Posted on 03/18/2002 5:36:21 AM PST by mountaineer
Her home page is right here. She's says Hi Mom! to you. She's got your sense of humor too, under email she says, heheheIDon'tThinkSo.com. lol
WASHINGTON - Marie Ragghianti, a Tennessee corruption fighter whose crusading story spawned a book and a movie, is battling to maintain her reputation amid new revelations in the Roger Clinton pardon scandal. Ragghianti made headlines in the late '70s when she blew the whistle on a cash-for-pardons scheme hatched by top aides to Tennessee governor Roy Blanton.
She was fired as head of that state's parole board for going public with her explosive charges, but mounted an honorable fight to regain her job as she continued to expose graft in the crooked Blanton administration.
Her story was detailed in a book by Peter Maas and was made into the 1985 movie "Marie," starring Sissy Spacek.
But a new Pardongate report portrays Ragghianti in a different light.
As Bill Clinton's top staffer on the federal Parole Commission, the report examines Ragghianti's relationship with Roger Clinton and her role in quashing part of an FBI investigation into possible links between the president's brother and a suspected illegal scheme to influence commissioners on behalf of mob-linked heroin dealer Rosario Gambino.
It was Ragghianti who rejected the FBI's request to have an undercover agent pose as a parole-commission staffer and meet Roger Clinton at a restaurant, according to the House Government Reform Committee report on President Clinton's controversial pardons. [snip]
[snip]This is like a war. This is worse than being in Vietnam. This is a full-out war against me. Everyone said I can't possibly do this. But the bottom line is Bush did help us with natural gas. [snip]
[snip] I kept the lights on. And this sounds a little presumptuous, but I think I should at least get a round of applause. I don't get squat. People just roundly criticize me, but this was a war and I'm delighted that people are now seeing the duplicity and the manipulation Enron practiced against its own employees and investors because Enron was the best of the lot. I don't want to be naming names, but Enron was the best of the lot.[snip]
Link Somebody's cranky! Or maybe he's just not too sure he did the right thing winning Simon (is it Simon?) the primary! LOL
One more...
If I didn't panic, you wouldn't be able to put out your paper. I saved this friggin' paper. I kept the lights on in this state. Do you understand that? I kept the lights on.
Love the smell of toasted dem in the afternoon.
AMEN!
Release the hounds!
The Middleton Fox Hunt sets off from Ganthorpe, England March 18, 2002. The shrill blast of a horn, the frantic barking of hounds, shouts of tally-ho and the thunder of horses' hooves resonate over England's green and pleasant hills. But the traditional sounds of the fox hunt may soon be silenced. In a bid to end a highly contentious debate, hunting with dogs will be put to the vote in the British parliament. (Ian Hodgson/Reuters)
I wonder if the Limey's will let that happen?
See you all later, got to rustle up some grub!
One down, one to go, in 4 more years.
I'd be happy to lose Jean, don't get me wrong. I'd even volunteer to drive her back to MO.
Yes, the British parliament will do away with fox hunting, much to the chagrin of the hunters. I have mixed feelings about it - chasing a poor fox with 50 hounds and a thundering herd of horses seems a bit of overkill (no pun intended). I've ridden in a hunt where we weren't out to get a fox - we didn't use the dogs - we did the hunt thing, attire and all, and went jumping all over creation, and the only thing that got hurt were the backsides of those who fell off in the process. It was fun. I've heard that the scent of a fox can be "drug" prior to the hunt, and the dogs can go after that, so you can "have your dogs" & hunt, too. And before you start thinking I'm a better english rider than I am, let it be known that my jumps were tiny ones - I left the real stuff to the pros.
Jean Carnahan was not on the ballot in the 2000 election. Her husband's name was. People voted him in (illegally) and then the Dim governor appointed her to fill her late husband's seat. I assume she has to stand for election on her own in the next cycle, which would be 2002.
And if you can vote in a dead guy, with the understanding that his wife will "fill the bill," then how come she doesn't do so for the full 6 year term? Why not just send the dead guy? Like anyone in the Senate would notice -- prop him up in the Senate, next to Byrd, Biden, Lott, and the rest, and proceed as "Weekend at Bernies?"
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.
The Granddad replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born, before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill.
There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon.
Your grandmother and I got married first-and then lived together.
Every family had a father and a mother.
Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, 'Sir'- and after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir."
We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, day-care centres, and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.
We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yoghurt, or guys wearing earrings.
We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios. And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk. The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.
Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of. We had 5 & 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600 but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day, "grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in, and "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.
"Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office, "chip" meant a piece of wood, "hardware" was found in a hardware store, and "software"wasn't even a word. And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap..... and how old do you think I am ???.....
This man would be only 58 years old!
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