THE GULF COAST REALIST

Is this blog still active? It's been 6 months sinc...

2009-10-06T01:43:12.788-05:00

Is this blog still active? It's been 6 months since a post was made.

I agree with Mr. Harris. You seem to really want t...

2009-08-20T23:14:34.553-05:00

I agree with Mr. Harris. You seem to really want to punish "Wes Teel Victim" with your harsh words. While I may not agree with him/her 100%, you seem to be the one full of hate here. If "Victim" is wrong, make your argument as to why in a respectful way, and validate your position. Chidish name calling just makes you look silly.

Hatred, bitterness, venom, poison...? What on Eart...

2009-06-29T05:08:45.298-05:00

Hatred, bitterness, venom, poison...? What on Earth is your malfunction Sur-Realist? I think your imagination is very active today. "Wes Teel Victim" said nothing to indicate any of that garbage. If anyone seems hateful by their words, it's you. Grow up and act like an adult.

Dr. Simone J. Simone I presume...

2009-06-22T04:44:24.179-05:00

Dr. Simone J. Simone I presume...

Hello Wes, It has been years since we talked, I a...

2009-06-07T16:52:13.143-05:00

Hello Wes,
It has been years since we talked, I am just finding out hard your life has been. You were always a good friend, if I can help you or your wife, please let me know. You both will be in my prayers. Steve Gibson
stevenpeter2010@yahoo.com

I just watched the video of Ryan Teel beating Jess...

2009-06-04T02:47:26.435-05:00

I just watched the video of Ryan Teel beating Jesse Lee Willliams to death on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Z4ub2YFZY

I wanted to cry... That poor man never had a chance against that huge thug. The apple truly doesn't fall too far from the tree. May God have mercy on the Teel family

Hey Wes Teel Victim, I disagree with you- Wes Tee...

2009-05-19T00:10:00.000-05:00

Hey Wes Teel Victim,

I disagree with you- Wes Teel is the perfect candidate for Housekeeping Supervisor! He wasn't up to handling the job of attorney, and he surely was far too dishonest for the Judge's bench, but Housekeeping Supervisor... Now THAT'S a job he can really excel in! Go Wes! Woo Hoo! But seriously, Wes is, as you said, "a pathetic, washed up, waste of a man". His power is gone, his influence eroded. He is, in effect: DONE & OVER WITH. And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Payback's Hell, Ain't it Wes???

Why do you assume that I hate Wes Teel? I hate no ...

2009-05-04T13:38:00.000-05:00

Why do you assume that I hate Wes Teel? I hate no one. However I do believe in karma, and Wes is now on the receiving end of justice, instead of the other way around. He lost his son? You make it sound as if Ryan Teel was hit by a car, of died from a horrible illness. He didn't "lose" his son; his son was put in prison for the heartless murder of a man tied to a chair with no way to defend himself or escape. Wes Teel instilled his values and character into that animal as he grew up, and now we see the end result.

I don't know if Wes is guilty of the charges that he is in prison for. But I do know that he did many things for which he suffered not one tiny bit.

You attack me and say I'm full of hate only because I don't love Wes the way you do. Have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe Wes isn't the man you think he is? Maybe he has done things, cheated people, and enriched himself all at the expense of those less fortunate than himself?

I don't hate Wes Teel. I pity him. He is a pathetic, washed up, waste of a man who had the chance to do great things in this life, but instead chose to step on the weak, and without remorse fill his pockets with the money they paid him. The sad irony is that these folks came to him for help. I was just one of many.

Is a crook like Wes the best choice for Housekeepi...

2009-04-02T12:23:00.000-05:00

Is a crook like Wes the best choice for Housekeeping Supervisor? This animal deserves nothing good.

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2009-02-28T13:32:00.000-06:00

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Wednesday, February 25, 2009Scalia Shines A Mispla...

2009-02-27T05:54:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Scalia Shines A Misplaced Spotlight on Honest-Services Fraud
Reading about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's criticism of federal prosecutors during the George W. Bush administration is a little like hearing David Mamet complain about the foul language in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Mamet, one of America's most acclaimed playwrights, wrote Glengarry Glen Ross, and his use of edgy language is central to the story of four desperate real-estate agents in Chicago.

Scalia, to a great extent, is responsible for the abuses of Bush prosecutors. After all, his vote in Bush v. Gore went a long way toward handing the presidency to Bush and leading to corruption of the U.S. Justice Department.

Perhaps that is why Scalia's dissent in a Supreme Court refusal to review a Chicago public-corruption case rings so hollow.

While rummaging around in the dark basement of American justice, Scalia has detected a legitimate threat. But he is shining his flashlight in the wrong corner.

The problem, Scalia says, is the honest-services fraud law itself--18 U.S. Code 1346. The statute is hopelessly vague, the justice says, and does not give potential defendants sufficient warning that certain behavior is criminal.

Scalia is right about this, as Scott Horton expertly points out in this piece on his No Comment blog at Harpers.org. But the same could be said of many other federal statutes. I'm not a lawyer, but my research indicates that the entire U.S. Code is famously and alarmingly vague.

Consider, for example, 18 U.S. Code 666, federal funds bribery. Like the honest-services fraud statute, 666 played a central role in the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. If you consider yourself an everyday American, try reading 666 closely and see if you can figure out what it means. Imagine serving on a jury and trying to determine whether or not someone has violated that statute.

If Scalia is concerned about vague federal statutes, he should not stop at 1346. He might as well advocate rewriting the entire U.S. Code because almost all of it is clear as Mississippi mud.

Here is a little secret I've learned while trying to imitate a lawyer in the blogosphere: If you really want to understand federal law, you've got to study the case law. That task isn't easy, but if you put a little effort into it, you will find that most federal crimes are pretty well defined.

For example, our research team here at Legal Schnauzer produced this little number that explains honest-services fraud in a fairly succinct manner:

Mail Fraud: A Primer

And for good measure, our crackerjack researchers produced this little number on federal-funds bribery:

Bribery: A Primer

As Scott Horton points out, these laws were abused and used for political purposes in the prosecutions of Don Siegelman in Alabama and Paul Minor, Wes Teel, and John Whitfield in Mississippi. But the problem was not the laws themselves. The problem was the corrupt prosecutors and federal judges who ran roughshod over the law in the Siegelman and Minor cases.

Consider the honest-services mail fraud charge in the Siegelman case: The case law is clear that the public must actually be deprived of an official's honest services. But in appointing former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to a hospital-regulatory board, Siegelman tapped an individual who clearly was qualified to serve and had served under three previous governors. Therefore, the public was not deprived of Siegelman's honest services.

Consider the bribery charge in the Minor case: The case law is clear that this requires a "corrupt act." And this is defined as "inducing the official to violate his or her lawful duty." Minor clearly did not commit a corrupt act because the two state judges handling his cases, Teel and Whitfield, ruled correctly under the law. Minor's clients prevailed because, under the law, they should have. And that means no bribery occurred.

If Scalia wants to lead a rewrite of the entire U.S. Code, I say he should have at it. But such a painstaking task isn't necessary.

What is necessary is that we have honest federal prosecutors who prosecute crimes, not people. The problem in the Siegelman and Minor cases was not that prosecutors didn't know the law. They intentionally refused to follow it.

Our Justice Department will never regain the public's trust until the people who corrupted our courts are held accountable. That should be a top priority for Congress and the Obama administration.

And Antonin Scalia should be pushing for it, too.
Copied from the legalschnauzer blog

Thanks for the update.

2009-02-27T05:52:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the update.

I see you have changed little since those far off ...

2009-01-23T14:49:00.000-06:00

I see you have changed little since those far off days in Blighty. At last I see what you have been up to, what you have become, and I laughed!
From one grey haired ol' lady to another. Cynthia, Mike, how do you cope? There's obviously no hope for Phil.

You are hilarious!

2008-12-08T15:40:00.000-06:00

You are hilarious!

Yes, you the people, along with the cheating ACORN...

2008-11-08T19:23:00.000-06:00

Yes, you the people, along with the cheating ACORN workers, have managed to set this country on a course for annihilation from the outside.

Obama and Biden. We the people did it.

2008-11-05T00:25:00.000-06:00

Obama and Biden. We the people did it.

What is the date, has Oct 5, passed or what? Mayb...

2008-10-18T12:09:00.000-05:00

What is the date, has Oct 5, passed or what? Maybe you was talking about 4 years from now

From Yallpolitics.com :From the Docket in the Paul...

2008-10-03T08:22:00.000-05:00

From Yallpolitics.com :

From the Docket in the Paul Minor case

07-60751 USA v. Minor

9/30/08 COURT Order filed: Fed.R.App.P.9(a). Accordingly, IT IS
ORDERED that Whitfield's motion for release pending appeal
is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. If Whitfield seeks relief
from the district court and is denied, he may seek review
of the district court's order in this court "by filing a
motion in the court of appeals." Fed.R.App.P.9(b). IT IS
ORDERED that Teel's motion for release pending appeal is
DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. If Teel seeks relief from the
district court and is denied, he may seek review of the
district court's order in this court "by filing a motion in
the court of appeals." Fed.R.App.P.9(b). (IN DETAIL)
[6097954-1] in 07-60748, [6097956-1] in 07-60774 (PRO)
Copies to all counsel. [07-60748, 07-60774] (ddv)
[07-60748 07-60774]

This is what we want to read. Tell us about Wes.Mu...

2008-10-01T08:41:00.000-05:00

This is what we want to read. Tell us about Wes.

Musgrove Camp Decries Scruggs Smear

Adam Lynchby Adam Lynch
September 30, 2008

Sen. Roger Wicker’s supporters at the National Republican Senatorial Committee are attempting to link his Democratic opponent, Ronnie Musgrove, with incarcerated lawyer Paul Minor, as well as Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, who pled guilty this year for attempting to bribe a Lafayette County Circuit Court judge for a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina cases. A U.S. District Court found Minor guilty of corruption in March 2007 for racketeering and bribery, along with former Judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield, for accepting the bribes.

“Paul Minor and Dickie Scruggs: trial lawyers who gave thousands to Ronnie Musgrove’s campaigns,” the NRSC ad states. “... Minor had so much influence with Musgrove, insiders called him ‘the judgemaker.’ Now Minor and Scruggs are in jail, convicted of trying to bribe a judge. Ronnie Musgrove: a record that makes you want to blush.”

Adam Bozzi, spokesman for the Musgrove campaign, said Musgrove has not received any contributions from either of the two during his Senate campaign.

“The money they’re referring to is from five or 10 years ago, maybe even longer. At the time there was no reason to suspect it,” Bozzi said.

A 2003 Biloxi Sun Herald article reported that Scruggs gave Musgrove $57,000 in 1999, while Minor gave Musgrove $112,000. Minor’s most recent contribution to Musgrove was a $4,125 donation for his 2002 gubernatorial campaign.

A federal jury convicted Minor of corruption in 2007, and Scruggs in 2008, well after Musgrove’s 2002 campaign. Scruggs also donated money to Republican campaigns, including those of his brother-in-law, former U.S. Sen Trent Lott, who retired the day before Scruggs was indicted last year..

Bozzi said the ads are “an attempt to cover Roger Wicker’s Washington practices of the corrupt ‘Pay-to-Play’ system,” the system of heavy lobbyist input in the creation of legislation. “He’s funneled millions of dollars in taxpayer earmarks to his top contributors,” Bozzi said.

A January Washington Post article revealed that Wicker, last year, obtained a $6 million earmark for a defense contractor, Aurora Flight Science, whose executives were among his top campaign contributors. Wicker’s former chief of staff even represented Aurora concerning the earmarks.

Minor’s attorney Hiram Eastland said the use of the ads lends credibility to his accusation that Minor’s prosecution was politically charged.

"The NRSC ad simply verifies that this has been a political prosecution all along, and the Republican Party is continuing to use these prosecutions to further their political goals,” Eastland said.

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Chuck Easley said he believed DOJ agents were aiming investigations only at Democrats during the height of Minor’s trials.

"One agent interviewed me about possible investigations, and I had a ton of dirt on a lot of people, but they said they weren’t interested in them. She said they were only interested in me, (Supreme Court Justices Oliver) Diaz and (Chuck) McRae, not (Jim) Smith, (William) Waller or anybody else. They were only hunting people they thought were Democratic oriented," Easley said.

The DOJ routinely leaked investigation details to the press throughout the investigation, notably details pertaining to Democrats.

Ryan Annison, spokesman for the Wicker campaign, said he knew nothing about the ads and directed all calls to the NRSC. “Not only do we have nothing to do with them (the NRSC), but it’s illegal for us to have anything to do with them. We learn about them the same way you do, by watching them on TV,” Annison said.

Rebecca Fisher, communications director for the NRSC, did not immediately respond to information requests.

Minor, Teel and Whitfield are appealing their convictions, arguing that Republican-appointed prosecutors, working with Ronald Reagan-appointed U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate, convinced the court to push a corruption trial without proof of an exchange of goods money or services, or quid pro quo.

The jury convicted Minor specifically of financing judges’ campaign loans in exchange for favorable rulings, though none of the judges requested to oversee any of the cases Minor was working on. Also, prosecutors did not have to prove that either of the judges' decisions in Minor’s cases were illogical. None of the plaintiffs in the cases in question, for that matter, filed to remove the judges for suspicious behavior or political connection with Minor.

The U.S. Congress is currently investigating allegations of political-based prosecutions by the DOJ under President George Bush and former White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove. Rove is ducking congressional subpoenas to appear before the congressional committee regarding the investigation and is currently in contempt of Congress.

Minor is not the only attorney charging the DOJ with targeting Democrats. Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, who was convicted of corruption in 2006—also without the necessity of proving quid pro quo—is out on appeal alleging political persecution. Siegelman is petitioning Congress this week to get Rove’s contempt citation up for a vote and is pushing votes for final passage.

“We know Rove’s master plan for his America was to create a permanent Republican majority ... apparently by any means necessary. Rove has praised his ‘friend’ Harriet Miers—the same Harriet Miers who has now admitted she broke the law in stacking the U.S. Department of Justice with Rove clones. She has admitted creating a right-wing political litmus test even for those (who) worked at the lowest levels of DOJ,” Siegelman wrote in a Sept. 24 letter.

“We know that U.S. attorneys were used to prosecute seven times more Democrats than Republicans; we know that U.S. attorneys like David Iglesias were fired because they wouldn't play along with this White House’s attempt to shape the outcomes of elections; we know from sworn testimony that Karl Rove was involved in using the DOJ as a political weapon to destroy Democrats who were unbeatable at the polls.”

Siegelman accuses Rove of working with Alabama Republicans to tamper with state voting machines, which switched votes to Siegelman’s opponent in 2002—oddly without affecting any down-ticket races. Voters who chose Democrats on every other race mysteriously voted for the Republican gubernatorial candidate after Republican operatives were left alone with voting machines on the night of the election.

A new 356-page report from the Department of Justice’s inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility outline charges of alleged politicization of the justice system by the Bush administration.

The report, “An Investigation into the Removal of Nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006,” contains a painful assessment of then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and concludes that political considerations played a part in the firings of at least four of the nine prosecutors, despite the denials of the administration at the time of the controversy.

Former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias claimed he was fired for not pursuing unsubstantiated voter fraud and corruption cases against New Mexico Democrats. The White House has refused to turn over internal documents and major players in the investigation, including Rove, former White House Counsel Miers, and former Justice Department liaison Monica M. Goodling.

© Jackson Free Press, Inc.

I saw this information in an article posted on Sno...

2008-09-30T08:43:00.000-05:00

I saw this information in an article posted on Snopes.com. Also, it is noted that this is a rumor that is not confirmed, it i]list it as undetermined, and it might or might not be true, but the purpose was to undermind the Obama campaign. Obama supporters support Obama all the way. I would hate the choice of Clinton as a running mate, but if I support Obama, then I support his choices of a running mate.

I also saw on the same website this remark made by Sarah Palin,

Upon learning that Barack Obama had clinched the Democratic presidential nomination over Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin exclaimed, "So Sambo beat the bitch!"

I guess we need to get out also.

Don't rely on listening to the comments. Listen t...

2008-09-29T14:55:00.000-05:00

Don't rely on listening to the comments. Listen to the actual candidates themselves. Then you will learn who knows what. And don't forget, both Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were "only" governors before becoming elected president.
The Sur-Realist has spoken.

Maybe he would pick someone like Palin, but his so...

2008-09-26T03:25:00.000-05:00

Maybe he would pick someone like Palin, but his someone will be able to answer and axctually know what they are talking about. I heard a comment on a cable news channel last night that McCain might have to drop Palin. I guess the media is beginning to think as I do. But I hope he keeps her because it energizes people to get out and get involved. When someone does something as dumb as choosing Palin, then you know they will do anything to win, and for people lime me, or of my mentality, well that makes it a fight. I am hitting the streets making sure people are registered and will vote.

Well, you can bet your buttons McCain would not dr...

2008-09-20T13:37:00.000-05:00

Well, you can bet your buttons McCain would not drop Palin - not when he has struck the payload. But in regard to your other comment, who else would Obama choose if not Hillary?

Funny, I was having basically the same thought, bu...

2008-09-20T08:04:00.000-05:00

Funny, I was having basically the same thought, but it was about McCain and Palin.

I do not believe Obama would choose Hillary if he HAD to get another VP. Most Obama supporters did not and do not want Clinton as his VP.

The major news stories this week are about the fin...

2008-09-19T12:47:00.000-05:00

The major news stories this week are about the financial crises caused by criminal behavior of the directors of Fannie May, Lehman Brothers and many other lending entities which have led to now the tax payers, ie all of us, will be paying to these companies, bail-outs to the tune of a trillion dollars. Oh, by the way, the chairmen of these companies are also Sen Barak Obama's chief financial advisors. Please pray for all of us who cannot afford to make payments on other peoples debts caused by these criminals.