The Dr. Strangelove Syndrome (11Dec2008)

Governor arrested for selling Obama seat

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:45:15 GMT

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been arrested for trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat which is now up for grabs.

Governor Blagojevich was taken into custody on Tuesday at his Chicago home along with his chief of staff, John Harris.

A federal official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the allegations include that the governor took money from at least one individual in connection with naming a successor for the US Senate seat that was vacated by Obama. The official declined to be named publicly because the investigation was still under way.

Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, are also accused of trying to "induce purge of newspaper editorial writers," critical of him at the Tribune Company, the US attorney's office said in a statement.

"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said, according to AFP.

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=77948§ionid=3510203
There is an irony, a Dr. Strangeloveness, about the recent media and political/legal assault on Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois. There is a scene in the movie, Dr. Strangelove, when pandemonium breaks out "War Room" and Dr. Strangelove attempts to shame/chide those gathered there with the words: "Gentlemen, this is the war room." The governor is being persecuted/attacked for evidently attempting to sell all kinds of political stuff when at the same time millions/billions of dollars are spent to get people into and out of public office in this country (USA) not to mention the monies spent/used by capitalists to get friendly politicians into office in foreign countries. Blagojevich isn't playing by the old-boy rules. Furthermore, he has sided with trade unions in the past and is at present siding with workers against Bank of America. Clearly this righteous indignation re Blogojevich is a convenient way for the capitalist establishment to convince the people that they are the good guys, not thugs and war criminals. All this should remind us who these "old boys" are, and that the emperor is in fact naked.