Now That's Social Work!

ACORN, a liberal activist group that receives millions in federal funding, was punk'd by a couple of young conservative activists posing as a prostitute and her pimp. The two pretended that they were trying to set up a brothel and needed legal and tax advice. The ACORN folks not only provided it, but didn't flinch when the pranksters said they intended to bring in 13 girls "about 15" years old from El Salvador. ACORN employee: "You know what? You can always claim them as dependents."

She adds later: "If they're making money and they're underage, you shouldn't be letting nobody know anyway."

Also amusing: The ACORN activist's advice to the "prostitute" that she can write off her "special clothes" from her taxes.

Why The GOP Cannot Get Its Shit Together

For far too many people it's just a racket to be exploited, not a cause they believe passionately in. Case in point: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. The Moonie Times has the inside dirt:

When Michael S. Steele took over as chairman of the Republican National Committee earlier this year, he brought along longtime personal assistant Belinda Cook and gave her a salary nearly three times what her predecessor made.

Mrs. Cook's son, Lee, also landed an RNC job.

Mr. Steele hired another family friend, Angela Sailor, to be the party's outreach director at a salary of $180,000, more than double her predecessor's compensation, though new responsibilities have been added to the job, according to a high-ranking RNC official and Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

Mr. Steele's early record and personnel decisions figure to be hot topics at a special meeting of Republican state party chairmen Tuesday and Wednesday at National Harbor in Washington's Maryland suburbs. His hiring of friends and the salaries he is paying them already helped to instigate a struggle over who controls the party's purse strings, one that forced the new party chairman to relinquish some control to elected RNC members.

It sort of makes sense then that Steele has had such a hard time staying on message. Maybe he just doesn't have one. Maybe he is just in it because it looked like a good opportunity to introduce Michael Steele to some high-powered donors.

The right has been infected with this kind of institutional rot for years. Unless some people on the inside get serious about cleaning house and standing for something, they run the risk of going the way of the Whig Party.

Who are the Whigs? My point exactly.

Foxes In Charge of Henhouse, Pt MXXVIII

The Moonie Times had a good piece of muckraking yesterday about Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, the guy who wrote (at the behest of the Treasury Department) the loophole that allowed the AIG bonuses. Not only was Dodd a major recipient of AIG cash, but he rated special attention from AIG executives:

As Democrats prepared to take control of Congress after the 2006 elections, a top boss at the insurance giant American International Group Inc. told colleagues that Sen. Christopher J. Dodd was seeking re-election donations and he implored company executives and their spouses to give.

The message in the Nov. 17, 2006, e-mail from Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial Products chief executive, was unmistakable: Mr. Dodd was "next in line" to be chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees the insurance industry, and he would "have the opportunity to set the committee's agenda on issues critical to the financial services industry.

***

AIG's employees have been big financial backers of Mr. Dodd. Over his career, Mr. Dodd has collected $238,418 from AIG employees and their spouses, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Mr. Cassano has donated $7,118 to Mr. Dodd's campaigns.

Mr. Cassano's November 2006 e-mail instructed his colleagues on how to make donations to the senator from Connecticut.

"As he considers running for president in 2008, Senator Dodd has asked us for our support with his reelection campaign and we have offered to be supportive," Mr. Cassano wrote.

The employees were told, "If you agree," to write checks for $2,100 from themselves and their spouses and to send them to Mr. Dodd's campaign within four days. They also were to ask the senior members of their management teams to do the same and send copies of their checks to the company.

The Dodd campaign collected $162,100 from AIG-FP employees and their spouses within six weeks of the e-mail, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics and the Federal Election Commission.

Each of the seven AIG-FP executives to whom the Cassano e-mail was sent made two $2,100 contributions to the Dodd campaign - one for the primary and another for the general election campaign. The records also show that five of their wives also contributed $4,200 each to the Dodd campaign. The executive vice presidents are Alan Frost, David Ackert, Douglas L. Poling, Jake DeSantis, Jon Liebergall, Robert Leary and William Kolbert.

Mr. Cassano, who resigned in February after AIG-FP posted losses of $11 billion, followed his own advice. He and his wife gave Mr. Dodd's campaign $4,200 each.

Political fundraising in the workplace is legal, but a request from a boss may be viewed as a requirement, campaign watchdogs said.

"Implicit in this [e-mail] is the presumption that, at best, noncompliance will not be looked up favorably ... at worst, it may have negative consequences on the employees," Ms. Krumholz said.

Read the whole infuriating thing here. The Times also has a copy of the e-mail in question.

What Do You Mean "If," Congressman?

The quote of the week, maybe the year, comes from Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, via Politico:

"If I'm corrupt, it's because I take care of my district," Mr. Murtha said. "My job as a member of Congress is to make sure that we take care of what we see is necessary. Not the bureaucrats who are unelected over there in whatever White House, whether it's Republican or Democrat. Those bureaucrats would like to control everything. Every president would like to have all the power and not have Congress change anything. But we're closest to the people."

Ain't no if about congressman. You are one sleazy, corrupt bastard and you always have been.

Obama And Accountability? Not So Much

Given the fact that members of Congress had only ten hours to read the 1,000+ pages of the economic stimulus bill before it was voted on, it is not surprising that they missed a few things. Byron York highlighted one in an eye-opening story that ran earlier today in the DC Examiner:

You’ve heard a lot about the astonishing spending in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, signed into law this week by President Barack Obama. But you probably haven’t heard about a provision in the bill that threatens to politicize the way allegations of fraud and corruption are investigated — or not investigated — throughout the federal government.

The provision, which attracted virtually no attention in the debate over the 1,073-page stimulus bill, creates something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board — the RAT Board, as it’s known by the few insiders who are aware of it. The board would oversee the in-house watchdogs, known as inspectors general, whose job is to independently investigate allegations of wrongdoing at various federal agencies, without fear of interference by political appointees or the White House.

In the name of accountability and transparency, Congress has given the RAT Board the authority to ask “that an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or investigation.” If the inspector general doesn’t want to follow the wishes of the RAT Board, he’ll have to write a report explaining his decision to the board, as well as to the head of his agency (from whom he is supposedly independent) and to Congress. In the end, a determined inspector general can probably get his way, but only after jumping through bureaucratic hoops that will inevitably make him hesitate to go forward.

***
When I inquired with the office of a Democratic senator, one who is a big fan of inspectors general, I was told the RAT Board was “something the Obama administration wanted included in this bill.” When I asked the White House, staffers told me they’d look into it. So for now, at least, there’s been no claim of paternity.

The RAT Board has all sorts of other things wrong with it. For one thing, it’s redundant; there is already a board through which inspectors general police themselves, created last year in the Inspectors General Reform Act. For another thing, it could complicate criminal investigations stemming from inspector general probes. And then there’s the question of what it has to do with stimulating the economy.

But none of that matters now. It’s the law.

Baltimore Mayor Not as Corrupt as Everyone Thought

The basic outline of the indictment, including some real grimy details like stealing gift cards from needy families:

Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was charged today with 12 counts of felony theft, perjury, fraud and misconduct in office, becoming the city's first sitting mayor to be criminally indicted.

The case stems in part from at least $15,348 in gifts Dixon allegedly received from her former boyfriend, prominent city developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, while she was City Council president. She also is accused of using as much as $3,400 in gift cards, some donated to her office for distribution to "needy families," to purchase Best Buy electronics and other items for herself and her staff.

Lipscomb was not indicted in the Dixon case, but he and City Councilwoman Helen L. Holton were charged this week in a separate $12,500 bribery scheme. Both cases grew out of a nearly three-year probe by the state prosecutor into City Hall corruption.

I don't have much to say about this; everyone knew she was corrupt and when you have one party running the show for 100 years on a municipal level these charges are pretty tame in comparison to what could be coming out of City Hall. Still though, that's no excuse for her behavior and she deserves to be thrown out of office and into prison. This is the best take that I've read on the story.

More Mayor related news. From this weekend:

Things don’t go smoothly for mayor

The misfortunes of indicted Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon continued Saturday as a boxing ring collapsed when she and a dozen other people were jumping on it during a workout to publicize physical fitness. No one was hurt. Everyone climbed out and continued the workout on the gym floor. A day earlier, Dixon was indicted on theft and perjury charges and accused of accepting illegal gifts, including travel, fur coats and gift cards intended for the poor. Dixon, a 55-year-old Democrat, said she is innocent of the charges.

Ouch.

The award for my favorite non-local news outlet coverage goes to the AP. The opening paragraph in their story:

BALTIMORE (AP) — It's difficult enough to lead a city plagued by rampant violent crime, failing schools, widespread poverty and drug addiction. For Mayor Sheila Dixon, the job figures to get tougher this year — and not just because of the sagging economy.

Double ouch.

Obama: The Governor Guy? I Hardly Knew Him

Maybe. Goddamn, that "Change" man is slick. He must have sensed that Rod Blagojevich was toxic and kept him at arms length, even as Blagojevich contemplated his successor. I swear sometimes I think Obama could sell hams in a synagogue.

Car Bailout Bill Stuck In Gridlock; May Run Out of Gas

Earlier tonight the House passed the "temporary bridge loan" bill for domestic automobile industry. You know, the Detroit bailout bill. The vote, if you care, wasn't even close: 237-170.

But it is still far from being law. The Senate has to pass it as well, and that isn't looking too good:

"I don't think the votes are there on our side of the aisle," conceded Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), a major defender of the domestic automakers who has been working for weeks to broker a plan to help them survive the deepening recession. "Some effort needs to be made to respond the concerns of my colleagues," he said.

Do those colleagues oppose the deal because they hate the long-suffering assembly line worker and want to give our country away to the Japanese? Maybe. Or maybe they just think car makers are doomed no matter what because the $14 billion does nothing to reform their staggeringly generous labor contracts.

In any event, it ain't over. The Democrats will have a nearly filibuster-proof majority next year. So expect an even bigger bailout bill next year. Assuming the car companies haven't already gone bankrupt by then. Me, I'm getting a drink. Have a good night, folks

Illinois? Really? Who Could Have Guessed?

Winner for 2008 Least Surprising Corruption Related news story goes to.....

Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with corruption, including an allegation that he conspired to profit from his authority to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s successor in the United States Senate, prosecutors said.[...]

76-page affidavit from the United States Attorney’s office in Northern Illinois says Mr. Blagojevich was heard on wiretaps over the last month planning to “sell or trade Illinois’ United States Senate seat vacated by Pres-elect Barack Obama for financial and personal benefits for himself and his wife.”

Federal authorities said Mr. Blagojevich’s chief of staff, John Harris, was also indicted on Tuesday. Both men are expected to appear in federal court for the first time later Tuesday.

He also withheld bailout money from Tribune (which filed for bankruptcy yesterday) unless the editorial board was canned. Classy guy this Blagojevich.

The authorities also say Mr. Blagojevich threatened to withhold state assistance from the Tribune Company, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday. According to the authorities, Mr. Blagojevich wanted members of the Tribune’s editorial board, who had criticized him, to be fired before he extended any state assistance.

An official at the governor’s office had no immediate comment on Tuesday. A telephone message left at Mr. Obama’s transition office was not immediately returned.

How Fannie n' Freddie Entertained Their Elected Overseers

The Associated Press put out a good, if infuriating, story explaining exactly how those entities managed to get the elected officials that were supposed to be overseeing them eating out of their hands instead:

WASHINGTON – From a hefty lobbying budget to the use of free baseball tickets, Freddie Mac fended off any meaningful regulation in the years before the housing mortgage giant crashed, records obtained by The Associated Press show.

When the Washington Nationals played their first-ever baseball game in the nation's capital in April 2005, two congressmen who oversaw Freddie Mac had choice seats — courtesy of the very company they were supposed to be keeping an eye on.

Efforts to tighten government regulation were gaining support on Capitol Hill, and Freddie Mac was fighting back.

According to internal Freddie Mac documents obtained by the AP, Reps. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, and Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., spent the evening in hard-to-obtain seats near the Nationals dugout with Freddie Mac executive Hollis McLoughlin and four of Freddie Mac's in-house lobbyists. The two congressmen were both members of the House Financial Services Committee.

Okay, so the congressmen could be bought, but at least they weren't cheap. Oh, no, wait. They were:

The ticket to attend the opening game of the Washington Nationals was valued at less than $50, which was the congressional gift limit at that time, Kanjorski said in a statement Monday.

The Nationals tickets were bargains for Freddie Mac, part of a well-orchestrated, multimillion-dollar campaign to preserve its largely regulatory-free environment, with particular pressure exerted on Republicans who controlled Congress at the time.

At least this corrpution didn't hurt the rest of us. Oh, no, wait. It did:

The tactics worked — for a time. Freddie Mac was able to operate with a relatively free hand until the housing bubble ultimately burst in 2007.

Now Freddie Mac and its sister company, Fannie Mae, are in financial collapse and under government control. Congress is investigating how it all happened. Lawmakers have planned a hearing Tuesday.

Oh, and guess who is one of the leading whores:

Internal Freddie Mac budget records show $11.7 million was paid to 52 outside lobbyists and consultants in 2006. Power brokers such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were recruited with six-figure contracts.

Don't Hate The Playa, Hate The Game, Baby

Want to share your ideas with the coming Barack Obama administration? If you do, you better have a seriously fat wallet:

Aides to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) scheduled pricey luncheons, roundtables, readings, VIP receptions and policy dinners with campaign officials and advisers, offering donors a taste of his potential administration.
***
Much has been made of Obama’s canny mining of small-dollar donors, with constant e-mails asking for donations of as little as $5. The average donation in September was $86. Two-thirds of the $150 million was raised via the Web.

But his campaign also has an elaborate machine for courting big check-writers. Obama kept the checks flowing this month with a gold-plated schedule of headliners who would have new prominence in a Democratic Washington.
***
Among the offerings:

—Luncheon in New York with Dennis Ross, Special Middle East Coordinator under President Clinton — $10,000, $5,000, $2,500 or $1,000.

—Reception in Belmont, Mass., with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick — $2,500, $1,000, $500 or $250.

—Reception in New York with Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), Obama’s running mate —- per couple $28,500, $14,250, $5,000 or $1,000.

—Reception in Chicago with Michelle Obama — $28,500, $10,000 or $2,500.

The Bridge To Nowhere But Oz, Bitch

Alaska's Republican Senator Ted Stevens, pork barreller extraordinaire and advocate of the Bridge to Nowhere, is going to jail. Boo-Yah!

Stevens, 84, was convicted of all the felony charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating last week.

Visibly shaken after the verdicts were read — the jury foreman declaring "guilty" seven times — Stevens tried to intertwine his fingers but quickly put his hands down to his side after noticing they were trembling. As he left the courtroom, Stevens got a quick kiss on the cheek from his wife, Catherine, who testified on his behalf during the trial. He declined to talk to reporters waiting outside.

Despite my rather hopeful blog title, the AP story indicates that Stevens is "likely to receive much less prison time, if any" than the maximum 35 years in jail that he could get. Ah, but a man can dream, can't he?

The you gotta-be-fucking-me-part-of-the-story? His Senate career isn't necessarily over:

Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel him on a two-thirds vote.

"Put this down: That will never happen — ever, OK?" Stevens said in the weeks leading up to his trial. "I am not stepping down. I'm going to run through, and I'm going to win this election."

Most likely he'll just lose the reelection, but hey you never know. In any event, the real question is why didn't the numbskulls in the GOP leadership push Stevens into an early retirement? Why on earth did they let an 84 year-old geezer facing a serious criminal trial go ahead with another Senate bid? If anything exemplifies the corruption, stupidity and cowardice of the party, this is it. If the Democrats do crush them in the election, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves.

Indianapolis Is The Least Apathetic Place Ever!

How do we know this? Because 105% of its population is registered to vote. Local blogger Ogden on Politics has the details:

According to STATSIndiana, In 2007, Indianapolis/Marion County had an estimated population of 876,804. Of that number 232,607 were below 18 years of age, for a total of 644,197 people in Marion County/Indianapolis 18 or over and thus eligible to vote. (Indiana allows felons to vote as long as they are not incarcerated).

So we have 644,197 people eligible to be registered in Marion County/Indianapolis, and 677,401 people registered. Congratulations go to Indianapolis for having 105% of its residents registered!

Obviously the effort at eliminating duplicate registrations is not working well. Bloated registration rolls lead to the possibility of election fraud and undermines the confidence in the integrity of the electoral process. This is a situation that needs to be addressed by state and county election officials.

Quote of the Day

“You messed up, Kwame darling. … Don’t think you can mess up and get away with it."

-- Detroit's Mary Garwood, as quoted in a Detroit Free Press story about how Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick became the first sitting mayor in Detroit’s 307-year history to go to jail.

What Politicians Want, Politicians Get

Baltimore (and the state), a city with no professional hockey or basketball team, is planning on building a brand-new, 18,500 seat arena with a tax-payer subsidised price tag of about 300 million. Mind you, this comes at a time when MD Gov Martin O'Malley has raised just about every tax he could because of the 'tough budget concerns' the state faces. But apparently building a 300+million arena with no commitment as to a tenant is a necessity. The Baltimore Sun:

State and city leaders unveiled plans yesterday to tear down the aging 1st Mariner Arena and replace it with a new venue big enough to attract a professional basketball or hockey team to Baltimore - an idea that drew a skeptical response from the sports world.

Calling the 46-year-old 1st Mariner Arena "functionally obsolete," officials said a new 18,500-seat facility would draw the biggest concerts and acts to Baltimore and could play host to major events such as the NCAA basketball tournament. A new arena would probably cost $300million or more, paid for largely with public money, and could open as soon as 2012.[...]

We need a state-of-the-art arena because whether we have a major-league team in Baltimore playing basketball or shooting hockey pucks, this is a major-league city and it deserves a major-league arena," said M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp. and head of a panel formed to evaluate arena options. The panel issued its recommendations yesterday with the support of the mayor and the governor.

That's right, Baltimore is a "major-leagues city" that deserves a major-league arena. It doesn't matter if it needs one - (and really, does a city ever need a tax-payer funded arena? No, probably not, but it certainly doesn't need one when it doesn't have a team to fill it. Getting one extra Hannah Montana concert doesn't equal a NBA team) - some d-bags in City Hall and Annapolis just think the city deserves one. That and they all want some really sweet contracts to dish out to relatives and friends for the construction of this monstrosity. Excellent.

Full stroy here.

This Bud's For Demagogery

The feds are taking a hard look into the finances of that dangerous buffoon Al Sharpton. The New York Post reports that the investigation stepped up when IRS sent subpoenas to ... Anheuser-Busch? Yes, the beer company:

Anheuser-Busch, the brewer of Budweiser and Michelob, confirmed yesterday that it received a federal subpoena in connection to its charitable giving to Sharpton's National Action Network.

"We have received a subpoena and are cooperating with the IRS," the company said in a statement.

Sharpton blasted the subpoena as a "fishing expedition" and said his donors are proud of their financial support. The St. Louis-based corporation donated between $100,000 and $499,000 to NAN in 2007 alone, according to its Web site, but declined further comment about its relationship with Sharpton. A knowledgeable source said several other corporate donors received or would soon receive subpoenas.
Sharpton himself, his business entities and his nonprofit civil-advocacy group owe millions in back taxes, documents show.

The IRS and the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn have an ongoing probe into Sharpton's finances going back to his 2004 run for president and stewardship of NAN.

It seems that the reverend is quite the shakedown artist:

Almost 50 companies - including PepsiCo, General Motors, Wal-Mart, FedEx, Continental Airlines, Johnson & Johnson and Chase - and some labor unions sponsored Sharpton's National Action Network annual conference in April.

Terrified of negative publicity, fearful of a consumer boycott or eager to make nice with the civil-rights activist, CEOs write checks, critics say, to NAN and Sharpton - who brandishes the buying power of African-American consumers. In some cases, they hire him as a consultant.
***
In May 2004, Chrysler began supporting NAN's conferences, which include panels on corporate responsibility and civil rights and a black-tie awards dinner to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Last year, Sharpton gave Chrysler an award for corporate excellence.

In 2003, Sharpton targeted American Honda for not hiring enough African-Americans in management.

"We support those that support us," wrote Sharpton and the Rev. Horace Sheffield III, president of NAN's Michigan chapter, in a letter to American Honda. "We cannot be silent while African-Americans spend hard-earned dollars with a company that does not hire, promote or do business with us in a statistically significant manner."

Two months after American Honda execs met with Sharpton, the carmaker began to sponsor NAN's events - and continues to pay "a modest amount" each year, a spokesman said.

Disgusting.

Nothing To See Here; Move Along People

I dunno but if I were representing a fairly prominent politico whose home had just been raided by state investigators, I think I'd try to proclaim my client's innocence of any wrong-doing instead issuing of a weaselly evasion -- if I could. But hey, that's just me. What do I know?

State prosecutors searched Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's house for several hours in the morning, apparently continuing a two-year probe of her financial dealings as City Council president.

The investigators removed documents from Mrs. Dixon's Southwest Baltimore home, but would not confirm the focus of the investigation.
***
"The public should be aware of the State Prosecutor's reports for the last couple of years, which disclose that the State Prosecutor has spent hundreds of thousands on investigations which went nowhere," said Dale P. Kelberman, a white-collar criminal defense attorney representing Mrs. Dixon.

Read the whole thing here.

N-Word Rises From Its Grave, Seeks Revenge Against Mayor Kilpatrick

Remember when America's favorite scandal-ridden mayor; who along with the NAACP buried the N-word in the summer of '07, complete with a funeral and eulogies? I sure do. At the time I thought burying a word was quite possibly the stupidest idea ever, especially when young black males are actually being buried at a rate 4-5x higher than their white peers. That small fact might point to real issues that directly affect the black community and need to be addressed, instead of symbolically burying a word for the mere purpose of grabbing a few headlines.

Well, it would seem Mayor Kilpatrick didn't bury the word soon enough. According to sordid text messages between Detroit's Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his mistress, (aka Chief of Staff) back in 2002-2003 Kilpatrick used the word nigger in -- what I'm sure he would call -- an affectionate manner in reference to his mistress Christine Beatty. From CBS News, discussing the recent release of damaging text messages that are at the heart of multiple scandals that have plagued the mayor, and now led to his indictment on a whole list of offenses including perjury.

The sometimes graphic excerpts include the frequent use of the N-word, or derivatives of it, as a term of endearment.

On Sept. 15, 2002, Beatty described a sex act she wanted to perform on the mayor but said she didn't know how to ask him to let her do it. He replied: "Next time, just tell me to sit down, shut up and do your thing!"

Later that month, the pair appeared to arrange a sexual encounter in Beatty's office. On Sept. 19, 2002, Beatty wrote to Kilpatrick: "I have wanted to hold you so badly all day, but I was trying to stay focused on work. So, I promise, not to keep you longer than 15 minutes."

Kilpatrick replied: "Don't promise (N-word.)"

Beatty said: "I'm in my office. Do you want me to come to yours or you coming to mine?"

Kilpatrick said: "I'm coming down there ... LOL ditto. Freaky Chris!"

I see your LOL Mayor, and raise you a LMAO...

Kilpatrick allegedly has lied under oath, illegally fired police officers as part of the cover-up, and misused city dollars. So there are a lot of more important matters at stake here than just the simple hypocrisy over the use of nigger, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't pay any attention to yet one more example of what seems to be part of a every politician's oath: Do as I say, not as I do.

Full story here. Comprehensive archive of the Mayor's scandal here.

Sen. Ted Stevens and his BFF

It is hard to tell what is more annoying about this AP story: the facts it reports or the irritating isn't-bipartisanship-wonderful attitude it presents them in.

Here's the story. Senator Daniel Inouye, 83, of Hawaii hosted a fundraiser Wednesday for the reelection bid of Senator Ted Stevens, 84, of Alaska. That's unusual because Inouye is a Democrat and Stevens is a Republican. The AP says:

It's fair to say Inouye would like his Democratic Party to control the Senate by a greater margin. But not at the expense of Stevens, his friend and ally in the increasingly rough-and-tumble Senate.

So Inouye held a fundraising lunch for his friend on Wednesday to help Stevens with what promises to be his most difficult campaign in almost four decades.
***
Stevens' campaign hoped the noontime lunch just a block from the Capitol would net $50,000 or so from the anticipated 60-70 guests, said campaign treasurer Tim McKeever in Alaska.

Anchorage Democratic Mayor Mark Begich is running to defeat Stevens, and the hard-fought race is essential to Democrats' goal of padding the chamber with enough Democrats to roll over GOP delaying tactics.

So why did Inouye do it? Was it just because he and Stevens are long-time buds? That's what the AP story suggests:

But to Senate old-timers like Inouye, 83, and Stevens, 84 — each of whom has served in the chamber since the 1960s — friendship comes before party. In the increasingly bitter world of Washington, the friendship of Inouye and Stevens stands out. They call each other "brother." Both served with honor in World War II.

Heartwarming, isn't it? But there is another reason Inouye hosted the fundraiser, a little fact mentioned towards the end of the story:

The two have traveled the world together are the top two senators on the panel controlling the Pentagon budget. For years, they've used the post to deliver federal money to their states. They are also the chairman and top Republican on the powerful Commerce Committee.

Well isn't that special? These two old farts bonded over years and years of traveling the world on the taxpayers' dime and shoveling yet more of those taxpayer dollars into their home states. Good times, good times.

Oh, and by the way, Stevens is the focus of a federal corruption probe. That's why his re-election bid will be so "difficult." There is a good chance the guy will go to federal prison soon.

Still, doesn't it just make you feel great to know that these senators look out for each other, regardless of party?

Are All DC Workers Corrupt? It is Certainly Looking Like That

The Georgetown DMV is the latest District government agency to be found to be completely corrupt:

Law enforcement officers raided the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles branch in Georgetown on Wednesday, arresting one city employee and four other suspects on charges they set up a scheme to sell fake District driver’s licenses.

My assistant recently had a very hard time trying to renew my legitimate registration at that office. It entailed lots of phone calls, faxes and about three hours to get it done. I guess I should have just paid them off. In fact, the woman accused by the FBI was the woman who was my obstacle.

Mayor Adrian Fenty showed up for a news briefing at the scene. He deflected questions about whether the arrests were a further indication of widespread corruption among city employees. Instead, he said they were a sign that security safeguards were working.

DC employees are getting carted off in handcuffs in droves, stealing tax money and even funds dedicated to disabled children.

The DC city workforce might just be the most corrupt group of employees in a Western country.

Extra! Extra! Propaganda!

One thing that all of us will miss with the disappearance of so many autocracies is the state run press. No worries, their are still a few out there. In Angola, Africa’s second largest producer of oil, President Dos Santos maintains his grip on power. It is very amusing to look an ANGOP once in awhile, the state owned press which builds up this man’s personality cult.

While the translation from Portuguese to English is a bit spotty at points you get the basic idea. Distract the populous that the profit from their countries immense resources is being stolen by a corrupt few. Well at least they have table tennis tournaments to celebrate national heroes.

A Series of Bars

That's what I hope to see in front of Ted Stevens. Soon.

FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents searched the Alaska home of longtime Sen. Ted Stevens on Monday amid a corruption probe that already has snared two oil-company executives and a state lobbyist.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, had his home searched by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service on Monday.

Dave Heller, an FBI spokesman in Anchorage, Alaska, confirmed that agents entered Stevens' home Monday afternoon, but he referred further comment to the Justice Department.

Neither the senator nor any family members were home at the time, Heller said.

Ouch, Ted. Suddenly it's really sucking to be you. More here.