Tom DeLay's Legal Troubles Continue. Light Sabers Don't Kill People, People Kill People... Red Sox Swept In Toronto.

Tom DeLay's Legal Troubles Continue

In a move that could well prove to be the first crack in the foundation that has the potential to being the house down on his crooked ass, House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R - Arrogant Prick) saw the treasurer of his PAC found guilty in Texas District Court of not having reported a shitload of money that was diverted to run several state campaigns for DeLay wannabes.

Yahoo News excerpt:

AUSTIN, Texas - The treasurer of a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay broke the law by not reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, a judge ruled Thursday in a lawsuit brought by Democratic candidates.

State District Judge Joe Hart said the money, much of it corporate contributions, should have been reported to the Texas Ethics Commission. The judge ordered Bill Ceverha, treasurer of Texans for a Republican Majority, to pay nearly $200,000 in damages. It will be divided among those who brought the lawsuit against Ceverha — five Democrats who lost state legislative races in 2002.

That sounds like a stiff fine until one remembers that DeLay steals that much money before lunchtime every day.

The civil case is separate from a criminal investigation being conducted by the district attorney in Austin into whether the PAC funneled illegal corporate contributions to GOP candidates for the state Legislature. Three of DeLay's top fund-raisers and eight corporations were indicted last year. Ceverha has not been charged.

DeLay has not been charged with any crime and was protected by congressional immunity from having to testify in the lawsuit, but he has been barraged on Capitol Hill with allegations of unethical conduct.

Which is why Howard Dean looked like such a doofus this past weekend when discussing this matter with Tim Russert. Of course, if Russert had any integrity at all he would have attacked DeLay when these matters first became public knowledge in the same manner in which he went after Bill Clinton during the impeachment nonsense...

Under Texas law, corporate money can be used by PACs for administrative purposes, but not for direct campaign expenses. In his ruling, the judge dealt with the election code reporting requirements, not with the how the money was spent. Hart found that contributions of corporate and non-corporate money totaling $613,433 should have been reported by Ceverha, along with expenditures of $684,507.

Ceverha's lawyers argued in court that the PAC operated legally despite confusing state campaign funding laws. The plaintiffs welcomed the judge's ruling as good first step in rooting out illegal corporate spending during the 2002 Texas elections. "It sheds light on the illegal acts of Texans for a Republican Majority," attorney Cris Feldman said.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050526/ap_on_go_co/delay_committee_lawsuit

I can't wait to see what the gargoyles on Fox News have to say about this. O'Reilly and Hannity will be absolutely red-faced with fury that the poster boy for arrogance has been given what at this point is a mere slap on the wrist. I wonder if they'll pretend that this ruling is another case of the new conservative bugaboo, "judicial activism"? I just hope that the rest of this bastard's shady behavior can somehow be dragged out into the open. I'd bet that DeLay would end up exploding on the witness stand like Colonel Jessup in "A Few Good Men". Now that is something I would gladly pay to see!


Light Sabers Don't Kill People, People Kill People...

The following Yahoo News excerpt details the kind of stupidity that gives science fiction fans a bad name.

The Force--let alone common sense--was definitely not with them.

Two British Star Wars fans sustained critical injuries after constructing their own light sabers from fluorescent light tubes filled with liquid fuel.

According to British media reports, a 20-year-old man and his 17-year-old female friend were filming a mock duel in homage to Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, the latest chapter of George Lucas' record-breaking franchise. The duo were reportedly emulating one of Sith's key battles, a light-saber clash between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker.

The two Brits suffered severe burns when their homemade sabers exploded. The two had been videotaping their clash. They have been hospitalized at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire since the accident Sunday.

Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/16633

In a related story, Charlton Heston took time away from his busy National Rifle Association schedule to comment on this unfortunate incident. "It is important to remember that these light sabers were of the homemade variety, and were therefore not subject to the rigorous tests that normal firearms routinely undergo," said Heston, who was gracious enough to take a few moments from an appearance at the annual Vegetarians In Favor Of Animal Testing convention in Afterbirth, Kansas. "I would urge people to exercise the type of good judgement when using these instruments as they would if they were handling a normal sidearm. After all, light sabers don't kill people, people kill people..."


Red Sox Swept In Toronto

The Red Sox lost 8-1 in Toronto to the Blue Jays tonight. The loss finished a three-game sweep as the Sox now face a weekend series in the Bronx against the surging Yankees. The Sox lost 9-6 as the bullpen blew up on Tuesday, then switched to the wiffle bats Wednesday losing 6-1. The wiffle bats were still being used tonight as rookie lefthander Gustavo Chacin kept the Sox off balance for six solid innings picking up his fifth win of the season. Wade Miller was roughed up for six runs in just two innings in his worst appearance in a Red Sox uniform.

The loss drops the Red Sox into third place in the American League East behind first-place Baltimore with the Blue Jays and Yankees in a tie for second place in the division. This team is just plain flat. To illustrate this point, Kevin Millar doubled with two out in the 8th inning. So he takes his lead as Kevin Youkilis digs in to bat. Suddenly, acrobatic Blue Jays second baseman Orlando Hudson glides in and takes a quick throw from reliever Pete Walker, and bang, Millar is picked off. How the hell anyone can get picked off in the 8th inning of an 8-1 game is the big mystery here. It's not as if Millar, still gimpy from the foul ball he hit off his "inseam" a few nights ago, was going to steal third. It's just another nagging sign that this team is playing dead-ass baseball.