Scandal Scandal Scandal, Where There is a Politician........

Eddie Bernice Johnson, Democrat, Dallas congresswoman denied,but 2 days later acknowledged ( in a statement)  she violated rules when giving out scholarships to 2 of her grandsons and 2 of her great nephews as  well as to her district director's son and daughter.

Amy Goldson, the foundation's general counsel, said," It is inappropriate for a lawmaker to certify the award of a scholarship to a relative in a situation where the lawmaker or their staff is involved in the selection of the recipient." " I doubt if there is anybody in my district going to question me giving a thousand dollars to a kid to help him with college" It is very interesting how Johnson just dismissed concerns about  giving the scholarships to her relatives or those of her staff, district director.
Not only was it wrong to give, to her relatives and those of her staff, scholarships, it was revealed  none of the recipients  were eligible   under the rule requiring recipients to reside in or go to school in the district  represented by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
 None of the recipients lived in or attended school in  Johnsons district.
 Statement made by Johnson made it clear, to me at least, she didn't bother with the rules.
District residency has never been a critical factor in the selection process.....

Scholarship Rules:
●In 2009, the foundation — a nonprofit entity that technically is separate from the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of 42 federal lawmakers — gave out $716,000 in scholarships to 556 students. Similar sums were given out in previous years.

●Corporate donors provide most of the scholarship funds.

●The foundation sets aside $10,000 for each member of the caucus to distribute to college students, under the main scholarship program.

●Each lawmaker (or an aide or screening committee of his or her choosing) reviews applications and selects winners. There are no specific judging criteria.

●Each lawmaker can decide how many winners to pick. That determines the size of each award.

●To be eligible, a student must have a 2.5-grade-point average and must live or go to school in a district represented by a member of the caucus.

●Students must certify that they satisfy the residency requirements and aren’t related to any caucus member.

 I take it, the rules don't apply to her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 I won't say what I think should happen in this case  but jail time doesn't seem to harsh after she returns the money.
What do you think???

Waters Charged ( Bush didn't do it)

   The House ethics committee, in a 10 page "Statement of Alleged Violation", accused  Waters of three counts of violating House rules and federal regulations. Waters and Mikael Moore, Waters' chief of  staff and grandson are accused of improperly intervening on behalf of OneUnited bank. A bank which her husband owned stock valued at $350,000.

          Because of the Government take over of Freddie Mac and Frannie Mae on Sept.7 2008  OneUnited bank was about to collapse. The collapse could have taken the congress woman's husband's now $175,000 investment to Zero.

          Waters called Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to set up a meeting between National Bankers Association, a group which OneUnited was a member and  officials from the Treasury. Bank officials asked for $50 million to cover anticipated losses . OneUnited later asked to trade stock in FreddieMac and Fannie Mae valued at $51 million for $42 million.Treasury didn't have proper authority to make the trade but the Bank later received $12million of TARP money.
Waters is accused of failing to properly oversee Mikael Moore work and charged with violating the Code of Ethics for Government Service...

In case you got confused, they were asking for MILLIONS to cover "anticipated" losses, FIFTY MILLION - $50 Million. Then asked to swap $51 million worth of Stock for $42 million "dollars"..( it is unclear at this time the actual value of the stock at the time they wanted to trade)
Like others in the government these days, it seems Waters is trying to blame the Bush Administration ... In an interview Waters said, "A mantee"of Karl Rove, the White house deputy chief of staff under President George W Bush," took this public information to the OCE with allegations of a conflict of interest"
(Mrs. Waters take a look at the information and  actions taken by you and your staff/ grandson  and don't blame the messenger!)

Inception New Movie

This is far from a normal post for me but after seeing the movie INCEPTION I had to "blog"
about it, I had no choice. Don't get me wrong, I am not a movie critic except I do have an opinion on this movie. I have to  say Movies have not been something I have been "into" until recently. It might have to do with visits to a small town in North Carolina, Shelby. In any event, this movie, INCEPTION, is a far cry from an everyday movie and might not be enjoyed by everyone. However, I would recommend  everyone over ...  13  see it. ( I picked 13 only because I figure at 13 I was ready to see and understand this type of movie)  There are some movie stars in the movie but that is not why you "need " to see INCEPTION. As matter of fact I would rather see a movie without movies "stars" because I want to see the the actor as real people in the story not as actors.
INCEPTION is a real "dream" of a movie! OK, that was my attempt at humor, you will understand it only if you see or have seen, the movie.
 OK, so this movie is about dreams and the way dreams are used to change real life. "Change" might not be the best word to describe what goes on in the movie but I don't want to "give away" any of the movie it is too good. So I guess you will have to see it to understand.......
 I will tell you to be on time for this movie, open you mind and if you can takes notes in the dark ..... well .... ( OK maybe taking notes might be  little extreme, but I want to see the DVD so I can stop it)
 I will say dreams are an important part of the movie, if not the movie itself but it goes way beyond just a dream ... maybe a dream within a dream, within a dream,  and back out.
OK, there it is, ( I "sort of" lied before when I said, I didn't want to "give away" the movie), I just gave you the entire movie without really giving away the movie. Tricky, maybe, but you have to see it to understand. If you have already seen it you understand perfectly.
 See it, then let me know what you think.........