shape!!!
ReplyDeleteHere's Raw's front page, I'd like an explanation from Raw on why they were down:
ReplyDeleteBorder patrol arrests man for crossing street
'I’s on Edjukashun': Colbert mocks Texas school board
Nuns could provide 'cover' for pro-life holdouts on health reform
Insurer went on campaign to drop HIV-positive clients
Dem leader: GOP acting like kids who killed their parents
Kucinich flip tweaks health care math
Health bill protesters jeer at man with Parkinson’s disease
Hawaii considering law to ignore Obama 'birthers'
Revealed: Ashcroft, Rumsfeld warned 9/11 Commission about 'line' it 'should not cross'
Federal agencies ignore ACLU's demand for drone data
Loud sex enough for cops to search your home, court rules
evolution 1745
SMITHSONIAN opens evolution hall.
Senate sends jobs bill to Obama
$17B plan includes tax breaks, construction work; 11 GOPers vote yes.
US seeks 'regime change' in Israel?
Analysts: Obama admin. may want different Israeli govt. to negotiate peace.
Hacker 'disables cars remotely'
System normally used to immobilize cars of owners who lag in payments.
Europe 'exporting tools of torture'
Amnesty: Legal loopholes allow cos. to trade in torture instruments.
Commenters links under the story:
http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2004/08/coincidence-theorists-guide-to-911.html
http://9112010.com/9112010.html
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24987.htm
http://nyccan.org/
http://www.bollyn.com/solving-9-11-the-book
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/3820
http://www.plungerspeaks.blogspot.com/
http://www.patriotsquestion911.com/
http://ww7.yuwie.com/clubs/club.asp?id=6398
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/world-news/final-destination-iran-1.1013151
"Iraq war veteran call for suspending the Pledge!"
Daniel Edd Bland III
www.BlandyLand.com
http://www.ae911truth.org/
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/29/inv.terror.probe/
Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try and love one another right now...
ReplyDeleteBD:
ReplyDeleteToo many LaSpada's Hoagies?
I usually do that too, but like you say the tabs can get out of control.
ReplyDeleteI have my bookmarks in a pull down menus on my tool bar. They are in several pull downs depending on their content.
My favorite mistake is when I get carried away and right click on the toolbar button and tell it to "open" instead of left clicking and then selecting a link off of the pull down list.
All of a sudden it is opening all of the bookmarks - 100 or more tabs - Yikes!
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/35620
ReplyDeleteNot enough exercise. More golf this year. Yes, golf is exercise, don't listen to anyone. Carry a heavy bag full of clubs and walk several miles with it, stopping to swing a golf club about 200 times at least (practice swings + regular swings)
ReplyDeleteI posted this the other day: is Colbert calling this former CIA guy a shill? This is a very weird interview. What's going on here?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/267527/march-15-2010/robert-baer
The interview gets really uneasy at one point, and the former CIA guy kind of blanks out. Does anyone else see this?
About half way through, Colbert asks Bauer why that CIA killing happened, and Bauer says it's because the CIA doesn't have enough people and they have inexperienced people in positions like that. Colbert says: "Then why did YOU quit, if they don't have enough people?" And Bauer looks kind of stupefied. And then Colbert says something like: "Unless you're still in the CIA and you're tricking us." And the guy looks SO FUCKING UNEASY when Colbert says that! Watch it!!!!!!!
In my opinion, Bauer's reaction to Colbert's accusation is "HOLY SHIT, YOU GOT ME, WHAT DO I DO NOW???"
Does anyone agree with this??? I posted this the other day.
They guy then starts pausing, and being real deliberate with his answers for the rest of the interview.
AND THIS IS WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT: THE AUDIENCE ISN'T LAUGHING WHEN COLBERT IS DOING THIS! DO YOU SEE THIS???
At one point, Bauer says: "I SOUND LIKE A SHILL FOR THE CIA, I KNOW THAT..."
WHAT...THE....FUCK...DOES...HE...SAY....THAT....FOR???????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Why does a FORMER CIA AGENT say he sounds like a shill for the CIA??? But at the beginning of the interview, he's CUTTING DOWN the CIA?
Does that make any sense to anyone?
One of the most "uneasy/uncomfortable" interviews I've ever seen!!!!!!!!!
Am I reading too much into this? Is he one of the good guys? Or not? I don't know who he is, so I'm suspicious.
Weird interview here, is Colbert calling this guy a shill?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/267527/march-15-2010/robert-baer
In honor of the beautiful sunny weather we've been having
ReplyDeleteMonday it got up to 70 degrees here - the first time this year. Two days later and it would have broke the record for the latest 70 degree day
Cool summer coming up? Wouldn't that be nice. We typically have 25 - 30 days each summer above 100 with 10 or so above 105. ("But it's a dry heat")
My second day here I went for a walk with my dog. Nothing strenuous, just an 8 mile walk along the American river. It was about 92 degrees when I headed out and 104 when I returned. I ended up with heat stroke, I ate salt tablets and sat in a tub of cold water.
I've seen a number of times when Raw Story was down. You either get a not found error message or a blank page. I've even seen messages from the Apache server - notifications for the web designer.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely - great exercise.
ReplyDeleteI agree
ReplyDeleteThe Toyota thing is NOTHING compared to this:
ReplyDeleteHacker Disables More Than 100 Cars Remotely
More than 100 drivers in Austin, Texas found their cars disabled or the horns honking out of control, after an intruder ran amok in a web-based vehicle-immobilization system normally used to get the attention of consumers delinquent in their auto payments.
Read More http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/03/hacker-bricks-cars/#ixzz0iUpm1LtD
Colbert just said Michele Bachmann will lose her seat if her constituents do as she says and doesn't fill out the Census. How come Colbert makes so much sense and no one else thinks of these things? That is absolutely correct, that would happen, and it would backfire on Bachmann!
ReplyDelete9-11 Cover Up Imploding (Get OFF Your Fu%king Ass And Get Involved) - I put together a playlist, they will all play, all 7 of them:
ReplyDeleteWith multiple reports coming out within the last couple days of a airplane full of Israeli's leaving JFK going to Tel Aviv the day of 9/11..Humm I wonder if they were involved in the control Demo of the Twins and 7..Plus a new report of the Bush White House telling the white wash commission not to dig into the events of 9/11!!!Their isn't a question in my mind 9/11 was a Mossad-CIA - MI6 job..People will hang for this treason that I promise!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayPHHxkT4gI&feature=PlayList&p=F5807D0D278E0FE8&index=0&playnext=1
It just hit me why they come up with non-stop silly conspiracy theories: so 9/11 seems like a conspiracy. Did you notice, there's always a silly conspiracy coming out one after another? Like birthers, for example. Keep non-stop "nuts" parading about, and lump 9/11 truth in with them.
ReplyDeleteCharity CEO's Get Rich by Taking From the Poor
ReplyDeletehttp://www.truthout.org/charity-ceos-get-rich-taking-from-poor57739
The Democratic Promise: Saul Alinsky (trailer)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExnWQZDhHNw
Jesus Christ All Jehovah - that comment guy above must have access to some good dope !!!!!
ReplyDeleteWould you mind,.. can I have a toke or two ?
Oh,.. the above dude must absolutely be one of thems Fornia hippies.
ReplyDeleteHis ride is just covered in JUANA foliage.
Makes one wish you could just sideswipe that pregnant Beetle - with your water pipe and a Bic lighter close at hand.
Oops,.. his Cheech and Chong ride - link;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.web420.com/blog/vwvan/vw_van39.jpg