You can judge a man by the company he keeps—most of the time, anyway. It's a bit harder to apply that to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker because I'm not sure he has any "company" left that isn't either in the pokey or
on their way to the aforementioned pokey.
Timothy D. Russell, a former aide to Gov. Scott Walker, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison and five years probation for stealing more than $21,000 from a veterans organization that Walker named him to lead. [...]
"There is also no true regret, remorse or repentance," [Judge David Hansher] told Russell. "I find that you don't even have any shame."
Russell joins quite a list:
Russell becomes the second close former aide to Walker convicted of a felony while in office. Kelly Rindfleisch, who succeeded Russell as deputy chief of staff at the county, was sentenced in November to six months in jail and probation for doing political fundraising while at her county job.
Kevin Kavanaugh was convicted of stealing more than $50,000 from Operation Freedom and other veterans funds and sentenced in December to two years in prison. Kavanaugh was treasurer of a local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart when that group was managing the Operation Freedom money. Walker named Kavanaugh to the county Veterans Service Commission.
Darlene Wink, Walker's constituent services director at the county, was sentenced in January to a year's probation on a misdemeanor charge for doing campaign fundraising in 2009 while at her county job.
[pro-Walker blogger and Russell's domestic partner Brian Pierick] is scheduled to go on trial Jan. 29 on child enticement charges.
Jeez, Walker. There are mob families that have less trouble with the law.
For more discussion, see Puddytat's diary.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2005—Science Saturday: Scrapping the Hubble (Again?):
Sources said that the White House, in consultation with NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, had decided to eliminate the Hubble funding from the 2006 federal budget because the cost of servicing is expected to exceed $1 billion.
The sources said the administration made the decision despite its intention to ask Congress for a 4.6 percent budget increase for NASA to $17 billion. The request is expected to focus on plans to reorient NASA's priorities toward President Bush's "Vision for Space Exploration" to the moon and Mars. (Emphasis added.)
Stories like this often ignite debates about whether we should spend a billion dollars in outer space when we have so many problems here on Earth to deal with. But I think as the bolded final sentence makes clear, the choice is not between $1 bil for Hubble vs. $1 bil for schools or healthcare.
Rather, the choice is between $1 bil for Hubble vs. $1 bil for Bushco's insane, cockamamie Martian scheme - a scheme which some commentators believe is just a ruse for the Bushies to proceed apace with their desire to militarize space. I wouldn't be surprised if this view is right - I've yet to lose when betting on the Bush Administration's venality.
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Tweet of the Day:
By now President Romney would've repealed Obamacare, scrapped Obama regs, submitted jobs plan, approved Keystone & stuck it to China #dayone
— @sahilkapur via Janetter for Mac
On today's
Kagro in the Morning show,
Greg Dworkin on the major themes of the President's speech, 40th anniversary of Roe, and the arc of history. "Gun Appreciation Day" was marked by Americans shooting themselves & others at gun shows, and 90+ elsewhere appreciated guns in ways that killed, injured or just plain scared their fellow Americans. At least 34 died & 65 were wounded in 34 states & DC.
Armando called to discuss reports that Reid may be backing away from some filibuster reform proposals. Might others just as powerful be under consideration?
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