The Year of Living Dangerously

Instapundit posted a link to the FBI crime stats for 2010 that was embedded in an article listing a ranking of the 10 Most Dangerous Cities. I was surprised to see that Atlanta was not on that list. I think the way Atlanta avoided it was due to the nature of the way the city limit lines are drawn. When it comes to number of murders, Atlanta is still high on the list, but these numbers would be even worse if they took into account the numbers from the south side of the county that Atlanta is located in but are separate cities.

Here is a list based solely on number of murders, and the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, apparently is killing a lot of people with all that love while Barry O's hometown has a death toll rivaling the number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan in 2010. (499)

New York City, NY pop 8,336,002 Murders 536
Chicago, IL pop 2,833,649 Murders 432
Detroit, MI pop 899,447 Murders 310
Philadelphia, PA pop 1,558,378 Murders 306
Los Angeles, CA pop 3,841,707 Murders 293
Houston, TX pop 2,280,859 Murders 269
Baltimore, MD pop 639,929 Murders 223
Dallas, TX pop 1,306,775 Murders 148
St Louis, MO pop 355,151 Murders 144
Washington D.C. pop 601,723 Murders 132
Phoenix AZ pop 1,544,427 Murders 117
Las Vegas, NV pop 1,416,401 Murders 107
Kansas City, MO pop 483,191 Murders 99
Oakland, CA pop 409,723 Murders 90

Just for an FYI, I thought I would throw in the statistics for Michael Moore's alleged hometown of Flint, MI.
Flint, MI pop 109,245 Murders 53

Boston's 'Holistic' Approach to Crime Not Working Out Too Well

Liberal dimwits are baffled there's an increase in break-ins in the liberal mecca of Boston. Well, when you take police off the street, disarm the public and blame all your problems on the rich getting tax cuts, what do you expect. Do they really think making nice-nice with criminals and taking a "holistic" approach toward crime is really going to solve anything? Seriously, can these people possibly be any dumber?

House break-ins skyrocketed 24 percent in Boston last year, shattering the security of renters and homeowners who say they learned the hard way the importance of deadbolting doors, keeping lights on and eyes open.

“Keep your windows locked. Don’t make yourself vulnerable,” said Alison Smith, 23, a college student whose Mission Hill apartment was hit by two thugs climbing in through an open window while her roommate slept. “We didn’t really understand what could possibly happen. ”

New statistics show police need cooperation from residents more than ever. Home burglaries are soaring, and most of them go unsolved.

• In 2010, only 11 percent of the 2,846 reported home break-ins were solved. The previous year, only 14 percent of the 2,282 reported breaks were solved. Nationally, the clearance rate for burglaries is about 12 percent, according to the FBI.

• House break-ins jumped 24 percent from 2009 to 2010, and as much as 60 percent in some places, such as Roxbury. They were up in all but three of the city’s 12 police districts.

BPD Superintendent-in-Chief Daniel Linskey blames the bad economy for the increase, but urged residents to take simple steps to protect themselves.

Thieves get in through unlocked doors and windows about 50 percent of the time, he said. Keeping lights on when you’re gone and calling 911 when you see suspicious people can make a huge difference, he said. Police also recommend installing a security alarm or, if money’s tight, getting a dog.

I guess arming yourself isn't a consideration. Pumping some thief full of hot lead would do more to reduce crime than getting a dog, trust me.

Meanwhile, stupidity plays a major role. You take a bunch of teenagers leaning toward the liberal persuasion and drop them in an urban environment where they spend half their waking hours getting drunk. The criminals laugh with delight at the easy pickings.

It’s all part of BPD’s “holistic” approach to solving house break-ins, Linskey said. Home burglaries had been steadily decreasing before last year’s spike. So far, in the first 10 weeks of this year, house breaks are down 18 percent.

In a big city, where house break-ins get little attention, Linskey hopes residents know that police take the crime seriously.

“It shakes your trust in your neighborhood,” he said.

Victims say it takes a long time to get over the trauma.

This seems to be working as well as the "holistic" approach to home foreclosures. Come to think of it, if more houses are foreclosed on, there'll be less incentive for thieves to break in.

Lunch Lady Busted for Dishing Out Free Chicken Pot Pie (Minus the Chicken and the Pie)

She did this out of a trailer home too, if you can believe such a thing.



Via the Wall Street Journal. More at the Denver Post. Cross-posted.

Dozens Arrested After Tea Party Riot

Oh wait, this raucous outbreak of anger and violence didn't happen at a Tea Party? It wasn't a bunch of "angry, wild-eyed" white people fomenting violence? It was Democrat constituents in the bluest of blue cities in the nation?

Well, never mind then.

Scores of gangbangers marauded through Times Square and nearby streets last night, storming businesses and harrassing pedestrians as three people were shot in possibly related violence.

Hundreds of cops struggled to disperse the youths. Police made 54 arrests on a variety of charges, including disorderly conduct.

One man was shot in the ankle on West 41st Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.

Early this morning two people were shot at 34th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. Their conditions were not immediately known. Twenty young men were seen fleeing the scene.

And a woman was hit by a bb pellet at West 51st Street and Seventh Avenue. Her wound was not life-threatening, authorities said.

Police were trying to determine whether the three incidents were related to the disturbances.

A cop trying to break up a rowdy group of youths outside the police substation at West 42nd Street was taken away on a stretcher after he sustained a knee injury.

"This kind of nonsense [on Easter night] has been going on for the five years I've been here," said a security guard at a business on West 42nd Street, who asked not to be identified.

"The police try to maintain the crowd, but while one side of the street is maintained, on the other side of the street, a fight breaks out."

Funny, but I see zero mention of this story in the New York Times, whose offices are right in that neighborhood. Guess they're busy "reporting" on some non-stories and fabricated racial hoaxes perpetrated by Democrats.

Thanks to Ace for the link.

Update: I see the Times finally noted this story with an item posted at 4:27 this afternoon.

Jerry Brown: ACORN Engaged in 'Highly Inappropriate Behavior'

According to Attorney General Moonbeam, "highly inappropriate behavior" doesn't amount to criminal behavior. I guess the leftwing thugs who support the criminal enterprise formerly known as ACORN will consider this a victory or something.

Some members of the community organizing group ACORN engaged in "highly inappropriate behavior," but did not break any criminal laws, according to a report released Thursday by Attorney General Jerry Brown that includes newly obtained videotapes.

The report also uncovered "likely violations" of state civil laws designed to protect personal information, including dumping 500 pages of confidential records into a Dumpster, failure to file a 2007 tax return, and four instances of possible voter registration fraud by ACORN in San Diego in connection with the 2008 election, as well as other irregularities in the group's California operations.

So there are "likely violations" os state civil laws but nobody will be prosecuted?

Those irregularities have been referred to the appropriate authorities, Brown said.

"A few ACORN members exhibited terrible judgment and highly inappropriate behavior in videotapes obtained in the investigation, but they didn't commit prosecutable crimes in California," said Brown, the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee.

I guess Brown doesn't want to alienate his future campaign workers.

Obama and Clinton Bagman Gets 20 Years

Maybe they can put him in a cell with fatcat Democrat donor Bernie Madoff or Hillary's other pal Norman Hsu.

Disgraced Democratic donor Hassan Nemazee has just six more weeks of freedom after pleading guilty this afternoon to a $292 million bank-fraud scheme that prosecutors say could send him to prison for nearly 20 years.

The Harvard-educated con man begged to remain free on bond until his June 30 sentencing so he can spend time with his wife and family before being tossed in slammer.

"I have never intended to flee. I've had ample opportunity," Nemazee, 60, said in Manhattan federal court.

Defense lawyer Paul Schectman also argued that "there really is nothing to run with," adding that Nemazee hadn't paid him a nickel beyond his original retainer and was living "very modestly" -- albeit in a plush Park Avenue apartment -- on handouts from friends and relatives.

But Judge Sidney Stein ordered the fallen fund-raiser -- who was national finance chairman for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign -- to surrender on April 30, citing his history of international travel and the possibility he may have stashed "tens of millions" in missing loot overseas.

"He certainly has had an extremely successful fraud up to now," the judge said.

Nemazee also donated money in 2009 to Charles Schumer, Harry Reid, Al Franken, Joe Biden and Kirsten Gillibrand, among others. According to records none of them have returned the money. Schumer, you may recall, also received massive amounts from Madoff.

Nemazee also raised money for Barack Obama.

Nemazee was listed as one of the top "bundlers" of contributions to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website run by the Center for Responsive Politics.

He typically donated more than $100,000 annually to Democratic Party political candidates, including Obama and now-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Back in 2008 he hosted a lavish fundraiser for Obama and was also nominated by Bill Clinton as ambassador to Argentina.

Surely this will be as big as the Jack Abramoff scandal, right? Nah, probably not.

'The ACORN Brand is Probably Ruined for Life'

The New McCarthyites

Heartbreaking, isn't it?

A former leader of Maryland's ACORN chapter said Monday the group will no longer operate in the state, doomed by an embarrassing national scandal six months ago from which the organization never recovered.

Sonja Merchant-Jones, former co-chairwoman of the state chapter of ACORN and a board member since 1999, said there are no plans in Maryland to rebrand under a different name, a move undertaken Monday by several ACORN affiliates across the country.

Maryland ACORN ceased operations late last year, Merchant-Jones said, and all the offices in the state have closed. The group has not held a board meeting in Maryland since November, she added.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now came under scrutiny in September, when videos recorded in Baltimore showed workers counseling two conservative activists pretending to be a pimp and prostitute. Two staff members of the Baltimore office were fired because of the video, which was broadcast on major networks throughout the country and showed the employees giving tax-evading tips to the man and a scantily dressed female partner.

The incident effectively shut down local and state offices, Merchant-Jones said, and the branches were forced to cease operations after dues-paying members fled.

Congress reacted to the video by stripping ACORN's federal funding. Last week a federal judge upheld a ruling that a law blacklisting ACORN and groups allied with it was unconstitutional, but observers doubt ACORN will recoup any money.

With its federal dollars gone, ACORN's national budget went from $24 million last year to $6 million this year.

"The ACORN brand is probably ruined for life, and the only way they can operate is under a different name," Merchant-Jones said.

It's like rearranging the decks chairs on the Titanic.

Of course, despite this criminal enterprise "rebranding" itself, it's all part of the New McCarthism, according to some far-left kook. Do these people have any clue how silly they sound?

I think it's time we coined the term Breitbart Derangement Syndrome.

'I Want Him To Get Caught Because I Want To Smack Him'

Let's hear it for Flo Critelli, a 91-year-old who took on some thug and is looking to beat him down.

A feisty 91-year-old Long Island pharmacy cashier fought with a robber who knocked her down -- then insisted on finishing her work shift.

"I want him to get caught because I want to smack him," said Florence Critelli after completing her day's work at the Rite Aid Pharmacy in East Northport.

Critelli was behind the register just before 11 a.m. when a man gave her a dollar for a candy bar.

When she opened the register to get his change, the thief reached over and helped himself to a handful of cash.

Critelli leaped into action.

"I grabbed his hand to stop him from taking the money and I just screamed," she said.

The brutal bandit then punched her in the chest, knocking her to the floor, and then ran out of the store with an unknown amount of cash.

"He hit me good," Critelli said. "But it didn't hurt."

Geez, this guy sounds like a real pussy. Probably some strung-out leftwing slacker.

Cops describe her assailant as white, clean-shaven, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with a thin build. He sports tattoos of rings on his fingers.

"He looked pretty dirty, Critelli said.

Shouldn't be hard to find. Let's hope Flo gets to slap him around.

Stunner: Obama's 'Justice' Department Shut Down ACORN Investigation

Actually, it's not a stunner since Obama used to do some work for them.

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) detailing federal investigations into the alleged corrupt activities of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The documents reference serious allegations of corruption and voter registration fraud by ACORN as well as the Obama administration's decision to shut down a criminal investigation without filing criminal charges.

The documents include background information on two specific complaints filed in October 2008 by Lucy Corelli and Joseph Borges, Republican Registrars of Voters in Stamford and Bridgeport, Connecticut, respectively, during the 2008 election season.

According to Corelli, on August 1, 2008, her office received 1,200 ACORN voter registration cards from the Secretary of State's office. Over 300 of these cards were rejected because of "duplicates, underage, illegible and invalid addresses," which "put a tremendous strain on our office staff and caused endless work hours at taxpayers' expense." Corelli claimed the total cost of the extra work caused by ACORN corruption was $20,000. Likewise, Borges contended that: "The organization ACORN during the summer of 2008 conducted a registration drive which has produced over 100 rejections due to incomplete forms and individuals who are not citizens..." Among the examples cited by Borges was a seven-year old child who was registered to vote by ACORN through the use of a forged signature and a fake birth certificate claiming she was 27-years old.

The FBI and Department of Justice opened an investigation. However, the Obama Justice Department, while noting that ACORN had engaged in "questionable hiring and training practices," closed down the investigation in March 2009, claiming ACORN broke no laws.

ACORN's apologists at Media Matters were unavailable for coment.

Lingerie Model Turned Drug Smuggler

Imagine my shock to discover some models might have a thing for cocaine.

A lingerie model is believed to be the mastermind behind an all-women drug gang that smuggles cocaine into Britain.

An international arrest warrant has been issued for Angie Sanselmente Valencia, 30, who is said to only hire glamour models to transport the drugs from South America to Europe.

It's believed that Colombian-born Valencia had been seeing a Mexican drug lord known as 'The Monster' but split with him at the end of last year to form her own cocaine-smuggling gang.

She is said to describe the women working for her as 'unsuspicious, beautiful angels'. The women are told to be 'nice, but not flashy'.

Valencia, who was crowned Colombia's 'Queen Of Coffee' in 2000, left modelling and moved to Argentina late last year to establish her network.

Her 'angels' were paid £3,200 for each trip they made and one of her gang is believed to have boarded a flight every 24 hours with the packages of cocaine.
From Argentina they would fly up to the Mexican Caribbean resort of Cancun and from there they would smuggle them into Europe.

However her network began to unravel several weeks ago when one of her 'drug mules' was caught at Argentina's Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires carrying 55kg of cocaine.

Fifty-five kilos? That's more weight than most models themselves. Either that's an incorrect figure or she had two large suitcases packed with cocaine.

It also seems her mules aren't the brightest bulbs.

The 21-year-old woman began to talk and within 12 hours police investigators had arrested a further three people.

The drug mule had made no attempt to hide the cocaine in her suitcase because she'd been told no one would stop her at the airport, according to Argentine newspaper La Nacion.

Police are now investigating the gang's links to people working at the airport.
Following the arrests Valencia promptly disappeared from a four-star hotel in Buenos Aires but is still believed to be in the South American country.

'Fortunately, Our Efforts to Identify Them are Keeping Pace With Their Effort to Mutilate Themselves'

Another stupid criminal is now a candidate for the Darwin Award.

A 36-year-old Boston man wanted on 13 warrants - one accusing him of drug trafficking - allegedly tried to keep police from finding him by mutilating his fingers to conceal his prints.

Francis Viliar told State Police over the weekend that he paid someone $400 to cut his fingers vertically, from the fingertip to the knuckle joint, so his prints would be unreadable, said David Procopio, a police spokesman.

Viliar was arrested Friday night after State Police pulled him over for speeding in Brockton. Procopio said he gave troopers a driver’s license that had the name Luis Gomez but was signed by what appeared to be a different name.

When police asked Viliar for his date of birth, he gave them a different year from the one on his license. After failing five more times to provide the date of birth on the card, he was arrested on charges of giving police a false name and using fraudulent documents. A weapons charge was added after the troopers found a large folding knife hidden in the car, police said.

At the Brockton police station, officers saw that the pads of his fingers were covered in scar tissue, Procopio said. They took fingerprints anyway and sent them to the FBI. Federal officials were able to put together some of the ridges taken from the prints and figure out Viliar’s identity, Procopio said.

They gave the guy five cracks at getting the birth date correct? One would think once was enough to warrant arrest. The again, this is Massachusetts. For all we know the guy is an illegal, but the Globe would never even inquire.

Despite the fact he has 13 outstanding warrants, he somehow managed low bail at only $25,000.

On the upside, this mutant and others like him are quite bright enough to stay ahead of the FBI.

Procopio said other wanted criminals have tried to conceal fingerprints. In some cases, they have used acid to burn off ridges. FBI and State Police have managed to identify most suspects using fingerprint analysis, he said.

“Fortunately, our efforts to identify them are keeping pace with their effort to mutilate themselves,’’ he said.

About That European Vacation....

Take this information with a grain of salt, but it is interesting to say the least. It seems the rate of violent crimes is higher in Europe then it is in the good old US of A.

The U.S. has a violence rate of 466 crimes per 100,000 residents, Canada 935, Australia 92 and South Africa 1,609.

The reason I say take this with a grain of salt is for the reason the writer of the original article points out, that being different countries have different ways of describing and reporting violent crimes. In jolly old England it is probably considered a violent crime if you serve tea without cookies.

Just in case you think this a strictly European survey, the data was derived from reports compiled by the European Commission and the United Nations. Yeah, I know citing the UN as source of good data immediately discredits any sort of reliance on the information, but hey, at least it wasn't The Lancet.

Meanwhile, Switzerland boasts the lowest rate of crime and some people say it is for a reason most people wouldn't realize.



.....the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,......

'You Have Acted Beyond the Bounds of Human Decency'

Say farewell to Bad Santa. I'm sure this maggot will be a top draw at the prison holiday parties.

A small-time actor and former children’s entertainer who was known for playing Santa Claus was sentenced Monday to nearly 20 years in prison for his role in an international sex tourism ring that preyed on young children.

Wayne Nelson Corliss, whose 2008 arrest was the culmination of an international manhunt, had admitted traveling to Thailand three times between 2000 and 2002 to have sex with at least two boys, ages 6 and 9. He pleaded guilty last October to five counts that included distribution and possession of child pornography and traveling to foreign countries to engage in illegal sexual activity.

“You have acted beyond the bounds of human decency,” U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway told Corliss on Monday.

The bearded, white-haired Corliss, who is 61 and acted under the name Casey Wayne, was described by people who knew him as witty and friendly and “the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen.” He worked as an entertainer at corporate parties, art fairs and bar mitzvahs, where his activities sometimes included painting children’s faces.

That image clashed with the one presented in court Monday, in which Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Vartan called Corliss “an irredeemable sexual predator” who bragged on the Internet about fondling young boys while dressed as Santa.

Some Interpol photos of this scumbag here.

And You Thought Your Teacher Was Tough

Teacher Accused Of Putting Hit On Student

Randolph Forde, a 10th-grade teacher at Mundy’s Mill High School in Clayton County, is accused of trying to persuade another student to kill a 16-year-old boy.

Forde was charged after, officers said, he held up a piece of paper with the alleged victim’s name on it saying he had a hit on him. The student’s mother said her son came home frightened when he found out.

This is, of course, over in that wonderful school district that I have written much about--Clayton County, GA. They have lost their certification, been put on probation, gotten their accreditation back, hired BS superintendents who have bilked them out of millions of dollars and the list goes on and on. This is the most dysfunctional school district in the entire country.

The county itself isn't a place any decent, hard working citizen wants to live in anyway, but they sure seem to love shooting themselves in the foot.

ACORN's New Orleans HQ Raided

The New Orleans headquarters of the criminal enterprise know as ACORN was raided by the feds this morning and computers seized. Bertha Lewis is unavailable for comment, apparently. She must have to coordinate her talking points with her boss at the White House first.

Federal agents seized computers and other related equipment from the New Orleans ACORN offices Friday morning, according to Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell.

The seizures occurred starting at 8 a.m. at the offices on Canal Street after reports from ACORN attorneys that some material that might have been important to an investigation had disappeared.

Caldwell said the action occurred as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of theft and embezzlement.

Theft and embezzlement related to ACORN? Knock me over with a feather.

The IRS already has $2 million in liens against this ACORN office for failure to pay taxes, even though it reportedly is their most lucrative office.

Update: The story was changed to say it was state agents who conducted the seizure this morning, not federal. Big Government has additional information. More at NOLA.

Early last month, Caldwell's office issued subpoenas for records from ACORN's New Orleans office, where the organization -- now moving its national headquarters to Washington -- has long been based.

Today's search is an outgrowth of those subpoenas, which stemmed from an investigation by Caldwell's office into the embezellement of ACORN funds by Dale Rathke, a brother of the organization's founder, Wade Rathke, Herring said.

An ACORN official, speaking on background, said he believed the raid was ordered because of reports that workers for the organization loyal to Beth Butler, the recently fired head of ACORN's Louisiana branch, had been taking computer data and other items out of the office.

Update on NJ Democrat Aide Drug Bust

When we noted this fellow Jason Shih Saturday the New Jersey Democrats denied he ever worked for him and pretended they had no idea who he was. Well, according to a local newspaper, he was in possession of a bunch of pay stubs from a county Democrat organization, tickets to a Jon Corzine-Obama event and a heck of a lot of ecstasy.

Still, most media have chosen to ignore the story.

Jason Shih, 25, was arrested and charged at 11:28 p.m. with possession of Ecstasy, possession of drugs with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of drugs with the intent to distribute, talking on a cell phone while driving and possession of drugs in a car.

East Rutherford Police Officer Mark Mehegan, who was on patrol, stopped Shih after observing him talking on his cell phone while driving on Route 17 South near Riggin Memorial Field. Mehegan described Shih as extremely nervous and reported his hands were trembling as he reached into the glove box for his information.

During the motor vehicle stop, Mehegan said he observed 19 Ecstasy pills in the center console cup and $661 in cash folded up in the ashtray. Police also reported locating several hundred clear plastic bags commonly used to package drugs.

Throughout the course of the investigation, Shih said he was the assistant deputy director for Corzine and that the campaign rented the 2008 Toyota he was driving.

East Rutherford Police Lt. Paul Cece also responded to the scene and located several tickets for the Sunday, Nov. 1 event where President Barack Obama and Corzine were to appear.

Shih also reportedly had 10 paychecks from the Middlesex County Democratic Committee in his possession. One paycheck for $1,500 was payable to Shih from the MCDC, according to reports.

“Mr. Shih stated the vehicle he was operating was rented for him by the ‘Corzine for Governor’ camp to distribute tickets and paychecks for the Middlesex County Democratic Committee,” stated Cece.

H/T Libertarian Republican.

Don't You Know Who We Are?

Let's just get it out of the way right now and call this what it is.

It's raaaaacist!

The rabble-rousing rev should give his daughter a sermon about road rage.

The Rev. Al Sharpton's ex-wife and daughter were arrested after berating two Harlem cops who had pulled them over for allegedly running a red light to get around their slow-moving, unmarked cruiser, sources told The Post.

Kathy Jordan, 53, and her daughter, Dominique Sharpton, 23, were handcuffed Friday night and hauled to a precinct, where the raging reverend's daughter tried to get off the hook by citing her family ties, the sources said. They were issued desk-appearance tickets and released.

The road-rage incident began around 7:30 p.m. on West 110th Street and Eighth Avenue when Dominique became frustrated as she drove behind the crawling police vehicle, the sources said.

Sharpton honked her horn and tailgated the vehicle from the NYPD's Housing Bureau before finally losing her cool.

She furiously swerved across the double yellow line and sped through a red light to get past the cop car, police said.

The officers pulled her over, and she and her mother became belligerent and argumentative, the sources said.

They were slapped in handcuffs and thrown in the cruiser.

Dominique was charged with resisting arrest and issued summonses for crossing the double yellow line and running the light.

Jordan was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

Sources added that Dominique dropped her dad's famous name at the stationhouse before being released.

Sharpton's lawyer, Michael Hardy, said the reverend was stunned by the way the NYPD handled the incident.

"How what was apparently a minor traffic dispute ended up with two arrests with desk-appearance tickets is highly questionable and unusual," he said. "We will pursue all answers in this matter."

No explanation was given as to why the Sharptons broke up. Maybe he's sleeping with Tawana Brawley. Using Al Sharpton logic, I have no evidence to support that theory, so it must be true.

Corzine Campaign Aide Busted on Drug Charges?

Well, I figure you have to be high on something to support Jon Corzine. But who knew his campaign aides were so heavy into the drugs?

A man who identified himself as an official with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign was arrested last night after cops found found ecstasy tablets wrapped and ready to be sold in his car, police said.

Jason Shih, 25, was pulled over by East Rutherford cops at about 11:30 p.m. last night because he was talking on his cell phone on Route 17, said Lt. Chris Conforti of the East Rutherford police.

Officers wound up finding 19 "blue star" ecstasy tablets in Shih's car, each wrapped in its own little plastic bag.

Shih -- who was stopped within 100 feet of Becton Regional High School -- also had had "several hundred" empty plastic bags in his car, Conforti said.

Maybe he was so whacked out he's spinning stories.

Corzine spokeswoman Elisabeth Smith said Shih is not on the payroll of the campaign or the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, and that the campaign doesn't know who he is.

Shih was charged with possession of drugs, possession of drugs in a school zone, intent to distribute drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also charged with two motor vehicle violations -- driving while using a cell phone and having drugs in his car.

ABC 7 in New York has this link but it's disabled.

Corzine campaign worker arrested

Interesting. For some reason no New Jersey papers that I can find have this story.

Update: NewsBusters noticed the WABC story was scrubbed but found a link where the story was captured.

Jason Shih, an Assistant Deputy Director to the campaign of NJ Gov. Jon Corzine was arrested last night on drug charges.

East Rutherford police say they pulled over the 25-year-old on Route 17 for driving while using a cell phone.

Police say they found 19 ecstasy pills and several hundred glassine envelopes.

He was charged with possession of a controlled narcotic and paraphernalia that is used for distribution.

Emphasis mine. An Assistant Deputy Director of his campaign? Now if that indeed is the case where did this information come from?

Update: A story is now up at nj.com.

A Paramus man claiming to work for Gov. Jon Corzine’s reelection campaign was arrested Friday night on drug charges after police found Ecstasy tablets in his car, authorities said.

A Corzine spokeswoman said the man does not work for either the governor’s campaign or the Democratic State Committee.

Jason Shih, 25, was pulled over on Route 17 by East Rutherford police at about 11:30 p.m. last night for talking on his cell phone. Police found 19 Ecstasy tablets and hundreds of small glassine bags used for distributing drugs, police spokesman Capt. William Schanel said.

Schanel said Shih told police he was an official in Corzine’s campaign, and several tickets to tomorrow’s rally with President Obama at Newark’s Prudential Center were found in his car.

“As he’s exiting the vehicle, he’s stating it’s not mine,” Schanel said. “He just said I’m assistant deputy director of Gov. Corzine’s campaign, and they rented this vehicle for my use.”

Schanel said the vehicle was rented, but said it is unclear who rented it. He said Shih is not suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol -- just very nervous.

“His hands were shaking,” Schanel said.

Here's a cached version of the WABC story that disappeared earlier.

Linked at Instapundit. Thanks!

Update: Via Steve W from Ford in the comments, look what we've got here.

New Jersey Democratic State Cmte Expenditure Detail

Shih, Jason, Paramus, NJ $420 Field Consulting Services 11/03/06

Granted, this is three years old, but I have to assume it's the same Jason Shih, as searches turn up only one Jason Shih in Paramus. So at some point it appears he did some work for the New Jersey Democrats.

Update: Hmmm. The Post story now redirects here. The Star-Ledger story still exists. For now...

'Conservative' Chirac to Go On Trial

It's about time this weasel was held to account. I've got to laugh, though, how the New York Times call him a conservative.

An investigating magistrate on Friday ordered the former French president, Jacques Chirac, to stand trial on corruption charges dating to his time as mayor of Paris, reinforcing the whiff of alleged malfeasance swirling around the political elite here.

If he comes to trial, Mr. Chirac will be the first former French head of state to be prosecuted for corruption, news reports said, offering a humiliating book-end to a career as a towering presence in French politics for 30 years.

The order by the magistrate, Xavière Siméoni, may still be challenged by public prosecutors who have already requested that the charges against the conservative Mr. Chirac, 76, be abandoned. If the prosecutors appeal Friday’s order, it could take months for judges to determine whether he should face trial.

The development came at a time when one of Mr. Chirac’s most prominent aides, former prime minister Dominique de Villepin, is in court defending himself against separate charges of planning a smear campaign in 2003 and 2004 against Nicolas Sarkozy, a political rival who is the current president.

The charges against Mr. Chirac and nine other people relate to his years as mayor of Paris, and involve accusations of awarding contracts for fictitious positions as city advisers in return for political favors.

Sure, Chirac may not be a full-blown socialist like many French pols, but calling the guy a conservative is really a stretch.

I hope this weasel gets what he's got coming.

Moderate Muslim Runs Down His 'Westernized' Daughter

Today's tale of what passes as traditional family values in the Muslim community involves an emigre from Iraq who got upset over his daughter embracing Western ways and decided he would administer a little attitude adjustment. He did this by taking his Jeep Cherokee and running her and a friend over in the parking lot of a shopping center in Phoenix, AZ.



Both women are in the hospital, the daughter with life threatening injuries and her friend in critical condition. He is still on the loose.

The part that seems most hypocritical is they say his motivation was he was upset over the Westernization of his daughter. Look at the picture supplied. He certainly dresses Western. Drives a decadent automobile and sure seems to have blended in well. When are our vaunted women's rights groups in this country going to finally stand up and recognize this aspect of Islam that revolves around nothing more then the subjugation of women? Where are all of those civil rights folks who paraded in the streets demanding equal rights for blacks? Here is the next big civil rights battle, one with real life and death consequences, and yet they all remain silent.