Hugo Chavez gives barry a book and gets a photo op

April 18, 2009

 

barry shakes Hugo Chavez’s (and Daniel Ortega’s) hands

April 17, 2009

barry’s bud, Hugo Chavez, calls Pres Bush “the devil”

April 24, 2009

barry’s new rogue leader foursome

April 24, 2009

The true meaning behind Chavez’s “gift”

April 24, 2009

“It’s (always) Bush’s fault”

April 24, 2009

barry’s naivete clear on both trips

April 20, 2009

Quote of the day: “I think you should be in cages!”

April 2o, 2009

Morning Joe and Pat Buchanan are venting their disgust with barry’s good old boy routine with Chavez and laughing much to Mika Brzezinski’s (and I’m sure her father’s) distress. She gets in a good one because they’re in Washington.

Coming back from commercial Pat & Joe are laughing.

JOE: We’re the Neanderthal caucus. Why don’t you all talk about how President Obama is the best thing since Candy Corn and Apple Jacks and snow on a Christmas morn. And we’ll just sit her and smile.

MIKA: I think you should be in cages!

Laughter all around except for Mika who reinterated it.

Spam of the day

April 23, 2009

Here are two interesting spam greetings I received today:

I have been struggling with herpes for a long time, I appreciate the information – it gives me hope. Maybe researchers will figure this wretched disease out before too long.

He appreciated it so much he needed to send 10 messages by 10 different names and different emails. And he didn’t even direct me to his site for the newest cure! or herbal remedy!

And this is the best one by far. It comes from a “Sven” @ “Harvard”:

I like how you complain about topless Obama photos, and then you include a pic of a golfer in his undies. Fair and balanced? Homoerotic?

Manboobs by definition are not erotic. And both pix were of men so it’s not exactly homoerotic…at least the last time I checked. One is a humorous photo on the golf course that I as a golfer appreciate. I have seen many things but never a man (or woman) stripped down to their skivvies. barry however is another matter for reasons I went into. Henrik Stenson is not exactly the leader of the free world – a free spirit, yes. And he has not a trace of manboobs…his are fair and balanced!

Harlequin Romance version of the Washingtonian pix

Willamette Weekly

For more obamessiah pix

Taitz: Letter to the General Counsel of Admiral Mullen

April 23, 2009

Blagojevich on the Today Show (4-23)

April 23, 2009

Milorad was on the Today Show this morning to discuss his not being able to be on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’ Afterward he flew to LA to hype the show and hasn’t ruled out being involved in some other capacity. Viera touches on his case and stops just short of asking him if he’s in touch with reality.

Viera was extremely rude and dismissive. What does she know about the case? Has she been talking to Patrick Fitzgerald?

She doesn’t even have the grace to treat her guest with respect. The venom and condescension leaks from her. It’s why folks think of the Today Show as nothing more that a visual talking tabloid.

Selected parts. NBC video doesn’t embed – nothing in You Tube.

BLAGO:

But I’m not ruling that there may be a possibility to play a role in some capacity on this program….I guess the judge did save me from eating bugs.

VIERA:

A lot of people are wondering why a former governor would want to be on a show like this? Why would you want to be running around the jungles of Costa Rica?

BLAGO:

I have two little girls and we have a mortgage to pay. I’m obviously looking for a new line of work as I work through the process of proving my innocence, which I firmly assert is in fact the case.

It seemed like an exciting opportunity. It was an idea that was presented to me – it’s not an idea that I had.

And he idea of being in a jungle, toughening it out, and sort of creating a little civil society with other people, and seeing how you can govern that society is not that unlike what it was like when I was the governor of the 5th largest state in America.

VIERA goes into the case against him like he doesn’t know.

Do you fully understand the position you’re in?

BLAGO:

Of course I do….you can’t help but not appreciate the circumstances and potential consequences.

Then he gets tripped up. (4:20)

But I know what the truth is concerning EMPHASIS me. NOD And I BLINK know BLINK I’ve BLINK done BLINK absolutely, pause, SHAKES HEAD nothing, uh that, BLINK BLINK, uh, RAISES EYEBROWS, CAN’T GET THE WORD OUT illegal.

I never intended to violate any law. And that when the full story and the truth comes out I expect to be fully vindicate and clear my name.

In the meantime, I have to support my children and my family. And if it means going into a jungle and having to eat some bugs, it’s just a testament to how much I love my kids.

VIERA:

What about you credibility? Do you worry that it is going to be further eroded…?

BLAGO:

I can’t control what some people might think…there’s a presumption of innocence…give me a chance for the court proceedings to show that what is being said is not in fact the case.

I appreciate the judge. He’s right. I should focus on my case and my defense and proving my innocence and this will be a chance to do it…In the meantime…I need to make a living and support my children and my family.

VIERA:

Had you been allowed to go on that show would you think you would have won?

BLAGO smiles and likens it to an election [jury trial] and that it’s up to the people.

It’s like elections – I never predict the outcome. You just do the best you can and trust the judgment of the citizens.

VIERA:

Well, maybe you’ve got another show in your future. [smirks and laughs]

She really is a rude woman. No matter what you think about Blago, he has been found guilty of nothing and they ripped him apart for months for the sake of barry.

I believe without a doubt that Roland Burris bought his senate seat directly from barry. My personal view courtesy of the First Amendment. And he did it in plain view of the FEC, the press, the GOP and the world.

Burris’ long time friend, coworker and fellow lawyer, the man who whispered in his ear at the impeachment trial, the man who wrote the affidavits before and after Burris’ ever changing testimony donated $50K to barry. $50K to barry’s inauguration, which was markedly out of character to his previous donations. He had actually donated to Hillary Clinton before he did barry. Go look. His records are right there for all to see, which I went into in a previous post – link below. I wish I knew the exact timeline to compare to the whisper in Harry Reid’s ear and the donation of the $50K but the FEC doesn’t keep dates (that I could find). But it’s right there in plain sight and not a word has been said or question raised.

Maybe Sheldon Sorosky is a little more observant than Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Schmidt.

FACT: The Senate was not going to seat Burris and then barry chatted up Reid and Burris got seated. It was the first time barry did anything personally in his official capacity. Something 100% out of character for him.

More FACTS: Burris wanted to be seated. barry said seat Burris. Burris was seated. Burris’ lawyer gave $50K to barry. Put it together however and in whatever order you like. They all are true statements.

Cosmic karma has it’s way of arriving at interesting and inopportune moments. I wonder when it’ll barry’s turn.

And as much as the media stooges love barry and want to discredit anyone non-sympathetic or potentially tarnishing  to him – they seem oblivious to the fact that Blago holds the key to barry’s future. He knows what barry has done, how much money he’s taken and can outline everything barry has done through REZKO. And has threatened to tell all in his book.So go right ahead barry loving media – continue to trash Blago and contribute to barry’s downfall.

And if the Feds keep putting the squeeze on his wife and taje his house he’s going to protect his family barry be damned. That’s why they’ve been working so hard on REZKO. They want to make credible a convicted felon, whose indictment barry was named in, whose $250K dirty donations had to be gotten rid of, inclduign dirty money directly related to REZKO’s eventual conviction – so he can rebut whatever Blago might potentially say about barry.

REZKO is the middleman who connects them. BLAGO < – > REZKO < – > BARRY and there is plenty that barry does not want to come out. Plenty that Axelrod, Emanuel and Jarrett know all about. Emanuel, Jarrett and former barry official presidential campaign chair Jesse Jackson, Jr were employed in official capacity when they talked with blago – however innocently – about the senate seat.

It’s all as filthy as barry – a man I can no longer tolerate. Save your breath Secret Service. He’s not worth doing anything about other than document his lies. The press obviously has no interest or intention of doing so and you have no interest in telling us exactly who is it you are protecting.

===============
Blagojevich on Reality TV?
Blago’s only reality show will be his trial
NBC Statement re: no Blago
Official blago statement re: no Costa Rica
Blagojevich to promote ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’
Blago on the Today Show

=================
Blagojevich indicted on 19 counts
DOJ Press release announcing indictment
Blago: Fact sheet
Blago: Indictment
Blagojevich statement
Did Burris buy his senate seat directly from barry?
Blagojevich enters not guilty plea

Blagojevich to promote ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’

April 23, 2009

Rod Blagojevich was on The Today Show this morning. His press release:

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich delivered a surprise during an appearance this morning on NBC’s ‘Today’ show by announcing he would be heading to L.A. to promote the upcoming reality program ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’

Earlier this week, a federal judge in Chicago said he would not alter the former governor’s bond allowing him to travel to Costa Rica to participate in the show.

“He’s mindful and respectful of the court’s ruling that he can’t leave the country but we’re still exploring ways for him to be part of the show,” says Glenn Selig, Blagojevich’s publicist and founder of the PR firm,  “He wants to be supportive of the program.”

Selig declined to elaborate on the options being explored.

The former governor will attend a press event for NBC this Friday, April 24.

Blagojevich had hoped to earn a salary for appearing on the program that airs in June, in addition to raising money for his favorite charity.

===============
Blagojevich on Reality TV?
Blago’s only reality show will be his trial
NBC Statement re: no Blago
Official blago statement re: no Costa Rica
Blagojevich to promote ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’
Blago on the Today Show

=================
Blagojevich indicted on 19 counts
DOJ Press release announcing indictment
Blago: Fact sheet
Blago: Indictment
Blagojevich statement
Did Burris buy his senate seat directly from barry?
Blagojevich enters not guilty plea

Drew Peterson’s official statement on Savio wrongful death lawsuit

April 23, 2009

Scumbag Peterson has reached a new low. He’s involving his children in his press releases now.

The family of Drew Peterson’s murdered 3rd wife, Kathleen Savio, has brought a wrongful death lawsuit against Drew Peterson. There are a few hurdles: the death certificate still says her death was accidental, no criminal indictment has been handed down and Peterson has not been charged with anything. Still the family went ahead to force the issue. A little heat on Peterson is a good thing. He’s going to be angry and he’s going to go back on a media blitz and may just say something…which he did this morning.

Here’s Peterson’s statement about the lawsuit: [emphasis added]

In absence of charges from the state, the family of Kathleen Savio is moving to file a “wrongful death” suit against Drew Peterson.  If the family moves to include “mismanagement of the estate” it would be a suit on behalf of Kathleen’s two children with Drew Peterson, Tom and Kris.

In an exclusive statement this morning, Tommy Peterson — Kathleen’s son — said, “Leave us alone. She’s our mother. He’s our father. I don’t even know these people. You’re strangers to me.” He was referring to Henry Savio and Anna Doman.

Drew Peterson pointed out that Henry Savio met his children once, and has “never even sent them so much as a Christmas card. No graduation congratulations. No birthday presents. No contact.”

Drew Peterson added,  “My only concern is the impact that this has on my boys. The only people who will benefit from this lawsuit are lawyer Martin Glick and Henry Savio and Anna Doman. My kids won’t benefit.” He added that he hadn’t been charged in the case and that he viewed her death as an accident. He mentioned the lie detector test taken for the book Drew Peterson Exposed, and how Peterson “passed” the test relating to Kathleen Savio’s death.

In an interview by phone, Joel Brodsky, attorney for Drew Peterson was delighted by the turn of events: “The scope of discovery in this sort of action is very broad. This would give us almost broader investigative power than a grand jury. It’s a great tool they are handing us. It’s very easy to make lemonade out of these lemons.“

He mentioned specifically that the lawsuit would enable him “to examine under oath — including video depositions — all the witnesses, including Pastor Neil Schori.”

The pastor was also mentioned in the lawsuit, to be filed by Glick: “A pastor met with Drew Peterson’s fourth wife” — Stacy Peterson — and  “she said she had personal knowledge that Peterson killed Savio.” Drew Peterson is also suspected in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, his fourth wife.

A new death certificate, obtained from the Will County Coroner — certified date April 17, 2009 — still lists Kathleen’s death as accidental drowning, a possible obstacle in a wrongful death suit. Even though an autopsy was submitted to the coroner last year, indicating findings of “homicide,” the Will County Coroner seems to stand on its original finding of an accident.

=====================================

Drew Peterson’s “fiance” moved out…again
Drew Peterson hit with wrongful death lawsuit
Drew Peterson’s response to wrongful death lawsuit
Drew Peterson’s official statement on Savio wrongful death lawsuit
Kathleen Savio’s niece comments on lawsuit
Drew Peterson: “[Stacy's] on vacation and she’s not coming back”
Drew Peterson reaches all-time low
Police searching for Stacy Peterson again

A true miracle bra

April 22, 2009

barry’s exposed manboobs

April 22, 2009

Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 6: Foster care, legal sign off, thanks

Here is the last segment of Dr Phil. It’s the legal disclaimer section. Dr Phil makes sure to document her passed Nadya off and he’s done. Linda Pate Wallace is on again (she was on the previous show as well)

(4-21) Updated list of octuplet posts
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil Part 1: Nadya; *Angels in Waiting* firing
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil Part 2: Jeff Czech: “Hogging the media”
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 3: No more Nadya for him
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 4: Tuberculosis, nannies
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 5: Allred vs Czech
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 6: Foster care, legal sign off, thanks
============================================
March 26, 2009

Dr Phil’s website (pix, too)

Dr Phil starts out with his legal disclaimer.

When I got involved in this story, it was because Robin and I have spent a long, long time with The Dr. Phil Foundation and other efforts to work with foster and disadvantaged children, and those children who are at high-risk, and these were certainly children at high risk. I said, ‘I’m going to step into this and see if I can figure out what’s going on and get some kind of way for these kids to have a chance, to have a chance at some kind of reasonable treatment.’

Of course, everybody in America was yelling, ‘Take those children away and put them in foster care.’

The truth is that A) that’s not a good option and B) you just can’t do that.

Public policy in America is that the biological parents really have powerful rights and big responsibilities with regard to kids. You just can’t step in and say, ‘Well, I don’t like this woman’s decisions. I think we should take those children and give them away.’ Fortunately, it’s not that easy. You can’t do that.

Then Dr Phil introduces attorney and child advocate LINDA WALLACE PATE. She was on the previous show as well, chronicling the horrors of foster care. This time she talks about the procedures involved in removing a child from her/his parents. Note the criteria includes: “immediate threat to the children’s health and safety”, which is why Angels in Waiting made their reports. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the night she brought home the first two octuplets was extremely dangerous and showed a monumental lack of maternal judgment. Even Kaiser threatened not to send any more of the preemies home.

Then there were the intruders in the yard and at the door and ther resistance to hiring security. Nadya didn’t do anything about security until after the car seat that was on her porch was thrown through the back window of her vehicle. They could have just as easily broken into the house and, yes, abducted the babies. And then the health risk of Tuberculosis.

All three were reports were not only justified, by law,  AIW had to act.

LINDA WALLACE PATE:

In order to remove children from their parents, the children have to be in immediate danger of physical abuse or sexual abuse, or the environment is an immediate threat to the children’s health and safety. That’s to remove the child without a court order. You’re essentially arresting a child. Social workers have the police power to come into your home, if the child is in immediate danger.

In this case, although Tuesday night when the first babies came home, I don’t think we got to that point of immediate danger, but I do believe that it was very toxic to the children. I believe that when you over-stimulate premature babies like that, that that can have a long-term effect on their development. They have a problem with sensory integration as adults. These are very serious issues.

The preemies went from the womb to the neonatal ICU to that mob scene. An adult who had just emerged from a coma wouldn’t have tolerated it.

DR PHIL:

I did speak to L.A. County Department of Child and Family and Services. I did talk to Kaiser Permanente, and I talked with Dr. Reilly from Orange County. He’s the chief deputy director of social services there.

Basically, what I said to all of these people is, ‘My involvement was to get into this story to help facilitate the best situation for these children. We’re now in the second chapter of that, and it seems to be running more smoothly, so we are going to step out of this story,’ because I don’t want to be a part of any [media] frenzy.’

He washed his hands of all liability by talking to these folks directly. He made known his concerns – made sure they documented them and then told them he was done. Bye bye Nadya. Then he goes back into the transparency issue to make his concerns known to the audience and general public.

Dr Phil relates the conversation he had with DR REILLY regarding Nadya and her new babies.

DR PHIL:

[Reilly] said, ‘Our approach is that we have all of these wonderful community centers throughout Orange County, lots of them, that offer everything from parent training to stress-relaxation sort of things, fun things for the family to do on a budget, all of these different things they can do to help the parents rise up to the occasion and not take the kids away.’

[To Pate] That is only as a last resort that they [remove children from the home]. It’s very difficult to do, and that is not the prime directive of Child Protective Services or social services, correct?

LINDA WALLACE PATE:

That’s correct. The paradigm shift for the last 10 or 15 years has been to keep the family intact. The outcomes are so poor in foster care. Children are, as we talked about before, four times more likely to be abused and neglected in foster care than with their biological parents or their relatives. Every effort must be made. We need to circle the wagons, we need to take all the resources that we have, we need to let all the drama subside. We need to get very Zen in this environment and give this family some privacy.

I’m all for transparency, but families have to have privacy too.

DR PHIL:

Private transparency, but nonetheless, a transparency to the agency. That’s all I’m saying in this situation. Having a mandated reporter inside the house helps a lot, because they are taken much more seriously, because they are informed reporters.

DR PHIL to Czech – more legal disclaimer to make sure she is not at risk t her self or others.

I don’t think there’s a mean bone in Nadya’s body. When I say that the children are at risk, I don’t think she would do anything ugly with children. What I mean is just getting overwhelmed and things falling through the cracks if there isn’t enough support. That’s your concern, right? Just making sure she has enough support.

JEFF CZECH: Absolutely.

GLORIA ALLRED:

Dr. Phil, let’s face it: Kaiser Permanente is not going to be in that home 24/7. That’s what we’re concerned about. What we’re concerned about is the record of Nadya in the next week, which should be a good indicator for what may happen in the future.

I want to make sure that everybody understands that Angels in Waiting wanted nothing more than for Nadya to succeed. They made every effort to help her, to support her, to train her, to educate her.

If she felt like a stranger, it’s because she didn’t come in to be with her babies except very little, a lot of the time only when the media was filming, and these babies need bonding, they need to be held by their mommy. They need to be fed by their mommy. They need to be changed and bathed by their mommy. They need to be loved and hear the sound of their mommy’s voice. That is how we create bonding, that is how we create trust in babies, and on that score, Dr. Phil, she failed miserably, and the record supports that.

We hope the future will be different for the sake of these babies.

DR PHIL:

I think she says, clearly, she was made to feel uncomfortable, she was made to feel like she was doing something wrong, that she wasn’t being helped, that she was being criticized and judged. That is no way to feel in your own home with your own babies.

LINDA WEST-CONFORTI:

We reached out to help this woman. We tried to show her the proper bonding. Dr. Phil, she wasn’t at home.

We would ask, ‘Where’s Nadya?’ Nobody knew where she was. She would come home at midnight with Gap bags in her hands. She wasn’t available to us for teaching. She wasn’t available to us to tell, ‘Nadya, come on, let’s do a feeding on one of your babies,’ or ‘It’s bath time.’”

Now this next question is plain crazy. Why does a woman with 14 children – only eight of whom are new need to be told what to do? To be told not to go shopping? To be told her baby needs a bath or a feeding? And how are they going to “sit down with her if she isn’t there and doesn’t trust them?

DR PHIL:

Did you sit down with her and say, ‘You seem to be absent. We need more time’?

LINDA WEST-CONFORTI:

Yes. I sat down with her. Annie Young sat down with her. We sat and we had a conference. She was supposed to give [her octuplet son] Elijah a bath, and it took four days. We ended up giving the child a bath.

If true, that is obscene. Nadya’s first publicist, Joann Killeen, said that her duties ended up including bathing and babysitting the old children.[3-27]

DR PHIL to Allred:

You’re concerned she’s going to be under-involved going forward?

GLORIA ALLRED:

My concern is, she wasn’t involved the first week. Where is she going to be the second, third, fourth and fifth? Everyone in this room is concerned about these children, but we are not there yet. You don’t have to be the best parent to keep your children. You just have to be good enough.

You just have to be in the room.

LINDA WALLACE PATE:

She has to be good enough. She’s got to get better, because she is going to be at risk of losing these children. This cannot continue, because these children will become failure to thrive. They have to be bonded with their mother. It’s important that she understands that this is the end of the road for her.

The government and Child Protective Services are not going to wait until these children slump into a failure to thrive. We need to make sure that they’re on the right track now.

Nadya’s lawyer wakes up and decides to earn his money. Look at his picture – he barely survived.

JEFF CZECH:

This is just reinforcing what I’ve seen in Nadya’s decision. The best step she could have made is to move on. This is a situation that was going nowhere. Clearly, constant judgment is not going to help the situation. Nadya does not have to be under a microscope 24 hours a day. That’s not going to help her. I guarantee you, she’s spending a lot more time now with those babies.

He just admitted she wasn’t spending much to begin with. Nadya admits she’s dealing with it by denial.

GLORIA ALLRED:

She doesn’t want the privacy. She wants only one side to come out, Dr. Phil, because every day she’s blogging to the public about what she’s doing.

JEFF CZECH shows once again he’s a minnow in a shark’s den:

Trust me, she doesn’t want you in her kitchen anymore.

GLORIA ALLRED:

You will only now hear one side of the story: the spin placed on Nadya, the spin placed by Jeff. That’s all fine and good, but we care about protecting the babies.

Dr Phil now gets on record AIW’s and Allred’s statements that they are officially finished too.

DR PHIL ask AIW:

At this point, you guys are out?

LINDA WEST-CONFORTI: Correct.

DR PHIL:

At this point, I’m saying I’m going to take a respectful step back and allow this to go forward.

DR PHIL to Allred;

Is that your plan, at this point? Do you step back and let Kaiser do their job?

GLORIA ALLRED:

We really have no choice. We couldn’t let this situation continue, so yes, we will be stepping back. We will be praying and hoping for the best for these little babies, and for their six siblings, and for Nadya, but we’re not really optimistic about their future.

DR PHIL Back to AIW (and Kaiser)

I want to say, and go on record saying, that I have sat with Linda, I have sat with Jackie. I have talked about your childcare philosophies, your intervention strategies, the systems you put in place, the things that you do, and I could not be more impressed with what y’all do. The dynamic here didn’t work.

Y’all clearly are cutting edge professionals and know what you’re doing. I say the same thing about Kaiser Permanente, having been over there, and met with those folks, and visited with them, and been in the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit], and talked to the nurses there and gotten a feeling and a vibe for everything. Those are dedicated, caring professionals.

And then the poor folks who went out of their way to donate time, material and labor to get the house set up and there’s not oing to be any more mentions of them. That isn’t fair. They got flat out ripped off and the next needy family won’t get it because of Nadya.

They don’t look too happy, do they?

Left – Shalena Smith, Ga Ga Designs provided the nursery, which Nadya didn’t make a point of thanking on air during her radaronline videos. All it would have taken was a few shots of the nursery to thank Smith.

Right – Amy Phillips, Uptown Flooring and Design provided the carpets and flooring in Nadya’s house.

Dr Phil was pist too because he was the one who arranged it. Hopefully he’ll make good with them. He covers their disclaimer.

DR PHIL:

I know you did it for the babies more than the mom. That doesn’t mean you support her decisions to have gone and gotten pregnant again. But you had the ability to look past the situation and keep your eye only on the babies. That’s so compassionate, and I really thank you guys for doing that.

He thanks Stan Whitaker, Whitaker General Contracting, who oversaw the general contracting of her home.

Young America, who donated furniture for Nadya’s older children.

Million Dollar Baby outfitted the nursery.

Higher America donated a brand-new convertible bottom drawer refrigerator for the octuplets.

Secretary Clinton: “Greening our Diplomacy”

April 22, 2009

Earth Day

Madame Secretary Clinton: “Greening our Diplomacy“

It’s so nice to watch and listen to someone who isn’t reading a teleprompter, who knows what she is actually saying, who has full command of the material, can confidently answer question with a decisive answer and is willing to be held accountable for that decision. Not that the press would have it any other way.

She also has something else POTUS doesn’t: Presidential bearing. His consists of baring his presidential manboobs.

Favorite line is a familiar one:

“Leadership is more than giving speeches”

Official State Department transcript [spacing and emphasis added]

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you all very much. Thank you. Well, I am absolutely delighted to be here on Earth Day, and especially to be with my colleagues from the State Department and USAID and so many who are representing the diplomatic missions of the countries that are here in Washington, D.C. with whom we interact on such a regular basis.

Obviously, this is a special time to think about what more we can do on behalf of these issues that are so critical to how we care for this planet we share and what kind of future we will bequeath to our children. I want to thank Todd Stern, our Special Envoy for the Climate Change talks, and the general issue that we take so seriously in the Obama Administration. Todd is off to a great start on a very difficult path, and we will need to forge an international consensus. We’ll have to work very hard between now and Copenhagen to lay the groundwork for that consensus.

We’re delighted to have Nancy Sutley here from the Council of Environmental Quality in the White House, and I know Nancy worked with a friend of mine, Mayor Villaraigosa, in Los Angeles on some of these issues. And I am always pleased to be with Pat Kennedy, who has done an excellent job being our Under Secretary for Management and has just a great ability to help identify and solve so many of the problems we face, and under whose leadership the Department has really been brought together.

We’re trying to green diplomacy and we want to do it every day, not just on Earth Day.

That starts with our foreign policy, and accepting that climate change is more than a scientific phenomenon.

It’s a political challenge, it’s an economic force, it’s a security threat, and a moral imperative.

We’ve already seen the results of climate change, which has, because of rising waters, because of desertification, displaced communities, and jeopardized food and water supplies, helped to spread epidemics and threatened the continued existence of island nations.

So we know climate change has to be an urgent challenge that we work at the highest levels of our government to address.

But that’s not enough. What we are trying to do today is to bring the message home to individuals, to embassies, to the State Department, and across the world that our goal is to make climate change, the greening of the world, a responsibility that starts with each and every one of us. We have, in the Obama Administration, not only moved to address climate change, and there was a recently completed two-week session of negotiations in Bonn – and on Monday, we’ll host the Major Economies Forum here. But we also have moved on some other important environmental issues.

In a reversal of longstanding policy, the Obama Administration pledged in February to take the lead in developing a global treaty to regulate mercury. This is a critical issue particularly for pregnant women and children. We are moving ahead with efforts to increase access to safe drinking water, conserve the world’s forests, slow the depletion of the world’s fisheries.

So we know that there’s a big agenda ahead of us. But I have just visited the displays that are outside and down the hall, and I invite all of you, when you leave here, to take a few minutes to look and see what the State Department is doing, because we’re trying to translate our rhetoric into the reality of everyday decisions. That means making this a personal challenge, not just a governmental or global challenge. The State Department has more than 250 embassy compounds abroad, more than 100 facilities here at home. In total, that adds up to 42.5 million square feet of office space.

We heat buildings near the Arctic Circle and we cool those near the Equator. We power legions of computers, copiers, and fax machines. Our staff uses every mode of transportation to travel to remote corners of the world. And we know that the business we conduct, this business of diplomacy and development, has an impact environmentally, financially, and publicly. And leadership is more than just giving speeches. It truly is serving as an example and setting us forth a series of steps that we can travel together.

When I came to the State Department just a few months ago, I was heartened to learn that there already were many initiatives underway to make the Department more sustainable. I’ve heard from 33 Chiefs of Missions abroad who comprise what is called the League of Green U.S. Embassies, which coordinates and supports efforts to green our missions overseas. Several bureaus, including Europe and Eurasia, Consular Affairs and Overseas Building Operations, have their own green teams to make our offices more energy efficient and less wasteful.

Now the State Department’s computer servers take up about 3 percent of our building space, but consume 40 percent of our electricity load. We are working with a team from the IT Department to narrow that ratio. But one thing we could all do is turn off our computers. That actually would save energy.

I know that there are ways that we can get behind this Greening Diplomacy Initiative. It’s a pledge that we will take to improve the environmental impact of our operations here and abroad.

It has four key objectives:

• first, to develop and implement policies and initiatives that will reduce the State Department’s environmental footprint;
• second, to empower employees to contribute to greening efforts by providing a hub where people can go with their ideas;
• third, to share best practices and track our progress; and
• fourth, to connect the management of the Department with the work we do in diplomacy and development so our staff can continue working on environmental issues around the globe, highlighting the progress we’re making, coming back with good new ideas and generally moving the agenda forward.

Many of our embassies around the world have adopted cutting-edge practices. Our mission in Monrovia is getting ready to install a massive tank to collect rainwater. Our mission in Kathmandu uses native plants to control water runoff; Embassy Abuja, which uses solar panels to produce hot water; Embassy Geneva, which today is cutting the ribbon on a new kind of air-conditioning technology called magnetic levitation chiller – which I, for one, had never heard of – but it turns out it requires less fuel, creates no friction, and needs less maintenance than other air conditioners.

[not afraid to admit she doesn't know something instead of equivocating a non answer]

Even here at the Harry Truman Building, we’ve taken action. We’ve installed solar panels on our roof. The new entrance on D Street will have a green roof covered with plants. And all of the excess materials left over from the current construction work are being recycled.

When some of our personnel move into the new building across the street, it will be the [1]first gold LEED building in Washington. Now programs like these deserve our praise and replication. The Greening Diplomacy Initiative will help scale up these kinds of innovations and give us the impetus to go even further. The initiative will be overseen by a Greening Council. That is a new Department-wide body that I am asking Under Secretary Kennedy to chair.

I’m asking that it draws up a clear roadmap for where we’re headed. Now in order to do that, we have to know where we are today. So the State Department will conduct its first-ever comprehensive Global Sustainability Survey of all of our facilities worldwide. It will give us helpful data on energy and water use, building materials and office operations. Once the survey is complete, I will ask the Greening Council to give us ambitious targets for reducing our environmental footprint and cutting costs. But we need your help, so we’re asking you to send your suggestions to the sounding board and tag them with the keyword “green,” and we’ll consider your ideas.

[A self-deprecating chuckle - something else POTUS cannot do.]

I’m very excited by all of the possibilities ahead of us. And oftentimes when you face such an overwhelming challenge as global climate change is, it can be somewhat daunting. It’s kind of like trying to lose weight – (laughter) – which I know something about, where you think, oh, I only have to lose X numbers of pounds, but it seems like such a far away goal that if you’d been with me when we were touring the exhibits, you would have remarked as I did that one of the ways that people are being attracted to come and see all of these energy saving ideas is that every single table is filled with candy. (Laughter.) So we’re mixing messages here, but one thing at a time.

But sometimes it seems as though if you set these big goals, it just is too daunting and overwhelming, we’ll never reach it. It’s kind of like world peace, and so therefore why even try? Well, because we’re called to try. That’s who we are as human beings, and that’s especially how we think of ourselves as Americans. But it’s not in any way exclusive to us.

Every single day, we can do something to make the world a better place, to exercise some common courtesy and kindness, maybe shake a hand of somebody you don’t agree with. There’s just lots of things we can do. (Laughter.) And so I think that if we – (applause) – we keep in mind the big goal, but we break it down into baby steps, those doable, achievable, objectives, we can do so much together.

And so I’m very proud of this Department for many, many, things, and every single day. But for the leadership that we are showing and the initiative to green our diplomacy, I think we can set a real example. And we are also more than willing to work with and consult with any other missions. And we have lots to learn from all of you. This should be a global effort, where we all try to have our symbols of our national presence in each of our countries represent the best technology that any of us can put together in retrofitting buildings and building new buildings, and then personally doing what each of us can do to make our contribution.

Thank you so much for joining us here today on Earth Day. And please know how much we enjoy working on behalf of this Administration, not only to tackle these challenges, but to seize the opportunities of the 21st century. Thank you all. (Applause.)

Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 5 Allred vs Czech

Trying to empty out some of the drafts.

This is Part 5 (second day) of Dr Phil Show discussing the firing of Angels in Waiting. On set are the lawyers: Allred & Jeff Czech; AIW: Linda West-Conforti & Jackie Peebles and Dr Phil. It’s rather embarrassing to see/hear them go at it like sniping middle schoolers. Czech was like a lamb to the slaughter and he knew it. Dr Phil gave Allred a lot of latitude but had to rescue Czech. Dr Phil knew enough to avoid “shrill” – he uses “strident”.

(4-21) Updated list of octuplet posts
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil Part 1: Nadya; *Angels in Waiting* firing
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil Part 2: Jeff Czech: “Hogging the media”
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 3: No more Nadya for him
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 4: Tuberculosis, nannies
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 5: Allred vs Czech
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 6: Foster care, legal sign off, thanks
============================================

March 26, 2009

From Dr Phil’s wesite [emphasis added]

GLORIA ALLRED:

One of the reasons that we care about transparency is so that not only can we tell Child Protective Services, which must be done for the protection of these little, innocent, precious babies, but in addition, so the public knows. The fact is that bringing in Kaiser means that, yes, some of them are mandated reporters, and we hope that they will report to Child Protective Services, but the public now is shutdown, is shutout.

That is what Jeff  and Nadya want, for the public only to hear their side, which is going to be, ‘Aw, how wonderful everything is,’ and not to know the truth about what’s really going on inside the house, whether or not these babies are in danger, and that is wrong.

The whole point of Angels in Waiting USA, besides providing such high-quality care from these wonderful pediatric nurses and educational consultants, was not to put the burden on the taxpayer, but this is what Nadya and Jeff are doing; shut everybody up, put the burden on the taxpayer. That’s wrong, and I want to know what they’re hiding and why.

JEFF CZECH:

It is certainly not my intention, I know it’s not Nadya’s intention, to hide from the public. Nadya wants her own life. I think any mother who has 50 kids doesn’t necessarily want to be public with the private issues in her life.

That comment is so ludicrous it isn’t even funny. Nadya sits everyday and chats to radaronline about her life. Nobody’s forcing her and she knows the videos go online uncensored. He knew he shouldnt have said it and Allred pounced.

ALLRED:

She’s public every day, Jeff. That’s why the paparazzi were there the first night. She went on the media and announced that the babies were coming home.

CZECH:

It was pretty calm until you showed up with your briefcase in hand, held a press conference and then refused to leave the premises.

First he complains about her “hogging the media” and then wants to know where Nadya’s money is.

CZECH:

I have repeatedly asked Gloria for an accounting. Nadya needs to plan. I didn’t get that transparency.

He’s all about transparency when it comes to cash.

ALLRED holds up a stack of printed out emails.

You got numerous e-mails, Jeff. Saying, ‘Jeff, can we have a meeting with the nurses, and Nadya, and Dr. Phil, and you and me?’

CZECH:

I’m very busy. It’s hard to have a meeting every five minutes.

He’s reacting like a child who doesn’t know what excuse to use and she’s got him in her sights.

ALLRED:

We asked for one meeting. We had to discuss the catastrophe that occurred Tuesday night, because you and Nadya failed to plan and provide adequate security, and because you dared to tell the media when the babies were coming home. If it had been done quietly, these babies would not have been placed at risk.

And as to the accounting, as Dr. Phil knows from all of these e-mails, we said we’d be very happy to tell you about the funds. Let’s have a meeting, either in person or have a conference call on the phone. You refused to do either for almost a week.

DR PHIL realizes it’s his show and addresses Allred:.

Are you being too strident [aka shrill] in this situation? It seems like there’s constant criticism, and I wonder if she did feel threatened by this Angels in Waiting USA contingent? And she felt like, ‘I’m being constantly judged, and they’re not helping me if they see a problem; they’re reporting me. They’re not assisting, and it seems to be adversarial.’

What gave it away Dr Phil? He asks Czech if Nadya’s on welfare and he pretends he doesn’t know. Where’s that transparency?

DR PHIL:

You say that this may fall back to Medi-Cal, or [Nadya] is on Medi-Cal right now, true?

CZECH:

If Medi-Cal took care of the initial birth, etc., then what’s going on now is probably a continuation of that. I’ve not verified that with Nadya. But let me stress, Nadya doesn’t want this anymore. She wants to be on her own.

Yeah and she just wanted one more child when she couldn’t support the 6 she already had. And her oldest daughter didn’t want the octuplets to come home. Words mean nothing.

DR PHIL:

Here’s what gets people upset. I am told that while all of this is going on, and she’s trying to situate the kids, and get the nursery right, and get people flowing and all of that sort of thing, she’s taking money and installing a big hot tub in the master suite at this house. When people hear that — if it’s true, and I don’t know if it’s true. If it’s not, tell me it’s not — people wonder why would we be A) making donations, and B) letting this fall on taxpayers, when here’s somebody who’s doing that kind of thing of thing.

Is that true or false?

CZECH explains that the plumbing is bad, and the bathtub leaks into the kitchen.

She had to replace the tub. Nadya’s using her own sources. She has made some money. She has to. She’s in a situation where she’s never going to be looked at very favorably.

And she’s doing nothing to improve matters. And the story of the tub continues to evolve. First her friends gave it to her, then it was donated, then she bought it herself. In one of her RadarOnline videos she takes the cameraman into the bathron

JACKIE PEEBLES (AIW):

When Gloria came, and I was asked by one of the people from the media, ‘Why is Gloria here? Please ask her to leave,’ I said, ‘I don’t understand the confusion. I really don’t’. Gloria came, said, ‘I don’t want a press conference. I don’t want my face on the media.’ She sat down at the kitchen table … This was a happy day for the union, for all of us coming together and bringing the babies home. It was quiet. Gloria was sitting there at the kitchen table, no conference, nothing going on.

DR PHIL to Czech:

Did you want Gloria out of there that night, and did you get in her face and attack her, yelling and pointing your finger in her face to get her out?

CZECH:

Nadya and I were locked up with the Kaiser people for, I don’t how long, four or five hours, and during this time, apparently the ruckus was building at Nadya’s home, and we did not even know. Information was filtering in to me that there were a lot of unnecessary people at that house, and so I started asking my staffers to politely ask all unnecessary people, and Gloria Allred was one of them — she didn’t have to be there — I asked everybody to leave, and they did.

[He says he spoke with Gloria, and she went into the backyard.]

It was complete mayhem.

And who caused it to be that way? Who told the paparazzi exactly when she would be bringing them home? Who didn’t have any type of security in place?

ALLRED, chomping to cross examine him and trap him in lies:

This is just so much nonsense. What happened was, yes, Jeff asked the press, and there were numerous representatives of the media — cameras, audio equipment, video equipment, wires, cords, lights — by the way, a lot of which was set up in this very small nursery later in the night when these little preemies came home, exposing these little babies to high risk of infection and danger — but in any event, yes, he asked them to clear out.

But guess what? Before Nadya came home with the babies, he let everybody back in.

[She explains that she was at the house to protect the nurses.]

They were going into a high-risk situation, because Nadya had announced all these media people were there. I wanted to make sure that they could do their job and not be bullied, and not be prevented from caring for these little babies.

She pushed him enough to make him speak the truth even though he wasn’t aware of it. He basically admits he was pist she got the media questions and interviews that night not him.

CZECH:

Gloria, I think you can care about the nurses and about the babies in the confines of your own home. You were part of the ruckus, because you’re a well-known attorney, and a lot of people want to see you, so that was part of it. That was the reason I asked you to leave, along with everyone else. I did not ask them to come back in.

He just admitted that he did not have control of the situation. And Allred says he lost control of himself as well.

ALLRED:

Well, they did come back in, so somebody gave them permission. Maybe it was your wife.

When you arrived with Nadya, you didn’t ask them to leave. Instead, what you did in the presence of the nurses and everyone else there, you came in like Raging Bull 2. You came in, you went within one inch of one of our nannies’ noses … and you stood there, and you put your finger like this, and you jabbed your finger at her, and you were yelling at this poor little nanny, ‘Who are you? Get the [expletive] out of here!’

She says that Jeff then came up to her, pointed a finger in her face and yelled.

The worst was you yelled, and you punched your fist right to the wall of nursery. Those little babies were inside. How scary for these little babies.

She’s good at always coming back to the babies. He and Nadya talk about them as commoditites. He of course denies doing any of the sort.

LINDA WEST-CONFORTI:

You did too, Jeff. That’s when I said, ‘I will take you out.’

Reads like the Godfather doesn’t it?

Chicago Tribune requesting bonus payouts

April 22, 2009

Well at least the Tribune is asking before it doles out cash. Severance pay – fine. “Discretionary incentive bonuses” are another matter. AIG’s were “retention bonuses” and 11 folks got a minimum of $1M after they had left the company – including one who received $4.6M.

From WGNTV:

Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. today filed motions in Delaware seeking U.S. Bankruptcy Court authorization to resume severance payments to individuals who left the media company before its Chapter 11 filing in December, as well as to pay discretionary incentive bonuses for 2008 to nearly 700 managers, directors and others, according to the Tribune’s Tower Ticker blog.

They’re asking for a more modest sum: $13M (compared to AIG’s grotesque $165M) and consider it “part of the would-be recipients’ annual compensation as part of the normal course of business.”

The proposal:

• Top 10 executives would not get any of the money
• The 700 would split $13M
• Median bonus: $9500
• Average $18K
• 84% < $30K
• 70% < $20K

Unfortunately, it’s not going to help the 53 people they let go today.

How many people could stay on if that $13M was used strictly for salary?

=======
AIG Timeline
Hardball: timeline of bonuses
Tim Geithner’s AIG Timeline
AIG $165M bonuses after $170B bailout
AIG bonus breakdown
Andrew Cuomo: $30M of AIG bonuses will be returned

========

Flight 1549 Patrick Harten finishes 355th in Boston Marathon

April 22, 2009

Flight 1549 appearances/videos/posts
Patrick Harten’s testimony before Congress
Patrick Harten to wear #1549 in Boston Marathon

Patrick Harten, Flight 1549′s calm air traffic controller bested his time at the Boston Marathon while wearing #1549. He has competed in three previous marathons and two triathlons.

2008 (2:58:59) and placed 1087

2009 (2:47:19) and placed 355

That’s one heckuva an improvement. Wonder if he’ll ask for it next year.

There sure were some dedicated talented people involved in that miracle of skill and judgment. Between the six they have ~ 152 years of experience. And to think Sullenberger’s salary had been cut by 40%, Jeff Skiles by 50% (he was a full fledged pilot before cutbacks) and both of their pensions were terminated and replaced by a government-backed PBGC that “will pay pennies on the dollar”.

I hope they have been/will be compensated for all those years.

Interview below is from before the race. He really is quite inspiring.

WBZ-TV Boston

Impending civil-military crisis?

April 22, 2009

Perhaps, but not from what you think. I ran across this article which I thought was interesting. It’s focus is civil-military relations and there’s a little insight into the usurper in chief’s MO.

From the (3-26-09) Fort Leavenworth LAMP, WILL KING reporting: [emphasis added]

A panel of experts met to discuss the future of civil-military relations. Dr. Richard Kohn, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  believes a “conflict in civil-military relations is coming soon, and is not a result of the presidential election.”

No they didn’t mention the birth certificate or the dissension in the ranks because of it. Was he alluding to it? No idea.

“The Obama administration has taken dramatic steps to avoid a fight with the military,” Kohn said, noting that first lady Michelle Obama’s first official visit outside Washington, D.C., was to Fort Bragg, N.C.

He didn’t do so good at Camp Lejune when he telepromptered his fiipflop on Iraq. He only came out after the the National Anthem was sung by a lone female soldier. Coming out to “Hail to the Chief” like a foreign dignitary or King, who couldn’t be bothered with the pissant peasants. It was shocking. He didn’t even come out for the prayer. See this letter by a Marine present that day.

Next he mentions barry’s retention of Bush people so he would have someone to carry on the blame.

He highlighted the retention of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and nomination of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen for a second term, both holdovers from former President George W. Bush’s administration, as a sign to the rest of the military of respect for the senior military leadership and continuity during difficult wartime conditions.

And of course barry hedged his bets. It’s nice to see a) that someone noticed and b) was willing to say it out loud.

However, Kohn said President Barack Obama purposely sought out other former senior military leaders for his administration, including National Security Advisor retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, Secretary of Veterans Affairs retired Gen. Eric Shinseki, and Director of National Intelligence retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair.

“The president has arranged it so that he is free to ignore the advice of his uniformed chiefs and field commanders because he will have cover of General Jones by his side, and other senior military in his administration,” Kohn said, “and at the same time demonstrates that he has been reaching out to the military and wants to have military judgment.”

That is barry in a nutshell. Political expedience. Cover all sides of the issue, find the experts to tell him what to do, form a committee, talk talk talk, equivocate his words, make no decisions and then throw somebody selected for just that sole purpose under the bus.

He never admits he was wrong because “he was acting on the best advice of the best person with the best available information at the time. He forgets that he was the one acting and the one who acts is the one who should be held accountable. Thus far barry has not been held accountable for anything.

Specifics:

The four areas where Kohn sees potential civil-military problems in the future are in Afghanistan, the budget, gays in the military and the restructuring of military forces away from Cold War structure. He said budgetary issues would create the most problems of those four areas.

“The overlapping roles and missions, combat capability, organizational change and rethinking of personnel policies all lie just over the horizon,” Kohn said. “If the Obama administration steps up to these challenges, there will be considerable civil-military conflict.”

Steps up? barry needs to take some baby steps and stick by a decision – any decision – and then admit he was wrong all by himself. The closest he got was Tom Daschle and not until the fourth comment. And it didn’t stop him from picking another self-proclaimed (caught) tax cheat, Ron Kirk.

What type of Commander in Chief does this?

Freddie Mac CFO, David Kellermann, found dead

April 22, 2009

According to CNN, Chief Financial Officer of Freddie Mac, David Kellermann, 41, was found dead this morning inside his home from an apparent suicide. No signs of foul play. Family called police. Cause of death not officially released although ABC News reported one. Autopsy to be done later today.

Kellermann had been with Freddie Mac for 16 years, first as corporate controller and principal accounting officer until September 2008 when he was named Sr Vice President and CFO.

According to the UK Times, they also were giving out bonus even as the government was bailing them out.

Last month Freddie Mac controversially paid 92 staff $100,000 or more in return for staying with the lender while it dug its way out of financial trouble. Mr Kellermann received $850,000 as part of the scheme.

Where were they going to go? And why did they need to be retained if they caused Freddie Mac to get into trouble in the first place. How can money mean so much to people.

WUSA9

Drew Peterson’s response to Savio wrongful death lawsuit

April 21, 2009

Drew Peterson is looking every bit his 55 y/o lecher self. He response to the wrongful death lawsuit filed today by the family of his murdered 3rd wife, Kathleen Savio. From Chicago’s WGN. (1:20)

WGN: What do you think the motive is for this lawsuit?

PETERSON: Greed. Pure greed. [He looks into the camera] I’m looking right at you people: This is greed and you know it.

Someone had better keep a close eye on his fiancee. He’s gonna take it out on somebody. Just have her watch this clip and look into his evil eyes.

==================================

Drew Peterson’s “fiance” moved out…again
Drew Peterson hit with wrongful death lawsuit
Drew Peterson’s response to wrongful death lawsuit
Drew Peterson’s official statement on Savio wrongful death lawsuit
Kathleen Savio’s niece comments on lawsuit
Drew Peterson: “[Stacy's] on vacation and she’s not coming back”
Drew Peterson reaches all-time low
Police searching for Stacy Peterson again

Drew Peterson hit with Savio wrongful death lawsuit

Updated: Drew Peterson posts (5-10)

April 21, 2009

Well, the first move has been made in cornering Drew Peterson. The family of Kathleen Savio, Peterson’s murdered 3rd wife, has filed a wrongful death suit today. And the lawyer is none of than John Q Kelly, who successfully sued OJ Simpson for the Ron Goldman family.

As is, Peterson is the only suspect in Savio’s murder. His behavior was so bizarre it’s clear he got away with it because he’s a cop. He was so worried he waited for a locksmith to open the doors and then sent the neighbor in to check out the house. That sound like a policeman concerned about the mother of his children and soon to be ex-wife?

He was the Watch Commander at the time and he’s going to let civilians go in a house without checking it out himself to make sure no one is in there? He was either a coward or he knew there was no threat inside.And how could it have been ruled an accidental drowning when there was fresh trauma to the back of her head, the bathtub was dry and the police had been called out to their house 18 times (2002-04) for domestic complaints?

Only after his 4th wife, Stacy Peterson “disappeared” did they take a second look at Savio’s death and ruled it a homicide. What her family had been saying all along. A Will County grand jury has been looking into Savio’s murder and Stacy’s “disappearance” for over a year and still have not handed down an indictment. And that’s why Kelly is forcing the issue. He had originally planned on waiting until after a criminal indictment, because despite it all, Peterson has still not been charged with anything.

From Chicago’s Breaking News, ERIKA SLIFE

JOHN Q KELLY: It was time to put a little pressure on Peterson and the state’s attorney’s office. This could be the only game in town. Either they don’t indict him, or they indict him and he’s acquitted of a homicide. I think they’re still working on the criminal case and, frankly, I hope our case is the lesser of Mr. Peterson’s worries in the near future.

Some of the allegations put forth in the 18-page complaint. Again, per SLIFE. [Emphasis added]

• Peterson killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, a month before their divorce was expected to be finalized.

• After Peterson and Savio had separated, Peterson gained entry to the house that Savio had taken sole possession of by using a garage door opener and, on one occasion, by cutting out a portion of wall that he crawled through.

• The initial coroner’s jury into Savio’s death heard testimony from a state trooper that never saw Savio’s body, did not attend the autopsy and never interviewed Drew Peterson.

• One of the jurors in the inquest was a police officer from another agency that knew Peterson and, during deliberations, assured other jurors that he personally knew Peterson and that he knew Peterson would never harm his ex-wife.

• On the day of Savio’s funeral, rather than attend a reception for family and friends, Peterson pulled a truck into the driveway of Savio’s home and removed personal property that had not yet been inventoried.

• The suit also claims that Stacy Peterson, on August 31, 2007, met with a pastor and said she had personal, detailed knowledge that Peterson killed Savio, and she knew about it since the night Savio died.

• Less than eight weeks after meeting with the pastor, while contemplating whether to go to authorities and to file for divorce from Peterson, Stacy disappeared.

• The suit recalls an interview the pastor had on December 2007 with Mark Fuhrman for Fox News in which the pastor said that on the night of Savio’s death, Stacy woke up and found Drew gone. In the morning, she saw Drew standing in front of the washing machine, dressed all in black, and holding a bag. Drew then removed his clothes and put them in the washer, along with the contents of the bag, which contained women’s clothing, the lawsuit states.

• Drew then told Stacy that he hit Savio in the back of the head, making her death look like an accident, the suit states.

There are some disturbing things there I wasn’t aware of. Keep in mind the cause of death was accidental drowning and remained so until Savio’s body was exhumed — after Stacy disappeared on October 28, 2007. And yet, Stacy told her pastor that Savio died from a head injury. And most frightening, Stacy admitted knowing since the night of the murder (March 1, 2004) and still provided his alibi and went on to have 2 children with him. Over three years pass until she  tells her pastor on August 31, 2007.

What kind of hold did he have over her? What was he threatening her with? Her children?

And what is he doing to his present fiance to keep her quiet?

PETERSON’s response to NBC 5?

It’s just a bunch of lawyers wanting publicity.

Peterson on the Today Show (11-14-07) describing the discovery of Kathleen Savio’s body.

cloudwriter

===========================================

Drew Peterson’s “fiance” moved out…again
Drew Peterson hit with wrongful death lawsuit
Drew Peterson’s response to wrongful death lawsuit
Drew Peterson’s official statement on Savio wrongful death lawsuit
Kathleen Savio’s niece comments on lawsuit
Drew Peterson: “[Stacy's] on vacation and she’s not coming back”
Drew Peterson reaches all-time low
Police searching for Stacy Peterson again

Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 4: Nannies, Tuberculosis

Updated list of octuplet posts (4-21)

Getting around to some of the drafts. This is the second day of Dr Phil Show discussing the firing of Angels in Waiting. At the end of the show Dr Phil officially said he washed his hands of Nadya. So far he’s kept to his word…at least publicly.

FYI: One of the 3 reports filed by AIW to Child Protective Services was about possible exposure to tuberculosis (TB). The nannies-to-be were given routine skin tests (ppd) to check for TB. They had positive reactions. The question then is: do they have active disease or just prior exposure? A chest x-ray helps determine that, which they had not yet had. So they potentially could have been in there taking care of the preemies with active TB. At least one of them was coughing.

They evidently never came back after the initial training – while AIW was still there. I don’t know if Kaiser nurses have tested the octuplets or the other children for TB exposure.

(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil Part 1: Nadya; *Angels in Waiting* firing
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil Part 2: Jeff Czech: “Hogging the media”
(3-25) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 3: No more Nadya for him
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 4: Tuberculosis, nannies
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 5: Allred vs Czech
(3-26) Octuplets: Dr Phil, Part 6: Foster care, legal sign off, thanks
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March 26, 2009

From the Dr Phil website.

DR PHIL to Nadya’s attorney, Jeff Czech: Are you comfortable that these children are safe?

JEFF CZECH:

Honest to goodness, I am. Nadya really does care for these children. She does spend some time. There have been some days in the very recent past where Nadya was spread out very, very thin. It was not her intent that that would occur, but she was thrown into a situation whereby she was surrounded by media beyond her wildest imaginations, and it was obviously the first time that she ever encompassed a situation like that.

She knew what she was getting into when she had those embryos implanted. Kaiser is training Nadya and the nannies and making sure the house is safe all courtesy of California taxpayers.

CZECH: [Kaiser] They call me all the time and ask me what the situation is. They ask me for reports, what am I doing for safety, what am I doing for security, so I’m following up with them as well. They’re very concerned.

DR PHIL: Who is paying for all of this now?

JEFF CZECH:

Kaiser Permanente has informed me that this is basically typical. Because there are so many babies, they are extending it a little bit.

He notes that the hospital and nurses are paid by Medi-Cal, while Nadya pays the nannies’ salaries from money she’s earned.

The nurses aren’t going to be there forever. They’re there to train, they’re there to help, they’re there to implement, and once they’re happy with the way things are going, they’re out of the picture.

Kaiser is billing Medi-Cal for everything including the Social Workers’ visits, the nurses, the training of the nannies, all the octuplet’s care. Nadya is responsible for paying the nannies and has a “goal” to get her kids of Medi-Cal. Delusion.

CZECH: She wants off, and quite frankly, she was a little uncomfortable with Angels in Waiting for that reason, too, because she was aware that they were being funded by donations.

So who is going to pay for the children’s healthcare for the next 18 years if it isn’t the state or donations?

DR PHIL to Linda West-Conforti, co-founder of Angels in Waiting USA.

Do you have concerns about these nannies who are there? If there are sick nannies in the house, if there are people who [test] positive for tuberculosis, that’s troubling to me.

WEST-CONFORTI:

I’m not saying they’re positive for tuberculosis. They’re testing that they’ve had it before. I’m not sure that they’re symptomatic at the time that they’re coming in, but the big question is we don’t know. They have not been ruled out that they are not active carriers.

DR PHIL: Were there nannies in the home who tested positive?

WEST-CONFORTI:

Yes, there were three of them who tested positive. Nadya gave her permission without talking to us nurses or Kaiser, that it was OK for them to come in as long as they wore a mask until they got their X-ray back and read by a physician.

DR PHIL: Is that OK?

WEST-CONFORTI:

No. Nadya was so under the gun to have enough nannies to show the hospital that they’re able to send the next babies home, that she jeopardized the welfare of these infants.

JACKIE PEEBLES, co-founder of Angels in Waiting USA

They didn’t wear a mask. People need to know that. Nobody wore a mask. During the training, the ladies are still in the home. Nobody put a mask on.

The point she is making is that Nadya knowingly exposed her preemies to the possibility of TB. Nadya pays for the nannies herself and women fresh to the country are obviously cheaper. Financial decision. But a simple mask would have shown some maternal judgment.

What was left unsaid — the Kaiser nurses knew the women had positive skin tests and they did not demand the women wear masks.

Official blago statement re: no Costa Rica

April 21, 2009

Here’s Blagojevich’s written statement:

I respect the judge and his decision.  I am trying to find a way to work to support my little girls and family.

I’m fully aware of what the allegations are and I know what the truth is concerning me and I know that I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.

===============
Blagojevich on Reality TV?
Blago’s only reality show will be his trial
NBC Statement re: no Blago
Official blago statement re: no Costa Rica
Blagojevich to promote ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’
Blago on the Today Show

=================
Blagojevich indicted on 19 counts
DOJ Press release announcing indictment
Blago: Fact sheet
Blago: Indictment
Blagojevich statement
Did Burris buy his senate seat directly from barry?
Blagojevich enters not guilty plea

Blago’s only reality show will be his trial

April 21, 2009

Rod Blagojevich was denied a once in a lifetime shot at stardom…playing himself.

US District Court Judge James Zagel denied Blago’s request to participate in the NBC reality show: “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” He said he had “sympathy for his financial straits” but didn’t have faith that things wouldn’t not got wrong  — even though NBC was willing to pay for two security guards to watch him 24/7.

The Judge went on to say: “I don’t think the defendant fully understands, nor could he understand…the position he finds himself in” and that Blago should spend the time reading the case against him.

But the hairy fox did budge the judge a tad on whether his frozen campaign funds ($2M) might be freed up to pay for his trial. Max cash blago could have made was $123K. Say what you will – underneath that hair is a very clever political brain. The hearing is set for May 1.

And why would blago flee? He would get publicity but he wouldn’t be able to take part in it. And he would have to change his hair, which isn’t going to happen until he goes to prison.

He didn’t even have to show up in court today but he held court with his supporters and the media, smiling and waving.  Here are a few:

I know what the truth is concerning me.

This is another day in the big city.

I didn’t let you down!

I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.

Want to get on TV?

I am innocent of every allegation.

How are you, ma’am? Let me say, hi. [hugged her]

I want to vindicate myself.

Joked about his lawyer, Sheldon Sorosky.

I have great confidence in Shelly. [laughs] Look at him. Look how he’s handling all of you guys by himself!

And he made sure to let folks know that they screw him – he’s going to screw them back…including barry.

I am a lawyer. I am going to be very active. I know a lot of things about me and about how I operate,

I can provide insight on how the system of government works in Illinois.

Best line was about Elvis, of course:

Gotta love NBC though. Elvis has his comeback concert at NBC in ’68!

===============
Blagojevich on Reality TV?
Blago’s only reality show will be his trial
NBC Statement re: no Blago
Official blago statement re: no Costa Rica
Blagojevich to promote ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’

=================
Blagojevich indicted on 19 counts
DOJ Press release announcing indictment
Blago: Fact sheet
Blago: Indictment
Blagojevich statement
Did Burris buy his senate seat directly from barry?
Blagojevich enters not guilty plea

NBC’s statement re: Blago, no show

April 21, 2009

NBC Statement:

NBC is disappointed in the court’s decision today regarding Rod Blagojevich’s participation on “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!,” but excited about the casting announcement for the show this Friday.  There are no plans to move the show to a location in the United States.

In other words they used blago for publicity and to attract more Z listers: Geraldo Rivera, reality TV star Heidi Montag, and American Idol mohawker Sanjaya Malakar.

===============
Blagojevich on Reality TV?
Blago’s only reality show will be his trial
NBC Statement re: no Blago
Official blago statement re: no Costa Rica
Blagojevich to promote ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.’
Blago on the Today Show

=================
Blagojevich indicted on 19 counts
DOJ Press release announcing indictment
Blago: Fact sheet
Blago: Indictment
Blagojevich statement
Did Burris buy his senate seat directly from barry?
Blagojevich enters not guilty plea

Octuplets: “Octomom” sculpture 2

Updated list of octuplet posts (4-21)
Octo-sculpture 1

April 21, 2009

More Nadya-inspired art. Art being in the eye of the beholder.

This artist, “philinthecircle” has no shortage of practical imagination.

CAUTION: some might find this disturbing.

“Octomom”

philinthecircle.com

What has he done/plan on doing with the dolls’ heads? Or did he just buy the plastic limbs?

I wonder what it smells like. The picture on his website looks like it’s made of snakes and maggots.

Would there be some type of trademark infringement with this title?

Octuplets: Jeff Czech re: *Octomom* trademark

Octuplets: Updated list of posts (4-20)

April 20, 2009

So, does Nadya have exclusive rights to “Octomom”?

A name she couldn’t stand until she realized the marketing value as a trademark for diapers and clothing?

Her lawyer, Jeff Czech, thinks so even though a Houston-based novelty company beat her by a month.

If she wasn’t Nadya, the name would have been claimed the first time it was said. Folks just don’t want anything to do with her.

And ultimately that is a shame for her children who are going to need all the help they can get.

JEFF CZECH via PEOPLE:

It’s not going to matter because they had no permission from Nadya, who has the rightful claim to the name ‘Octomom’.

How does she have a rightful claim? She didn’t make it up and she is on record saying it’s derogatory.

CZECH: She’s never warmed to it, but the idea would be for others to use it for licensing. It’s just a smart thing to do. We’ve had phone calls, but it’s a stretch to call them offers.

While he was busy unsuccessfully sparring with Gloria Allred, the Houston folks crept right in. Czech sent a letter informing them they had “no legal rights to the word.”

How not?

Don’t see how Nadya wins it – but who wants to get tangled up with her?

Would you feel safe sending your kid to school with Octomom™ clothes on?

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*Octomom* trademark
Nadya on *Octomom* trademark
Jeff Czeck on *Octomom* trademark