Sheldon Adelson and the Corruption of America

(1) adelson judgeAdelson spoke to a group of people and told them he regretted that he served in the U.S. Army and wished he could have served in the Israeli Defense Force instead. He said he earnestly wished his son would join the IDF and become a sniper. It was clear he did not want his son repeating his mistake of serving the the uniform of the United States.

Adelson a poor kid from Dorchester, MA, made his money by being a good and ruthless business man in America. He ran trade shows, a travel agency and then went where the money is really located which is in gambling. He took over the Sands in Las Vegas. His huge wealth counted in the many billions of dollars came from that and other gambling enterprises which as I’ve mentioned is one of the reasons the NFL owners are now into running gambling businesses.

Adelson is married to an Israeli woman. His true love is Israel. He has purchased at least one newspaper there, probably more, which he gives away for free costing him tens of millions of dollars a year. Obviously it has become the most read newspaper in Israel and has been greatly responsible for the continuing reign of Bibi Netanyahu whom Adelson admires. Through Netanyahu he has had a marked impact on Israeli policy and perhaps is the person behind the animosity between Netanyahu and our president Obama.

There is nothing wrong with any of that. A person has the right to think like he wishes, to associate with whom he wants, and to spend his money the way he would like. To steal a Las Vegas saying: “What happens in Israel politics stays there.” In other words what the Israelis decide to do is up to them; it has no effect on me as long as they do not do something that injures my country.

I’ve often been wary of Adelson because I believe he is trying to bring our country to harm. He supported Romney for president and it was clear a condition of that support hinged upon Romney’s willingness to consider going to war with Iran. Adelson, as I’ve noted, suggested dropping nuclear weapons on Iran. Adelson, in his concern for Israel, would like the United States to fight Israel’s battles even though Israel is fully able to take care of itself.

I noted the other day that many in the Republican Party, especially Rubio, are courting Adelson seeking to get his money. Adelson is a tough bargainer, if you want the money he’s going to want something back. He also is willing to trample on our traditions to get his way.

He is involved in a court case in Las Vegas. Apparently he is not happy with the way the judge (shown above) is handling the case. He is not expecting a favorable outcome despite his high paid lawyers. What do you think he does to pressure the judge to come to his way of thinking?

He buys a Las Vegas newspaper and before he takes ownership of it the company selling it to him one of its reporters in Las Vegas is ordered to go out and do a check on the judge. Then within a month a scathing  review of the judge appears in a small newspaper in New Britain, CT, of all places, under the byline of someone who turns out to be a mystery man whom no one can find. The manager of the company owning the New Britain paper has become the manager of Adelson’s company that just bought the Las Vegas newspaper.

Adelson, of course, and everyone else denies any wrongdoing. Adelson states nothing will change with the Las Vegas newspaper but noted: “We may take some of the positive characteristics of our Israeli newspaper and add them to there, but that’s all just suggestions.” 

Judges are elected in Las Vegas. His message is clear to her. “I’ve bought this paper and will do all in my power to defeat you unless you play along.” If she doesn’t, he’ll try to have her disqualified from handling his case (which seems to be the thrust of the New Britain, CT, article); if she is taken off the case he’ll get a judge wary of his power who he expects will see things his way.

Adelson has the Republican party in his pocket. He wants control the judges. That’s more and more the future of America. These billionaires whose wealth has grown remarkable, will own America’s politicians (thanks to Citizen United); its judges who need political backing; and the executive, the department of justice, and our standing army. They will be above the law; the rest of us will pretend it isn’t so.

 

14 Comments

  1. Does anyone think that the Democrat Jewish donors exact a shekel less of value from donkey politicians than does Adelson? Does Haim Saban have nothing but the good of America at heart? Or the convicted felon, George Soros?

    My attitude has evolved to this: The Isreali Firsters own the Democrats and rent the GOP leadership. Feel free to see it differently. But the press, usually Zionist owned, only emphasizes the Republican side, possibly as a diversion.

    Another point about Adelson is that his money in mostly spent ineffectively. It is tightly controlled. The candidate does not get to direct it. It is aimed at neocons and no one much else. Not a rich source of votes. Example, a couple of cycles ago 25 million went to an hysterical CD insert in Sunday papers that provoked mirth and/or outrage. You could have flushed the money to better effect.

    For what it is worth my guess is that the man is surrounded by a cabal of prominent fellow tribesman with Washington media connections who skim off a 15% commission and who really do not care about anything else.

    • Tadzio:

      I have to agree that the same applies to the Democratic donors demands as it does to the Republican. On the issue of Israel, for some reason Obama has been able to maintain some freedom of action which I do not believe a Republican president would be able to have especially since the openly Republican swearing of allegiance to his idea of what is best for his country.

      Adelson’s money in Israel seems to have kept Netanyahu in office; it hasn’t had chance to show its power in the U.S. I agree that there are lots of sharks circulating his money bags and taking large chunks out of it to come up with scams like you mention. Their first cause is getting more of his money. But I have to guess at some point he will call in his chips: then we’ll see what clout he really has.

  2. Instead of relying on the voting population to select a judge, it may be much easier and cost-effective to influence a state governor or president to appoint those who will rule in your favor. The process of electing judges has a feature where judges may not necessarily be re-elected by the populace, removing them from the judiciary position. This sometimes is more desirable than life-long appointments.

    http://www.mass.gov/governor/administration/jnc/

    • Ed:

      Making judges has always been a problem; electing them brings in the problem where they rely on heavy contributions to get the job which puts them in debt to some; appointing them, as is done federally, is usually done hoping the persons will rule in one’s favor although you do once in a while get an Earl Warren who goes over to the position of the other side.

      Even appointing them for term limits is a problem. I’ve seen some judges as they neared the mandatory retirement age of 70 be somewhat over solicitous to lawyers who they will have to deal with on an even basis after they retire. I suppose as long as we have humans involved in the system we must expect the scales will not be evenly balanced. The best way I suppose would be to appoint a judge who had reached a minimum age of 40 or so for a limited term of years, no more than ten, and after that require him or her to go into another profession one of which the person had no prior contact; or just to live off the retirement money one would receive for the service which would be closely equivalent to the salary.

  3. From your editor-in-brief:
    It’s _Sheldon_ Adelson.
    You may be confusing him with Sumner Redstone.

    • GOK:

      Thanks – I’ve already been chastised for that – my editor (brain) has gone on vacation during the Christmas break so things are going to slip by.

  4. Strange that these rabid Israel-firsters never move there other than to escape a warrant and avoid extradition. They should be forced to register as Foreign Agents.

    Adelson reminds me so much of Balzac’s oft-quoted: “Behind every great fortune there lies a crime.” What was his? An early partner or competitor of Doc Sagansky?

    Nevada has always been a corrupt state. They didn’t need any Yankee boy to help them. Consider Harry Reid.

    The newspaper Adelson bought is the successor to the LV Sun, started by Hank Greenspun with money he made running guns to Israel. Adelson is merely continuing the media empire begun by Greenspun, a major folk-hero in Israel.

    • Henry:

      I’ve always been bothered by Americans who hold dual citizenship with Israel. I’ve always believed you can only serve one master but apparently for some they believe they can be loyal to two countries whose interests may be different. It doesn’t work that way. Sidney Hook wrote about how a great many of the Jewish intellectuals turned against America in the late 1930s believing the ideal country was the Soviet Union. If you heart is not fully in the country in which you live you are doing to do it a disservice.

      Adelson in is the middle of a law suit in Denver which it is alleged that he has aligned himself with Mafia types in the casinos he owns in Macao. Obviously you don’t own anything in Las Vegas without knowing who the players are and you learn to play in their park. I know of no crime Adelson committed: perhaps Balzac was wrong.

      • Dual citizenship is different from dual nationality. I think Jews enjoy dual nationality, along with the Irish, Greeks, Italians and a few other countries. The discussion of their legality is complicated. The US seems not to have a position, other than being the only major country to tax all its citizens no matter where they reside or have nationality.

        http://cis.org/DualCitizenship-ImplicationsRisingDualCitizenship

        • Henry:
          Interesting article on citizenship – it looks like the US will soon be overrun by people pledging loyalty to other countries and the US response will be “so what.” If that is the case why does someone becoming a citizenship have to renounce his or her prior citizenship. Makes no sense. Happy New Year.

  5. BHO spent more money than McCain. He spent the same as Romney about a billion dollars. Is it acceptable to have Soros spend millions on liberals but not acceptable for the Koch brothers to spend millions on conservatives? In the 150 or so contested congressional elections right after the Citizens United case the democrat out spent the republican in every one. Some people want a rigged system where only the left gets a voice. Your idea to impose a three dollar tax on every dollar donated to a political campaign may lessen the influence of money. Don’t the NYT and Globe smear people who take a different position? Don’t they exert a coercive undue influence against their political and philosophical foes? Wasn’t Hearst a century ago doing what Adelson is today? Don’t worry Trump will fix all of this.

    • Trump won’t fix anything connected with Israel. While Trump himself is Scots Presbyterian, like Ian Paisley, his daughter and two grandchildren are Orthodox Jewish by conversion. She is married into a billionaire property family, Kushner.

      http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/318770/trumps-strong-jewish-ties/

      • Henry –

        Interesting information about Trump’s closeness to Israel and as a big Netanyahu supporter. Why then isn’t Adelson totally behind him? Maybe it is best he not show his hand.

    • NC:

      It is not the amount of money that is spent but what is behind the money. The idea of spending money to get candidates elected whether Democrat or Republican is to have a say in the future decisions of that candidate. Total money spent on campaigns matters little since the millions of tiny contributors – Obama had many of them – do not count. It is only the people with the deep pockets who do have a voice. You posit this as a liberal/conservative thing which I don’t. I see the billionaires – even the well intentioned ones if any such exist – who can spend unlimited funds for people to run for office as a danger to our country.

      The Citizens United court talked about free speech – if you are in a large crowded room trying to speak and you don’t have the microphone then few are going to hear you. The idea of free speech when the Constitution was written was that everyone would have equal access to the microphone. Take away equal access; add in the so-called free speech zones where people can gather to speak a couple of miles away from the people they want to talk to, and you have effectively destroyed free speech. Like with all courts the Supreme Court does not deal in the practical but in the abstract which causes it to come down with decisions like Citizens United.

      ADelson is different than those you mention. His goal is to use American power and might in the service of another country. I like to think the Hearst and the others were mainly interested in helping the America they knew and not working against its best interests.