Herman Cain isn't the only African-American conservative who spent time in Omaha, Nebraska during the mid-eighties. From DownWithTyranny.blogspot.com:
Omaha is tornado country, so when I say it's a great big small town, I'm talking acreage versus gossipy connectivity. It's flat and spread out with few tall buildings, but everyone is a whisper away from everyone else's business. It's not so big as to be home to two up-and-coming black Republicans with strong ties with the bigwigs in the Republican Party who could never cross paths. Restaurant people of all colors make it a point to know each other. To know what secrets wandering waiters and chefs may have taken with them as they move from job to job, etc... Wealthy Republicans are an even tighter clique. Wealthy black Republican restaurateurs in Omaha Nebraska in the late '80s were more likely to have been twins than not to have social if not business ties.
Lawrence E. King was a fixture in the Omaha black community. He had seen his opportunity gathering up black folks' money in a credit union known as the Franklin Credit Union, which he'd taken over in 1970. By 1976 there where whispers about this 300-pound socialite living large. There were minor stabs at investigating him, but the police did not want to be seen as the big bad white guys picking on the little ol' great big black man.
Tales of King entertaining guests with cocaine, hookers and hustlers were pervasive, but Omaha has some strange code of silence. It had been for many years a sort of mob neutral zone. "Tony might whack Vinnie in Chicago," but in Omaha their kids and wives would peacefully shop, play and picnic together. Drawing attention is not acceptable. Bush flew to Omaha on 9/11 in a very standard emergency protocol, and not one in ten Americans ever knew. Lily Tomlin and her partner Jane Wagner were a known couple around "The Big O" long before Lily came out. Omaha had lots of stories and still does, but none of them are news.
King -- who had been recruited by the RNC to get out the black Republican vote -- in his rise through the Republican ranks, was able to be the sum of their black best friends, as it were. He sang the national anthem at the 1984 and 1988 Republican conventions. In 1986, the Franklin Federal Credit Union moved into brand-new digs that also served as headquarters for King's burgeoning catering and food-service empire. King began making donations to the Omaha Press Club, the Republican Party and even gay rights organizations (especially those funding area youth programs). Upon being told he had no style by a ten-year-old boy, he went shopping and became a clothes junkie, big-time-- thus earning the nickname "Reverend Alice." People really began talking. Franklin Federal Credit Union seemed to be all right until an audit of King's taxes revealed what appeared to be some missing funds. A phony "certificates of deposit" scheme. Initially it was thought that $400,000 had disappeared. Then $4 million. Ultimately $40 million was determined to have vanished.
The FBI raid of the credit union sparked rumors that drugs and child pornography were discovered in the lower levels of the facility. It had been whispered that King had used the basement of the credit union as a "waiter academy" to train young men (twinks and blinks) in the fine art of waiting tables for what was hopefully to become his restaurant empire. In an Omaha World Herald interview, he spoke about how he wanted his places to be real elegant; the waiters would wear white dinner jackets. But King's deeper desires were rumored to be something quite different.
There was a lot of recruiting going on for guys to come be part of King's catering business. Many teens and young men talked of being expected to "put out," and rumors of pornographic video shoots circulated in the gay and black communities. After the raid there was an investigation into what had become of the missing funds. Eventually a private investigator was hired by the state legislature to look into stories of an international child prostitution ring. He interviewed dozens of waiters and folks around Omaha who had been curious about King's lavish gifts and extravagant ways. But things seemed tempered by the fact that King hung out with presidents, and area journalists. And owned a bank, and a sushi bar and...
The investigator is said to have flown to Chicago to meet with a person who had damning photographic evidence as to what was going on in the bowels of Franklin. That investigator never made it back to Omaha. His plane mysteriously blew up on the return flight. Primary witnesses suddenly changed their stories, and those who did not were convicted of perjury. One rent boy who testified that he was farmed out to several closeted power brokers in and around Omaha died mysteriously in New Mexico.
King was convicted of bank fraud and served nearly 10 out of the 15 years to which he was sentenced, but the grand jury concluded that all of the salacious allegations were merely "a big hoax" (wtf!) These allegations included supplying children for satanic blood rituals in Spain and supplying teens to a sex party in Washington, D.C., where some of those teens claimed they saw George W. Bush in attendance.
The story is larger and dirtier than what is within the scope of a DWT guest blog, and in fact was the subject of a Discovery Channel investigative report. Alas, that program was "purchased" a week before it was to air by some anonymous party...
Full Article:
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2011/07/does-herman-cain-have-40-million.html
Showing posts with label Nebraska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nebraska. Show all posts
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, January 18, 2010
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL
http://franklinscandal.com
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL is the story of a nationwide pedophile ring that pandered children to a cabal of the rich and powerful. The ring’s pimps were a pair of political powerbrokers who had access to the highest levels of our government. Nebraska legislators nearly exposed the ring in 1990, but its unveiling had the potential to produce seismic political aftershocks.The legislators' efforts resulted in rash of mysterious deaths and the overpowering corruption of federal and local law enforcement, including the FBI, Secret Service, and Justice Department, effecting an immaculate cover-up of the trafficking network.
The publisher is donating 50% of the book’s proceeds to organizations that assist abused children.
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL will be the first book to tell the complete tale of a power elite pedophile ring in the US and also of the cover-up of its heinous crimes.
About The Author
Nick Bryant's writing has recurrently focused on the plight of disadvantaged children in the United States, and he’s been published in numerous national journals, including the Journal of Professional Ethics, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, and Journal of School Health. He is the co-author of America’s Children: Triumph of Tragedy, addressing the medical and developmental problems of lower socioeconomic children in America.
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL is the story of a nationwide pedophile ring that pandered children to a cabal of the rich and powerful. The ring’s pimps were a pair of political powerbrokers who had access to the highest levels of our government. Nebraska legislators nearly exposed the ring in 1990, but its unveiling had the potential to produce seismic political aftershocks.The legislators' efforts resulted in rash of mysterious deaths and the overpowering corruption of federal and local law enforcement, including the FBI, Secret Service, and Justice Department, effecting an immaculate cover-up of the trafficking network.
The publisher is donating 50% of the book’s proceeds to organizations that assist abused children.
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL will be the first book to tell the complete tale of a power elite pedophile ring in the US and also of the cover-up of its heinous crimes.
About The Author
Nick Bryant's writing has recurrently focused on the plight of disadvantaged children in the United States, and he’s been published in numerous national journals, including the Journal of Professional Ethics, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, and Journal of School Health. He is the co-author of America’s Children: Triumph of Tragedy, addressing the medical and developmental problems of lower socioeconomic children in America.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A look at the Senate's '08 election scorecard
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/09/a-look-at-the-s.html
A look at the Senate's '08 election scorecard
With Democrat Mark Warner announcing today --- via e-mail and a YouTube video --- that he will seek the Virginia Senate seat Republican John Warner (no relation) is giving up in next year's election, there's little question where one of the happiest places in Washington is located these days.
That would be the headquarters of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where Mark Warner's decision is being toasted as the latest bit of glad tidings to come its way.
As the former --- and very popular --- governor of Virginia, Warner provides Democrats a strong shot at gaining a Senate seat in a state where they've been on the rebound anyway. More broadly, his candidacy now puts as many as seven GOP-held seats clearly at risk. Depending on the course of a couple of controversies, two more could be in play.
Among Democratic-held seats, meanwhile, one, maybe two, appear in jeopardy.
Bottom-line: barring a major reversal of political trends, Democrats not only are poised to build on the narrow Senate majority they surprisingly captured in the 2006 election, they could substantially expand it.
As this year's debates on the war in Iraq have vividly demonstrated, it's one thing to be in control of the Senate but it's quite another to have a working majority. And that's what could be within the grasp of the Democrats.
Unlike the House, where a simple majority dominates, 60 votes are often needed in the 100-member Senate to keep legislation from being talked to death. Currently, the Democratic caucus numbers 51 (comprising 49 members of the party and two independents who meet with them).
Some Democratic initiatives attract support from the handful of moderate Republicans who remain in the Senate. But time after time this year, an inability to hit the 60-vote mark has thwarted Democratic leaders from pushing their agenda.
It's the prospect of getting much closer to those 60 votes that has Democratic political operatives excited as they eye the next election. And they'll be almost giddy if, on the heels of Warner's announcement, the dream candidate they have in mind for Nebraska decides to take the plunge.
That would be Bob Kerrey, a Democrat who won the governorship and a Senate seat in the traditionally GOP state before retiring from politics a few years back. With Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel telling Nebraskans earlier this week that he would not be seeking reelection, Kerrey is mulling a run to replace him.
Along with Virginia (for sure) and Nebraska (maybe), here are the other at-risk Republican Senate seats in the '08 vote:
* Colorado, where incumbent Wayne Allard is bowing out. Democratic Rep. Mark Udall (son of one-time Democratic presidential contender Mo Udall) is the early favorite to claim the seat.
* Maine, where strong opposition to the Iraq war endangers incumbent Susan Collins.
* New Hampshire, where incumbent John Sununu also must buck an intense antiwar tide. He'll really be under the gun if Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, a former governor, decides to oppose him.
* Minnesota, where the Democratic challenger to incumbent Norm Coleman may be Al Franken, best known nationally for his lengthy stint on Saturday Night Live, as well as for his bestseller, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." (Some Democrats worry that Franken might be a bit too edgy for many voters; most bloggers wistfully contemplate his potential for livening up Senate debate).
* Oregon, where incumbent Gordon Smith must struggle to survive his state's Democratic-tilt but could benefit from the lack of a heavy-hitter foe.
In the best-case scenario for Democrats, New Mexico and Alaska could feature competitive contests.
In New Mexico, Republican Pete Domenici has been tarnished by his role in the firing of the U.S. attorney who was based in his state (part of the larger flap that did in Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales). Still, he's about as entrenched as a politician can be (he first won his seat in 1972), and has a vast well of support to draw upon.
In Alaska, Republican Ted Stevens will be vulnerable if he becomes further entangled in a corruption probe(he's already endured an FBI search of his home). Still, his time in the Senate exceeds even Domenici's (Stevens won an appointment to his seat in late 1968) and his current problems probably would have to blossom into a full-blown scandal to threaten his reelection chances.
The sole obviously vulnerable Senate Democrat comes from the region where the party is weakest --- the South --- and from the state where poor government response to Hurricane Katrina tainted all politicians --- Louisiana. Incumbent Mary Landrieu will have to overcome both of these factors, but she's shown keen political skills in the past.
Both parties will be closely watching South Dakota, where Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson only recently returned to any semblance of work after suffering a brain hemorrhage in December. Johnson insists he'll run for reelection, but some doubt it. The GOP will make a major push for the seat if he doesn't (and might even if he does, given the questions about his health that almost assuredly will persist).
Perhaps this rosy national picture for Democrats helped nudge Warner back into politics. After all, it was only 11 months ago (almost to the day) that he declared he would not be launching a presidential campaign for which he had been laying the groundwork.
Personal considerations were the main reasons he cited for his decision, saying he wanted to spend more time with his three teenage daughters.
"While politically this appears to be the right time for me to take the plunge, at this point I want to have a real life," Warner said. "And while the chance may never come again, I shouldn't move forward unless I'm willing to put everything else in my life on the back burner."
Like many parents, Warner may have discovered that his teens didn't really want him around the house that much.
-- Don Frederick
September 13, 2007 in Campaigning, Congress, Democratic Politics, Iraq War, Republican Politics, Senate Races
A look at the Senate's '08 election scorecard
With Democrat Mark Warner announcing today --- via e-mail and a YouTube video --- that he will seek the Virginia Senate seat Republican John Warner (no relation) is giving up in next year's election, there's little question where one of the happiest places in Washington is located these days.
That would be the headquarters of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where Mark Warner's decision is being toasted as the latest bit of glad tidings to come its way.
As the former --- and very popular --- governor of Virginia, Warner provides Democrats a strong shot at gaining a Senate seat in a state where they've been on the rebound anyway. More broadly, his candidacy now puts as many as seven GOP-held seats clearly at risk. Depending on the course of a couple of controversies, two more could be in play.
Among Democratic-held seats, meanwhile, one, maybe two, appear in jeopardy.
Bottom-line: barring a major reversal of political trends, Democrats not only are poised to build on the narrow Senate majority they surprisingly captured in the 2006 election, they could substantially expand it.
As this year's debates on the war in Iraq have vividly demonstrated, it's one thing to be in control of the Senate but it's quite another to have a working majority. And that's what could be within the grasp of the Democrats.
Unlike the House, where a simple majority dominates, 60 votes are often needed in the 100-member Senate to keep legislation from being talked to death. Currently, the Democratic caucus numbers 51 (comprising 49 members of the party and two independents who meet with them).
Some Democratic initiatives attract support from the handful of moderate Republicans who remain in the Senate. But time after time this year, an inability to hit the 60-vote mark has thwarted Democratic leaders from pushing their agenda.
It's the prospect of getting much closer to those 60 votes that has Democratic political operatives excited as they eye the next election. And they'll be almost giddy if, on the heels of Warner's announcement, the dream candidate they have in mind for Nebraska decides to take the plunge.
That would be Bob Kerrey, a Democrat who won the governorship and a Senate seat in the traditionally GOP state before retiring from politics a few years back. With Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel telling Nebraskans earlier this week that he would not be seeking reelection, Kerrey is mulling a run to replace him.
Along with Virginia (for sure) and Nebraska (maybe), here are the other at-risk Republican Senate seats in the '08 vote:
* Colorado, where incumbent Wayne Allard is bowing out. Democratic Rep. Mark Udall (son of one-time Democratic presidential contender Mo Udall) is the early favorite to claim the seat.
* Maine, where strong opposition to the Iraq war endangers incumbent Susan Collins.
* New Hampshire, where incumbent John Sununu also must buck an intense antiwar tide. He'll really be under the gun if Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, a former governor, decides to oppose him.
* Minnesota, where the Democratic challenger to incumbent Norm Coleman may be Al Franken, best known nationally for his lengthy stint on Saturday Night Live, as well as for his bestseller, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." (Some Democrats worry that Franken might be a bit too edgy for many voters; most bloggers wistfully contemplate his potential for livening up Senate debate).
* Oregon, where incumbent Gordon Smith must struggle to survive his state's Democratic-tilt but could benefit from the lack of a heavy-hitter foe.
In the best-case scenario for Democrats, New Mexico and Alaska could feature competitive contests.
In New Mexico, Republican Pete Domenici has been tarnished by his role in the firing of the U.S. attorney who was based in his state (part of the larger flap that did in Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales). Still, he's about as entrenched as a politician can be (he first won his seat in 1972), and has a vast well of support to draw upon.
In Alaska, Republican Ted Stevens will be vulnerable if he becomes further entangled in a corruption probe(he's already endured an FBI search of his home). Still, his time in the Senate exceeds even Domenici's (Stevens won an appointment to his seat in late 1968) and his current problems probably would have to blossom into a full-blown scandal to threaten his reelection chances.
The sole obviously vulnerable Senate Democrat comes from the region where the party is weakest --- the South --- and from the state where poor government response to Hurricane Katrina tainted all politicians --- Louisiana. Incumbent Mary Landrieu will have to overcome both of these factors, but she's shown keen political skills in the past.
Both parties will be closely watching South Dakota, where Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson only recently returned to any semblance of work after suffering a brain hemorrhage in December. Johnson insists he'll run for reelection, but some doubt it. The GOP will make a major push for the seat if he doesn't (and might even if he does, given the questions about his health that almost assuredly will persist).
Perhaps this rosy national picture for Democrats helped nudge Warner back into politics. After all, it was only 11 months ago (almost to the day) that he declared he would not be launching a presidential campaign for which he had been laying the groundwork.
Personal considerations were the main reasons he cited for his decision, saying he wanted to spend more time with his three teenage daughters.
"While politically this appears to be the right time for me to take the plunge, at this point I want to have a real life," Warner said. "And while the chance may never come again, I shouldn't move forward unless I'm willing to put everything else in my life on the back burner."
Like many parents, Warner may have discovered that his teens didn't really want him around the house that much.
-- Don Frederick
September 13, 2007 in Campaigning, Congress, Democratic Politics, Iraq War, Republican Politics, Senate Races
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