Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY26) caught seeking affairs through Craigslist, sending topless pics

by: Adama D. Brown

Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 15:21:08 PM EST

Lee's office has as yet not come up with a coherent defense, admitting that the GMail account used does in fact belong to Lee, claiming that it may have been hacked in a security breach on January 21st. However, flirtatious emails were sent more than a week before that, starting on the 14th, and Lee's office has not yet explained how the "hacker" would obtain a topless picture of Lee. According to metadata embedded within the photograph, it was taken by a Blackberry smartphone such as the one used by Chris Lee, and it was taken in Washington DC.

The GMail address was also confirmed as the one associated with Lee's personal Facebook account, which was mysteriously deleted shortly after Gawker.com began asking questions of his office.

Lee has been one of the rising stars in the House GOP, and a favorite of Eric Cantor. First elected in 2008, Lee has since then carved out a staunchly conservative record on issues like abortion, taxes, and healthcare. He is also, apparently, not just a supporter of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," but he also practices it.

Speaking personally, since this is MY Congressman, I always rather expected him to get caught with his pants down. Between the existing rumors of marital infidelity (he was, according to persistent but unverifiable rumor around 2008-2009, sleeping with a hairdresser from the Buffalo suburbs near where he lived) and his rich-guy-with-good-hair attitude, I doubted he'd really be the type to keep his trousers zipped.

Still, finding women off Craigslist just confirms the other part of what I thought about him--that he is a moron.

The Return of the Revenge of the Dale Volker.

by: Adama D. Brown

Fri Jan 29, 2010 at 19:32:40 PM EST

I was thinking a few days ago that we hadn't heard anything appalling out of Dale Volker for awhile. Maybe, it seemed to me, being in the minority finally made him learn he couldn't go around fearmongering, making things up, and generally acting sleazy.

But no, like the monster in some bad 1950s horror movie, Volker has apparently crawled back out of the recesses of the State Senate to once again prove that when it comes to lying and fearmongering, he's second to none.

It's about the budget, again.. In order to try and stop the bleeding from the NY state budget, Governor Paterson has proposed a number of cost-cutting measures including for the State Troopers not to commission new recruits this year (same as last year) to replace retirements. That means the overall force will shrink by about 130 people this year out of the current 5,000.

To partially compensate for this and maintain the force, the Governor is planning on pulling back to regular duty the 90 State Troopers currently assigned for use as "school resource officers," basically a combination of security guard and public information officer, who are right now permanently stationed at various NY school districts.

But Volker doesn't like these moves one little bit. Via WIVB:

Senator Dale Volker(R) said, "You had better be darn careful what you're doing. Prison riots, I mean God forbid, we haven't had one in so many years."

Got that New Yorkers? Not having State Troopers in the schools = Prison riots.

Wait, what? Seriously, Dale, what the (expletive deleted) are you smoking? Please tell us, because if we can find it and tax it, that'll solve New York's budget problems once and for all.

It's no surprise that Volker chooses to make things up as usual, but this time he got a little assist from a trooper lobbying against the budget cuts:

Moretti tells News 4 a school resource officer stopped a potential massacre at a school in Erie County within the last three years.

"Weapons were there. It was almost identical to a Columbine. He was by himself," said Moretti.

Seriously? That's odd, since nothing like that was ever in the local news...

Neither Senator Volker or the PBA representative would give more details on the problem avoided locally.

In other words, you don't want people to research the details and find out that you're making things up again. If there really were such an event, it would have resulted in arrests, convictions.

Fortunately, WGRZ did a little digging and found out some of the details on this alleged "plot." In January of 2008, they arrested a 17 year-old after he told a fellow student that he wanted to kill the school vice principal and a teacher. A search of the kid's home turned up a rifle, though apparently one belonging to a family member and not the 17 year old, and no other evidence of intent. The kid was charged with "menacing in the third degree." (Which is, I believe, one step up from "conspiracy to commit rudeness.")

"Almost identical to a Columbine." Right. Pull the other one Dale, it's got bells on it.

Whoever took six months in the betting pool, you win. Citizens of NY-26? We lose.

by: Adama D. Brown

Sun Aug 09, 2009 at 16:48:36 PM EDT

In the last month Lee has been on the attack over energy, cap and trade, and healthcare, just to name a few. The good news is, he's getting called on some of it.

Today there's an interesting article in the Buffalo News which mentions him and his recent $22,500 taxpayer-funded scare-tactic flyer. From the article:

Speaking of extreme stuff, residents of New York's 26th congressional district got some in their mailbox the week of July 27.

Paid for by taxpayers at a cost of $22,500, the "Special Report from Congressman Chris Lee" includes several dire claims about the Democratic health proposals.

Most notably, the newsletter said Lee, R-Clarence, is working to stop "a government takeover" of health care that would "create a government-run, taxpayer-funded health care plan that independent analysts say would result in as many as 120 million Americans losing their current coverage."

Lee's office attributed that figure to a study conducted by the Lewin Group, which said that if a new government-run health care plan were widely available, 131.2 million would join it ... including 119.1 million people who would switch over from a private health plan.

On in simpler terms, that 120 million Americans would be getting better health coverage, at cheaper prices. But that's only scary if you're an insurance conglomerate executive... or one of their paid lapdogs in Congress... so they have to lie about it.

In truth, one would expect that any congressman really representing our area would recognize the value of a public option. What's being discussed is very much akin to Medicare, and virtually everyone out here knows the value of Medicare.

Not that Chris Lee's in any danger of finding that out, of course: besides being a millionaire with government-paid health insurance already, he's taken the congressional recess as an opportunity to flee the country rather than listen to his consituents. He's on a special-interest funded junket in Israel, where his group is undermining the foreign policy of the last two administrations.

Skelos: The Vote's The Vote Now, But The Vote Wasn't The Vote Then

by: BingChester

Mon Jun 15, 2009 at 15:50:39 PM EDT

"There was a vote last week, 32-30, and that vote stands...The vote's the vote."

Hmm, that's interesting.  I recall Senator Malcolm Smith making a similar argument about the original 32-30 vote taken way back in January of 2009.  I'm glad to see Senator Skelos recognizes that the vote of a majority should stand.  I look forward to seeing him cede the Majority Leader seat back to Malcolm Smith.