Redstate

Posted at 11:33pm on Jun. 27, 2008 Earmarxist Don Young Named American Taxpayer Hero

He might be good on taxes, but he's horrible on spending

By Bluey

Rep. Don Young, the Alaska Republican who says he's proud to have sponsored the "Bridge to Nowhere" earmark, was named a "Hero of the American Taxpayer" yesterday by a coalition of anti-tax groups.

The award is based on a number of key votes, "which have always been primarily about taxes much more than spending," according to Americans for Tax Reform. Still, based on a previous list of winners, it paints a bad picture. Past "heroes" have included convicted criminal Duke Cunningham and Dennis Hastert, who oversaw the explosion of pork-barrel spending as House speaker.

In a press release sent by Young's office today, the lone Alaska congressman boasts, "Making sure that the hard-earned money of the American people stays in the pockets of those who earn it and not the government coffers, has always been a priority of mine."

Then, later in the day, Young's office bragged about $58 million worth of pork-barrel projects he had secured for Alaskans. "I never take the ability to get funding for these projects for granted," he said, without noting, of course, that the money comes from taxpayers like you and me.

Young has always been an egregious earmarker, but the $398 million he secured for the "Bridge to Nowhere" topped it all. In April he again came under attack from his colleagues in the House and Senate, who voted to support a Department of Justice investigation into the so-called "Coconut Road" earmark -- a pork project inserted into a bill after it had already passed.

Posted in Congress | Corruption | Don Young | Earmarks — Comments (18)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:23am on Mar. 13, 2008 Wikipedia corruption?

By Neil Stevens

BBC reports that Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder, took a donation in exchange for making an edit to a protected page that was requested by the subject of the page.

Jeff Merkey's page is not locked to outside editing right now as Wales removed the protection once the story broke, and there is an edit by Wales on record favorable to Merkey during that protection. So the verifiable facts can be verified, but the actual payoff of course would be harder to find and prove.

True or not, Wikipedia's reputation just took another hit today. Personally I stick to this rule: they're useful for looking up useless things (such as Caramelldansen), but not anything important in the real world.

Posted at 4:53am on Mar. 11, 2008 Spitzer Follows Familiar Script

Will Spitzer Follow McGreevy Or Clinton?

By California Yankee

Washington Post correspondent, Libby Copeland, reminds us that we have seen it all before:

First, we watch the news conference. There's Spitzer, with his wife by his side. He says, "I want to briefly address a private matter." Then he expresses remorse (albeit vaguely) and promises to "dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family."

Then, we call Mark Geragos, the high-profile criminal defense attorney, who -- as it happens -- has not actually seen the news conference. He proceeds to describe the news conference that he has not seen.

"You've got to have the dutiful wife and you have to have the 'it's a private matter,' " Geragos says. "And remorse for the past and plans for the future."

[. . .]

"If you don't have the spouse with you, the signal sent is one of abject debauchery and guilt," says Eric Dezenhall, a crisis management consultant. "When the wife or the family is with you, that suggests, well, somebody close to this person loves them and thinks they're worthwhile."

The early signs suggest that, unlike former New Jersey Governor McGreevy, Spitzer will pull a Clinton and fight to remain in office.

Posted in Corruption | Ethics | Governor Spitzer | Sex Scandal | State Politics — Comments (31)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 8:36am on Feb. 13, 2008 Even when you give them more cash the Granholm administration can't produce results!

By RightMichigan.com

Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.

And just when it looked like they had an excuse to hang their hats on.  This has been a rough week for Governor Jennifer Granholm's bureaucracy as it pertains to at-risk children in foster homes and under State supervision.  The legislature heard testimony yesterday that a desperately needed (and pricey) computer system update that could save lives, already bought and paid for by the taxpayers, is way behind schedule.

Posted in Breaking News | Corruption | DHS | foster care | Granholm | Michigan — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 6:35pm on Dec. 8, 2007 In Which I Disconsolately Note That Dishonesty Sometimes Pays

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

To wit.