Publius - Page 36

From Roll Call: The frustration with President Barack Obama over his tax cut compromise was palpable and even profane at Thursday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting. One unidentified lawmaker went so far as to mutter “f— the president” while Rep. Shelley

Today, in 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested by federal officials.

WASHINGTON (AP) – American Indians and black farmers will be paid $4.6 billion to address claims of government mistreatment over many decades under landmark legislation President Barack Obama signed Wednesday. The legislation “closes a long and unfortunate chapter in our

From a USDA employee with close to 30 years experience: Pigford was a nightmare. There was lots of money to be made–most of it by the trial lawyers. There were legitimate claims. It happens that people do sometimes discriminate and

The Dept. of Agriculture has claimed that there were only three cases of fraudulent claims filed for Pigford settlement money. Jimmy Dismuke, one of the original farmers who brought suit against the USDA, told Big Government that he was personally

From an anonymous source in the capitol: These are redacted Pigford applications that are all done by the same lawyer. All of the claimants come from Arkansas (two are related) and the stories they write on the application are clearly

Although the Pigford settlement story is a complex one that has major political implications, at the heart of it is a very simple question: does the settlement contain a significant amount of fraud? If the Obama administration is telling the

The following is based on an interview with a current employee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture: I’ve worked with the USDA for more than 25 years. The situation with Pigford has been horrible. There were cases of discrimination. Perhaps

This is a copy of a three-page letter between Michael Sitcov, Chief of the DOJ Federal Programs Branch, who is defending the government against the Pigford suit, and class action Pigford lawyer Al Pires. This letter shows Sitcov’s obvious anger

The following is based on an interview with a current US Department of Agriculture employee who has worked for more than 20 years for the USDA: It’s been ten years and I’ve really dealt with Pigford. It was a hard

Today, in 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a colossal mistake.

While we certainly hope the possibility of multi-billion dollar fraud was enough to pique your outrage, what may be the most frightening revelation from our research is that Pigford may be the proverbial tip of the farmer scam iceberg. Fox

On April 14. 1999, Judge Paul Friedman signed a Consent Decree in the class action law suit PIGFORD, BREWINGTON v GLICKMAN and the US Department of Agriculture. Following is a portion of the opinion written by Judge Friedman: Forty acres

The_Pigford_Shakedown_r4 –

President Obama is expected to sign legislation authorizing the taxpayer-funded Pigford II Settlement. In the 1990s, a group of black farmers were compensated for past discrimination from the USDA. Pigford II will compensate individuals, who may or may not have

Glenn Reynolds in today’s Washington Examiner: But I have a different character in mind. The more I watch this administration at work, the more I think we’re seeing the first Nigel Tufnel presidency. Nigel Tufnel, many will remember, was the

The latest revelations from the WikiLeaks cable-dump provide a revealing look into the world of climate alarmists. Surprise! It isn’t really about the climate, but crippling developed economies. Interesting that most of the revelations from WikiLeaks have simply confirmed what

Today, in 1783, George Washington bid farewell to his officers from the Revolutionary War.

Yesterday, Rep. Charlie Rangel became the first member of Congress to be censured in almost a quarter century.

From The Hill: Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are complaining that legislation funding a settlement for discrimination against black farmers sets too high a bar for claimants. The lawmakers argue language added by the Senate, which is meant

President Obama dispatched former President Bill Clinton and, mysteriously available, Attorney General Eric Holder to Zurich to bolster the U.S.’s bid for the 2022 World Cup. They failed. The heretofore totally unknown Gulf State of Qatar beat us. (In Qatar,

Today, in 1805, Napoleon defeated a larger Russo-Austrian force at Austerlitz. It was one of the greater military victories of all time. (Today is also the anniversary of Napoleon becoming emperor of the French (1804) and his nephew becoming Napoleon

Today, in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, AL. She was arrested. Yes, you read that right. It really was in the 20th Century.

President Obama: I am pleased that today, the House has joined the Senate in passing the Claims Settlement Act of 2010. This important legislation will fund the agreements reached in the Pigford II lawsuit, brought by African American farmers, and

Big Government has obtained an advance copy of Homeland Security’s Inspector General report detailing ACORN’s misuse of a federal grant from FEMA. The report will be released to the public on December 8th. We’ve included it below. EMBARGOED 12-8-10 DHS

Updated. From the Associated Press: The House on Tuesday passed landmark legislation to pay for some $4.6 billion in settlements with American Indians and black farmers who say they faced discrimination and mistreatment from the government. Lawmakers voted 256-152 to

From the Associated Press: Staggering Election Day losses are not the Democratic Party’s final indignity this year. At least 13 state lawmakers in five states have defected to Republican ranks since the Nov. 2 election, adding to already huge GOP

From Politico: Vice President Joe Biden welcomes California Rep. Darrell Issa to the White House Tuesday, the White House’s first outreach to the chairman that has vowed to investigate every corner of government. The meeting, which will be at 3

Salon.com, who, through their interesting editor Joan Walsh has done all they can to discredit and smear the tea party is trying to find a buyer for itself. Having lost close to $5 million in the last fiscal year, it

Congress is rushing through its lame duck session to finally appropriate funds to pay out claims from the Pigford II settlement. The settlement is meant to clear up claims from black farmers who claim discrimination from USDA and also missed

From The Hill: The Senate’s approval of a $1.15 billion settlement for black farmers meant to deal with decades of past discrimination capped a roller-coaster year on the issue for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Vilsack was in the legislative trenches

From AFP: US President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a freeze on most government pay in a move to trim the country’s massive deficit. The White House said the two year freeze would save two billion dollars in the 2011

On Sunday, the website Wilileaks began releasing 250,000 US diplomatic cables. We understand that most conservatives, because they are concerned about national security, are upset about this. We are more conflicted. A centralized, federal government should operate as much in

From the LA Times: A veteran election attorney filed papers Friday to try to knock Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel off the ballot, charging he does not meet city residency rules. Under Illinois’ municipal code, a candidate must be a

Trying to establish another dynastic succession, North Korea inches closer to outright war. Having totally flubbed domestic policy, let’s hope Obama has hidden skills for foreign policy.

Federal agents in a sting operation arrested a Somali-born teenager just as he tried blowing up a van he believed was loaded with explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, authorities said. The bomb was an elaborate