Rod Blagojevich: Who will be the next to be tried by the media?

With the removal of now former Gov. Rod Blagojevich from power as was done by the Illinois State Senate yesterday, do not expect a cheer coming from me. One must wonder how many of those who ousted him from power are nervous today that they too can be drawn into any future legal proceeding against them. Will they as well be tried in the media as former Gov. Blagojevich was? I wonder how many went home afterwards to pour themselves a good-stiff-drink.

Decades before the Internet and 24/7 cable news, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Hugo Black cited in 1941, “Legal trials are not like elections, to be won through the use of the meeting-hall, the radio, and the newspaper.”1 In the last decade, it seems as though Justice Black’s fear that legal battles would be waged in the media has come to fruition.2 The public’s interest in high-profile criminal cases has grown dramatically over the last decade, increasing the difficulty of finding impartial decisionmakers.3 Because such a highly publicized atmosphere surrounds potential jurors, these triers of fact may be influenced as to the guilt or innocence of a high-profile defendant before the trial even begins.”

To those within the mainstream media who pre-judged his guilt; exactly how is he supposed to get twelve jurors to decide his guilt or innocence when you decided it for them? Call me finicky, but I believe in the rule of law where a person is tried within a court of law and not in the court of public opinion. Journalists can opine, but opining is supposition and not facts based on the evidence. It is supposed to be where said facts in evidence are challenged by the defendant’s attorney. By spouting their opinions, it is tantamount to them taking the stand without having sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Even as I have written several columns on Blagojevich cannot opine if he is innocent or guilty because I have not seen the facts in evidence or have witnessed it challenged by his lawyers. So, if I am going to opine anything, he is still presumed innocent under the law.

To those who defend the Guantánamo detainees: What would you say if I said they were already guilty? The law must be driving some nuts right now as some look protect their rights, but not a former governor’s rights?

Case in point to prove how the media influences any trial proceeding is when the Church of Scientology asked that a case against them be moved to a different venue.In reading this article, pay close attention to this item, "This week, it took the unusual step of asking the court to move a civil trial out of this area because, it says, potential Pinellas jurors have been prejudiced by negative media coverage."

Like the derogatory names used by the media in referring to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, also cited in this article, "The community prejudice has been fueled by an ongoing barrage of negative media comments, principally by the St. Petersburg Times and the local television stations, including publication of inflammatory and unethical public statements by Kennan Dandar."

While this is all water under the bridge, I do opine that these state legislators should have waited for any indictment handed down by the U.S. Attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald and not a moment sooner. Indictments are handed down by grand-jurors who are the first decision makers in any legal proceeding with the ultimate ones being the jurors who at the end hear the case.

I too was upset with the former governor as he barnstormed the media pleading his case, but do feel he needed to since those in power were launching their case against him. Without a trial in the near future prosecuted by Fitzgerald, what was he supposed to do? Just stand there and take it on the chin by these state legislators who were not hearing his side? Did they in fact want to hear his side since many I suppose have their own political agendas? If political agendas were their motive, then shame on them.

As the mainstream media lynched him in the court of public opinion what they failed to present were the meritorious acts of this former governor. Since we are speaking of the court of public opinion where corporations are now demonized, it was the former governor who proposed a Tax Fairness Plan. This plan, "would shift the tax burden away from individuals, who have been carrying an increasing share of the burden over the past thirty years, to large businesses, which have paid little to no income tax." As we face a global economic meltdown, to his detractors, I strongly suggest that you read of this plan which was proposed by the former governor two years ago.

As President Barack Obama reminds parent’s of their responsibility when it comes to their children spending huge chunks of their time online or in front of computer games, it was former Governor Rod Blagojevich who chose to go up against this multi-billion dollar industry. This industry produces some of the most violent and sexually explicit games that our children are being exposed to. The next time there is a school shooting at the hands of a teenager, keep that in mind.

In the end, I wish former Gov. Blagojevich my best wishes since I am not cheering his removal from office today. I am also waiting for who the next person to be tried by the media instead of in a court of law. Good luck, Mr. Blagojevich in finding impartial jurors since the media already tried you.

Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net

In addendum to this article, as one clicks on the link to read the former Governor Blagojevich’s Tax Fairness Plan, you will see listed as the governor, Gov. Pat Quinn. This was not Quinn’s proposed legislation, but that of former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

GOP complain about the stimulus package: How much has the Iraq War cost we the people so far?

By Mary MacElveen
January 27, 2009

As President Barack Obama made his way to The Hill on Tuesday to meet with House and Senate Republicans to gain their support for the $825 billion dollar stimulus bill, it was met by all of them with the frost that remains days after Pres. Obama was sworn in. In the spirit of bipartisanship that Pres. Obama is trying to instill in Washington, the Republicans would have none of that. I would first like to add, weren’t they listening to the American voters on November 4th, 2008 as they swept Pres. Obama into office with a greater amount of Democrats in both houses of congress? Wasn’t that a clear signal to all of them, their leadership in D.C. was a failure? I guess they were still wearing the ear-muffs they wore on Inauguration Day.

In the first six years of the former Bush administration, the GOP was in power of both the executive and legislative branches and they expected Democrats to capitulate to their will all in the name of patriotism. America is staring down a different yet still devastating threat today that cannot be seen and it is up to the GOP to rise to the occasion to show how patriotic they really are in the face of this crisis which has equally imperiled the American people.

I would say that this economic threat is far more devastating than Al Qaeda, since it tentacles reach from sea to shining sea. I would also love to remind the GOP that former President Bush lied to the American people as to why we invaded Iraq. Yet the GOP expected not only congress, but the American people to fall for that hook, line and sinker.

As people have lost their jobs, and have continued to lose their jobs along with that are the health benefits they had and their ability to put food on the table as well as keep a roof over their head. This economic threat does not reside in terror cells, but in corporations that are no longer able to sustain the ability to employ these workers or states which are no longer able to meet their citizens needs. It was reported on Tuesday in The L.A. Times, “The budget deficit is $40 billion and growing. The state is so short of cash that, within days, it may issue IOUs, rather than checks, to pay its bills. The Legislature, bitterly divided, seems unable to agree on a way out. The governor warns of "financial Armageddon."

Yet, the GOP squawk at the amount it will take to get America working again in order to rebuild this economy, but no squawking took place when it came to the price tag of the Iraq War. To me, the Iraq War was the ultimate earmark and it did not get as much in-depth discussion of it and its price tag by former Pres. Bush, the congress and the media.

Since I chose California to prove the dire straights they are in economically, so far this war in Iraq has cost the American tax payer as a whole, over $591 billion dollars and counting by the second. Listed below is what the State of California could have used their portion of the funds for.

Taxpayers in California will pay $83.1 billion for total Iraq war spending approved to date. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

34,208,306 People with Health Care for One Year
OR
148,087,070 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year
OR
1,484,827 Public Safety Officers for One year
OR
1,174,122 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year
OR
12,490,710 Scholarships for University Students for One Year
OR
248,783 Affordable Housing Units
OR
31,068,375 Children with Health Care for One Year
OR
9,941,768 Head Start Places for Children for One Year
OR
1,193,726 Elementary School Teachers for One Year
OR
1,049,740 Port Container Inspectors for One year

If I were Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, I would have an up-close meeting with these House and Senate Republicans and no using that phrase, “I’ll be back”, but stay there until they listened to reason as his state is in fiscal chaos. Without the Iraq War, they would have been in the black.

Oh and last but not least as the Republicans haggle over the cost of that family planning portion of the bill which was taken out, let me remind my readers that all of us as tax payers paid for an American Embassy to be built in Baghdad which cost over $500 million dollars. Yet, another earmark and of no use to we the people as we face this economic firestorm.

To the Republicans on the Hill, just how are you the conservators of the people’s tax dollars? I just do not see it since no example has been proven to we the people.

Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net

To Senators McCain and Cornyn: President Barack Obama was correct in saying, "I won!"

By Mary MacElveen
Now that the inaugural ceremonies are over with where 1.8 million braved the cold to be a part of history to see President Barack Obama sworn in as this country’s 44th President of the United States, what is left is the cold and some ‘rivals’ showing their true colors. The rivals I speak of are the obstructionists in Senator John McCain and Senator John Cornyn.

As many opined that Senator John McCain would be President Barack Obama’s Republican go-to-guy in the senate where President Obama hosted a dinner in his honor the night before being sworn in, he must remember this is the man who ran against him. President Barack Obama must remember this quote coming from then GOP candidate, Senator John McCain, “This is not change we can believe in.” One can say there are many things stated in a campaign and at the end the victor may forget in a state of amnesia remarks such as that. But, we who monitor campaigns and their messages must revisit them to remind the victor who they ran against.

After the momentous election of President Barack Obama, we witnessed him surround himself with people of opposing views where Doris Kearns-Goodwin’s book “A Team of Rivals” became a best seller. While it may be good for the governance of we the people, the message directed at Republicans is that the ultimate decision lies with the Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama. I would like to remind President Barack Obama that instead of McCain being said go-to-guy, he was and is his rival first and foremost.

Why am I zeroing in on McCain? On Fox News Sunday which aired yesterday, McCain said this of the Obama stimulus plan, “The plan was written by the Democratic majority in the House, primarily, and so, yeah, I think there has to be major rewrite," He went onto say, “I am opposed to most of the provisions in the bill; as it stands now, I would not support it." It was reported last week of Obama where he cited in a meeting between House and Senate Republicans and Democrats, “I won!” and that is what he must take away from all of this. It was President Barack Obama who placed his hand on that ‘Lincoln Bible’ and not John McCain.

It was reported that 58% of those who voted for McCain supported President Obama as he neared Inauguration Day and if he is looking for bipartisan support, reach out to those voters instead of people like McCain. To his credit, President Obama gave his first Saturday morning chat both on radio and the Internet. These are the ones who matter most and President Obama must call upon them to contact their elected officials to support of his plan. Ask them to light up the switch boards as was done during the immigration reform vote which went down in flames. In fact, the senate switch board crashed with so many voters calling into their respective senators.

In his call where he stated he would not support President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, all I would say is to remember that Senator John McCain was caught up in the Keating-Five scandal. That is what we must remember as it was brought up in the campaign. At the very heart of this economic meltdown is greed and at one time, McCain was the picture of greed.

Now we come to obstructionists’ like Senator John Cornyn who are making noise concerning Eric Holder who is President Obama’s pick to fill the Attorney General spot and remind him too, “I won!” Cornyn and others are fearful he may launch investigations into those who committed torture where Holder even stated that water boarding is torture which is a war crime under the Geneva Convention. To them, I say, let the chips fall where they may. If any of them are fearful of investigations, perhaps the lesson to be learned is, acts such as water boarding should never have taken place to begin with.

My message to the Republican Party is that elections do matter, they do have consequences and at the end the Democrats did win. You witnessed how many of your elected officials and candidates got picked off one-by-one and this is where the people spoke in great numbers. President Barack Obama’s victory was not a fifty-fifty split, but where he won a decisive victory. Just look at how many red-states flipped to blue and there in lies a resounding message to all of you. This was not only the success of the fifty-state strategy, but a signal of disgust and anger towards Republicans.

What continues to be lost as one reads any business section are jobs and those losing their homes and they are the ones who matter most. Those suffering from these events are Democrats, Republicans, Independents and non-voters alike.

It is time for these Republicans to get on board, lose whatever selfish pride they may have and get to work on behalf of we the people who handed your party a resounding defeat. After all, our memories are as long as an elephant and we do remember how devastating the Bush administration was along with the Republican Party who led this country with such brute force during the first six years of it. By forgetting all of that, the symbol of your party is not one of an elephant, but of those three monkeys who hold their hands over their mouths, ears and eyes. The reason is, that we were forced to speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil when it came to your party.

Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net

http://www.opednews.com/articles/To-Senators-McCain-and-Cor-by-Mary-MacElveen-090126-773.html

http://mary-macelveen.blogspot.com/2009/01/to-senators-mccain-and-cornyn-president.html

http://www.marymacelveen.com/blog/_archives/2009/1/26/4070453.html