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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (50720)	9/21/2005 10:53:54 PM
From: paret	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

What Media Bias? (Must see photo & caption) little green footballs ^ \| 9/21/05 \| Charles Johnson An absolutely amazing example of naked, unrestrained bias, in a photograph from the Vietnam War republished today by the Associated Press with this jaw-dropping caption: Two infantrymen sprint across the clearing in War Zone D where a U.S. battalion is trapped under automatic weapons fire from surrounding Viet Cong troops, 50 miles northeast of Saigon, Vietnam, in this June 18, 1967 black-and-white file photo. Bush administration officials bristle at the suggestion that the war in Iraq might look anything like the Vietnam war. Yet even as 2005’s anti-war protests recall memories of yesteryear’s demonstrations, President Bush’s own words eerily echo those of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967, a pivotal year in Vietnam. (AP Photo/Henri Huet, File)

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (50720)	9/22/2005 11:29:19 AM
From: paret	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

Judicial Hellholes Today, our friends over at the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) released their annual list of "judicial hellholes". This is sort of like Blackwell's annual list of the Worst Dressed, not a list you aspire to be on. According to the ATRA, "A number of factors contribute to a Judicial Hellhole designation, including the prevalence of forum shopping, novel legal theories, and discovery abuse, as well as the certification of class action lawsuits, the proliferation of junk science, contributions to judges and the uneven application of evidentiary rules." Yeesh -- it's enough to make a trial lawyer salivate! Among their top 5 are: -- Madison County, Illinois -- St. Clair County, Illinois -- Hampton County, South Carolina -- Jefferson County, Texas and -- Get this -- "The Entire State of West Virginia". Almost heaven -- if you're a trial lawyer. Hopefully, we are an election closer to tort reform, if we stay focused and keep telling the outrageous tales of overzealous lawyers and miscarriages of justice. Click here to see a copy of the report. atra.org Download the complete report here (574k PDF). 2004 Judicial Hellholes Madison County, Illinois St. Clair County, Illinois Hampton County, South Carolina West Virginia (entire state) Jefferson County, Texas Orleans Parish, Louisiana South Florida Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Los Angeles, California Dishonorable Mentions: Oklahoma Utah Supreme Court District of Columbia New Mexico Appellate Courts Summary of Key Findings Judicial Hellholes are places that have a disproportionately harmful impact on civil litigation. Personal injury lawyers seek out these places because they know that they will produce a positive outcome – an excessive verdict or settlement, a favorable precedent, or both. Through a survey of ATRA members, and comprehensive follow-up research, the report identifies nine Judicial Hellholes and three “dishonorable mentions.” They are: Madison County, Illinois; St. Clair County, Illinois; Hampton County, South Carolina; the State of West Virginia; Jefferson County (Beaumont), Texas; Orleans Parish, Louisiana; South Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Los Angeles California. Dishonorable mentions include: Oklahoma, the Utah Supreme Court, the District of Columbia and New Mexico’s Appellate Courts. Reform is possible in Hellhole jurisdictions. In Mississippi, a combination of voter action, sound decisions from the Mississippi Supreme Court, and a slate of civil justice reforms enacted by the legislature are bringing business back to Mississippi and stabilizing the state’s medical liability marketplace. Litigation in Judicial Hellholes needlessly harms consumer access to affordable healthcare. For example, In Illinois’ Madison and St. Clair Counties (numbers one and two on our 2004 list), more than 1100 healthcare providers have been sued. More than half of the region’s 950 licensed physicians have been sued. Records show that 85 percent of these suits resulted in no payment to the plaintiff. Together, both counties will have lost 161 physicians by the end of 2004. Philadelphia’s litigation engine (number eight on the list) is driving physicians out of Pennsylvania. In 2001, 704 medical school residents stayed in Pennsylvania after completing their residency training. In 2003, that number fell to 285. One orthopedic surgeon who left Philadelphia for Maryland (which has limits on damages) saw his insurance rates fall from $103,000 to $8,000. A number of factors contribute to a Judicial Hellhole designation, including the prevalence of forum shopping, novel legal theories, and discovery abuse, as well as the certification of class action lawsuits, the proliferation of junk science, contributions to judges and the uneven application of evidentiary rules. Judicial Hellholes can destabilize the legal system of an entire region. The litigation woes in Madison County recently have infected neighboring St. Clair County. Philadelphia’s courts have jeopardized access to affordable healthcare in Pennsylvania, and decisions in South Florida Courts have compromised access to affordable healthcare throughout that region.

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (50720)	9/22/2005 1:17:39 PM
From: paret	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

Feds Investigate Schumer's Obtaining Steele's Credit Report... Lieutenant Governor Expects Recipients To Face Prosecution WBAL September 21, 2005 thewbalchannel.com BALTIMORE -- Federal prosecutors have opened an inquiry into allegations that two Democratic National Committee employees illegally tapped into Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's credit history. WBAL-TV 11 News reporter David Collins reported the workers obtained the report in July while executing opposition research on the lieutenant governor. In June, the Republican lieutenant governor announced he had established an exploratory committee to explore a candidacy for the U.S. Senate (Full Story). Paul D. Ellington, Steele's chief of staff, issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon in reaction to the allegations. "Lt. Gov. Steele was extremely disturbed to learn about the alleged criminal identity theft of his personal finance records by (a staff member of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.,) at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "He was notified by the FBI that a federal criminal investigation is under way and has been asked not to comment on the specifics of the case. "He intends to honor this request and expects that those responsible for these actions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." According to the FBI, two Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee employees illegally obtained Steele's credit report. According to the committee, Katie Barge and Lauren Weiner, working on opposition research in July, found Steele's Social Security number in a court document and used it to obtain his credit report. "It's extremely unethical," said Evan Hendricks, the author of "Credit Scores Credit Reports." "This is a case of a couple very bright researchers, so smart, ending up doing the stupidest thing they could have done." Hendricks, a privacy expert who has written books on the subject, said that without authorization, those snooping would have had to misrepresent themselves. "There's lies involved one way or the other. The law is very clear on this," Hendricks said. Collins reported that the two employees have since resigned and committee officials said they have destroyed the document. The committee said they have immediately reported the incident to the Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney's Office, and have since issued an apology. "While the DSCC did not authorize the employees to access Mr. Steele's credit report, we regret that this incident occurred and apologize to Mr. Steele," DSCC spokesman Phil Singer told 11 News. Singer's statement continued, in part, by saying "the DISC also launched an internal review into this matter, ascertained that it was an isolated incident and has put safeguards in place to ensure that no employee ever does this again." Matthew Crenson, a professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins University, spoke about opposition research, saying credit reports could provide opponents with some embarrassing material, including "past bankruptcies (which may be questionable), great large debts (and) suspicious expenditures." Collins said it's no secret that Steele was in financial trouble before being elected lieutenant governor. Steele publicly disclosed in 2002 his personal debts that included an unpaid political loan. Stay with TheWBALChannel.com and WBAL-TV 11 News for the latest updates from Annapolis.