One of the things about Juries is that they are ‘finders of fact’.  After a Jury has determined the ‘facts’ of a case you can pound the table all you want, but it better be about the law, otherwise you’re just pounding the table.

So upon his conviction we can say that it’s factually true that former Juvenile Court Judge Mark Ciavarella took $997,600 from prison developer Robert Mericle, which he also failed to report on his financial disclosure forms or pay taxes on.

Now Ciavarella’s attorneys claim this is a mighty ‘victory’ for their client since he was not found guilty of actually ‘Extorting’ the money and intend to appeal and, like the abusers of Bonasera’s daughter, he walked out of the courtroom free pending.

What prosecutors chose not to make an issue of is exactly what ‘services’ Mark Ciavarella provided for nearly $1 million.

He sentenced hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent children to prison ruining their lives and those of their families.

Now on the bribery, failure to disclose, and tax evasion counts, Ciavarella is technically liable for up to 157 years of hard time and he’s already been ordered to forfeit the money, but even if he loses his appeal he’s unlikely to serve more than 12 or 15 years.

I personally think that’s too good for someone who’s systemically perverted our justice system and the rule of law from a position of public trust, privilege, and power.  He should rot in Spandau for the rest of his long, long miserable life and die alone, despised and forgotten.

Oh, you want to know about the all mobbed up thing.

Pa. judge guilty of racketeering in kickback case

Associated Press

6 hours ago

Officials disclosed for the first time Friday that they were led to the judges by the reputed boss of a northeastern Pennsylvania Mafia family. William D’Elia – who regularly met for breakfast with Conahan – became a government informant after his 2006 arrest on charges of witness tampering and conspiracy to launder drug money.

“D’Elia led us to Judge Conahan,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod. “From there we began to focus on them, the financial dealings between Judge Conahan, Judge Ciavarella, Mericle, Powell.”

I said that I would see you because I had heard that you were a serious man, to be treated with respect. But I must say no to you and let me give you my reasons. It’s true I have a lot of friends in politics, but they wouldn’t be so friendly if they knew my business was drugs instead of gambling which they consider a harmless vice. But drugs, that’s a dirty business.

Regular Features-

• Late Night Karaoke by mishima
• Muse in the Morning by Robyn
• Six In The Morning by mishima

Featured Essays for February 17, 2011-

• Booman: Reagan will beat Glen Beck on relative merits. by Compound F
• A Policy of Evasion and Deception by ek hornbeck
• An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III: Part Five, The Death of Congressional Sanity by cabaretic
• Wild Wild Left Radio #99 John Kozy Interview by Diane G
• So, You Want to Make Millions? Here’s How… by JekyllnHyde
• Injustice at Every Turn — Part V: Housing by Robyn
• Dynamic Positive Thinking! by ek hornbeck
• Original v. Cover — #66 in a Series by curmudgeon

DocuDharma

Pretty solid premiers, none worth remarking on.

All my brothers and brothers-in-laws tell me what a good-hearted guy I am. You don’t get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.

• AMC– True Grit
• Bravo– Jerry Maguire x 2
• Disney– Wizards of Waverly Place (one hour special), Fish Hooks (both premiers), Phineas and Ferb
• Discovery– Gold Rush (last week’s and Season Finale), Flying Wild
• E!– The Soup
• ESPN– College Hoopies, Connecticut @ Louisville
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Virginia Commonwealth @ Wichita State
• FX– Big Momma’s House, Big Momma’s House 2
• Oxygen– The Pacifier
• Sci Fi– Merlin (premier)
• Style– When Harry Met Sally
• TBS– 50 First Dates
• Turner Classic– The Hospital, Marty (Paddy Chayefsky night)
• TLC– Say Yes to the Dress marathon (with premier)
• Toon– Generator Rex, Clone Wars (premiers)

Ma, sooner or later, there comes a point in a man’s life when he’s gotta face some facts. And one fact I gotta face is that, whatever it is that women like, I ain’t got it.

Later-

Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn’t come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people, and that’s why woe is us that Edward George Ruddy died. Because this company is now in the hands of CCA, the Communications Corporation of America; there’s a new chairman of the board, a man called Frank Hackett, sitting in Mr. Ruddy’s office on the twentieth floor. And when the 12th largest company in the world controls the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this network?

• AMC– The Quick and the Dead, Dracula 2000
• Oxygen– Eight Below
• Sci Fi– Being Human (this week’s), Merlin (Instapeat)
• Spike– Die Another Day (Brosnan)
• TBS– The Truman Show, My Best Friend’s Wedding
• Turner Classic– Network (more Paddy)

Dave hosts David Spade, Andy Kindler, and Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real.

It’s too late, Diana. There’s nothing left in you that I can live with. You’re one of Howard’s humanoids. If I stay with you, I’ll be destroyed. Like Howard Beale was destroyed. Like Laureen Hobbs was destroyed. Like everything you and the institution of television touch is destroyed. You’re television incarnate, Diana: Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. And the daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split seconds and instant replays. You’re madness, Diana. Virulent madness. And everything you touch dies with you. But not me. Not as long as I can feel pleasure, and pain… and love. And it’s a happy ending: Wayward husband comes to his senses, returns to his wife, with whom he has established a long and sustaining love. Heartless young woman left alone in her arctic desolation. Music up with a swell; final commercial. And here are a few scenes from next week’s show.

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Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 55 Top Stories.

1 Bahrain protesters shot as heir promises talks

by Taieb Mahjoub, AFP

51 mins ago

Regular Features-

• Late Night Karaoke by mishima
• Muse in the Morning by Robyn
• Six In The Morning by mishima

Featured Essays for February 17, 2011-

• Is there one Democratic party? Or more? by plf515
• Delivering (cough) Freedom & Democracy by Edger
• Good News? by ek hornbeck
• Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail? by Jacob Freeze
• Got A Business Idea But No Money? by Edger
• Reporting the Revolution: February 17 Up Date 1930 hrs EST by TheMomCat
• I Read The News Today, Oh Boy… by Edger

DocuDharma

Lots of premiers including the new La Femme Nikita.

I don’t understand you people! I mean all these picky little points you keep bringing up. They don’t mean nothing. You saw this kid just like I did. You’re not gonna tell me you believe that phony story about losing the knife, and that business about being at the movies. Look, you know how these people lie! It’s born in them! I mean what the heck? I don’t have to tell you. They don’t know what the truth is! And lemme tell you, they don’t need any real big reason to kill someone, either! No sir! They get drunk… oh, they’re real big drinkers, all of ’em – you know that – and bang: someone’s lyin’ in the gutter. Oh, nobody’s blaming them for it. That’s the way they are! By nature! You know what I mean? VIOLENT! Where’re you going? Human life don’t mean as much to them as it does to us! Look, they’re lushing it up and fighting all the time and if somebody gets killed, so somebody gets killed! They don’t care! Oh, sure, there are some good things about ’em, too. Look, I’m the first one to say that. I’ve known a couple who were OK, but that’s the exception, y’know what I mean? Most of ’em, it’s like they have no feelings! They can do anything! What’s goin’ on here? I’m trying to tell you… you’re makin’ a big mistake, you people! This kid is a liar! I know it. I know all about them! Listen to me! They’re no good! There’s not a one of ’em who is any good! I mean, what’s happening in here? I’m speaking my piece, and you… Listen to me. We’re… This kid on trial here… his type, well, don’t you know about them? There’s a, there’s a danger here. These people are dangerous. They’re wild. Listen to me. Listen.

I have. Now sit down and don’t open your mouth again.

• ABC Family– The Parent Trap (not the good 1961 version)
• AMC– The Shawshank Redemption x 2 (and again and again)
• Comedy– Futurama x 3
• Disney– Hannah Montana: The Movie (Billy Ray says the show destroyed his family.  Also, it sucks.), Phineas and Ferb x 2
• Discovery– Man v. Wild (premier), Out of the Wild: Venezuela (Season Premier)
• ESPN– College Hoopies, Minnesota @ Penn State, Alabama @ LSU
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Clemson @ North Carolina State, DePaul @ Providence
• FX– Archer x 2 (with premier)
• History– Top Shot, Ax Men (this week’s)
• Lifetime– Coyote Ugly
• Sci Fi– Saw II, Saw III
• TBS– Fun with Dick & Jane (not the good 1977 version)
• Turner Classic– 12 Angry Men, Chariots of Fire
• TNT– Spurs @ Bulls, Mavs @ Suns
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon
• USA– Royal Pains, Fairly Legal x 2 (premiers + Instapeats)
• VH1– SNL marathon

Later-

• FX– Fantastic Four
• Sci Fi– Saw IV, Kill Theory
• Turner Classic– Room at the Top
• Toon– Eagleheart

Dave hosts Paris Hilton, Nathan Fillion, and Scissor Sisters.  Jon has Ed Gillespie (ugh), Stephen Eric Foner.  Conan hosts Martin Short, Chris Bosh, and Nicole Atkins.

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Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 55 Top Stories.

1 Earth dodges geomagnetic storm: scientist

by Jim Mannion, AFP

1 hr 39 mins ago

(h/t emptywheel)

Defector admits to WMD lies that triggered Iraq war

• Man codenamed Curveball ‘invented’ tales of bioweapons
• Iraqi told lies to try to bring down Saddam Hussein regime
• Fabrications used by US as justification for invasion

Martin Chulov and Helen Pidd in Karlsruhe, The Guardian

Tuesday 15 February 2011 12.58 GMT

The defector who convinced the White House that Iraq had a secret biological weapons programme has admitted for the first time that he lied about his story, then watched in shock as it was used to justify the war.

…

The admission comes just after the eighth anniversary of Colin Powell’s speech to the United Nations in which the then-US secretary of state relied heavily on lies that Janabi had told the German secret service, the BND. It also follows the release of former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s memoirs, in which he admitted Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction programme.

…

Janabi claimed he was first exposed as a liar as early as mid-2000, when the BND travelled to a Gulf city, believed to be Dubai, to speak with his former boss at the Military Industries Commission in Iraq, Dr Bassil Latif.

The Guardian has learned separately that British intelligence officials were at that meeting, investigating a claim made by Janabi that Latif’s son, who was studying in Britain, was procuring weapons for Saddam.

That claim was proven false, and Latif strongly denied Janabi’s claim of mobile bioweapons trucks and another allegation that 12 people had died during an accident at a secret bioweapons facility in south-east Baghdad.

The German officials returned to confront him with Latif’s version. “He says, ‘There are no trucks,’ and I say, ‘OK, when [Latif says] there no trucks then [there are none],'” Janabi recalled.

February 5, 2003-

Parts 2 through 5 and transcript below.

Regular Features-

• Late Night Karaoke by mishima
• Muse in the Morning by Robyn

Featured Essays for February 16, 2011-

• Health and Fitness News by TheMomCat
• The US Constitution Has Been Suspended by the GOP by TheMomCat
• Timmy "Too Bigs" Geithner: "We’re going, like, existential." by Compound F
• An Interview with Adlai Stevenson III, Part Four: Diplomacy and Foreign Policy by cabaretic
• Hello Cruel World!!! by davidseth
• Book Review: Selfa’s "The Democrats" by cassiodorus
• What are you reading? by plf515

DocuDharma

Almost solid premiers.  PBS has a Nova marathon including two of them.

Those are movies, damn you! Look at me! I’m flesh and blood, life-size, no larger! I’m not that silly God-damned hero! I never was!

• ABC Family– The Game Plan
• AMC– The Shawshank Redemption x 2 (I’m already quite tired of it)
• Bravo– Top Chef marathon (with premier)
• Disney– Phineas and Ferb x 2
• Discovery– Desert Car Kings (premier)
• E!– My Kid Is Gonna Be Famous (Series Premier)
• ESPN– College Hoopies, Louisville @ Cincinnati; Hoopies, Nuggets @ Bucks
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Duke @ Virginia, Oklahoma State @ Texas
• Food– Worst (final four), Restaurant: Impossible (premier)
• FX– Iron Man
• National Geographic– Nazi premiers
• Oxygen– Definitely, Maybe, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
• Sci Fi– Face Off x 2 (premier + Instapeat)
• Turner Classic– My Favorite Year, Lawrence of Arabia (Peter O’Toole night)
• TLC– Toddlers and Tiaras (premier)
• TNT– Bones marathon
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon (thank goodness, with premier)
• TV Land– Hot in Cleveland, Retired at 35 x 2 (premiers + Instapeats)
• USA– NCIS marathon
• Vs.– Wild @ Blackhawks

Alfredo, you needn’t wait. We shan’t need the car any more. We’re going to throw up in the park and then walk home.

Later-

Alfredo, telephone the Stork Club, we’ll be two for dinner.

You sure you want the Stork Club, Mr. Swann?

It’s been a year and a half. Surely they’ve repaired the wall of the bandstand by now.

• ESPN2– College Hoopies, St. Mary’s @ San Diego
• USA– Fairly Legal, Royal Pains (this week’s)

Dave hosts Bill Hader, Krystal Smith, and Amos Lee.  Jon has Brian Williams (ugh), Stephen Kurt Andersen.  Conan hosts Martin Lawrence, Fred Armisen, and Reggie Watts.

Women love to be intrigued. They enjoy unraveling the mystery that is man, but you must allow them the freedom to discover you.

Is that what you do?

No. I don’t have that luxury. The women who are interested in me know exactly who I am and what they want, and nine times out of ten, they get it.

That’s some curse.

You’d be surprised. You see, no matter what I do, I can never fulfill their expectations.

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