Oh How Sweet It is! To be Rich, a Republican and White! Hmm?

Rush Limbaugh, one of Geo W and Jeb Bush’s most strident backers for many years, was given a FREE pass today. (Announced on Saturday for Minimal press coverage. One more advantage available to the rich.) Limbaugh’s troubles began when his maid of many years left his employ and sold her story to the National Enquirer. In the story, she claimed Limbaugh was a drug addict. Apparently on that basis, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal DEA launched an investigation of the darling of the Right Wing talk shows.

So what’s Rush to do?
Rule 1. Hire only the very best and connected lawyer.
Rule 2. Stall the proceedings
Rule 3. Present yourself as a victim.
Rule 4. Act contrite.
Rule 5. Ignore the seriousness of the charges

Limbaugh hired Roy Black, famous and well connected lawyer. I have seen estimate that Black charged Limbaugh $5 million dollars, paid in advance, plus expenses. The case is over 2 years old, and it has already been to the Florida Supreme Court on an crucial evidence issue, which Limbaugh lost. The delay was priceless! The delay has served Limbaugh’s cause well by delaying the trial. Delay is always good for the guilty. Cost? About $2-$3 million.

To Limbaugh, getting out of this unplanned episode has been cheap, a real bargain in the price of justice, American style. . In 1999, Limbaugh signed a 10 year contract on his radio talk show for $25 million per year. A quarter billion dollars. So, for Limbaugh, as Richard Nixon told John Dean early into the Watergate thing, money is no problem! Not for the Rich and Famous, R&Fs I call them.

From the start of the story in the National Enquirer, it appeared Limbaugh had violated several of the draconian drug laws that require both mandatory jail time to serve and extended jail sentence length on the guilty. But wait!

The Florida DA announced a plea bargain deal with Limbaugh that was a sweetheart deal made in heaven! Pure and simple, the DA has been bought and paid for!

The Florida DA is dropping all charges but one. A charge of Attempted Fraudulent Procurement of a Controlled Substance which is the lowest grade of felony in Florida. But, in this case, Limbaugh is allowed to enter a plea of NOT guilty. The prosecutor retains control of the case for the next 18 months, during which Limbaugh is to SEEK professional counseling. Not to be satisfactorily counseled, but ONLY to seek counseling. After 18 months, the single charge will be dismissed. Limbaugh is to pay a measly $30,000.00 towards the cost of investigation. Just how much do you think 10 detectives, 4 prosecutors, working on a case for 2 years has cost the Florida taxpayers? I’d estimate $3 to 4 million dollars! Limbaugh walks away from this with no criminal record of any kind. WOW! And a lousy $30,000 smack on the wrist.

Q. If you had been caught engaged in similar activities, what do you think would have happened to you? A. This is a national disgrace.

Does anyone recall the inscription over the portico of the United States Supreme Court Building? It is these 4 words:
Equal Justice Under Law.

[edit on 4/29/2006 by donwhite]

But the show must go on...

Good rant, Donwhite. Listening to him yesterday you'd never know this was occuring later that afternoon. But in retrospect, he was broadcasting from EIB Headquarters (Fl) and while he was raving about the gas prices/profits situation (usually blaming Hugo Chavez) he tried to recall the names of the pumps he uses there on The Island.

The remark that stuck in my craw was when he referred to crossing the bridge "to the dreaded mainland." [my emphasis]

Oh yes, how sweet not to have to "go over there".

And yes, it was a Plea Bargain, (not settlement agreement as Black would put it), and the 30 grand is a FINE, (not reimbursement).


linky

Don't get bamboozled.

I read your post and I agree money can buy anything. One rule for the rich- another for the poor. I don't however see how white skin is relevent other than your wanting to pin a very negative conotation to it. The title is offensive.

[edit on 29-4-2006 by riley]

posted by riley: “I read your post and I agree money can buy anything. One rule for the rich - another for the poor. I don't however see how white skin is relevant other than your wanting to pin a very negative connotation to it. The title is offensive. [Edited by Don W]

I wanted to make it as negative as I could. Justice subverted is justice denied. I’d like to say “I’m sorry” that you find offense in the title, Riley, but then, I’m hoping you’d like me better not to tell a ‘PC’ lie. I have posted elsewhere that it is my opinion 15% to 30% of black men in prison have been wrongfully convicted. From my POV, it is obviously a very distinct advantage to be white when you are dealing with the criminal justice system, American style.

There are lots of wrongfully convicted people in our prisons other than people of color. Recall Illinois found 7% of the men on its death row had been wrongfully convicted. Illinois Gov. Ryan cancelled the death penalty. If Illinois is that bad, you can sleep easy knowing that Texas is far worse! Even using the Illinois low figure, that means Geo W when governor of Texas ordered 9 or 10 innocent men to be put to death. Out of 154. Itself a record. Hmm?

Death penally cases have higher standards of evidence and competence of counsel (except in Texas) than other classes of cases. If 1 man in 14 in Illinois is innocent then you can rest assured that the percentage is higher in general population cases.

Our criminal appeals system has been broken for a long time. Google the Tim McVeigh appeal to see how fast a judge can read 4,000 pages. Very few people know how bad our system is and even fewer care.

God Bless America!

Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.


[edit on 4/29/2006 by donwhite]

What do you think is over on the mainland, Riley?

I hear you, and have something to post about another celebrity big mouth, the Coulter/Barbie wannabee who looks Asian (and what kind of trouble she got herself into), but first I thought I'd update the readers with what these charges are about:

Prosecutors previously were investigating prescriptions that 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.

In 2003, Wilma Cline, Limbaugh's former housekeeper and her handyman husband, David, gave the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office copies of e-mails and taped phone messages documenting what they allege became Limbaugh's 30-pill-a-day drug habit.

Wilma Cline told The National Enquirer that she began funneling to Limbaugh some of her husband's hydrocodone supply, prescribed after David Cline fell when a pull-down ladder snapped apart, injuring his neck, knees and hand in March 1988. After those prescriptions dried up, Wilma Cline found another drug source for Limbaugh, she told the tabloid, getting him at one point 11,900 pills in a four month period in 2001.

After the Clines' story broke, Limbaugh acknowledged on his nationally syndicated radio program that he was addicted to painkillers, and took a 30-day leave of absence to try to kick the habit.

"I want you to know I'm no role model. I refuse to let anyone think I'm doing something heroic here, something great here. I'm not a victim. I'm not going to portray myself as a victim. I take full responsibility for this problem," Limbaugh told his listeners in October 2003.

Limbaugh also told listeners that day that he had twice checked into rehabilitation clinics over the past half-dozen years in an effort to break his addiction and would do so again immediately. .


source

And so we had to put up with the boringest of them all... the Snowjob.

After that we had to hear about Black protecting his medical records from illegal searchs by govt officials.

(I'm on the road alot, so I sometimes get to listen on the job)

Here it tis. Malkin, the original Security Mom:

The Right-Wing Terror-Sphere

Right-wing pundit and blogger Michelle Malkin touched off a storm of threats and hatred after crossing the line and publishing protesters' contact information.


Fox commentator and popular right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin "has crossed a line." The "line" journalist Don Surber refers to is Malkin's having pulled the names and contact information of three UC Santa Cruz students from a press release and published them on her blog, while calling the protesters "unhinged" and bleating that "[t]his used to be called sedition."

Tools. Sedition? Now where'd she learn that one from?


Take a PEEK here too. Poor thing had to move and take a child out of school as retribution for that one.

Shameful.



[edit on 29-4-2006 by psyopswatcher]

A 15 year old Latina girl in town became pregnant, did what her church and society requested and didn't have an abortion. Finished high school. Worked three jobs to support her and her son. When she was 19, her son fell and required medical care. No health care, so $2000 fell to her to pay. Advised by family to apply for public assistance for medical aide for her son. Assured by social worker paperwork was proper, even though they at first erroniously tried to say she wasn't being honest about one of her (min wage) jobs, accusing her of not reporting a W2 when she repeatedly told them the company name on the W2 was the parent company and not the business name of where she worked. She continues her education and betters herself, only one job needed. Ahead 5 years, gets a letter from the DA stating she has a court date for welfare fraud or pay the $2000. She doesn't have $2000, a lawyer says don't worry the case will be thrown out. She goes to court, judge has her arrested. No one has ever told her that after 24 hours in jail you can go on own recognizance without bail, so bail bondsman bails her out 15 minutes before 24 hours. She had to pay for bail, have wages garnished, pay for monitoring device to be worn back at her job. Rush--you're a coward. Shame!

posted by psyopswatcher: “Here it tis. Malkin, the Right-wing pundit and Fox commentator"has crossed a line." The "line" journalist Don Surber refers to is Malkin's having pulled the names and contact information of three UC Santa Cruz students from a press release and published them . . while calling the
protesters "unhinged" and bleating that "[t]his used to be called sedition." Sedition? Shameful. [Edited by Don W]

At the risk of redundancy recall P/O/W, the first Alien & Sedition Acts were 3 in number and passed by the Congress around 1798-1800. Later held unconstitutional, they lay dormant until the post Nine Eleven Event Patriot Act so dear to hearts and minds of Geo W, VP Cheney, the Oberfuhrer and that excuse for an AG, Pedro Gonzales. If you have time, you can Google the first Sedition Act and the Patriot Act and see that the writer of the latter has plagiarized the former.

There can be no ‘sedition’ laws as long as we have a First Amendment.

[edit on 4/30/2006 by donwhite]

Good counterpoint, desert. No damn wonder he's afraid of the mainland. With hardworking achievers being railroaded like that.

He is a coward! He won't even go car shopping for himself, they bring them to him. He just calls up and tells them what he wants and they bring a few models over for him to look over...

That's as bad a Bush, Sr. not knowing what barcode scanners in the grocery store are.

Oh for those days of innocence...

Any "honest" person would have instantly recognized this is a NON case. But no, the prosecutor’s office pushed it, the judge accepts it and the leaches in the bonding business profit from her. Being poor, being of color and being a non-Republican is not good in American society of 2006!

God Bless America.

Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

Originally posted by donwhite
I wanted to make it as negative as I could.

By using the term 'white'? I'm white. Are you saying it's a negative or bad thing to be? The story should speak for itself- I only ask that you have respect for your fellow members and not stoop to racism to get your message across.

Justice subverted is justice denied. I’d like to say “I’m sorry” that you find offense in the title, Riley, but then, I’m hoping you’d like me better not to tell a ‘PC’ lie. I have posted elsewhere that it is my opinion 15% to 30% of black men in prison have been wrongfully convicted. From my POV, it is obviously a very distinct advantage to be white when you are dealing with the criminal justice system, American style.

OJ and Michael Jackson were convicted after all? Money and status talks louder than race.. if those 15%- 30% of black men you mention had the same distinct advantages as them- they may've been found innocent as well.

[edit on 29-4-2006 by riley]

Originally posted by riley
I don't however see how white skin is relevent other than your wanting to pin a very negative conotation to it.

Unfortunately, the rich white executives that stole millions from Enron, Tyco, MCI, etc. have already put the negative connotation to being rich and white. By and large, its rich, white Congressman, CEOs, broadcasters, etc., painting themselves with a big brush.

Originally posted by NotClever
Unfortunately, the rich white executives that stole millions from Enron, Tyco, MCI, etc. have already put the negative connotation to being rich and white.

No they haven't.. if people believe that it's just their own racism asserting itself. I completely agree that they're corrupt.. but there are rich black people around who may be corrupt as well. I don't like Condeliza Rice [sp] for example.. I believe she is as sneeky as the rest of them but I don't think her skin colour plays a role either. Most reasonable people should be able to tell the difference between race and charactor.

Originally posted by riley
I read your post and I agree money can buy anything. One rule for the rich- another for the poor. I don't however see how white skin is relevent other than your wanting to pin a very negative conotation to it. The title is offensive.

[edit on 29-4-2006 by riley]

Agreed, it is about money not race, lets all just remember OJ.

I agree it is not about the race, but of the monetary assets of the individual accused of the crime. When I read the title of the post, my first reaction was a PC reaction, though I understand the connotation of what you wrote.

Rush got away with something that most of us would not have gotten away with so easily, be it white, black, tan, yellow, or purple. I see why you wanted to add such a negative view on to the title of your posting to catch the eye and show how bad this is.

I quote Wanda Sykes:

"I see a black man running down the street, I wanna call the cops. I see a white man running, I wanna say, `oh darn (for lack of using an expletive), that man is late for work, I hope he's ok.'"

This is just a point to see what you're coming across with (Mods please have mercy on my example), but please don't use the racial part, it has become such a useful tool to divide us as it is, and personally as a white male, though I realize that I have some priviledge because of that, I don't like to have it thrown in my face because I did not choose what color body I was going to be born into (that I know of).

Let's respect each other on this site, because we are amazing people by doing everything in our power to deny ignorance. I'm so proud of all of us on here, that I don't want us to stoop to that single-minded level.

Overall, I think its wrong, but I don't think you should have used that one description of the color of his skin. Rush should be penalized more, but that is the problem with Plea Bargains, they're just not usually so televised.

Originally posted by riley

By using the term 'white'? I'm white. Are you saying it's a negative or bad thing to be? The story should speak for itself- I only ask that you have respect for your fellow members and not stoop to racism to get your message across.
[edit on 29-4-2006 by riley]

of course it is, dont you find it odd how the people that preach that skin color doesnt count have an exception? "unless your white" because we all know whites are the richest, most priviledged of all right? funny thing is this hasnt been the case in the US for 30+ years. However you still have "affirmative action" an over compensating measure which excludes whites who are perhaps as qualified or more.

you are less likely to get the social programs(which we all pay for) if your white. More and more you will see this exclusive behavior towards whites to somehow punish them for the past.

its okay to hate whitey......just no one else.....

I get sick to my stomach when I constantly hear "your keeping me down whitey!" Oh really? I suppose I made you drop out of school and stand on the street corner drinking 40's with your "homeboys" ?

I am just sick of this double standard im suppose to live by.....funny how I see much of the crime in minority neighborhoods, yet in equally poor white neighborhoods it significantly less? (there is some granted)

quit whining about whitey and get a new schtick is all im saying.....

[edit on 29-4-2006 by XphilesPhan]

posted by riley

posted by donwhite: I wanted to make it as negative as I could.

By using the term 'white'? I'm white. Are you saying it's a negative or bad thing to be? [Edited by Don W]

Racism is rampant in America. It is the major destructive force in our society. Only white people are actively racists. What do you want me to say?

The story should speak for itself- I only ask that you have respect for your fellow members and not stoop to racism to get your message across.

Riley, you can’t fix it if you don’t know its broke. You can’t treat it if you don’t know your malady. My family is mainly Catholic and all white except for one black child adopted from Sierra Leone. But my color should have nothing to do with dealing with the truth.

OJ and Michael Jackson were convicted after all? Money and status talks louder than race . . if those 15%- 30% of black men you mention had the same distinct advantages as them - they may've been found innocent as well.

Well, you can see what a $5 million lawyer - Roy Black - can do for a person who ought to be doing 20 to 40 years hard time. Rush Limbaugh. I’m from Ky, and I know the Public Defender’s Office gets 25% of the financing the prosecutor’s office gets which in does not include the investigative resources of the police. I also know the PD staff routinely have 4 X the case load of a prosecutor. It was a Florida prisoner, Gideon, who sued his warden, Wainwright, in 1963, that finally got the Supreme Court to say you can’t incarcerate a man who is without counsel. The “right to counsel” 6th Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791. Would it be fair to say Americans obey the laws they want, and ignore the rest? That the poor don’t rate very high on the R&Fs list of things to do?

OJ was guiltily but Marcia Clark and Mark Furman fouled up that case and Judge Lance Ito could not keep it on track. The jury was disgusted with the whole case. Michael Jordan OTOH was not guilty as charged, in my opinion. The mother had “rented” her son to Michael and was an extortionist. She got caught in so many lies that no self-respecting jury could base a verdict on the testimony they heard. She and maybe the boys father should have been co-defendants. What’s this got to do with perversive white racism?

[edit on 4/30/2006 by donwhite]

It is not the color of an individual's skin, Just as MLK so famously implied, but the content of one's character that truly defines them.

People of all races, creeds, and colors engage in clandestine opiate dependency and occult activity. The behavior is the problem, not the color of their skin, who they are, or where they came from. Its what they do that counts.

When they get caught doing what they do, then money, power, and prestige comes into play. It has nothing to do with race at that point, but position on the Social Darwin (bank account) scale, and let's not leave out, priors. That is why Lush got off so easy on this one; money, power, prestige, and lack of prior convictions and criminal behavior. Not because he's white.

If you want to have something against another human being because of the color of their skin, that's your problem. I believe you are playing right into the hands of the PTB, who use racism as a tool to divide the masses against one another while they (the PTB), the real slavemasters, sit back and let the rest of us do their dirty work for them.

Only by rising above petty racism will the masses have any hope of presenting a united front against the exploitation of the ruling elite.

Originally posted by Icarus Rising
It is not the color of an individual's skin, Just as MLK so famously implied, but the content of one's character that truly defines them.

Martin Luther King didn't imply it...he stated it.

Rich, white guys seem to be consistently showing a flawed character. It's not just the obvious criminals, but also the CEOs making obscene amounts of money. When many CEOs make in one hour what many people make in a year, and try to justify it...

Come on folks get off this racism thing and get back to the story of "See how much justice you can buy in America'"