Sources: Michelle Obama Spending $10 Million in Taxpayer Money on Vacations

At London's Daily Mail, "Expensive massages, top shelf vodka and five-star hotels: First Lady accused of spending $10m in public money on her vacations" (via Memeorandum).

Image Credit: The People's Cube.

Blagojevich Likely to Lose State Pension

But he also has a federal pension, available at age 62, for the three terms he served in Congress.

At Chicago Tribune:

SPRINGFIELD — Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich stands to lose a $65,000-a-year state pension as a felon, but he's likely to be eligible for $15,000 a year in federal retirement pay for his time as a congressman.

The defrocked Democrat also would be eligible for a refund of about $128,000 in personal contributions he made to the state's retirement fund.

Such is the financial fallout Blagojevich and his family face following Monday's guilty verdict on 17 corruption counts and last year's conviction for lying to the FBI.

Blagojevich served 10 years in state government — four years as a state representative and six as governor — before he was impeached and tossed from office in January 2009. Had he not been convicted of any crimes, Blagojevich would have been able to draw a $65,000-a-year state pension beginning Dec. 10, when he turns 55.

No ruling has been made on whether he can collect the state pension.

Gloria Molina, L.A. County Supervisor, Said She'd Like to 'Cut the Testicles Off' Agency Executive Under Her Authority

Los Angeles County government is a lot like the Cook County political machine. A bastion of Democrat Party power, top officials run government like fiefs, and they wield power in the style of the big city party bosses of yore.

In an article today, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles County board of supervisors has sought to kneecap County Chief Executive William T. Fujioka. He is CEO for the County, in charge of managing a $23 billion budget and over 100,000 employees. Apparently Fujioka, whose grandparents were sent to internment camps during World War II, is a hard-knuckled administrator, having honed his political skins navigating the rough and tumble of L.A.'s east side gang scene growing up. On the job as County CEO since 2007, Fujioka initiated an administrative reorganization that worked to take power from the hands of the elected board:

The county plan to centralize authority was the brainchild of Fujioka's highly respected predecessor, David Janssen. The new chief executive was to have increased responsibility over the department heads who guide the delivery of services for 10 million constituents, ranging from housing the skid row homeless to defending exclusive hillside neighborhoods from mudslides.

Fujioka was given more staff, and his office's budget climbed 53% to $43 million in four years. Eventually, Fujioka was to have received greater power to hire and fire most agency chiefs.

Under the new structure, supervisors were to have taken a back seat in day-to-day operations. The structure presumed the high level of respect and openness Fujioka's predecessor enjoyed. But most supervisors and their staffs have served for decades and developed expertise and deep interests in certain issues, and the transfer of trust did not come naturally.

No doubt.

It turns out that board members Michael Antonovich, Gloria Molina, and Zev Yaroslavsky moved "to strip the Children and Family Services and Probation departments from Fujioka's control." There's more to the story at the link, including some ugly politics among members of the board, but this passage really caught my attention, and looks like an abuse of power:

While a majority of Fujioka's elected superiors may be critical, his subordinates praise him. County managers have complained about pointed attacks and contradictory direction from board offices in the past. "It's a very scary thing if you are a lowly department head," said Janice Fukai, the county's alternate public defender. "If you go in with the CEO, you feel a little more insulated and a little more protected."

Fujioka's backers say he has been particularly frustrated by some of the supervisors' interventions in the children's services agency, which has been grappling with child fatalities following errors in handling cases. It is one of the departments being taken away from Fujioka. Molina is especially hands-on, summoning top agency officials to her office to demand explanations. In one instance, she said she would like to cut the testicles off an executive because of problems in the agency, according to officials familiar with the exchange.

Molina declined to comment on the incident but said, "At the end of the day, we as supervisors are literally blamed and held accountable for the outcomes of these children."

Gloria Molina's homepage is here. Clicking her page begins a photographic slide show of her service, beginning with a photo of Molina posing with President Barack Obama and ending with a shot of her posing with Former President Bill Clinton.

Her appearances with Democratic presidents form the bookends of a career in Los Angeles government spanning 20 years. In that time she's clearly developed an authoritarian style, which features crude and threatening accounts of her treatment of administrative subordinates. That Supervisor Molina refused to answer questions about the comment, as the Times indicates, is not surprising:

Molina declined to comment on the incident but said, "At the end of the day, we as supervisors are literally blamed and held accountable for the outcomes of these children."

In a time of fiscal austerity, government officials at all levels have been coming under increased attention. But I think it's fair to say that it's especially inappropriate for an L.A. County Supervisor to announce she wants to "cut the testicles" off subordinate agency officials, and when asked about it to further denigrate them as "children."

Progressives would be all over this story if a Republican official has made comparable remarks. But this is the Los Angeles big city machine, and County elected officials obviously feel they can act with impunity.

UPDATE: From Russ, in the comments:

I think when she says "children", she is referring to the children under the protective services that have died while under their authority, NOT the supervisors she threatened with castration.

I also got an e-mail from someone objecting to my comment on Molina's reference to "the children." I won't be surprised if some ASFLs contact my college to complain. Democrats and progressives are evil like that. So let's be clear: "The outcomes" may clearly refer to a purposeful act in the active sense, as in the actions of the administrators who have taken power from the hands of the board. Of course Molina might be referring to "the outcomes" of the children in the passive sense, but then again, considering she's threatening administrative subordinates, maybe not. She's a Democrat. They talk down to people like that. Progressives are losers.

Also, linked at Instapundit, because, you know, no one pays attention to this blog, or something:

THREATS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE FROM A DEMOCRATIC OFFICEHOLDER IN LOS ANGELES ...

I hope the Department Of Justice will investigate this egregious civil rights violation. For that matter, I suspect it’s a violation of California state civil rights law. Gloria Allred, call your office!

Word.

The Left's Media Apologists

Awesome letter to the editor, from Carl Schroeder, at STL Today, "Weiner scandal makes some people thankful for alternative news outlets."

Historically, the press served an extremely important function of holding our elected officials accountable. However, the modern day mainstream media has, for the most part, abdicated this role in order to be unabashed apologists for all things liberal.

RTWT.

Admirers Became Weiner's Online Pursuits

At New York Times, "In Reckless Fashion, Rapid Online Pursuits of Political Admirers":

Gennette Cordova said she did not even think the photo was real.

It was nearly 9 p.m. on a Friday when Ms. Cordova, who was preparing to head out for the night with a friend, logged onto Twitter and discovered that Representative Anthony D. Weiner had sent her a suggestive photo of himself in gray boxer briefs.

“It didn’t make any sense,” Ms. Cordova, a 21-year-old college student in northwestern Washington State, said in her first extensive interview since Mr. Weiner confessed in a news conference Monday to sending her the photo. “I figured it must have been a fake.”

Ms. Cordova’s experience with Mr. Weiner appears to fit a pattern: in rapid and reckless fashion, he sought to transform informal online conversations about politics and partisanship into sexually charged exchanges, at times laced with racy language and explicit images.

Ms. Cordova, who had traded messages with Mr. Weiner, a New York Democrat, about their shared concern over his conservative critics, said she had never sent him anything provocative. Asked if she was taken aback by his decision to send the photo, she responded, “Oh gosh, yes.”

Ms. Cordova spoke to The New York Times as Mr. Weiner faced intensifying calls for his resignation because of his acknowledged online sexual communications with at least six women over the last three years. On Wednesday, House leaders began a concerted effort to persuade Mr. Weiner to step down, worried that the sensational coverage of his online sexual liaisons had created political chaos and was subjecting the Democratic Party to ridicule.

More at that link at top.

I thought he was going to resign on Monday, and the Wall Street Journal reported last night that Weiner was still trying to hang on. I just don't see how he can.

Who Should Trust Anthony Weiner Now? No One. He Should Resign

Watch this clip with James Poulos (via Instapundit). Then read Emily Miller's commentary, "Anthony Weiner Should Resign Now":

Mr. Weiner is out for himself and has shown no regard for his constituents or the duty of his public office. From his embattled stance, it seems that the only way to force him out of office is for the Pelosi- launched ethics investigation to determine what he has lied about and what rules and possible laws he has broken. If he had any decency, he would resign.

Michelle Malkin: 'The Ick-arus of Capitol Hill'

At Michelle's:

Like the mythical jerk who ignored common sense and flew too close to the sun, Weiner keeps flapping his lips while the brouhaha’s heat melts the wax off his sullied wings.

Great essay. And a great interview:

And also:

* Robert Stacy McCain, "Weiner's Week."

* And Yid With Lid, "Reporting of Truth Behind Andrew Breitbart's Weinergate Coverage Proves Liberal Reporter Tommy Christopher's a Mench."

RELATED: At New York Post, "Lewd-pic recipient worn out by Weiner scandal" (via Memeorandum).

Kaboom! Anthony Weiner Scandal Explodes!

I was wrong last night. When I posted on the New York Times's Weiner twitter story I thought perhaps the scandal was peaking. Maybe it was just me, although, yeah, we had the long holiday weekend and establishment D.C. is back to work. But still, Weinergate has taken off exponentially on the web. If People Magazine's on the case, no doubt reports of a congressman's bulging underwear have some, er, longevity. See, "Did Rep. Anthony Weiner Tweet a Lewd Photo to a Woman?" Well, to answer, Weiner denies it, but his story's been changing and most folks on the right are having none of it. See Cold Fury: "Of COURSE he’s lying." Plus, Aaron Worthing and Lee Stranahan, at Patterico's, have some great reporting, for example, here, here, here (hilariously), and here.

And check out Andrew Breitbart's interview on CNN:

Be sure to listen through to Jeffrey Toobin's ridiculous comments about how Breitbart's statements are "outrageous" and that, "look, this is a lighthearted story ... and everybody knows that on the Internet stuff happens ..." And get this: "Look, Twitter is not a very secure environment ... sometimes the information is unreliable ... it doesn't even come from the people it appears to come from ..."

Right. My god, that's almost a criminal. Any wonder everyday Americans get so angry at the pompous cable talking heads who don't know shit, frankly? Well, it's not all bad. See also Liberty Chick, at Big Journalism, "Blame Breitbart!: Salon.com Editor Joan Walsh Lies and Bullies on Weinergate."

So, yeah, I was wrong about this story peaking. Coverage continues to build, at ABC News, for example, "Rep. Anthony Weiner Gets Combative With Reporters About Lewd Twitter Photo."

And of course, keep up on things at Big Government.

Added: Don't miss Michelle's essay, "Weighing in on Weiner." (Fit is hitting the shan.)

Also, at Hot Air, Weiner has a heated exchange with CNN's Dana Bash!

Inaccurate Statements by Congressman Anthony Weiner's Office on Coed Tweet Scandal

Dan Riehl updates, at Big Government, "Rep. Weiner Spokesperson Lies to ‘New York Post’."

Also, more from Moe Lane, "#Weinergate Update: Coed Being Scrubbed From Google," and here and at Memeorandum.

Plus, "Did N.Y. Congressman Send Penis Photo to Student?"

PHOTO CREDIT: Gennette Nicole on Twitpic.

ClaireAir

At New York Times, "Democrats Can’t Afford Mistakes Like McCaskill’s Plane":

Democrats in the Senate face steep odds in 2012. They are defending more than 20 seats against an energized Republican party, which only needs to pick up four seats to win the majority. Five Democratic incumbents are retiring from the Senate, making their seats instantly more vulnerable to Republicans.

In short, Senate Democrats can’t afford to make any mistakes.

Which makes the scandal in Missouri over Senator Claire McCaskill’s private plane the kind of unforced error that could come back to haunt the national party in the days after the 2012 election.

Love it!

Also, at The Blog Prof, "Irony: Clair McCaskill, caught not paying $287k in taxes, ran campaign ad touting paying of taxes."

What If Gaddafi Holds On?

From Bret Stephens, at WSJ, "Other regimes in the region will wonder just what, exactly, are the benefits of an alliance with a diffident America":

Top government officials and ordinary newspaper pundits are debating whether the U.S. and its allies should intervene militarily against Moammar Gadhafi, perhaps by establishing a no-fly zone. This is the wrong question. The right question is: What happens if Gadhafi holds on?

That possibility no longer seems remote, as the colonel and his loyalists keep a firm grip on Tripoli and start inflicting military reversals on the rebels. A society as brutalized as Libya's will retain a powerful fear of its dictator even in his hour of weakness. Many Libyans will recall how Saddam Hussein crushed the Kurdish and Shiite uprisings of March 1991. They will recall, too, that the first Bush administration—which included then-deputy national security adviser and current no-fly zone skeptic Bob Gates—stood aside as Saddam viciously struck back.

What happened next is one of the darkest chapters of recent memory. An estimated 60,000 Iraqis, perhaps more, were killed in the revolt. Two million fled the country. The Iraqi people had to endure another dozen years under Saddam. The U.S. spent billions enforcing a no-fly zone that was a case of too little, too late. The war that ultimately toppled Saddam's regime exacted another huge toll in lives, including those of more than 4,000 Americans.

Looking back, it's worth noting that all of this may have been avoided if only the U.S. had forbidden Saddam from flying his helicopter gunships, which proved decisive in turning the tide of revolt. So why won't President Obama run the comparatively minor risk of doing similarly in Libya? Does he think he needs the U.N.'s permission? Sadly, he probably does.

Should the conflict in Libya turn into a protracted civil war, it will mean more killing, more refugees, and even higher energy prices. And should Gadhafi's counteroffensive begin to show results, previously emboldened Libyan rebels could start to panic, and their reversals could quickly turn into a general rout.

Folks can see where Stephens is going with this. It goes without saying that the administration's waffling and timidity is sending powerful signals to the world's tyrants. Iran last year and Egypt last month. Tunisia went under the radar and was expected to be an anomaly by realists like Harvard's Steven Walt. But the message is clear: Don't expect democracy promotion from these amateurs. I like the idea of a no-fly zone, actually. Although I wonder how deep a military commitment the American public will support, particularly without presidential leadership? Not only that, a protracted civil war with massive humanitarian losses could trigger demands for ground troops, and I cringe at the thought of a ground incursion under Barack Hussein's command.

Side note: Bret Stephens is a treasure. He sounds more neocon than Charles Krauthammer. Cool!

Green Energy Plan Wastes Millions at L.A. Community Colleges

I've been busy and meant to post on LAT's series on the bond program boondoggle at the Los Angeles Community Colleges, but this one's too good to postpone. See, "Colleges Green Energy Plan Proves Wildly Impractical; Blunders Devour $10 Million":

Larry Eisenberg had a vision. "Amazing," he called it. "Spectacular."

The Los Angeles Community College District would become a paragon of clean energy. By generating solar, wind and geothermal power, the district would supply all its electricity needs. Not only would the nine colleges sever ties to the grid, saving millions of dollars a year, they would make money by selling surplus power. Thanks to state and federal subsidies, construction of the green energy projects would cost nothing upfront.

As head of a $5.7-billion, taxpayer-funded program to rebuild the college campuses, Eisenberg commanded attention. But his plan for energy independence was seriously flawed.

He overestimated how much power the colleges could generate. He underestimated the cost. And he poured millions of dollars into designs for projects that proved so impractical or unpopular they were never built.

These and other blunders cost nearly $10 million that could have paid for new classrooms, laboratories and other college facilities, a Times investigation found.

RTWT. The incompetence is astounding.

And the full series is here: "Billions to Spend: Complete Coverage." And columnist Steve Lopez has this: "Times community college investigation unearths shameful waste."

The district's bond program had incentives for corruption built in from the beginning. There was literally no independent oversight from outside citizens' groups. See the intitial report, "The price of poor planning, weak oversight." Years ago, when my college got its bond program approved by the voters, the administration ended up going with a new contractor after just about a year. I heard all kinds of stories of lush spending with the bond money, for food and Starbucks coffee, and it was probably worse, but should news like that get out to the community there'd be hell to pay. As it is my college's South Quad complex is often ridiculed as the Taj Mahal amid state budget cuts that have put student needs on the backburner. As for the Los Angeles District, it's like an early-20th century big-city machine --- and a Democrat thing, dontcha know! The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley held fundraisers for board member Miguel Santiago: "Reelect Miguel Santiago--Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees." And the L.A.'s Democratic Party & Courage Campaign endorsed longtime board member Mona Field: "March 8 Election Recommendations from Pacific Palisades Democratic Club." And get this, Mona Field's got a long record of corruption: "Incompetence and Corruption at LA Community College District Must End":

We have lived through an era where public officials and union leaders lost – indeed gleefully destroyed – their moral compass. The cities of Los Angeles, Inglewood, and others teeter on the brink of bankruptcy because elected city officials and public unions have engaged in years of “mutual money massage”.

The public unions commit funds and campaign resources to “friendly” candidates and those candidates, when elected, have given away the public treasury in the form of outrageous pay hikes and rich pension plans no longer seen in the private sector.

And "LACCD Board President Mona Field Admits to Misuse of Bond Funds."

Added: "Candidates for L.A. Community College District board urge greater scrutiny of system."

Kinda like Chicago and the Obamacrats.

PHOTO CREDIT: "The clock tower at East Los Angeles College was built crooked. It cost an additional $157,000 to fix. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times / November 3, 2010)."

Losing His Cool? Rep. Steve Buyer Hammers Deadbeat Democrat House Speaker Pro Tempore Laura Richardson

For refusing to yield the floor for one minute during House debate. One minute! Sheesh, I'd lose my cool too. But the leftist press wants to play up the "anger" issue and not the "imperial" issue, which is what we see at the full clip. What you don't get is the background: Laura Richardson's one of the most scandal-plagued Democrats in office. But she serves an overwhelmingly disadvantaged constituency so safe that she's unlikely to face a serious challenge to reelection, even after this:

You remember Laura Richardson, right? She’s the Democrat congresswoman who defaulted six times on her home loans and has left a trail of unpaid bills in her wake. Well, she’s back. On behalf of taxpayers in her district, she’s now trying to get money back from Lehman Brothers after an investment gone awry. Hat tip to reader Thomas, who e-mails: “The irony is mighty thick.”

This is why folks want term limits on Members of Congress.

More commentary at AoSHQ, "'This Is Why The American People Have Thrown You Out of Power!'."

Democrats in Chaos Over Nancy Pelosi Power

It's all about power. The leadership of the Democratic caucus --- foremost Speaker Nancy Pelosi --- cares not one wit about party fortunes leading into 2012. Especially Pelosi, but Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn as well, want power for power's sake. Think of the sports analogy: In sports, when a championship puts in a middling season after taking the title, the head coach is usually the first to go. The fans want heads to roll. Perhaps it's Pelosi's breaking of the "marble ceiling," but this lady should be out on her ass. Both parties vote today, but check out the background on the Democratic caucus at Politico:

The Democratic old guard will try to hold the line Wednesday against a rank-and-file rebellion intent on winning some concession — no matter how small — from a leadership team seeking reelection despite having presided over the loss of at least 60 Democratic seats earlier this month.



The leadership election follows on the heels of a brutally long, contentious and divisive leadership meeting Tuesday, and it will determine not only whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains the head of the House Democratic contingent but just how much authority she will wield in the new Congress come January.



Pelosi is in no real danger of losing her job as leader of the Democratic Caucus, but she is being challenged by a diffuse set of critics, dozens of whom believe she should step aside after her party’s defeat, others who hope to strip her power to appoint loyalists to positions of influence within the caucus and still others who simply want more time to reflect on whether endorsing the same set of leaders is the best course of action for a defeated minority.



The Democratic fissures were laid bare Tuesday as various factions engaged in open warfare with one another, both in private discussions among lawmakers and in behind-the-scenes efforts to influence the outcome of the leadership elections and related votes on how to choose the party leader’s top lieutenants.



Pelosi and the old power brokers who led Democrats back into the majority four years ago are not conceding that they might be culpable in the party’s downfall.



Behind closed doors, Pelosi argued to her troops Tuesday that she was demonized in Republican campaign ads precisely because she is the party’s political rainmaker.



“I know some of you suffered because of ads targeted to me,” she said, according to several sources in the room. “They had to take down the person who brings the resources.”



Her allies contend that she is the only one with the strategic skills, the vision, the touch with donors and the political muscle to lead the party back to the majority.

That's genuinely sad.



RELATED: "Why Democrats Don't Dump Nancy Pelosi."

VIDEO: Charlie Rangel Walks Out of Ethics Trial

The story's at Politics Daily, but see New York Times, "Ethics Hearing Goes Ahead After Rangel Walks Out" (and Memeorandum).

Boehner to Fly Commercial as House Speaker

At the video, after the discussion of failed Speaker Pelosi, and from Fox News:

Presumptive House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that he will not use the military jet provided to current Speaker Nancy Pelosi to fly from D.C. to his home district each week, but will board the same airlines as everybody else.

Pelosi had claimed after she became speaker in 2007 that a military aircraft was offered to her in light of position as second in line to the presidency. But Boehner said he's not so concerned.

"I've talked to our security folks about the security involved in my new role. Over the last 20 years I've flown back and forth to my district on commercial aircraft and will continue to do that," Boehner, R-Ohio, said.

Leftists Deny KTVA Conspiracy to Smear Joe Miller

The most interesting thing about the denial is that, you know, "it's just another Breitbart operation ... nothing to take seriously." Of course, in each of the previous scandals Breitbart's evidence has been clear and incriminating. What's also been clear is that the Democrat-Media-Industrial-Complex pushes back so hard --- with willing accomplices elsewhere in the left's institutional state structures --- that the meme of fakery and fraud is successfully planted, allowing those pimps, bigots, and corruptocrats to get off the hook, ultimately, with minimal consequences. Yet in this case, once again, there's no doubt the evidence is overwhelming:

Gateway Pundit has the Anchorage station's denial, "Alaska KTVA: We Stand By Our “Corrupt Bastards” Who Conspired Against Joe Miller":

And more here, "Sarah Palin: We Have Tape of Those “Corrupt Bastards” In Media Conspiring Against Joe Miller."

RELATED: At Althouse, "Brian Beutler takes a cheap shot at Sarah Palin: 'Sarah Palin Calls Joe Miller A Lost Cause, Quotes Scopes Monkey Trial Attorney'."

And from Dan Riehl, "KTVA-CBS 11 Compounds Scandal After Caught Targeting Miller's Senate Campaign."

Harry Pelosi

Andrew Breitbart's slip of the tongue was perhaps the most memorable thing about Saturday's Palin-GOP rally. The crowd howled and Andrew ran with it.



And iOWNTHEWORLD wastes no time in memorializing it, and the Breitbart speech is at the post: "Harry Pelosi."

RELATED WHISTLING PAST THE POLITICAL GRAVEYARD: "Nancy Pelosi Fires Back: The Woman Speaker Targeted by the GOP Does Not Believe Democrats Will Lose Control of the House" (at Memeorandum).

Obama-Dems Reach New Low

At Cold Fury:

And with the sleazy passel of grifters currently running the criminal enterprise misnomered the “Democratic” Party, that’s saying something. But my God, the balls on our sorry excuse for a Pee-resident, and his henchmen too.

“Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie: They’re Bush Cronies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce: They’re Shills for Big Business,” the ad’s narrator says. “And they’re stealing our democracy. Spending millions from secret donors to elect Republicans to do their bidding in Congress. It appears they’re even taking secret foreign money to influence our elections.”

The president leveled a similar charge while on the campaign trail last week in Maryland, saying, “Just this week, we learned that one of the largest groups paying for these ads regularly takes in money from foreign corporations.”

“Have these people no shame?” Rove said of the attacks leveled at him and the Chamber. “Does the president of the United States have such little regard for the office he holds that he goes out there and makes these kind of baseless charges against his political enemies? This is just beyond the pale. How dare the president do this?”

“This is a desperate and I think disturbing trend by the President of the United States to tar his political adversaries with some kind of enemies list, without being unrestrained by any facts or evidence whatsoever.”

The punchline here, of course, is that one of the means by which the jug-eared son of a bitch hijacked American democracy and stole the ’08 election — aside from vote-suppression efforts by his pet goons in the New BlacKKK Fascist Party, and who even knows how many hundreds of thousands of instances of vote-fraud by his ACORN sneak-thieves — was via a long list of all kinds of financial chicanery up to and including…wait for it…accepting secret, illegal foreign campaign contributions. You were supposed to have forgotten all about that by now, assuming you’re among those who penetrated the Zombie Media blackout and knew of it at all. But Doug remembers, presenting a recounting of the shocking jiggery-pokery that helped put this swindler in the office he’s so manifestly unfit for. Glenn hasn’t forgotten, either.

Time to do more than just pay Democrat Socialist-style lip service to draining that swamp. Too bad this November we won’t have the opportunity to give it the good, thorough, top-down scrubbing it so desperately needs.

And there's an update at the blog, "The Bottom of the Barrel":

I could’ve attached this as an update to the “New low” post below, but it’s just too delicious to languish away down there. Come for the exposure of the sleazy lie, stay for the groveling-coward backpedaling:

White House officials acknowledged Friday that they had no specific evidence to indicate that the chamber had used money from foreign entities to finance political attack ads.

“The president was not suggesting any illegality,” Bob Bauer, the White House counsel, said. Instead, he said Mr. Obama’s reference to the chamber was meant to draw attention to the inadequacies of campaign disclosure laws in allowing groups to spend large amounts of money on politics without disclosing their donors.

Yeah, right. Spoken like a truly greasy, squirming lawyer trying to defend a most un-presidential president, who just stepped in a pile of his own deceitful bullshit and fell in right up to his scrawny neck.

Dirtbags.

And typical leftists.

The Rod Blagojevich Sleaze Show

Blago's just the headliner.



From Professor Charles Lipson, at Chicago Tribune, "Jersey Shore Politics in Illinois":

Rod Blagojevich may have escaped criminal conviction on most counts, but his trial offers no comfort to the state's long-suffering voters. It was a sleazy reality show, featuring insider deals and pay-to-play politics. Blago's closest aides either testified against him (acknowledging their role in a criminal conspiracy), or, like Tony Rezko and Stuart Levine, couldn't be trusted to testify.



And so ends another exciting season of Illinois' version of "Jersey Shore," starring the former governor as "The (Bad) Situation." On reality TV, the popular themes are casual sex and catty talk. In Springfield, they are sweetheart deals and cold cash, passed under the table or funneled into political campaigns. Friends of the governor whisper that the state is eager to fund your hospital, but first, let's discuss that $50,000 contribution you'll want to make to his campaign. Or maybe you'd like to hold a big fundraiser. Separate matters, ya understand. It's been a major national story for two years, and it makes Illinois a laughingstock. The joke, unfortunately, is on us, the state's voters and taxpayers.



Chicago has attracted the same kind of attention, and for good reasons. The city provides better services than the state — the parks are beautiful and the garbage gets picked up — but the corruption is just as bad. Aldermen are regularly carted off to jail for pocketing bribes, some 29 convictions over the past four decades. Hiring practices are notorious, despite federal rulings to restrict them. Mayor Richard Daley's former patronage chief, Robert Sorich, was convicted of rigged hiring. Al Sanchez, boss of the powerful Streets and Sanitation department, has been convicted of bribery and patronage. Sanchez helped create a vital cog in the Daley political machine, the Hispanic Democratic Organization, which collapsed when several big shots were implicated in crimes ranging from perjury and fraud to the Hired Truck scandal.



If bribery and patronage hiring aren't bad enough, consider the city's notorious zoning practices. Top real-estate lawyers won't go near these cases. Just ask yourself, why would the city's most prominent law firms pass up rich hourly fees? Why would they hold their noses, back away and refer clients to politically connected lawyers? Puzzling, huh?



The real issue here is political control over land use, which translates into ready money for politicians. Remember, each alderman essentially controls zoning in his own ward. Let's say your land is worth more — perhaps much more — if the city gives you permission to build what you want. Corrupt politicians will want to share this windfall. In exchange for a zoning variation, an alderman may want you to make a campaign contribution, hire her favorite law firm, buy insurance from her husband, or use her brother as your real estate agent. Insider contracts work the same way, effectively dividing the profits between politicians and connected businessmen. Politicians grant valuable favors and receive contributions in exchange.

More at the link.



I'm just tripping on Blago's trial. Ace of Spades has this: "Breaking: Blago Holdout Retired State Employee Who Once Handed Out Campaign Literature For Relative Seeking Office; NPR and Liberal Talk Radio Listener."

This woman, this ward-heeler's moll, just sprung a guilty man free and cost the taxpayers millions.

Professor Lipson notes that U.S. Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been one "squeaky clean" exception to the Illinois machine, but his days of fighting corruption in the Land of Lincoln may be over. See New York Times (FWIW), "Blagojevich Trial Ends Fitzgerald’s Successes."