Ssssh Let them think she's running. It's a hoot.

Wel I hope to God that is what they/she are doing but I have a sinking suspicion that they are ignorant enough to run her as the best they have.

Can Congress police its ethics?
Criminal probes are exposing corrupt practices in Congress, prompting calls for reform of ethics standards.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON – With a flurry of corruption indictments and related plea agreements threatening to become a storm, Congress is feeling the heat on ethics reform.

Criminal investigations in Texas, California, and Florida are shining a bright light on standards of conduct in Congress, helping sink public confidence in the institution to its lowest point in more than a decade.


In the Monitor
Monday, 12/12/05
Can Congress police its ethics?



Congress is responding. After partisan fights kept it dormant for much of the 109th Congress, the House ethics committee resumes work next month.

Meanwhile, four House Democrats last week proposed a package of reforms to help protect the integrity of the Congress. These include a ban on lobbyist-sponsored travel and lobbying on the floor of the House by former members to "make it harder for lobbyists to put their fingers on the legislative scales."

Other proposed rule changes aim to restore checks and balances to the legislative process, such as making it an ethical offense to use earmarks - items in spending bills that designate funds for a purpose, usually specific to a member's district - to buy votes, halting extended roll call votes, and prohibiting votes on legislation until members have time to familiarize themselves with it.

"People have been scared straight, and between now and Election Day will be one of the purest periods in American life," says Rep. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts, a sponsor. Other sponsors include Reps. David Obey (D) of Wisconsin, David Price (D) of North Carolina, and Tom Allen (D) of Maine.

Democrats haven't yet asked Republicans to sign on to the reform. "No Republican will find it easy to go against their leadership on this, and I want first to demonstrate that we have a majority of Democrats willing to make these changes - whether we're in the majority or minority," says Mr. Obey, who is leading the reform drive.

Two prominent GOP House members have already been indicted: former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay ® of Texas for alleged money laundering, and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham ® of California, who has pleaded guilty to bribery. But the broadening investigation into the activities of former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff threatens to implicate at least a half-dozen more lawmakers, including Rep. Bob Ney ® of Ohio.

Since 1998, lobbyists report spending some $13 billion to influence Congress, the White House, and federal agencies, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Over the same period, more than 200 former members of Congress and 42 former agency heads have registered as federal lobbyists.

Democrats say the scandals are a sign of a pervasive GOP culture of corruption that is affecting the cost of daily living for Americans on issues ranging from gasoline prices to the cost of prescription drugs.

"The Republican Medicare drug plan is complicated and confusing because Republicans wrote it to meet the needs of drug companies and private insurers, not the needs of Medicare beneficiaries," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi in a briefing with reporters last Thursday. In 2004, the healthcare industry reported spending some $325 million to lobby Congress.

Reformers outside the Congress say that neither party has been willing to clean house on Capitol Hill.

"The House has completely abdicated its constitutional responsibility to police itself," says Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), which has prepared ethics complaints against 13 members of Congress. Without the support of a House member, those complaints can't go forward. "There is still no member of Congress, in either party, willing to file an ethics complaint," she adds.

Nearly 90 percent of Americans say that political corruption is a serious problem, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.

"There are about the same number of ethics issues in both parties. But when you're the majority party you get disproportionately more scrutiny," says Rep. Tom Cole ® of Oklahoma, one of 10 House members on the ethics panel.

Yeah you hypocrite. You jerkoffs have raised graft and corruption to all time highs, now your ilk cry "criminalizing politics!"

Outside groups say that investigations into the activities of lobbyist Abramoff and his associates and members of Congress could be explosive. "This is going to be one of the biggest congressional scandals ever," says Ms. Sloan, a former prosecutor.

GOP leaders insist that indictments of top GOP leaders like Mr. DeLay won't figure in midterm elections. But Democrats and outside groups say that, without reform, the ongoing scandals will further damage the institution.

"We don't really have an ethics process any more in the Congress, so that these things are not exposed or considered until this becomes a criminal law case," says former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D), who served as a member of the House ethics panel and as vice chair of the 9/11 commission.

"Somebody has to begin to think of the institution: How does conduct impact public opinion of the Congress. Today, members often take delight in making themselves look good and the institution look bad. That can only go so far and still have a representative democracy," he adds.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1212/p01s02-uspo.html

Diebold CEO resigns after reports of fraud litigation, internal woes
John Byrne


The chief executive officer of electronic voting company Diebold who once famously declared that he would "deliver" Ohio for President Bush has resigned effective immediately, RAW STORY has learned.

"The board of directors and Wally mutually agreed that his decision to resign at this time for personal reasons was in the best interest of all parties," the company's new chairman said in a statement.

O'Dell's resignation comes just days after reports from BradBlog.com that the company was facing imminent securities fraud litigation surrounding charges of insider trading. It also comes on the heels of a RAW STORY interview with a Diebold insider, who raised new allegations of technical woes inside the company, as well as concerns that Diebold may have mishandled elections in Georgia and Ohio.

Diebold's chief operating officer Thomas Swidarski will take O'Dell's place.

"This has been a very challenging year for the company," Swidarski said. "We are beginning to make progress to improve some of our performance issues, reduce our cost structure by addressing inefficiencies in our manufacturing supply chain and software development processes, and instill price discipline throughout the company."

In a story last week, RAW STORY recounted allegations made by a Diebold insider who said he/she had become disillusioned after witnessing repeated efforts by the firm to evade meeting legal requirements or implementing appropriate security measures, and who alleged that Diebold had put corporate interests ahead of the interests of voters.

“I’ve absolutely had it with the dishonesty,” the insider said. Blasting Wally O’Dell, the current president of Diebold, the whistleblower went on to explain behind-the-scenes tactics of the company and its officers.

“There’s a lot of pressure in the corporation to make the numbers: `We don’t tell you how to do it, but do it.’ [O’Dell is] probably the number one culprit putting pressure on people,” the source said.

The whistleblower also questioned whether the company or its subsidiaries had mishandled a 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election and voting in Ohio this year.

Diebold spokesman David Bear rebutted the charges. “Diebold has a sterling reputation in the industry," Bear said. "It’s a 144-year-old company and is considered one of the best companies in the industry."

Diebold insider alleges company plagued by technical woes, Diebold defends 'sterling' record
Miriam Raftery


In an exclusive interview with RAW STORY, a whistleblower from electronic voting heavyweight Diebold Election Systems Inc. raised grave concerns about the company’s electronic voting technology and of electronic voting in general, bemoaning an electoral system the insider feels has been compromised by corporate privatization.

The Diebold insider, who took on the appellation “Dieb-Throat” in an interview with voting rights advocate Brad Friedman (BradBlog.com), was once a staunch supporter of electronic voting’s potential to produce more accurate results than punch cards.

But the company insider became disillusioned after witnessing repeated efforts by Diebold to evade meeting legal requirements or implementing appropriate security measures, putting corporate interests ahead of the interests of voters.


“I’ve absolutely had it with the dishonesty,” the insider told RAW STORY. Blasting Wally O’Dell, the current president of Diebold, the whistleblower went on to explain behind-the-scenes tactics of the company and its officers.

“There’s a lot of pressure in the corporation to make the numbers: `We don’t tell you how to do it, but do it.’ [O’Dell is] probably the number one culprit putting pressure on people,” the source said.

Diebold spokesman David Bear rebuts the charges. “Diebold has a sterling reputation in the industry," Bear said. "It’s a 144-year-old company and is considered one of the best companies in the industry."

Previous revelations from the whistleblower have included evidence that Diebold’s upper management and top government officials knew of backdoor software in Diebold’s central tabulator before the 2004 election, but ignored urgent warnings—such as a Homeland Security alert posted on the Internet.

“This is a very dangerous precedent that needs to be stopped—that’s the corporate takeover of elections,” the source warned. “The majority of election directors don’t understand the gravity of what they’re dealing with. The bottom line is who is going to tamper with an election? A lot of people could, but they assume that no one will.”
Concerns about Georgia, Ohio elections

The insider harbors suspicions that Diebold may be involved in tampering with elections through its army of employees and independent contractors. The 2002 gubernatorial election in Georgia raised serious red flags, the source said.

“Shortly before the election, ten days to two weeks, we were told that the date in the machine was malfunctioning,” the source recalled. “So we were told 'Apply this patch in a big rush.’” Later, the Diebold insider learned that the patches were never certified by the state of Georgia, as required by law.

“Also, the clock inside the system was not fixed,” said the insider. “It’s legendary how strange the outcome was; they ended up having the first Republican governor in who knows when and also strange outcomes in other races. I can say that the counties I worked in were heavily Democratic and elected a Republican.”

In Georgia’s 2002 Senate race, for example, nearly 60 percent of the state’s electorate by county switched party allegiances between the primaries and the general election.

The insider’s account corroborates a similar story told by Diebold contractor Rob Behler in an interview with Bev Harris of Black Box Voting.

Harris revealed that a program patch titled “rob-georgia.zip” was left on an unsecured server and downloaded over the Internet by Diebold technicians before loading the unauthorized software onto Georgia voting machines. “They didn’t even TEST the fixes before they told us to install them,” Behler stated, adding that machines still malfunctioned after patches were installed.

California decertified Diebold TSX touch screen machines after state officials learned that the vendor had broken state election law.
“In California, they got in trouble and tried to doubletalk. They used a patch that was not certified,” the Diebold insider said. “They’ve done this many times. They just got caught in Georgia and California.”

The whistleblower is also skeptical of results from the November 2005 Ohio election, in which 88 percent of voters used touch screens and the outcome on some propositions changed as much as 40 percent from pre-election exit polls.“Amazing,” the Diebold insider said.

Diebold is headquartered in Ohio. Its chairman Wally O’Dell, a key fundraiser for President Bush, once promised in an invitation to a Republican fundraising dinner to deliver Ohio’s electoral votes for Bush. The staffer said the company has a deep conservative culture.

“My feeling having been really deep inside the company is that initially Diebold, being a very conservative and Republican company, felt that if they controlled an election company, they could have great influence over the outcome,” the source, a registered independent, said.

“Does that mean fixing elections? Not necessarily, but if your people are in election departments and they are biased toward Republicans, you will have an influence…I think this is what they were buying, the positioning. Obviously screwing with the software would be a homerun—and I do think that was part of their recipe for getting into the election business. But the public got involved and said 'Hey, what’s going on?' That pulled the sheet off what their plan was with these paperless voting machines.”

The difficulties of installing paper trails

Responding to public demand for paper trails, Diebold has devised a means of retrofitting its paperless TSX system with printers and paper rolls. But in Ohio’s November 2005 election, some machines produced blank paper.

The whistleblower is not surprised. “The software is again the culprit here. It’s not completely developed. I saw the exact same thing in Chicago during a demonstration held in Cook County for a committee of people who were looking at various election machines… They rejected it for other reasons.”

Asked if Ohio officials were made aware of that failure prior to the recent election, the source said, “No way. Anything goes wrong inside Diebold, it’s hush-hush.”

Most officials are not notified of failed demonstrations like the one in Cook County, the insider said, adding that most system tests, particularly those exhibited for sale are not conducted with a typical model.

California, which recently conducted a test of the system without public scrutiny that found only a three percent failure rate—far lower than earlier tests that found a 30 percent combined failure due to software crashes and printer jams.

Asked if the outcomes of the newest test should be trusted, the whistleblower, who does not know the protocols used in the California test, warned, “There’s a practice in testing where you get a pumped-up machine and pumped-up servers, and that’s what you allow them to test. Diebold does it and so do other manufacturers. It’s extremely common.”

Neither the TSX nor the older TS6 election equipment systems used by Diebold were designed to be retrofitted with paper trails. “The TSX was designed and brought to market after the paper trail issue erupted, yet it was introduced as a paperless system. But the uproar became so great… The public forced Diebold to put printers on their machines.” Adding printers to existing computer hardware together poses challenges.

The TS6 machines can’t be retrofitted with paper at all, leaving 35,000 voters in Maryland and Georgia to rely on paperless, faith-based voting.

Even if the blank paper problem could be solved, there are other serious problems with some TSX equipment. “The system that was offered to San Diego was purely experimental—the TSX and the electronic poll book, the check-in device,” the Diebold insider stated. “Voters couldn’t access the system to vote with the electronic poll book if the batteries died.” The high rate of breakdowns involving access cards for the poll book caused major problems, the source added. “The interesting part about this device is that it had never been used before. That was probably not certified.”

San Diego has since warehoused its TSX system, pending a decision by the state on whether to recertify. San Diego County now uses Diebold optical scanners—but those pose security problems as well.

Although Black Box Voting demonstrated during a demonstration in Leon County, Florida that computer experts could hack into a similar system in less than a minute and alter a memory card to switch votes, election officials still brush off concerns for additional security precautions.

San Diego County Registrar of Voters, Mikel Haas, for example, was questioned by this reporter for the city’s local paper, Citybeat. He insisted that no additional security measures were needed.

Asked if Diebold had implemented any changes to close security holes revealed by the Leon County hack, the source replied, “None that I know of.”

Informed that Haas allowed over 700 voting machines with memory cards inside to be sent home overnight with poll-workers, the insider raised alarm. “These memory cards need to be protected every single step of the way, like money. If they have people taking these machine home with memory cards, that’s out the window.”

The Diebold whistleblower also criticized election officials in San Diego and elsewhere for allowing Diebold personnel to be present when votes reach the server. “The election office’s employees—people who are paid with our tax dollars to conduct elections and have proper security elections and background check should do this – and no one else.” Manufacturers should be a mile away on election night, the source added.

The best way for concerned citizens to detect fraud is to “be there on election night” to observe vote tabulations, the insider said. But in some cities, citizens have been barred from watching votes being counted on Diebold tabulators – and in San Diego, Black Box Voting activist Jim March was arrested in July 2005 and charged with felony trespassing after entered a secured room to watch votes being counted. The charges were later dismissed.

But no amount of observation can totally protect the public from the dangers inherent in electronic voting, the whistleblower says. “People are going to end up losing their rights in many ways that they will never, never understand. For example, the new electronic databases for voter registration is a great idea, but it passes control away from local boards of elections and puts it in the hands of the states…The final database is manipulated by states instead of counties. Every state must have it. It’s mandated by [the Help America Vote Act]. It’s a sleeper issue.”
The source, who once supported the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), now concedes “it’s terrible…Most of this is a big money grab.”

The Diebold hand believes many election officials are naпve, while others are “downright arrogant. They are serving politicians and in many cases, vendors.”

How Diebold woos state officials

The insider described a systematic process Diebold uses to woo election officials via cash doled out by lobbyists or attorneys and favors to assist budget-strapped public officials. “They promise the election directors the moon and deliver things to them that really aren’t legitimate parts of the contract.” Those promises range from providing personnel to equipping warehouses with electrical systems to recharge batteries in voting machines.

“The corporation pretty much takes over. That’s how they capture so many of these people. Diebold is making them look good and they’re not going to bite the hand that feeds them.”

Diebold creates a “monetary incentive” to stay involved via future servicing contracts after selling election equipment, the whistleblower noted, adding, “The machines are purposely complex and poorly designed.”

Noting that the GEMS software runs on Microsoft Access, Dieb-Throat observed, “There are problems that can’t be fixed. I understand they are going to redesign it around Oracle.”

Diebold spokesman David Bear denied that the company is redesigning software around an Oracle platform. “No, that’s not true to my knowledge,” he said.

Asked whether any TSX machine produced blank paper during a demonstration in Cook County, he replied, “I’m not aware of that.”

Bear initially denied that any Diebold machines in Ohio produced blank paper rolls.

“That’s not true,” he said. “They just ran an election November 8th with over 15,000 of the units and the Secretary of State was overwhelmingly pleased.” After being told of news reports describing blank paper rolls produced in Ohio, however, he replied, “It would not surprise me if a paper roll was installed upside down.”

Diebold consultant convicted for embezzlement

The Diebold insider noted that the initial GEMS system used to tabulate votes for the Diebold Opti-scan systems was designed by Jeffrey Dean, who was convicted in the early 1990s of computer-aided embezzlement. Dean was hired by Global Election Systems, which Diebold acquired in 2000. Global also had John Elder, a convicted cocaine trafficker, on its payroll. Diebold spokesman David Bear told Citybeat that Dean left shortly after the acquisition and that Elder also left “long ago.” Black Box Voting reported that Diebold gave Elder a “golden parachute” in 2004 and that he was let go only after his criminal past was revealed by BBV and mainstream publications.

But the Diebold whistleblower told RAW STORY that Elder remained working for Diebold “as recently as the summer of this year… [Elder creates ] the paper ballots for absentee voting…They were making the ballots for the November election for sure, for all over the country.”

Bear denied that Elder is still on Diebold’s payroll as either an employee or independent contractor.

“He was with the company two companies ago, never was an employee of Diebold, and worked for a company that was acquired by Diebold,” he said.

Asked if Elder works for a company producing ballots for any of California’s Diebold systems, Bear responded, “The counties contract for that. I don’t have the slightest idea… There are probably several different companies that produce ballots for California.”

Bear denied allegations that Diebold has installed uncertified patches. “Nothing is done in any state except under guidance and authority of election officials in the state.”

He also stated that the California Secretary of State’s staff has recommended recertifying the Diebold TSX system retrofitted with paper rolls.

Bear defends Diebold's record.

“In the last presidential election, over 150,000 touch screens were run. They were recognized by CalTech and MIT for having accurately captured the vote. From the presidential election 2004, they believe over 1 million more votes were captured. They singled out touch-screens; the state with the most improvement was Georgia.” (Full text of the Caltech/MIT report)

The Diebold insider says Americans who care about their vote must remain vigilant. “I don’t look for the paperless people, the corporations, to back off at all. They will continue to try to keep the public in the dark.”


Christopher Hitchens went through OH after the Presidential election and said that there should be a serious investigation of the vote in OH. He detested Kerry but said that people have the right to a legal election, and he felt there were crooked things going on in OH with the voting machines.

I said that all it would take was one Diebold employee to "come to Jesus" and tell the truth of what went on and it would break this company. Looks like they are in the process of imploding.

Just so. So obviously any flaws in the software are there because they want them to be there.

Probly keeping the control of the databases in the states is the best idea.
When there is any question all we need to do is to audit the red states.

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle....DISTRICTING.xml

I wasn't aware that so many voters had been assigned to new districts. Kind of makes a mokery of the claim to be merely adjusting boundaries for population changes.

West Palm Beach, Fla.

Limbaugh's doctors can be subpoenaed

Prosecutors can subpoena Rush Limbaugh's doctors as part of an investigation into whether the conservative radio commentator illegally bought painkillers, a judge ruled Monday.

Judge David Crow ruled that Florida laws do not prevent doctors from talking with prosecutors if the discussion is relevant to the prosecution of a crime. The decision gave prosecutors permission to subpoena doctors and their staff, but it also protected confidential material in Limbaugh's medical records.

Prosecutors seized Limbaugh's records after learning that he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. They contend that Limbaugh engaged in "doctor shopping" by illegally deceiving multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions. Limbaugh has not been charged with a crime.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nati...410_ndig13.html

Posted on Mon, Dec. 12, 2005

Prosecutors can't question Limbaugh's doctors without charges

BY JOHN COTE

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - If Palm Beach County, Fla., prosecutors decide to charge Rush Limbaugh for his prescription drug use, they'll have to do it without questioning the conservative radio host's doctors about his medical condition, a judge ruled Monday.

Prosecutors can subpoena Limbaugh's physicians in connection with a "doctor shopping" probe, but can't ask them many meaningful questions unless the Palm Beach resident has been charged, Circuit Judge David Crow ruled.

If prosecutors charge Limbaugh with illegally obtaining overlapping prescriptions from different doctors, his physicians can be subpoenaed and fully questioned at a deposition, hearing or trial, Crow wrote.

Until then, the doctors can't be asked about "the medical condition of the patient (or) any information disclosed to the healthcare practitioner by the patient in the course of the care and treatment of the patient," Crow wrote.

The decision restricts prosecutors' options but also outlines limits to legal protection for physician-patient communication during a criminal probe.

It came amid Limbaugh's latest effort to raise privacy concerns as prosecutors investigate whether he secretly obtained overlapping prescriptions in a 30-day period.

Limbaugh had waged a legal battle to prevent prosecutors from viewing his medical records, which were seized in late 2003. A judge in July released portions of the records to investigators.

Prosecutors are investigating prescriptions Limbaugh received from Florida and California doctors between March 2003 and September 2003, when he allegedly picked up 1,733 hydrocodone, 90 OxyContin, 50 Xanax and 40 time-release morphine pills, search warrants show.

Limbaugh, 54, has not been charged with a crime.

The latest legal skirmish arose after prosecutors sought to question one of his doctors.

It was "common sense" that state investigators would be allowed to question doctors to "authenticate the records and define what the words mean" after a court turned them over, prosecutor James Martz argued at a November hearing.

"I would be devastated, and I kid you not, to go forward with a case against Rush Limbaugh or anybody else in the state of Florida, to find out at trial ... (when) I actually get to hear what the writer intended, that we put somebody through a criminal prosecution wrongly," Martz said. Prosecutors declined to comment on Monday's ruling, calling the case an ongoing investigation.

Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, said he was pleased.

"The state cannot ask the doctors its questions posed to the court during the hearing," Black said in a statement. "We've said from the start that there was no doctor shopping, but Mr. Limbaugh should not have to give up his right to doctor-patient confidentiality to prove his innocence."

The ruling, though, rejected Black's argument that physicians and patients enjoy a legal privilege comparable to that between attorney and client, where the parties cannot be forced to disclose confidential information.

The law provides for medical confidentiality, the judge wrote, but that does not extend to the courtroom if "that information is shown to be relevant to the prosecution of a crime."

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/new...on/13392062.htm

Florida Judge Upholds Rush Limbaugh's Doctor-Patient Confidentiality
Monday December 12, 5:22 pm ET


MIAMI, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Roy Black, Rush Limbaugh's attorney, issued the following statement regarding Judge David F. Crow's decision today prohibiting prosecutors from asking the talk show host's doctors about his medical treatment and condition or information he shared with his doctors during his care and treatment.

Judge Crow's ruling upholds our argument that the State cannot breach
doctor-patient confidentiality just because it has obtained some medical
records, and thus the state cannot ask the doctors its questions posed to
the court during the hearing.

Judge Crow's decision prohibits the State from questioning Mr. Limbaugh's
physicians about "the medical condition of the patient and any
information disclosed to the healthcare practitioner by the patient in
the course of the care and treatment of the patient."

We are pleased with the court's ruling upholding the patient's statutory
right of doctor-patient confidentiality. We've said from the start that
there was no doctor shopping but Mr. Limbaugh should not have to give up
his right to doctor-patient confidentiality to prove his innocence.

The medical records that the State has seized and reviewed now for nearly
six months show that Mr. Limbaugh received legitimate medical treatment
for legitimate medical reasons. Mr. Limbaugh has not been charged with a
crime and he should not be charged.

Click Here

Persecution of Rush Limbaugh suffers a blow

When the political history of this era is written by observers detached from current passions, there is no doubt that Rush Limbaugh will accorded a prominent place in explaining the rise of conservatism. He is without question the single most influential media figure in the entire history of American broadcasting.

When the history of Rush Limbaugh is examined by objective historians of the future, the shameful persecution he has endured will no doubt the subject of many a doctoral dissertation. Many of them will focus on the shameful persecution he has endured at the hands of a partisan prosecutor.

How was it possible that such an important figure could be the only person ever prosecuted in Florida for the specific behavior alleged? And how was it possible the he alone was subjected to an attempted violation of doctor-patient confidentiality?

At last, a sensible ruling has been issued which recognizes that Rush Limbaugh, no less than any other American, is entitled to have his doctor-patient relationship unmolested by the questions of prosecutors directed at his physician, in search of an offense on which to indict him. Judge David Crow prohibited prosecutors from asking Rush’s doctors about his medical treatment and condition or information he shared with his doctors during his care and treatment.

The fact is that we know that Rush Limbaugh developed a dependency on prescription painkillers, and that he eventually obtained some without benefit of prescription. This is neither healthy nor legal, and I do not endorse such behavior. But in the wake of excruciating pain from a medical condition, and under pressure to continue to captivate a huge radio audience while losing his hearing, it is a rather understandable transgression.

When other well-known people have developed presciption drug dependencies, they have been smothered in support. Betty Ford has a clinic named after her. But Rush Limbaugh, and Rush Limbaugh alone, has been pursued by an obsessed political enemy using his office as prosecutor to take out the most important conservative in the mass media.

Congratulations are due to Rush and to his lawyer Roy Black. It is time for the persecution of Rush to end. Now that the prosecutorial fishing expedition has been ruled out of bounds, the DA should pursue real criminals who harm the public.

Thomas Lifson 12 12 05 Click Here

The man had 2000 pain meds from several doctors. He also has excellent lawyers which will make the difference. If he were less well off and not as politically connected he would already be serving his time.

Just another drug addicted pill popper to me.

I love this angle. This after having shrieked at the top of his lungs about morals and values and advocating the harshest possible penalties for drug abuse. Then, throw in the endless drumbeat of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and criticisms of hollywood media personalities being hooked? NOWWWWW he wants to get off scot-free.

When Jerry Garcia died Limbaugh said he was "just another dead doper".

Double standards rule in your hypocritical self-righteous, Republicans are superior world.

Prosecutor in DeLay case subpoenas records from defense contractors

California companies tied to Cunningham bribery case

Tuesday, December 13, 2005; Posted: 3:24 p.m. EST (20:24 GMT)


WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Texas prosecutor has issued subpoenas for bank records and other information of a defense contractor involved in the bribery case of a California congressman as part of the investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued subpoenas late Monday afternoon for California businessmen Brent Wilkes and Max Gelwix, records of Perfect Wave Technologies LLC, Wilkes Corp. and ADCS Inc. in connection with a contribution to a fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to DeLay's indictment on money laundering charges.

Perfect Wave contributed $15,000 in September 20, 2002 to Texans for a Republican Majority, a fundraising committee founded by DeLay, R-Texas.

Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigned in late November after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to companies.(Full Story)

Lawyer: 'We're not concerned about it'
"He can subpoena all he wants, there's nothing there," said DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin. "I think he's trying to dig himself out of a hole. We're not concerned about it."

The subpoenas also seek correspondence and internal accounting records.

Wilkes, head of Wilkes Corp., is one of four unnamed coconspirators listed in Cunningham's plea agreement, Wilkes' attorney, Michael Lipman of San Diego, has said. Lipman did not immediately return calls for comment.

Defense contractor ADCS and Perfect Wave Technologies are subsidiaries of Wilkes Corp.

Gelwix was listed in federal campaign records last year as president and CEO of Perfect Wave Technologies. A message left at his office was not immediately returned.

Wilkes' company also hired Alexander Strategies, a consulting firm that employed DeLay's wife Christine. His private jet company, Group W Transportation, provided flights to DeLay three times. DeLay reimbursed Group W as required, records show.

DeLay was forced to step aside as majority leader in late November after he was indicted on state charges of conspiracy to violate Texas election laws. A second grand jury indicted him on charges of conspiracy to launder money and money laundering charges.

The initial charges have been dismissed, but a judge has let stand the latter charges and DeLay faces possible trial on them.

Earle alleges that DeLay and two coconspirators funneled $190,000 in corporate contributions through the Texas political committee and an arm of the National Republican Committee to seven GOP state legislative candidates.

Earle alleges DeLay and his two associates were trying to circumvent Texas' law prohibiting spending corporate money on campaigns, except for administrative expenses.

DeLay, who denies wrongdoing, has been pressing for a quick resolution to his case so he can regain his majority leader job before his colleagues call for new leadership elections.

But Earle on Monday asked a judge to halt DeLay's trial while he appeals the dismissal of the conspiracy charge. The judge in the case has said he is unlikely to move forward with the case while the district attorney appeals, but set a pretrial hearing for December 27.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

This should be interesting to watch.

EXCLUSIVE: SECURITIES FRAUD LITIGATION FILED AGAINST DIEBOLD, INC!

Eight Current and Former Executives Named as Co-Defendants, Including former CEO O'Dell and New CEO Swidarski

Class Action Suit Alleges Fraud, Insider Trading, Manipulation of Stock Prices, Concealment of Known Flaws in Voting Machines and Company Structural Problems



The BRAD BLOG can now report that a Securities Fraud Class Action suit has been filed against Diebold, Inc. (stock symbol: DBD) naming eight top executive officers in the company as co-defendants. The suit has been filed by plaintiff Janice Konkol, alleging securities fraud against the North Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer of Voting Systems and ATM machines on behalf of investors who owned shares of Diebold stock and lost money due to an alleged fraudulent scheme by the company and its executives to deceive shareholders during the "class period" of October 22, 2003 through September 21, 2005.

The suit was filed today in U.S. Federal District Court in Ohio and alleges the company "artificially inflated" stock prices through misleading public information designed to conceal the true nature of Diebold's financial and legal situation. The defendants are also alleged to have attempted to disguise well-known and ongoing problems with Diebold's Voting Machine equipment and software. Additionally, the suit alleges insider trading by defendants resulting in proceeds of $2.7 million. Remedies are sought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The suit, filed by the law firm Scott+Scott, LLC on behalf of Konkol and the plaintiff class, names former Diebold CEO and Chairman, Walden O'Dell as a co-defendant along with seven other current and former officers of the once-venerable company.

News of the pending litigation was first reported as imminent in an exclusive report by The BRAD BLOG late last week.

Yesterday, in a surprise announcement, O'Dell unexpectedly resigned from the company. A Diebold press release described O'Dell as leaving the company for "personal reasons". He was immediately replaced by the company's president and chief operating officer, Thomas W. Swidarski, who had directly overseen Diebold's Election Systems subsidiary division for some time. Swidarski is also named as a co-defendant in today's class action suit.

After news was released of weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings on September 21, Diebold stock prices plummeted 15.5% in unusually heavy trading that resulted in a one day sell-off costing investors more than $40 million dollars. The complaint describes Diebold and the co-defendants as having "failed to disclose adverse facts known" to the company and that they "participated in a fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud."

The suit, to be released in full by The BRAD BLOG shortly, alleges Diebold and the eight co-defendants failed to alert investors to adverse facts known to the company, choosing instead to participate in a "fraudulent scheme and course of business" that operated as a fraud or deceit on the company's shareholders.

The suit describes the liabilities of the company and co-defendants as follows...



Each defendant is liable for (a) making false statements, or ( failing to disclose adverse facts known to him about Diebold. Defendants’ fraudulent scheme and course of business that operated as a fraud or deceit on purchasers of Diebold publicly traded securities was a success, as it (a) deceived the investing public regarding Diebold’s prospects and business; ( artificially inflated the prices of Diebold’s publicly traded securities; © allowed insiders to sell over 51,000 shares of Diebold stock, for proceeds of $2.7 million; and (d) caused plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase Diebold’s publicly traded securities at inflated prices.



...THE DEFENDANTS...

Named as co-defendants in the suit along with former CEO O'Dell and new CEO Swidarski are President of International Operations, Michael J. Hillock; Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions, David Bucci; Interim Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Controller, Kevin J. Krakora; Vice President and Chief Information Officer, John M. Crowther; Senior Vice President and CFO, Gregory T. Geswein; and President and COO, Eric C. Evans. (Titles applied to the named co-defendants during the class period. Evans, for example resigned from the company on the same day as the Sep. 21, 2005 announcement.) "Each individual defendant," the suit points out, "owed a duty to the Company and its shareholders not to trade on inside information."

The claim cites a number of allegedly misleading news releases pertaining to the fitness and security of election systems as contracted by Diebold in San Diego County in 2003; their settlement for $2.6 million with the state of California in 2004, wherein Diebold is alleged to have concealed "the dimensions and scope of internal problems at the Company" from investors; and an "astonishingly low and incredibly inaccurate" statement about "restructuring charges" in the Sep. 21 announcement.

Once again, quoting from the lawsuit:


During the Class Period, defendants knew and concealed that:
(a) the Company remained unable to assure the quality and working order of their voting machine products;
( the Company lacked a credible state of internal controls and corporate compliance;
© the 2004 settlement with the State of California served to conceal from investors the dimensions and scope of internal problems at the Company, impacting product quality, strategic planning, forecasting, guidance, internal controls and corporate compliance; and
(d) the Company’s "prediction" of astonishingly low and incredibly inaccurate restructuring charges for the entire 2005 fiscal year grossly understated the true costs defendants faced to restructure the Company.

The complaint alleges that the company lied to investors about the true costs of its restructuring activities, concealing the fact that Diebold was facing far worse restructuring issues than publicly represented -- indicative of far greater problems than the company was willing to reveal.

For example, the complaint indicates that the problems Diebold faced in California in 2004 were merely the tip of an internal structural iceberg which the company had sought to conceal from investors when they decided to make a settlement in the case. Investors could not know then that the problems revealed by the California litigation in 2004 were a sign of more and deeper internal problems to come. The settlement agreed to by Diebold in that case, the suit alleges, was meant to keep a lid on the larger dimensions of the problems, rather than indicating that the issues at stake had been fully resolved. Press materials released by the company announcing the settlement -- and included in the version of the complaint filed today -- seem to indicate otherwise to investors.


...THE INSIDER...

Additional facets of the company's internal structural problems were revealed in a series of previous BRAD BLOG articles reporting on an anonymous company insider we dubbed "DIEB-THROAT" who alerted us to the "Cyber Alert Warning" issued by a branch of the Dept. of Homeland Security in August of 2004. That warning concerned the vulnerability to hackers of Diebold's central vote tabulating software prior to last year's Presidential Election. The election watchdog organization BlackBoxVoting.org, who had first discovered the vulnerability, had also recently arranged for a computer security expert to successfully hack into actual Diebold voting machines used in Leon County, Florida without leaving any trace of the manipulation.

It was just several days after our first report on DIEB-THROAT that stock prices plunged at the company in September. Diebold attempted to blame their troubles, at the time, on bad weather in the gulf which lead our insider source to aver: "Using Hurricane Katrina is a poor excuse for bad products - the last time this kind of deception occurred it was called Enron."

Internet news site, The RAW STORY recently ran their own interview with DIEB-THROAT revealing still more structural problems within the company and its voting division. The report explained that the company was "plagued by technical woes," even as a Diebold spokesperson claimed the 144-year old company "has a sterling reputation in the industry."


...THE PLAINTIFF...

Plaintiff Konkol, a just-retired 29-year public school employee from Central Wisconsin first invested in Diebold in 1999. She told The BRAD BLOG that she purchased the stock thinking, "ATM's that'd be the way to go." She originally invested $500 which eventually grew to $1400 before falling. She is also invested in Diebold via mutual funds held by the Wisconsin Education Union in which she is a member. Konkol, a 56-year old grandmother of three, recently returned from two weeks of volunteering on the Gulf Coast with several members of her Lutheran church. "We got a big group together and we went down to the Gulf to help out in Katrina."

"I believe in churches...I believe we should practice what we're preached to about," she told us. "I don't like it when big companies take advantage of us little people," she said. "I can't say that I'm anti-big business...I just want things to be fair."

It appears that Scott+Scott, the attorneys associated with the case, are just beginning to learn about the full scope of the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Diebold on investors. Amended complaints with additional details are expected to be filed in the weeks and months to come. Other law firms are also expected to file similar suits which will eventually be consolidated by the Federal District Court hearing the case. Indeed The BRAD BLOG has been contacted since filing our original report on this last week, by other firms who are said to be pursuing similar litigation against Diebold.


...THE REFORMERS...

As one of America's largest Voting Machine Companies (along with ES&S, they account for the tabulation of more than 80% of America's votes every election) Diebold has been the target of Election Reform advocates for their strong partisan support of Republican causes and candidates, a statement made prior to last year's Presidential Election to Republican fundraisers by O'Dell that he was committed to "delivering the state of Ohio" to George W. Bush, along with their reluctance to include verifiable paper ballots with their voting products and to make the source-code for their software open and available for public inspection.

A recent 100+ page GAO report, shamefully unreported by the mainstream media, confirmed many of the Election Reform advocates concerns about the security and vulnerability of Voting Equipment made by Diebold and other such companies. In California, a recent mock election test revealed that some 20% of Diebold touch-screen voting machines failed to operate as expected after being previous decertified for similar failures and vulnerabilities. Despite that, California's Republican Sec. of State Bruce McPherson remarkably is considering re-certifying those same machines in the state which Diebold has described as America's "largest voting market."

Diebold was one of seven major American Voting Machine companies named in Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy" campaign launched on Presidents' Day last February. The campaign demanded accountability and openness by the Voting Machine Companies in what Velvet Revolution deemed a "patriotic duty" to "ensure free, fair and transparent elections" by the private companies entrusted with running our sacred public democracy. The BRAD BLOG is a co-founder of VelvetRevolution.us.

Konkol's complaint as filed today demands "a trial by jury."

The BRAD BLOG will of course, compile an extensive, accurate and verifiable paper trail in regards to this story as it continues to unfold...



Diebold is toast.

Programmers in the red states will set it back on track...already have the results of the 2008 election ready to go.

The republicans win at any cost. Illegal, immoral, unAmerican. You make me sick.

We will do whatever is necessary to offset democrat cheating.

I suppose they'll swiftboat her. Normally I wouldn't be that cynical but after seeing what they did (and continue to do) to a fallen soldiers mother, I realized there is no "bottom" for these people. Poor dear.

Tough poopy, lady....we dance the dance and you pay the fiddler...you don't like it...fuckya.

Up yers coward. Fuc you, your dance and your sister.

Is that the "royal" we?

There's a thread just for you.

http://spannerbackup.ipbhost.com/index.php...wtopic=365&st=0

ferget yer sister, never know what I'd catch

Fuckoff.

I think the Diebold story is very important... and I think that even the "righties" should also be concerned... your votes aren't being counted either... and you may not alsways "win"... if you can call that "winning".

If Diebold were the only place there might be fraud I'd be a lot more fixated on it. We have optical scanners and I'm plenty happy with them. But I know there is more than one way to cheat.

We still USe the good ole paper ballots... but they're electronically counted... I guess I kinda jUSt trUSt that someone double checks the results... probably the losers side.

we had the dreaded "butterfly ballot" for years. I never stopped to consider whether it was counted correctly, but it was easy to use. The new bubble reader saves the paper, but to my knowledge nobody has had any reason to check the paper.

The problem with Diebold machines is that they're too heavy to carry into the Chicago graveyards.

Actually, I think the real problem is that there's no way for the losing side to comfirm the results... that is a kind of good check/balance for the system, isn't it?

What's to keep the losers from trying to cheat during their audit?

Ethics?

In politics?

I'm not sure that even with a paper trail you can prove every vote is fairly cast.

Problem is, where you gonna find impartial checkers? Even foreigners have axes to grind.

They just need to cast doubt. Sort of like calling people to ask if they're SURE they punched the right hole in Florida.

I've been on record from the start as prefering simple paper ballots read by machines and never open to subjective interpretation.

Yeah, that pretty much minimizes the "intent" thing.

If they can sell millions in the lottery through an electronic machine with a paper ticket to prove the results then they have the technology to give a checkable paper receipt from a electronic voting machine.

Why is it only rightwingers question making electronic voting more secure and even verifiable?

When was the last time you heard of counterfeiting or fraud in the lotto?

Well Banks double check ATM transactions. Seems to me that votes ought to be audited as a matter of course.

You're right, though. It seems that only the Right wing objects to a paper trail. The problem with electronic voting isn't that it's simply "another way to cheat," it's a way to cheat with thousands of votes as opposed to the handful that could be changed with other methods.

We have the old mechanical voting machines. They're so accurate and good that the companies that manufactured them went out of business.

I really, really hate to quote Slate, but still, it remains:

Libby, Rove, Coulter, and the entire right wing machine seems to want us to think that somehow, all the requests for info from the CIA and all the chatter and the zillion times they tried to seed the Plame/Wilson "she sent him" story in the press, that they didn't really think it was an important political thing, weren't doing it on purpose, simply forgot about their own roles in it, and didn't remember their own roles in it even when a criminal investigation was launched.

And that Rove only "remembered" it when it became apparent that Novak also remembered their discussion of it, and might tell it to the prosecutor.

I'm sorry, but it just doesn't pass the bullshit test.

Their only defense is the "arrogance" defense--that they were so full of themselves, so immersed in their groupthink, that they really and truly, even as they were gossiping among themselves and comparing notes and asking for info and hinting to reporters, considered it a "minor matter".

In short, a sort of modified insanity defense. "We were so caught up in politics that we just didn't THINK" at all.

Bush Expresses a Belief in DeLay's Innocence



By RICHARD W. STEVENSON
Published: December 15, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - President Bush said on Wednesday that he thought Representative Tom DeLay, under indictment in Texas, was innocent and that he hoped Mr. DeLay could return to the post of House majority leader.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/politics...mow2IePkWPvgYHA


DeLay thinks you're innocent too.

<wink, wink>

You're both a couple of immoral corporate whores.

House Defies Bush and Backs McCain on Detainee Torture



By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: December 15, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - In an unusual bipartisan rebuke to the Bush administration, the House on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed Senator John McCain's measure to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners in American custody anywhere in the world.


Although the vote was nonbinding, it put the Republican-controlled House on record in support of Mr. McCain's provision for the first time, at the very moment when the senator, a Republican, is at a crucial stage of tense negotiations with the White House, which strongly opposes his measure.

The vote also likely represents the lone opportunity that House members will have to express their sentiments on Mr. McCain's legislation. The Senate approved the measure in October, 90 to 9, as part of a military spending bill. But until Wednesday, the House Republican leadership had sought to avoid a direct vote on the measure to avoid embarrassing the White House.

The vote was on a motion to instruct House negotiators, who had just been appointed to work out differences between the House and Senate spending bills, to accept the Senate position on the McCain amendment.

The House bill, providing $453 billion for military programs, has no provision like Mr. McCain's, but if the negotiators follow these instructions to the letter, the final bill passed by Congress will.

The House vote was 308 to 122, with 107 Republicans lining up along with almost every Democrat behind Representative John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who sponsored Mr. McCain's language and who has become anathema to the administration on any legislative measure related to Iraq since his call last month to withdraw American troops from Iraq in six months.

"Torture does not help us win the hearts and minds of the people it's used against," Mr. Murtha said on the House floor. "Congress is obligated to speak out."

Unlike the tumultuous three-hour debate that Mr. Murtha's Iraq-related measure provoked last month, this measure met with just 10 minutes of statements to a nearly empty House chamber.

Mr. Murtha, a former Marine colonel who is the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, said Mr. McCain's legislation was essential to standardizing American interrogation methods and sending a clear signal to the world that the United States condemned the abusive treatment of detainees.

"If we allow torture in any form," Mr. Murtha said, "we abandon our honor."

Representative C. W. Bill Young of Florida, head of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, was one of 121 Republicans who voted against Mr. McCain's language. One Democrat, Jim Marshall of Georgia, voted against it; 200 Democrats and one independent supported it.

Mr. Young was quick to point out that he was in no way endorsing torture as an interrogation technique, but said he opposed the measure because it wrongly bestowed the full protections of the Constitution to terrorists and tied the hands of Congressional negotiators.

Another Republican who voted against the measure, Representative Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, said he opposed it because he said laws already barred torture and abusive treatment.

"It's absolutely unnecessary," said Mr. Tiahrt, who is on the House Intelligence Committee.


Well mr Republican, if you scum had any respect for law we wouldn't need something like this. How long before you slime use it domestically? Never happen? I never, ever thought we'd have secret torture prisons in eastern Europe either. Bush and his administration see the law as something to get around so they can achieve their goals, not the rule of the land. The ends justify the means. You are the party of torture and open-ended war. I hope the torture label sticks to you asssholes like glue because you deserve it.Noooo, it's overwhelmingly obvious that you cannot be trusted with even the most basic human rights issues. Situational ethics again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/politics...artner=homepage

Another reason to hate Republicans. Corporate whores put their special interests before the country.

G.O.P. May Harness Arctic Drilling to Pentagon Budget



By CARL HULSE
Published: December 15, 2005

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - With a budget-cutting measure stymied by stiff resistance to opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, Congressional Republicans began exploring Wednesday a new tactic to win approval of both $45 billion in cuts and the drilling plan.

Lawmakers and senior aides said they were seriously considering tacking the drilling proposal onto a Pentagon spending bill that is among those that must pass before Congress heads home in the next few days. The switch, they said, could clear the way for approval of the spending cuts sought by conservatives and the Arctic drilling plan that is a priority of Republicans and the Bush administration, provided they could defeat any filibuster.

"It's going to be on one bill or the other before I go home," said Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, a leading proponent of opening the Arctic plain to oil production.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/politics/15cong.html

If you can't get it passed you hold the vote open, bribe a few people, threaten the others. Morals and values, huh? WHERE? I really, really want to know.

Yep. Open the National Parks to mining, open a Nature Preserve to drilling.

fark the next generation, they are getting "theirs."

chaaa ching!

Morals and values ... strikes again.

As it stands now, the next 2-3 generations have already been fark'd over real good....

Bravo Bushco!