Bill Ayers

"Guilty as hell, free as a bird—it’s a great country." --Bill Ayers in "Fugitive Days"

This is a call to action for freedom-loving Americans to protest Bill Ayers (bio at Conservapedia), a domestic terrorist who escaped punishment, Marxist, and enemy of the Constitution, speaking at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, 15-19 February at the annual meeting for the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE).

First, protest the ATE's inclusion of Bill Ayers' at their annual meeting:
(1) Write the hotel and/or ATE
(2) Fax the hotel and/or ATE
(3) Call the hotel, speak with the manager
(4) Call the hotel national headquarters
(5) Protest in front of the hotel during the ATE's annual meeting
(6) Notify the press (especially if you are going to protest in front of the hotel)
(7) You could also voice your protest to the ATE, but I suspect it will fall on deaf ears, since if they are inviting someone like Bill Ayers, they probably already have Marxist leanings (cannot confirm, however).

Second, make sure to expose this event to the general public and record each of the speaker's lectures, if possible.  Post to YouTube the ones that may be controversial, especially Bill Ayers'.

Third, organize your fellow patriots and ensure you have adequate talking points that address:
(1) The Weather Underground (which Bill Ayers was the leader) and its plan to kill 25,000,000 unrepentant capitalists in America.  This should strike a chord with those who run businesses, especially Marriott.
(2) That Bill Ayers is a domestic terrorist.
(3) How his espousing of Marxism is a threat to our Constitution and our way of life.
(4) How his ideology will subsequently poison the minds of our children.

Bill Ayers trampling on the US flag

Hyatt Regency Atlanta
265 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Phone: (404) 577-1234
Fax: (404) 588-4137
http://www.hyattregencyatlanta.com


ASSOCIATION OF TEACHER EDUCATORS
David A. Ritchey, Ph.D., CAE, Executive Director
Mail: P.O. Box 793
Manassas, VA 20113
Office: 11350 Random Hills Rd.., Suite 800
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: (703) 659-1708
Fax: (703) 595-4792
http://www.ate1.org/pubs/Contact_Us.cfm


Georgia ATE
Website: http://www.gaate.org
President: Gwendolyn Middlebrooks
ghmiddlebrooks@bellsouth.net
Executive Secretary: Barbara Benson
bbenson@piedmont.edu

As those who believe the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and honor the founding of our nation, we have been backed into a corner and cannot give another inch.  We must resist every person and organization that wishes to enslave the people of this nation with ideologies such as Marxism.


We therefore have a duty to voice our disapproval of Bill Ayers' version of Marxism.  And he should have no influence over those who teach our children.

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


It looks as though the Obama Administration, not satisfied with enacting a flawed national health plan that even unions are becoming leery of has decided to tell Americans what to do to make their homes safer. Sure to follow will be new mountains of regulations and costs associated with this benevolent and loving plan. Certainly the Federal Government needs more to do as it increases control over the lives of every individual and business in the country.

But I best shut up because the Feds just hate naysayers now din;t they?

HUD No. 13-011
Shantae Goodloe
(202) 708-0685 FOR RELEASE
Monday
February 4, 2013

FEDERAL AGENCIES WORKING TO MAKE HOMES HEALTHIER
Improving housing quality can dramatically affect the health of residents

WASHINGTON—Several federal agencies today unveiled Advancing Healthy Housing – A Strategy for Action. White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Shaun Donovan, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, M.D., and Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman discussed the new plan during an event at the National Building Museum this morning.

The initiative represents a bold new vision for addressing the nation’s health and economic burdens caused by preventable hazards associated with the home. The Strategy for Action encourages federal agencies to take preemptive actions that will help reduce the number of American homes with health and safety hazards.

People in the United States spend about 70% of their time in a home. Currently, millions of U.S. homes have moderate to severe physical housing problems, including dilapidated structure; roofing problems; heating, plumbing, and electrical deficiencies; water leaks and intrusion; pests; damaged paint; and high radon gas levels. These conditions are associated with a wide range of health issues, including unintentional injuries, respiratory illnesses like asthma and radon-induced lung cancer, lead poisoning, result in lost school days for children, as well as lost productivity in the labor force. The health and economic burdens from preventable hazards associated with the home are considerable, and cost billions of dollars.

TheStrategy for Action unifies, for the first time, federal action to advance healthy housing, demonstrating the connection between housing conditions and residents’ health. It also promotes strategies and methods intended to reduce in-home health hazards in a cost-effective manner.

“It is clear that unhealthy and unsafe housing has an impact on the health of millions of people in the United States,which is why we must do everything we can to ensure that individuals and families have a healthy place to call home,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Today’s announcement will help the federal government unify action to controlling and preventing major housing-related exposures and hazards.”

“Thanks to unprecedented collaboration across the federal family and among our many partners, we now have a specific plan for action to address radon and other preventable hazards found in homes across the country. This is important progress, especially when you consider that people spend an estimated 70 percent of their time inside a home,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “At EPA we’re committed to ensuring Americans in all communities have healthy places to live, work and play, and the strategy we announced today is a critical step toward reaching that goal.”

“Healthy homes and communities are essential to our quality of life, our productivity, and our economic vitality,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. “Through this plan, Federal agencies have committed to working together to make sure all Americans can count on safe, healthy places to live, grow, and thrive.”

Dr. Mary Jean Brown, Chief of CDC’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch added, “Healthy homes lead to healthier lives. People can take simple steps to protect themselves from health hazards in the home.”

“Energy efficiency and healthy homes are inextricably linked,” explained U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. “We cannot, in good conscience, pursue one in the absence of the other. DOE is committed to ensuring that our efforts towards creating an efficient national housing stock also strive to maximize the health and safety of the families we serve.”

The overall vision for the Strategy is to reduce the number of American homes with residential health and safety hazards, achieved through five goals:

1}Establish healthy homes recommendations
2}Encourage adoption of healthy homes recommendations
3}Create and support training and workforce development to address health hazards in housing
4}Educate the public about healthy homes
5}Support research that informs and advances healthy housing in a cost-effective manner

For more on the Strategy for Action, visit the interagency Healthy Homes website, http://healthyhomes.hud.gov.

Big Brother IS watching...

Via: Memorandum

by:Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

I am not a big fan of Bill Maher, nor do I agree with much that Crooks and Liars puts out for the public's perusal. However, priding myself on being fair and balanced I figured this one deserved a play here at RN USA. It is really funny, portrays the "Donald" perfectly, and besides he had it coming. That and personally I don't care for the "Donald." He may not be an Orangutan but he certainly is a buffoon.

Via: Memorandum

Last Wednesday we published a story about a little boy who was supposedly suspended from school for tossing an imaginary grenade into an imaginary box. This Week’s Worst School in the Country: Mary Blair Elementary

News stories about the boy were published by major news outlets throughout the country and then the story went viral.

Faultline USA wants to present all sides of the issue and to set the record straight concerning this particular story. Yesterday, we received an email from the school Superintendent, Stan Scheer. Here is that email:

I am writing in response to your recent email to the Thompson School District regarding Mary Blair Elementary School.

As a matter of practice, the Thompson School District does not comment publicly on matters of student discipline. In this case, however, the parent of the student has chosen to make this a public issue, and because there appears to be a great deal of misinformation in the media about this matter, we feel compelled to respond.

On February 1, 2013, a student at Mary Blair Elementary School was observed by a teacher throwing rocks at other children on the school’s playground. The teacher, following District procedures, escorted the child to the school principal, whereupon the student’s mother was contacted. Following a discussion with the student and his mother, the principal imposed a 2-hour in-school suspension as a consequence for the student’s behavior. The student was never removed from school grounds by the District.

Stan Scheer, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Thompson School District

800 South Taft Avenue

Loveland, CO 80537

New information concerning the mother lends credence to the schools's position.

Mom says son suspended for throwing 'imaginary grenade,' but her criminal history clouds credibility

. . .But when 7NEWS took a harder look at the 30-year-old mother's account of what happened on the playground, we found it may not be true.

7NEWS also found that Watkins has repeatedly appeared at the center of news stories in recent years and she has a lengthy criminal history that raises questions about her credibility. . . .

7NEWS' Sablan asked Watkins on Friday about her account that her son was throwing an "imaginary grenade," when the district says he threw rocks at other students.

Watkins insisted it was the school principal who said her son "had been suspended for throwing an imaginary grenade."

"There was an imaginary grenade," the mother continued. "He was throwing an imaginary grenade and that's why I (publicly) clarified and said, 'did he have anything in his hand?'"

Sablan asked if district officials are lying about the rock throwing?

"Yes, absolutely," Watkins replied. "It's not true at all." . . .

We truly hope that the school's version of the story is the correct version. But there are still a number of questions concerning the school's list of "Absolutes, " and why any parent would make an issue of a mere "2-hour in-school suspension" (whatever that is).

Perhaps the school district will have to revamp their policy about public comments concerning student discipline? In the interest of student privacy and yet, preemptive self-protection, perhaps schools should immediately list on their web page each suspension by date, time, and type of offense (omitting the student's name and identifying grade).

Additionally, the previous article links to articles concerning the overuse of suspension in schools throughout the country over the last decade. What, after all, is a "2-hour in-school suspension"??? Why is this term being overly used?

Politically charged Issues such as gun control and Zero tolerance are center stage right now and schools must use sound judgement instead of political correctness at the expense of a child's permanent record!

Thursday ABC News Published:

In Newtown's Wake, Schools Crackdown on Imaginary Weapons

In the wake of December's tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., schools nationwide have taken zero-tolerance policies aimed at reducing violence, suspending kids as young as 5 for brandishing "guns" made from Lego blocks and cutout pieces of paper.

But the policy at Evans' Mary Blair Elementary school in Loveland, Colo., is simple and stringent. "No Weapons (real or play)" is one of the school's "ABSOLUTES," or rules.

Loveland student's suspension spurs debate of zero-tolerance policies

. . .But the story has renewed discussions about a Colorado bill that eliminated zero-tolerance school discipline policies that arose following the Columbine High School shooting and the 1993 Summer of Violence, during which Denver’s street gang activity drew statewide attention.

Senate Bill 12-45, known as the Smart School Discipline Act, passed last year during a special session of the Colorado Legislature. The bill failed initially, but was brought back as an amendment to the School Finance Act.

It was designed to reduce the number of “unnecessary” suspensions, bill sponsor and former Rep. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, said, by requiring school districts to implement “proportionate” discipline, in addition to prevention strategies, counseling, restorative justice and peer mentoring programs.

When a student gets in trouble, districts are supposed to consider factors including the child’s age, whether they have a disability, their disciplinary history, the seriousness of the violation, other punishment options and whether the actions threatened the safety of another student or teacher.

School districts were required before the 2012-13 school year to rewrite their discipline code, in order to comply with the act.

Thompson School District disagrees with the notion it hasn’t abandoned zero-tolerance practices. It updated its discipline policies in November to reflect SB 12-45, district spokesman Michael Hausmann said. Administrators have a “number of interventions that they may and do use.”

“I think it’s hard when new laws are enacted for every teacher and every district to know what those laws are,” but districts are responsible to know, Nikkel said.

 

Technorati Tags: Mary Blair Elementary,Superintendent Stan Scheer,Thompson School District,Loveland,CO,suspension,schools,education,criminalization,guns,gun control,zero tolerance

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Every so often you hear a messages such as the one from Dr. Benjamin Carson that strikes a cord because it is a message of ultimate truth. Whether one is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, a non believer, or whatever, the basic truth Dr. Carson speaks to is universal. As I listened to the good doctor's message I couldn't help but thinking our elected leadership, starting with the President on down needs the message perhaps most of all.

The presentation is 27 minutes long, but if you haven't seen it yet it is well worth the 27 minute of your time. And that from a non believer.



ht: FreeThinke

Dr. Benjamin Carson is a leading pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins, where he is a renowned authority on separating Siamese twins. He was raised in the Detroit inner city by a single mom who worked multiple jobs to get him through school. He is a professor of neurosurgery, oncology, and plastic surgery as well as pediatrics… and he holds over 50 honorary degrees on top of that. He’s been the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins since he was just 33 years old. In 2008, he received America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from George W. Bush. He and his wife Candy run the Carson Scholars Fund, which hopes to “name a Carson Scholar in every school within the United States.” {Continue Reading

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle




Last month California switch from their previous standards of education to Common Core Standards.  While hailed as a major step forward its true goal is to indoctrinate students to the "Progressive" agenda.  In fact it harms Black and Latino students by failing to prepare them for college.

California will no longer require eighth-graders to take algebra - a move that is line with the Common Core standards being adopted by most states, but that may leave students unprepared for college.

Last month, California formally shifted to the Common Core mathematics standards, which recommend that students delay taking algebra if they aren't ready for it. Previously, algebra class was a requirement for all eighth-graders in the state.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is sponsored by the National Governor's Association, is an effort to unify diverse state education curricula. Forty-five other states and the District of Columbia have signed on so far.

But some education experts worry that the change will further damage struggling students' college chances, since early proficiency in Algebra I is an excellent predictor of college graduation, according to the Mercury News.

Black and Latino students in California are significantly more likely to fail eighth-grade algebra, and 80 percent of those who fail it once will fail it again when they take it in high school.

A study published by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area claims that some minority students who score well enough to place into advanced math classes are often mistakenly held back.

Source

Does anyone find this ironic that the 2 groups of students with the highest rate of dropping out of school will be hurt the most by this.  Just another tool in the Progressive arsenal to keep Blacks and now Latinos on the Plantation.

Click to enlarge.


Click to enlarge.

An optimist might tell you that this is the first inning of the recovery. We will return to the red trend line as the economy begins to strengthen. For what it is worth, I am not an optimist. I believe that the next major trend change in initial claims will be to the upside.

Please note that versions 32 through 34 of these posts are permanently missing. I took a break for a few weeks. Sorry about that! In my defense, not much has changed since I last posted.

Oh sure, there was a feigned attempt to revisit the red trend line in my absence. I guess there was that. Perhaps the red trend line attracted a few red herrings. Sigh.


The job market sure is a mystery, a conundrum so to speak. It's almost like jobs are being automated and outsourced faster than we can think up new ones. Yeah, it's almost exactly like that. Go figure.

See Also:
Extreme Initial Claims Danger v.31 (Musical Tribute)

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Initial Claims
DOL: Initial Claims

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

It seems like a reasonable means of bringing more high tech talent to the USA, thus helping to make us more competitive in the global marketplace. Some however disagree.

The New York Times - WHILE genuine immigration reform has the potential to fix a seriously broken system, four senators have introduced a bill to solve a problem we don’t have: the supply of high-tech workers.

The bill’s authors, led by Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, argue that America would benefit from letting more immigrants trained in science, technology, engineering and math work in the country, with the sponsorship of high-tech companies like Microsoft and I.B.M.

But the opposite is the case: the bill would flood the job market with indentured foreign workers, people who could not switch employers to improve their wages or working conditions; damage the employment prospects of hundreds of thousands of skilled Americans; and narrow the educational pipeline that produces these skilled workers domestically.

The impetus for the bill, which would give six-year visas to as many as 300,000 foreign high-tech workers a year, is the longstanding lament by business leaders that they cannot find the talent they need in the American labor market. In their version, there is a shortage of scientists and engineers, and the United States is failing to keep substantial numbers of foreign students in the country. As a result, our position as the world’s leading high-tech economy is in danger.

Fortunately, they argue, H-1B visas — our guest-worker program for high-tech workers — brings us “the best and the brightest” in the world. We just don’t give out enough of them.

But America’s technology leadership is not, in fact, endangered. According to the economist Richard B. Freeman, the United States, with just 5 percent of the world’s population, employs a third of its high-tech researchers, accounts for 40 percent of its research and development, and publishes over a third of its science and engineering articles.{Read More}

Perhaps we are all set without Senator Hatch's plan. However I can not help but wonder...

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

I have been skeptical of the rEpublican cries of voter fraud that never seems to go away. However, one must question if the following is but a isolated incident or whether it goes much deeper as some have claimed. The explanation seems plausible perhaps but then again...

ABC - CINCINNATI - The Hamilton County Board of Elections is investigating 19 possible cases of alleged voter fraud following months of investigation after the 2012 election.

Twenty-eight subpoenas have been issued as a result of the investigation, which includes 19 Hamilton County voters and nine witnesses who still need to answer questions to satisfy the board.

The board started with 80 suspicious cases and now are down to 19. Officials say the majority of the cases turned out to be simple misunderstandings.

Melowese Richardson, a Madisonville resident, first learned of the allegations when approached by 9 On Your Side reporter Tom McKee Wednesday. Even though she admits to voting twice in the last election, she said the news came as surprise.

"I would think that something this important would come to me first and that I wouldn't have to be enlightened about this through you," said Richardson.

According to county documents, Richardson's absentee ballot was accepted on Nov. 1, 2012 along with her signature. On Nov. 11, she told an official she also voted at a precinct because she was afraid her absentee ballot would not be counted in time.

"There's absolutely no intent on my part to commit voter fraud," said Richardson.

According to BOE records, her name appeared on an absentee ballot list prior to Election Day. The board's report states poll workers should have updated the signature poll book by flagging "absentee voter" next to the names of those who appeared on the list. Upon investigation it was found that none of the voters who appeared on the list were flagged, which included Richardson. The staff could not locate that supplemental list when asked.

Richardson voted at the Madisonville Recreation Center where she worked as a paid worker on Election Day.

She has worked the polls since 1988. Richardson said in her youth she would accompany her mother, who also worked at the polls, even thought she wasn't old enough to vote at the time.

"I, after registering thousands of people, certainly wanted my vote to count. So, I voted. I voted at the poll," she said.

The board's documents also state that Richardson was allegedly disruptive and hid things from other poll workers on Election Day after another female worker reported she was intimated by Richardson.

However, Richardson claims she was the one intimidated while doing her job.

"I think I was intimidated because she's new and wasn't doing her job very efficiently and like I said, I've been working the pools for several years. I let her know how it should have been taken care of," said Richardson.

During the investigation it was also discovered that her granddaughter, India Richardson, who was a first time voter in the 2012 election, cast two ballots in November. {Read More}

Via: Memorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny



As Big Brother (Leviathan) watches... Complements of GWM and the Patriot Act.

WIRED - The Department of Homeland Security’s civil rights watchdog has concluded that travelers along the nation’s borders may have their electronics seized and the contents of those devices examined for any reason whatsoever — all in the name of national security.

The DHS, which secures the nation’s border, in 2009 announced that it would conduct a “Civil Liberties Impact Assessment” of its suspicionless search-and-seizure policy pertaining to electronic devices “within 120 days.” More than three years later, the DHS office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties published a two-page executive summary of its findings.

“We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits,” the executive summary said.

The memo highlights the friction between today’s reality that electronic devices have become virtual extensions of ourselves housing everything from e-mail to instant-message chats to photos and our papers and effects — juxtaposed against the government’s stated quest for national security.

The President George W. Bush administration first announced the suspicionless, electronics search rules in 2008. The President Barack Obama administration followed up with virtually the same rules a year later. Between 2008 and 2010, 6,500 persons had their electronic devices searched along the U.S. border, according to DHS data. {Read More}

Indeed our liberties are being slowly eroded away by Big Brother. And it is high time we begin to realize that rEpublicans are not true friends of liberty. Call me a rational skeptic but GWB did as much to rollback liberty as anyone in the last 80 or so years of our history.

Via: Memorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


Bill Clinton, a man whom I did not vote for has, over time engendered a certain level of respect. While I do not agree with many of his positions I do admire his resiliency as well as the wisdom he has gained and so effectively communicates.

I cannot help but wonder why there is no one individual in the limited government classical liberal movement that can define precisely what those terms mean and why limited government and classical liberal principles are both workable and sustainable. I suspect it is because they do not really believe it themselves. After all, most of the so called "limited government liberty politicians" have been only too willing to take advantage of the very system and programs they criticize.

Being a true limited government, pro capitalist, and pro liberty individual is the furthest thing from the so called conservative movement of the present as one can get. Of course one needs to understand the motives of the big "R" rEpublican/Neoconservative movement of the present to understand this. Unfortunately there are many who will never take the time to analyze and understand the dangers their leaders and "heroes" are leading them into.

As a nation we are at a point in our history that depending on how we react to past errors, and respond to present challenges will determine the course of our future. Listening to either the socon-neocon rEpublicans or the far left progressive big "D" statist democrats will undoubtedly result in our eventual demise as a great and influential nation.

It would do the rEpublicans power base and aspiring Libertarians well to listen to the words of an elder politician and democrat party Ambassador. After listening it is incumbent on rEpublican/Libertarian leadership to determine how to apply what they learn to EFFECTIVELY sending the powerful message of limited governance and liberty to a populace who is desirous of both.

A cautionary note; the great majority of the general population wants to work and earn an honest living, every day of their lives. They do not want to depend on government to take care of them. And they wonder exactly why there is a 500:1 ratio with respect to executive compensation to the average workers income. They have a point worth considering.

Politico - Former President Bill Clinton had a message for House Democrats on Friday: come up with a plan.

Clinton, speaking to the caucus at their retreat, said that heading into the midterm elections Democrats couldn’t just run against Republican policies but craft their own message on jobs, the economy, immigration, and gun control.

“I think we’re going to be fine, but we’ve got to learn to compare ourselves to the competition in a way that is not threatening and is not negative. We have got got to have a jobs agenda that seems affordable and realistic,” he said. “We need a 10 year budget plan that doesn’t overdo the austerity… Do it all in a same spirit that you took out there in this last election.

“This last race was a referendum in large measure on what the American people did not want, we have to create a future that they do want,” he added.

The former president said that Democrats could even win the gun control debate, if they approach it in the right way, and urged them not give up trying to convince people “who aren’t supposed to be in our demographic.”

“They are thinking about this too. They were sick when those children were killed,” he said. “Treat these people like our friends, our neighbors, and people we share our country with.” {Read More}

Yep rEpublicans and Libertarians, we all share the same desires, hopes, and fears as do our democrat inspired countrymen. So, if we want to win the argument and the day it is, as William Jefferson Clinton would no doubt agree, our responsibility to convince the other side exactly why we have a better plan. The task is I fear monumental given the legacy of GWB ad leadership the likes of Karl Rove.

Via: Memorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Former Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.

It seems the apple never falls far from the tree. Charlatans both...

The Hill - Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D) has signed a plea deal over violations of campaign finance law, according to a report.

The former Illinois congressman agreed to the deal in the last few days, according to NBC News

Under the agreement, Jackson — who resigned from Congress in late 2012 citing health issues — would have to repay the campaign money he spent on furniture and other personal items.

According to NBC News, Jackson spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on items and travel unrelated to campaigning. Using campaign funds for personal use is illegal and punishable by a minimum penalty of five years in prison.

It is unclear how much time in prison Jackson is likely to spend. A federal judge for sentencing has not yet been assigned.

In response to the reported plea agreement, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a statement asking whether Jackson held onto his seat to use as a bargaining chip.

"With the writing on the wall well in advance of Election Day, and Rep. Jackson’s resignation just weeks later, it begs the question whether the former congressman held on to his seat to maintain a stronger bargaining position with prosecutors," CREW executive director Melanie Sloan said in a statement on Friday. "The people of Illinois deserve much more from their federally elected officials. While Rep. Jackson will be required to reimburse the government and may face jail time, the disservice to his constituents likely won’t be forgotten any time soon." {Read More}

As bad as some rEpublican lawmakers have been there certainly are big "D" charlatans out there working to scam the public as well, as Jackson Jr. has shown us. As so often happens, as well it should, Mr. Jackson was caught in his own misplaced belief he was beyond scrutiny. A perfect example of the old adage that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Via: Memeorandum