I need to confess that although the news reports say this man has been in the Senate longer than any other Republican, I never heard of Ted Stevens, of Alaska, before today. Of course, my mind wanders toward Hawaii when I dream of far away places and I physically go there when my body does drift away for vacations.
So, Alaska to me is one of those foreign countries I have never visited, but others say that it is a beautiful place. I do seem to recall that they have a bridge to nowhere there and apparently a lot of oil someplace where no one ever goes, but we cannot have that oil. Oh, and I remember that a group of people went to Alaska to live with the bears and the bears ate them. Everyone was surprised? Not me, isn't that what bears do? I probably should not write the Alaska state travel brochure, but if you want to discuss Hawaii, I am your guy!
Let's get back to Senator Ted Stevens. I read today that he pled not guilty to federal charges against him; something to do with “gifts” he should not have taken from a company named VETO. The name alone should make you want to take your business elsewhere. The good Senator did what all good Senators do under the circumstances; he denied every wrong doing alleged in the indictment against him.
If you expected him to do otherwise, raise your hand. If your hand is in the air I have an investment opportunity for you; just send me a blank check and I'll fill you in on the details of the investment sometime in the future. Work with me here, we will make great business partners!
The Senator's statement was that he never knowingly did anything wrong. That is definitely worded for wiggle room at some later date. That key word “knowingly” may resurface at some time in the future, perhaps during plea negotiations. However, I do seem to recall that ignorance of the law is not a valid defense. I learned that watching “Law and Order”.
I know this is off the subject a bit, but did Senator Stevens have something to do with that bridge to nowhere? Even though is has no bearing on whether or not he is culpable in the crime for which he plead not guilty, it is evidence that he is not very bright. I think that rubbing noses thing they do up there destroys brain cells. Of course he is 84 years young and he has been rubbing noses for a lot of years, which could be a factor.
Someone should do a study. Could that actually be used in his defense? How much money is needed for the study? Will congress fund such a study? Surely it cannot be as costly as that bridge to nowhere. This has potential and it has me thinking like a politician; without logic… actually the appropriate word is stupidly.
I'm not as old as Senator Stevens and my mind is not what it used to be. I tend to forget things a bit in my “not that old” age, so I am going to cut the Senator some slack on that bridge thing, since there was no allegation of a bribe in the deal. As yet, nothing criminal is alleged in that bridge debacle; he may have just gone off his meds, or maybe that nose rubbing factor kicked in. Whatever it was, Senator Stevens was not thinking clearly. Deborah and I have not taken up the nose rubbing tradition and I am not on meds........... yet, but I do not always think clearly, so I can relate.
Back to that “knowingly” word. It does concern me when the best defense one has is to say he really did not know he was doing anything wrong. Apparently the good Senator got around $250,000 worth of questionable “gifts” in the alleged crime that he does not know he committed, if he committed it.
It is important to remember here that this man is a long term member of congress. He makes laws and spends our hard earned tax dollars. Even if I give this him the benefit of doubt on that “knowingly” part of his denial, I do not want him to remain in the Senate. Whether he knew it was wrong, or not, if he did it he is at least guilty of being extremely “unsmart”. I cannot get around that fact, so please take this man out of the law making and tax dollar spending business. Maybe he just spent too many nights in a cold igloo and he has permanent brain freeze. I'm searching for an answer here.
All of the aforementioned said, he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and I expect this case will never see the inside of a courtroom, for trial. The man is 84 years young and he has served in the Senate for decades. There is no way he will be dragged through the court system, found guilty and sentenced to prison time. There is an unwritten law that protects congresspersons from prison time unless you do something to the wrong person in government. Senator Stevens did not cross the wrong person, but it does appear he got caught looking for loose change in the wrong pockets.
