Stevens' ouster on his 85th birthday marks an abrupt realignment in Alaska politics and will alter the power structure in the Senate, where he has served since the days of the Johnson administration while holding seats on some of the most influential committees in Congress.

Stevens, speaking earlier Tuesday in Washington, said he had no idea what his life would be like in January, when the 111th Congress convenes.  "I wouldn't wish what I'm going through on anyone, my worst enemy," he lamented to reporters. "I haven't had a night's sleep for almost four months."

Last month just days before the election, Stevens was convicted by a federal jury in Washington of lying on Senate disclosure forms to conceal more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil field services company.

In a state where oil and politics have always mixed, the conviction came as part of a long-running investigation into government corruption.

Stevens' lawyer demanded a speedy trial, hoping for exoneration in time to fight the first serious threat to his seat in decades. But the trial in Washington not only left Stevens a felon, it deprived him of time to campaign in his home state.

Oral Roberts University has settled with three faculty members who sued the institution a year ago, alleging breach of contract and wrongful discharge. The terms of the settlements were not disclosed.

Two professors — Tim Brooker and his wife, Paulita Brooker — and a third professor, John W. Swails, sued the university after leaving or being fired last year amid events that ultimately led to the resignation of its president, Richard L. Roberts.  Swails, was reinstated as part of his settlement.

The professors claim they were retaliated against for their role in exposing the alleged wrongdoing by former ORU President Roberts and his family.  The lawsuit brought to light allegations that ORU money had been misspent and that Roberts promoted a “culture of fear” on campus.

In their lawsuit, they accused Roberts of using university resources to intervene in local politics and to support an extravagant lifestyle for his family, even as the university struggled financially. 

Swails said he sued because he wanted “people to be held accountable for their actions.”

The government claims that Petters and a circle of associates played loose and free with investors' money by creating the impression of a successful business that bought and sold phantom goods for over 10 years.

Deanna Coleman learned to work hard, play hard and enjoy the finer things in life.  Coleman rose to become vice president for Petters Company, Inc. In the end, records show that Petters was paying her $330,000 a year. From 2004 until federal authorities stepped in, Coleman collected about $8 million in bonuses.

But that came crashing to an end in September. Coleman, apparently overwhelmed by the size of the alleged fraud and feeling guilty for her own role in it, walked into the sixth-floor suite of the U.S. Attorney's office in the Minneapolis federal building and agreed to become an informant against her mentor and employer of 15 years.

With Coleman working secretly as an informant, authorities moved quickly to arrest Petters and several cronies who, like Coleman, already have pleaded guilty in the case.

See The Woman Who Brought Down Tom Petters for more on the crumbling of this corrupt enterprise.


What I found most interesting about this ongoing story is how the scheme finally collapsed.  The truth always comes out.  The corrupt only hold hands and stick together until the going gets tough.  The current trial of Orange County sheriff Mike Carona (below) is another example of a one-time ally turning into an informant.  As the lies and cover-ups begin to unravel people always jump off the sinking ship.  The first to come clean gets the lightest sentence.

Last fall, the three-term sheriff was indicted by a federal grand jury.  If found guilty, he faces several years in prison.

The indictment accuses Carona of using his public office to enrich himself, his wife and his former mistress and co-defendant Debra Hoffman – a Newport Beach lawyer who told authorities she had an affair with Carona since 1998.

Most of the allegations revolve around Carona's relationship with Don Haidl, a wealthy businessman Carona appointed to the position of assistant sheriff. Haidl – whom prosecutors say gave Carona more than $35,000 in cash and bribes – has already pleaded guilty in the case and has aided prosecutors in their probe against Carona. The trial's key evidence was provided by Haidl: three secretly-taped recordings of Carona talking with Haidl about aligning stories regarding gifts and cash if interviewed by investigators.

Click on the Orange County Register for daily updates on this trial. 

This indictment and potential guilty verdict could be another victory against public corruption.  Yes, even "America's Sheriff" can be brought to his knees.

PRISON TIME?

Stevens, 84, was found guilty of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor.  He faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced. 

His conviction is the highlight of a lengthy FBI investigation into Alaska corruption, but prosecutors noted that it is not the end. Stevens' longtime Republican colleague, Rep. Don Young, remains under investigation for his ties to VECO. Stevens' son, Ben, a former Alaska lawmaker, is also under investigation.

In Alaska, the Democratic Party issued a statement calling for Stevens to resign immediately. "He knew what he was doing was wrong," the party said. "But he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it."


Credit the FBI for investigating the politically connected.  

Credit the jury for seeing who the liars are.

The murder trial of Samisoni Taukitoku begins on November 3, 2008 in the 2nd Judicial District Court.

19 year-old Taukitoku has been charged with triple homicide in connection with the three shooting deaths at a 2007 weekend Halloween party.

19 year-old Saili Manu was arrested on suspicion of robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a firearm at the same party.  He has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in December.  Manu's brother was a member of the Nevada football team from 2005-2007.

Several Nevada student-athletes were in attendance at the Reno party; including then Nevada basketball player Tyrone Hanson.  Hanson was severely beaten and robbed.  Hanson was dismissed from the team after this incident.

For more details see this article from ESPN.

Judge Pro went on to say that "their persistence in advocating a position so clearly at odds with the objective facts..., warrants this Court's finding that Defendant Wilds reliance on her affidavit and those of her colleagues is completely inappropriate and sanctionable.  The Court therefore will strike the affidavits and will impose sanctions on defendant and her Counsel (Hilsabeck)."  Hilsabeck and Wilds were ordered to pay a monetary fine directly to Plaintiff Hussein.

Hilsabeck is the UNR attorney leading the defense in my lawsuit.  Mary Dugan is General Counsel at UNR and Hilsabeck's boss.  The submission of false affidavits and manufactured evidence has occurred in my case.

Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, 
regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy. 

Meritocracy is an organization wherein appointments are made and responsibilities are given based on demonstrated talent and ability (merit).

With cronyism, the appointer is inadequate to hold his or her own job or position of authority, and  
for this reason the appointer appoints individuals who will not try to weaken him or her, or express
views contrary to those of the appointer.

Weak leaders hire their friends.  Strong leaders hire successful people who will challenge them every day.  

What a sad experience for the student-athletes who are victims of poor, weak-minded leadership.  It is not hard to see why there was a mass exodus of employees in the athletic department this past spring.

This email I received says it all:

The sad thing is, the "good ol' boy network" 'round here would rather throw success and talent,
and brains and passion out the window if it'll protect one of their own.

In 2004, Sgt. Kevin Youngflesh was arrested in his UNR police car for drunk driving. 

About 1:40 a.m., a UNR officer and NHP trooper were in their cruisers parked near the campus on Virginia Street. When they saw a car traveling about 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, the UNR officer took the lead in a traffic stop, said Trooper Chuck Allen, NHP spokesman.

The vehicle did not immediately stop for the two police vehicles using sirens and emergency lights, Allen said.  The driver pulled into the campus police department lot and got out.

Allen said the UNR officer recognized the driver as one of her supervisors. The trooper took over the investigation.  He said both officers detected a strong odor of alcohol.

Youngflesh was drinking and driving in his squad car.  A man sworn to uphold the law and protect its citizens was arrested for doing twice the speed limit, blowing twice the legal limit, and failing to yield to emergency sirens all within his UNR police car. For his conduct, he was put on paid administrative leave.  Youngflesh endangered the lives of himself and others, violated protocol, and disgraced upstanding law enforcement officers everywhere. He was not fired.  He was later promoted to Lieutenant!

In 2007, however, Youngflesh finally lost his job after he threatened the life of another officer.

Drinking and driving in a patrol car does not get you fired at UNR.  Pornography in the workplace does not get you fired at UNR.  Whistleblowing, however, does.  UNR would rather cover-up than clean-up.  See Blog #1 for more on UNR (mis)management.

As you can probably see I was away for a few weeks and had minimal access to a computer.  Not much new on my blogs.  I will keep you informed as situations allow.  Rest assured there is a lot of information that should be coming to light in the next few months.  I wish you knew all I knew.

A  couple of simple facts for today:

• The Nevada Athletic Department is still under investigation by the NCAA
• My trial date is May 4, 2009 (only 8 months away)

I checked the statistics log on my blog and I was shocked to see that I have had over 10,000 hits in only 4 months of existence.  I will do my best to keep all three blogs interesting.

At least three current University of Nevada, Reno attorneys were former employees of the Nevada Attorney General's Office.  Will the AG's Office prosecute their former colleagues and/or administrators that their former colleagues are charged with overseeing? 

As a citizen of this state I know for a fact that there are many crimes in the complaint submitted to the AG. The conflict of interest exists.  It will be very interesting to see how the Attorney General will handle it...

On that note, I have included links and important quotations from articles on the criminal prosecution of Detroit's Mayor for perjury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and misconduct of office.  It is interesting to note that the Mayor was jailed for violating conditions of his bond. I hope the AG’s office has the courage to follow the lead of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Huffington Post

In announcing the charges, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy delivered a 14-minute lecture on the oath that all the witnesses take, and how the criminal justice system relies on people to tell the truth. "Even children understand that lying is wrong," she said.

"If a witness lies, innocent people can go to jail or prison, people can literally get away with murder, civil litigants who deserve money may not get it or may get money they don't deserve," she said. "And lying cannot be tolerated even if a judge or jury sees through it."

Detroit Free Press

Lying under oath is one of the worst sins a lawyer can commit -- akin to stealing a client's money, legal experts said.

Attorney General's Office Looks into Allegations  (the link to this article is no longer available)


Plaintiffs in several lawsuits against the University of Nevada, Reno who met with the Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on April 17 said all the allegations were brought to university officials' attention in 2006 and last year. They said those officials either took no action or attempted to cover up the alleged improprieties.

They left her with a 94-page summary of allegations and thousands of pages of exhibits.

The allegations include charges of fraud involving university grants and farm property, embezzlement, forgery, obstruction of justice and perjury.

It was a chicken shit move when it happened. A coach…full of piss and vinegar…took over a team that made the Chico’s Bail Bonds guys look like the 1927 Yankees. She was an ass-kickin’, fire-breathin’, straight-talkin’ adrenaline buzz in Silver and Blue. She was a big-time coach with a prime time resume. She remade a team of losers into winners…into champions.

Then, three days before the season opener, the coach got “Shottenheimered” and just like that, the best team on campus went from the top of the hill to the bottom of the barrel.

The excuse was even more pathetic…right out of the A.D.’s lie hole: ”We did this for the good of the team.” Yeah right. Firing a future hall-of-fame coach three days before the start of the season is the Worst. Move. Ever. But we finally came to know the real reason…the coach was a whistleblower.

When a coach shows that kind of honesty, integrity and loyalty you’d think the university would be grateful. After all, honesty and integrity and loyalty are three traits that rarely surface in major college sports. It wasn’t to be. Instead of naming a building after her, she got the bum’s rush. A lawsuit followed but it wasn’t for the money. No. Coach wanted her rep back. Coach wanted her job back. Coach wanted her team back. That’s all.

Yesterday, Nevada hired coach’s replacement. He seems like a nice guy…but we all know what happens to those types. He coached a tiny program in a no-name conference…he played at a school even smaller…his record is as mediocre as cold McDonalds fries…and he’s the choice. WTF?!

As for coach…we’ve seen her documents. She’ll win her case but she won’t get her job back and she won’t get her team back. Her rep will recover and she’ll get another gig. Winners always do.

Nevada athletics will never be the same though. The athletic department sold their collective souls to cover up their own crapulence. The A.D.’s ineptitude will stench the halls on campus as long as she’s making the calls and Wolf Pack athletes and coaches now know that being a winner, being a leader, having morals and standards take a back seat to the shitty side of college sports. 

                                                       Pickling The Beast

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive.  "I will come next Tuesday," I promised reluctantly. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly drove there. "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog."  She said, "We're going to see them. It's just a few blocks."

"You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church.  On the far side of the church I saw a sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car and I followed Carolyn down the path.  As we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes.  The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked. "Just one woman," she answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." We walked up to the house. On the patio we saw a poster. Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking was the headline. The first answer was a simple one, "50,000 bulbs." The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman; two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who fifty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop.  Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

Her daffodil garden taught one of the greatest principles. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at a time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world...

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.