Politiks As Usual: In The News 2/28/11

Gadhafi Dismisses UN Sanctions, Vows Revenge

Bernard Madoff: Government Is A Ponzi Scheme

Herman Cain Wins Tea Party Presidential Live Straw Poll

House Republicans Approach Shutdown Showdown Week

President Obama Throws Marriage Under The Bus

Celebrities Should Stick To Their Song And Dance

Alveda King: 'The Most Dangerous Place For An African-American Is In The Womb!'

Tax Porn? Not An Effective Deterrent

Media Ignore Muslim Brotherhood Role In Fomenting Anti-Jew Hatred & Pro-Hitler Sentiment

Bozell Column: Not Wrestling Girls

Harry Reid Calls For An End To Legal Prostitution In Nevada

Why We're Getting Robbed At The Oscars This Year

Bernard Madoff's Son Commits Suicide

The lives Bernard Madoff ruined now come home to roost:

The death of Mark Madoff, the son of convicted Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff, was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner's officer on Sunday, a day after the victim's body was discovered hanging from a ceiling pipe in his SoHo apartment.


Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner, said the autopsy was completed around 1 p.m. Sunday. Borakove said medical examiners will conduct toxicology and tissue tests on the body. The result, she said, will not be made public unless Madoff's next of kin asks for the case file.

Madoff killed himself two years to the day after his father was arrested for swindling $50 billion from investors in the largest Ponzi-scheme in U.S. history.

None of Madoff's immediate family members have commented on his death. However, the attorney who represents the victim's mother, Ruth, said she "is heartbroken."

Did Bernie Madoff Get Beat Up In Jail?

Bloomberg.com:

Bernie Madoff went to Duke University Hospital on Dec. 18 with injuries consistent with an assault, ABC News reported, citing the network’s WTVD affiliate in North Carolina.

Madoff had facial fractures, broken ribs and a collapsed lung, the ABC affiliate said, citing people familiar with the situation it didn’t identify. Madoff was discharged from the hospital two days ago, according to the ABC-WTVD report on ABC’s Web site.

Madoff, 71, was moved to the Federal Medical Center at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, Catherine Elsea, a spokeswoman for the medical center said in a statement yesterday.

Madoff's lawyer told the AP that Bernie's suffering from "dizziness and high blood pressure" so who knows what's really up. But considering the large amount of people that Madoff victimized during his reign of terror, would it shock anyone that he'd get his ass kicked in jail?

Bernard Madoff Sentenced To 150 Years In Prison Maximum

YahooNews.com:

Historic swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.

Scattered applause and whoops broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he lives "in a tormented state now, knowing all the pain and suffering I've created."

Chin rejected a request by Madoff's lawyer for leniency and said he disagreed that victims of the fraud were seeking mob vengeance.

"Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll," Chin said.

The judge said the estimate that Madoff has cost his victims more than $13 billion was conservative because it did not include money from feeder funds.

"Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering," he said.

Good. Bernard Madoff will spend the rest of his life in prison and rightfully so. "Extraordinarily evil" doesn't do justice in describing Madoff--a man who would've kept right on hurting and destroying families if he hadn't been caught. Bernard Madoff is scum and now he'll stay behind bars where he belongs.

Lawyers For Bernard Madoff Seek 12-Year Bid

NYTimes.com:

A dozen years in prison.

That is the sentence that lawyers for Bernard L. Madoff asked a judge to impose on their client, who has confessed to running what may be the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.

In a letter to the court, the lawyers said there seemed to be an atmosphere of “mob vengeance” surrounding Mr. Madoff. They urged the court to consider that he essentially turned himself in, rather than continuing the fraud or fleeing the country, when he described the $65 billion scheme to his sons in December.

Since then, they said, he has cooperated fully with his bail conditions and helped investigators in their efforts to recover funds for his victims.

What a crock. Bernard Madoff didn't turn himself in--he got caught. And why should Madoff be given any leniency for not "fleeing the country"--he's not supposed to flee the damn country! To think too, Ira Sorkin, former NY regional director of the SEC, supposedly helped in keeping Madoff out of prison for like 20 years! Madoff victims weren't only hurt financially, but emotionally and mentally as well--that's why some even committed suicide. Bernard Madoff belongs in prison for the rest of his life.

Two-Faced Christopher Dodd Gave Money To AIG

Newsmax.com:

Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd on Monday criticized the bonuses given to executives of American International Group Inc. and suggested that the government could tax the recipients to recoup some or all of the payouts.

But it was Dodd who inserted language — known as the Dodd amendment — in the $787 billion stimulus bill that allowed all bonuses awarded before February 11, 2009, to be paid to AIG executives. That very amendment, which is now law, is now the chief hurdle to government officials who want to recover that money.

The amendment was meant to restrict executive pay for bailed-out banks, but it also included the exception for "contractually obligated bonuses agreed on or before Feb. 11, 2009."

Dodd is the largest single recipient of 2008 campaign donations from AIG, with $103,100, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That was more than presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain got, and nearly three times the $35,965 Sen. Hillary Clinton received.

It's the liberal way to never accept responsibility for anything. Whether it's AIG bonuses, Bernard Madoff (a major Democrat contributor as Chuck Schumer could tell you) or the recent Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac crisis, liberals continue to pass the buck. The weasels like Christopher Dodd just can't help themselves.

Liberal Blog, TalkLeft, Feels Sorry For Bernard Madoff

As stated my Jeralyn Merritt, the chick who runs far-Left blog TalkLeft:

I started the day at 4:30 am, waking up concerned about Bernie Madoff (regardless of what he did, he's 70 years old, non-violent and doesn't belong at an MCC for months pending sentencing. Bail is not meant as punishment, only to secure one's appearance at the next court proceeding.)

Hey, I admit to reading liberal blogs, as someone once told me: you gotta be aware of the lies before you can know the truth. Plus, a couple I read are pretty funny. But channeling your inner compassion for a man who ruthlessly victimized hundreds of innocent people for over 20 years, leading some to commit suicide, most of whom will never get their money back, is just downright insane. To think, Bernard Madoff didn't quit his schemes because he suddenly gained compassion, he stopped because he got caught. God, get a clue already.

Bernard Madoff To Spend The Rest Of His Life Behind Bars

Finally, our criminal justice system gives us a vote of confidence:

Accused investment swindler Bernard L. Madoff will plead guilty later this week to 11 counts that could bring a sentence of 150 years in prison, one of his attorneys told CNN.

Prosecutors stressed that there is no plea deal and that Madoff, 70, will have to forfeit any money he made from his crimes.

"The government has not entered into any agreement with Mr. Madoff about his plea or sentencing," said acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin. "The filing of these charges does not end the matter. Our investigation is continuing."

Madoff attorney Ira Lee Sorkin said his client has agreed to plead guilty to crimes including money laundering, perjury and fraud.

Earlier, Sorkin and defense attorney Daniel Horowitz told CNN that Madoff was waiving his right to a grand jury indictment and that the defense team had been talking about a plea with government attorneys.

"We obviously have talked to the government," said Horowitz. "And we have been professional with each other."

Madoff is a former chairman of the NASDAQ stock market and founder of an innovative Wall Street trading firm that electronically matched buy and sell orders. He is accused of running a massive fraud, allegedly using new investment money from clients to fund other customers' apparent gains.

It was, "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme," Madoff said, according to the government's criminal complaint.

Madoff's pleading guilty to 11 counts of fraud, perjury and money laundering. Since these are federal crimes, Madoff will most likely die in prison, and rightly so considering the many livelihoods of people who invested their money and faith in him that he ruined. The man is scum, now let him rot.