NJ Pol Resigns After Sending Pic of Junk

Pleasant:

New Jersey politician Louis Magazzu (D) announced his resignation "after nude pictures he sent to a woman he had been corresponding with were posted on a Republican activist's website," the New York Daily News reports.

"The tawdry photos - taken in front of a mirror with a smartphone -- are similar to those that led to Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) to call it quits in June. Magazzu, a 53-year-old lawyer who had been an elected county official for more than a decade, apologized to his friends, family and constituents in a statement, but indicated he had been set up."

Said Magazzu: "I did not know that she was working with an avowed political enemy to distribute these pictures. I have retained counsel to determine what laws may have been broken by the unauthorized distribution of those pictures."

Those damn political enemies put you up to taking a phone pic of your package? No, it wasn't the fact that you're a deviant or that you get off on sending lewd pictures of yourself to people you've never met. Instead it was those evil Republicans--probably even Tea partiers who support Sarah Palin and Chris Christie.

So I guess in this scumbag's stilted world sending pictures of your shlong is all good as lonmg as you weren't coaxed into it by a "political enemy".

Another black eye--or set of blue balls--for the great state of New Jersey.

For the record, I bet he's a Yankee's fan.

Rev. Sharpton Busted on FBI Camera

When Al Sharpton's friends were awoken by agents earlier this week who were seeking documents related to the Reverends finances, Sharpton called it a racist issue as is his typical m.o. They have nothing on him he declared and it's a witch hunt because he's a black leader and he was the leader on the drive to free the "Jena Six".

Well, it turns out that the feds do indeed have something on him and it was evidence gathered in a City of Brotherly Love corruption probe:

With a hidden FBI camera rolling inside a New York hotel suite in 2003, an unsuspecting Rev. Al Sharpton, Democratic candidate for president, spoke candidly.

Sharpton offered to help Philadelphia fund-raiser Ronald A. White win a multimillion-dollar business deal, if White helped him raise $50,000 for politics.

White offered $25,000. "If you bring my guys up on this hedge fund, and I have the right conversation," White said, "I'll give you what you need."

"Cool," Sharpton said.

The Inquirer obtained an account of the May 9, 2003, conversation, which was recorded as part of the Philadelphia City Hall corruption case. The tape helped spark a separate inquiry into Sharpton's 2004 campaign and his civil-rights organization, the National Action Network. The FBI-IRS probe resurfaced publicly Wednesday, when Sharpton aides received subpoenas.

In an interview today, Sharpton said there is "absolutely nothing illegal" about tying business deals to fund-raising because he is not a public official.

"The tapes vindicate me," Sharpton said. "They show that I did not talk about bribing a public official or paying money under the table."

They have 20-separate conversations between him and White discussing a huge NYC pension deal as well. The initial probe was investigating pay-to-play corruption in the office of former Mayor John Street and involved City Treasurer Corey Kemp as well as White. White died before the case could come to trial and Kemp was sentenced to 10-years for his complicity. Detroit businessman LaVan Hawkins was also convicted in the case.

This is not going away no matter how much Sharpton wants to pull the race card. He's corrupt and the proof will surface. There's no way the FBI or IRS would begin an investigation guaranteed to become the most high-profile of the year without having the i's dotted and the t's crossed.

Update: For the record, the Inquirer did have this on the front page, however it was below the fold. What could have been more important? The Bali, Indonesia UN environmental circle jerk that's leaving a bigger carbon footprint in one week than my entire town does in a year. They're having so much fun, they've extended it for a day.

Politicians Are Smarter Than You

Just ask them, ask a politician what's good for you and they'll pulling you aside, talk to you in that fatherly tone and explain that if you disagree, you must not have all the facts, are misinformed or--in quiet moments with other politicians--you are just plain stupid.

Take John Corzine for example; in New Jersey, we had a question on the ballot concerning approval of $450-million in loans for stem cell research. Check out what the response was when it was shot down:

New Jersey taxpayers have spoken, and they're clearly not happy.

There was little disagreement in the political world yesterday that voter concern over the state's finances and outrage over ever-rising taxes drove Tuesday's defeat of $450 million in bonds to fund stem-cell research and another measure to earmark more sales-tax revenue for property-tax reform.

"Voters have given us clear instructions," Gov. Corzine said yesterday. "They told us to resolve our alarming and pressing financial problems."

The measures' defeat represented the first time a statewide ballot question has been voted down in 17 years.

Liberals and the Inquirer (but I'm redundant) are perplexed that the citizens in the state would turn down funding for stem cells. You can hear them thinking: "this is a Democratic state, stem cells are a Democrat issue, voters turned it down and we had Michael J. Fox campaigning for us, they must be upset about the tax situation...or they're just imbeciles"

It will never occur to them that perhaps the voters find the entire stem cell thing distasteful. Granted, this was funding for all stem cell research, yet harvesting cells from embryos is not a road people are comfortable taking and rejected the Trenton's plans to subsidize it.

Whatever the issue is--from alcohol licenses to gay marriage--if voters reject a ballot question favored by Democrats, there always has to be another motive other than the fact that they disagreed with Democrats.

Shocker! Another Democrat NJ Senator is Corrupt

Corruption and politics in New Jersey go together like John Edwards and a blow dryer, Joe Biden and plagiarism and Hillary Clinton and dodging questions. If you are a Democrat in New Jersey and attain any elected office, it's standard practice to gain as much money from that position as humanly possible (or sex from staffers as was shown by a certain ex-governor) by shaking down businesses and than steering contracts in their direction.

Now the Garden State is shamed by a new/old brewing scandal, the man who replaced (in an illegal way) the highly corrupt Senator Robert Toriccelli (who still can't seem to stay away from shady practices and gallingly--and some would say racially--blames it on Puerto Rican practices) is now mired in what will probably amount to a major brouhaha:

LiCausi started work for Menendez back when he was in the House in 1998. She was 26. Four years later she left with the title of chief of staff of his New Jersey office, a position that the Times called "midlevel" -- she supervised six people. But immediately she began raking in some hefty contracts, not only as a lobbyist, but also as a fundraiser for Menendez and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Menendez admitted to the Times that he'd "encouraged" the DCCC to hire her for the $10,000 a month spot. And no doubt he was responsible for the work on his political committees, where she was also making another $10,000 a month fundraising for both his political action committee and his campaign. And then there were the lobbying contracts which also rolled in.

The subpoenas issued in the past few months have been to two of LiCausi's clients. One, to Jersey City Medical Center, was originally reported by The Star-Ledger in late August. The other, to the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, was reported two weeks ago. The hospital signed up LiCausi in January, 2003, shortly after she left Menendez's office; the contract paid $280,000 through February of this year. An exec from the hospital has also testified before a grand jury.

Note that TPM spins it as a GOP-supporting prosecutor gunning for the Democrat simply because he's a Democrat but anyone who knows the history of the Dems in North Jersey knows that you have to scratch a whole lotta backs to get ahead and get elected. You have to be corrupt or you don't get elected. South Jersey is a bit more sane but not by a huge margin. Politics in Jersey is rough and tumble, a Giants-Eagles game is about the same civility level as elections.

When I heard that it was a New Jersey Senator and sex may have been involved, I prayed to the good Lord that it was Menendez and not Frank Lautenberg. Fortunately, I was right.