Bush aide, appeals court nominee arrested for shoplifting

[owillis]

http://www.oliverwillis.com/2006/03/10/claude-allen-bushs-shoplifter/

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Retail Theft Unit arrested a man yesterday for a continuing retail theft scheme.

Claude Alexander Allen, age 45, of the 7200 block of Cliff Pine Drive in Gaithersburg, was charged with theft scheme over $500 and theft over $500. He was released on his own recognizance.

On January 2, 2006, a Target store Loss Prevention Manger observed an unknown man enter the store located at 25 Grand Corner Avenue in Gaithersburg. He was observed in the store with an empty Target bag in a shopping cart. The man was then seen selecting merchandise throughout the store and placing items in the Target bag. He put additional items in his cart. The man then went to guest services where he produced a receipt and received a refund for the items he had just selected from the store shelves. After receiving the refund he left the store without paying for the additional merchandise in the shopping cart. He was apprehended by the store employee.

[Skinner]

1. Doh!

Good catch. :thumbsup:

[King Coal]

91. Poor Bush, huh?

Poor old Bush just can't catch a break. People keep getting him in trouble.

[electropop]

2. So in other words, he was doing what all Repubs do,

but with less success.

[Tight_rope]

68. Exactly...if it were anyone else...we would have to post a bond!

[htuttle]

3. Shoplifting from TARGET?

Target?

:crazy:

Maybe he was trying to make his bones to get in the gang?

[tanyev]

48. Heck, if he'd gone to Wal-Mart and told them he worked for Bush,

they probably would have given him whatever he wanted.

[Cobalt Violet]

4. Sounds like he's ripe for a promotion in this administration.

Just the kind of guy they like.

[hvn_nbr_2]

7. Nah. You have to steal billions to fit in with this adminstration. nt

[Cobalt Violet]

16. And a few DUIs too.

Maybe shoot a guy or two.

[ewagner]

5. This guy needs help!

I can't imagine why somebody in his position would do something that stupid.....

[Thor_MN]

52. What makes him special? This is the GOP's MO.

Borrow, Spend, Steal. Do whatever you have to to line your pockets without risking your own money.

[OKNancy]

6. Source

We really aren't supposed to accept blog posts...however, here is a link to a mainstream source
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/health/7890299/detail.html

[drm604]

11. Not only dishonest, also stupid.

Police believe Allen would buy items, take them to his car, then return to the store with his receipt. He would select the same items, then take them to the store return desk and show the receipt from the first purchase. Using that method, he would receive credit for the second items on his credit cards, Burnett said.

On his credit cards! So there's a record of every item he purchased then immediately "returned".

Dishonest, and not even very clever about it. Why does this strike me as typical of members of this administration?

[smtpgirl]

8. Oh, I know where that Target is

That shoplifiting scheme is so old, so old. Don't these people have any ingenuity?

Hell I did that in the '70's.

[rodeodance]

9. sad

[benddem]

10. It's even worse

He resigned from the White House on Feb. 9th as a domestic policy advisor.
This is From http://www.slate.com/id/2137895/
News today may shed light on the mystery of Allen's resignation. According to the Montgomery County Police Department, Allen was arrested yesterday and charged in a felony theft and a felony theft scheme. According to a department press release, Allen conducted approximately 25 fraudulent "refunds" in Target and Hecht's stores in Maryland. On Jan. 2, a Target employee apprehended Allen after observing him receive a refund for merchandise he had not purchased. Target then contacted the Montgomery County Police. According to a source familiar with the case, Target and the police had been observing Allen since October 2005.

[allisonthegreat]

37. God..maybe the Bush adm didn't pay enough, lol!

This was truly pathetic. However it shows that some people have a kleptomaniac side. This is probably the one time he got caught!

[Zookeeper]

12. Well, isn't that just the BushCo 'tude in a nutshell!

They think they're invincible.

[rocktivity]

13. I remember this--I saw it on COPS!

:evilgrin:
rocknation

[WiseButAngrySara]

14. There's a good post on this in GD...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x628954

Former Bush Aide Charged in Felony Theft
Claude Allen had recently resigned as White House domestic-policy adviser.
By Rachel Shteir
Updated Friday, March 10, 2006, at 5:44 PM ET


When Claude Allen, President Bush's longtime domestic-policy adviser, resigned suddenly on Feb. 9, it baffled administration critics and fans. The White House claimed that Allen was leaving to spend more time with his family, while the Washington Times speculated that the 45-year-old aide, a noted social conservative, might have quit to protest a new Pentagon policy about military chaplains. Allen himself never publicly explained the reason for his departure.

News today may shed light on the mystery of Allen's resignation. According to the Montgomery County Police Department, Allen was arrested yesterday and charged in a felony theft and a felony theft scheme. According to a department press release, Allen conducted approximately 25 fraudulent "refunds" in Target and Hecht's stores in Maryland. On Jan. 2, a Target employee apprehended Allen after observing him receive a refund for merchandise he had not purchased. Target then contacted the Montgomery County Police. According to a source familiar with the case, Target and the police had been observing Allen since October 2005.

Allen is charged with practicing a form of shoplifting called "refund fraud."

http://www.slate.com/id/2137895 /

[momster]

96. And once again, * is the last to know.

This investigation started in October of last year. Who believes that nobody at the White House had a single clue this was happening? And George found out yesterday? I hope they didn't have to wake him from nap-nap.

Well, at least I know know who that 'other guy' was in all those shots of * and Rove walking across the lawn during the first phase of the Fitz investigation. I wondered who that was because the press never seemed to identify him. Now it has become footage of three crooks, not just two.

[cosmicdot]

15. not just any ol'right-winger, but one of the Dominionist brand

Claude Allen, President Bush's top domestic policy advisor has resigned. The former Jesse Helms staffer famous for slamming one of his boss's political opponents for his ties with "queers," served throughout Bush's first term as the No. 2 guy in the Department of Health and Human Services, where he served, according to one beltway AIDS advocate, as "the eyes and ears of the conservative shadow government at HHS". He became a favorite in the Bush White House as the African American face of the administration's abstinence-only agenda. Bush first tried to give him a spot on the federal bench, but when Allen faced too much opposition, the president instead picked him for the plumb spot in the White House.

Allen is a true Christian right foot soldier. He's on the board of an organization called Peacemaker Ministries, which takes a hardline position against litigation, favoring "biblically-based mediation" instead. He and his wife are Christian home schoolers of their own kids. Allen has referred to abortion as "genocide," and, in an earlier stint in the Virginia attorney general's office, Allen worked closely with such conservative religious lobby groups as the Family Foundation and the Virginia Society for Human Life in promoting restrictive abortion laws there, such as mandatory wait periods and restrictions on minors' access.

~snip~

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/2/9/201729/8765

http://www.peacemaker.net/site/c.aqKFLTOBIpH/b.1172255/apps/s/content.asp?ct=1245673

[Erika]

18. Yeah, good ole GOP traditional family values

Hate the gays, home school your kids, hate abortion, and follow the Bible.

I wonder what moral lessons he just taught his family by his arrest?

[seasat]

20. Sounds like he's been hanging out with Bill Bennett

He probably needed cash to pay off his gambling debts.:evilgrin:

[Ravy]

36. I hope the mediators pronounce "stoning to death" (n/t)

[Chimichurri]

40. Hey Claude, THOU SHALL NOT STEAL!! - God.

Very nice Christian family values. They use the law the same way they use the Bible. They pretend to embrace them to deflect attention from their crimes when in reality they only harbor deep disdain for both.

[Kali]

77. hhhmmmmm

"He's on the board of an organization called Peacemaker Ministries, which takes a hardline position against litigation, favoring "biblically-based mediation" instead"


so does that mean off with his hands?

[genieroze]

84. Hey fundie hypocrite

8. Thou shalt not steal.

[cantstandbush]

17. Dems should use as an example of who the Rethugs put on the bench.

Another family values man no doubt.

[Erika]

19. Do you think he was advanced based on other things than

his credits? Just maybe? You think W would stoop to such a level?

[MannyGoldstein]

21. Holy Crap! What Can Possibly Happen To BushCo Tomorrow?

[InkAddict]

22. Former White House Adviser Arrested

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1712023&page=1

Former White House Adviser, Onetime No. 2 at Homeland Security, Arrested on Theft Charges

By STEPHEN MANNING

COLLEGE PARK, Md. Mar 10, 2006 (AP)— A former domestic policy adviser to President Bush has been charged with theft for allegedly receiving phony refunds at department stores.

Claude Alexander Allen, 45, was arrested Thursday by Montgomery County police for allegedly claiming refunds for more than $5,000 worth of merchandise he did not buy, according to county and federal authorities.

[smtpgirl]

23. What is totally funny

is that guy worked for DHS

[Penndems]

67. Allen worked on the Hurricane Katrina Task Force

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html
********************************************************************
Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting
White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials

By Manuel Roig-Franzia and Spencer Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A01

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 -- Tens of thousands of people spent a fifth day awaiting evacuation from this ruined city, as Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.

President Bush authorized the dispatch of 7,200 active-duty ground troops to the area -- the first major commitment of regular ground forces in the crisis -- and the Pentagon announced that an additional 10,000 National Guard troops will be sent to Louisiana and Mississippi, raising the total Guard contingent to about 40,000.

<snip>

Top Bush administration officials met at the White House with African American leaders amid criticism that the federal response to Hurricane Katrina has neglected impoverished victims, many of them black.

Chertoff, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson, White House domestic policy adviser Claude Allen and Pentagon homeland security official Peter Verga met for two hours with NAACP President Bruce Gordon, National Urban League President Marc H. Morial and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. The caucus's current chairman, Rep. Melvin Watt (D-N.C.), participated by phone.

[Botany]

24. You could not make this stuff up if you tried.

A man making more then $100 K a year working as a "cop" is scamming 5 grand in refunds?

[Mind_your_head]

29. Makes you wonder if he was doing this to support an expensive habit?

coke or something like that????

[Erika]

25. This is the third post on this tonight.

Yes, Mr Allen was arrested. W had nominated him for a Court of Appeals judge in Virginia. He was never voted on. He served as a staffer to Jesse Helms and used the term "queers" for gays. He homeschools his kids and believes the Bible should become the law of the land.

He is black.

[saigon68]

42. He was picked by the Chimp for his "diversity"

There are a number of people like him running around.

His "brain stem" is purely evil NEOCON.

The fact that his skin is BLACK has everything to do with his elevation to the Court.

Hell there is another guy in the Court System just like him

His name is "LONG DONG SILVER"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Thomas

The content of the hearings, particularly Senator Orrin Hatch's questions "id you ever say in words or substance something like there is a pubic hair in my coke?" and "Did you ever use the term Long Dong Silver in conversation with Professor Hill?" rapidly became fodder for the nation's comedians.

The Committee sent the nomination to the full Senate without a recommendation either way. Thomas was confirmed by the Senate with a 52-48 vote on October 15, 1991, making it the closest confirmation vote for a Justice in the 20th century. The vote was not strictly by party line; he received "yea" votes from 41 Republicans and 11 Democrats and "nay" votes from 46 Democrats and 2 Republicans

[countmyvote4real]

26. Hard to tell if the * regime will be remembered for

morons or thieves.

[Erika]

27. or a combination of the two.... n/t

[u4ic]

28. Another #2

That sure is somebody's favourite number...

[kurth]

30. "Staunch conservative" and "self-described born-again Christian" - WP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031002328.html

[Penndems]

71. Yeah, I love this "Christian" quote:

Allen is a self-described born-again Christian who got his start in politics working for Jesse Helms (R), the conservative former North Carolina senator.

Allen stirred controversy as Helms's campaign spokesman in 1984 by telling a reporter that then-Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. -- Helms's opponent -- was politically vulnerable because of his links to the "queers." He later explained that he used the word not to denigrate anyone but as a synonym for "odd and unusual."

[Brothaman2k]

89. A black man working for Jesse Helms?

I wonder if he was in chains at the time? I thought having slaves was illegal nowadays, which is about the only way Helms would accept one...lol

As a black man myself I wonder if "Massa" let him sleep in the big house?

[Penndems]

101. Claude Allen is Jesse Helms's "Fred"

Back in mid-1960s, when Ole Jesse was the editorial commentator at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, he used to refer to African-Americans as "Fred".

That nickname probably evolved from Fred Carnage, a black gentleman who was a member of the Raleigh School Board in the 1950s. Carnage favored school integration and, of course, Jesse was a strict segregationist. Helms and Carnage had frequent verbal altercations. As Fred Carnage helped spur integration of Raleigh public schools beginning in 1961, he earned Jesse's ire.

When Dr. Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis, and blacks were expressing both sorrow and anger, Jesse's response was "We have a problem with 'Fred'". :eyes:

It's hard to image a black guy from Philly going to work for a Southern bigot like Helms - but, then again, so did James Meredith, a black man from Mississippi.

[moobu2]

31. "once he kept Medicaid funds from an impoverished rape victim who wanted"

"an abortion."

Oh, what a scumbag low life bastard.

[Erika]

35. Yep, of the worst kind

We can't have our tax $ being used to help stupid rape victims. Sarcasm off.

As he empties his cart one more time and restocks it and asks for a refund.

[RaleighNCDUer]

70. Now, that makes me wonder if that is 'kept' as is 'withheld',

or 'kept' as in 'pocketed'.

[Tight_rope]

88. As we like to say...God never sleeps!

[LiberalFighter]

32. Anybody have his date of birth...

so I can add it to my database?

I know he was born about 1960

If there is any other info please let me know.

Thanks

[Erika]

34. The police record said he was 45. n/t

[moobu2]

54. Here's his on line Resumé (Birth: October 11, 1960 )

http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/allenresume.htm

[mahatmakanejeeves]

59. Wikipedia entry on Claude Allen

Wikipedia entry on Claude Allen

From 1990 - 1991, Allen was a law clerk for David B. Sentelle, a judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He was an Associate at Baker & Botts in Washington, D.C. from 1991 to 1995. He then served in the Virginia Attorney General's Office from 1995 to 1998, before becoming Secretary (Commissioner) of Health and Human Resources for the State of Virginia.

The VA AG from 1994 to 1998 would have been Jim Gilmore. He defeated Don Beyer in the race or governor in 1997 and was governor from 1998 to 2002. Then you had Warner, 2002-2006; and Kaine, 2006-current.

Recent Virginia Attorneys General

[moobu2]

60. "He was an Associate at Baker & Botts in Washington, D.C."

Baker and Botts
-----------------
James Baker founder and chief council of Baker and Botts.

Baker Botts is working to build a pipeline through Afghanistan

Baker & Botts represented Enron in 1997.

Prince Sultan Abdul Aziz (Saudi Defense Minister ) is a client of Baker & Botts

Baker & Botts is one of the top ten contributors to the Bush campaign

Halliburton has retained Baker Botts to investigate charges of bribery in Nigeria, and to defend against an SEC investigation as well

[momster]

97. Leave us not forget

that Baker was also up to his beady little eyeballs in the Florida recount and that his sister is married to Harry 'Bullseye' Whittington.

[Erika]

33. Bush's quality of judgeships

pretty scary. But he met the criteria: homophobic; believed in home schooling; believed the Bible should be the law of the land.

His plus to the rest of it was that he was black. W was chomping at the bit to nominate this guy for a judgeship.

[OKNancy]

38. Kick

[TaleWgnDg]

39. (NYT) Former WhiteHouse Aide is Arrested on Retail Theft Charges

.

Former White House Aide Is Arrested on Retail Theft Charges

by John Files and Robert Pear
Published: March 11, 2006

WASHINGTON, March 10 — A former top White House aide was arrested on Thursday in the Maryland suburbs on charges that he stole merchandise from a number of retailers, the police in Montgomery County, Md., said Friday.

The former aide, Claude A. Allen, 45, was President Bush's top domestic policy adviser until resigning last month. Known as a rising conservative star, he previously served as deputy secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, and in 2003 the White House announced its intention to nominate him to a seat on the federal appeals court based in Richmond, Va. Democrats raised questions about the nomination, and it never came to a vote.

The police said Mr. Allen was seen on Jan. 2 leaving a department store in Gaithersburg, Md., with merchandise for which he had not paid. He was apprehended by a store employee and issued a misdemeanor citation for theft, said Lt. Eric Burnett, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Police Department.

. . . snip . . .

The Police Department said that as a result of an investigation it opened after the initial incident in January, it found that Mr. Allen had received refunds of more than $5,000 last year at stores like Target and Hecht's. Mr. Allen was arrested on Thursday and charged in connection with a series of allegedly fraudulent returns. The police said he was charged with a theft scheme over $500 and theft over $500.

. . . more at . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/politics/11arrest.html

(bold-faced type emphasis added by TaleWgnDg)

[bklyncowgirl]

41. Probably the only administration official who'll ever pay for his crime.

Good to see him caught even if it is only shoplifting from target.

You know how it is, like Bob Dylan said.

"You know that patriotism is the last refuge
to which a scoundrel clings
Steal a little and they'll throw you in jail
Steal alot and they'll make you King."

Now if they can only find out who shoplifted that $9 billion of taxpayers dollars in Iraq we might get somewhere.

[rambler_american]

43. Ungrateful Bastard!

After receiving years of the finest training in thievery this guy quits the family to try a little freelancing. What happened to loyalty?

[katinmn]

44. Bush's Domestic Policy Advisor. Tsk. It just figures, doesn't it?

:eyes:

[Tin Man]

45. Ironic, eh? After cutting domestic $, Advisor caught shoplifting at Target

OMG, my irony meter just exploded!!!

What a perverted administration... :eyes:

[katinmn]

46. Why don't they just put orange police ribbon around the White House?

Lock up all the criminals cuz they will all be going down....

[Thor_MN]

55. Hmmm,,,, Crime scene tape around the White House...

Would make an interesting picture. I wonder if a small group of people could get the entire White House encircled in Crime scene tape and take pictures without winding up in Guantanamo...


Apparently, * thinks that stealing from a Corporation that has a history of donating to schools and communities will somehow help those very same schools and communities. Is there any thought that passes through the neocon mind that isn't conflicted?

In announcing Allen's resignation, Bush called him a "trusted adviser" who helped "develop policies that will strengthen our nation's families, schools and communities."

"Claude is a good and compassionate man, and he has my deep respect and my gratitude. I thank him for his many years of principled and dedicated service to our country,"

[Tin Man]

58. Great idea! Photo suggestion: you need only stretch a small piece

of police tape across the foreground of the photo, with WH in background. Two folks on the sidewalk, each holding one end of a 10 ft piece of tape, and a third to compose and shoot the scene. Nobody touches the fence, and nobody gets arrested (hopefully - who knows with this administration). Which gives me a further idea - better add a forth person, with video camera, standing-by on the periphery and ready to roll tape if the first 3 folks get arrested.

[katinmn]

62. If you're in the vacinity next weekend -- go for it!

Lots of people will be out and about.

[jwirr]

86. Why not photoshop? The computer is a wonderful tool.

[moobu2]

69. lol at this photo

[Thor_MN]

73. LOL!! I might have to go out and buy a Powerball ticket.....

Thanks

[katinmn]

74. Perfect.

:)

[Tin Man]

82. Bawahaha... good one!

[Vinca]

47. Next White House press conference:

Claude??? What Claude???? Claude who???? The American people don't want the president focusing on anyone named Claude. Who????

[Botany]

49. I smell medal of freedom

the man was making more than 100K and he was scamming $5,000 ...... what an idiot.

[brooklynite]

50. Hmm, a little FR whiplash...

Here's how they reacted when he resigned in February...

This is a shame.

I wonder if he and his family were getting threats.

(Yes, the vast left-wing conspiracy rears its ugly head...)

He should be sitting on the bench.

(well, at least he'll be close to it during the trial...)

Of course this had nothing to do with him being a black man and a conservative.

(Apparently not)

He should get another Bush appointment...a more important one this time.

(Perhaps something in the Justice Department would be a good fit?)

Allen's departure from public life is the public's loss. Hopefully, he'll be back in a few years.

(I'm guessing in 3 to 5...)

and here's how they reacted today...

Something's very fishy here ... addiction, mental disorder.

The man has some very serious issues, most likely a serious mental sickness or a drug addiction. Or both.

It only takes one crack rock. That old crack will take you down in a hurry.

What a human tragedy: an example of how greed can corrupt anyone who is so unwise to decline to follow the Scriptures.

HHS is full of thieves. They are stealing money from productive people and funding loutish behavior to buy votes.

[Aviation Pro]

53. Yes, the bastion of "personal responsibility"...

...is once again ducking it. I wish that the rest of America would realize that cutting one's hair short and putting on a suit and tie does not make one moral or upstanding. To whit:



http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,206707,00.jpg

[truth2power]

63. And "personal" responsibility is exactly the problem...

No inner controls. See my post #61, below.

[Aviation Pro]

51. What is wrong with these fucking people?

Here's a pic of the alleged perp.

[Thor_MN]

57. I can see why * liked him

A photogenic "diverse" guy who shares chimpy's criminal beliefs (while spewing "moral" platitudes), yet is not so ambitious as to try to steal from neocons. He's even got a close cut dome to pat, on of *'s fetishes.


Low pressure sodium lights are so unkind to dark skin tones. The yellow light just doesn't look right, blue toned light is much better. He better get used to them though, he's going to spend a fair amount of time under them over the next decade.

[bagimin]

56. here we go again......

"Who could have forseen this?!?"

[truth2power]

61. Seems like a clear case of Kleptomania..

which is categorized as an Impulse Control Disorder. The definitive feature of this condition is that these people steal things that they don't need for personal use or their monetary value.

Note that after returning the items, Mr. Allen neither made nor lost money. After having the purchase credited back to his credit card, he was right back where he started. Re-selling the items in his car, in order to profit from his little scheme, could not possibly net him enough to support a drug habit or pay off gambling debts etc., even assuming he had a venue to do such. In any case, that seems an extremely convoluted way to try to make a few extra bucks.

The interesting thing about this is that I read an article awhile ago in which the author made a very good case that people who adhere to a fanatical right-wing, religious world-view (as shown in Mr. Allen's bio, upthread) are often characterized as having a lack of inner controls. Depending, instead, on some external entity for their moral compass. That sets up a lot of inner tension and makes it difficult to resist urges if there isn't someone around to say, "Tsk tsk. Don't do that".

Sounds like he would fit in quite well in the administration of the little Boy-King. :evilgrin:

[sunyasi]

65. Norquist would be proud...

Looks like the government is so small that he couldn't steal enough from his office. He had to go out to Target to practice!!!!

[progressivebydesign]

83. I doubt it. If it was a "scheme" as they said, it's probably drugs.

Kleptomaniacs have an impulse control.. can't go into stores without stealing. This guy was running a racket, it sounds like. Too much planning for a Kleptomaniac. I'm guessing drugs or gambling problems.

[Nevernose]

85. No, he makes money -- he's just unbelievably cheap

1. He buys the items he wants.
2. He loses money buy paying for them.
3. He steals items identical to those he already owns.
4. He sells them back to the store from which he a)bought the items and b)stole the items, thus gaining money.

He stole them for their monetary value. He might really have some kind of Impulse COntrol Disorder, but it would seem that it's on the shopping end of the equation, not the stealing end. He bought stuff he didn't need/couldn't afford, felt guilty, and stole to replace the money he'd spent.

I'm not a big fan of disorders based on morality. IME, few of them are real, and most are just psycho-babble used to categorize a specific type of nonstandard (and often immoral) behaviors. Most kids who spray paint on walls are not suffering from "Antiauthoritarian Environmental Effects;" they just like to mess shit up. I suspect that most people categorized as "kleptomaniacs" just get off on stealing. It's fun.

[momster]

95. How he made a profit...

is that he got to keep all the items for free. He went in and bought $50 worth of stuff that he then took to his car. He went back to the store with the bag, reloaded it with the same items, got a refund of $50, and drove off with now free goodies. Do you suppose he tried to tell himself that it wasn't really stealing because he didn't 'hurt anybody'?

By the way, I shop the same places he does because I live in the same area. So I take it personally because now security costs will go up, the shops will be more suspicious of anybody returning something which means more hassle, etc.

[UrbScotty]

64. Ever heard of "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL?"

How ironic that some would want to post the Commandments on public property without actually FOLLOWING them.

[judaspriestess]

66. WTF?? how stupid can you possibly be?

:rofl:

[Algorem]

72. Karl Rove-"This man needs therapy and understanding but Democrats

just want to make war on him."

[mom cat]

75. Another stelar Bush Judicial nominee!

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

76. who's the man Allen is with in this picture?

[Penndems]

79. Governor Bob Ehrlich of Maryland

a.k.a. "Bobby Haircut". I think Mark Fisher of The Washington Post coined that nickname for him. :)

[wordpix2]

78. This Bush aide fits in with the others & * himself---common criminal

[OKNancy]

80. Read this if you haven't - he is really a scumbag

I mean, I knew a Bush-puppet was bad, but this guy is evil.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x634913

[Catrina]

81. He was a bully, a nasty person, perfect for this administration

So far we've learned that he was nominated as a judge with zero qualifications, and didn't make it.

Bush, just for spite imo then hired him for a WH position, just to show those Dems he'll get his way one way or the other.

He was part of Homeland Security, making decisions when Katrina happened ~

He spent a lot of time right next to Bush, on AF1 and in the WH ~ and was in the box next to Laura at the SOTU address this year. We really need to keep an eye on that box. Chalabi was there also as I recall.

He was a 'rising Conservative Star' according to some articles I've read.

And even after the WH was informed that there had been an 'incident' at Target, that other paragon of virtue, and Bush nominee Alberto Gonzalez, had this to say about him when he left office in Feb. this year:

In a statement issued last week, White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales said Allen "has led a distinguished legal career, serving in both the private and public sectors. He has a solid understanding of the law and has earned the respect and admiration of those who know him the best."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A13850-2003May4¬Found=true

So, that's three WH officials so far, who have been arrested ~ Libby, Safavian and Allen ~

I just heard on AAR that this would have been a first, a circuit court judge accused of shop-lifting, had his nomination gone through. And at the time, of course, Dems were being accused of 'racism' ~

I wonder when will freepers get tired of saying 'how sad, what a human tragedy' as perpetrator after perpetrator is marched off to jail from this WH?

[Zambero]

87. When's the legal defense GOP fundraiser?

If DeLay rates testimonial love-ins after being outed as a crook, why can't this guy have one as well?

[TexasLawyer]

90. $161,000 /year salary

http://www.thinkprogress.org/

UPDATE: Allen had the highest salary of any employee in the White House, tied with Karl Rove, Andrew Card, and Stephen Hadley, among others. He was earning $161,000 a year.

This guy was big time.

[AussieDave]

92. But...but... he's doin' a heckuva job !!!

Can't we all just get along ???

:puke:

[Jade Fox]

93. Can you say "Culture of Corruption"?

From the Bob Dylan song "Sweetheart Like You"

They say Patriotism is the last refuge
to which a scoundrel clings
Steal a little and they put you in jail
steal a lot and they make you King

I almost feel sorry for this guy. What do you want to bet he's one of the few Bushies who ends up doing time?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

94. What's the big...

...deal here, people? I mean c'mon, it's not like he got shitfaced and shot somebody in the face or anything like that. Anyway, he was probably just testing Target's security for them---can't be too careful with all these pesky terrist on the loose.

[momster]

98. Hey, do you think that when Cheney

told him on a hunting trip to 'just hit the damn target', Allen simply misunderstood?

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

100. I think you might be on to something. nt.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

99. Doesn't sound like Target is...

...a very well chosen target for shoplifters:

http://www.network23.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=62343&sid=ba232c1898c83bc17e45d083fc54f9da