Politics Blog

Regardless of the “defense,” how will the voters in Florida-16 view Tim Mahoney (D) when they keephearing his company “vFinance, Inc.” brought up in reference to penny stock manipulation?

Both Davidson and the Lord Rees-Mogg have been investors with LOM of Bermuda that has attracted attention from the SEC for huge penny stock frauds.In fact it is now clear that Charles Schwab as well as lessor known brokers and market makers such as vFinance in Florida aided them by providing for accounts to dump and manipulate huge amounts of U.S. penny STOCKS FROM, AT THE EXPENSE OF DEFRAUDING U.S.RETAIL PURCHASERS.

Yes, Tim Mahoney (D) was not involved individually, but the explaining that will have to be done. This on top of a whole series of litigation that yes, was in the “ordinary course of business” that has come out in the last five years.

And lets not forget the thousands of companies that his company helped obtain financing like:

China Biopharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (OTC BB: CHBP) (”China Biopharmaceuticals” or the “Company”), a China-based advanced and vertically integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, commercializing, manufacturing and distributing innovative drugs, today announced that it has closed on a $6-million equity financing with $900,000 over allotment. Details will be presented in a Form 8K, which the Company will file as soon as practicable.

The financing, which will provide further working capital for the growth of the Company and its operating subsidiaries, has been raised from a select group of institutional and accredited investors and is underwritten by vFinance, Inc. (OTC BB:VFIN.OB - News), a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking

I wonder what business connections this company has with its subsidiaries in the Peoples Republic of China?

Yes, Tim Mahoney will be in a unique position where he has to “splain” an innocent but complex business deal every hour on the hour. They will just keep on coming.

I can just see the democrats howling, “But, but he was a republican then but he is one of us now.”

— Oak Leaf

First, I am glad Foley is gone. He will be replaced by Joe Negron who will be much better for the Conservative cause. The Human Rights Campaign and other leftist groups will be sadly disappointed in Joe.

I am well aware that copies of e mails can be dug up. However, I am noticing amongst the blogosphere that something is amiss over all this. This item is very troubling, “THE WEBSITE THAT STARTED IT ALL - STRANGE BUT TRUE.”

Here are the facts as we know them. Mark Foley is gay. Mark Foley was known to be gay on Capital Hill. Mark Foley sent an e mail to a then 16 year old male that was “touchy feel.”

We do not know if he had any communication with any individuals while they were under his employment. We do not know if he had sexual contact with any employees or any individuals under the age of sexual consent.

Here is where I have a question that I hope individuals can shed some light on in the comments. We know that a series of instant messages have been published that may be between Foley and a soon to be 18 year old male. Are instant messages stored on the sending device? Are instant messages stored on the receiving device? Do instant messages have any sort of “tag” that positively link them to a device? Is there a server or something that “stores” IM’s that go throught it?

Again, I am glad that Foley is gone.If he has violated some law and goes to jail, no problem I do not care. At this point I am wondering if we are going to be able to bring down some media organization ala rathergate.

Because this post is merely fact finding, I will pull it in a day.

— Oak Leaf

Just typing that name makes me feel ill. This is why:

Studds stated in an address to the House, “It is not a simple task for any of us to meet adequately the obligations of either publicor private life, let alone both, but these challenges are made substantially more complex when one is, as I am, both an elected public official and gay.”

As the House read their censure of him, Studds turned his back and ignored them. Later, at a press conference with the former page standing beside him, the two stated that what had happened between them was nobody’s business but their own.

Sweetness & Light has a photo of this deviant pervert in action.

— The Ace

Right now the Florida Republican Party is going through the “motions” to find a nominee:

The most likely scenario involves a statewide “super board” of 40 Republican Party officials picking the nominee in a telephone conference from Central Florida early next week.ÿ Republican Party of Florida spokesman Jeff Sadowski said Saturday the selection process was still a work in progress.

“The nominee is going to have to get his name out there and differentiate himself from Foley and the Democratic candidate,” Sadowski said.

Veteran state Representative, Joe Negron, R-Stuart, is convinced it can be done. He was busily calling super board members on Saturday to convince them he’s a logical choice to replace Foley.

“I think the voters are very smart and sophisticated, and they care about who their congressman is,” Negron said. “It was very shocking and disappointing, but the election process has to move forward.”

Foley’s meteoric fall from grace would appear to make Democrat Tim Mahoney’s job a cakewalk, but Negron sees cause for Republican optimism.

Foley’s 16th Congressional District leans slightly Republican. In 2004, President Bush defeated Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry with 54 percent of the vote. Many of the Democrats in the district’s western rural areas are conservative.

“That is a district with a lot of Republicans who are ready to vote,” Sadowski said.

Negron also points to his party’s ability earlier this year to retain the seat of disgraced former Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham of California after he was forced to resign amid a bribery scandal.

Negron recently dropped out of the race for attorney general, is flush with $1 million in campaign contributions.

Joe Negron is an “average Joe” and unlike Tim Mahoney (D) is a lifelong Florida resident who grew up in the district:

Joe Negron, State Representative, District 82, State of Florida. Joe Negron is a native Floridian born in West Palm Beach and is a lifelong resident of Martin and Palm Beach Counties. He received an undergraduate degree from Stetson University, where he was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, and a law degree from Emory University. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in November, 2000, from House District 82. His district serves Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties. Representative Negron has concentrated his legislative efforts on environmental issues, education reform and insurance issues.

Joe was born in 1961, is married to Rebecca, and has three children David, Jonathan, Becca.

What attracted Tim Mahoney (D) to move to Florida in the first place?In 1998 Mahoney moved to Florida to help a Scotland-based company with a spinoff. Hmm, that will be fun to splain.

The South Florida Sun Sentinal gives Joe five stars as they wrote in May 2006:

Negron is a disciplined fiscal conservative. But he’s not a stodgy budget cruncher. Negron made friends among Democrats and Republicans as the affable House budget chairman who opened the state’s wallet for major increases in school and courts funding. Thanks to a revenue windfall, Negron found it easy in the $71.3 billion budget to meet legislators’ hefty election-year spending requests. He authorized millions for hometown projects. He also tried to satisfy Gov. Jeb Bush’s push for tax cuts and savings. As the former chairman of the Palm Beach County legislative delegation, Negron steered money to dozens of local schools, roads, water treatment projects and law enforcement training.

Where does Joe stand on the issues? Well, you can go to “Project Vote Smart” and check. I can say that the Christian Coalition has recently given him a 100% rating that will be of great importance in mobilizing the homeschool community and the loacl church groups:

2005-2006 Representative Negron supported the interests of the Christian Coalition of Florida 100 percent in 2005-2006.

In addition to being an “average Joe” that does not live in a gated community (unlike his Democrat opponent who lives in a gated community), Joe has a proven track record as a politician, has funding and has already served the people in his community.

– Oak Leaf

This post is directed to the Republican Party of Florida. Remember, the campaign of Tim Mahoney is an extremely target rich environment that deserves a complete analysis. Here is just one of many items that deserve further research:

China Biopharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (OTC BB: CHBP) (”China Biopharmaceuticals” or the “Company”), a China-based advanced and vertically integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, commercializing, manufacturing and distributing innovative drugs, today announced that it has closed on a $6-million equity financing with $900,000 over allotment. Details will be presented in a Form 8K, which the Company will file as soon as practicable.

The financing, which will provide further working capital for the growth of the Company and its operating subsidiaries, has been raised from a select group of institutional and accredited investors and is underwritten by vFinance, Inc. (OTC BB:VFIN.OB - News), a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking

I wonder what business connections this company has with its subsidiaries in the Peoples Republic of China?

Yes, Tim Mahoney will be in a unique position where he has to “splain” a complex business deal evry hour on the hour. They will just keep on coming.

— Oak Leaf

As I have written before, I never liked Foley’s politics. He was too liberal on some issues and was causing problems for the Republican Party.

For those that have gone deer hunting for many years, there is nothing like being in the woods and all of a sudden “getting your deer” that was shot by another hunter. Hey, it does happen.

For the last 24 hours, I have been pondering “what if” the Republican Party, the Conservative Blogosphere or talk radio had taken steps to “out Foley?” Tom at JustOneMinute has also pondered that same scenario:

However, picture this headline - “House Leadership Boots Allegedly Gay Republican On Trumped-Up Pedophilia Charges”. Ugly. Worth Avoiding. Listening to Andrew Sullivan decry the homophobes in the House would not have been worth it. So they played it a bit too cautiously and slowly and here we are.

The only way for Republicans to get rid of Foley was for someone else to do the dirty work.

So where do we now find ourselves? First, on a national level the Democrats have alienated some of their own natural constituants. Second, Conservatives will have much better representation when Congressman Negron goes to Washington.

Why am I so confident that a Republican will hold the seat? The demographics of the district are Republican. Bush “overperformed” in this district compared to the State as a whole. Our nominee is a proven politician with name recognition and funding capabilities. Lastly, the Democrat is a “token nominee” whose background is “target rich” for political attack. In fact, Tim Mahoney’s background is ideal for attack. District voters, who are investors of all stripes, will not vote for the man behind “vFinance, Inc.”

— Oak Leaf

The tears are rolling down after I read, “U.S. fence ends immigration dream of Mexico’s Fox:”

Mexican President Vicente Fox retires in November with his dream shattered of a U.S. immigration overhaul that would allow millions more Mexicans to work legally north of the border.

Fox was once warmly described by President Bush as an “amigo,” and his main foreign-policy objective was persuading U.S. lawmakers to soften immigration laws.

But Fox’s quest was as good as ended when the U.S. Senate on Friday gave final congressional approval to building a fence about 700 miles long on the Mexican border to curb illegal immigration. The bill now awaits Bush’s expected signature, although it falls short of his goal of a broader overhaul.

I am sure that many other Polipeople are shedding tears……

— Oak Leaf

This weekend, I wrote “(URGENT) Foley CAN Be Removed From The Ballot” where I cited Florida Statute that could be used by the Florida Republican Party to either succeed in removing the name of the withdrawn nominee or to gain tremendous public awareness of the issue in the event of an unfavorable decision. Ergo, there was little downside.

I would like to carry the argument further as many websites are citing only one statute which states:

If the name of the new nominee is submitted after the certification of results of the preceding primary election, however, the ballots shall not be changed and the former party nominee’s name will appear on the ballot. Any ballots cast for the former party nominee will be counted for the person designated by the political party to replace the former party nominee.

The “importance” of the Statute is when it was written. The Statute makes sense in the paper ballot days when it took time to replace paper ballots. However, in 2006 the majority of ballots cast in Florida’s 16th Congressional District will be on touch screen voting machines.

I would argue that an aggressive attorney could argue that the Statute in question only applies to those areas that have paper ballots and that the Florida Legislature has not rendered an opinion on touch screen voting machines. I would base that argument on part of the opinion from the Florida Supreme Court in “PALM BEACH COUNTY CANVASSING BOARD, Petitioner, vs. KATHERINE HARRIS, etc.,:”

Twenty-five years ago, this Court commented that the will of the people, not a hyper-technical reliance upon statutory provisions, should be our guiding principle in election cases:

[T]he real parties in interest here, not in the legal sense but in realistic terms, are the voters. They are possessed of the ultimate interest and it is they whom we must give primary consideration. The contestants have direct interests certainly, but the office they seek is one of high public service and of upmost importance to the people, thus subordinating their interest to that of the people. Ours is a government of, by and for the people. Our federal and state constitutions guarantee the right of the people to take an active part in the process of that
government, which for most of our citizens means participation via the election process. The right to vote is the right to participate; it is also the right to speak, but more importantly the right to be heard. We must tread carefully on that right or we risk the unnecessary and unjustified muting of the public voice. By refusing to recognize an otherwise valid exercise of the right of a
citizen to vote for the sake of sacred, unyielding adherence to statutory scripture, we would in effect nullify that right.

I would argue that the Statute is moot on “electronic ballots.” There is no harm to the respective Election Supervisors if they change a single line of code to reflect the correct nominee. There is no harm to either political party if the correct nominee is listed. Further, I would argue that it is more likely that the Democrat nominee would be harmed if the “incorrect Republican” is named as people may vote for him that would otherwise not vote for the correct nominee.

The Florida Supreme Court is on record that the interest of the voters takes precedent over the interests of any candidate. Applying a Statute written for “paper ballots” to “electronic voting” is clearly a “hyper-technical reliance upon statutory provisions.”

UPDATE:A comment from one of our readers that is an attorney:

If the “Ballot” for a touch screen machine does not exist until it is programmed, then there is no “ballot” in existence as of this moment, hence there is no “ballot” to “change”.

The argument should be that if events have changed since the certification but prior to the creation of “ballots”, aren’t the voter’s
interests better served by providing accurate information on the ballots
rather than obsolete information

I think this statute can be read as a “fail safe” effort to preserve voter intent if ballot have been printed and distrubuted prior to a candidate change…the old ballots will to abscribed to the party nominees and will not be rendered invalid, and new ballots need not be distributed

Here is the bottomline, the Republican Party needs a replacement now. There is nothing to lose by attempting to get his/her name placed “on the ballot.” If a Court says “no” the rules apply “as-is.” Regardless, a lot of free publicity is generated and the base gets energized. It is very important that the base get energized and a court battle would do it. It would also leave the Democrats having to “splain” why a single line of code should not be updated. Republican lawyers can get witness after witness to testify as to the time it will take (five minutes). This is completely different than the Gore argument over multiple dents on paper. The public will see nothing wrong with changing a line of code and it will embarass the Democrats including Tim Mahoney.

— Oak Leaf