Now this pissed me off. Doesn't that piss you off?
Critics today railed against a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today that effectively bars public employees from reporting misconduct to their supervisors or within the chain of command, RAW STORY has learned.
In today's ruling, the high court determined that First Amendment protections do not apply to public employees who report government misconduct to their supervisors. The ruling does not, however, prevent them from reporting such incidents to the media.
Where would we be without whistleblowers? No watergate, no surfacing rumors of election fraud.... People will NOT always do the right thing when left to their own devices, unfortunately. That is why we need these protections in place for those who CHOSE to do the right thing!
Report it to the media and not their supervisors? So you can sue them for slander or libel? Makes more sense to report it to someone with power in the place where the situation is HAPPENING. Unless you don't really want a change....
Well, WHAT DO YOU WANT, Supreme Court?
But this was particularely interesting....
The case, Garcetti v. Ceballos was argued before the court twice--once before and once after Justice Sandra Day O'Donnor's left the bench. On the second round, Justice Samuel Alito cast the tie-breaking vote.
Oh dear. Whose friend IS Alito anyways? Certainly not the common worker or whistleblower...
Look, the fact that Bush had everyone focused on abortion and gays made it easy for him to slip in some anti-whistleblower and anti-average-American Jane and John Doe. It's exactly why these two nominations were out of the mainstream and why Bush and them simply had to find two people who would please the religious anti-abortionists while they could slip in pro-business and anti-small guy people.
See...you always have to look at numerous issues. Most 'liberals' told you that Alito was!
Another one bites the dust...
Another REPUBLICAN criminal that is!
Coin dealer admits illegal donations 1 hour, 30 minutes ago
TOLEDO, Ohio - A coin dealer and prominent GOP fundraiser at the center of an Ohio political scandal pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges he illegally funneled about $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign.
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Tom Noe, once a powerful political figure who also raised money for Ohio Republicans, still is charged with embezzlement in an ill-fated $50 million coin investment that he managed for the state workers' compensation fund.
The investment scandal has been a major embarrassment for Ohio's ruling Republicans and given Democrats a better shot at winning state offices this year, including the governor's office, which has been under GOP control since 1991.
Investigators do not know whether Noe used money from the state coin fund for campaign contributions.
Noe was charged with exceeding federal campaign contribution limits, using others to make the contributions and causing the Bush campaign to submit a false campaign-finance statement.
He said Wednesday that he pleaded guilty to "spare my family and many dear friends" the ordeal of a trial.
Noe, 51, has been free on bond since he was indicted in October and is living in Florida. Prosecutors planned to recommend a sentence of 2 to 2 1/2 years. The maximum sentence would be five years on each of three counts and a combined $950,000 in fines. A sentencing date was not set.
Federal prosecutors have said the case was the largest campaign money-laundering scheme prosecuted under the 2002 campaign finance reform law, which set limits on donations.
Prosecutors said Noe gave $45,400 directly or indirectly to 24 friends and associates, who made the campaign contributions in their own names, allowing him to skirt the $2,000 limit on individual contributions.
Noe wrote several checks just under the cap to avoid suspicion, according to prosecutors. All of the checks were written in the eight days leading up to a fundraiser in October 2003 at a downtown Columbus hotel.
more at link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060531/ap_on_re_us/coin_dealer_donations
Doing the right thing should bring praise, not get in trouble. Were is the logic in their thinking?
Logic? There is none!
Just like them taking money away for DEMOCRATIC DC and NYC homeland security funds and giving it to Republican Omaha and Atlanta.
Sure...no landmarks in NYC but there are tons in Omaha!
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Frank_Rich_Supporting_our_troops_over_0603.html
Frank Rich: Supporting our troops over a cliff
RAW STORY
Published: Saturday June 3, 2006
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Americans should feel "guilty" because the Bush Administration "has asked no sacrifice of civilians other than longer waits at airline security," while our troops go to war in Iraq so "we can party on," writes Frank Rich in his column slated for the Sunday edition of The New York Times, RAW STORY has learned.
"For all the politicians' talk about honoring those who serve, Washington's record is derelict: chronic shortages in body and Humvee armor; a back-door draft forcing troops with expired contracts into repeated deployments; inadequate postwar health care and veterans' benefits," Rich writes. "And that's just the short list."
Rich also slams President Bush's campaign for a federal marriage amendment while the war drags on ("...we are planning an indefinite stay of undefined parameters," according to Rich).
"Though the amendment has no chance
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Where's the sacrifice of the gas companies and the war profiteerer ceos? They stand to gain 1.6 million in tax cuts during war.
Where are the sacrifices of Bush's children who still haven't volunteered for the war they campaigned in approval of when they campaigned with their dad.