One Man’s Opinion
By
Jesse J. Lewis, Sr.
Hastert – A Shocking Story
According to unreliable facts so far, former Speaker of the house Dennis Hastert was paying a former student to keep quiet about allegations of sexual abuse from the time when Hastert was a teacher and wrestling coach in Illinois, two sources with knowledge of the federal government investigation told CNN.
Hastert was a teacher and wrestling coach in Yorkville, Illinois between 1965 and 1981 before starting politics. Federal prosecutors indicted Hastert on Thursday last week for lying to the FBI about $3.5 million he agreed to pay to an undisclosed person to “Cover up past misconduct.”
A federal law enforcement official confirmed to CNN early last Friday evening that the former student was a male and a minor when the alleged abuse took place. Federal law enforcement officials also said that investigators decided not to pursue a possible extortion case in the matter.
The high school where Hastert worked released a statement earlier Friday denying any knowledge of past misdeeds.
Because a person has been accused of something does not mean they are guilty. In this country, we rely upon due process. We have not reached that stage yet and various groups are removing the man’s name from boards and agencies, changing the name of the street named after him, etc.
The person that they should be criticizing is the one attempting to do the black- mailing.
In the event the Senator had sex with a minor he should have been supported by his family and it should have been reported to law enforcement.
At the present time, the only thing he has done wrong is to take his own money out of the bank.
Incidentally, if you take more than $10,000, it is not your responsibility to report it to the Federal government. It is the bank’s responsibility to do so. You shouldn’t be able to put anyone in jail for using his or her own money.
Just in case he did do something, and did not report it, the statute of limitations sets in at some time. The person that should be going to court is the one attempting to distort money.
Hillary Clinton’s Opposition – Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley
Senator Bernie Sanders said that he is campaigning for the poor. What he should know is everybody is campaigning for the poor, even the Republican Party.
Bernie Sanders is not just running for president – he is running a “revolution.”
The firebrand Vermont Senator vowed to wrest back America from the hands of billionaires, formally launching a populist grass roots White House bid that threatens to tug Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton towards the liberal left.
“The gap between the very rich and everyone is wider than at any time since the 1920s. The issue of wealth and income inequality is the great moral issue of our time, it is the great economic issue of our time and it is the great political issue of our time. And it is the great political issue of our time, Sanders roared, before thousands of supporters in Burlington, the liberal city he once served as mayor.
‘Enough is enough,” Sanders said, warning he was putting the “top 1 percent” – the biggest beneficiaries of what he says is an immoral economy skewed against the poor, on notice.
“To the billionaire class I say your game has got to end,” he said. “This great nation and its government belongs to all of the people and not to a handful of billionaires, their super PACs and their lobbyists,” Sanders said, his aspiring voice echoing across a placid Lake Champlain, with the Adirondacks etched on the horizon.
Sanders, who trails Clinton in most polls by around 50 percent, is the longest of long-shot candidates as his politics sits well to the left of the mainstream of the Democratic Party, let alone most of the rest of American voters.
At the present time, Bernie Sanders is sitting on 14 percent of the vote. Martin O’Malley is sitting on 1 percent of the vote.
On paper, Martin O’Malley should be a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.
But on paper, the Washington Nationals should have won the World Series. And campaigns, like sporting contests, have to be fought in the real world. And, in that world, O’Malley is basically an asterisk – or at least being treated that way by the media. His official announcement recently did not make up of a note or notice.
His announcement in Baltimore delivered in shirtsleeves, hit all the liberal talking points, but O’Malley has a way of just reading his speeches and there were few emotional high points.
His media drought is partly because Hillary Clinton is a million miles ahead. It’s partly because Bernie Sanders – who might be viewed as more or a gadfly candidate – has stolen the spotlight. And, it’s partly his own fault.
O’Malley is a careful and cautious guy, and that doesn’t make him an inspiring figure. He has been highly reticent about attacking Hillary, limiting himself to some veiled jabs. And when you do that, you forfeit the coverage you might otherwise get for taking on the front-runner. And you fuel suspicions that you are just running to raise your profile and maybe land a job in the next administration.
