By Scott Whitlock

Amidst all the media hype over what CBS’ Bob Schieffer called the congressional Democrats’ “ambitious schedule” to reform ethics rules and regulations, Wednesday’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ actually provided a tough, worthwhile report on what real ethical reform would be. According to CNN correspondent Drew Griffin, convicted members of Congress still receive thousands of dollars in pensions. Yes, disgraced felons such as James Traficant, Randy Cunningham, and Dan Rostenkowski each year accrue large sums of taxpayer money. Host Anderson Cooper introduced the subject and seemed to issue a challenge to the Democrats:

Anderson Cooper: “Well, the new Congress convenes tomorrow with Democrats in control, who have pledged to pass a number of bills in the first 100 legislative hours. They have also promised to change some ethic rules on Capitol Hill. One law that they’re not tackling is pensions for convicted members of Congress. That’s right, tax dollars used to pay for the retirement of felons.”

Griffin, not mincing words, then demonstrated how members of the media could find real issues of ethical reform to bring to the public’s attention:

Drew Griffin: “It’s an unwritten law that says crime doesn’t pay. But don’t tell that to these guys. [Graphic appears onscreen of convicted congressional felons] Every single one of these former members of Congress either pleaded guilty to, or was convicted of, at least one serious crime. Yet, every one of them is estimated to be receiving that dollar amount next to their picture every year, their congressional pension based on their years in office, you, the taxpayers, paying the pension of crooks. Even if they take you out of Washington in handcuffs and throw you in prison, Congress still gets its pension. Case in point, Randall ‘Duke’ Cunningham — he pleaded guilty to using his congressional office to accept bribes, kickbacks, money from the contractors he was voting to give government business. Cunningham right now is sitting in this federal prison in North Carolina, and getting his government pension, an estimated $64,000 a year, sent to a congressional felon sitting in the can.”

John Berthoud (Natl. Taxpayers Union): “Cunningham has to be the classic example.”

Griffin: “John Berthoud is president of the National Taxpayers Union. It’s a watchdog lobbying group, mostly interested in cutting the size of government, cutting waste and cutting taxes. Because federal pensions are secret, all of the figures you’ve seen in this report are estimates based on the Taxpayers Union’s calculations. Berthoud can think of no better example of government waste than sending $64,000 a year to Duke Cunningham.”

Griffin closed his report by noting that disgraced Democrat Daniel Rostenkowski currently receives an estimated $126,000 for his yearly pension:

Griffin: “And who among the convicted felons of Congress is getting the most out of his retirement? That would be the guy who lives in this Chicago building and owns this car. Take a look at the license plate. Retired member of Congress. That big ‘R’ stands for the big guy, Chairman Daniel Rostenkowski, usually not shy about talking to the media, except when it comes to his estimated $126,000 a year taxpayer funded pension. The former chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee told us on the phone he has nothing to say. And in fact, Rostenkowski, who was sent to prison for mail fraud, may have good reason not to answer his door. Just a month ago, the state of Illinois used its felony conviction clause to take away the pension of former governor George Ryan, who was convicted and sentenced to 6 1/2 years for mail fraud, money laundering, and extortion. But that’s state law. Under federal law, the only grounds for stripping a congressman of his pension is if he’s convicted of treason. The National Taxpayers Union for years has been calling for a tougher conviction clause. A simple change says Taxpayers Union president Berthoud, if you are convicted of any felony while in office, you forfeit your right to get paid.”

Berthoud: “It’s hard, unless maybe you’re a member of Congress or a former member of Congress, for anybody to understand how on earth you could ask taxpayers to pay pensions for people like that.”

Griffin: “Now two dozen watchdog groups have joined the campaign, sending this letter to the incoming Democrats who vowed to drain the swamp, asking them to at least drain the felons from the swamp.”

Griffin directed his challenge to the incoming Democrats, but it could just as easily be asked of the media: Don’t be lazy in accepting the Democrats claims of ethics reform. Are they going to continue to fund felons or not?

A transcript of the segment, which aired at 10:28pm on January 3, follows:

Anderson Cooper: “Well, the new Congress convenes tomorrow, with Democrats in control, who have pledged to pass a number of bills in the first 100 legislative hours. They have also promised to change some ethic rules on Capitol Hill. One law that they’re not tackling is pensions for convicted members of Congress. That’s right, tax dollars used to pay for the retirement of felons. CNN’s Drew Griffin tonight is ‘Keeping Them Honest.’”

Drew Griffin: “It’s an unwritten law that says crime doesn’t pay. But don’t tell that to these guys. Every single one of these former members of Congress either pleaded guilty to, or was convicted of, at least one serious crime. Yet, every one of them is estimated to be receiving that dollar amount next to their picture every year, their congressional pension based on their years in office, you, the taxpayers, paying the pension of crooks. Even if they take you out of Washington in handcuffs and throw you in prison, Congress still gets its pension. Case in point, Randall ‘Duke’ Cunningham — he pleaded guilty to using his congressional office to accept bribes, kickbacks, money from the contractors he was voting to give government business. Cunningham right now is sitting in this federal prison in North Carolina, and getting his government pension, an estimated $64,000 a year, sent to a congressional felon sitting in the can.”

John Berthoud (Natl. Taxpayers Union): “Cunningham has to be the classic example.”

Griffin: “John Berthoud is president of the National Taxpayers Union. It’s a watchdog lobbying group, mostly interested in cutting the size of government, cutting waste, and cutting taxes. Because federal pensions are secret, all of the figures you’ve seen in this report are estimates based on the Taxpayers Union’s calculations. Berthoud can think of no better example of government waste than sending $64,000 a year to Duke Cunningham.”

Berthoud: “But all of us are still paying this guy $64,000 a year, roughly, while he sits in prison. And, you know, I think the vast majority of Americans think that that is really, really wrong.”

Griffin: “And Cunningham is hardly alone.”

James Traficant (File footage of former Congressman): “I’m not going to admit to crimes I did not do.”

Griffin: “James Traficant, the Ohio congressman convicted of bribery and sentenced to eight years, is collecting an estimated $40,000 a year sitting in this federal prison in Minnesota. Traficant and Cunningham didn’t respond to our letters, and former Minnesota Congressman Dave Durenberger didn’t want to talk to us either.”

Dave Durenberger: (File footage of former Congressman): “The Department of Justice has charged me-”

Griffin: He pleaded guilty to fraud in 1995, did a year’s probation and paid a fine. Now we pay him an estimated pension of $86,000 a year. And who among the convicted felons of Congress is getting the most out of his retirement? That would be the guy who lives in this Chicago building and owns this car. Take a look at the license plate. Retired member of Congress. That big ‘R’ stands for the big guy, Chairman Daniel Rostenkowski, usually not shy about talking to the media, except when it comes to his estimated $126,000 a year taxpayer funded pension. The former chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee told us on the phone he has nothing to say. And in fact, Rostenkowski, who was sent to prison for mail fraud, may have good reason not to answer his door. Just a month ago, the state of Illinois used its felony conviction clause to take away the pension of former governor George Ryan, who was convicted and sentenced to 6 1/2 years for mail fraud, money laundering, and extortion. But that’s state law. Under federal law, the only grounds for stripping a congressman of his pension is if he’s convicted of treason. The National Taxpayers Union for years has been calling for a tougher conviction clause. A simple change says Taxpayers Union president Berthoud, if you are convicted of any felony while in office, you forfeit your right to get paid.”

Berthoud: “It’s hard, unless maybe you’re a member of Congress or a former member of Congress, for anybody to understand how on earth you could ask taxpayers to pay pensions for people like that.”

Griffin: “Now two dozen watchdog groups have joined the campaign, sending this letter to the incoming Democrats who vowed to drain the swamp, asking them to at least drain the felons from the swamp.”

Below are a list of your elected representatives (mostly federal, but I don’t mind including state politicians either when they interact with the feds) who have or had criminal records on their Congressional rap sheet. Note the specific language: “Charged” means formal charges have / had been made, though the representative was not necessarily convicted. (I include charges only if said representative shows a pattern of behavior along those lines.) Convicted…well, you get the idea.
An asterisk at the end of a Congressfolk’s record means that the charges came either before or after their terms…though often the “after” is the result of something(s) done while in the Capitol. Best of all, a name in boldface means that the representative is still a representative!

REP. MARIO BIAGGI (D-NY): In 1988 he was convicted of obstructing justice, tax evasion, conspiracy, extortion, and accepting bribes.
CORRINNE BROWN (D-FL): Failed to pay unemployment taxes to the state of Florida; sued by several airlines for unpaid bills and falsified travel reports; failed to report sale of her Tallahassee travel agency; improperly reported the sale of her Gainesville travel agency; sued by Whirlpool Corp. for unpaid bills; pursued by the IRS for $14,228 in unpaid taxes; investigations by the House Ethics Committee for possible acceptance of bribes; refused to file reports in the House about potential conflicts of interest while overseeing airlines she dealt with through her travel agencies; charged with money laundering.
REP. ALBERT BUSTAMANTE (D-TX): Convicted in 1993 of racketeering and accepting an illegal gratuity.
TONY COELHO (D-CA): Currently under investigation for fraud while serving as U.S. Commissioner General of Expo ’98 in Lisbon, Portugal.* He was Al Gore’s primary presidential campaign manager until he resigned citing health reasons.
REP. WES COOLEY (R-OR): Convicted of falsifying VA loan applications. Paid $7,000 in fines plus court costs, and placed on probation. Subsequently tried to gather support to get re-elected to Congress.*
REP. JERRY COSTELLO (D-IL):
REP. BOB DORNAN (R-CA): In 1983 attempted to leave Grenada with a stolen AK-47. It was confiscated by the Army and destroyed.
REP. WALTER FAUNTROY (D-DC): Financial disclosure misdemeanor (1995).
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D-MA): Accessory to a male prostitute who ran a whorehouse in their Washington townhouse.
REP. NEWT GINGRICH (R-GA):
STATE REP. ALCEE L. HASTINGS (D-FL): From the 1998 Almanac of American Politics: “He was impeached by the House of Representatives by a vote of 426-3 in 1988 and convicted and removed from office by the Senate by a vote of 69-26. The impeachment arose from allegations that Hastings conspired with a friend to accept $150,000 for giving two convicted swindlers a break in sentencing. Hastings was acquitted in a criminal trial in 1983, but the friend was convicted. In the House, the case for impeachment was made by John Conyers, senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Removed from the bench, Hastings was unapologetic.”
SEN. JESSE HELMS (R-NC): In 1990, the Helms campaign sent out 125,000 postcards primarily to black North Carolina voters claiming that they might not be able to vote, and would be prosecuted for vote fraud if they tried. His campaign, the North Carolina Republican party, and four consulting and marketing firms were charged with violations of the Voting Rights Act. The Helms campaign signed an admission of guilt (claiming later that they didn’t have the money to fight it in court), but Helms and his staff were never prosecuted.
REP. CARROL HUBBARD (D-KY): Convicted in 1994 of misappropriation of funds.
JAY KIM (R-CA): Convicted of accepting illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.
REP. GERALD KLECZKA (D-WI): Convicted of DUI in 1987; arrested for DUI in 1990 and 1995.
REP. JOE KOLTER (D-PA): Fraud and conspiracy (1996).
REP. NORMAN LENT (R-NY): In 1982 tried to have fifty counterfeit Rolex watches mailed to him from Taiwan.
REP. DONALD E. “BUZ” LUKENS (R-OH): In 1989 was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
REP. NICK MAVROULES (D-MA): In 1991 pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and tax evasion.
REP. EDWARD MEZVINSKY (D-IA): Indicted in March of 2001 on federal fraud charges. Claimed that he developed mental problems after using a malaria drug called Lariam. “Clearly, the responsibility lies with the manufacturers,” claimed Mezvinsky’s lawyer, Michael Barrett.*
REP. JAMES MORAN (D-VA): Charged with spousal abuse, and assault and battery. A regular instigator of bar fights while mayor of Alexandria, VA, his position made him immune to arrest. Once said he thought about becoming a boxer because “I like to hit people.”
REP. AUSTIN J. MURPHY (D-PA): Vote fraud, including forgery, conspiracy, and tampering with federal records (1999).*
REP. MARY ROSE OAKAR (D-OH): Charged with seven federal felonies related to financial-disclosure irregularities (1998).
SEN. BOB PACKWOOD (R-OR): Charged with sexual harassment. Oddly enough, many of the women named as harassees defended Senator Packwood.
REP. CARL PERKINS (D-KY): In 1994 pleaded guilty to filing a false financial-disclosure statement, conspiracy to file false statements with the Federal Election Commission, and bank fraud. Sentenced in March of 1995.
REP. MEL REYNOLDS (D-IL): In 1995 was convicted of having sex with a minor and obstructing justice.
CHARLIE ROSE (D-NC): Financial disclosure irregularities (1994).
REP. DAN ROSTENKOWSKI (D-IL): Illegally converted official funds to his personal use and mail fraud; accused in 1996 of embezzling $700,000 from the federal government, he was charged with 13 of the original 17 counts against him. Went to prison after serving in Congress; now back in Washington working as a lobbyist.

REP. LARRY SMITH (D-FL): In 1993 was convicted of income tax evasion and campaign-reporting violations.
REP. PAT SWINDALL (R-GA): In 1988 was convicted of perjury.
REP. JIM TRAFICANT (D-OH): Indicted on 5/4/01 by a Cleveland, OH federal grand jury for bribery, tax evasion, racketeering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Found guilty of all charges in April 2002.
REP. WALTER TUCKER (D-CA): Federal extortion charges; convicted of accepting $30,000 worth of bribes while a Congressman, and sentenced to 27 months in the federal penitentiary.

REP. J.C. WATTS (R-OK):
CHARLES WILSON (D-TX): In 1995 was forced to pay a $90,000 fine to the Federal Election Commission.
Number of members of Congress who escaped tickets and/or arrest from a variety of driving offenses ranging from speeding to DUI in 1999 due to Congressional immunity: 217
Number of members of Congress who were released after being pulled over for drunken driving in 1998 by claiming Congressional immunity: 84

View:  Daily Meal Plan

Sick of looking at the Powered by: in PHPmotion script?

Now you can make the powered by: Vanish!

Removing copyright notices (“Powered by” statements)
Removing any of the copyright notices without purchasing a license is illegal!
Description:
This script does not remove the Powered by: notice it simply creates the illusion of vanishing from view.
It doesn’t remove the Powered by:
It doesn’t Change the Powered by:
It does not recode the Powered by:
The code creates the illusion to make it VANISH.
It is still there never been touched. It can still be read in the source area. So it violates no agreements.
Check for your self at the bottom of our demo page. http://serversecureid.com/
Then check out the source for yourself. Then test it yourself for FREE on your site. 100% FREE
The Powered by: will not be removed from the admin section.
Not that it matters you are the only one who works in that area.
(Only works with PHPmotion V2 STABLE & New V3  & V3.5 at this time)

Demo SiteV2

Demo SiteV3

PHPmotion V3 & V3.5 New :

download

PHPmotion V2 Stable:

download

It seems like everywhere a person goes there is at least one person in view with a cell phone to their ear whether it is on the road, in a store, in a parking lot, walking down the street, etc. Even in places where cell phone usage is banned such as concert halls or movie theaters there is the occasional offender, or more likely, at least a few people using the text messaging feature on their phone.

Cell phone usage has exploded over the past decade and continues to rise. Nearly two hundred million people in the United States have cell phones and there are well over one billion users worldwide. That means there are a lot of phones sending their frequencies over the airwaves at any given time.

Concern has arisen over whether or not cell phone usage can harm a person’s health. Brain cancer rates in the United States have risen since cell phones were introduced, leading some people to wonder if cell phone usage is the reason for the increase.

There have been reports of people developing brain tumors in the exact same spot where they held their cell phone. Some studies have expressed concern over long-term cell phone use, believing it can lead to a person to develop cancer. That is not to say a person who uses a cell phone is going to get cancer, but some studies suggest long-term use increases a person’s risk.

Things may not be all gloom and doom however. A large study done in Denmark with almost a half million cell phone users showed no increase in cancer for cell phone users.

Yet, other studies have concluded there is a greater risk of cancer but only with analog phone users. Some other studies conclude that any type of cell phone usage can raise a person’s risk for developing cancer. There are a lot of varying opinions on the subject. According to the FDA, available data does not show there are definitely health problems associated with using wireless phones, but the information goes on to say that there is also no proof that wireless phones are completely safe either.

What about cell phone usage is causing the concerns and the numerous studies to be done? Cell phones emit radiation when they are used. The levels are low and are the same type of radiation as a microwave oven emits but in much smaller amounts.

It has been suggested that using hands free sets can alleviate the problem of the head being exposed to the radiation. Again opinions vary. Some studies say it does not decrease the amount of radiation exposure at all. Other studies say it significantly decreases the amount of radiation exposure.

Some people say the biggest danger with cell phones isn’t from the either real or perceived potential to develop cancer, but from inattentiveness while using the cell phone. How many of us have seen vehicles driving somewhat erratically down the road and then see when we get near the vehicle that the driver is talking on a cell phone. It is a proven fact that a driver on a cell phone is less attentive and more likely to get in an accident. And, hands free sets aren’t the answer that some people may believe. Yes, they free up both hands for driving and prevent a person from getting a sore arm, but the driver’s mind is still occupied with the conversation and therefore less attentive to what is going on around him or her on the road.

Even people who are walking and talking on a cell phone at the same time can put themselves in more danger because they are not as aware of what is going on around them.

All the conflicting reports make a person wonder what they should do. The good news is that more comprehensive studies are being done to see if cell phone usage does or does not cause cancer. At the same time, manufacturers are working on new processes that will decrease or even possibly eliminate a person’s radiation exposure. Until more definitive answers are given, a person may want to avoid talking on a cell phone for several hours every single day, but a person probably does not need to feel like they should have to give their cell phone up. It is still a great tool.

The advice about driving and talking on a cell phone is the same as it has been though. A person should pull over in a safe area out of traffic before engaging in a cell phone conversation.

About the author:

D Ruplinger is a featured writer for http://www.cellphoneshome.com. For more information about cell phones visit http://www.cellphoneshome.com.