THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† Fed Up With Farmers: Regarding the $300 billion farm bill both houses of Congress passed with veto-proof margins, The Wall Street Journal sputters:
At a time when Americans are squeezed at the grocery store, they will now see more of their taxes flow to the very farmers profiting from these high food prices.
This year farm income is expected to reach an all-time high of $92.3 billion, an increase of 56% in two years, making growers perhaps the most undeserving welfare recipients in American history. But that won't stop this bill from passing the House and Senate by wide margins. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was once a farm subsidy skeptic, but she now has some 30 freshman Democrats from battleground rural districts to protect. …
Nearly every crop - corn, wheat, sugar - has won increases in subsidy payments even as farm commodity prices explode. … Oh, and you still don't even have to farm to cash in. Hundreds of millions of dollars will go to landowners based on their "historical planting average" even if they haven't planted a seed in years.
Oddly enough, not a single one of the presidential hopefuls voted – not even John McCain (R-AZ), who is on record as opposing the farm bill.
Editorial Note: Want proof of the “Murdochization” of The Journal? This opinion piece manages to work in an utterly gratuitous reference to Lindsay Lohan in the third graf. Oh, and someone should clue the editorial board members in that they are collectively and individually too old to begin a sentence “Oh, and.”
† What’s Next For Spitzer: Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, has pleaded guilty to federal charges of promoting prostitution and money laundering. Lewis is one of four defendants connected to Emperor's Club VIP, a high-priced call girl ring that former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D-NY) – AKA “Client No. 9” frequently patronized. Reports The Associated Press:
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Lewis could face around 16 months in prison when sentenced Aug. 10, her lawyer said. The maximum penalties are up to 25 years.
Left unsaid during the brief hearing was whether Lewis has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in cases against other defendants, or provide evidence against Spitzer.
Lewis’ attorney, Marc Agnifilo, has asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore H. Katz to seal the written copy of Lewis' plea bargain, because the FBI’s investigation of Spitzer’s involvement with the call-girl ring is ongoing.
† US Courts: Multiculturalism Has Its Limits: When Judge Paul Paruk insisted that Ginnnah Muhammad remove her veil while testifying in court so he could judge her truthfulness by her facial expressions – and threw her case out of court when she refused - Muhammad sued the judge for violating her civil and religious rights. A federal judge in Detroit has dismissed the suit, reports The Associated Press.
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