Replies

If Pelosi does this, she is even dumber than I think she is, and that's a very high standard to meet. Let's review Hastings' background.

As a US District Judge in Florida, he took bribes from the attorney for two major drug dealers, paid by their lawyer, to give them light sentences. How do we know this? The lawyer who paid the bribes, William Borders, who was also a Past President of the D.C. Bar Association, was convicted of the crime of paying the bribes. He was, of course, disbarred and jailed.

How was it that the man who paid the bribe was convicted, but the judge who received the bribe beat the rap? Anyone who's ever seen Alcee Hastings do his shucking and jiving know the answer. He screamed racism, and he bobbed and weaved. And Alcee beat the rap.

He was then impeached by the House, and convicted and removed from office by the Senate, for being a corrupt and lying judge. The Senate could have also barred him from ever holding any future public office. They didn't because Hastings screamed racism again (because an elderly white judge, the last one impeached, had not been barred from future federal office).

Then, to stick his finger in whitey's eye, Hastings ran for Congress and shucked and jived his way into that position. Now, Pelosi wants to make him the Ranking Member on the Intelligence Committee? To put someone who has previously taken bribes in a position of authority into another position where some folks would pay big money for what he might know and be willing to sell? Did I get that right?

BTW, given his background as an impeached federal judge, the proper way to address correspondence to him this way:
The formerly-Honorable, Honorable Alcee Hastings.
Just trying to correct the record and be of service.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "South Pacific" Lesson about Muslims

What authority would grant someone with his record a clearance? This is absurd... Anyone on the intelligence committee in either house should be above reproach. Alcee Hastings should never get the clearance to attend compartmented briefings. How can he do the job. Will the Democrats say that denying him a clearance is racism? Even they are not the stupid are they? Of course, this is Nancy Pelosi isn't it?

The still Honorable Billybob didn't mention a few important points. Hastings was impeached by a Democratic controlled House and then convicted by a Democratic controlled Senate. Then after having his criminal conviction overturned on appeal, but without having his impeachment conviction overturned, he had his entry into Congress approved by a Democratic controlled House. (So what if the constitution doesn't provide for appeals of impeachments; when has such an absence stopped these guys?) The House had the power to block his seating, even without the unused bar on federal office, but instead allowed that the standard to be Democratic member of Congress was lower than the standard to be a federal judge. Subsequent Congresses have honored this no-call. I wish there were even one Republican in the House who'd file a motion to unseat his ex-Honor.