[h=1][ Vile leftist scum infiltrating American college campuses ]
College prof makes students recite anti-American 'pledge of allegiance'[/h] Published December 08, 2014FoxNews.com
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Metropolitan State University Professor Charles Angelotti says the pledge he has students recite is satire, designed to make them question. (CampusReform.org)
If you sign up for Denver college professor Charles Angeletti's American Civilization class, be forewarned that you're going to have to recite his invective-filled 'New Pledge' -- and according to some of his students, also be ready to swallow a big helping of his politics.
Angeletti, who teaches at Metropolitan State University of Denver, has students learn an anti-American spoof of the Pledge of Allegiance that denounces the U.S. as a Republican-controlled bastion of injustice, all while spewing his own far-left brand of politics, according to current and former students.
“I pledge allegiance to and wrap myself in the flag of the United States Against Anything Un-American,” reads Angeletti's version. “And to the Republicans for which it stands, two nations, under Jesus, rich against poor, with curtailed liberty and justice for all except blacks, homosexuals, women who want abortions, Communists, welfare queens, treehuggers, feminazis, illegal immigrants, children of illegal immigrants, and you, if you don't watch your step.”
“We’re very racist, we’re very repressive, we’re very Christian oriented, we don’t tolerate other kinds of thinking in this country,” Angeletti told Campus Reform. “I could go on and on -- and do, in my classes, for hours about things that we need to do to make this a better country.”
A student from Angeletti’s class told Campus Reform that the flier was handed out to the entire class and all students were required to recite it.
“This was an attempt to propagandize an entire classroom of young adults,” Steven Farr, a freshman majoring in meteorology, told the blog site.
[h=2]Related Image[/h]
Expand / Contract
Angelotti's students say he makes no effort to hide his opinions about politics. (Campus Reform)
Officials at Metropolitan State University of Denver did not immediately return requests for comment. The 24,000-student school has the second-highest undergraduate enrollment in the state and has several notable Division II sports programs. It also bills itself as a top choice for active-duty military and veterans to pursue higher education, and has several notable Division II sports programs.
“This is typical elite, progressive, post-modernist garbage,” said Pete Hegseth, a Fox News contributor and CEO of Concerned Veterans for America. “I hope and believe that vets in his class will challenge this professor.
“We have seen this time and time again. Lessons like this stack the deck against veterans and basically tell them, you fought for nothing," Hegseth added. "You fought for a lie.”
On the academic review site RateMyProfessors.com, students appear to mostly like Angeletti and consider him an easy grader, although some said he punishes conservatives.
"Charles is the best professor at MSU Denver," wrote one student who took the class.
But another student said your opinion can cost you if it doesn't jibe with Angeletti's.
"If you are a liberal, you will like him," a student wrote. "He encourages you to speak out and voice your opinion... Unless of course, you are a Republican."
Another student said class was unfocused.
"All this teacher does is ask what is on your mind at the start of every class and that is how class is run everyday based on what students say," the student wrote. "The only reason I got a B is because I hardly showed up to that class because it was so pointless. All he does is argue with everything you say and you are always wrong. Didn't learn anything."
College prof makes students recite anti-American 'pledge of allegiance'[/h] Published December 08, 2014FoxNews.com
Facebook1102 Twitter329 livefyre4278 Email Print
If you sign up for Denver college professor Charles Angeletti's American Civilization class, be forewarned that you're going to have to recite his invective-filled 'New Pledge' -- and according to some of his students, also be ready to swallow a big helping of his politics.
Angeletti, who teaches at Metropolitan State University of Denver, has students learn an anti-American spoof of the Pledge of Allegiance that denounces the U.S. as a Republican-controlled bastion of injustice, all while spewing his own far-left brand of politics, according to current and former students.
“I pledge allegiance to and wrap myself in the flag of the United States Against Anything Un-American,” reads Angeletti's version. “And to the Republicans for which it stands, two nations, under Jesus, rich against poor, with curtailed liberty and justice for all except blacks, homosexuals, women who want abortions, Communists, welfare queens, treehuggers, feminazis, illegal immigrants, children of illegal immigrants, and you, if you don't watch your step.”
“We’re very racist, we’re very repressive, we’re very Christian oriented, we don’t tolerate other kinds of thinking in this country.”- Charles Angeletti, professor at Metropolitan State University
The anti-U.S. recitation, first reported by higher education blog Campus Reform, was a satirical pledge aimed at getting students to question their nation's leadership, Angeletti said. The self-proclaimed atheist and socialist told the site that he has been distributing the pledge in his classes for nearly 20 years as part of his lesson plan.
“We’re very racist, we’re very repressive, we’re very Christian oriented, we don’t tolerate other kinds of thinking in this country,” Angeletti told Campus Reform. “I could go on and on -- and do, in my classes, for hours about things that we need to do to make this a better country.”
A student from Angeletti’s class told Campus Reform that the flier was handed out to the entire class and all students were required to recite it.
“This was an attempt to propagandize an entire classroom of young adults,” Steven Farr, a freshman majoring in meteorology, told the blog site.
[h=2]Related Image[/h]
Angelotti's students say he makes no effort to hide his opinions about politics. (Campus Reform)
Officials at Metropolitan State University of Denver did not immediately return requests for comment. The 24,000-student school has the second-highest undergraduate enrollment in the state and has several notable Division II sports programs. It also bills itself as a top choice for active-duty military and veterans to pursue higher education, and has several notable Division II sports programs.
“This is typical elite, progressive, post-modernist garbage,” said Pete Hegseth, a Fox News contributor and CEO of Concerned Veterans for America. “I hope and believe that vets in his class will challenge this professor.
“We have seen this time and time again. Lessons like this stack the deck against veterans and basically tell them, you fought for nothing," Hegseth added. "You fought for a lie.”
On the academic review site RateMyProfessors.com, students appear to mostly like Angeletti and consider him an easy grader, although some said he punishes conservatives.
"Charles is the best professor at MSU Denver," wrote one student who took the class.
But another student said your opinion can cost you if it doesn't jibe with Angeletti's.
"If you are a liberal, you will like him," a student wrote. "He encourages you to speak out and voice your opinion... Unless of course, you are a Republican."
Another student said class was unfocused.
"All this teacher does is ask what is on your mind at the start of every class and that is how class is run everyday based on what students say," the student wrote. "The only reason I got a B is because I hardly showed up to that class because it was so pointless. All he does is argue with everything you say and you are always wrong. Didn't learn anything."
It is fake I've seen the real sign that it was photoshopped over.
MIT ECONOMIST Jonathan Gruber, apologizing profusely before a House committee for his controversial boast of the 'stupidity of the American voter,' is accused of 'cooking the books' and 'intentional misleading of the public' to get ObamaCare passed.
[h=1]Gruber apologizes for ‘mean and insulting’ ObamaCare comments[/h] Published December 09, 2014FoxNews.com
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MIT economist Jonathan Gruber tried to explain and even justify his controversial comments about ObamaCare during a profuse apology on Tuesday before a House committee -- as Rep. Darrell Issa accused him of creating a false model as part of "a pattern of intentional misleading" to get ObamaCare passed.
Gruber, himself a well-paid consultant during the drafting of the law, was hammered by Republicans on the House oversight committee at his first appearance on Capitol Hill since videos of his remarks surfaced.
Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also came down hard on Marilyn Tavvener, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who he has accused in the past of allegedly inflating enrollment numbers and “cooking the books.”
Issa told Gruber: “You made a series of troubling statements that were not only an insult to the American people, but revealed a pattern of intentional misleading [of] the public about the true impact and nature of ObamaCare."
Gruber has come under fire for claiming ObamaCare's authors took advantage of the "stupidity of the American voter."
He delivered a mea culpa of sorts in his opening remarks on Tuesday for what he called his "mean and insulting" comments, explaining some of his remarks while trying to take some of them back. After once saying a lack of transparency helped the law pass, Gruber said Tuesday he does not think it was passed in a "non-transparent fashion."
He also expressed regret for what he called "glib, thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting comments."
"I sincerely apologize for conjecturing with a tone of expertise and for doing so in such a disparaging fashion," Gruber said. "I knew better. I know better. I'm embarrassed and I'm sorry."
He said he "behaved badly" but stressed that "my own inexcusable arrogance is not a flaw in the Affordable Care Act."
Gruber's appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Tuesday marked one of Issa's last, high-profile shots at the health care law before he hands over his chairmanship next year. Issa, R-Calif. -- who has led the committee through controversial probes of the Benghazi attacks, the IRS scandal and more -- led the questioning of Gruber, an MIT economist.
The videos of Gruber's remarks have renewed Republican concerns over the health care law, and the way in which it was drafted and passed. Lawmakers also have obtained videos that show Gruber saying the act was written in a "very tortured way."
During questioning, Issa asked Gruber, "Are you stupid?"
"I don't think so, no," he responded.
Issa added: "So you're a smart man who said some ... really stupid things."
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., top Democrat on the committee, also criticized Gruber for giving opponents of the law a "PR gift."
"You wrapped it up with a bow," Cummings said, while claiming the controversy "has nothing to do with the substance of this issue."
Issa also slammed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for allegedly inflating their enrollment numbers. The agency initially claimed enrollment of 7.3 million, but later revised that down to 6.7 million. Issa suggested this was an attempt to "doctor the books" by wrongly including dental plan numbers. The agency called it a mistake.
Like many congressional hearings, Tuesday's session may provide partisan fireworks without much movement toward changing the law. The president says he will veto any effort to overturn the Affordable Care Act, should such a bill reach his desk after Republicans add Senate control to their House majority next year.
Gruber has worked as a health care adviser in several states, including to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The federal government paid Gruber nearly $400,000 for his work.
Also testifying Tuesday was Tavenner. In an effort to distance Tavenner from Gruber's remarks, the administration asked Issa to put her on a different witness panel. They appeared on the same panel on Tuesday.
The hearing comes as prominent Democrats debate the wisdom of devoting much of 2009 -- Barack Obama's first year as president -- to the bruising battle for the health care legislation, which finally passed without a single Republican vote. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is among those Democrats now criticizing the timing. Top liberals are defending Obama, creating new divisions among Democrats right after major losses in this year's elections.
Cop Is Killed Every 58 Hours
Law-enforcement officers across the country risk their lives every day. By Michelle Malkin
Funeral of Jersey City, N.J., police officer Melvin Santiago, July 18, 2014 (John Moore/Getty Images)
Print
Text
Comments 743
If you’ve been watching cable news, reading Hollywood celebrities’ tweets, and listening to race-hustling opportunists, you might think that every police officer in America has a finger on the trigger, hunting for any excuse to gun down defenseless youths.
This hysterical nonsense must be stopped.
The Cirque du Cop-Bashing, with Al Sharpton as ringmaster, is working overtime to exploit the deadly incident in Ferguson, Mo. That means stoking anti–law enforcement fires at all costs.
Advertisement
Are there bad cops? Yes. Does the police state go overboard sometimes? Yes. Do the demagogues decrying systemic racism and braying about “assassinations” know what happened when teenager Mike Brown was tragically shot and killed last week? No.Here’s a reality check. While narcissistic liberal journalists and college kids are all posting “hands up” selfies in hipster solidarity with Ferguson protesters, it’s law-enforcement officers who risk their lives in “war zones” every day across the country.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) reports that a total of 1,501 law-enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past ten years, an average of one death every 58 hours, or 150 per year. These include local and state police officers, federal officers, correctional officers, and military law-enforcement officers.
Fact: Last year, 100 law-enforcement officers were killed. On average, over the past decade, there have been 58,261 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,658 injuries.
Fact: New York City has lost more officers in the line of duty than any other department, with 697 deaths. Texas has lost 1,675 officers, more than any other state.
Just this week, NLEOMF released preliminary fatality statistics from August 2013 to August 2014. Total fatalities are up 14 percent, from 63 last year to 72 this year. “Five officers were killed in ambushes, which continue to be a major threat to law enforcement safety,” the group notes.
Among the men in uniform who gave their lives this summer:
Police officer Scott Patrick of the Mendota Heights Police Department in Minnesota. He was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop on July 30. Patrick leaves behind a wife and two teenage daughters.
Police officer Jeffrey Westerfield of the Gary Police Department in Indiana. Westerfield was shot in the head and killed in a July 6 ambush while sitting in his police vehicle after responding to a 911 call. The suspect had been previously arrested for domestic violence and for kicking another officer. Westerfield, a 19-year police-department veteran as well as an Army veteran, leaves behind a wife and four daughters.
Officer Perry Renn of the Indianapolis Police Department. He was shot and killed while responding to reports of gunfire on July 5. After 20 years on the job, Renn chose to serve in one of the city’s most dangerous areas, even though his seniority would have allowed him to take a less dangerous role. “He chose to work in patrol to make a difference in the field,” police chief Rick Hite said at Renn’s funeral. “Every day, Perry got out of his police car.” Renn is survived by his wife.
Deputy sheriff Allen Bares Jr. of the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. The 15-year law-enforcement veteran was shot and killed on June 23 while investigating two suspicious suspects. Bares had been mowing his lawn while off-duty when he witnessed a suspicious car crash. When he went to investigate, he was gunned down. The assailants stole his truck as he lay dying. “He’s the type of person that would give his shirt off his back to anybody,” a cousin said in tribute. “Anyone that knows Allen will tell you that he was that kind of person.” Bares leaves behind a wife and two children.
Police officer Melvin Santiago of the Jersey City Police Department in New Jersey. Santiago, a proud rookie cop who loved his job, was ambushed on July 13 by a homicidal armed robber. Santiago was 23 years old. After Santiago’s killer was shot dead by police, the violent Bloods street gang vowed to “kill a Jersey City cop and not stop until the National Guard is called out.”
Al Sharpton, concocter of hate-crime hoaxes and inciter of violent riots against police, had no comment.
Law-enforcement officers across the country risk their lives every day. By Michelle Malkin
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Funeral of Jersey City, N.J., police officer Melvin Santiago, July 18, 2014 (John Moore/Getty Images)
Text
Comments 743
Michelle Malkin
If you’ve been watching cable news, reading Hollywood celebrities’ tweets, and listening to race-hustling opportunists, you might think that every police officer in America has a finger on the trigger, hunting for any excuse to gun down defenseless youths.
This hysterical nonsense must be stopped.
The Cirque du Cop-Bashing, with Al Sharpton as ringmaster, is working overtime to exploit the deadly incident in Ferguson, Mo. That means stoking anti–law enforcement fires at all costs.
Advertisement
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) reports that a total of 1,501 law-enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past ten years, an average of one death every 58 hours, or 150 per year. These include local and state police officers, federal officers, correctional officers, and military law-enforcement officers.
Fact: Last year, 100 law-enforcement officers were killed. On average, over the past decade, there have been 58,261 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,658 injuries.
Fact: New York City has lost more officers in the line of duty than any other department, with 697 deaths. Texas has lost 1,675 officers, more than any other state.
Just this week, NLEOMF released preliminary fatality statistics from August 2013 to August 2014. Total fatalities are up 14 percent, from 63 last year to 72 this year. “Five officers were killed in ambushes, which continue to be a major threat to law enforcement safety,” the group notes.
Among the men in uniform who gave their lives this summer:
Al Sharpton, concocter of hate-crime hoaxes and inciter of violent riots against police, had no comment.
"Are there bad cops? Yes. Does the police state go overboard sometimes? Yes. Do the demagogues decrying systemic racism and braying about “assassinations” know what happened when teenager Mike Brown was tragically shot and killed last week? No.Here’s a reality check. While narcissistic liberal journalists and college kids are all posting “hands up” selfies in hipster solidarity with Ferguson protesters, it’s law-enforcement officers who risk their lives in “war zones” every day across the country."
The left is beyond sick.
The left is beyond sick.
Obamas Dine at Restaurant Charging $500,000 for Membership
$295 prix fixe menu.
7:01 AM, JAN 2, 2015 • BY DANIEL HALPER
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, spent the first night of the new year at Vintage Cave, an upscale restaurant in Hawaii.
"At Vintage Cave Honolulu, one can enjoy exceptional food and wine at the hands of gifted masters of the culinary arts. ‘Chef’s recommendation’ commands a gravitas guaranteed to satisfy the most discerning palate. Seasoned sommelier’s conduct the process of pairing wine and food with true finesse and style. Secure in the natural embrace of the cave-like environment, guests are encouraged to relax, ‘hit reset’ and escape the ordinary," Vintage Cave's description reads on its website.
As Time's Zeke Miller pointed out, membership at the restaurant can set you back $500,000.
The half million dollars is to become a "Charter Member." A cheaper membership option the restaurant offers is "Special Member," which costs only $50,000.
The restaurant's prix fixe menu is reportedly $295, with a 13-15 course meal. One local magazineestimates "total bill for two, with wine, will approach $1,000."
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obamas-dine-restaurant-charging-500000-membership_822640.html
$295 prix fixe menu.
7:01 AM, JAN 2, 2015 • BY DANIEL HALPER
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, spent the first night of the new year at Vintage Cave, an upscale restaurant in Hawaii.
"At Vintage Cave Honolulu, one can enjoy exceptional food and wine at the hands of gifted masters of the culinary arts. ‘Chef’s recommendation’ commands a gravitas guaranteed to satisfy the most discerning palate. Seasoned sommelier’s conduct the process of pairing wine and food with true finesse and style. Secure in the natural embrace of the cave-like environment, guests are encouraged to relax, ‘hit reset’ and escape the ordinary," Vintage Cave's description reads on its website.
As Time's Zeke Miller pointed out, membership at the restaurant can set you back $500,000.
The half million dollars is to become a "Charter Member." A cheaper membership option the restaurant offers is "Special Member," which costs only $50,000.
The restaurant's prix fixe menu is reportedly $295, with a 13-15 course meal. One local magazineestimates "total bill for two, with wine, will approach $1,000."
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obamas-dine-restaurant-charging-500000-membership_822640.html
December 16, 2014 at 6:15am ·
D.A. to charge 2 more Phila. Democrats in sting
HARRISBURG - Philadelphia prosecutors plan to announce criminal charges Tuesday against two more elected officials ensnared in the undercover sting investigation that state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane rejected as too flawed...
philly.com
D.A. to charge 2 more Phila. Democrats in sting
By Craig R. McCoy and Angela Couloumbis, Inquirer Staff Writers
Posted: December 17, 2014
HARRISBURG - Philadelphia prosecutors plan to announce criminal charges Tuesday against two more elected officials ensnared in the undercover sting investigation that state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane rejected as too flawed to prosecute.
District Attorney Seth Williams is expected to announce charges against State Reps. Vanessa Lowery Brown and Ronald G. Waters, both Philadelphia Democrats, for allegedly accepting cash from an undercover operative, according to people familiar with the matter.
Waters' attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said he was making arrangements for Waters to turn himself in Tuesday morning.
Perri said he expects Waters will face felony charges of conflict of interest and bribery, but declined further comment.
Reached for comment Monday, Brown's attorney, Luther Weaver 3d, said only, "I have no comment today."
The expected charges are the result of an ongoing grand-jury investigation.
According to sources, Waters is exploring a deal with prosecutors under which he would plead guilty to the felony charge of conflict of interest, but a bribery charge would be dropped.
While such a conviction would require Waters to step down from office, it would protect him from the loss of his state pension. A bribery conviction would cost him his pension.
It was unclear whether any negotiated plea would call for him to serve time.
The expected announcement from Williams' office would bring to three the number of Philadelphia Democrats implicated in the sting to face charges. State Reps. Louise Williams Bishop and Michelle Brownlee remain under the grand jury's scrutiny.
Waters, 64, and Brown, 48, faced no Republican opponents in the general election last month and easily won new two-year terms - Waters' ninth and Brown's fourth.
Waters represents a district based in West Philadelphia that includes a bit of Delaware County. Brown, who is chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, also represents a West Philadelphia district. Waters and Brown each are paid $84,012 yearly.
According to investigative documents reviewed by The Inquirer, Waters pocketed the most money from the undercover operative of any of the five politicians caught up in the sting - $8,250 in eight payments.
In the documents, Brown is described as having received the second most - $5,000, in six payments.
In interviews before The Inquirer revealed the aborted sting on March 16, Brown declined to discuss the matter. Through her attorney, she denied any wrongdoing.
Waters, for his part, said he may have received something from the undercover operative in the probe, Philadelphia lobbyist Tyron B. Ali, on his birthday.
The investigative documents say Ali gave Waters $1,000 in April 2011 to mark the veteran legislator's 61st birthday. The transaction was captured on tape, according to people who have read a transcript of the conversation.
As Ali handed Waters an envelope, the sources said, Ali told him: "Hey, there's $1,000 in there, bro."
Waters replied: "My man, happy birthday to Ron Waters."
The documents also say that in May 2011, Ali went to Brown's office and handed her an envelope containing $2,000.
According to people who have reviewed transcripts of the tape, as Brown accepted the money, she put it in her purse and said: "Yo, good looking and ooh whee . . . Thank you twice."
The plan to charge Waters and Brown will mark another professionally embarrassing moment for Kane, who earlier this year dared Williams, a fellow Democrat, to take on a case that she at one point characterized as "dead on arrival."
Her spokeswoman, Renee Martin, did not return calls for comment Monday.
Kane shuttered the sting in 2013 without bringing any charges and without informing the state Ethics Commission that the investigation had allegedly caught the four legislators, as well as a former Traffic Court judge, Thomasine Tynes, on tape accepting cash or gifts.
The details of the case were buried in sealed court files.
After The Inquirer broke the news of the aborted operation, Kane defended her decision. She contended the investigation was poorly managed, relied on a questionable undercover agent, and was possibly tainted by racial targeting. All five elected officials captured on tape are African American.
Kane said that the lead agent in the case had told her office that he was directed to pursue members of the Legislative Black Caucus - an assertion the agent, Claude Thomas, denied. Thomas now works for Williams.
The sting was launched in 2010, when Republican Gov. Corbett was attorney general. The investigation was led by Frank G. Fina, a top prosecutor in the office, who left after Kane was elected in 2012. Fina now works for Williams in the office's public corruption unit.
Ali offered money and gifts to elected officials, often as he sought to influence their vote or land government contracts.
Williams last month announced charges against Tynes, the former judge. In a negotiation with the District Attorney's Office, Tynes has agreed to plead guilty to conflict of interest for accepting a $2,000 Tiffany's silver bracelet from Ali as he was seeking a contract with Traffic Court.
Tynes, 71, is scheduled to enter that plea Wednesday. As part of her deal, city prosecutors agreed not to seek any more prison time for her on top of the two-year sentence she recently received for a perjury conviction in an unrelated federal case involving fixed traffic tickets.
The Inquirer has reported that Bishop, 81, accepted a total of $1,500 during three meetings with Ali, and that Brownlee, 58, accepted $2,000 wrapped in a napkin from Ali in 2011.
In past interviews, Bishop said she had not accepted money from Ali and did not know him. Brownlee said she could not recall accepting such a payment.
As Ali plied the legislators with money orders or envelopes stuffed with cash, he often would ask them for an official favor.
For instance, Ali sought support from Waters in late 2010 for a bill that aimed to privatize the state liquor stores. Telling the legislator he needed to exercise his "God-given right of leverage," Ali handed Waters an envelope with $500, according to the investigative documents.
Ali became an undercover agent for the Attorney General's Office after facing legal problems of his own. He was charged by state prosecutors in 2009 with defrauding a state food program for low-income children and seniors out of $430,000.
In exchange for his cooperation, prosecutors agreed to drop the charges.
cmccoy@phillynews.com
D.A. to charge 2 more Phila. Democrats in sting
HARRISBURG - Philadelphia prosecutors plan to announce criminal charges Tuesday against two more elected officials ensnared in the undercover sting investigation that state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane rejected as too flawed...
philly.com
D.A. to charge 2 more Phila. Democrats in sting
By Craig R. McCoy and Angela Couloumbis, Inquirer Staff Writers
Posted: December 17, 2014
HARRISBURG - Philadelphia prosecutors plan to announce criminal charges Tuesday against two more elected officials ensnared in the undercover sting investigation that state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane rejected as too flawed to prosecute.
District Attorney Seth Williams is expected to announce charges against State Reps. Vanessa Lowery Brown and Ronald G. Waters, both Philadelphia Democrats, for allegedly accepting cash from an undercover operative, according to people familiar with the matter.
Waters' attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said he was making arrangements for Waters to turn himself in Tuesday morning.
Perri said he expects Waters will face felony charges of conflict of interest and bribery, but declined further comment.
Reached for comment Monday, Brown's attorney, Luther Weaver 3d, said only, "I have no comment today."
The expected charges are the result of an ongoing grand-jury investigation.
According to sources, Waters is exploring a deal with prosecutors under which he would plead guilty to the felony charge of conflict of interest, but a bribery charge would be dropped.
While such a conviction would require Waters to step down from office, it would protect him from the loss of his state pension. A bribery conviction would cost him his pension.
It was unclear whether any negotiated plea would call for him to serve time.
The expected announcement from Williams' office would bring to three the number of Philadelphia Democrats implicated in the sting to face charges. State Reps. Louise Williams Bishop and Michelle Brownlee remain under the grand jury's scrutiny.
Waters, 64, and Brown, 48, faced no Republican opponents in the general election last month and easily won new two-year terms - Waters' ninth and Brown's fourth.
Waters represents a district based in West Philadelphia that includes a bit of Delaware County. Brown, who is chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, also represents a West Philadelphia district. Waters and Brown each are paid $84,012 yearly.
According to investigative documents reviewed by The Inquirer, Waters pocketed the most money from the undercover operative of any of the five politicians caught up in the sting - $8,250 in eight payments.
In the documents, Brown is described as having received the second most - $5,000, in six payments.
In interviews before The Inquirer revealed the aborted sting on March 16, Brown declined to discuss the matter. Through her attorney, she denied any wrongdoing.
Waters, for his part, said he may have received something from the undercover operative in the probe, Philadelphia lobbyist Tyron B. Ali, on his birthday.
The investigative documents say Ali gave Waters $1,000 in April 2011 to mark the veteran legislator's 61st birthday. The transaction was captured on tape, according to people who have read a transcript of the conversation.
As Ali handed Waters an envelope, the sources said, Ali told him: "Hey, there's $1,000 in there, bro."
Waters replied: "My man, happy birthday to Ron Waters."
The documents also say that in May 2011, Ali went to Brown's office and handed her an envelope containing $2,000.
According to people who have reviewed transcripts of the tape, as Brown accepted the money, she put it in her purse and said: "Yo, good looking and ooh whee . . . Thank you twice."
The plan to charge Waters and Brown will mark another professionally embarrassing moment for Kane, who earlier this year dared Williams, a fellow Democrat, to take on a case that she at one point characterized as "dead on arrival."
Her spokeswoman, Renee Martin, did not return calls for comment Monday.
Kane shuttered the sting in 2013 without bringing any charges and without informing the state Ethics Commission that the investigation had allegedly caught the four legislators, as well as a former Traffic Court judge, Thomasine Tynes, on tape accepting cash or gifts.
The details of the case were buried in sealed court files.
After The Inquirer broke the news of the aborted operation, Kane defended her decision. She contended the investigation was poorly managed, relied on a questionable undercover agent, and was possibly tainted by racial targeting. All five elected officials captured on tape are African American.
Kane said that the lead agent in the case had told her office that he was directed to pursue members of the Legislative Black Caucus - an assertion the agent, Claude Thomas, denied. Thomas now works for Williams.
The sting was launched in 2010, when Republican Gov. Corbett was attorney general. The investigation was led by Frank G. Fina, a top prosecutor in the office, who left after Kane was elected in 2012. Fina now works for Williams in the office's public corruption unit.
Ali offered money and gifts to elected officials, often as he sought to influence their vote or land government contracts.
Williams last month announced charges against Tynes, the former judge. In a negotiation with the District Attorney's Office, Tynes has agreed to plead guilty to conflict of interest for accepting a $2,000 Tiffany's silver bracelet from Ali as he was seeking a contract with Traffic Court.
Tynes, 71, is scheduled to enter that plea Wednesday. As part of her deal, city prosecutors agreed not to seek any more prison time for her on top of the two-year sentence she recently received for a perjury conviction in an unrelated federal case involving fixed traffic tickets.
The Inquirer has reported that Bishop, 81, accepted a total of $1,500 during three meetings with Ali, and that Brownlee, 58, accepted $2,000 wrapped in a napkin from Ali in 2011.
In past interviews, Bishop said she had not accepted money from Ali and did not know him. Brownlee said she could not recall accepting such a payment.
As Ali plied the legislators with money orders or envelopes stuffed with cash, he often would ask them for an official favor.
For instance, Ali sought support from Waters in late 2010 for a bill that aimed to privatize the state liquor stores. Telling the legislator he needed to exercise his "God-given right of leverage," Ali handed Waters an envelope with $500, according to the investigative documents.
Ali became an undercover agent for the Attorney General's Office after facing legal problems of his own. He was charged by state prosecutors in 2009 with defrauding a state food program for low-income children and seniors out of $430,000.
In exchange for his cooperation, prosecutors agreed to drop the charges.
cmccoy@phillynews.com
[ Warning, picture of a fucking maggot follows... ]
[h=2]A veto in the pipeline[/h]
[h=3]White House says Keystone bill a non-starter[/h]Jeremy Diamond, CNN
President Barack Obama will veto the Keystone XL bill if Congress passes a measure green-lighting the oil pipeline, White House press secretary Josh Earnest announces.
[h=2]A veto in the pipeline[/h]
[h=3]White House says Keystone bill a non-starter[/h]Jeremy Diamond, CNN
President Barack Obama will veto the Keystone XL bill if Congress passes a measure green-lighting the oil pipeline, White House press secretary Josh Earnest announces.
[h=1]How Many of the Nation’s Counties Have Fully Recovered From the Great Recession?[/h] Jan. 12, 2015 3:27pm Zach Noble
[h=2]304[/h] Shares
President Barack Obama is being accused of taking an “economic victory lap,” touting improved economic figures while the economic situation on the ground, county by county, across the U.S. remains uncertain.
According to a study released Monday by the National Association of Counties (NACo), only 65 counties across the country have fully recovered from the 2007-8 financial crash by the end of 2014 — a mere 2 percent of the nation’s 3,069 total counties — and none of those recovered counties have more than 500,000 residents.
The fully recovered counties are concentrated in Texas and the Great Plains, where oil money has buoyed local economies.
(Image via NACo)
“For everyday Americans, this sluggish and uneven recovery explains why they do not feel the good national economic numbers,” said NACo Research Director Emilia Istrate.
(Image via Michael Rosenquest/flickr)
In Pecos County, Texas, the unemployment rate has fully recovered from the days of the recession, while when it comes to jobs, GDP and home prices, Pecos County never even felt the recession in the first place, NACo’s study showed.
Two states over in Maricopa County, Arizona, all four economic indicators remain abysmal: higher unemployment, fewer jobs, lower GDP and lower home prices.
Mixed successes dot the U.S., such as Kent County, Michigan, where jobs, GDP and unemployment have all rebounded but where home prices remain low.
Of the 65 recovered counties, 24 are in Texas, 16 are in North Dakota, nine are in Minnesota and the rest are scattered largely in the middle of the U.S.
[h=2]304[/h] Shares
President Barack Obama is being accused of taking an “economic victory lap,” touting improved economic figures while the economic situation on the ground, county by county, across the U.S. remains uncertain.
According to a study released Monday by the National Association of Counties (NACo), only 65 counties across the country have fully recovered from the 2007-8 financial crash by the end of 2014 — a mere 2 percent of the nation’s 3,069 total counties — and none of those recovered counties have more than 500,000 residents.
The fully recovered counties are concentrated in Texas and the Great Plains, where oil money has buoyed local economies.
(Image via NACo)“For everyday Americans, this sluggish and uneven recovery explains why they do not feel the good national economic numbers,” said NACo Research Director Emilia Istrate.
(Image via Michael Rosenquest/flickr)In Pecos County, Texas, the unemployment rate has fully recovered from the days of the recession, while when it comes to jobs, GDP and home prices, Pecos County never even felt the recession in the first place, NACo’s study showed.
Two states over in Maricopa County, Arizona, all four economic indicators remain abysmal: higher unemployment, fewer jobs, lower GDP and lower home prices.
Mixed successes dot the U.S., such as Kent County, Michigan, where jobs, GDP and unemployment have all rebounded but where home prices remain low.
Of the 65 recovered counties, 24 are in Texas, 16 are in North Dakota, nine are in Minnesota and the rest are scattered largely in the middle of the U.S.
