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Wherein a surgeon tells some stories, shares some thoughts, and occasionally shoots off his mouth. Like a surgeon.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Pinning My Hopes...
[Here comes another weekend non-medical rant. This one is purely political.]
Might it really happen that Barack Obama wins the nomination and then loses the election for the lack of a lapel pin? Or a hand not over his heart? If the right wing bloggers and their oily machine (and even the "mainstream") have anything to say about it, he will. Throughout some parts of the political world, people are screaming about his pinless lapel. The horror!
Patriotism is no more about a lapel pin than love is about a charm bracelet. Or than support of our troops is about slapping a magnet on your car. In fact, when I think about the destruction to America's future and its ideals and laws that has been wreaked by the lapel-pin-wearing occupants of the West Wing of late, I'd propose the opposite relationship may well be true. There seems a smugness, a sense that as long as one wears the pin, any behavior is exempt from criticism: look at me, I'm a patriot. So sit the hell down and shut the hell up.
In choosing not to wear a lapel flag, I think Senator Obama is saying, "I'm not about short cuts and symbolism, which are so easy and so deceptive. I'm about saying what I mean and doing what I say, and letting that speak for me." Anyone can wear a pin and hope to hide behind it. Lapel pins are inexpensive, and not just in dollars. In the current climate, I find them a lot tainted and a little suspicious. And, mind you, I've gone to veterans' political rallies wearing my Purple Heart pin. Proudly.
Sometimes I've wished that he'd just poked one through that little hole and moved on. Why give the screamers a screed? But then I think how principled and brave it is to eschew a symbol that has been perverted and diluted and which, in its ubiquity among the slimiest of politicians, has become meaningless at best, and a perversion of patriotism at worst. Who'd want to accessorize like Tom Delay and Dick Cheney and Karl Rove? Or this guy. I think how utterly cynical, given the challenges that face the US, is the outrage of those who spread the smear, and how credulous in those who buy it. But on it rages. For a lot of voters -- maybe most -- it's easier to latch onto a spurious and simple-minded meme than to sink one's teeth into the meat of our problems. Rove knew that, and played it like a harp from hell.
What, in fact, is patriotism? Surely it's not as simple as what you wear. Is it love of country? I suppose it is; but what does that mean? What does it require, and how do you show it? Much as I admired JFK, when he said "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," I had questions. For whom is the government established, itself or us? Is it enough to work hard, follow the rules, educate yourself before you vote (and vote!), pay taxes, give to charities if you can afford it? Does the average person owe more? Obedience, acquiescence? Conversely, can you be considered a patriot if you render prisoners to other countries to be tortured? Is it patriotic to put the country trillions of dollars in debt and walk away, leaving it for others to fix? Wearing a lapel pin, it seems, absolves one of many sins. "Patriotism" has become just a concept with which to bludgeon one's rivals. Lightly it is that we use the word; empty it is of meaning. Like Yoda am I writing.
Barack Obama has been criticized for having too hopeful a vision of what's possible. But when he argues for a new kind of politics that brings people together over old divisions, when he says that the changes we need to restore viability require support from the bottom up (as opposed to the current top down, we're-in-charge-and-you're-not approach), it simply cannot be seen as the words of someone who doesn't love and want something good for his country, head in the clouds or not. Lapel pin or not.
To me, this is what's most attractive about Barack Obama: when he talks about "change" he's referring to exactly this kind of bullshit. He's asking (and, I'd aver, not just for his own sake) that people resoundingly reject politics that is all about fear and smear. The kind that, rather than discussing and trying to resolve the challenges we face, resorts to lies and innuendo to destroy a candidate. There is, I'd like to hope (and sometimes actually allow myself to believe-- oops, well, there it went again -- that was fast!) a huge portion of the country that's sick and tired of it. But the only (slim, very slim) chance that it could disappear is if the electorate stands up and demands it. By electing someone who specifically decries and overtly eschews it, and by unelecting those who don't. On both sides of the aisle. A pox on 'em all.
What if patriotism is redefined? What if we had a president who implored people to stay involved by letting their elected representatives know what they think, clearly and often? What if he said to the nation, "Now we need to address healthcare (or the deficit, or energy policy, or....) This is where I think we start, but we need legislators to come together. Whether you agree with my ideas or not, let your congressperson and senators know, demand they get to work. Email them; keep the pressure on them. They will respond to numbers, or risk losing their jobs." It's pretty simple, tapping out an email. But in that context, what could be more patriotic? What if people actually did it? Isn't that what Barack Obama is asking of us?
And as to the hand-over-heart thing: next time you're at a baseball game, look around during the Anthem. You'll see guys with hats on, beer in hand (bet they have "United We Stand" bumper stickers.) You'll also see people standing attentively, singing along with hats in hand and arms at their sides (that'd be me, doing the bass harmony). Bet those folks are all glad to be there and not in another country. Bet their devotion to country is a lot less than one running for President, risking it all.
31 comments:
- scalpel said...
My Solution to Iraq Is to Never Have Gone There: An Editorial by Senator Barack Obama
- scalpel said...
At the risk of being accused of Rethuglican smear tactics, I submit that Obama appears to have similar weaknesses as Tom DeLay.
He's not the Messiah he would like you to think he is. Hey, it's not from the Free Republic, it's the Gray Lady. - 3/02/2008 11:18 AM
- Sid Schwab said...
I can't make the link work. But I'm sure it's a devastating and profound deconstruction of everything he's ever done. And completely debunks the idea that being exactly right on the invasion has any relevance to his candidacy.
- Sid Schwab said...
I was referring to the first link: when I wrote my response your second comment wasn't there. The Rezko thing is of concern. The Gray Lady, right-winger rants to the contrary, tries more than most to call it down the middle. On the other hand, it would take several hundred Rezkos (the significance of which remains somewhat unclear) to even get into the anteroom of Tom Delay's house of horrors.
- scalpel said...
He's just an up-and-coming DeLay then. A DeLay in progress, if you will.
- Sid Schwab said...
Other than the fact that his approach (let's try to work together) is the exact opposite of DeLay (let's destroy the other side and then piss on their graves), you're probably right.
- scalpel said...
He hasn't exactly been very compromising in his Senate votes. He follows the party line every single time, except when he votes "present."
Talk is cheap. - 3/02/2008 11:36 AM
- Patrick Bageant said...
Scalpel at the NY Times!
Kinda' calls your patiotism into question, if you ask me . . .
Seriously, comparing Obama to DeLay is so ridiculously out of touch and silly that I'm just going to assume you meant it tongue in cheek. But there is something to your Obama-as-Messiah observation (though I don't think that is Dr. Schwab's position). There is something a little cultish about some Obama supporters. But, every candidate has a weirdo or two in their camp, and it is a mistake to make inferences about the candidate based a few of his or her supporters. (It would be like coming to conclusions about you based on, say, the less-than-mainstream readers of your blog.)
Personally, I have really come around to Obama in the last three months. Six months ago I found the flag pin thing sleazy. Now I find it a relief. Frankly, I don't know precisely what he means when he talks about "change" but I do know that I feel tired by the sameness of American Presidential politics, and his candidacy seem to fall outside that same old pattern. - 3/02/2008 11:38 AM
- scalpel said...
I really couldn't care less about his flag pin (or lack thereof), his middle name, his race, his church, or his wife...although all of those issues will cost him a few votes.
But his vague and empty promises are not inspiring, his promise to raise taxes is a losing platform, and if the Rezko issue is as bad as it looks, then he's just another corrupt jerk who needs to be flushed from politics altogether.
If liberals were serious about wanting change, then they wouldn't tolerate such things from their own Harry Reids, Hillary Clintons, or Barack Obamas any more than they do from the Tom DeLays of the other party.
Again, talk is cheap. - 3/02/2008 11:45 AM
- Patrick Bageant said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Sid Schwab said...
His plan to raise taxes (on you, but not on those making less than 250K) is an honest statement of what it will take to deal with the Bush deficits and the falling dollar. His "vague" promises are, in fact, stated in detail on his website and in many speeches. At some point, even Republicans will have to see that you can't keep lowering taxes and have an economy left; some might even grow the balls to say so.
By the time a bill comes to vote, there's no compromise. The work is in the writing of the bill. And the "present" votes were in Illinois, and have been explained to anyone who wants to understand.
One sleazy supporter. Out of how many? Shall we revisit McCain and Keating? Or rather, should we talk about the issues? - 3/02/2008 12:08 PM
- scalpel said...
He promised to raise taxes on everyone making over 75K during the Austin debate, which corresponds to those individuals/families who are already paying 75% of all taxes that are collected in this country. Hillary is the one who mentioned the 250K number (but she's lying, of course).
Cutting spending isn't mentioned by either one of them. - 3/02/2008 1:51 PM
- Sid Schwab said...
McCain talks about eliminating earmarks. Where's the real money? Defense, SS, and Medicare/medicaid. None talks about any of those in terms of cuts. Cutting spending is just hot air until they get to those issues. If Obama really said 75K (I watched the debate and didn't hear that), then it might be an example of saying what people "need to hear," rather than what they want to hear, as he's said. McCain is even worse: he said the Bush tax cuts were outrageous during war, and too skewed toward the rich. Now.... There simply is no way to bring the budget into balance without a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. Neither alone will ever pass. Clearly you (scalpel) are happy with the Bush foreign policy and economy, and there's no changing that. The good news is that in McCain you'll have exactly that for another four years. So you're in good shape. As you know, I think he's been the worst president we've ever had, and for many more reasons than the above. I happen to think that Obama, were he elected with enough of a margin, might actually make good on his concept of working together on the issues that have, under Bush, become possibly insoluable and terminally devisive. I'm realistic to know it's not likely. But it's impossible if we continue to govern from the extremes, constantly using division to get votes. He says he won't. For now, I'll believe it. If he can't, or won't, then I have no doubt we're on the path to self-destruction. We've lived in 900 square foot homes, and we can do it again. But I don't like heat all that much.
- scalpel said...
The Bush Tax Cuts resulted in increased overall tax collections, while still increasing the relative burden of taxes paid by the "rich."
"Consequently, from 2000 to 2004, the share of all individual income taxes paid by the bottom 40 percent dropped from zero percent to –4 percent, meaning that the average family in those quintiles received a subsidy from the IRS. (See Chart 6.) By contrast, the share paid by the top quintile of households (by income) increased from 81 percent to 85 percent."
You should read this, and not be misled by the "conventional wisdom" or the dreams of your favorite orator. Eliminating the Bush tax cuts won't help fix the deficit, and it won't just raise taxes on people like you and me. If you actually pay taxes, Obama or Hillary will raise them, guaranteed.
If you think we all should pay more taxes, then go ahead and vote Democrat. Democrats love raising taxes. But if you think that it's just going to be "the rich" who are paying more taxes, then you are mistaken. - 3/02/2008 3:26 PM
- Ros said...
Has it occurred to you that Obama's lack of a lapel pin may, in fact, be a concious and intelligent choice designed to give his more moronic opponents a rather absurd object to over-focus on? I don't believe in politics at all, success in politics requires corruption IMHO, but any time a public figure could have a clever, manipulative motive instead of a well considered philosophical position which just happens to benefit their goal... I'd wager on the former.
Obama is well advised and not an unintelligent man himself. If he were given the choice of having his louder attackers picking on his actual history or his lack of a trumped up symbol of patriotism which would he select?
Any time you hear a politician speak before you identify yourself with their comments, or even assess whether you agree or not, ask yourself why they spoke as they did. That poise, that polish they all pride themselves on when they speak, it's the same shown by a carnival barker. The goal comes first, and the expression of whatever flimsy grip they still have on truth or their own real beliefs is a distant third.
Good grief, do I sound like a cynic or a paranoid? - 3/02/2008 4:06 PM
- Sid Schwab said...
scalpel: on the other hand.....
- rlbates said...
Dr. Sid, I'm enjoying (and learning from) the exchange between you and Scalpel.
- SeaSpray said...
Yes..me too...most interesting.
- scalpel said...
Reasonable people can, and do, disagree about the impact of the tax cuts, but it's clear that the overwhelming majority of income taxes are paid by the highest quartile of income earners. So any cuts in taxes are going to seem disproportionately beneficial to the "wealthy," but remember that higher income does not equal wealth.
If someone is paying $60,000 per year in federal income taxes and their taxes are cut by 10%, then they will save $6,000. Another individual who only pays $6,000 per year in federal taxes would maybe only save $600 (actually more, according to this Bush Tax Cut calculator). On the surface this seems unfair, but the impact of the extra $600 on the lower earner is likely to be similar, or perhaps even more than that of the extra $6000 to the higher earner.
And the higher earner is still paying over $48,000 more in taxes than the lower earner. He has around 3 times the after-tax income, but he pays 10 times as much taxes. Does he receive 10 times the value of government services?
But let's not quibble about the progressive tax system. Let's just understand that if the Democrats are successful in eliminating the Bush tax cuts, all taxpayers are going to pay more in taxes. And we haven't even mentioned Obama's promise to raise the ceiling on the Social Security tax.
Bottom line: if the middle class guy's taxes go up $600, then he might have trouble paying his credit card bill. If the higher earner's taxes go up $6,000, he might fire his nanny or skip that vacation in Aspen. - 3/03/2008 12:34 AM
- Richard said...
Bottom line: if the middle class guy's taxes go up $600, then he might have trouble paying his credit card bill. If the higher earner's taxes go up $6,000, he might fire his nanny or skip that vacation in Aspen.
That statement in itself is true, but I fail to understand how that advances your argument. Should we then just raise taxes only on the wealthy and on corporations?
Because those are the groups that had the largest decreases in tax rates under GW Bush. - 3/03/2008 2:10 AM
- Not Important said...
I'm imagining a melodramatic scene where Obama, bruised and disheveled after a crowd of Limbaughts and Coulterons (heh) beats him up for a lack of a lapel pin, stares up at the sky, rips off his tie and tears open his shirt to reveal a lapel pin attached to his undershirt right over his heart. (The real one in the center, not the <3 one on the left.)
- Lala!! said...
Hi, perhaps when you have read my blog and commented too I will start a book about the insight of life as a patient!
What an idea!!!
Intersting blog btw!
from a patient with a lot to say to the medical world and everybody else too!
oh and don't leave without a comment or ten will you?!!! - 3/03/2008 7:50 AM
- Sid Schwab said...
scalpel: there are a lot of "if"s in your comment. I don't agree that taxes will go up on the middle class; the opposite is what is proposed. Warren Buffet has said he thinks it outrageous that he pays a lower RATE than his secretary. And I, for one, don't criticize Obama for suggesting increasing the ceiling on SS: something like that HAS to be done. The magical thinking of the Bush and Reagan eras at some times has to meet up with reality. Funny thing is, there seem to be a lot of people willing to accept the truth.
If you're cool with deficit spending and happy to let your kids deal with it, then there's nothing I can really say beyond what I've already done. - 3/03/2008 8:42 AM
- Justine Johnston Hemmestad said...
I can't write like you or confused I will get! - 3/03/2008 8:43 AM
Here's an article that speaks on the critisism regarding Obama's loyalty to America: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Taking_Obama_at_his_word.html
One of the comments reads: "...this isn't the kitchen sink. This is the toilet." - 3/03/2008 9:10 AM
Oops, I don't think the address I gave works, but the article is on politico.com, and the link is: Clinton responds to Muslim question, and the article itself is called "Taking Obama at His Word." Sorry about all of that.
- scalpel said...
Richard: "Should we then just raise taxes only on the wealthy and on corporations?"
Sure! Why not tax the wealthy and the corporations so much that everyone's income is exactly equal? That would be fair, wouldn't it? No.
Increasing taxes on those who produce things stifle the economy. Think of the poor nannies without jobs (who then REALLY can't pay their credit card bills), and the hotels that have to close down for lack of business, and all the employees there that would lose their jobs if nobody takes vacations. And then remember Cuba and the former Soviet Union.
Sid: "I, for one, don't criticize Obama for suggesting increasing the ceiling on SS: something like that HAS to be done."
Perhaps. But he's absolutely against raising the benefit age, which is ridiculous. Social security was meant to be a safety net, not a safety hammock. People are living longer healthier lives now than they used to. - 3/03/2008 11:08 AM
- mark's tails said...
Well written as usual and am enjoying the discussion in the comments. I love the fact that Obama has inspired people to become interested in politics again and I certainly agree with many of his policies and plans. Although they are very similar to Clinton's. My biggest concern however is his Iraq policy.
Don't get me wrong, I hated the fact that America went into Iraq unprovoked and like it was our 'divine' duty to do so. But now that we are there, just withdrawing troops does not seem like the right thing to do. With the chaos that is still Iraq it just seems as though the country would destabilize even more.
The problem was and still is "there is no viable exit strategy". If Iraq is left to manage it's own civil war then the extremists have the upper hand in a country that has been run by one for the last several decades. The new Iraq becomes the old Afghanistan. - 3/04/2008 6:41 AM
- Sid Schwab said...
mark's: I share your concerns. But it also seems unsustainable to keep on as were are forever. The huge issue for me is not that it'll become Afganistan, because it's mostly Shia, and they hate Sunnis, of which al Queda is composed. My concern is that there'll be a more violent civil war which will end up wiping out Sunnis, since they are such a minority. I don't see the Shia majority allowing al Queda to set up camp there. It's inevitable, as the recent visit of Ahmedinijad shows, that Iran will become the dominant power there, unless we, in effect, want to become Saddam: keeping the factions apart using force. That's, in fact, what we are: surrogate Saddam, in that sense. Actually, Afganistan has become Afganistan.
It's a horrible thing: because of Bush's disastrous mistake, we truly have no good option; but as it is, we are playing exactly into al Queda's hands, by staying there and ruining our military and economy and providing the greatest recruiting tool ever. At some point, as horrifying as it may be, we seem to face the prospect of leaving because we can't afford not to, and watching the true effects of Bush's error play out. It seems the only hope of avoiding conflagration is, in fact, to announce our intention to leave and work to get the regional powers to step in. - 3/04/2008 7:35 AM
- scalpel said...
In case anyone is interested in how things are going in Iraq, this is a very detailed collection of data (big pdf file, but worth it). It's pretty amazing how well the surge worked in decreasing attacks, deaths, and injuries. And the increased prevalence of telephones, internet access, media, and automobiles since we removed Saddam is remarkable as well.
Other measures are still works in progress, such as electricity and oil production/distribution, but those are starting to show some improvement. The polls still show that the Iraqis are dissatisfied, but the hard data are encouraging.
I wonder if they'd have been more satisfied if we'd just bombed them into the stone age and then left. That would have saved us a bunch of money and lives. - 3/04/2008 3:09 PM
- SeaSpray said...
Wow! I bookmarked that Scalpel.
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quote:Originally posted by Guest9239Your telling me that there is a difference between Ference's elbow(1game suspension) and Whites brutal slash(no suspension). What is it? Both players atempted to hurt the other but one gets a game and one doesn't. I would argue ferences actions were more of a hockey play or reaction than what white did. Totally there is a bias when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens.
quote:Originally posted by Beans15........if I pull out a gun and shoot Alex but he doesn't die, I get punished with attempted murder..
quote:Originally posted by Guest5052wait, just so Im clear, are people actually saying that the injury should have nothing to do with the punishment? If you say that the injury should have nothing to do with whether or not to punish thats one thing, but where an infraction has occured, surely the league is right to look the consequences of that infraction?There may well be other considerations, such as intent, or likeliness of injury, but surely the actual injury itself matters.
quote:Originally posted by Beans15 I know that's how the NHL does it. I'm not an idiot and I would appreciate not being treated like one. I completely understand how the NHL does it. Why can I not disagree with how the NHL does it?? Is that not allowed??
quote:Originally posted by Beans15Well, to each their own. Eller coming out of the zone may not have been on a clear break away, but it was likely. At the very least, it would have been a huge opportunity for Montreal. I'm not saying that Gryba could have done NOTHING else, but he was committed to play the man at that point. He could have made a decision early to back off but once he committed to the hit, he couldn't do anything else.
quote:Originally posted by Beans15Eller was still in a vulnerable position and the hit was still illegal from that standpoint. However, I hold true that if Eller is not hurt, this is a minor penalty at best. The action of a minor penalty becoming a 2 game suspension based on the outcome is absurd. Sorry, that is my opinion.
quote:Originally posted by Alex116quote:Originally posted by Guest2413Its everything that happened besides the line brawl. Its the stick swinging(ryan white) its the fighting with an opponent who had zero interest in dropping the gloves(P.K.Subban), its firing the puck at an opponent(Josh Georges) should I go on because I can.Pretty sure Pasty was just asking for an example of when "other teams have been punished for doing thing far less significant than the Canadiens did in their last game."Pasty's been pretty noble in calling out his Habs for their actions. In fact, i seem to recall him saying "I agree completely couldn't be more ashamed to ba a habs fan this morning !. He simply disagrees with the notion that the Habs are getting favourable calls / decisions and or preferrential treatment from the league. Not once, that i've seen, has he defended their actions from the other night.
quote:Originally posted by Guest2413Its everything that happened besides the line brawl. Its the stick swinging(ryan white) its the fighting with an opponent who had zero interest in dropping the gloves(P.K.Subban), its firing the puck at an opponent(Josh Georges) should I go on because I can.
quote:Originally posted by Beans15Really Pasty? Childish and absolutely wrong??How many teams get to pick fights in the last 5 minutes of the game, run rough-shod at the other team with cross checks and elbows to the head, and take slap shots at the opposition players in the dying second of the game?? How many players could call an opposition coach a 'fat, bug eyed walrus" without repercussion??C'mon. You can't tell me they are not getting the bend the rules far, far, far, far more than other teams and not be punished for it!!!!Childish??? Right........ I wonder if people understand the meaning of the words they use before they make posts?? Next I will be a hypocrite for not agreeing with someone and no one has accused me of living in my mother's basement for a long time.Sticks and stones..........and it doesn't change the fact that other teams have been punished for doing thing far less significant than the Canadiens did in their last game.
quote:Originally posted by Beans15That article doesn't change my opinion one bit. The point I was making is simple. If Eller isn't hurt this is nothing more than a 2 min interference call at best. Because Eller was hurt there is a suspension. I don't believe this hit was dirty or intent to injure at all. Let me ask this question: What happens on this play if Gryba lays off and doesn't hit Eller??? My answer is it's a breakaway for Eller meaning a likely goal. So what is Gryba supposed to do there??
quote:Originally posted by Beans15Not to repeat a common opinion but other than Eller being in a vulnerable position this is not a dirty hit. I think the NHL discipline under Shannhan started off well but has eroded to a similar situation as with Campbell. Hits are reviewed based on the outcome and not the action. Had Eller not been hurt there would have been no further suspension. I also think, personally, that if it's a Senator player who was hurt than the suspension would have been less punative if a suspension at all. Reason being is that no fewer than 4 Montreal players did everything they could to injury Senator players last night and NOTHING will happen. Nothing at all. Until the NHL punishes on action first and outcome second these issues will never go away.
quote:Originally posted by Guest9808If there is no supplementary suspensions to the Montreal players after tonight's fiasco then the NHL treats Montreal with preferential treatment.I think I saw about 3 elbows by Montreal to Ottawa players to the head and I wasn't even watching it the entire time after Ottawa went up 4-1. The Bourque to Conacher one is the most memorable of them. Montreal is a dirty dirty team. Not nasty, dirty.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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President Kennedy and Jackie arriving at Love Field,
Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963. Photo courtesy NARA.
New Orleans godfather Carlos Marcello – with Jimmy Hoffa as his bagman – funded Richard Nixon's 1960 presidential bid with $500,000 in cash stuffed in a suitcase. Later Marcello – known as the Big Daddy of the Big Easy – would be named a key conspirator in President Kennedy's assassination.
by Don Fulsom
At the start of the 1920s, marijuana use in America was concentrated in New Orleans – and its intoxicating vapors were mainly inhaled by migrant workers from Mexico, by blacks, and by a growing number of "low-class" whites. Sailors and immigrants from the Caribbean brought this "new" (Its known uses go back to 7,000 B.C.) drug into major southern U.S. ports – above all into the Crescent City.
Along with jazz, pot traveled north to Chicago, and then east to Harlem – where it soon became an indispensable part of the music scene, even entering the language of the black hits of the day (Louis Armstrong's "Muggles," Cab Calloway's "That Funny Reefer Man" and Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag").
A squat but muscular fireplug of a man, rising New Orleans mobster Carlos Marcello was perfectly placed to make boatloads of money from illegal marijuana shipped into his territory. In 1938, though, Marcello sold 23 pounds of pot to an undercover agent. Convicted and sentenced to one year in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Marcello was also fined more than $75,000. Using his political influence, that particular "Reefer Man" was able to get the fine reduced to just $400. And he was out of prison in nine months. With Louisiana Mafia boss Sam Carolla pulling the strings, Gov. O.K. Allen – a former stooge of assassinated Sen. Huey Long – provided the leniency. Legend has it that Marcello eventually had a tailor sew a foot-long pocket into the left leg of his trousers, "which he would stuff with cash as he made his rounds through (Jefferson) Parish paying off the police one by one."
From pot dealing, police-and politician-corrupting street thug, Marcello graduated to godfather of New Orleans (and Dallas), governing a vast and violent criminal empire that brought in an estimated $2 billion-a-year. He succeeded Sam Carolla, who was deported to Sicily in 1947. Marcello quickly became a generous financial supporter of Richard Nixon; and, eventually, a suspect in the murder of Nixon's nemesis: President John F. Kennedy.
Marcello's first dealings with Vice President Dick Nixon involved Jimmy Hoffa, the mobbed-up Teamsters Union leader. Because Jimmy shared a common enemy with Nixon, Hoffa and his two million-member union backed Nixon against Sen. John Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. A Louisiana Teamster official who later became a government informant has revealed that Hoffa met with Marcello to secretly fund the Nixon campaign with stacks of cold Mob cash. Edward Partin told Mob expert Dan Moldea: ''I was right there, listening to the conversation. Marcello had a suitcase filled with $500,000 cash which was going to Nixon ... (Another $500,000 contribution) was coming from Mob boys in New Jersey and Florida.'' Hoffa himself served as Nixon's bagman. Within a few weeks of that payoff, Vice President Nixon managed to stop a Florida land fraud indictment against Hoffa.
The Hoffa-Marcello meeting took place in New Orleans on Sept. 26, 1960, and has been verified by William Sullivan, a former top FBI official.
Sen. John Kennedy edged out Vice President Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, and Hoffa – thanks to Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy – was soon sitting in a prison cell for jury tampering and looting his own union's pension funds of nearly $2 million. Yet the Nixon-Hoffa link remained solid at least until Dec. 23, 1971 when, as president, Nixon gave Jimmy an executive grant of clemency and opened the prison's gates for him. Hoffa served only five years of a 13-year sentence.
In 1961, Marcello was "deported" to Guatemala by Atty. Gen. Bobby Kennedy. But the Louisiana godfather quietly returned in a small plane piloted by an associate named David Ferrie – later considered a prime JFK assassination suspect by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison.
In 1967, just as Garrison prepared to indict him, Ferrie was found dead in his apartment. He was lying on a sofa with a sheet pulled over his head. Two typed "suicide" notes were found. Ferrie's name was typed, not signed, on each note. New Orleans Metro Crime Commission director Aaron Kohn believed Ferrie was murdered. But the New Orleans coroner officially reported that the cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage.
Garrison's investigators had learned that Ferrie – shortly before the JFK assassination – had deposited $7,000 in his bank accounts and had taken over a profitable gas station – a gift from Marcello.
Another top assassination suspect, Dallas striptease club owner Jack Ruby, had concrete connections to the Marcello crime family, according to a 1979 report by House assassination investigators. The report found that:
- Ruby was a friend and business associate of Joseph Civello, Marcello's top deputy in Dallas. Ruby was also very close to Joe Campisi – considered to be the No. 2 man in the Dallas Mafia hierarchy. Campisi was on such good terms with Marcello that he sent the Marcello family 260 pounds of homemade sausage every Christmas.
- Joe Campisi – the owner of Dallas's Egyptian Lounge – said he dined with Ruby at the lounge the evening before Kennedy was murdered. Campisi also admitted that he visited Ruby in the Dallas County Jail six days after Ruby murdered Oswald.
- Ruby met with four New Orleans nightclub operators and Marcello associates in June and October 1963. And Ruby made a telephone call on Oct. 30, 1963 to the New Orleans office of Marcello gang member Nofio Pecora, whose associate, Emile Bruneau, had bailed Lee Harvey Oswald out of jail that summer.
It is now known that Ruby was not only a police-protected pot dealer – but a government informant: In 1947, he was a secret Syndicate source for a young congressman from California named Richard Nixon; in 1950, he covertly cooperated with a Senate committee probing organized crime; in 1956 – according to newly released memos – the FBI fingered him as a liaison between the Dallas police department and local drug dealers.
Identified by the Warren Commission as the lone killer of President Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald had his own ties to Carlos Marcello. In New Orleans – where Oswald spent significant portions of his life – Oswald's uncle and substitute father was Charles "Dutz" Murret, an important bookie in Marcello's gambling operations. Oswald's mom, Marguerite, dated some of Marcello's employees.
Jack Ruby stalked Oswald after his arrest – finally killing him with a pistol shot to the guts two days after Kennedy's murder, as the alleged presidential assassin was being transferred from one Dallas jail to another.
Shortly after entering the White House in 1969, Richard Nixon moved to solidify his close favor-trading friendship with Carlos Marcello – known in the underworld as "the Big Daddy in the Big Easy." Their main go-between was old Nixon loyalist and Mob lawyer Murray Chotiner. The pinky ring-wearing Chotiner and his brother were responsible for defending 221 organized crime figures in California.
Chotiner had a White House office and an official government job from which to trade on his powerful behind-the-scenes influence. He had served Nixon since the Navy vet's very first campaign for Congress in 1946. In fact, Chotiner had introduced Nixon to L.A.'s top hoodlum, Mickey Cohen – and pressured Cohen to contribute to the Nixon campaign. Chotiner was associated with scores of other leading gangsters, including Meyer Lansky and Ben "Bugsy" Seigel.
When Chotiner, on behalf of President Nixon, sought to aid Marcello, the gangster was facing a two-year prison term for his 1968 conviction of assaulting a federal official.
Throughout Nixon's first two years in office, Marcello and his lawyers used all the clout they could muster with the administration to get Marcello's sentence cut. Nixon's crooked attorney general, John Mitchell, finally put the squeeze on a federal judge to slice Marcello's prison term to six months – and arranged for him to spend that time at the medical center for federal prisoners in Springfield, Mo. (Mitchell was the first person since the FBI was established in 1908 to hold the office of attorney general without undergoing an FBI investigation – thanks to a special request made by Nixon to his ever-loyal crony J. Edgar Hoover. In 1975, Mitchell himself was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury and sentenced to two and a half to eight years in prison for his role in the Watergate break-in and cover-up.)
Marcello emerged from his term at Springfield in March 1971 – just in time to aid Chotiner's efforts to spring Jimmy Hoffa from prison.
At about the same time, President Nixon – perhaps, in part, to aid Marcello's illegal drug trafficking business – ignored a call by a blue-ribbon presidential commission to decriminalize marijuana. That decision has had startling repercussions: An estimated 15 million Americans have since been arrested on pot charges.
Nixon's main motive, of course, was political: A Republican "law and order" president could not turn his back on his conservative, anti-drug constituents. But, as Gore Vidal pointed out in The New York Times in 1970, "The (government) has a vested interest in playing cops and robbers. Both the Bureau of Narcotics and the Mafia want strong laws against the sale and use of drugs because if drugs are sold at cost there would be no money in it for anyone."
Though Nixon reintroduced Jimmy Hoffa to a world without bars, Hoffa wouldn't stay in it for long. Fantasizing about the restoration of his old powers – despite a clemency ban on that – Hoffa openly plotted to unseat his successor as Teamsters president, Frank Fitzsimmons. More amiable and pliable than Hoffa, "Fitz" was now backed by the Syndicate; and he had established an ultra-chummy relationship with President Nixon.
In 1975, Hoffa was kidnapped, killed and smelted. His corpse was reportedly crushed in a steel compactor for junk cars. Hoffa expert Dan Moldea has smilingly opined that Hoffa became "someone's hubcap."
It was only recently revealed that, during the Clinton administration, FBI field agents wanted to haul ex-President Nixon and his buddy Fitzsimmons before a Detroit grand jury to testify about Hoffa's disappearance. But Justice Department higher-ups said no.
Back in July 1963, a Hoffa emissary met in New Orleans with Marcello and Florida godfather Santos Trafficante. Longtime Hoffa and Mafia lawyer Frank Ragano – who disclosed the session in the 1994 book Mob Lawyer – said he carried a message from the Teamster's boss: Hoffa wants a "little favor … You won't believe this, but he wants you to kill John Kennedy. He wants you to get rid of the President right away."
Ragano said the faces of the two Mob bosses "were icy. Their reticence was a signal that this was an uncomfortable subject, one they were unwilling to discuss." But Ragano said Trafficante, on his deathbed in 1987, confessed that he and Marcello did, indeed, follow through on Hoffa's "favor."
Carlos Marcello's pilot and employee, David Ferrie, is by far the oddest character in the Kennedy assassination saga. He was a friend of Oswald, and possibly, of Ruby. Ferrie was bald from head to toe—but sported part of a red floor rug as a hairpiece, and drew brows over his eyes with stage greasepaint. He was a homosexual pedophile who had been fired by Eastern Airlines after his arrest on morals charges. When Ferrie died of his alleged "brain hemorrhage," D.A. Garrison publicly speculated that the CIA deliberately silenced Ferrie. Ferrie pal Edward del Valle was murdered at about the time Ferrie died. Del Valle – a Cuban exile leader – was the victim of a gunshot to the heart and an apparent machete chop to his skullcap.
In 1979, the House assassinations committee concluded that at least two shooters were involved in the JFK assassination, and that the most likely conspirators were Hoffa, Marcello, Trafficante and Chicago godfather Sam Giancana.
Two top committee staffers – Robert Blakey and Richard Billings – later wrote of their conviction that "Oswald was acting in behalf of members of the Mob, who wanted relief from the pressure of the Kennedy administration's war on crime led by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy."
The two investigators say both Oswald and Ruby were Mafia-connected, and that Ruby silenced Oswald on Mob orders. In a recent book, former Mafia consigliere Bill Bonanno — the son of legendary New York godfather Joe Bonanno — also maintains that Hoffa, Marcello, Trafficante, and Giancana were involved in the JFK assassination.
Blakey wishes he knew – back when he was leading the House probe – what he has since learned about the CIA's possible role in the assassination. He recently confessed that he had trusted the CIA too much in the mid-'70s. Blakey is one of a diverse group of authors and legal experts who have announced his support of a lawsuit that demands the release of secret CIA records related to the assassination. Authors supporting the suit include anti-conspiracist Gerald Posner and pro-conspiracist Anthony Summers. Experts include John Tunheim, a federal judge who chaired the Assassination Records Review Board of the mid-1990s.
Robert Blakey's new suspicions seem to mesh with the assertions of President Nixon's chief of staff Bob Haldeman, who flatly declared in a 1978 book that the CIA pulled off a "fantastic cover-up" that "literally erased any connection between the Kennedy assassination and the CIA." Dozens of other investigators and assassination experts now believe the CIA was somehow involved.
Did Nixon himself know what his Mafia (and, perhaps, CIA) friends were up to? Speaking with Haldeman on one of the newly released White House tapes, the 37th president dismissed the Warren Commission's lone-killer finding as "the greatest hoax that has ever been perpetuated."
One of Bobby Kennedy's top Mob fighters, Ron Goldfarb, now concludes that the JFK assassination "was the work of Hoffa, Trafficante and Marcello. Oswald was, as he claimed, a patsy. Neither I, nor anyone, knew how the Mob recruited Oswald. But it was a Mob touch to use someone to carry out its deadly assignments and then to kill that person to avoid detection. The case was circumstantial, but compelling."
Then, in 2009, a secret FBI informant exploded a verbal bombshell: Carlos Marcello once told him during a prison yard conversation, "I had the little bastard (JFK) killed. He was a thorn in my shoe."
Jack Van Laningham—a former cellmate of the Mafia don—disclosed Marcello's confession in a TV interview on the Discovery Channel's "Did the Mob Kill JFK?" Van Laningham subsequently passed a polygraph test.
He said Marcello explained that Oswald had visited him in New Orleans and that "he was my man. He did what the hell I told him to do."
As for Jack Ruby, Marcello told his cellmate that Dallas strip club owner was under his thumb, deeply in debt, and owed the Mob boss "big." So Marcello, according to Van Laningham, ordered Ruby to pay off the debt by rubbing out Oswald.
Van Laningham, who was at the Texarkana Federal Prison for bank robbery, ratted out Marcello for the FBI in a deal that sprung him from prison early. Thomas Kimmel, the FBI agent who supervised the informant, says he has no reason to disbelieve Van Laningham's story.
Carlos Marcello died a free man in one his mansions in Metairie, La., in March 1993 – following a final prison stint. At the time of his death, he had Alzheimer's and had regressed to his infancy.
Don Fulsom covered the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton presidencies as a reporter for United Press International. He has written articles about Richard Nixon for a number of publications, including The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Esquire and CrimeMagazine.com.


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Those gates are piped royal icing; the epitome of the word "fragile." In fact, all of that detail is painstakingly hand-piped. Just amazing.
I think I just heard the sound of thousands of women giving a collective, "oooohhhh!" And yes, I joined in.
Remember the hat Aretha Franklin wore to Obama's inauguration - the one with its own FB page? Yeah, that one. Well, it was also honored on her birthday cake:
Aretha got plenty of snark for both the hat and this picture, which mystifies me - I think they're both awesome. Besides, doesn't the Queen of Soul deserve a little more R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
The fluid lines on this next one remind me of a full skirt mid-twirl:
Sub'd by Ashley B., and made by Marina Sousa of Just Cake.
A dress cake is kind of like the grown-up's version of a doll cake. You get all the girly prettiness, minus the tacky synthetic hair getting in your icing.
By SusieHazCakes
Also, note how the dress form does NOT look like the torso of a woman with her limbs hacked off; it looks like a dress form (see the bottom of the stand underneath?). This is what we in the biz call "a win."
Or, if you want the ruffled skirt but not the entire dress, how about this?
[UPDATE: Since so many of you asked: Collette made this for IN Style Weddings Magazine, and it was inspired by the famous designer Betsey Johnson, who is single.]
Some of you may be wondering where all the shoe and purse cakes are. Well, truth be told, you sent in so many great examples that I didn't know how to choose! Plus, I honestly prefer the more abstract fashion designs like the ones above. These tend to require more design creativity than an exact one-to-one replica. Granted, exact replicas can require more skill, but the purse and shoe thing has been SO popular for SO long that, much as I hate to say it, I'm kind of bored with them. Sorry.
I haven't decided on a theme for next week yet. Have one to suggest? Or a cake to nominate? Then send it to me at Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.


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Speaker Cable
Black JacketOther Purchase Options
Hosa Speaker Cables are designed to provide years of dependable service. High-quality components and world-class manufacturing combine to deliver products of exceptional value. Features include:
• Oxygen-Free Copper (OFC) conductors for lower resistance
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• Intended for high-current applications only, not line-level signals


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Tahoe Quarterly
American Century Celebrity Golf Championship SWEEPSTAKES
- ELIGIBILITY: This Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the contiguous United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. You need not be present to win. Employees (and their immediate families or those living in the same household) of Tahoe Quarterly and American Century Investments ("Sponsor(s)") and their/its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, parent and related companies, suppliers, printers and advertising, promotional and judging agencies are not eligible to enter or win.
- HOW TO ENTER: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 a.m. EDT on June 16, 2017 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 28, 2017. You may enter this Sweepstakes via either the in-store, on-line or mail-in entry methods described below. Regardless of entry method you may enter only once. All entries must be received on TahoeQuarterly.com/Promotions by 11:59 p.m. EDT of the last day of the Sweepstakes, i.e. June 28, 2017. All entries become the property of Sponsor(s) and will not be returned.
- ON-LINE ENTRY METHOD: Beginning on June 16, 2017, you may enter the Sweepstakes via the Internet by going to TahoeQuarterly.com/Promotions and following the entry directions. You may be required to register or to otherwise provide some or all of the following information: your name, address, city, state, zip code, telephone number, age, e-mail address and the metropolitan service area for which you are entering. On-line entrant must be the registered subscriber of the e-mail account by which the entry is made. In the event of a dispute as to entries submitted by multiple users having the same e-mail account, the authorized subscriber of the e-mail account (as specified by the Internet Service Provider) used to enter the Sweepstakes at the actual time of entry will be deemed to be the entrant. Entries made by any individual or any entity other than the named entrant and/or originating at any other Internet Website, including (but not limited to) commercial sweepstakes subscription notification and/or entering service sites are void.
- FACEBOOK: You may enter via the internet by logging onto the facebook.com/tahoequarterly and following the entry directions. [If you are a (sponsor) Facebook Fan or if you "Like" (sponsor)'s Facebook page, you may enter the Sweepstakes by logging on to www.sponsor.com and following the entry instructions. If you are not a (sponsor) Facebook Fan, you can become a Fan and enter the Sweepstakes by logging on to the website and following the instructions.] You may be required to provide some or all of the following information: your name, age, and e-mail address.
- PRIZES AND APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE: There will be 1 Prize awarded. The Prize consists solely of a one round of golf with at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship. The approximate total retail value of the Prize is $1000. The total value of all Prizes to be awarded is $1000. All federal, state, and local tax liabilities are the sole responsibility of the Winner. No transfer, substitution, or cash equivalent for the Prize permitted, except by Sponsor(s) in its sole discretion. Winner may be required to complete and return an IRS W-9 form (i.e. Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification).
- RANDOM DRAWING: A total of 1 Prize Winner(s) will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries, on or about June 28, 2017 by judges selected by Sponsor(s), whose decisions are final and binding in all matters relating to this Sweepstakes. The Prize is guaranteed to be awarded. Only one Winner per household is permitted. The Winner will be notified by telephone, e-mail or mail service by June 29, 2017.
- Prize conditions: No substitution for any prize will be permitted. Prize is not transferable, assignable or redeemable for cash. Winner will be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Publicity/Liability Release within fifteen (15) days of issuance. Failure to return all required documents in this time period may result in the Winner being disqualified and an alternate Winner selected. If a prize notification is returned to Sponsor(s) as undeliverable or if an entrant is found to be ineligible or declines acceptance of the Prize for any reason, an alternate Winner will be selected. By entering this Sweepstakes and/or accepting the Prize, Winner and entrant hereby consent (except where prohibited by law) to the reasonable use by Sponsor(s) of the Winners' and entrants' photograph, voice, likeness and/or image, hometown address, contents of the entry form and the name and age of the Winners and entrants without any further compensation for any future promotional activity related to this Sweepstakes.
- ODDS OF WINNING: Odds of winning a Prize depend on the total number of eligible entries received for the Sweepstakes and are equal regardless of method of entry.
- CONDUCT OF PARTICIPATION: By entering the Sweepstakes, entrant affirms that he or she has read and agrees to abide by the Official Sweepstakes Rules and the decisions of the judges. Sponsor(s) reserves the right to disqualify any entrant acting in violation of the Official Rules or found tampering with the entry process or with the operation of the Sweepstakes or the website. The Sweepstakes is governed by the laws of the United States and, by entering, all Winners and entrants hereby submit to the jurisdiction and venue of the federal, state and local courts located in Nevada. ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT OR ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE RELATED TO SPONSOR OR THE SWEEPSTAKES OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
- LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY: Sponsor(s) and each of their/its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, parent corporations, and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees and agents, are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate entry information, theft, tampering, destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries; printing or other errors; and any entries or mail which are late, lost, delayed, incomplete, misdirected, stolen, mutilated, illegible, postage due or any combination thereof. Sponsor(s) reserves the right to modify, suspend or terminate the Sweepstakes in the event that it becomes necessary due to circumstances beyond Sponsor(s)' control. In the event the Sweepstakes is terminated early, a winner will be selected from all eligible entries received at the time of termination.
- RELEASE OF LIABILITY: By participating, Winner and entrants agree to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor(s) and each of their/its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, parent corporations, and their officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents from and against any claims made by the Winner, entrants or any other third parties related in any way to the operation of this Sweepstakes, as well as any other claims, damages or liability due to any injuries, damages or losses (whether alleged, threatened, or actual) to any person (including death) or property of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Sweepstakes-related activity or participation in this Sweepstakes.
- WINNERS LIST: For an Official Winners List (available after June 29, 2017) or a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: "TQ Golf Promo" Sweepstakes – WINNERS – or – OFFICIAL RULES (please specify), c/o Marketing Department, Tahoe Quarterly/ 924 Incline Way, Suite B, Incline Village, NV 89451. All requests must be received by July 5, 2017.


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Transportplanner in Herentals
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In stock
Available Colors: Pale Pink, Black, Brown
Made from high-quality celluloid acetate in glossy finish.
Frame width | 133mm |
Frame height | 43mm |
Lens width | NA |
Lens height | 38mm |
Bridge width | NA |
Temple length | NA |
Free shipping and Free returns for orders $150 or over
Please note that the processing time may vary depending on your prescription and type of lenses selected. Average time to process is 3 to 7 business days before orders are shipped.
Domestic Shipping:
Shipping is FREE for domestic orders over $150. Order usually arrives within 5-7 business days after shipping. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost (rates displayed at checkout).
International Shipping:
We ship internationally. See the list of countries and policies here.
We offer a 15-day money-back guarantee for most of the orders placed through vintandyork.com.
FSA and HSA dollars can be used for purchases of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. You can pay with a credit card attached to your FSA/HSA account during checkout.
NARROW 126mm-135mm |
MEDIUM 136mm-145mm |
WIDE 146mm-155mm |
The measurements of Vint & York frames are printed on the inside of the temple arm according to the industry standard. Your own glasses may serve as a good point of reference.
For example: 54 19 145
The first number represents the width of the lenses across. The second number is a measurement for the width of the bridge. The third number stands for the length of the temple arms.
Total price: £106


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Super Sad True Love Story
Gary Shteyngart
Shteyngart's latest novel is set in the near future when rampant consumerism is devouring America and the Western world's population has become lost in an endless stream of data. Countries are owned by the banks (Aberdeen is in the north of HSBC-London); youth is valued above all else; books are archaic and smelly; and a person's net worth (including credit rating and hotness) is on display for everyone to see.
Old at 39, the main character Lenny is a salesman for Post-Human Services, a company which extreme engineers evolution, promising immortality for those who can afford it. Lenny, already struggling to justify his existence, falls in love with the impossible Eunice, a young and vibrant Korean girl with a troubled history and little grasp of reality. Together they try to remember what it means to be human.
Super Sad True Love Story is full of brilliantly inventive language and Shteyngart's trademark humour, which belies a poignancy and a serious message for society at a time when our debt is going global.
Rachel Hazelwood


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Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Florida's voting trouble includes the saga of a woman in Boca Raton. You may not bring campaign propaganda to a polling station. BocaNewsNow reports she showed up yesterday with a shirt that said Mitt. She was denied entry to vote.
But a closer inspection of her shirt showed the Republican candidate's first name was misspelled. An election supervisor let her vote after confirming the shirt said MIT - the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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10 Criminal Law Tips Everyone Needs to Know
Whether you are a past offender, currently facing criminal charges, or have a clean record, these criminal law tips are facts that everyone needs to know. Not only can having this knowledge protect you and your loved ones in various situations, it can help you navigate current and future legal issues that are in the works. Continue reading to learn 10 criminal law facts and advice, and be sure to pass this information onto your friends, co-workers, and loved ones.
Important Criminal Defense Tips
1. If you are pulled over and an officer suspects you have been drinking, you have the right to refuse a sobriety test. But there is a serious catch. Keep in mind that this also means law enforcement will arrest you on the spot, and your drivers' license will be automatically suspended for 12 months. This is because most states, such as Indiana, are "implied consent" states. This means if you have a drivers' license, then you automatically consent to BAC testing anytime.
2. If law enforcement shows up at your house or office requesting to conduct a search of the premises, you have the right to refuse. If they have a search warrant, you do not have this right and you must cooperate with them completely. If they do not have a search warrant, close the door and immediately contact a criminal defense lawyer.
3. If you are confronted by law enforcement, always be courteous and cooperative. Having an attitude, being disrespectful, and refusing to cooperate will only get you in more trouble. If you want the best experience possible with police, whether you end up getting arrested or not, be sure you are polite, well-spoken, and cooperative. They have all the power at the moment, and you must remember that you do not have control over the situation, so it is best to just give in and relinquish all the control. This will make your time with police and jail (if it gets to that) a lot easier for you.
4. If you are already on probation or parole for a previous offense, and you commit another crime, you will face additional legal sentences and penalties on top of the one you are currently serving. Many people are unaware how serious of an offense it is to violate probation or parole, especially by committing another crime. You can most certainly expect to be sentenced to jail time.
5. A minor is a person over the age of 10 and under the age of 18. However, minors can be charged as an adult in certain cases. This usually happens if the crime is very serious or if the minor is close to turning 18 years old. Being tried as an adult means that a minor faces adult penalties.
6. If you are a past offender, and it has been many years since your last offense, you may qualify to have your criminal record sealed from public access. This means that employers, banks, landlords, and the general public cannot look up a particular criminal charge or arrest. You must have a criminal defense lawyer help you file for record sealing, as the process is highly complex and demanding.
7. To get a complete copy of your criminal record, you must compile all records in every county and state they exist. That is because local, state, and federal records are all different. You will have to contact the clerk's office or local authorities to get the records you need. You can also have your criminal defense lawyer help you with this.
8. Never waive your right to an attorney. Furthermore, never attempt to represent yourself in court. If you want to avoid the maximum penalties for your criminal charges, you need to have an experienced lawyer working on your defense. They are the only ones who have the knowledge and resources to protect your rights and preserve your freedoms.
9. You have to be very careful what you post to your social media accounts. You must understand that your social media activity can be used against you in a court of law, even traffic court, divorce court, and other civil courts. Law enforcement and government organizations have technology that allows them to identify IP addresses, locations, coordinates, times, dates, and more. If you post from a coffee shop on the corner of 9th and Main, they can find out. Nothing is private on your social media, and all activity is permanently logged forever.
10. The best way to avoid getting in trouble with the law is to surround yourself with positive and healthy people, and to partake in healthy activities. Furthermore, educating yourself on certain particulars of the law can help you understand your rights and obligations as a U.S. citizen. If you ever have questions about the law, contact a trusted criminal defense lawyer for professional advice and answers.


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Guillermo Cuellar
Shafer, Minnesota
Guillermo Cuellar was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1951. He grew up in Caracas and in the early '60s he travelled to the United States to complete high school.
He studied ceramics at Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where he majored in Art, French and Geology, graduating in 1976.
After a three year job with the World Wildlife Fund in Venezuela he returned to pottery in 1980. In 1986 he set up a studio in the village of Turgua, an hour southeast of Caracas, where he made pots for sixteen years.
In 1981 he worked as assistant to Warren MacKenzie, who was teaching in Caracas and with whom he regularly shared workshop experience from 1984 to 2006. Guillermo has taught workshops sponsored by the Venezuelan Association of the Arts of Fire and assisted in those given by MacKenzie, Linda Christianson, Clary Illian, Randy Johnston and Jan McKeachie, David Leach and Mark Pharis.
His work has been on display in the Venezuelan National Art Gallery, the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Caracas Sofia Imber, the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Puerto Rico, The Smithsonian Institution, The Northern Clay Center in Minnesota and private galleries in the United States, England, Venezuela, and Chile.
In 1992 he and other Venezuelan potters founded Grupo Turgua, a non-profit association of craftspeople dedicated to the support of hand made objects in Venezuela. From 1992 to 2005 Guillermo hosted twenty-eight group sales offering pottery, jewelry, photography, woodwork, drawing, weaving, Venezuelan native handwork and other creative expressions.
In 2005 he moved to the upper St. Croix river valley near Shafer, Minnesota. Here he established a home and studio with his wife, Laurie MacGregor, and children, Carlos and Alana.
In 2009 Guillermo was invited to participate as a host on the Minnesota Potters of the Upper St. Croix Valley Annual Pottery Tour after being a guest potter at Linda Christianson's studio for the prior three years.
When not making pottery, Guillermo enjoys being on the beautiful and scenic St. Croix River.
I fell in love with clay in college in the '70s, every waking moment consumed by the potter's wheel and the unpretentious beauty of old pots. I discovered A Potter's Book by Bernard Leach, a champion of pottery traditions of East and West. I wanted to be a part of the historical sweep of traditional pottery.
Ten years later in Venezuela I began potting full time. Warren MacKenzie was invited by a local potters group to come and teach. MacKenzie had apprenticed with Leach in the 50's and, beyond becoming a friend, he shared his studio with me and his appreciation of historical pots. From discussion, from living with his collection of great pottery, his library and MacKenzie's own work I avidly soaked up the spirit of the old pots I admired so much.
I do not consciously design my pots with drawings or plans. I set out to make teapots, for example, and the making process generates ideas, each piece responding to the one before. Subtle variations on simple forms often result in dramatic changes in the character and personality of a pot. Small details, accidents, a dent, texture, an accent, a curve of belly, a kink in a handle may all have surprising results. Even when making sets, each piece, like children, will have its own character.
Clay is infinitely receptive and expressive; it records the character of the maker, the circumstances of making and the use given to it. In use our hands can sense every mark, every ridge and dent, left by the hands of the potter. Maybe that is why so many potters love to cook, it gives us an excuse to handle and appreciate these wonderful pieces.
Exquisite beauty can be found in pots made primarily for use. They may dwell more comfortably in a home, a kitchen, or the dinner table, than on display in a gallery or a museum. But to me their significance comes not only from the preparing and sharing of food but also from bringing that unique beauty into our daily lives.


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Installing a synthetic needlepunch athletics track in Aldbrough HU11 4 at schools or athletics clubs is a great alternative surfacing option to the commonly used polymeric rubber surface.
Artifiical turf can offer your running track a unique colourful appearance as well as being an all weather surface and a more cost effective option to the traditional EPDM polymeric running tracks. The multisport synthetic turf runways can be constructed to a variety of lengths and can contain multiple lanes allowing the facility to host many athletic running events including 25 meters sprinting, 50 meters athletics track sprints, 100 meters sprint running fields and many more.
Get in touch with us today if you are interested in finding out more regarding how we can install and supply your flooring. As experts we can talk you through the details that are involved in the application and give indicate to you what might work best. Simply fill in the contact form provided and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as they can.
As well as sprinting Needle punch surfacing is also an ideal surfacing option for several other athletic tracks such as long jump take off lanes, triple jump runways, javelin run ups and high jump fans. The colourful artificial grass surfacing comes in a number of different sizes and dimensions with the costs and prices varying depending on the length and number of lanes required. It is possible to have an 8 lane manmade field with the sizes and measurements being 50m x 8m as the artificial carpet comes in 1 meter wide roles and is available in:
Needle punch carpet is a type of synthetic surface which may be used for a range of sports and activities. Athletics is a popular activity which this multisport synthetic carpet is used for. Needlepunch is a cost effective alternative to EPDM polymeric rubber and is great for school running tracks and long jump facilities. You will find that a lot of schools and nurseries have needlepunch carpet installed, as this is a soft surface type which is available in a number of bright, vibrant colours making it perfect for young children. The synthetic fibres also give the surfacing added grip, making the facility a lot safer for people using the area. We also offer natural surfacing which allows you to improve your flooring using hybrid http://artificialgrass-syntheticturf.co.uk/natural/hybrid-reinforced-natural-grass/east-riding-of-yorkshire/aldbrough/ which can be great for all facilities and properties.
These synthetic turf athletics running lanes have become especially popular with primary schools around the UK. The artificial grass surface specification option allows local schools to construct multiple running lanes that may be used all year round within their budget. Multi sport synthetic surfacing is a great surface choice for recreational and school sports day competition, it is made from layering short artificial fibres in a single direction to give you a tough and fast playing surface. Other sports facilities such as practise cricket wickets in http://artificialgrass-syntheticturf.co.uk/other/cricket-wicket-surface-facility/east-riding-of-yorkshire/aldbrough/ are often made from the needlepunch turf also so please ask if you'd like more details on these surfaces.
The bright colours also make the facility in Aldbrough HU11 4 aesthetically pleasing surface especially when colours are combined on a track that has numerous lanes. The artificial grass used to surface the athletics running track is usually of a short pile height and filled with sand, this makes the circuit extremely hard wearing and durable allowing many years of use and relatively low maintenance. Make sure you fill in our contact form if you would like a quote to install a manmade athletic circuit or any other type of outdoor facility. One of our experts will give you some more advice on prices for installing these synthetic carpets closest to you.
Some nearby schools are deciding to install artificial turf athletic track to host multiple athletic events e.g. a several lane 100m sprinting circuit can be constructed with a sand pit at the end of one or two lanes to allow long jump and triple jump to take place in the same area. Other advantages of installing an all weather manmade athletics field is that it allows children and young people to remain clean whilst taking part in athletic events. These can be included as part of an outdoor play area surface in Aldbrough so children can enjoy a range of games and activities. Find out more here http://artificialgrass-syntheticturf.co.uk/garden-grass/fake-grassed-garden-playground-play-area/east-riding-of-yorkshire/aldbrough/ to learn how outdoor play areas can work for you.
Costs and prices of these artificial surfaces vary depending on the size and measurements but may be constructed to meet any space or cost restrictions you may have. If you're interested in receiving a quote or more information regarding needlepunch athletics fields please contact us.
If you are interested in finding out more information regarding the installation of multisport synthetic surfacing in your surrounding area, please do not hesitate to contact our team using the enquiry form on this page. Once we receive your enquiry we will get back to you with more details regarding the running track surface prices and specifications available. Our experts are more than happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding synthetic needlepunch athletics track in Aldbrough HU11 4 including details on prices and maintenance.


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No, I have not found a way to make clams out of pastry nor did I find the time to make them out of fondant. After my last post, my dear husband came to me and complained "I'm ok with you posting that I dont' bake because let's face it, I don't but I *do* cook. Sometimes." Yes, he does. Sometimes. Which prevents me from eating cake for lunch because I am plowing through work and often realize that it is 2pm and we have not had lunch yet. And I love when he cooks simple things like these Steamed Clams that we eat on the back deck with some bread and a glass of wine.
Living by the water is downright very nice… I'll never take that for granted. Nor will I take my little helper for granted either.
When I last called my mom, she could hear his banging pots and pans, setting his prep area "his" way while giving me directions to please exit the premises, he never came in the kitchen when I was baking after all. Yes sir! Happily. With his teaching schedule he is home a lot and with both our independent characters, she often wonders how pots and pans have not been used as weapons of marital destruction yet. We just love hanging out together and working "independently together". My studio is next to his study and I can shout for help whenever everything is about to tumble down just as easily as he can call me over to look at a research project. We are each others' best critiques and supporters.
When he calls out from the other room "Hey! Have you thought about lunch yet?", I often want to shout back "Hey! Go fry an egg and bring me one while you're at it!". I never actually do say that. Lately though, I have sensed that he could hear my brain scream it so loud that he decided to enter "my" territory (the kitchen) and fix us something for lunch. And what a lunch! Simple, fresh and quick.
We do catch and eat tons of seafood but I rarely think of buying clams, for no particular reason actually. I had been working on a photo project for a friend and his catering business and one of the dishes to photograph had clams. I had bought two bags, anticipating redos but everything went without a hitch and I was left with an extra bag. Since Bill is the master at steaming shellfish and seafood (you should see him take care of the crabs we get at the dock!), I told him to please go do something with the clams as I would not keep them another day.
Fifteen minutes later I was sitting in front of a bowl of perfectly steamed clams in white wine and garlic, simply garnished with a sprinke of tomato dices and a few sprigs of parsley. Guess what I did? I told him not to move and got the camera to shoot our plates. He rolled his eyes so strongly that I thought they were going to get stuck to the back of his head. He simply said "can you speed this one up, I don't want to eat me lunch cold?!" I know many of you cooking and blogging can relate!
I enjoy photographing and writing about other things than cakes and ice creams and I might also post a few other of our favorite "go to" savory lunches or dinners in the future. Do not be alarmed if you see bacon or thyme sneaking in here and there. For now, I figured it was high time I sang Bill's praises for being such great little hands behind the scenes.
Steamed Clams:
Serves two hungry people
Kitchen note: Littleneck clams are best for steaming. These were cherrystone clams which have a tendency to toughen up faster when steamed but we remove them as soon as the shells pop open and they stay nice and soft this way. You can ommit the white wine and use fish stock or water if you can't have alcohol. We like to eat ours with a sprinkle of lemon juice and some red wine vinegar.
2 dozen fresh clams
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup white wine
1 cup water (or clam juice if you have some)
Salt and pepper to taste
parsley leaves
1 tomato, finely diced
Wash the clams thoroughly and brush off any dirt. Heat oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat and cook the garlic for a minute. Add the wine and water and bring to a simmer. Add the clams, cover the pan and let the clams steam for about 10 minutes or until they start to pop open. Discard any clams that did not open and scoop the clams into serving bowls. Season the juice remaining in the pan with salt and pepper to taste, pour some over the clams and garnish with parsley and diced tomato.


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Ted O'Neil was media relations manager for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy until February of 2015. In that role, he coordinated the Center's media outreach and served as the primary media contact for the Center. O'Neil joined the Center in October 2005 as an education research associate, serving as managing editor for Michigan Education Report and Michigan Education Digest until October 2006. From October 2006 to September 2012 he was a communications associate for the Center.
From 1998 to 2002, O'Neil was district director for the office of state Sen. Bill Schuette. From 2002 to 2004, O'Neil served a term on the Midland County Board of Commissioners. He also spent nine years as a reporter and copy editor with the Midland Daily News.
O'Neil holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. His freelance work has appeared in Michigan History Magazine and includes writing for high school textbooks and corporate technical publications. He also has worked as a substitute teacher in several public schools.
O'Neil and his wife, Ginny, reside in Midland, Mich., with their two children.


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Leucadendron Argenteum (10 Stems)
Leucadendron Argenteum (10 Stems)
Low stock
Here are some simple tips to help keep fresh cut flowers fresh:
Keep them away from sunlight or any heat source. Give the stems a diagonal trim and place them in clean, cool water. Change the water every 2-3 days. Make sure you remove any leaves that are beneath the water line. Hope these tips help!
Here are some simple tips to help keep fresh cut flowers fresh:
- Keep them away from sunlight or any heat source.
- Give the stems a diagonal trim and place them in clean, cool water.
- Change the water every 2-3 days.
- Make sure you remove any leaves that are beneath the water line.
See flower prep & care section for more information.
Dried/Preserved Flower Care Tips
Dried/Preserved Flower Care Tips
- IMPORTANT: Dried flowers DO NOT NEED WATER.
- Always display dried flowers indoors, to keep them protected from the elements.
- Keep your dried flowers away from direct sunlight, areas of bright light and away from humidity.
- Sprinkling water or perfume can cause damage
- Avoid crushing, pressing or folding flower.
- If the preserved flower is stained by the dust, you can clean the preserved flower with the blower blowing softly 20cm away from the flower.
- Temperature changes should be avoided to prevent humidity which could affect your blossoms.
Subscription Terms
Subscription Terms
Minimum Subscription Commitment
By subscribing to our service, you agree to a minimum subscription commitment of 4 deliveries.
Should you wish to cancel your subscription before completing 4 deliveries, you will be liable to pay the balance for the remaining deliveries as per your chosen subscription plan.
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On-Going Plan: With the on-going plan, payment will be automatically charged before each scheduled delivery.
Learn more about our subscription plan here.
For further details regarding our subscription policies, please refer to our Subscription Policy.
Delivery Options
Delivery Options
Your delivery options will be calculated at checkout. During the peak season, delivery times may require longer lead times than usual.
Image Disclaimer
Image Disclaimer
Despite every effort to provide accurate images of each product's color and design, actual colors and design may vary slightly, due to different device screen settings, the lighting in the location, slight differences in product finishes over time and other factors.
In purchasing from Pudu Ria Florist, you agree to accept the small risk that there will be a slight variation between the actual color and design, and the presentation on our website.
Plant Care Guide for Leucadendron Argenteum (10 Stems)
Water Requirement


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I find Steely Dan to be well recorded, so a great test of clarity and detail for audio products - the KEF LS50 speakers reproduce these CD's so well, better than I have experienced before at the price, I can recommend them to music lovers on a budget.
Review: KEF LS50 speaker
KEF made the LS50 minispeaker for lots of reasons. It's a celebration of the company's 50th anniversary. It's the first affordable application of the technology developed for the $29,999/pair Blade. It's a throwback to the LS3/5a, a beloved, BBC-designed minimonitor for which KEF made the drivers.
At $1,499/pair, the LS50 isn't cheap, but KEF designed it as a true reference-grade speaker. That phrase, twisted to near meaninglessness by cynical marketers, is supposed to refer to a product against which others can be judged.
The LS50 certainly seems to have the goods. Its ultra-rigid, dense, heavily braced, compact enclosure is designed so it doesn't mar your music with extraneous vibration or resonance. The curved front baffle not only looks cool, it also minimizes reflection of sounds (or diffraction) from the front of the speaker. The coaxial driver assembly, heavily influenced by the Blade's drivers, puts the tweeter inside the woofer so all frequencies of sound emerge from the same source, and the drivers can't interfere with each other. The oval port is shaped to minimize turbulence and prevent nasty "chuffing" sounds as the air moves in and out. (Weirdly, the inside of the port is made from soft, pliable material instead of hard plastic.)
After hearing the LS50 do its thing at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I couldn't wait to give it a spin in my own listening room. I placed the pair of speakers atop my kitty-litter-filled Target stands, powered them with a Krell S-300i integrated amp, and used my Pro-Ject RM-1.3 turntable and Firestone Audio I?TW USB DAC as sources. A little experimentation told me that the LS50 is not at all fussy about positioning; I ended up toeing the speakers in to point straight at my head, but they didn't sound all that different when I pointed them straight out.
A real reference?
I've been reviewing speakers since 1991, and measuring them since 1997. In all that time, I've found that for me, the most important element of speaker design is the crossover between the midrange (or midrange/woofer) driver and the tweeter. I can't help but focusing on the crossover when I listen to a speaker. The common problems of a poorly implemented crossover—narrowing dispersion in the midwoofer, "cupped hands" coloration, and tweeter distortion—drive me nuts.
The LS50 is the first speaker I've reviewed where I couldn't hear the crossover. Or to put it differently, the crossover region—i.e., the midrange between roughly 1 to 4 kHz—sounded so clean and natural to me that I almost didn't know what to think of this speaker.
When I played Steely Dan's "Aja," one of my all-around, go-to cuts for speaker evaluation, the midrange sounded cleaner than I could ever remember hearing in years of listening to this tune. Donald Fagen's reedy, tough-to-reproduce voice sounded incredibly natural and lifelike, perfectly imaged in space between the two speakers. The melodic bass line sounded totally tuneful and sweetly satisfying; my soul held not the slightest desire to add a subwoofer.
One of the best (although sadly, one of the most obscure) recordings in my collection is the rendition of "I Only Have Eyes for You" by the late avant-jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie and his horns-plus-drums band Brass Fantasy. It's recorded in some sort of large space that sounds deliciously reverberant, but all that reverb often obscures the sonic images. Not with the LS50, though. For the first time I can remember in almost 20 years of testing speakers with this track, I heard specific sonic images of each horn in Bowie's group.
Another tough-to-reproduce cut in my collection—one that the president of an audio technology company recently told me was "unfair"—is "Shower the People," from James Taylor's Live at the Beacon Theatre. (I listen to a copy of the PCM stereo track from the DVD.) Most speakers color and distort Taylor's voice and acoustic guitar in rather obvious ways, but not the LS50. Not only did the guitar and voice sound pretty much perfect—yeah, I said "perfect"—the bass sounded simultaneously powerful and tuneful, and the super-high-pitched glockenspiel notes rang out cleanly.
My favorite new testing track is "Four Women," Meshell Ndegeocello's moving rendition of a Nina Simone tune I'd previously considered somewhat hokey. The LS50 imaged Ndegeocello's voice between the speakers in a way that was so haunting, with so much emotional impact, that it was hard not to cry when I heard it. Chris Bruce's electric guitar sounded so real, so perfectly embodied, that it felt like his Fender amp was right in the room with me.
Although I didn't have a quintet of LS50s so I could put together a 5.1 system for home theater, I did play the excellent Willem Dafoe drama The Hunter through them just to see how they'd handle film sound. Even without a subwoofer, the LS50 delivered plenty of impact during The Hunter's tensest sequences, in which low-frequency tones swelled portentously.
Is the LS50 perfect? Nope. No speaker is. As with other Uni-Q designs I've heard, even though it images with great precision, it doesn't create a huge, enveloping soundstage, and the sound doesn't stretch far beyond the outer edges of the speakers. The bass is excellent for a small speaker, but if you want to crank the hell out of it you should add a sub. Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" sounded clean at 93 dB (measured from my listening position about 10 feet away), but a little thin.


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The giant panda cub born at Washington's National Zoo did, as first suspected, die on Sept. 23 because of "lung and liver damage" stemming from problems with her development, zoo officials say.
According to the results of a necropsy, officials say, "her lungs were poorly developed and likely caused her to have insufficient oxygen, which would be consistent with the changes in the liver." The cub was only about a week old.
As for Mei Xiang, the mother, officials add that:
"We are happy to report that Mei is almost completely back to her old self! Her hormones have returned to normal levels, as has her behavior. Mei is choosing to go outside in the mornings. In the afternoons she can usually be found napping on her indoor rockwork. Mei's appetite has also returned, and she is eating almost all of her bamboo and all of her leaf eater biscuits and produce."Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.


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Wisconsin governor part of criminal scheme, prosecutors say
MADISON, Wis. » Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, took part in a nationwide criminal scheme to coordinate fundraising with conservative groups, prosecutors said in court documents unsealed Thursday.
No charges have been filed against Walker or any member of his staff. And both sides are arguing in court over whether the activities are covered by election laws. The documents, some written in December as prosecutors defended their investigation, for the first time publicly put Walker himself at the center of the examination of campaigns in 2011 and 2012.
The investigation into fundraising involving Walker and his campaign, the Wisconsin Club for Growth, the state Chamber of Commerce and other groups began in 2012. Walker, who rose to fame by passing a law that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers, was facing a recall election. But the probe has been on hold since May, when a federal judge ruled it was a breach of Wisconsin Club for Growth's free-speech rights and temporarily halted it.
State prosecutors said in the December filing that Walker, former chief of staff Keith Gilkes, top adviser R.J. Johnson and campaign operative Deborah Jordahl discussed illegal fundraising and coordination with national political groups and prominent Republican figures, including GOP strategist Karl Rove.
"The scope of the criminal scheme under investigation is expansive," lead prosecutor Francis Schmitz wrote in a Dec. 9 court filing objecting to an attempt by Walker's campaign and other conservative groups to quash subpoenas. "It includes criminal violations of multiple elections laws" including filing false campaign-finance reports, Schmitz wrote.
Walker suggested that the documents mean little or nothing, given that his campaign's position has already prevailed twice in court.
"I'm not asking people to take my word for it, or political allies," the governor said. "I'm saying look at two independent judges, at both the state and federal level, who did not buy those arguments and were rather aggressive in telling those folks to stop proceeding with that because they didn't think it was right."
The uproar over the collective-bargaining law led to the recall, which Walker won, making him the first governor in U.S. history to defeat a recall.
"The evidence shows an extensive coordination scheme that pervaded nearly every aspect of the campaign activities" during 2011 elections that decided control of the state Senate and the 2012 recall election, Schmitz said in the December filing.
Under Wisconsin law, third-party political groups are allowed to work together on campaign activity, but they are barred from coordinating that work with actual candidates. The Wisconsin Club for Growth has argued the prohibition does not apply to it because it does not specifically tell people how to vote, or run ads with phrases like "vote for" a certain candidate. The federal judge who halted the investigation and the judge overseeing it both agreed with that argument.
Prosecutors, including Schmitz and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, have appealed the matter to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Chisholm is a Democrat, and Schmitz has described himself as a Republican who voted for Walker.
Both men have declined to comment about the probe, which is sanctioned under a law that allows prosecutors to compel people to testify and turn over documents, but bars them from discussing the matter publicly.
Prosecutors say the national Club for Growth raised concerns about potential illegal coordination with the Wisconsin group and Walker's campaign as early as 2009. A spokesman for the national group declined to comment.
Johnson, in addition to being Walker's top campaign strategist, was also an adviser for the Wisconsin Club for Growth.
He, Gilkes and Jordahl did not immediately return messages seeking comment left by The Associated Press.
While Walker eyes a run for president in 2016, he's seeking re-election this year against likely Democratic nominee Mary Burke. Both Gilkes and Johnson are working on his re-election campaign.
Prosecutors had sought the release of the documents, and the Wisconsin Club for Growth did not object.
It's been known for months that the investigation focused on allegations of illegal coordination between the Wisconsin club, Walker's campaign and other conservative groups. But until Thursday, it was not clear that prosecutors saw Walker as having a central role.
Wisconsin Club for Growth attorney Andrew Grossman said the public has the right to see the documents.
The papers show how prosecutors "adopted a blatantly unconstitutional interpretation of Wisconsin law that they used to launch a secret criminal investigation targeting conservatives throughout Wisconsin," Grossman said Thursday in an email. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and this is a story that needs to be told to prevent more abuses and to hold … prosecutors accountable for violating the rights of Wisconsinites."
Prosecutors have defended the investigation as a legitimate probe into whether Wisconsin's campaign-finance laws were violated and denied that they were on a partisan witch hunt.
An attorney for prosecutors, Sam Leib, said the filings show that prosecutors were legally justified in their actions and "the process continues."
Associated Press writer Dinesh Ramde contributed to this report from Brookfield, Wisconsin.
The documents are posted here: http://apne.ws/1ypCtto


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Grilled Pizza with Sun-Dred Tomato Pesto Sauce and Herb Salad |
Note: Purchased pizza dough can be used instead of homemade, if time is short.
30 mL (2 T) pinenuts
For Pizza: Spread pesto very thinly over top of each pizza crust. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup cheese mixture. Return pizzas to grill; cover and grill just until cheese melts, about 4 minutes.


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A round of plain stockinette should not take a full week, but this one did. Hey, I've been busy. I had company, I got a new job, "South Park" was on, the sun was in my eyes, Dolores and Victorine are sewing costumes in the living room and Harry choked on a bugle bead, there are nine hundred unread e-mails in my box...you know, the usual.
As I prepare to begin the edging, it seems appropriate to pause and commit to electronic immortality the lessons I have learned while working the center square and borders.
- Knitting swatches is vital to the success of a lace project.
- Knitting swatches is a waste of time, because swatches fucking lie.
- Do not knit from the center of a center-pull ball of laceweight. It will snarl beyond rescue, and you will attempt to kill the next person you see.
- You can never use too many stitch markers.
- Keep your work-in-progress away from colored liquids, Velcro, curious toddlers, grabby old women, chocolate, spring rain, airport security, zippers, smokers, and the rear deltoid machine at the gym.
- Ted was right. Don't count rows, count pattern repeats. If you count rows, you will stop knitting entirely and stare out the window at all the people walking by who are not knitting lace, and try to imagine a time when you, too, will not be knitting lace, and decide this time will never come, and consider stabbing yourself with both ends of your Addi Turbo.
- The road to Hell is paved with nupps.
- At some point, you will be tempted to just bind off and call it a doily.
- If you set about counting a round of 840 stitches without first clearing the room of friends and family, go ahead and call the ambulance first. It will save time later on.
- A large lace project will teach you that you are much more of an idiot, and far more clever, than you ever suspected.