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Latest Featured Reports | Thursday, March 28, 2024
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It's Up to You, New York: 'BradCast' 3/21/24
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  w/ Brad & Desi
Biden EPA issues biggest climate regulation in U.S. history; Rio hits 144°F heat index!; Exxon CEO blames YOU for climate change; PLUS: U.N. issues climate change 'red alert'!...
Previous GNRs: 3/19/24 - 3/14/24 - Archives...
'It All Comes Down to Brett and Amy': 'BradCast' 3/20/24
Guest: Slate's Mark Joseph Stern on another stunning week of federal judiciary debacles; Also: Primary results from AZ, FL, IL, KS, OH, CA; Biden EPA's 'biggest climate move yet'...
American 'Bloodbath':
'BradCast' 3/19/24
Trump is promising political violence whether he wins or loses; Also: Navarro goes to prison; Scofflaw MI MAGA attorney arrested; SCOTUS allows TX to override federal law, Constitution; Biden's SOTU success...
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  w/ Brad & Desi
EPA finally bans all uses of asbestos; Biden unveils billions for rebuilding communities broken by highway construction; Extreme heat in Africa; PLUS: MA coastal town follies...
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Corporations 'Taking a Bazooka' to NLRB, Hoping to Declare it 'Unconstitutional': 'BradCast' 3/18/24
Guest: Labor journo Steven Greenhouse; Also: Putin's 'election'; Trump can't find $450M...
Sunday 'Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya' Toons
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Schumer Steps Up; Trump Associates Paid Biden 'Bribe' Liar $600k: 'BradCast' 3/14/24
Also: TikTok foolishness; NY hush-money trial delay?; Navarro must go to jail; Trump owes $400k for failed 'Steele Dossier' suit in UK...
'Green News Report' 3/14/24
FL bans heat protections for workers; Methane leaks continue; GOP Project 2025 would ban Paris Agreement; PLUS: CA snowpack is back, but too late for salmon...
After Accountability for Fraud, What's Next for the Corrupt NRA and Gun Safety Reforms?: 'BradCast' 3/13/24
Guest: Brady Center's Kelly Sampson; Also: Biden, Trump clinch; GA judge nixes 6 counts...
How to Media Better and Other Smart Ideas:
'BradCast' 3/12/24
Press quietly resets weeks of misreporting on Biden; Suggestions for NYT; Stephanopoulos v. Mace; Also: Buck quits; RNC 'bloodbath'; WI's MAGA Speaker Recall...
'Green News Report' 3/12/24
Biden touts climate jobs boom at SOTU; Feb. obliterated global temp and ocean heat records; PLUS: Great Barrier Reef hit with yet another 'mass bleaching event'...
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GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal 2012...
VA GOP VOTER REG FRAUDSTER OFF HOOK
Felony charges dropped against VA Republican caught trashing voter registrations before last year's election. Did GOP AG, Prosecutor conflicts of interest play role?...

Criminal GOP Voter Registration Fraud Probe Expanding in VA
State investigators widening criminal probe of man arrested destroying registration forms, said now looking at violations of law by Nathan Sproul's RNC-hired firm...

DOJ PROBE SOUGHT AFTER VA ARREST
Arrest of RNC/Sproul man caught destroying registration forms brings official calls for wider criminal probe from compromised VA AG Cuccinelli and U.S. AG Holder...

Arrest in VA: GOP Voter Reg Scandal Widens
'RNC official' charged on 13 counts, for allegely trashing voter registration forms in a dumpster, worked for Romney consultant, 'fired' GOP operative Nathan Sproul...

ALL TOGETHER: ROVE, SPROUL, KOCHS, RNC
His Super-PAC, his voter registration (fraud) firm & their 'Americans for Prosperity' are all based out of same top RNC legal office in Virginia...

LATimes: RNC's 'Fired' Sproul Working for Repubs in 'as Many as 30 States'
So much for the RNC's 'zero tolerance' policy, as discredited Republican registration fraud operative still hiring for dozens of GOP 'Get Out The Vote' campaigns...

'Fired' Sproul Group 'Cloned', Still Working for Republicans in At Least 10 States
The other companies of Romney's GOP operative Nathan Sproul, at center of Voter Registration Fraud Scandal, still at it; Congressional Dems seek answers...

FINALLY: FOX ON GOP REG FRAUD SCANDAL
The belated and begrudging coverage by Fox' Eric Shawn includes two different video reports featuring an interview with The BRAD BLOG's Brad Friedman...

COLORADO FOLLOWS FLORIDA WITH GOP CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
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CRIMINAL PROBE LAUNCHED INTO GOP VOTER REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL IN FL
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Brad Breaks PA Photo ID & GOP Registration Fraud Scandal News on Hartmann TV
Another visit on Thom Hartmann's Big Picture with new news on several developing Election Integrity stories...

CAUGHT ON TAPE: COORDINATED NATIONWIDE GOP VOTER REG SCAM
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CRIMINAL ELECTION FRAUD COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST GOP 'FRAUD' FIRM
Scandal spreads to 11 FL counties, other states; RNC, Romney try to contain damage, split from GOP operative...

RICK SCOTT GETS ROLLED IN GOP REGISTRATION FRAUD SCANDAL
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) sends blistering letter to Gov. Rick Scott (R) demanding bi-partisan reg fraud probe in FL; Slams 'shocking and hypocritical' silence, lack of action...

VIDEO: Brad Breaks GOP Reg Fraud Scandal on Hartmann TV
Breaking coverage as the RNC fires their Romney-tied voter registration firm, Strategic Allied Consulting...

RNC FIRES NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION FIRM FOR FRAUD
After FL & NC GOP fire Romney-tied group, RNC does same; Dead people found reg'd as new voters; RNC paid firm over $3m over 2 months in 5 battleground states...

EXCLUSIVE: Intvw w/ FL Official Who First Discovered GOP Reg Fraud
After fraudulent registration forms from Romney-tied GOP firm found in Palm Beach, Election Supe says state's 'fraud'-obsessed top election official failed to return call...

GOP REGISTRATION FRAUD FOUND IN FL
State GOP fires Romney-tied registration firm after fraudulent forms found in Palm Beach; Firm hired 'at request of RNC' in FL, NC, VA, NV & CO...
The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...

(Anyone Surprised?)
An unfortunate object lesson in Reverse 'Liberal' Bias at the nation's 'Paper of Record'.
By Brad Friedman on 3/14/2005 7:36am PT  

We're delighted that The New York Times has today decided to take notice of Blogcall.org, an organization created by Progressive Bloggers as a way to help see their real stories and real exposés find their way into a corporate media which now consistently slants to the Right.

It is, however, more than a bit disappointing to see that their article on same ends up --- but, of course --- slanting so much to the Right!

We should point out that we are mentioned in the piece by The Times' Jonathan D. Glater, that we were somewhat instrumental in the organization of Blogcall.org and that we were, in fact, the featured guest blogger on last week's call. (We discussed our three-and-a-half month Tom Feeney/Clint Curtis Vote-Rigging investigation and broke the news during the call of the Valdosta, GA police re-opening the related case of the mysterious suicide of Raymond Lemme. That conference call is archived here if you'd like to listen.)

While their online version of the article links to us, it also fails to link to Blogcall.org or even mention it by name.

But far more troubling, however, is that Glater spends well over half his ink discussing and quoting from Rightwing blogs and bloggers in his story!

Undiscussed in the article, the underlying point of Blogcall.org is to bring together the detailed investigative reporting of blogs such as this one with those in the MSM by demonstrating our willingness to take the tough unscreened questions about our work.

Unlike those on the Right, we are more than willing to face those tough questions from all sides concerning the reports which we offer. We don't find it necessary to stack the deck in such a way as to allow only "friendly" questions into the mix as the Right so often does. (Just ask those Americans who aren't allowed into townhall meeting with George W. Bush anymore or those reporters to whom Jeff Gannon/James Guckert simply won't reply or the thousands of Americans who have been permanently banned from posting at repugnant wingnut sites like FreeRepublic.com after simply daring to post a single comment there which doesn't dance in lockstep with "the party line".)

While we admit to having a personal fondness for Glater, having gotten to know him a bit over the last couple of weeks via phone and email interviews, we can't help but point to his article today as an ironic object lesson in how the MSM is simply stacked hard against the Left.

We can do little more than chalk it up to the pervasive reverse "Liberal" bias in the corporate media about which we chatted with Glater on the phone prior to publication of the article. It is clear that the wingnuts have these guys so terrified by their manipulative, cynical (and inaccurate) charges of "Liberal" bias that they are now simply willing to turn back-flips in order to make sure the Right is over-represented in any article that even touches on issues political.

Read the piece for yourself, and let us know what you think. And we more than welcome Mr. Glater's responses as well. Unlike one of the rightwing blogs noted in his article, we actually allow reader comments here. And unlike another rightwing site in the article (FreeRepublic) nobodies comments here are banned or deleted simply because we may not agree with them.

UPDATE: The re-printed, re-edited version of Glater's story over at the International Herald Tribune offers a far more appropriate, far less slanted take on the issue. Had the original Times piece been edited in that way, we likely would have had no problem with it.




By Brad Friedman on 3/13/2005 10:52pm PT  

43 minutes on GrrRadio with Grace and Rama Schneider for your listening pleasure (or displeasure as the case may be). Mostly on the FeeneyGate players of Clint Curtis, Raymond Lemme and Hai Lin "Henry the Spy" Nee, but we managed to fit in a bit of Joe Biden bashing for variety.

Pick a card...any card: Streaming RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, or MP3 Download.

For more info on The BRAD BLOG's continuing investigative series on
The Clint Curtis/Tom Feeney/Yang Enterprises Vote-Rigging Scandal series, please see:
- A Quick Summary of the story so far. -
- An Index of all the Key Articles & Evidence in the series so far.



By Brad Friedman on 3/13/2005 12:55pm PT  

HERO: Scott Ritter
Was right about compromised Iraqi weapons inspections during Clinton, was right about there being no WMD before the Iraq War and was right about Bush Administration lies to get us into it. Is he right about a cooked Iraqi election and war plans for Iran? Why should he stop speaking the truth now? RAW STORY's Larisa Alexandrovna has Part 1 of a 3-part interview with one helluva brave American patriot. UPDATE: Part 2 of the interview with Ritter on "Neo-con Brownshirts", fear as a political tool, and the disintigration of the CIA is now online here.

HEROES: EV1 Rescuers
For four weeks now, a small group of American heroes have stood vigil night and day outside of a General Motors Facility in Burbank, CA, attempting to stop GM from sending the last remaining vehicles from their now-cancelled non-polluting all-electronic EV1 line of cars to be crushed, literally, in an Arizona scrap heap. The small band of great American patriots who give a damn about our environment --- and who we haven't noticed receiving much coverage on Fox "News" --- have been braving torrential rains out here in their 24 hour-a-day attempt over the last months to get GM to allow them to buy the last of these cars before they're destroyed. We're certain these are just the type of folks willing to quietly make great sacrifices in their lives for the good of the world and their country, who cowardly chickenshit wingnuts who've never put their lives on the line for anything would label "America Haters". Kudos patriots! Give us a call if you need some thermoses of hot chocolate! And thank you!

HEROES: U.S. House Democrats
Specifically, Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV) and the other House Dems on the Ethics Committee who are standing tough for a change against the Republican bullies and backslappers. Mollohan, with a reputation for bi-partisanship is disallowing work on the committee to continue until the Republicans undo bogus new rules put in place (without consulting Dems) which make it easier for their GOP buddies to avoid the trouble DeLay has recently found himself in. With increasing frequency of late, thugs like DeLay and Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) seem to regard themselves above The Rule of Law. Thanks to a few Dems with the courage to stand up for what's right ('bout time!), perhaps the bad guys may actually be held accountable for once.

ZEROES: U.S. Senate Democrats
Specifically, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and the other Dems who voted in favor of ending debate on the bogus "Debt Slavery Act" --- otherwise known as the Bankruptcy bill --- from steamrolling through the Senate at the behest of their high-rolling funders from the Credit Card lobby. Biden's vote is particularly disappointing as he had been, for us at least, one of the few remaining Dems in the Senate with any creds left. And this on top of refusing to sign onto a letter calling for an investigation in the Gannon/Guckert scandal after blowing smoke on Bill Maher's Real Time the week prior claiming "The Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate should be investigating it, the House Judiciary Committee should be investigating it. And if it were the other party in charge, it would be investigated." It seems you're full of shit, Joe, and this week you've succeeded in losing at least one potential vote of support for your '08 Prez bid. The other Senate Dems who, to quote Gannon/Guckert, "seem to have divorced themselves from reality" on this one, at least in regards to where their party is going with or without them: Byrd (D-WV), Carper (D-DE), Conrad (D-ND), Johnson (D-SD), Kohl (D-WI), Landrieu (D-LA), Lieberman (D-CT), Lincoln (D-AR), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Salazar (D-CO) and Stabenow (D-MI). (BTW, see Talking Points Memo's Special Bankruptcy Bill Blog for excellent coverage on the fine points.)

ZEROES: The Bush Administration
Specifically...well, the entire Bush Administration...But to zero in on the Zeroes of note this week, let's focus on the jackasses responsible for bungling nearly every step of the post-War phase in Iraq and who managed to simply lose track of billions (with a "b") of American Tax Payer dollars via their completely incompetent boondoggle. Part of which is highlighted in this current investigation of the post-war chaos and the nobodies who were given enormous million dollar security contracts to guard the Baghdad Airport. Just one of the perks of being a favored friend of this decidedly non-Conservative adminstration? Being handed $2 million worth of $100 bills, signed off with a handwritten receipt and no legal requirement to be accountable for any of it. Who re-elected these guys anyway? We're certain you don't want our answer to that right now.

ZEROES: ABC Television Network Execs
The good ol' boys at the top of the corporate media structure were apparently just looking out for their own this week when they axed references to Fox "News" and Bill O'Reilly from a Boston Legal episode which highlighted a school principal who blocked the Propaganda Net from the school's televisions because he felt it to be biased hate speech. All references to Fox "News" and O'Reilly were removed at the request of the ABC censors who, apparently, were too cowardly to face the predictable wrath of Rupert Murdoch's marching band of brownshirts. No doubt they'd have unleashed their fake outrage upon any American network to dare suggest that the Masters at Propaganda Central may not have quite as much of the American Spirit as they pretend. Thanks to ABC, the lock-stepping ditto-heads can focus their "American" hatred elsewhere this week.




(Did he ever leave?)
And Republicans act like they care about vote fraud.
By Brad Friedman on 3/12/2005 10:09pm PT  

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Twenty-one of 22 Democrats walked out of the Senate chamber for about 30 minutes Friday evening following a vote that lowered the number of pieces of identification acceptable for voting. Senate Bill 84 would require photo identification from the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety to vote.

Democrats said they had serious voting rights concerns about the bill and worried that elderly and the poor wouldn't be able to get photo IDs.

Tim Golden (D-Valdosta), head of the Democratic Caucus, said, “White Democrats joined black ones to show their solidarity.”

He spoke of “the irony of getting rid of Jim Crow laws tomorrow while putting another on the books today.”

Republican sponsors of the bill said it was an effort to cut down on voter fraud. But Democratic critics compared it to the poll taxes, literacy tests and other laws aimed at suppressing black votes during segregation.

The AP version of the same story, by the way, quotes one Republican with the audacity to say: [emphasis added]

"My intention was to make sure in Georgia that next election, or down the road, we don't end up with all the lawsuits or all the voter irregularities we've heard about," said Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon, the bill's sponsor.

Is that really your "intention", Senator? If so, we hope you'll endorse Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy" campaign immediately, sir. Please feel free to email us with your intention to do so or if you'd like further information on how we can really take steps to avoid "voter irregularities".

By the way, the voters weren't irregular at all. We haven't heard of too many "lawsuits" against voters for committing fraud, have you? And we've heard of not a single instance where a photo ID would have changed a damn thing beyond continuing to supress the minority vote.

The election, on the other hand, sir, was marred beyond a shadow of legitimacy thanks to the way lawmakers like you determined the votes of the people would be "counted". Jerk.




A Reality-Check for the Bush Zombies.
By Brad Friedman on 3/12/2005 1:16pm PT  

It's always worth taking notice whenever we find ourselves in agreement with actual Conservative, Pat Buchanan (as opposed to those fake Conservatives who make up the bulk of the Bushville Faction, the great majority of whom haven't a clue what the word "Conservative" actually means).

Yes, he's also a bigot. But Buchanan has been a correct and vocal critic against Bush's War on Iraq in the past, and this week in his American Conservative magazine, he provides a smart antidote to the knee-jerk series of pro-Bush P.R. articles we've seen over the past week or so from the supposedly "Liberal" media. Of course, those folks couldn't wait more than an hour after a single Anti-Syria demonstration last week in Lebanon to declare "Bush was right!" (Yes, Newsweek, we're talking to you...you might have waited an hour or so for the even bigger Pro-Syria, Anti-America demonstrations that followed just a minute or so later before slobbering all over the Bush administration to demonstrate your we're-not-the-Liberal-media creds in your absurd coverpage splash this week.)

Anway...Buchanan provides a Reality Check on the State of the Empire to counter-balance the administration's effective P.R. work aided and abetted by that not-so-Liberal-after-all media over the past week. Here's the money...and the reality which doesn't get nearly the amount of Newsweek Cover time...

Our NATO allies, Tony Blair included, are lifting their embargo on weapons sales to China over the protests of President Bush. Old Europe remains adamant in its refusal to send troops to Iraq, as the Ukrainians and Poles, following the Spanish, quietly depart the beleaguered nation.

Germany, France, and Britain are negotiating a deal by which Iran, if she will submit to regular IAEA inspections, will be permitted to enrich uranium for nuclear power, be granted security guarantees, and be brought into the WTO. America opposes the three allies' concessions, but there is no NATO support for U.S. military action. Should Bush exercise that option, America will be alone in fighting insurgents from the eastern border of Syria to the western border of Pakistan. U.S. generals are advising the president that his legions are already stretched thin.

The Iraqi elections appear to have deposed our client Allawi and empowered Shia parties with ties to Iran and Kurds who covet Kirkuk and its oil and look to ultimate independence.

This has the Turks grumbling as well as the dispossessed Sunnis, among whom the newly reignited insurgency first arose. Whatever the neocons' vision of Iraq—as strategic base camp for World War IV or crown jewel of Middle East empire—Americans seem to be looking for an exit.

As for the Bush Doctrine—no axis-of-evil nation will be allowed to acquire weapons of mass destruction—it is being tested by Tehran and defied by Kim Jong Il, who has crossed every red line Bush has put down and now claims to have nuclear weapons. America's response? Please come back to the six-power talks.

Russia's Putin is consolidating power in the czarist tradition, seeking to resurrect Moscow's old sphere of influence, and is conducting military exercises jointly with Beijing.

And openly contemptuous China lectures us on our failure to rein in our voracious appetite for imports, which is sending the dollar the way of the peso. Beijing refuses to pressure North Korea to terminate its nuclear-weapons program, permits Pyongyang to use Chinese territory to transship missiles and nuclear materiel, and spends a goodly slice of its $160 billion trade surplus with America to build up air, naval, and missile forces for the showdown with Taiwan.

Other than that...how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?




By Brad Friedman on 3/11/2005 11:23pm PT  

Yesterday morning Air America's Unfiltered program discussed the latest wrinkles in the Clint Curtis/Raymond Lemme revelations reported here earlier this week. It was a quick hit. Just a few minutes during a short segment on some recent news items with host Rachel Maddow and her guest, Isaac Davey Aaronson (we hope that's how it's spelled!).

A few points in the story were bungled and they missed one big one (the photos that didn't exist!), but they mentioned BRAD BLOG enough times that we're more than willing to overlook any innocent transgressions on their part. (Never let it be said we aren't generous!)

The clip is short enough that even dial-uppers should be able to give it a quick listen.
About 3.5 minutes: Streaming RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, or MP3 Download.

By the way, we'd be happy to guest on Unfiltered to give 'em the unbungled skinny if they'll have us. Feel free to suggest it to them!

(Thanks to eagle-eared BRAD BLOG friend, Jaime, for catching it, and letting us know! And thanks to Air America Radio Place for making AAR archives available! We've heard tell of many BRAD BLOG mentions on AAR in the past, but never knew where to go back and hunt 'em down until now! Free BRAD BLOG T-Shirt to the next BRAD BLOG reader who catches another BRAD BLOG cite on AAR!...If we should ever have BRAD BLOG T-Shirts that is...And while you're at it, ask Randi Rhodes to have us on as well!...And Al Franken...And all the rest!...Let's go, people! I can't do everything around here!)

For more info on The BRAD BLOG's continuing investigative series on
The Clint Curtis/Tom Feeney/Yang Enterprises Vote-Rigging Scandal series, please see:
- A Quick Summary of the story so far. -
- An Index of all the Key Articles & Evidence in the series so far.



By Brad Friedman on 3/11/2005 3:32pm PT  

While Mr. Big Shot is out doing media interviews and just oooh sooo busy and oooh sooo important that he couldn't possibly find time to blog...you can make noise without him in this Open Thread...

(P.S. Mr. Big Shot hopes to catch up with a few items over the weekend!)




15 Tight Minutes on the latest Clint Curtis Stuff...
[UPDATED! Links Fixed!]
By Brad Friedman on 3/10/2005 2:54pm PT  

No callers, but all the main skinny on Clint Curtis and the latest Raymond Lemme "suicide" scoop. Courtesy of our friends at the Thom Hartmann Radio Show.

About 15 minutes in your choice of three fashionable colors: Streaming RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, or MP3 Download.




(Joyce was on jury duty this morning)
By Brad Friedman on 3/10/2005 2:16pm PT  

Rockin' and rollin' in the name of democracy at 6am(!!!) this morning on The Power Hour with Joyce & Dave. A very lively hour and a half interview with lots of really smart callers and a really smart host. Sadly, no wingnuts called in today. But we had fun anyway. Mostly discussed Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy" and other missions for America, with a bit of Clint Curtis thrown in for flavor. Oh, and great election machine related bumper music to boot!

About an hour and a half: Streaming RealPlayer or Windows Media Player




By Brad Friedman on 3/10/2005 12:22pm PT  

Had a blast doing Harrell Carter's show out of WNWS in the Tennessee/Mississippi area. Was booked to do 30 minutes with him, and ended up doing an hour and a half. Discussed everything from VR to Clint Curtis to the state of the Media in America today. Lots of good calls, including quite a few wingnuts who are always fun to chat with :-)

Sadly, I had a problem recording, but will try to get an aircheck from the station. In particular, I think you guys will enjoy the last two calls taken. I know I did. If I can get at it, I'll post 'em.

Much rolling since posting of the Ray Lemme element of the Clint Curtis story yesterday, as you may have noticed.

As well, Feeney seems to keep digging. But the good news is, the House Ethics Committee has told him he has nothing to worry about. Well, that's a relief!

More on that, and a good deal of follow up to the many good comments and questions posted in the Lemme thread soon. Have been having many interesting phone calls and emails over the last 24 hours which I hope to speak about soon and/or when the time is right. Again, I beg your forgiveness for those to whom I am not able to reply. It's getting much harder to do so --- but I try --- and I do read them all.

For the moment, I've got a 6am(!!!) PST interview on The Power Hour with Joyce & Dave for which I need to go prepare by sleeping for an hour or two. I believe I'll be on for an hour and half and we'll be taking calls! So don't be a stranger...but leave a few lines open for the wingnuts! We'll be insulted if we don't hear from them!

Also looking forward to chatting with Thom Hartmann a bit later. And then a few more (see the list at the top of the main page). The word is getting out.

P.S. Great interview with Conyers in RAW STORY. There's still one or two of the good guys left in the Halls of Congress.

P.P.S. For those many of you who have sent in contact info for Det. Shannon Floyd. Got it. Thank you! I hope she will be willing to discuss some of these concerns and perhaps help clear some of them up.

P.P.P.S Should the troops come home? Send in your vote to Congress!




By Brad Friedman on 3/9/2005 2:48pm PT  

Just finished an interview with Don Grady of Louisiana Live. Lots of fun. Discussed Clint Curtis, VR's DV4D Campaign and took some calls. Even from an angry Republican who it's always nice to hear from. He has (Don Grady, not he angry Republican) invited me back to "do this on a regular basis" and we're looking forward to it.

Here's today's interview. Just under 30 minutes in your usual choice of three delicious audio flavors: Streaming RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, or MP3 Download.

For reasons still unexplained, our interview scheduled for today with Louie B. Free on WWOW in Ohio did not occur. Hopefully that one will be rescheduled. Keep an eye on the list at the top of the main page for other upcoming live appearances when I'm able to keep 'em updated!




Accused of Illegally Taking Luxury Golf Trips on Lobbyist Tab!
What? Unethical Behavior by Comrade Feeney? Say it ain't so!
By Brad Friedman on 3/9/2005 1:04pm PT  

Looks like our friend, Comrade Feeney (R-FL), has now been linked to the ethics scandal that's been plagueing Senate Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).

Credit when it's (too rarely) due. In this case, to an investigative report from today's LA Times by Chuck Neubauer and Walter F. Roche Jr.

Feeney, who represented Yang Enteprises, Inc. (YEI) --- a Florida software firm which harbored at least one illegal alien indicted and convicted recently on espionage charges related to illegally sending missile chips to China --- is, ironically enough, throwing a "C'est la vie, Comrade Rather" fundraising party this evening. Feeney was YEI's corporate attorney and registered lobbyist for years while he was also Florida Speaker of the house before heading to the U.S. Congress in 2002. He was also Jeb Bush's former running mate in his first failed bid for Florida governor. He has also been implicated by programmer Clint Curtis for conspiring to build a "vote-rigging" program in 2000.

But according to the LA Times --- surprise, surprise! --- Feeney is being identified as having taken expensive luxury golf trips to St. Andrews, Scotland on the tab of a Republican lobbying firm now under criminal investigation.

From this morning's Times...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




[Updated]
By Brad Friedman on 3/8/2005 9:23pm PT  

We think it went very well!...Today's Blogcall press conference call is playing "LIVE" right now at RadioLeft.com. It may repeat throughout the evening.

[UPDATED] The Blogcall is now posted for posterity in the archives at WhiteRoseSociety.org for your listening pleasure anytime in the future.

The guests were myself and Clint Curtis, and we took questions for the hour. I also took the opportunity to break the news about this morning's Raymond Lemme story on the call...

UPDATE 3/14/05: The New York Times publishes an article on Blogcall after attending the above mentioned conference call. Our comments on their article is here.

For those just learning about the Clint Curtis/Tom Feeney/Yang Enterprises Vote-Rigging Scandal, please see:
- A Quick Summary of the story so far. -
- The Index of Key Articles & Evidence in the BRAD BLOG investigative series. -



Even in Texas a few folks still care about transparent democracy! Who knew?!
By Brad Friedman on 3/8/2005 8:37pm PT  

George W. Bush's "hometown" Crawford paper, The Lone Star Iconoclast, covers Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy" campaign! And they even got that good looking fellow we saw on ABC News yesterday to talk about it!

By the way, have you told America's E-Voting Companies what you think of them yet? It takes about 30 seconds!




Raymond Lemme Crime Scene Photos Said Not to Exist are Published on Net!
Photos, Evidence and FDOT Involvement with Valdosta, GA Police Raise New Questions in Mysterious Death!
By Brad Friedman on 3/8/2005 2:23am PT  

The case of the mysterious suicide of Raymond Lemme of the Florida Inspector General's office was reopened by Valdosta, Georgia police last December shortly after we broke the story of computer programmer Clint Curtis' sworn affidavit charging that he had built a "vote-rigging software prototype" at the request of Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL)!

Furthermore, graphic and disturbing photos from the crime scene --- said in the original police report to have not existed due to a failure in the camera's "flash memory cards" --- have recently been published on the web!

Those crime scene photos, which clearly do exist, can be viewed via this link.
WARNING: THE PAGE LINKED ABOVE INCLUDES GRAPHIC MATERIAL!

A spokesman from the Valdosta Police Department has confirmed the legitimacy of the photos but has so far failed to explain several inconsistencies that the photos and materials from the supplementary detective reports reveal when compared to the original police report.

Supplementary evidence from the reports would seem to indicate that Lemme was not even in Valdosta, Georgia at the time that the motel receipts show that he had checked-in to the room where he was eventually found dead.

Furthermore, involvement from the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) may have lead to the quick re-closing of the case shortly after it was recently re-opened!

Lemme was the first official from the FL Inspector General's office to investigate the charges originally made by Curtis' 2001 whistleblower complaint at the FDOT, where he had gone to work after leaving Yang Enterprises, Inc. (YEI) in the wake several disturbing meetings at the software firm with Feeney and YEI's CEO, Mrs. Li-Woan Yang.

In Curtis' 2001 complaint to the IG's office, filed along with another FDOT whistleblower, he charged that an illegal Chinese alien was working at and committing espionage out of YEI and that YEI was illegally over-billing FDOT in a multi-million dollar contract. That contract, Curtis charges, was received with assistance from Feeney, who was, at the time of Curtis' original complaint, the Florida Speaker of the House as well as legal counsel and a registered lobbyist for YEI. Feeney had previously been Jeb Bush's running-mate in his original failed bid for Florida governor in 1994. Feeney now sits on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee representing Florida's 24th Congressional district.

The Chinese spy reported by Curtis was eventually indicted and pled guilty to espionage charges (see this previous BRAD BLOG report for more details). For their part, YEI was recently found --- in the IG's final report begun by Lemme in 2001 and finally released in February 2005 --- to have billed FDOT for more than $300,000 in "questionable charges" (see this recent BRAD BLOG report for more info on that).

THE 'BIG' CASE...

In his 2004 affidavit, Curtis describes a mid-June 2003 meeting with Lemme in which he claims that Lemme told him he "had tracked the corruption 'all the way to the top' and that the story would break in the next few weeks and I would be satisfied with the results."

On July 1, 2003 --- just two weeks later --- Raymond Camillo Lemme was found dead in a bathtub, with his arm slashed twice with a razor blade near the left elbow in Room #132 of the Knights Inn motel in Valdosta, Georgia; a border-town some 80 miles from Tallahassee, Florida where Lemme lived and worked.

A handwritten note, unsigned, was found by police on the desk in the room in a black leather day planner. Here is a photocopy of that note...

--- Click here for REST OF STORY!... ---




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