South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson has apparently suffered a stroke:
Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., was hospitalized today, according to his Washington office.
He suffered from a possible stroke, and was taken to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C..
Of course this is first and foremost a personal tragedy for Sen. Johnson and his family. But should the worst unfold, and he is unable to fulfill his term, Republican Gov. Mike Rounds would appoint a replacement to serve until the next general election in 2008. That would give control of the US Senate to the GOP, with VP Dick Cheney breaking a 50-50 tie.
No doubt, given such a scenario, the Republicans would claim a mandate and rule accordingly.
UPDATE:
CBS News now says the senator was hospitalized due to an “undiagnosed illness“:
Johnson, who turns 60 on Dec. 28, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital with an undiagnosed illness, said a spokeswoman, Julianne Fisher.
She said, however, the senator did not suffer a stroke or heart attack. His office had said earlier it was a possible stroke.
Let’s hope that’s good news.
Hopefully he can recover and fill his term. Prayers to Sen Johnson and his family.
this is a very sad thing to happen. both he and his wife have survived cancer and now this. i hope for his speedy recovery. and goldy…don’t be such a vulture, believe me real republicans are not thinking like you about this situation.
and really…..remember shrillary’s death watch on strom thurmond????? could it get tackier?
MSNBC is reporting that, under S.D. law, there is no provision to replace him if he is “incapacitated”. The seat has to be empty, either through resignation or impeachment. If the seat is empty, the Republican governor can appoint Johnson’s replacement, who will serve until the next general election (in 2008). But if Johnson can hold on until he recovers and if he refuses to resign, the Democrats will still have a majority. There is some precedent in S.D. for this.
As I said in my comments on the previous post:
(1) I think the authorities should check for radiation poisoning.
(2) We should all pray for Sen. Johnson’s speedy recovery.
(3) Somebody should get a camera over to the White House to get a picture of the party going on over there.
Hopefully, the Senator will have a speedy recovery. Strokes are bad business, but people DO come back from them.
ChristmasGhost at 2: “…don’t be such a vulture, believe me real republicans are not thinking like you about this situation.”
A few years ago I would have believed that also. I also believed that no major political party in the U.S. would interfere with an election, or would put American troops at risk to score political points or personal grudges. But the more I learn about Rove and Cheney, the more I believe they, and those that work for them, are capable of just about anything. I’m sure when I go to church tonight, there will be quite a few of my fellow church-goer’s who will comment that this was an answer to their prayers.
The Gov can only fill a “vacancy” and unless the man dies or decides to step down, the righties can’t steal the seat.
I am sure the wingers are hoping he dies!
By the way, there’s a nice video on King5.com now showing a construction crane “weathervaning” in the high winds.
This is a terrible situation for him and his family. Depending on the severity, they are all going to need lots of support to get thru this.
Politics can come later.
RHP6033 @ 3
Let’s give our prayers and best wishes to Senator Johnson and his family. Pray for his health and recovery, and hopefully a speedy one.
Medicine is pretty good these days, and people usually recover from strokes. My father had a stroke in 1984 when he was 57 (about Johnson’s age now). It was pretty severe, and he suffered a couple more in the same series of events. He had experimental surgery — the method of which is now routine — which saved his life that normally would have been lost. Medical techniques are even better these days, so I will hope that Senator Johnson can be given the necessary treatment to effectively recover from his stroke.
I just got “The Nation” out of the mailbox. I’ll be back.
5 “I’m sure when I go to church tonight, there will be quite a few of my fellow church-goer’s who will comment that this was an answer to their prayers.”
Ouch! I don’t know your situation, but if it were me I’d consider finding another church.
I grew up in Magnolia, which at the time was a true bastion of Republicanism…myself included, in my callow youth. I was still pretty stunned when one of the kids waltzed into our junior-high classroom, grinning from ear to ear, and announced that Jack Kennedy had been shot.
RHP6033 @ 3 cont’d
That all having been said, the hypothetical legalities are interesting. Let’s suppose a member of Congress were permanently incapicitated and no longer effectively able to serve.
There is no legal provision to require such a person to resign. Likewise, most states don’t have these types of provisions either.
Congress can expel a member by a 2/3 majority of the house in question. This is very rarely done. The constitutional provision in question, Article I, Section 5, Paragraph 1, states:
“Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.”
Presumably, expulsion should be reserved as punishment for “disorderly Behaviour” (or even “disorderly behavior” –in modern American language) of the most extreme sort. I don’t think a member of Congress could be properly expelled for being incapacitated.
Please note that Amendment XXV provides for the incapacitation of the President. The President may not be constitutionally removed from office for being incapacitated, but only from the duties of office. The Vice-President would merely be serving as Acting President under the appropriate circumstances and procedures.
The only legal remedy for an incapacitated member of Congress who is either unwilling to resign or physically unable to resign would be through guardianship and personal status law.
A state court would appoint a guardian for a member of Congress unable to take care of their personal or financial affairs. Or, as commonly is the case with people of knowledge and means, the member of Congress may have a durable power of attorney in the case of incapacitation.
The guardian or power of attorney would then make the same decisions the member of Congress would personally make otherwise, and should act in the best interests of the member of Congress. Any decisions by the guardian or power of attorney could be subject to review by the state court judge.
Would resignation of the member of Congress be in the ward’s (i.e. the legal term for an incapacitated person) best interests? What decision would the member of Congress have made, if he or she weren’t incapacitated about what to do if incapacitated? Political and public interest decisions ought to prevail, although the guardian would also have to consider the personal financial interests of the member of Congress.
There could be a situation where the guardian would refuse to resign the member of Congress for personal financial reasons — i.e. the salary and benefits for the remainder of the elected term that would be lost. (What does federal law say, if anything, about pension or other compensation in such an event?) In an appropriate case, Congress might end up passing a law to pay incapacitated members the salary and benefits for the remainder of their elected term if they are resigning office due to incapacity — perhaps simply to resolve this kind of guardianship quandary.
Pope at 9: I understand Johnson was first attended to by a Congressional physician, who called for the ambulance. I suspect that he received quicker than average care, which I understand is vital to a quick recovery from a stroke.
Just can’t help yourselves…….Sad
How about this..instead of wringing your hands about how to keep control of congress, why not surf over to the Sen. website and send good wishes….
True colors..
By the way, there’s a cartoon “For Better or for Worse” which has been carrying a series on a fellow who had a stroke (the grandfather of the featured family). I check out the cartoon every day, its pretty good for family humor and drama, as well as artistry (and it is non-political).
http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fi.....002199.php
The new Senate will otherwise have 49 Republicans and 51 Democrats (including two Independents who will support the Democrats).
If one Democrat were unable to vote or otherwise participate, this would leave 49 Republicans and 50 Democrats. If that Democrat member remained and was not replaced, the Democrats would still control the Senate.
I think the political power of a guardian or power of attorney for an incapacitated member of Congress would basically be limited to resigning (or not resigning) the member from office. I don’t think the guardian or power of attorney would be allowed to vote in Congress in place of the incapacitated member. And Congress, by internal rules, would appoint a ranking employee of Congress to supervise the staff employed in the office of the incapacitated member.
This just in minutes ago:
“A spokesman for Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson said the politician did not suffer a stroke or heart attack, contrary to initial reports after Johnson was taken to a Washington hospital, weeks before his party was to take control of the Senate by a one-vote margin.” ETC
http://www.breitbart.com/news/.....9HUG2.html
rhp………don’t be so theatrical.radiation poisoning??? what are you? 12? don’t you think that if any american was going to go after a democrat it would be someone other than a conservative democrat from south dakota for cripes sake? like nancy pelosi?
and no one would. grow up! for god’s sake and stop being such a legend in your own mind. the democrats all seem to be suffering from the “I’M-LARGER-THAN-LIFE” syndrome these days.
radiation poisoning indeed………
good grief!
ChristmasGhost: Why waste the pixels on these Moonbat!s? No one wishes death or ill will on anyone except the Moonbat! cheerleading squad here. Tim Johnson is an okay guy for a librul. He’s not a way-out whack job like Pelosi or Reid.
I hope he fully recovers so the US populace will fully understand what it means to have Moonbat!s in Congress.
ghost @2: ” … believe me real republicans are not thinking like you about this situation.”
What real Republicans? There are no real Republicans left. And you bet your ass the fake Republicans running the White House and Congress have whipped out their calculators.
re 18: Democratic politicians have had bad luck with small aircraft as well. These Republicans are capable of ANYTHING.
They never did catch those responsible for mailing the anthrax after 9/11 — and the only place to get that particular strain of anthrax was in GOVERNMENT LABS with very high security.
If dirty tricks is your bag and the ones you have been using aren’t working you just go to dirtier tricks. Poisoning a Dem. Sen. may be an intimidation tactic.
@12 Geez, Richard, are you saying a guardian could exercise an M.C.’s vote on the floor of Congress? That seems pretty far fetched to me! I would think a guardian has authority only over personal affairs.
19 “No one wishes death or ill will on anyone …”
… except Ann Coulter and the millions of wingnuts who buy her books, read her columns, and cheer her wildly at her public appearances.
If he was poisoned we need to do something dramatic to let those responsible know that we will fight fire with fire.
A pie-in-the-face of some prominent Republican could suffice as a warning. Think about it. If you can throw a pie in someone’s face, you could throw anything.
Enoch Root says:
Didja hear about the 1,300 supposed illegal immigrants rounded up in a multi-state sting by the DHS? […………………………….That’s 1300 less Democrat votes in 2008. Now let us assume that each illegal family has 8 to 10 in each Democrat Catholic household. That’s a lot of illegal Mexican Democrat votes that will not be cast for Hillary!!]
19 “No one wishes death or ill will on anyone except the Moonbat!”
This trip comes to you from the same wingnut crowd that claims Clinton murdered Vince Foster! Does anyone else see the irony and hypocrisy?
Originally thought to be a stroke, now called not-a-stroke? Sounds to me like a transient ischemic attack (TIA). That’s basically a mini-stroke, wherein the symptoms clear up/disappear within a few hours. Depending on the site of the TIA, the symptoms could be motor (one-sided weakness, flaccidity, paralysis, etc.) or sensory (maybe visual deficits, linguistic disturbances, aphasia, disorientation). The key is that it resolves very quickly and fully.
TIA still requires a neurological workup and additional medical exams to determine the location and, more importantly, to intercept the underlying condition that caused it.
Roger Rabbit @ 22
I never explicitly said in Comment 12 that a guardian could VOTE in Congress on behalf of an incapacitated member. And I certainly did not mean to imply that — although I sure as hell left that door wide open, didn’t I?
Would you agree that a guardian could resign on behalf of an incapacitated member of Congress, subject of course to whatever appropriate court supervision was required in the guardianship case?
If you look at Comment 16, I clarified Comment 12, by stating that the guardian’s political power would basically be limited to resigning the member from office. I didn’t think the guardian would be allowed to vote in Congress or supervise the member’s official staff.
Maybe I could be a Rabbit Judge …
It’s not exactly the type of dialogue you expect to have when you cuddle up with Snowflake at home, but Rudolph is a rabbit judge and some of these rabbits are meant just for the dinner table.
“A good fryer,” Rudolph said as he lifted up a 3-pound prize winner at the 35th annual State and National Rabbit Show inside Southern University’s Maurice A. Edmond Livestock Center in Baton Rouge on Dec. 2.
Later, he tried to explain.
“This is a competition much like a dog or cat show,” Rudolph said. “The only difference is, these animals are also raised for slaughter.”
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/.....=louisiana
26
“tripe” not “trip”
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Tuesday named a third-term Alabama congressman to replace Rep. William Jefferson on the House Ways and Means Committee, but they said the recently re-elected New Orleans Democrat can get his seat back with “full seniority” if he is cleared of wrongdoing in an ongoing federal corruption probe.
The decision in effect ratifies a June decision by the House Democratic Caucus, which stripped Jefferson of the committee post after release of a government affidavit that said FBI agents videotaped him taking $100,000 in cash from a government informant and later found all but $10,000 of the money in his freezer. Jefferson has not been indicted and denies any wrongdoing.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/w.....038;coll=1
28 Would you agree that a guardian could resign on behalf of an incapacitated member of Congress, subject of course to whatever appropriate court supervision was required in the guardianship case?
Off the top of my head — without having researched it — no. I can think of some reasons why a guardian couldn’t/shouldn’t be able to submit an MC’s resignation. It nullifies the will of the voters, for one thing.
But if it is indeed legally possible, then let’s get Bush certified as nuts, appoint a guardian for him, and collect his resignation from the guardian posthaste.
Hey Richard, while you’re here, what do you think of the cozy “business” relationships at Port of Seattle? Is Marc Dinsmore getting too friendly with the port’s no-bid contractors? Is Pat Davis too friendly with Marc Dinsmore? Is he in her pants? Just wondering. You seem to be on top of everything interesting going on in this town.
31 Seems fair. If the guy’s innocent, he shouldn’t be punished. If he’s guilty, he should go to jail, where he can be appointed to serve on the kitchen cleanup committee.
Stealing the FBI’s entrapment money is a serious offense, you know. Very serious.
That’s like running over a traffic cop in a crosswalk. Speaking of which — another pedestrian got squashed yesterday. http://tinyurl.com/y94n3g Expect a lot more casualties if Hwy. 99 traffic is re-routed to surface streets.
Looks like the U.S. Justice Department is pretty politically clever with the William Jefferson matter. Why didn’t they indict him last summer, when he was videotaped taking a $100,000 bribe and $90,000 of the cash was found in his freezer?
An indictment and trial last year wouldn’t have done the Republicans any good whatsoever. There is really no chance for the GOP to win in that district — especially with the “Top Two” election system used in Louisiana. Congress was controlled by the GOP, and there was little to be gained by simply making Congress look bad. Especially after the House Democrats acted promptly to kick Jefferson off the Ways & Means Committee almost immediately.
But an indictment in February or March of next year — sometime after Bush’s State of the Union address — can only make the Democrats in Congress look bad, and draw attention from what they are trying to accomplish.
It will also draw a lot of attention away from the Bush administration’s dismal failure to accomplish very much to help New Orleans recover after Katrina.
how exactly would one know if a liberal has had a stroke??
29 No problem, man. My southern cousins will repopulate Mississippi with rabbits in no time! Give us four weeks and they’ll have rabbits coming out of their ears down there.
Roger Rabbit @ 32
That is an interesting point. Why should an incapacitated Member of Congress be resigned by a guardian? The U.S. Constitution makes no provision for removal of an incapacitated MC, nor for an incapacitated President — in the latter case, a President can only be relieved of official duties, which then devolved to an Acting President.
There is no fundamental need to remove or replace an incapacitated MC prior to the expiration of the MC or their term of office. There are plenty of other MC’s to perform the political voting role required of Congress. The office staff will remain for constituent services, supervised by a senior Congressional employee.
But it would be best not to interfere in the decisions of the state court and the court-appointed guardian. I mean really — is there any precedent for Congress to interfere in these type of state decisions?
how exactly would one know if a liberal has had a stroke??
EASY. JUST MOSEY OVER TO THE COMMENT THREADS AT (UN)SP. IF YOU FIND YOURSELF WRITING THAT KIND OF CRAP, YOU MUST INDEED HAVE BRAIN DAMAGE!
Maybe one of you moonbats can explain this to me:
A 70 foot tree falls on an empty school bus. Divine Providence intercedes. Cops show up and cite the driver for not having a CD endorsement. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....dents.html
Chris Grimm is Transportation manager at TSD. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....dents.html
“Chris” Grimm… is sorta like “Chris” Gregoire… another stoopid fucking woman in over her head. Sorta like Tamara Hardy too.
So tell me… how the fuck is it that somebody can get a gig driving a few dozen of our children in a school bus and the WOMAN responsible for our children’s safety doesn’t even fucking bother to check the qualifications of the driver?
How the fuck can that happen? Why doesns’t TSD fire Chris Grimm immediately for gross incompetence? I know the answer…. I’ll tell you later…
40 Would Congress let a state court or guardian tell Congress how to conduct its business? Don’t think so. Who has the constitutional authority to determine House membership, state courts, guardians, or Congress itself? I think that answers the question.
Frankly, a lot of people believe the more congressmen are incapacitated, the better off the country is.
42 Lessee, Redneck … you stiffed Goldy on a bet, you stiffed your dead crack-whore ex-wife on vagimony, you stiffed your kid on child support … is there ANYBODY you haven’t cheated? Pay up, welsher.
A while ago Goldy was complaining about being broke and how he could “monetize” HA to bring in some money. I even offered to pay for his daughter’s lunch to get her off the taxpayer funded free lunch program, but he declined. Sheesh… I was just trying to help.
So in the Christmas spirit, I think all you moonbats who freeload off Goldy’s efforts here should start compensating him for the vital public service he provides. I mean, if Tim Eyman can afford a Lexus and a fancy house in a fancy subdivision as a political activist, seems like Goldy should also be able to live a similar lifestyle.
So I hereby call on all you freeloading moonbats to start paying for the opportunity to spew your kookiness here. Roger Rabbit, as the single biggest freeloader here, I think YOU should lead by example and write a check to Goldy for $10,000. If you do that, I’m sure Rakeface, Loocy, DonDon, Dr. E, GBS, Belltowner, Clueless, poon, Tuttle, Rujax and others will fall all over themselves to follow suit.
Goldy, don’t you think it would be smart to put something on the main HA page where donors can use their credit cards to make regular and generous donations to you? C’mon… that’s kinda business 101… make it easy for people to give you money.
You moonbats here OWE IT TO GOLDY to start paying him. Stop being greedy fucking freeloaders. PAY UP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
38 anti-liberal says: how exactly would one know if a liberal has had a stroke?? 12/13/2006 at 6:46 pm
If a liberal sounds like a wingnut, call 9-1-1.
Rabbit – When are you going to stop freeloading off Goldy and start paying up to post here?
Goldy is going broke doing this. If you don’t GAF about Goldy, how ’bout his daughter?
You cold heartless bastard…
Hey Goldy – Howzit going getting the freeloaders here to pay you for your efforts?
C’mon… whatsamatter… can’t you do as well as Eyman with your political activism?
Why won’t people pay you for what you do?
When are you going to put up a link to contribute?
Hey Grossman – Are you going to contribute to the “Stop Goldy’s Daughter from Starving” fund?
I tried to get it started, but Goldy didn’t want my money. Maybe he’ll want yours…
Hey Rabbit – Explain to us how the laws of man trump the laws of physics:
Roger Rabbit says:
Technical problems are man-made phenomena, not acts of nature, and as such can be prevented with adequate inspection/regulation.
12/01/2006 at 12:55 pm
I think this is my all time favorite:
Government exists to make private wealth possible.
Commentby Belltowner— 3/12/06@ 4:15 pm
REDNECK – WE COULD CARE A FLYING CRAP WHAT YOU THINK.
JUST PAY YOUR FUCKING GAMBLING DEBT AND LEAVE.
Holy Shit !!!!!!!!!!!!
He did it. Goldy took my advice:
http://zme.amazon.com/exec/var.....74-2303607
How many of you have contributed? C’mon…. self report here.
Goldy – Tell us how much you’ve collected so far.
YOS – How much have you paid Goldy?
No bullshit… just tell us the dollars and cents.
Maybe one of you moonbats can explain this to me:
A 70 foot tree falls on an empty school bus. Divine Providence intercedes. Cops show up and cite the driver for not having a CD endorsement. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ local/6420AP_WA_School_Bus_Acc idents.html
Chris Grimm is Transportation manager at TSD. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ local/6420AP_WA_School_Bus_Acc idents.html
“Chris” Grimm… is sorta like “Chris” Gregoire… another stoopid fucking woman in over her head. Sorta like Tamara Hardy too.
So tell me… how the fuck is it that somebody can get a gig driving a few dozen of our children in a school bus and the WOMAN responsible for our children’s safety doesn’t even fucking bother to check the qualifications of the driver?
How the fuck can that happen? Why doesns’t TSD fire Chris Grimm immediately for gross incompetence? I know the answer…. I’ll tell you later…
apache IN A fog…..come on. conspiracy theories? the man has had cancer. he has probably had chemo and or radiation treatment. it, unfortunately, sounds like his cancer is back. the neurological symptoms could be a sign of some very unpleasant cancers . sadly, the stroke diagnosis would have been better news for him.
as for your “theory” about the anthrax…you do not know what you are talking about as far as the strain etc.trust me on this.
and a pie in the face? that is your adult answer to things? a pie in the face? you really are 12 aren’t you?
and N in seattle…they have already ruled out a stroke which would, technically, rule out a TIA.he is within the window for his cancer to be returning in another form.
i wish him the best…he’s a very decent guy.
roger…. as for the comment that there are no real republicans left…..you are so wrong. how about the decent people of this country? i am one of them.
and roger, could you be more of an walking oxymoron if you tried? mr. big oil stockholder?????
Ghost, apache, goldy…. do ya think… maybe Divine Providence?
Welcher @46,
Actually, there are both PayPal and an Amazon Honor System links, through which people may make donations. And I will shortly announce an online fundraiser to benefit… me.
I’m not sure why you find the concept so ridiculous.
Goldy – What’s ridiculous? LMAO…
It’s fucking ridiculous to think that you can raise even a fraction of the money that Tim gets from his supporters. Tim provides a real service to real people that is tangible. You just promote intolerance and hate. There’s no money in that.
But just in case I’m wrong, let us know when you buy the Lexus, or better yet… when you can afford to live in a school district where your daughter can get a decent education. Let’s hope it happens before it’s too late for her.
Back to the subject of this thread.
Senator Johnson is currently undergoing surgery at George Washington University Hospital. There is very little information available, but CNN is keeping a page up for this story.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITI.....index.html
As for all the talk about how Faux News and the far-right is speculating about the balance in the Senate, I would point out that the left wing blogs and news outfits are also talking about the same thing.
While I may not care much for Faux News, we can afford to give them the benefit of the doubt here. What they say (and I hope they mean) is that we should pray for Senator Johnson’s full and speedy recovery.
And for just this one time, I agree with them.
Fuck giving Faux News the benefit of the doubt. Only traitors, cowards and idiots would do such a thing.
#60
There is no money in intolerance and hate?
What color is the sky on your planet?
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if it turned out that some rethug had the Senator incapacitated. The rethugs will stop at nothing to get power.
Tim provides a real service to real people. Yes he sucks their dicks.
58 Mark The Redneck KENNEDY says: Ghost, apache, goldy…. do ya think… maybe Divine Providence? 12/13/2006 at 8:30 pm
Contrary to what you may think, Redneck, God doesn’t work for your side. In fact, God doesn’t even like your side! She’s tired of cleaning up after wingnuts. Pay your gambling debt!
HEY REDNECK!!! Have you supported the troops? http://www.operation-helmet.org/ I’m in for $99.00. How about you? No bullcrap, just dollars and cents.
Redneck — I’ll make it easy for you! Just fill in the blank:
I, Redneck, swear on my mother’s grave and Tim Eyman’s lying ass that I donated $ ___.00 to http://www.operation-helmet.org/ ! If I’m lying again, may God strike me dead!
MTR@59
The Paypal link works according to my email system………
Ah, I see rightequalsstupid is back putting up posts here so that he can point them out to the folks over at the far-right blogs as evidence that we’re all a bunch of hate-mongers and conspiracy junkies.
Of course, in his left-wing persona, he’s offended that anyone would actually pray for the health of the Senator.
More to the point, Senator Johnson is in critical condition after surgery for an intracerebral bleed. More surgery may be needed, and even if all goes well, he may need several months to recover.
Just to put a stop to the conspiracy junkies here, the intracerebral bleed was apparently caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation. Essentially, unless the Republicans managed to get to him in the womb, it wasn’t them.
His family has expressed their gratitude for the prayers of well-wishers.
Again, the link to the story is:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITI.....index.html
Most of the folks here would, if the situation were reversed and Senator Johnson was a Republican, still wish for his recovery. While this will have partisan repercussions, this isn’t a partisan issue, so yes, I’ll even give the folks over at Faux News the benefit of the doubt and say that they sincerely wish for the Senator’s recovery.
Only someone that would be cheering if the situation was reversed would fail to see that.
ChristmasGhost at 18: Obviously you haven’t been following the British investigation into the Russian ex-spy’s death from radiation poisoning. The ex-spy was a vocal critic of Putin, and blamed him, shortly before he died. Remember that the ex-spay and Putin are both ex-KGBers.
So, at the time, I’m thinking that there are enough wingnuts out there, that somebody (just one) who might be thinking: “Hmmm, only one vote difference in the Senate. I work as a janitor in a hospital, they have some radioactive stuff there. God is on my side”.
Of course, today’s early news is that it wasn’t exactly a stroke, but another type of brain/circulatory system attack which caused bleading in his brain, which was relieved by surgery. The Senator is still in critical condition.
Now he can join the ranks of his fellow braindead Democrats in the Senate.
rhp6033……..i have, actually, been following the news. from many sides.of course putin had it done.the KGB has access to alot of things still. BUT…it’s not as easy as you think. what they used was not something you could find in a hospital. polonium 210 is one of the ‘rarest’ of all the radioactive materials.it’s hard to detect and only a small amount would do it[obviously] BUT they don’t have it in hospitals or anywhere else where someone without high security clearance could get anything even similar…..except:
company XXXXXXXXXX sells it.you would need 15,ooo of their ‘needle sources’ at a total cost of about a million dollars to have a toxic amount.weight for weight it is about 5 million times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide.however…before you start thinking “well….it could be done” not so fast. these things are watched very closely by our government and if someone did try to buy that many needles of it every red flag from here to DC would be raised. thankfully……
it is used commonly in anti static devices..interestingly so.and as an atomic heat source.they have considered using it for a heat source for the space station. and it can be used as a neutron trigger for nuclear weapons.
but…poisoning someone is soooo russian and definitely not american style. we have evolved beyond that.
now we just “poison” the thought processes of people with conspiracy theories…………..
and rhp…..putin is not an ex KGB-er as you put it. there is no such thing. once KGB always KGB.
you should thank your lucky stars that we have the CIA every day……you have no idea how much you should.
and i might add…..your theory that ….. “Hmmm, only one vote difference in the Senate. I work as a janitor in a hospital, they have some radioactive stuff there. God is on my side”.
don’t be ridiculous. the majority of “attacks” on this country from within this country have been done by far LEFT groups such as the ELF and the weather underground…not to mention the black panthers [hardly the GOP type] and SLA.
but i don’t look at all democrats and think “there goes a bad guy”.maybe you should try less projecting and more acceptance. repulicans like myself are americans just like you. we JUST belong to different political parties. AND THAT’S ALL. that’s the only difference.
you should rethink your ‘logic’ here……because it’s about as faulty as ELF’S right now. they think they are saving the environment by BURNING DOWN houses made of wood…which of course just means that more trees will be cut down to create more wood to rebuild those same houses.
see what i mean?
and it would clear your mind to think about the real threats to our country and safety [all of ours] that really do exist. why invent boogie men when we have real ones? and here’s a hint for you……they aren’t americans.
mark@50…goldy didn’t want your money?? come on! OUR goldy??? are we talking about the same guy? he’d take money from pinochet and rationalize it. LOL.
RightEqualsStupid says:
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if it turned out that some rethug had the Senator incapacitated. The rethugs will stop at nothing to get power.
so i guess you must be really really RIGHT. LOL.
rethugs indeed. is that the best you can do? parrot a less-than-amusing line over and over?
how about you come up with a new one…all on your own.
i double dog dare you [a la ‘a christmas story’]
I hope the guy recovers and can represent the folks who elected him. I would love to have control of the Senate back, but not like this…