Negligence led to woman's breast cancer, suit claims

A Mason County hospital and two physicians are named in a malpractice suit alleging they failed to properly diagnose a woman for breast cancer.

On June 13, Kathleen and Thomas Edwards filed suit against Pleasant Valley Hospital and Drs. Suresh K. Agrawal, of Point Pleasant, and Thomas J. Piechowicz, of Marietta, Ohio. In the three-count complaint and suit, filed with the assistance of Charleston attorney Marvin W. Masters, the Edwards' allege each were in some way responsible for Kathleen developing breast cancer.

For more on this story, go to The West Virginia Record

One suit dismissed, another filed against Vaidya

Despite the dismissal of one, a Mason County physician finds himself defending against another malpractice suit.

For more on this story, go to The West Virginia Record

What's wrong with selling your vote?

by Sheldon Richman

Poor Max Sanders. The 19-year-old University of Minnesota student faces five years in jail and a $10,000 fine; he is accused of putting his vote in the presidential election up for auction on eBay. He started the bidding at $10. The charge is bribery, treating, and soliciting.

I’m confused. Aren’t all our votes for sale? Each candidate tries to bribe us with future benefits of all sorts. Basically, a campaign is an effort to buy votes wholesale.

For more on this op/ed, go to The Future of Freedom Foundation

Fannie and Freddie bailout 101

by William L. Anderson

One way to make someone’s eyes glaze over is to explain the various relationships in financial matters. Discussions of swaps, equity, options, short-selling and the like quickly become technical and esoteric, and most people instantly tune out what is being said.

Unfortunately, this situation convinces people that finance is complicated and cannot be understood – and so it must be left to the "experts" who are assumed to know better. Thus, the average person – the taxpayer who will be left on the hook – does not really understand why entities like "Freddie Mac" and "Fannie Mae" are in trouble, and why their "bailouts" are a disaster. They only know that the people who are supposed to be "in charge" of these things are declaring success

For more on this op/ed, go to LewRockwell.com

Calif. development agency officials award themselves generous bonuses

San Diego, Calif. - For several years, the president of the agency tasked with redeveloping some of San Diego's most blighted neighborhoods has been paying herself and her top deputy tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses and extra compensation unbeknownst to members of the City Council or the agency's board.

Carolyn Y. Smith, president of the Southeastern Economic Development Corp., and her top deputy, finance director Dante Dayacap, shared $77,276 in taxpayer-funded bonuses and additional compensation in fiscal year 2005-2006. That year, Smith reported to the City Council and SEDC's board that she would be paid a salary of between $130,000 and $160,000, but by the end of the year she had earned $206,328.

The additional pay for the government officials came to light following a voiceofsandiego.org review of SEDC's tax records, which revealed a complicated system of unsupervised payments for top SEDC officials that are not explained in its public budget. The officials regularly receive annual five-figure bonuses under payment programs overseen by Smith and vaguely titled "acknowledgement" and "cost of living."

In total, between fiscal years 2003-2004 and 2006-2007, SEDC's top four officials collectively received about $256,000 through the various bonus and extra compensation programs.

For more on this story, go to The Voice of San Diego

The IRS v. Robert Kahre

Las Vegas businessman Robert Kahre, along with his attorney, William A. Cohan, talk with Steve Murphy of "Insider Exclusive" about his battle with the IRS to pay his employees in gold and silver coin. This interview includes footage of FBI and IRS agents raiding Kahre's business in May 2003. According to Cohan and Kahre, agents attempted to destroy these videos and lied about it in court documents.

Nevada businessman stands up to IRS on issue of paying employees in gold

Las Vegas, Nev. - On a 106-degree May afternoon in 2003, government agents raided several establishments belonging to Southern Nevada businessman Robert “Bobby” Kahre. With guns drawn, officials held more than 20 handcuffed workers in the sun without water as agents collected records and other materials.

Kahre hadn’t committed a crime. He had upset the Internal Revenue Service by paying his workers based on the face value of gold and silver coins, versus the market value in the Federal Reserve system (the value of the coins in U.S. paper dollars). Even though the coins were in circulation, displayed a face value, and were regulated by Congress, the IRS’s confusing and endless tax code did not determine how to handle these gold and silver coins if used for payroll. The tax code only references dollars. It does not distinguish between coined money and paper money.

For more on this story, go to Liberty Watch

Photo: Las Vegas attorney Joel Hanson, who served on the Kahre defense team.

"20/20" blows the lid off hypocritical traffic stops

Warren, Mich. - Traffic court in Warren, Mich., is a busy place. Sometimes, the courtroom is so crowded it's standing room only. Clutching their tickets, dozens of people line up at the cashier's windows to pay their fines. Many people are here because a cop said they didn't come to a full stop at a stop sign.

Though some drivers try to dispute the cops' versions of what happened, judges tend to believe the cops.

One police officer, David Kanapsky, generated many of those stop sign tickets.

For more on this story, go to "20/20."

Ex-Chicago cop on the run

During its Saturday broadcast, "America's Most Wanted" featured Eddie Hicks, a former Chicago Police Department sergent accused of operating a racketeering ring during the last 10 years of his 30 years on the force. An FBI sting caught Hicks, and other Chicago cops, pretending to be DEA agents taking drugs from suspected dealers only to resell the drugs to another dealer.

Hicks, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2001 on charges of possession of a controlled substance and racketeering, never showed for his trial on June 9, 2003. Police suspect Hicks may either be in Brazil or Nevada.

The allegations against Hicks come amidst a police department that has been under already intense scrutiny for misconduct and corruption. For more on those allegations, go to "60 Minutes" and "20/20."

Del. man wanted for kidnapping may be in W. Va.

Yesterday, "America's Most Wanted" featured David Matusiewicz during its "15 Seconds of Shame" Segment. Matusiewicz, 41, is wanted by p0lice in New Castle, Del. for kidnapping his three daughters, Laura, Leigh and Karen, then-5-, 4- and 2-years old, respectively, on Aug. 26, 2007.

According to AMW, Matusiewicz, a licensed optometrist, was scheduled to take the children on a tw0-week trip to Florida. When they did not arrive back on schedule, Matusiewicz's ex-wife, Christine Belford, who has custody of the children, called police.

Matusiewicz is wanted for felony interference with custody.

Though no reasons were given, it is believed that Matusiewicz may be working in either Texas or West Virginia. Those with information on Matusiewicz's whereabouts are encouraged to contact either AMW or your local police department.