Monday, November 16, 2009

Who was Greg Craig?

Re the Don Siegelman frame-up: " ... News out of Alabama this week indicates that Craig might be more interested in protecting Rove than in seeing that justice is done. ... "

Greg Craig abruptly resigns as White House counsel
Chicago Tribune | November 14, 2009

WASHINGTON — - White House counsel Greg Craig abruptly resigned Friday, weeks after telling reporters he had no plans to leave. Craig gave no hint of the reason for his resignation in a statement via the White House. ...

I usually avoid speculative questions because they are so given to authorial bias, but have to ask this one: Did Craig's resignation have anything to do with his ties to Karl Rove and a certain conflict-of-interest that he stepped into at DoJ?:

Excerpt: "Rove Deal Is A Raw Deal For Justice"
Legal Schnauzer | March 5, 2009

After hearing that former White House advisor Karl Rove is set to answer questions before a congressional committee about the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, many progressives might be tempted to shout "Hallelujah!"

But here's a word of caution from our justice team at Legal Schnauzer: Not so fast.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday evening that it had reached an agreement for Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers to testify about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. News reports indicate the testimony also is expected to cover the Siegelman case, the best known of several apparent political prosecutions under the Bush Department of Justice.

Rove and Miers are to sit for transcribed depositions under penalty of perjury, with the committee reserving the right to seek public testimony. The agreement also states that invocations of official privileges will be limited.

All of that sounds good, right? Well, we're not so sure.

For one, why is the Siegelman case the only political prosecution on the agenda? There appear to be many others, perhaps most notably the case of Mississippi attorney Paul Minor and former state judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield. That is the only documented case where the Bush prosecutor--Dunn Lampton--was on a list to be fired but was removed when he pursued a specific prosecution.

For another, news reports indicate that the Obama White House was deeply involved in negotiations for the Rove testimony. And White House Counsel Gregory Craig apparently represented the Obama camp. A New York Times report states that Craig sent House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers a letter saying, "President Obama is pleased that the parties have agreed to resolve this matter amicably."

But is Craig committed to seeing that former Bush officials are held accountable for politicizing the Justice Department? News out of Alabama this week indicates that Craig might be more interested in protecting Rove than in seeing that justice is done.

Alabama attorney Jill Simpson, a GOP whistleblower in the Siegelman case, says Craig has a conflict in matters involving Rove and perhaps other former Bush officials. In a letter dated February 22, 2009, Simpson's attorney, Priscilla Black Duncan, asked Craig to step down from all matters involving the Bush administration.

As justification for this request, the letter states:

* Craig represented Rove in a recent book deal;

* Emmet Flood, Craig's former close associate and mentor, is representing the Bush administration on executive-privilege issues in a case involving the U.S. attorneys firings;

* Craig was in contact with Jill Simpson on the pretense of representing her regarding her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, but declined representation only after hearing her entire case against Rove.

In the letter, Duncan states that Craig had a duty to disclose his relationship with Rove to Simpson, and he has a duty now to disclose with whom he shared information gleaned from his discussions with Simpson.

In short, Simpson alleges that Craig violated multiple rules of professional conduct for lawyers. These are the kinds of violations that, if confirmed, could get a lawyer in serious trouble. I don't pretend to be an expert on the subject, but I suspect disbarment could be on the table for Mr. Craig if he indeed took privileged information from Ms. Simpson and disclosed it to Karl Rove or others.

So is the Rove deal a step forward for justice? I don't think so. And that's because I smell a foul odor coming from the Obama White House. And it seems to be coming from the vicinity of Gregory Craig. ...

MORE

- AC

Checklist: The Lies of Sarah Palin

Lying about facts that are readily verifiable is the lipstick trace of a pathological liar - she has the right political party, but even Republicans know that you don't just lie about everything, helter skelter. You do it strategically, saving the lie for the proper moment when it can do the most harm to your political enemies. This woman is obviously in need of tutoring from Karl Rove. GW had the same problem before he sought help from Mr. Rove, and in no time he was able to sell the country on a highly-lucrative war with no justification whatsoever, and all it took was a few well-crafted fibs repeated ad nauseum ("psychic driving") by GOP operatives until all skeptics appeared to be "crazy." Sarah Palin just needs a little coaching from a seasoned Republican politician like Rove or Gingrich or Ailes to hone those lies for potent effect. Don't give up on the porcine maverick quite yet. "Death Panels" was the right idea (the execution failed). Mickey Mouse has undergone a personality makeover - so can Alaska's answer to Gunner Joe.

- AC

CHECKLIST

Republican Culture-of-Corruption Profile: Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson

glennrichardsonsuicide.com: "Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson wants you to believe that he recently attempted suicide because he suffers from 'depression.' But the reality is that Richardson is facing financial ruin — and that’s the real reason he tried to kill himself. Don’t let Glenn Richardson’s lies fool you. ... "



Speaker Glenn Richardson recently attempted suicide
by Scott Henry
November 13, 2009

From the AJC minutes ago:

Richardson, in a statement to the media, said he has been suffering from depression for the past two-and-a-half years since separating and subsequently divorcing his wife.

“While depression often seems to be resolved on occasion, when personal trials or tribulations arise, it flares back up,” Richardson said in the statement. “That is what occurred with me. My depression became so severe that I took substantial steps to do harm to myself and to take my own life. I am thankful that because of medical intervention I have instead been able to now receive help and support.”

And the reactions are already forthcoming. From the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:

“We are encouraged by Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson’s willingness to speak out about his battle with depression. We hope his courage will bring much needed awareness to this public health crisis,” said Christina Owens, area director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Metro Atlanta.
“Unfortunately, suicide and mental disorders such as depression are surrounded by stigma and misconceptions which prevent many people from seeking the help they desperately need.”

And from Richardson himself, via the AJC’s Galloway:

“As you know, in an effort to protect my family, I have and will continue to have a practice that I do not discuss my personal and private life. However, in this situation, I feel compelled to speak out in order to possibly help others. For the past two and a half years, ever since my separation and divorce, I have struggled with the disease of depression. Depression is a disease which affects millions of people everyday in this country. Like most people who suffer from depression, I regularly see a physician and take prescription medications.”

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2009/11/13/speaker-glenn-richardson-recently-attempted-suicide/
------
A Pipeline to Marital Problems

Legislator reveals attempt at suicide
By Shannon McCaffrey
Associated Press | November 14, 2009

" ... Richardson has remained silent on his personal life after ethics allegations surfaced that he had had an 'inappropriate relationship' with a female utility lobbyist in 2007. A complaint from Georgia Democrats charged the relationship took place at the same time Richardson was co-sponsoring a bill that would have authorized a $300 million pipeline being sought by her employer. ... "

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/111409/new_516277573.shtml#mdw-comments
-------
A Plane Crash

From press reports:

"John Wesley Rakestraw, 50, a developer and close friend of Gov. Perdue who held a fund-raiser at his home for the governor in 2006, was believed to be piloting the plane when it crashed, said John Shelton, director of emergency service in Surry County, N.C. Another of the crash victims, Steve Simpson, 46, a Paulding County developer and friend of the governor and Georgia House of Representatives Speaker Glenn Richardson, also is a licensed pilot.
Others killed on the flight were Frank Ruggiero, 52, of Acworth, a project manager for Facility Program Management Inc., of Smyrna, which is building the new Paulding County courthouse; Tony Gunter, 46, of Acworth, who worked for Rakestraw's Dallas construction company, Raker Construction; and Robert Butler, 49, of Chamblee, who worked for the Georgia Bank in Powder Springs. The men had planned to fly to Mount Airy and drive to Primland, a hunting and golf resort in Meadows of Dan, Va., about 25 miles north of the Mount Airy airport. ... "

Glenn Richardson is a Director of Westside Bank in Hiram, GA.

Georgia's Facility Group/Westside Bank, Southern Republicans Everywhere!
June 09, 2008

"We know there's corruption in the Georgia State Legislature, but they don't want their families hurt, so they keep it covered up."

"But Senator, what about my family?"


Cobb County, Georgia privately owned architectural and engineering firm, "The Facility Group" is dealing with corruption charges, accused of funneling campaign contributions to a former Governor in Mississippi, for contract favors "frauds and swindles." ...

The international Georgia-based company, Facility Group, has offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Germany and the Netherlands. ...

Earlier this year Facility Group suffered a grave loss when Sr. Vice President and Paulding court complex project manager Frank Ruggiero was aboard a private plane with five other prominent Republicans and politically connected developers from adjacent Paulding County. A Niagara Falls, New York native, Ruggiero lost his life in the fatal crash in Mount Airy, NC, February 1.

Crash victims were closely associated with Republican Governor Sonny Perdue, Speaker Glenn Richardson, whose law office also serves as Paulding County's district attorney office; and Congressman Phil Gingrey. Gingrey and Richardson shared business interests and Directorships at Westside Bank, in Paulding County, Georgia. ...

http://a-loon.blogspot.com/2008/06/georgias-facility-group-westside-bank.html
------
Class Warfare: Re Richardson as GA House Speakler

SHAME OF THE SOUTH

... The state's first Republican Governor since Reconstruction, Sonny Perdue, was elected. This caused the state's money power to flip entirely to the Republicans, who took over both houses of the state legislature in 2004.

And instituted their machine.

The leader of that machine, on the House side, is Glenn Richardson. Like the other leaders of the state's Republicans he lives in the Atlanta exurbs. Specifically he lives in Hiram, Georgia, which is in Paulding County, about 25 miles north-by-northwest from Atlanta proper.

Richardson, 52, lives just a few miles north of his birthplace in Douglas County. He is a highly incurious man who operates from self-interest, his own and that of people like him. He got his law degree from Georgia State in Atlanta in 1984 and almost immediately joined a politically-connected law firm for which he is now a name partner. He rose steadily along with his party, winning his legislative seat in 1996. His district is northeast of that held by the late Democratic Speaker Tom Murphy, and while his leadership style is based on the same ruthlessness and bombast, his method for gaining power is quite different.

The key to Richardson's rule is money. As soon as he became Speaker, in 2005, he put his plan into action.

It's quite simple. State law limits contributions to any candidate to $2,000 for a primary, $2,000 for the general election and $1,000 for a run-off, if that becomes necessary. Richardson began demanding $5,000 up-front from businesses who needed the government's cooperation, payable directly into his campaign account. Later, he started bundling these contributions -- taking multiple $5,000 hits from a company chairman, from each of their family members, and from any other executives who felt they needed to get in, as well as from companies affiliated with the contributor. ...

Richardson's obsession in the legislature involves eliminating taxes on rich white folks and putting more taxes on poor black folks. He is a class warrior. This means limiting the use of property taxes to fund local government and pushing everything on to sales taxes instead. Thanks to local government opposition he failed to pass his sales tax plan, which he dubbed GREAT ...

http://www.danablankenhorn.com/2008/11/shame-of-the--1.html
------
HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL GLENN RICHARDSON KILL THIS YEAR?
By Neal Boortz
March 30, 2009

Who is Glenn Richardson? My home town listeners probably know. He's the Republican Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. By the end of this year he will have blood on his hands. Sounds rather strong, doesn't it? Well ... actions have consequences. Read on:

Several years ago, when Georgia passed its mandatory seatbelt law, the esteemed legislators in Atlanta decided to exempt pickups and light trucks. The exemption of light trucks like SUVs was later lifted, but pickup drivers can still drive around without buckling up.

Statistics show that fatalities in pickup accidents in Georgia exceed fatalities in other vehicles by 31%. ...

http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/03/how-many-people-will-glenn-ric.html

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sean Hannity Apology to Jon Stewart

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Sean Hannity Apologizes to Jon
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes
Political HumorHealth Care Crisis

Swine Flu Vaccine: "Safe?" "Not Safe?" "What?"

"FRIDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Despite persistent public concern that H1N1 vaccines being tested might have unforeseen side effects, experts reiterated Thursday that so far, at least, the shots seem safe." - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

"Although the H1N1 vaccine has been rigorously tested and vetted for safety, no inoculation can be considered 100% safe and may cause adverse events, including death, in some people." - "China Investigates Deaths After Swine Flu Shot," Time, Nov. 15, 2009

Palin "Vindictiveness" in Her New Book?

Also see: "Sarah Palin Claims She Did Couric Interview Out Of “Pity” and "Sarah Palin calls boy, 5, 'An ignorant, bed-wetting, attention whore' on her Facebook page"

A cold wind blows from Alaska ...

" ... Referring to reports she and Todd Palin would seek a divorce, [Palin] writes, 'Dang.' I thought, 'Divorce Todd? Have you seen Todd?' ... "

CBS News | Nov. 14, 2009

Newsweek Editor Says She Seems Out to Repudiate Critics But Thinks "Going Rogue" Shows Her Lacking "Mastery of the Issues"

STORY AT CBS NEWS

American Spectator's Robert Stacy McCain is a White Supremacist

Robert Stacy McCain, a former member of the neo-Confederate hate group League of the South, before his ascent to "legitimacy" at American Spectator:

"[T]he media now force interracial images into the public mind and a number of perfectly rational people react to these images with an altogether natural revulsion. The white person who does not mind transacting business with a black bank clerk may yet be averse to accepting the clerk as his sister-in-law, and THIS IS NOT RACISM, no matter what Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Washington tell us. ..."
http://holocaustcontroversies.blogspot.com/2009/10/meet-robert-stacy-mccain-neo.html

Also see: "The House Cleaning Continues at The Washington Times," and Big Head DC's "'Robert Stacy McCain' File"

Robert Stacy McCain is a White Supremacist
by Barrett Brown
| October 26th, 2009

... Earlier this month, Donkey Cons co-author and American Spectator contributor Robert Stacy McCain posted a single-panel comic strip composed by a fellow conservative blogger named Steve Elmore; the cartoon takes an attempted jab at Little Green Footballs founder Charles Johnson for the fellow’s allegedly psychotic efforts to expose McCain as a white supremacist. Johnson is depicted as crying and wearing a soiled diaper. Meanwhile, his allies-turned-detractors among the conservative punditry are shown as being disgusted by Johnson’s terrible behavior; one notes that Johnson "just needs his diaper changed," while another asks, "Doesn’t that big baby ever shut up?" This was deemed to be endlessly hilarious by several of the conservative blogosphere’s more prominent commentators, a couple of whom posted it on their own blogs.

Last week I downloaded a copy of the cartoon, re-wrote the text with references to evidence of McCain’s obvious racist activies, and sent copies to Johnson, McCain, and Elmore. McCain responded with a long, silly "open letter" to me in which he draws on some five or six over-the-top metaphors to illustrate how I’ve been persecuting him, Johnson chuckled a bit, and Elmore sent me a series of whiny e-mails to the effect that I’d "vandalized" his "art."

Meanwhile, his co-blogger announced that I would soon face a massive "backlash" that would end my career as a "journalist" (she seems to think I’m a journalist); what this turned out to mean was that Elmore had just published our e-mail exchange on his blog. So I wrote a big long article making fun of both of them and a few other people that I hadn’t made fun of in a while for good measure, while also linking to the published e-mail exchange and posting another, even more hilarious correspondence I’d just had with the co-blogger. I also published my parody of Elmore’s original cartoon, prompting the artist to demand that I take it down. I told him to talk to my lawyer if he thought he had a case — which, of course, he doesn’t. Instead, he sent a whiny e-mail to my editor demanding that he take it down; of course, the cartoon remains up. In conclusion, the conservative movement is fucked beyond belief and Robert Stacy McCain is a white supremacist with extensive ties to a variety of neo-Nazi and pro-Confederacy organizations and leaders. ...

http://bushwickbk.com/2009/10/26/robert-stacy-mccain-is-still-a-white-supremacist-also-zombies/

My Response to Robert Stacy McCain Regarding His Racism and General Anti-Enlightenment Nonsense
By Barrett Brown
Oct. 20 2009

Robert Stacy McCain has written a lengthy and generally civil epistle with regards to my various attacks on him, and I promised that I would address each of his concerns today. So, here’s his message, interspersed with my reply.

A rare occasion, Mr. Brown, when any of those who’ve chosen to attack me even bother attempting to contact me. Of course, no one ever contacts me in advance: “Hey, did you actually write X, Y, Z? If so, why? What did you mean? What are your opinions about these things?” Instead, they leap to assumptions (if it’s on the Internet, it must be true) and the fact that certain things have been endlessly repeated online leads to the assumption that these things are true.

The fact of the matter is that you did indeed write X, Y, and Z, and in fact you do not even dispute writing X, Y, and Z, and X, Y, and Z happen to consist of such things as you writing bizarre apologies for the institution of slavery, jokingly proposing bumper stickers with messages such as, “Have you whipped your slave today?”, and claiming that viewing mixed race marriages with “revulsion” is a natural thing. The rest of the alphabet continues in a similar vein.

How often, since Charles Johnson began attacking me, have I emphasized that, during the years I was at the Washington Times, I was not permitted to address these allegations? And how often have I remarked that “white supremacy” is quite contrary to my observed conduct among those who actually know me?

I don’t know. Twice? More than twice? That is between you and The Washington Times. Insomuch as that publication is owned by the self-proclaimed king of the universe, I can understand why you followed their orders on this. “Pick your battles,” my dad always said.

You are, I gather, a young man, and quite arrogant.

This is true, unfortunately.

Not an unusual combination, really, but neither should you mistake your own arrogance for knowledge. Try Googling my name in combination with the phrase “Hayekian insight.” There are in the near-infinite number of things you don’t know certain facts that may, I suspect, be far more important than those tacts you know. And it may be that you are mistaken about some things you accept as facts.

Very well.

Well, I’ve had more time to study all this sort of thing than you could imagine. You desire to make me look like a villain, for whatever selfish motive, and therefore assemble a prosecutor’s case — the Ransom Note Method. This you present with a lot of noise and clamour: “A-ha! I have exposed the dangerous villain, whose stealthy evil had never been fully known until now!”

And then I twirled one end of my handlebar mustache in satisfaction and took a pinch of snuff, the single vice I allow myself.

Now, what is *expected* of me in response is that I will address your “evidence” point-by-point or, failing that, that I will Deny, Denounce and Repudiate: “Oh, I’m not actually friends with Person A, and I abhor the thought of being associated with Person B.”

I don’t expect you to do anything of the sort.

Ah, but there is never an end to it, you see? Were I to answer charges A, B, C, you would then proceed to interrogate me about D, E, F, etc. To address your accusations in such a manner would ultimately avail me nothing, while tacitly acknowledging your authority to act the part of the interrogator. Further, such a response would ssuggest that there is some legitimate cause to suspect my good faith, to cause others to believe that perhaps I harbor a hidden hatred which must be rooted out and renounced.

Now see here, Raskolnikov, a student or formerly a student – all I’m doing is pointing out things that you have done. I haven’t summoned you to my crazy Eastern European interrogation chamber in order to demand answers without telling you with what you are being charged. I’m just writing things about you – you know, that thing you yourself have been doing for years in opposition to your own enemies.

You invite me to a Maoist re-education camp, with yourself playing the role of commissar.

Why does it have to be a Maoist re-education camp? Maybe I’m inviting you to a party.

The cloud of suspicion is thrown upoin me, and I must prove myself innocent!

Zounds!

Except that I don’t. We live in a free society and I am not even a candidate for public office. I am not paid for having the correct opinion about anything. Opinions might be profitable to Bill Kristol or George Will, but I am not one of those big-shot pundits. It is my skill and hard work, and not my opinions, which are my stock in trade.

That’s all very well and good. So why not simply admit that you’re a white supremacist and then reinvent yourself as a white supremacist pundit? You have every right to express whatever views you may on anything you like. Likewise, I have the right to point out that you clearly hold such views.

What you and Johnson and others apparently wish to do is to cast upon me a stigma, which you may then use as part of a campaign of guilt-by-association smear against various of my friends. You seem to assume that my friends are fools and cowards, and will automatically disassociate themselves from me, lest you then say, “A-ha! So-and-so associates with Robert Stacy McCain, who is a hateful racist!”

What your various political allies do is none of my concern. That’s a matter for the conservative punditry, not for me.

Except that I’m not a hateful racist. And this, sir, is the big point that you seem to have missed entirely.

I’ve never called you “hateful.”

People know me, and the people who know me know that I have no hate in my heart, and if they felt it necessary to speak up on my behalf, you might be surprised at who would sing my praises. Their silence you mistake for fear, is rather an expression of their contempt for your malicious behavior.

Again, that’s between you and your buddies.

Whatever you say about me, I am certain you will fail to convict me of hate, Barrett. I don’t even hate you.

I don’t hate you, either. I simply think that you have contempt for the Enlightenment principles upon which our republic was founded, and your past writings seem to bear that out. Sergey Romanov in particular has recently unearthed some staggering amount of things you wrote before you were in the public eye, and the general thrust of these writings is very clear – you are an apologist for slavery, an advocate of white control over non-white populations, and a proponent of the theocratic basis of government. You are not an American – you are a Confederate. This merits pointing out insomuch as that you are two degrees from such figures as Sarah Palin by way of the book you wrote with Lynn Vincent, as well as a single degree away from hundreds of conservative pundits, activists, and politicians.

Anyway, welcome to the 21st century.

http://trueslant.com/barrettbrown/2009/10/20/my-response-to-robert-stacy-mccain/

Mafia Plan to Kidnap Silvio Berlusconi Revealed

Gaspare Mutolo

By Nick Pisa
The Mirror | 15/11/2009

A mafia turncoat has claimed Cosa Nostra planned to kidnap the Italian Prime Minister - but the plot was scrapped because Silvio Berlusconi had already hired a feared mobster to protect himself.

Gaspare Mutolo, 69, who claims he murdered 30 people during his 25 years in the Mafia, says in the 1970s he was ordered to kidnap Berlusconi, then a wealthy property developer.

But Berlusconi had already moved to protect himself. He said: "We found out that Berlusconi had hired Vittorio Mangano to protect him," Mutolo, who is in protective custody, made the claims to Italian Vanity Fair.

Berlusconi has always denied knowing Mangano was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He said he employed him to look after his horses.

However, Mangano was later convicted of being a member of Cosa Nostra, drug trafficking and two counts of murder.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/11/15/mafia-plan-to-kidnap-silvio-berlusconi-revealed-115875-21822677/

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Indymedia.us Fights Off Bogus FBI Subpoena and Gag Order

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/11/13/18628562.php
Nov 13 2009

A police fishing expedition has been fought successfully over the course of the past year by one of the Indymedia.us system administrators and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), largely in secret due to dodgy gag orders -- which actually didn't have any real legal standing to begin with. Earlier this year, U.S. attorneys issued a federal grand jury subpoena to Indymedia.us sysadmin Kristina Clair demanding “all IP traffic to and from www.indymedia.us" for a particular date, potentially identifying every person who visited any news story on the Indymedia site. EFF argued that the overly broad demand for Internet records not only violated federal privacy law but also violated Clair’s First Amendment rights, by ordering her not to disclose the existence of the subpoena without a U.S. attorney’s permission.

Forget Acorn - Real Election Fraud, Courtesy of Pennsylvania GOP

by kos
Nov 13, 2009

Some ACORN dude registered Mickey Mouse to vote, which is so much worse than this:

A former [Pennsylvania] House speaker, an ex-lawmaker and eight aides Thursday became the latest — and the first Republicans — to be charged in a three-year-old investigation into the diversion of public resources and employees to legislative campaigns.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said that individuals within the House GOP caucus spent millions of taxpayer dollars on computer technology to gain an upper hand in campaigns, and that investigators can prove that some high-ranking officials and their employees tried to cover up their part.

AG Corbett, by the way, is a Republican.

The charges of theft, conspiracy, conflict of interest and obstruction of justice, and an accompanying 188-page grand jury report, were released Thursday, and the defendants were scheduled to turn themselves in today at a Dauphin County district judge’s office.

The most prominent defendant is state Rep. John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, who served as speaker for nearly four years and as majority leader for nearly a decade before that.

How much did these Republicans steal from the public for their own nefarious purposes?

The grand jury calculated that the House Republican caucus spent more than $20 million between 2000 and 2007 to help its candidates prevail.

The state should make the Pennsylvania GOP pay this money back.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/13/804041/-Real-election-fraud,-courtesy-of-Pennsylvania-GOP