Now I don’t know Latin any more than O’Keefe does, but since we are throwing phrases in that noble classical language around, I did vaguely remember this one and looked it up.
Eventus stultorum magister.
It means Events are the teacher of stupid people. We’ll see.
“The truth shall make me free”, O’Keefe shouted as in got in a taxi. I’m afraid that the old axiom may not apply in this case, in fact the truth may serve to take away his freedom for a while.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one. What the hell were these guys thinking? What did they possibly hope to achieve? No matter what the ultimate goal, they had to know that what they were doing was illegal.
Did they believe they would truly become Republican heroes for their efforts? Not likely. Even Senator David Vitter said "I've seen the news reports and it's obvious this is a very serious matter. We're blessed with an extremely competent U.S. attorney's office in New Orleans, and I know they'll handle this as aggressively as they have other serious cases.”
We know how seriously Senator Vitter takes the word serious, so I get the idea that the fellows are going to be disappointed if they are looking for support from the very quickly disappearing Republicans who lauded O’Keefe’s efforts in the ACORN expose`.
I especially am having trouble grasping the fact that Robert Flanagan was involved in this. Although it wasn’t his intent, he has hurt his father, Acting U S Attorney Bill Flanagan.
While we don’t blame the father for the sins of the son, it will nonetheless affect the father in a very real way. When people see him on TV representing the US Attorney, or read an article in the paper where he is quoted, the first thing that will pop into their mind is “Oh, his son is the one who . . . . “. I really do feel badly for his family. I wish he had thought of them before he did this.Flanagan’s attorney, J. Garrison Jordan, said "I think it was poor judgment. I don't think there was any intent or motive to commit a crime."
Poor judgment - ya think?? Please. The intent to do something with that telephone service, whether to tap it or to interrupt it, clearly was criminal. These guys are educated, they are not stupid, and they were fully aware of what they were doing. If they weren’t fully aware of what the consequences would be, that is their own fault.
You can read the FBI affidavit here.
I realize that this is a disjointed writing, but I have really been thinking ‘out loud’. I just have trouble comprehending the stupidity.
What do you think, can you shed some light on it for me? What do you think they were trying to accomplish?
Is there more to this than meets the eye?
ReplyDelete1) I'm a big fan of the ACORN videos. They had it coming.
ReplyDelete2) I think it was really stupid to try to tap a U.S. Senator's phone.
3) I think it is less than appropriate or even logical to try to smear anyone who praised the former before the latter even happened.
Does the lame-ness of Spielberg's "A.I." tarnish the reviews of those who praised "Raiders of Lost Ark", "Schindler's List", or "Saving Private Ryan"?
totally stupid act.....regardless of prior, in between, or latter.......
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting that Flanagan was not with the other 3 when they appeared as ordered this morning. The other three share an attorney, while Flanagan has his own. I would imagine his Dad had a hand in that. Pure conjecture: is Flanagan going to tell the Feds what they want to hear and avoid jail?
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly puzzled. From what I gather, they "may" have been trying to prove that Landrieu had messed with her own phones to prevent having to deal with constituents' complaints.
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case, they sure picked a stupid way to do it.
This was at totally stupid act first and foremost because it was against the law. Secondly, it will give fodder to the left to paint ALL conservatives as zealous lunatics.
ReplyDeleteIf they were trying to prove that Mary had tampered with her own phones, this REALLY was stupid.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it was stupid anyway...but you don't have to tamper with a phone...you can just take it off the hook...or better yet, unplug it.
No, I think it was something else. And, Flanagan might spill the beans. But, the prosecutor would be wise (for the appearance of things) to approach the others first. The kid is in a bad spot for sure.
Ooops! After reading more about this thing today, what Donna B. wrote makes MUCH MORE SENSE, and my comment makes much less sense.
ReplyDeleteI knew this was going to be an "item." I had over 200 hits at my place yesterday through Google Image searches of "Hannah Giles," or "James O'Keefe," etc. Obviously, I posted a very popular photo a while back.
The guy is a maroon! Ya' know, sometimes a little taste of sugar can make an addict. I think that's probably where this guy is.