By Susan Crabtree
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), the most vocal critic of pork barrel spending in the House, is trying to shake the House ethics committee into action on the link between earmarks and campaign contributors.

Flake has seized on the public corruption investigation of PMA Group, a once-powerful lobbying force that has disintegrated in the wake of an FBI investigation into fraudulent campaign donations to numerous members of Congress.

In the past 24 hours, Flake has highlighted earmarks in the omnibus appropriations bill for PMA clients, written a scathing op-ed to The New York Times about Congress’s pay-to-play practices and offered a privileged resolution on the House floor that would force the House ethics panel to scrutinize the connection between earmarks and campaign cash and report back to the full body in two months.

“The appearance does not reflect well on the dignity of the House,” Flake said. “These earmarks are essentially for no-bid contracts directed to for-profit entities.”

The privileged resolution, which must be voted on within 48 hours of its introduction, is Flake’s boldest anti-earmark move yet. Despite several reforms to the earmarking process in the last few years, most members on both sides of the aisle have been reluctant to crack down on the general practice of securing specific appropriations for pet projects, so Flake’s resolution has little chance of passing. Most likely, the House will overwhelmingly vote to table it.

Still, the resolution could jog a new ethics entity created last year into reviewing the donations from PMA, a firm with close ties to Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), two senior members of the appropriations panel. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed controversial legislation through the House last year creating the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) to provide an extra layer of scrutiny of lawmakers’ activities.

The OCE’s board is made up of several former House members, the first time the House has relinquished some of its power to police itself to a more independent-minded body. The new office is supposed to respond to questionable activities raised in complaints, the media and by members of Congress and staff and provide recommendations for further action to the ethics committee.

The FBI raided PMA’s offices in November as part of a Justice Department investigation into fraudulent donations from “strawmen,” contributions from people who either do not exist or whose names were being used to make the donation without their permission. PMA has distributed millions to several lawmakers over the past 10 years.

 State Senator Vincent Fumo
Indicted former state Sen. Vincent Fumo has finished testifying after six days on the stand in his federal corruption trial. The government now plans to call two rebuttal witnesses, former Fumo defense lawyers Richard Sprague and Robert Scandone. They are expected to say they did not advise Fumo that he could destroy e-mail evidence during the FBI investigation.

That testimony would go to the obstruction charges in the 139-count indictment against Fumo. The 65-year-old Fumo is a longtime Democratic power broker from Philadelphia. He spent 30 years in the state Senate. Prosecutors say he defrauded the Senate, a charity and a museum of $3.5 million. Fumo says he was tired after more than a week on the stand in his four-month trial. Sprague, a prominent Philadelphia attorney, is being called to rebut Fumo’s testimony that he was following Sprague’s advice that e-mail messages could be destroyed lawfully. The government says that was obstruction of justice. Sprague was Fumo’s longtime friend, lawyer and a man he has described as a “father figure.” Sprague represented Fumo from the investigation’s early stages in 2003 through the February 2007 indictment, but left the case before trial after an apparent falling out.   
2009 The Associated Press

By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
 News broke last week that Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, lived rent-free for years in the home of Rep. Rosa De Lauro, D-Conn. — and failed to disclose the gift, as congressional ethics rules mandate. But this is only the tip of Emanuel’s previously undisclosed ethics problems.  One issue is the work Emanuel tossed the way of De Lauro’s husband. But the bigger one goes back to Emanuel’s days on the board of now-bankrupt mortgage giant Freddie Mac.  Emanuel is a multimillionaire, but lived for the last five years for free in the tony Capitol Hill townhouse owned by De Lauro and her husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg. During that time, he also served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — which gave Greenberg huge polling contracts. It paid Greenberg’s firm $239,996 in 2006 and $317,775 in 2008. (Emanuel’s own campaign committee has also paid Greenberg more than $50,000 since 2004.)

To be fair, Greenberg had polling contracts with the DCCC before — but each new election cycle brings its own set of consultants. And Emanuel was certainly generous with his roommate. Emanuel never declared the substantial gift of free rent on any of his financial-disclosure forms. He and De Lauro claim that it was just allowable “hospitality” between colleagues. Hospitality — for five years?  Some experts suggest that it was also taxable income: Over five years, the free rent could easily add up to more than $100,000. Nor is this all that seems to have been missed in the Obama team’s vetting process. Consider: Emanuel served on the Freddie Mac board of directors during the time that the government-backed lender lied about its earnings, a leading contributor to the current economic meltdown. The Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Agency later singled out the Freddie Mac board as contributing to the fraud in 2000 and 2001 for “failing in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention.” In other words, board members ignored the red flags waving in their faces.

The SEC later fined Freddie $50 million for its deliberate fraud in 2000, 2001 and 2002.  Meanwhile, Emanuel was paid more than $260,000 for his Freddie “service.” Plus, after he resigned from the board to run for Congress in 2002, the troubled agency’s PAC gave his campaign $25,000 — its largest single gift to a House candidate.  That’s what friends are for, isn’t it? Now Rahm Emanuel is in the White House helping President Obama dig out of the mess that Freddie Mac helped start. The president’s chief of staff isn’t subject to Senate confirmation, but his ethics still matter. Is this the change that we can depend on?

Since the Fall, the Former Soviet Union has seen a shocking number of dissidents and reporters murdered: over 37 at the last counting. Naturally, the vast majority of the murderers remain eternal mysteries unless an appropriate scapegoat is found, but let us be frank: it is no surprise that countries run by the KGB, or by the same old Soviet officials and chieftans behave like… the KGB, or the old Soviet system.
The few independent papers and TV stations left that have not been either outright nationalized or purchased by state mega-corporations are in a precarious position. Reporting on the endemic corruption and organized crime in the FSU is a shockingly dangerous occupation. There are so many reporters that have been murdered in one way or another, and remained unsolved, it was difficult to compile. There were also some weird trends, like how the Russians tend to be bludgeoned, or the Kazakhs tend to be run over by cars.

Almost as depressing as knowing they were murdered for exposing the corruption in their society is how hard it was to dig up their pictures… almost as if they didn’t exist. This list is not comprehensive, as it only covers journalist murders after 2000.

These are the men and women who were cut down exposing the rot in their societies. They are heroes.

Azerbaijan (1)

Elmar Huseynov, 03/02/2005. Opposition journalist, gunned down in the stairwell of his apartment building in Baku.

Georgia (4)

	Georgiy Gongadze, disappeared 09/16/2000, found decapitated and doused in acid 11/03/2000. He was investigating corruption in Ukrainian President Kuchma’s administration.
[no picture]	Georgy Chanya, 05/26/1998. Killed by Georgian forces while covering the fighting in Abkhazia.
	Antonio Russo, 10/17/2000. Italian radio journalist, killed outside of Tblisi while covering war in Chechnya.
	Georgiy Sanaya, 07/26/2001. Popular radio host shot in the head in his own home.

Kazakhstan (7)

[no picture]	Alexei Pugayev, 01/04/2002. Co-publisher of opposition newspaper Eurasia, known for strongly criticizing President Nazarbayev and his cronies, he was run over by a car and later died.
[no picture]	Nuri Muftah, 11/17/2002. Correspondent of the opposition newspaper Respublika 2000 and editor of the weekly Altyn Gasyr in the oil town of Atyrau, he was pushed in front of a bus.
	Askhat Sharipzhan, 07/20/2004. Independent journalist who worked mainly on the Internet, he was, like so many other opposition journalists, killed by a car whilst crossing the street.
[no picture	Batyrkhan Darimbet, 06/07/2005. Editor of the opposition weekly Azat, killed in a hit-and-run “accident” that was never solved.
	Altynbek Sarsenbayev, 02/2006. Opposition leader, found shot dead in his car along with his driver and a bodyguard.
	Oralgaisha Omarhanova, missing since 03/30/2007. A journalist based in Astana, she was investigating the deadly fighting between Kazakhs and ethnic Chechens; she has not been seen since expressing her concern over several death threats.
[no picture]	Saken Tauzhanov, 08/02/2007. A fierce critic of both the government and the opposition, he too was mysteriously killed by a car.

Kyrgyzstan (2)

	Ernis Nazalov, 09/15/2003. Body found in Osh province, covered in bruises and with head trauma.
	Alisher Saipov, 10/24/2007. Reporting in Uzbek from Kyrgyzstan and smuggling papers into Uzbekistan, he was gunned down for a reported $10,000 bounty. He had said he was disappointed it was so small.

Russia (22):

	Igor Domnikov, 7/16/00. Reporter from same paper as Anna Politkovskaya. Beaten over the head in front of his apartment building, after being mistaken for Oleg Sultanov, who lived in the same building and had been targeted.
	Sergey Novikov, 7/26/00. Radio DJ loudly critical of the government. Shot four times in his own stairwell.
	Iskandar Khatloni, 9/21/00. Reporter for Tajik language RFE/RL, and reported on human rights abuses in Chechnya (a sadly common theme). Attacked by an axe in his apartment.
	Sergey Ivanov, 10/3/00. Director of independent TV company, known for its influence in local politics. Shot five times in the head and chest in front of his apartment.
	Adam Tepsurgayev, 11/21/00. Reuters reporter covering the Chechen conflict. Shot at a neighbor’s house.
	Eduard Markevich, 9/19/01. Local reporter who was vocal critic of local officials. Shot in the back on his way to work.
	Natalia Skryl, 3/8/02. Investigative reporter covering corrupt local businesses. Found near her home with a massive head injury.
[no picture]	Sergei Kalinovsky, unknown date of death. Disappeared 12/14/01, body discovered 4/1/02. Reporter on local crime and politics, disappeared 12/14/00 after saying he was going “to an important meeting.” His body was covered in bruises, and his apartment was later destroyed by an unknown arsonist.
	Dmitry Shvets, 4/18/03. Director-general of independent TV station in Murmansk, reporting on local corruption and embarrassing politicians. Gunned down outside his station’s offices.
	Valery Ivanov (on left), 4/29/02. Investigating criminal gang linked to Lada factory. Found with multiple automatic gunshot wounds in his car in front of his home.
	Alexei Sidorov, 10/19/03. Known for exposés on organized crime, mysteriously knifed during a random street fight by an unidentified assailant outside a bar.
[no image]	Maksim Maksimov, disappeared 06/29/2004. He was investigating the murder of several politicians and businessmen, including Galina Starovoytova.
	Paul Khlebnikov, 7/9/04. American investigative journalist working for Russian Forbes, opposed to the intersection of the mafia and government in Moscow. Killed in drive-by shooting outside his office.
[no image]	Pail Peloian, 07/17/2004. An Armenian journalist working for an art and literature magazine, he was found by the side of a highway beaten, stabbed, with a crushed skull and bruises over his face. His passport and money were still on his body.
	Pavel Makeev, 5/21/05. Investigated organized crime, murdered while investigating illegal drag racing. Body found dragged by car and his camera was stolen.
	Magomedzagid Varisov, 6/28/05. Reported on local crime and terrorism, and wrote against the opposition in Dagestan. Shot as he was being driven home with his wife.
	Vagif Kochetkov, 1/8/06. Repeatedly clubbed in the back of head after publishing a report on a drug ring in the city of Tula. He died two weeks later of massive head trauma.
	Ilia Zimin, 2/26/06. NTV reporter who used hidden cameras to look into hygiene at Moscow restaurants. Found face down in pool of blood with blunt force trauma to the head.
	Yevgeny Gerasimenko, 7/26/06. Part-time investigative journalist opposed to local corruption. Found with plastic bag over face, body showed evidence of torture.
	Anna Politkovskya, 10/7/06. Human rights activist, opposition to atrocities in Chechnya and presidency of Vladimir Putin. Shot in her apartment building.
	Anatoly Voronin, 10/16/2006. Business chief of ITAR-TASS, found knifed inside his own apartment as part of a suspected dispute.
	Ivan Safronov, 03/02/2007. Military affairs correspondent for Kommersant, he was a critic of the Russian military, and fell five stories from his third floor Moscow apartment.
	Magomed Yevloyev, 08/31/2008. Ethnic Ingush and owner of website Ingushetiya.ru, he was shut down and thrown into prison after strong criticisms of Murat Zyazikov, the Russian-backed President of Ingushetia. He died in custody under uncertain circumstances.

Tajikistan (38)

[no image]	N. I. Matrosov, 02/12/1990. Killed by sniper fire during a protest while filming the event from his second floor hotel room. In the same incident, a woman was killed when standing behind her photojournalist brother also covering the event.
	Khushvaht Muborakshoev, December 1992. A Pamiri television reporter, reportedly killed at an unknown location by members of the People’s Front.
	Murodullo Sheraliev, 5/5/92. Editor-in-chief Sheraliev was killed by automatic weapon fire while he was performing professional duties in the Tajikistan Supreme Soviet building in Dushanbe, according to the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan.
	Shirindzhon Amirdzhonov, 5/7/92. killed by automatic weapon fire at the republic’s Radio House in Dushanbe while they were performing professional duties, according to the Journalists’ Union of Tajikistan.
	Olim Zarobekov, 5/7/92. Killed by automatic weapon fire at the republic’s Radio House in Dushanbe while they were performing professional duties, according to the Journalists’ Union of Tajikistan.
	Tura Kobilov, June 1992. Editor Kobilov was taken hostage in the Bokhtar region by unidentified captors and shot and killed while carrying out his professional duties, according to the Union of Journalists of Tajikistan.
	Arkadi Ruderman, September 1992. Belarussian documentary filmmaker and journalist from Minsk, he was working for Russia’s television station Channel 1. He was killed while on assignment in September 1992. The circumstances of his death are not known.
	Tavakkal Faizulloev, 11/17/92. Correspondent Faizulloev, with the Yovon District newspaper in Khatlon,was killed in retaliation for writing anti-Islamic articles.
[no picture]	Mukhtor Bugdiev, December 1992. Photojournalist Bugdiev was killed in December 1992 in Dushanbe by members of the People’s Front, according to local Tajik journalists.
[no picture]	Jamshed Davliyatmamatov, December 1992. Correspondent Davliyatmamatov was murdered by members of the People’s Front.
	Filolisho Khilvatshoev, December 1992. Journalist Khilvatshoev was killed by members of the People’s Front, according to local members of the media.
[no picture]	Saidmurod Yerov, January 1993. Executive editor Yerov was arrested by People’s Front members in January 1993. His body was reportedly found in a mass grave in Dushanbe on February 2.
[no picture]	Zukhuruddin Suyari,Correspondent Suyari’s body was found in Kurgan-Tiube at the end of March. It is suspected that members of the pro-government People’s may have killed him because he is from the Garm area.
	Pirimkul Sattori, 5/28/93. Correspondent Sattori was arrested by unidentified persons in military uniform. Several days later, his body was found in a cotton field.
[no picture]	Saidjonol Fakhriddinov, June 1993. Reporter Fakhriddinov, with the pro-Islamic, Tajik-language thrice-weekly Navidi Vakhsh, was murdered by the People’s Front, according to local journalists. Navidi Vakhsh was published in Khatlon Province, 100 miles south of Dushanbe.
[no picture]	Olimjon Yorasonov, June or July 1993. Editor Yorasonov was murdered by members of the People’s Front, according to local journalists.
[no picture]	Sharofuddin Kosimov, June or July 1993. Reporter Kosimov was abducted in June or July 1993 by members of the People’s Front according to local journalists. His body was discovered in July and was subsequently identified by family members.
	Ahror Sharif, June or July 1993. Editor Ahrorov may have been killed by one of several small paramilitary groups loosely affiliated with the People’s Front, according to several sources.
	Zikrullo Valiev, Summer 1993. Reporter Valiev with the Uzbek-language Khalqi Ovozi, was killed in the summer of 1993. An armed band loyal to the Tajik government may have killed him.
[no picture]	Tohir Azimov, 7/1/93. Reporter Azimov disappeared in June or July 1993. Tajik opposition sources in Russia and the United States say he was killed by one of several small paramilitary groups loosely affiliated with the People’s Front.
[no picture]	Emma Podobed, missing since September 1993. Reporter Podobed disappeared and is believed dead.
[no picture]	Kishvaroy Sharifova, 10/1/93. Reporter Sharifova disappeared in the fall of 1993. It is believed that members of the People’s Front were responsible for the deaths of other Navidi Vakhsh employees.
	Tabarali Saidaliev, 10/21/93. Editor Saidaliev was kidnapped on October 21, and his body was found three days later in a cotton field. The men who kidnapped him were dressed like government security agents.
	Olim Abdulov, 5/15/94. Abdulov was shot and killed by unknown persons near Dushanbe.
	Khushvakht Haydarsho, 5/18/94. Haydarsho, secretary of the editorial board of the Tajik-language government newspaper Jumhuriyat, was shot dead near his home in Dushanbe. Local journalists believe his murder is connected to a series of articles he published on the mafia in Tajikistan.
	Davlatali Rakhmonaliev, 8/18/94. Rakhmonaliev, director of programming at Tajikistan State Television, was fatally shot in front of his home in Dushanbe. He reportedly had close ties to the pro-Communist government.
	Hamidjon Hakimov, 11/18/94. Editor Khakimov was shot in the head in Dushanbe and died overnight. He was a prominent member of Tajikistan’s Uzbek minority.
	Muhiddin Olimpur, 12/12/95. Olimpur, head of the BBC’s Persian Service bureau in Tajikistan, was found dead near the University of Tajikistan in Dushanbe with a gunshot wound to his head. Nothing had been stolen from him, even though he was wearing a gold ring and carrying several documents.
	Muhammadsharif Holov, 11/16/95. Freelance journalist and playwright, killed by unknown masked man, shot with an automatic rifle in his own apartment.
	Pochohona Sayfiddinov, 9/29/95. Newspaper correspondent whose brutalized body was found dumped in the Vakhsh River.
	Muhammadmuslih Nadzhibulloev, 7/4/95. Freelance writer, journalism student, only 21 when found stabbed to death by unknown assailants.
	Zayniddin Muhiddinov, 3/14/95. Former editor of newspaper Hakikat, shot dead by unidentified men in camouflage uniforms.
	Viktor Nikulin, 3/28/96. Russian correspondent for Russian Public Television (ORT). Fatally shot at the door to his office the week after receiving three threatening phone calls.
	Otakhon Latifi, 9/22/98. Opposition politician and journalist, shot at point blank range outside his apartment in Dushanbe.
	Meirkhaim Gavrielov, 6/8/98. Bukharan Jewish leader and journalist, found strangled in his home.
[no picture]	Jumakhon Khotami, 7/5/99. Chief spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, anchor of a weekly TV program chronicling drug trafficking and corruption. Assassinated in Dushanbe after publicly revealing the names of drug bosses.
	Iskandar Khatloni, 9/21/00. Moscow-based RFE/RL Tajik Service correspondent, attacked in his apartment by an unknown assailant weilding an axe. He died that night from wounds sustained in the attack.
[no picture]	Aleksandr Alpatov, 9/1/00. Photographer for the Khovar Information Agency, his body was found not far from his home. Authorities reported he had been killed by a handgun equipped with a silencer.

Turkmenistan (1)

Ogulsapar Muradova, 09/14/2006. RFE/RL correspondent, held in prison for years by regime; identified by family members in the as suffering a large head wound.

 It is worth remembering these are only those journalists who were unlucky enough to be murdered for their work. It does not include the further dozens upon dozens who have been physically assaulted and/or imprisoned.
Source: http://www.registan.net/index.php/the-murdered-journalists-of-central-asia/

AP Published: February 16, 2009
The Chicago Tribune will use its news and editorial pages to campaign against what it calls “the Illinois culture of political sleaze.“ The paper said in a Sunday editorial that too much state government has been surrendered to “crooks and opportunists.“ One former governor, George Ryan, is behind bars on a corruption conviction and another, Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY’-uh-vich), has just been impeached amid allegations that he tried to sell a U.S. Senate seat. The Tribune says its focus will be to attack secrecy in government, entice state and local prosecutors to go after corrupt officials and empower law-abiding public servants to help make Illinois more honest and fair. It also says readers must “demand better” from their public officials.

Jet Set Lifestyle Of Turks And Caicos Prime Minister Leads To Corruption Probe
With two private jets on call and a Hollywood wife, the Turks and Caicos prime minister lived like the rich and famous who have made the Caribbean island chain one of the hottest stops for celebrities. Michael Misick says his lifestyle allowed him to court high-end developers and helped put the British territory southeast of the Bahamas on the map. But his financial dealings are now the focus of a British investigative commission that is wrapping up hearings this week on the main island of Providenciales.

The Turks and Caicos still answers to a London-appointed governor, who formed the commission last summer after a British Parliament report found complaints of rampant corruption on the islands. The commission could call for a criminal investigation based on what it finds. The hearings that began Jan. 13 at the Regent Palms Hotel have included sworn testimony from Misick’s estranged wife, actress LisaRaye McCoy, that she used a government-leased jet to vacation in Africa, visit her daughter in Switzerland and commute from Los Angeles. The couple also leased a Rolls-Royce and spent more than $1 million on the interior design of their home. Misick has denied abusing public funds. Investigators said in the hearings that eastern European developer Mario Hoffman acquired resort land at a deep discount and received special tax breaks around the time one of his bankers gave the prime minister a $6 million loan – part of $20 million in personal loans that Misick has amassed from banks, a developer and political appointees. Misick, 43, a London-educated lawyer and realty broker, testified himself that he continued to collect sales commissions after being elected prime minister. But he makes no apologies.

When he was criticized for more than doubling his salary and earning more than British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the stocky leader with a slightly graying goatee replied: “Sir, I submit I have done more for Turks and Caicos than Gordon Brown has done for England.” Now in his second term, Misick is also the tourism minister, the Turks and Caicos’ promoter-in-chief. Since he took office in 2003, the gross domestic product in the territory of 22,000 people has more than doubled to $750 million _ largely through a resort-building boom. Island aficionado Mark Amherst of privateislandsblog.com said the Turks and Caicos is “the new No. 1 holiday retreat for A-list celebrities.” It’s the place where Ben Affleck married, Eva Longoria honeymooned and Bruce Willis built a home.

Misick helped feed the buzz by party-hopping with McCoy, a Chicago-born actress who starred in the television series “All of Us” and appeared in the movie “Beauty Shop.” But his troubles started in July when the commission, led by former British judge Sir Robin Auld, began probing a range of allegations, including claims that Misick and other island officials profited from the sale of government-owned land. According to the testimony, Misick spent $275,000 in a jewelry store, chartered a jet for a Paris shopping spree and charged more than $1 million to an American Express account with his wife after they married in 2006.

McCoy acknowledged she spent as much as $200,000 a month, but she said it was necessary to buy new hats, gloves and suits to fit her “first lady lifestyle.” The prime minister last month said his government “may have made mistakes,” but he is confident no laws were broken. But the prospect of criminal charges has added to a growing list of problems. In December, leaders of Misick’s own party said they had lost confidence in him. He and McCoy had an ugly breakup, with Misick accusing her of attacking him in August. Misick urged the commission to consider his finances in the context of the territory. Across the Caribbean, he said, politicians routinely receive personal donations of tens of thousands of dollars with no strings attched. But he does concede some excesses. Looking back, he said it would have more prudent not to keep two Gulf Stream jets on call. Misick said he now flies commercial.

Two Pennsylvania judges charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send youth offenders to privately run detention centers pleaded guilty to fraud Thursday in one of the most stunning cases of judicial corruption on record. Prosecutors allege Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, possibly tainting the convictions of thousands of juvenile offenders. The judges pleaded guilty in federal court in Scranton to honest services fraud and tax fraud. Their plea agreements call for sentences of more than seven years in prison. They were permitted to remain free pending sentencing. The gray-haired jurists said little at Thursday’s hearing, and declined to comment to reporters afterward. Prosecutors described a scheme in which Conahan, the former president judge of Luzerne County, shut down the county-owned juvenile detention center in 2002 and signed an agreement with PA Child Care LLC to send youth offenders to its new facility outside Wilkes-Barre.

Ciavarella, who presided over juvenile court, sent youths to the detention center while he was taking payments, prosecutors said.
For years, youth advocacy groups complained that Ciavarella was ridiculously harsh and ran roughshod over youngsters’ constitutional rights. Ciavarella sent a quarter of his juvenile defendants to detention centers from 2002 to 2006, compared with a statewide rate of one in 10. Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before, and some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it. Many of the youths didn’t have attorneys.

Ciavarella has specifically denied sending kids to jail for cash, and had indicated he would not go through with the guilty plea if the government offered that as evidence. Thus prosecutors left out any mention Thursday of a quid pro quo, presenting only enough evidence to establish that crimes had occurred. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubron said after the hearing that the government continues to allege a quid pro quo. “We’re not negotiating that, no. We’re not backing off,” he said. The prosecutor said it will be up to U.S. District Judge Edwin Kosik to settle the matter. Kosik could reject the proposed sentence as too light if he decides there was a quid pro quo.

“I think there will be significant disagreements as to what the facts are,” Zubrod said. “Was there a connection between the payments and the money, and young people going to prison? Those are issues that are going to be addressed later by the court. There’s going to be plenty of time to fight about that.” The judges were charged on Jan. 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shortly afterward. Fifteen-year-old Bernadine Wallace was sentenced to a month in lock-up for a threatening note she posted on her MySpace page, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane. “I was thinking to myself, ‘I don’t deserve this. I don’t think that I did that much wrong. I’m not a criminal’,” she said. “You saw the judges come out of court today. How were you feeling?” Doane asked Wallace’s mother. “Angry,” Flo Wallace said. “How did they get to walk out with all these charges? When she went in front of them, she got out of shackles.”

Kurt Kruger, now 22, had never been in trouble with the law until the day police accused him of acting as a lookout while his friend shoplifted less than $200 worth of DVDs from Wal-Mart. He said he didn’t know his friend was going to steal anything. Kruger pleaded guilty before Ciavarella and spent three days in a company-run juvenile detention center, plus four months at a youth wilderness camp run by a different operator. “Never in a million years did I think that I would actually get sent away. I was completely destroyed,” said Kruger, who later dropped out of school. He said he wants to get his record expunged, earn his high school equivalency diploma and go to college. “I got a raw deal, and yeah, it’s not fair,” he said, “but now it’s 100 times bigger than me.”

I suppose what will finally be passed will be a little of both. What I am most fearful of is the corruption that will “follow the money” through the system. Does the fed ever administrate a massive spending bill without 30-40% waste? Historically, no they do not. Hands are held out looking for favors; old cronies “call in markers”. Relatives get huge contracts, ghost businesses are quickly established to divert the money flows, etc, etc…

I also hope this works better than history indicates. This kind of stimulus by FDR didn’t get us out of the Great Depression, and more recently this same kind of program kept Japan in recession for nearly 10 years. As a family, you cannot spend yourself out of debt. A nation can’t do that either. Business growth, stimulated by a consumer or a business need creates a healthy economy. Governments do not always induce healthy economies. Private enterprise is what historically creates lasting jobs. Build a better mousetrap, show a business how to be more efficient, introduce new technologies – that is what makes businesses grow. Bridges, and roads may indeed need to be repaired – BUT that is not the solution. It is a temporary solution/fix to a longer term problem. Actually, recessions are foregone conclusions, just as economic growth is. The cycles are inevitable. We only hope our friends in DC enable a quick recovery, and do not prolong the slowing economic cycle.

The cost of Boston’s “Big Dig” has ballooned to over $15 billion. In September 1983, this 7.5 mile highway project was originally proposed with a completion date of 1995 and for a cost of $2.2 billion. In 1980, a Special Commission Concerning State and County Buildings (know as the “Ward Commission”) filed a final report on corruption in the award of state and county construction projects in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and found that: 1) Corruption was a way of life in Massachusetts; 2) Sub-standard construction was the norm; and 3) Political influence, not professional performance, was the prime criterion for doing business in the Commonwealth. While some of the Ward Commission’s recommendations were enacted into law, many important recommendations, especially the elimination of the filed sub-bid system, were not enacted. The failure of Massachusetts governmental officials to implement the recommendations of the Ward Commission and their promotion of a culture of malfeasance and political corruption has resulted in the mostly costly and sub-standard public works project in the history of the United States!