Dominican Lawyer Disappears, Sarah Takes The Money and Runs

Roger Cohen
Rami Khoury
Fareed Zakaria



haitian update...
The man who claimed to be the lawyer hired by the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho, to represent the 10 child abductors has disappeared and is wanted for questioning. The NY Times reports that: "Salvadoran police say they want to question Mr. Puello in connection with a sex trafficking ring that was broken up last year in which women and girls from Central America and the Caribbean were lured into prostitution through offers of modeling jobs... Public records and court documents in the United States also indicate that a person with the same name and birth date is considered a fugitive and is wanted by the Miami police, the United States Customs and the United States Marshals Service.


An order is listed in the United States national crime database for a man with that name and birth date to be arrested on sight and reported to United States immigration officials. Those records say he is wanted in connection with crimes including bank fraud in the United States and Canada, and theft of American government property. Police records say he has violated parole."

If its as easy to scam Americans in jail in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as it appears, I can't help wondering about the many others who are in jails awaiting trials in every other country in the world. Maybe it's time to ask Amnesty International or the State Department to issue a report. In America, a child is abducted every 40 seconds...

The American abductors will remain in prison at least until Monday, when the judge is supposed to make a ruling letting most of them go back to the US, while keeping Laura Silsby in jail until the case is resolved. But if the authorities cannot find Jorge Puello by then to fingerprint him and see if they match Interpol's and El Salvador's files, then the timeline will remain undefined.

other updates...
It looks like Germany, which experienced zero economic growth last quarter, is just saying no to bailing out Greece. The Greeks themselves say they are too lazy to care and create a program themselves to get out of the hot water. If Greece falls first, maybe Israel can take it over instead of Spain and Portugal, sort of a reverse Trojan horse. Israeli ingenuity and American cash can turn it around, the Greeks will be thankful and not really care that much about being occupied, and Israel gets its butt out of the Middle East, where it has failed to establish a peaceful nation. A win/win all around...

A suit against Blackwater by two ex-employees claims that it overcharged the US government by millions, brought alcohol into Iraq and Afghanistan, hired strippers and kept a hooker on as staff, also charging the US for her plane ticket over from the Phillipines, and her patriotic services. I guess all we can say is xie xie, guys... If the US wants to really trim the Federal budget, it should look into and cancel these inflated contracts with private mercenaries...


go on, take the money and run...

"My only goal is to support the grassroots activists who are fighting for responsible, limited government -- and our Constitution. In that spirit, any compensation for my appearance will go right back to the cause." - Sarah Palin in USA Today

Sarah Palin has been in the news a lot since her historic tea party speech, where she said that she was going to give the $100,000 for her 40 minute speech back to conservative causes. Of course, when an organizer from the tea convention called her people to ask where to send the money, her people replied that no determination had been made and to send it on in... Does anyone really think she will give it away? Not now that she is the sole breadwinner in the family, gotta get Todd that new snowmobile and condoms for Bristol...

Other people who have organized tea party groups and who didn't participate in the tea party convention, were critical of Sarah's involvement. Out of Houston comes Dale Robertson, who said that she wasn't a true conservative and just a failed Republican Party hack: "Tea Party members are being eyed as just another piece of voting meat. Tea Party members are targeted for filling the rank and file of minion laden political operations, most of which are lead (sic) by failed Republican hacks... She represents a growing insider's attack to the heart of the Tea Party. Very much like a wolf in sheep's clothing entering in at the gate as an ally, but for all intents and purposes there to seize and capture, not only one or two stray sheep, but the whole flock!" Everyone knows that roasted sheep tastes really good alongside an elk shot from a helicopter...

It doesn't matter if you are a liberal or a conservative right now, if you take a public stand on any issue, you will be condemned by the press, demonized by the small minority that is angry at everything. I enjoy making fun of public figures, too, but I hold no rancor towards them. I often feel a bit like Mort Saul, taking the daily newspaper and seeing what act I can come up with for my blog. What I lack is the instant response a live audience gives, so I often don't know if I have scored a hit or miss. So, of course Sarah is getting pelted by both the right and the left, even bad spellers like Dale Robertson, who is seeking some notoriety from that cup of tea in the sky.

We have two years until campaigns for the next presidential elections get underway, sponsored by your favorite corporation. Will Coke sponsor Tea? Will Nike sponsor Obama, getting him to say "just do it" in his speeches? Will the constant ragging on Obama be able to keep up its frantic pace, or will the naysayers realize that, they too, are wearing no clothes? On the GOP side, Mit Romney is wisely staying low profile, and will begin his campaign at the best strategic time, so he can build a steady momentum all the way until its time to stuff the ballot boxes. Tim Pawlenty is probably the most well balanced of the candidates, so he will loose because of the fringes. Watch for Rudy Guliani to make an ass of himself, and will Newt ever realize that he's forgotten all that he ever read before, coming down with Alzheimer's, or Lou Dobbs Disease as it's more commonly known...

Newt is predicting a Republican sweep in this year's midterm elections, but only if: "the state of the economy, the Democrats’ response to the dissatisfaction, and whether Republicans can successfully cast themselves as the alternative party rather than the opposition."


The state of the economy will remain in fluctuation, remaining bad for us middle to lower class folks. The Republicans, who naturally will gain some seats this election, may gain even more if people blame Democratic policy for it. The Republicans are pumping out press releases hourly trying to make you forget on who's watch all of this misery began, trying to make it seem that Obama is an incompetent who cannot do anything right because they have to obstruct each and every bill with a filibuster. If you are still angry at the government, like you have been for the last 10-15 years, you will vote against any Democrat. What you should be doing is voting out any Congressperson who has had over three terms in office, both Democratic and Republican...

I doubt that with the likes of John Boehner and Charles Grassley, folks will see in Republicans an intelligent alternative to anything. The Republican strategy has been negative and portrays their members as whining obstructionists who cannot hold a candle to Obama on the debating floor. They had a chance to build the ranks of the Party with a platform that was attractive to a younger, more diverse sector of people, but have further alienated them and branded themselves as the Party of the brain-dead old fogeys, which is where we left Newt..