Quote :

"Living by the Sword by Ron Paul Before the US House of Representatives, March 13, 2008 It has been said that "he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword." And in the case of Eliot Spitzer this couldn’t be more true. In his case it’s the political sword, as his enemies rejoice in his downfall. Most people, it seems, believe he got exactly what he deserved. The illegal tools of the state brought Spitzer down, but think of all the harm done by Spitzer in using the same tools against so many other innocent people. He practiced what could be termed "economic McCarthyism," using illegitimate government power to build his political career on the ruined lives of others. No matter how morally justified his comeuppance may be, his downfall demonstrates the worst of our society. The possibility of uncovering personal moral wrongdoing is never a justification for the government to spy on our every move and to participate in sting operations. Though Spitzer used the same tools to destroy individuals charged with economic crimes that ended up being used against him, gloating over his downfall should not divert our attention from the fact that the government spying on American citizens is unworthy of a country claiming respect for liberty and the fourth amendment. Two wrongs do not make a right. Two wrongs make it doubly wrong. Sacrifice of our personal privacy has been ongoing for decades, but has rapidly accelerated since 9/11. Before 9/11 the unstated goal of collecting revenue was the real reason for the erosion of our financial privacy. When nineteen suicidal maniacs attacked us on 9/11, our country became convinced that further sacrifice of personal and financial privacy was required for our security. The driving force behind this ongoing sacrifice of our privacy has been fear and the emotional effect of war rhetoric – war on drugs, war against terrorism, and the war against third world nations in the Middle East who are claimed to be the equivalent to Hitler and Nazi Germany. But the real reason for all this surveillance is to build the power of the state. It arises from a virulent dislike of free people running their own lives and spending their own money. Statists always demand control of the people and their money. Recently we’ve been told that this increase in the already intolerable invasion of our privacy was justified because the purpose was to apprehend terrorists. We were told that the massive amounts of information being collected on Americans would only be used to root out terrorists. But as we can see today, this monitoring of private activities can also be used for political reasons. We should always be concerned when the government accumulates information on innocent citizens. Spitzer was brought down because he legally withdrew cash from a bank – not because he committed a crime. This should prompt us to reassess and hopefully reverse this trend of pervasive government intrusion in our private lives. We need no more Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act! No more Violent Radicalization & Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Acts! No more torture! No more Military Commissions Act! No more secret prisons and extraordinary rendition! No more abuse of habeas corpus! No more PATRIOT Acts! What we need is more government transparency and more privacy for the individual! "

3/17/2008 9:43:05 PM

The type of monitoring that caught spitzer was in place well before 9/11, and was designed to catch tax evaders. It's an automated system as well, that's apparently only set up to track large withdrawals/deposits.

Considering the gov. relies on tax revenue, and there's no other way to track evaders other than snitching, I don't see anything wrong with a limited scope automated system doing this kind of flagging.

3/17/2008 9:49:32 PM

In an offhand note, from what I'm told the girl went to HS in Manteo

3/19/2008 3:29:08 PM

just checked out the Girls Gone Wild homepage. there's a 'teaser' from this hooker's stint on the girls gone wild bus like 5 years ago in miami. ANYways, interesting thing is, she's from NC and the hat she is wearing has an awfully familiar logo on it...

check it out:
http://www.girlsgonewild.com/

ah. makes me proud

3/19/2008 4:43:48 PM

Wolfpack baby.

3/19/2008 4:51:13 PM

She was only 17 during the GGW filming

Quote :

"LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A $1 million offer to the call girl linked to former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was rescinded because she'd already shot footage for "Girls Gone Wild." Now it might be the video maker who will lose out. A lawyer for Ashley Alexandra Dupre, now 22, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Dupre was 17 when the footage was filmed. After hearing from her attorney, the company said the video's Internet release will be delayed. "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis originally reached out to Dupre, offering $1 million for her to appear in a non-nude spread for his company's new magazine and a chance to join the "Girls Gone Wild" tour bus. But on Tuesday "Girls Gone Wild" employees found archived footage of Dupre filmed in 2003, and Francis retracted the offer. In a statement Wednesday, Francis said he had received an e-mail from Dupre's lawyer Don Buchwald, saying Dupre may have been 17 in the videos shot in Miami and not 18 as Francis had first claimed. In an e-mail to one of Francis' publicists -- forwarded by Buchwald to the AP -- the attorney said he was "informed by Ashley that the video was in fact taken when she was underage (that is 17)." Buchwald added in the e-mail that Francis was aware of Dupre's age during the filming. Francis said he bought Dupre a Greyhound bus ticket back home to North Carolina in 2003. Dupre returned home after she spent a week on the "Girls Gone Wild" bus in Miami and filmed seven full-length tapes, which included nudity, after signing legal papers, the company said. "It was because she was underage that he sent her home on a Greyhound bus back to North Carolina. It would be outrageous at the very least to play the video of an underage female on the Internet," Buchwald said in the e-mail. Francis said all nude images of Dupre were taken in public places and contain no sexual contact. He added that his company has a "corporate policy" not to use individuals under 18 in their videos. Given this policy, the company delayed the release of Dupre's footage on the Internet. The company was "investigating the matter" and "will make our decision shortly," Francis said. Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office, declined to comment on the subject, adding that "we would be foolish to make a broad general statement." Lewd or lascivious acts committed upon or in the presence of those under 16 is illegal in Florida, said Miami-based defense attorney Roy Kahn. "Just taking nude video or photographs alone in a public place wouldn't be illegal if the person is 17. It doesn't violate lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor," Kahn said. Francis returned to California last week after being sentenced to time served and fines in Florida in a case involving the filming of underage girls. He still faces trial on federal tax evasion charges that carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. By late Wednesday, Dupre was still depicted on the "Girls Gone Wild" Web site, with a free sampling on the front page of her dancing in a bikini and the rest available with a $29.95 monthly subscription. "It's kind of like finding a winning lottery ticket in the cushions of your couch," Francis told the AP -- before he saw the e-mail from Dupre's attorney. Hustler publisher Larry Flynt told the AP last Friday that he e-mailed Dupre offering her $1 million to appear nude in his magazine, but didn't sound optimistic that she would settle for that amount. Dupre's public profile has skyrocketed since Spitzer resigned last week amid the prostitution scandal. He was accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes, including a February tryst with a call girl named "Kristen," since identified as Dupre. Dupre's MySpace page was hit more than 5 million times in the days immediately after the scandal broke. Her musical efforts were listened to hundreds of thousands of times online and played on national airwaves."

[Edited on March 19, 2008 at 11:14 PM. Reason : []

3/19/2008 11:11:44 PM

there is no such thing as bad publicity.

so this hooker is going to prolly get a record contract for being a whore......

i love america

^^^i bet she threw it at that old man like he had never even seen before.....

[Edited on March 19, 2008 at 11:22 PM. Reason : tens of thousands of dollars]

3/19/2008 11:19:40 PM

Detroit mayor charged with perjury

Quote :

"DETROIT - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, a one-time rising star and Detroit’s youngest elected leader, was charged Monday with perjury and other counts after sexually explicit text messages contradicted his sworn denials of an affair with a top aide."

Quote :

"Former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, 37, who also denied under oath that she and Kilpatrick had a romantic relationship in 2002 and 2003, was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. A message seeking comment from Beatty’s attorney, Jeffrey Morganroth, was not returned. The charges could signal the end of Kilpatrick’s six-year career as mayor of one of America’s largest cities. Calls for his resignation have surfaced since late January and the Detroit City Council asked him to step down last week."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23779083

3/24/2008 10:08:09 PM