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August 14, 2008 by
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The editor has an ax to grind- with corrupt incumbent Pennsylvania legislators. In response to a poll taken by Quinnipiac University, 3 out of 4 Pennsylvania residents do not believe the legislature will take steps to improve ethics in their state capitol. The poll was taken in the wake of the scandal.
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This is sound advice for many, many -too many- cities. Voters of New Orleans, Chicago, Youngstown, Detroit.. are you listening???
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August 8, 2008 by
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Yesterday, I where a media company was seeking transparency in the El Paso court system. The judge has since told the government to explain its secrecy by September 5th. From …
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August 7, 2008 by
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Media and media companies often receive a bad rap for biased reporting, monopoly of information, and not embracing technology. However, in the fight for open records, the media is a powerful ally.
According to the , attorneys working on behalf of El Paso Media Group and Newspaper Tree are asking a federal court to unseal documents relating to a case involving corrupt public officials. They also are requesting that future court hearings are opened up to allow oversight by the public, press, and legal professionals.
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Secret documents, secret hearings, secret court dockets… what’s going on in El Paso??
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August 4, 2008 by
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The Chicago Sun-Times made a public step towards transparency this past weekend when it began to post salary information for every state, Cook County, and Chicago city employee through its website, found . The Sun-Times acknowledged Illinois has a culture of corruption that cries out for such scrutiny, and that the public needs tools like these to effectively police its government. The article also made this point:
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Right on!
In an earlier response to corruption, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes opened up a database that cross-references state contracts and campaign contributions. You can find that website .
Additionally, the Better Government Association has a for the following taxpayer-paid positions:
* City of Chicago
* Cook County
* Cook County Forest Preserve District
* Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority
* Chicago Housing Authority
* Chicago Transit Authority
* Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
* Chicago Park District
* Chicago Public Schools
* City Colleges of Chicago
* State of Illinois
Looks to me like Illinois might be getting for reform after all…
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July 29, 2008 by
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Today, New Jersey State Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D) submitted his resignation effective immediately following pornographic material being found his official, taxpayer paid for computer.
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This is another example of government corruption where an elected official believes that he is not required to follow the same laws as the everyday citizen.
It was reported that Republican and Democrat leaders of the New Jersey Legislature immediately ordered all legislative computers be equipped with the most advanced internet filtering software.
The question all taxpayers should be asking themselves is why wasn’t this software already installed?
It is sad that another elected official has betrayed the trust of the people that elected them to office.
Shame on you!
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July 29, 2008 by
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New York state seeks to produce 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2013. Great goal- it reduces our dependence on foreign oil, helps use new technologies for clean energy, and develops a renewable resource. What’s not to love? Call me crazy, but maybe it’s the palm greasing, conflicts of interest, and corruption involved with closing the deals with local town boards.
According to the , Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne investigated allegations of corruption and found seven town board members that had conflicts of interest in his one county. Town boards have the ultimate say in whether wind farms come to their communities, and some board members have made the unfortunate choice of seeking to lease their own land to wind farm companies. Critics wonder if wind energy companies are actively seeking to do business with town board members in order to facilitate approval for their proposals.
With Champagne’s assistance, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is now getting involved.
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So what is the moral of this all-too-familiar story? All taxpayer-sponsored programs need to be open to public scrutiny, and elected officials need to be held accountable when they have ethical lapses. Visit to shed some light on your community.
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July 22, 2008 by
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From the files of “Coulda Seen That One Comin’”…
Illinois distributed $20,000 grants to 89 organizations to assist with after-school tutoring for the 2007-08 school year. Unfortunately, a Chicago Tribune investigation of 48 of the grant recipients found that about half of those 48 organizations were not running programs, and a third were under the care of a person with less-than-stellar financial histories.
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Senator Hendon, allow me the honor of helping you out with a little Public Service 101. You do not “deserve” taxpayer money. You’re not entitled to it. It is not a prize to deliver to campaign workers. It is entrusted to you by your constituents and the hardworking taxpayers of Illinois to be used for legitimate, worthy, quality programs that benefit the people that pay your salary.
Learn this lesson: Transparency, and a competitive bidding process, is necessary in ALL instances where tax dollars are used.
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June 19, 2008 by
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This scandal is getting scant attention by the mainstream media but it appears that Chairman of the US Senate Budget Committee U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) got a sweetheart deal from the mortgage firm Countrywide. This scandal comes as a blow to Conrad who has always campaigned on his ethics and honesty. I guess Kent Conrad is just like every other Washington politician!
According to news reports Conrad, appears to have changed his story numerous times about his ties to the CEO of Countrywide and the kickbacks he received on his mortgage.
Fellow Democrats Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) are caught up in the same scandal.
North Dakota’s finest political blog, , has been on top of this scandal since it broke. I encourage you to read each of these posts and become informed.
The story has gotten some attention on Fox News. This clip is courtesy of sevenload.com
Link:
This just proves that you do not need to be from a big state to have politicians with ethical lapses in judgment.
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June 16, 2008 by
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The corruption trial and political career of Auditor Jeff McMahan and his wife, Lori, came to a close Saturday with a guilty verdict on three of the eight felony counts. Each will likely to serve time for accepting cash, trips, jewelry, and campaign contributions from Steve Phipps (the Tony Rezko of Oklahoma) in exchange for favorable treatment for Phipps’ businesses from the Auditor’s office.
Amid , McMahan stepped down from office today. Talks of replacement Auditors have been circulating widely throughout the state in the last few weeks, with Gary Jones, Republican Party chairman who lost to McMahan in 2002 and 2006, publicly promoting himself for the appointment.
The has the story:
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Another sad day for Oklahoma with more Phipps-fallout likely to come.
If corruption inspires YOU to get involved with your community’s transparency, please visit to learn how you can help track your tax dollars and hold your officials accountable.
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June 13, 2008 by
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There was more news from the trial of OK state Auditor Jeff McMahan in today’s . McMahan proclaimed his innocence when he took the stand in his own defense yesterday, claiming the FBI agents were not telling the truth.
And add a little thwarting of democracy to the rap sheet:
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Hey, McMahan, even if you close your eyes really tight and say “Sally Jesse Raphael” 40 times backwards, the Feds will still be at your doorstep if you take dirty money. Can someone free viagratell me why Oklahoman taxpayers are free viagrapaying this guy’s salary?
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