Most Recent Posts

Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced Saturday he would run to finish the late Frank Lautenberg's term in the U.S. Senate.

Booker, a 44-year-old Democrat who has served as mayor since 2006 and is Newark's third black mayor. He is hoping to claim Lautenberg's seat, which has been filled by Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa until a special election in October.

He made the announcement at a Saturday event in which he was endorsed by former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley.

Booker is considered an early front-runner in the August primary. He is expected to face fellow Democrats Rep. Frank Pallone and Rush Holt.

Politico calls Booker "a strong fundraiser and ... odds-on favorite.":

"But the special election this year allows Pallone to keep his congressional seat if he loses, making this something of a free shot for him.

...

Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) is also likely to run — for the same reason as Pallone — according multiple sources."

I've been taking riding lessons, but I'm still green. And I can think of a million places I'd rather be than on top of a spooked racehorse. But I climb on, and we ease into a trot while Beverly observes. We're a good team moving counterclockwise, as if on a track. But clockwise proves more difficult. We haphazardly end up in the middle of the ring, both of us exhausted.

"He trots crooked," I say. Or maybe I do — it's hard to say. He doesn't know how to back up. He won't move sideways, either, or cross one leg over the other. "He is able to do all of those things," Beverly says. "He just hasn't learned yet."

I lead him back to the barn while he continues to munch, follow and nudge me amid a backdrop of equine commotion. Beverly's husband, Tom, is putting new shoes on a 5-year-old horse named Holiday Layup that arrived the night before. The horse neighs in protest, tossing his head and pawing at the ground. Another new arrival, 3-year-old Streaking Sunseeker, is in a stall nearby and would like everyone to know he'd rather be in the bluegrass. He shifts restlessly like a child in timeout, and neighs loudly in response to Holiday Layup.

A high school student is dropping off a box of donated tack, as part of an honor society project. And Kayla Poole, of Rocky Ridge, Md., is here to see a horse named Lou. Her thoroughbred died in January, and she's just now found the heart to look for another. "Rescues are overflowing in the industry now," she tells me.

Beverly has found homes for more than 700 slaughter-bound thoroughbreds through her MidAtlantic Horse Rescue Organization, which is funded entirely through fundraising, donations and adoption fees — money she just rolls back into saving more horses. She barely breaks even, and that's fine with her. "These horses have so much heart," she says. "We bred them for our sport and for our pleasure, and they're just discarded. They have so much to offer, and they just disappear."

With retraining, many ex-racehorses move on to successful second careers including sport riding, jumping and dressage. Some have slight injuries but still excel on the trail. They are the lucky ones. The others end up in the food chain.

I glance up at the meddlesome dark bay, who towers over me expectantly like a big, goofy dog waiting for the ball to be thrown. My rational brain keeps screaming, "Do not adopt this horse!" But two women come into the barn and ask about him. "He's mine," I say, and turn his head away from them.

Enlarge image i

Prosecutors Friday recommended four years in prison for former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., following his guilty plea this year on criminal charges that he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items.

The government suggested an 18-month sentence for Jackson's wife, Sandra, who pleaded guilty to filing false joint federal income tax returns that understated the couple's income.

The government is also recommending that Jackson pay $750,000 in restitution to the campaign and that Sandra Jackson make a restitution payment of $168,000.

Because the couple has two children, prosecutors proposed that the sentences be staggered, with Sandra Jackson going first. According to the government, she could be out of prison in little over a year with credit for satisfactory behavior and serving the end of her sentence in home confinement. Both Jacksons are scheduled to be sentenced on July 3.

Jesse Jackson's lawyer, meanwhile, asked the judge to sentence Jackson to a term below guidelines. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the range is 46 to 57 months in prison. The lawyer, Reid H. Weingarten, argued that Jackson's ongoing treatment for depression and bipolar disorder, his record of good works and his family and community ties all support leniency. Jacksons' sentencing memo includes about five pages of redacted material on his health issues, and a few redacted lines on other issues.

Jackson, who had been a Democratic congressman from Illinois from 1995 until he resigned last November, used campaign money to buy items that included a $43,350 gold-plated men's Rolex watch and $9,587.64 worth of children's furniture, and his wife spent $5,150 on fur capes and parkas.

In Friday's 45-page sentencing memo, prosecutors urged the judge to take into account the advantages Jackson, the son of a famed civil rights leader, had in his life. Jackson "chose to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars despite having advantages in life and financial resources that few possess and that most can only dream of obtaining," the prosecutors wrote.

They noted that his yearly salary as a congressman ranged from $133,600 to $174,000, and that his wife's salary as Chicago alderman was also six figures. The memo said that Jackson's campaign paid his wife's consulting firm $5,000 a month during the time of the conspiracy — $340,500 in total.

"Before defendant or his wife stole a dime, they received substantial incomes," the government wrote, adding that in 2011, for example, their combined income was around $344,000 — putting them among the nation's high earners.

"This offense, at its core, is about greed and entitlement: defendant wanting more than even his substantial resources could afford him and believing he was entitled to both the items desired and campaign funds to purchase those items," the government said.

Prosecutors also argued that Jackson's behavior threatened to deter people from making campaign contributions and participating in the political process.

In a 22-page statement filed by prosecutors in February, Jackson admitted that he and his wife used campaign credit cards to buy 3,100 personal items worth $582,772.58 from 2005 through April 2012. Personal expenditures at restaurants, nightclubs and lounges amounted to $60,857.04. Personal expenditures at sports clubs and lounges were $16,058.91, including maintaining a family membership at a gym. Spending for alcohol was $5,814.43. Personal spending for dry cleaning was $14,513.42.

Prosecutors credited Jackson with cooperating with them in the investigation, which helped the government wrap up in weeks what could have taken months. While Jackson deserves credit for accepting responsibility and his level of cooperation, the government said, he already received that significant consideration in how the plea agreement was structured.

In Jackson's sentencing memo, his lawyer wrote that the former congressman's mental health may worsen under the stress of incarceration.

"During sentencing, federal courts have the authority to determine whether a defendant's mental illness warrants a below-guidelines sentence," Weingarten said.

"His public fall from grace has already made an example of him, warning other politicians and elected officials of the dangers of personal use of campaign funds," wrote Weingarten, who went on to detail Jackson's accomplishments in Congress and his help to others.

In a separate memorandum prepared for Sandra Jackson's sentencing, prosecutors said she was personally involved in the thefts, and they noted she served as treasurer of her husband's congressional campaign from January 2005 to November 2006. But prosecutors also credited her for cooperation and accepting responsibility.

June is a nice month for treading water — if you happen to be in a swimming pool.

But if you are in the labor pool and trying to make your way toward a job, a stronger current in the right direction would be appreciated.

Unfortunately, the jobs report released Friday by the Labor Department showed that the economy continues to drift along at a languid pace.

"This rate of growth is right in line with the average growth rate of the last year and is a perfect example of the ongoing slog in the labor market," Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a research group, said in her written assessment.

Four Years After The Recession

The Labor Department report showed employers added 175,000 jobs in May, a slightly better number than most economists had been forecasting. But the unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point to 7.6 percent as more people entered the labor market, seeking paychecks but not finding them.

The latest jobs report was issued at a time when the U.S. economy is marking the fourth anniversary of the official end of the Great Recession. The economy hit bottom in June 2009 and has been growing ever since, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.