A breathless television news reporter rushed from the federal courthouse in Montgomery late Tuesday afternoon to report that the jurors in the alleged government corruption trial of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and deposed HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy were about to get in a fight since they could not reach a unaminous verdict.

It turned out a note from the jury foreman sent to U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller said the jurors were still unable to agree on a verdict and that some jury members were described as being “lackadaisical” and not participating in deliberations.

We suspect based on our experience covering trials that the facts will show later, when they all come out, that some of the black members of the jury, who will never vote for a conviction for Siegelman or Scrushy, were just ready to go home and give it up.

The prosecution made a serious mistake by trying Siegelman and Scrushy together with the former members of Siegelman’s cabinet, and by bringing down such a complicated 34-count indictment. They should have tried the aides first, then Scrushy, then Siegelman. And they should never have used the RICO statutes, designed to disrupt the Mafia, in such a case. I mean really. Who cares about mail fraud?

They were either guilty of a quid pro quo instance of bribery, or they were just doing business as usual in Montgomery. Either way, a hung jury and a mistrial is a travesty of justice. And the Bush Justice Department should be held accountable.

AP: Jury still stuck after 9 days of deliberations in Siegelman trial

This would be tragic if it were not so funny. As you know by now, right-wing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession. His name was not on the bottle. The perscription was allegedly in his doctor’s name.

First of all, Limbaugh was let off easy under a plea deal with prosecutors just last month when it was found he illegally deceived multiple doctors to receive overlapping painkiller prescriptions. Under the deal, the charge, commonly referred to as “doctor shopping,” would be dismissed after 18 months if he continues to submit to random drug tests and treatment for his acknowledged addiction to the painkiller Hydrocodone.

While this should violate that deal, we suspect it won’t be handled that way. Limbaugh, who was called a “big fat idiot” in a book by former Saturday Night Live comic Al Franken, has made all kinds of jokes about the situation on the radio since being released at the airport.

So here’s a joke on him. Who in their right mind would screw this guy? Is he using gay male prostitutes? Or does he just need Viagra to get it up to fuck himself? Enquiring minds want to know.

AP: Limbaugh Detained at Palm Beach Airport

We are now back online as of about 12:58 p.m. Wednesday after our high speed Internet service at Charter.Net and our blog cgi bin server were sabotaged Friday night, not long after we led the news with this story (which was online on Friday before making the papers on Saturday) - now in the news since Monday as Bush and Cheney both went on the campaign trail to bash the press for telling the public what a lot of us have already known for some time.

Financial Searches Raises Privacy Fears

For most Americans, the confidentiality of their bank accounts and other financial holdings is a right to be cherished. The idea that government agents might be secretly scrutinizing the records of individuals arouses discomfort in people who view their wealth, income and other financial information as nobody’s business but their own. So questions of privacy arose yesterday after revelations that the Bush administration has been tracking clues about terrorists by searching the records of a Belgium-based banking consortium that handles millions of financial transactions daily across national borders.

An investigation is underway to find out how our service was sabotaged and by whom. Check back and hit refresh for updates.

The hung jury in the Bush Justice Department’s alleged corruption trial against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and deposed HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy broke for the weekend about noon Friday after seven days of deliberations without reaching a unanimous verdict .

Attorneys for both sides met with U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller in private on what is being reported as a security issue in downtown Montgomery. Sources are saying it is unrelated to the trial.

The judge had told the jury it would be OK to return a partial verdict if they could agree on some of the 34 counts against the four defendants.

So the vigil continues Monday. Check back and hit refresh for updates, here and on the news page.