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A retired Florida couple would appear an unlikely source to have given $83,000 in campaign donations over a five-year period to members of Congress from all over the country. Both in their 80s, they lived in a $118,000 Daytona Beach house they didn't own; they each voted only twice since 1992; and they seemed to lack the financial means to make the contributions. Yet, both were listed as having given dozens of donations to lawmakers, nearly half of which went to members of the House Appropriations Committee - legislators who were especially important to their then-son-in-law, superlobbyist Paul Magliocchetti, who...

"My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift." Father Tim Jones preached these words to his congregation at St. Lawrence Church in England yesterday, according to this article in the Daily Mail newspaper. And he wasn't kidding. Father Jones went on, teaching the poor how and when to steal: "I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices. I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any...

Dems cleared in PMA lobbying scandal By Susan Crabtree - 12/18/09 04:49 PM ET At least three Democratic lawmakers have been cleared of any wrongdoing after an initial investigation into their ties to PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm. Reps. John Murtha (Pa.), Jim Moran (Va.) and Norm Dicks (Wash.) recently received a letter from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) informing them that it found no need for further inquiry into the PMA-related allegations. The board of the OCE on Nov. 30 voted unanimously to recommend that the full ethics committee dismiss the charges, according to a letter to...

ATLANTA — The government's top public health agency frequently failed to police its outside experts for conflicts of interest, according to a new government report released Friday. The report looked at how well the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked for and dealt with conflicts among about 250 scientific experts who served on 17 advisory panels in 2007. Panel members are supposed to disclose whether they have been paid by — or own stock in — drug companies or other entities that might have an interest in the panel's decisions. The panels provide advice to the CDC on topics...

The Office of Congressional Ethics has closed its investigation into Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) and their relationships to the lobbying firm PMA Group, and the OCE advised against a formal House ethics investigation, the lawmakers’ offices said Friday. George Behan, Dicks’ chief of staff, said the OCE, which reviews potential rules violations and refers investigations to the House ethics committee, informed the Washington lawmaker on Dec. 2 that it had recommended the inquiry be dismissed. “In his case, there was never anything there,” Behan said. Murtha spokesman Matt Mazonkey and Moran spokeswoman Emily...

While browsing some threads on a popular forum recently, I was introduced to an interesting critique of Ayn Rand's ethics, by John Piper. I already knew the critique was going to be from a Christian perspective, but was pleasantly surprised by it, nevertheless. This is what I wrote to the poster who provided the link to the article: "I'm a long time student of Rand, since the 50's, and have read almost everything I could find related to Rand and her philosophy, and of course everything she has written, including her journals and correspondence. I have never read John Piper's...

California Senator Diane Feinstein (D) rebuffed criticisms that forcing all taxpayers—even those who believe it is murder—to pay for abortions is morally wrong. “Morality isn’t something we can leave up to the individual,” Feinstein said. “People have all kinds of crazy ideas about what is or isn’t moral. It’s up to the government to settle on a common moral code for society. It is the citizen’s responsibility to support the government’s decision, even if he or she personally disagrees. So, yes, most definitely, if congress passes a law requiring taxpayers to fund abortions it is everyone’s moral obligation to support...

Confirmation of biblical wisdom came earlier this fall from an unlikely source: an Ivy League savant who says it's wrong to depend on the Bible. The prestigious Oxford University Press sent me the new book Morality Without God by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, a Dartmouth professor. (I'm going to quote him a lot, so I'll use his initials.) WSA begins by complaining that his students quote to him Dostoevsky's favorite line, "If God is dead, everything is permitted." WSA then argues that we don't need God: We all should simply agree not to harm others—cause death, pain, or disability—unless there is "adequate...

When the Democrats reclaimed Congress in the 2006 midterm, then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pledged to "drain the swamp" of Congressional ethics violations that allegedly went uninvestigated under Republican rule. On the evening of Nov. 26, 2008 -- Thanksgiving eve - Pelosi, now House Speaker, released a statement to the press regarding the ethics investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), in which she stated, "I have been assured the report will be completed by the end of this session of Congress, which concludes on January 3, 2009. I look forward to reviewing the report at that time." Now, more than...

Cracking jokes about Congressional thievery is something of a national past-time. But the results of the newest Gallup poll will likely startle even the cynical news dorks that have read enough of these polls to know that the American people don’t think highly of their government. For the first time since Gallup began conducting its annual “Honesty and Ethics of Professions” poll, a majority (55%) of Americans responded that they believe the honesty and ethical standards of “members of Congress” are “low” or “very low.” The American people don’t think senators are particularly upstanding citizens either: 49% said Senators have...

When the Democrats retook Congress in 2006, incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised the "to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history." So how's that promise working out? Let's start with four developments from the last week: » Over the weekend, it was revealed that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., had nominated his girlfriend to be a U.S. attorney in his home state. Baucus is a driving force behind the drive to adopt Obamacare in the Senate. » On...

At a hearing in late March, the nation's credit card companies faced the threat of expensive new rules from an unlikely regulator: the House Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). The committee had never before dealt with credit card issues, but Thompson warned Visa, MasterCard and others that Congress might need to impose tighter security standards costing millions of dollars to protect customers from identity theft. Behind the scenes, some of Thompson's staffers sensed a different motive -- an attempt to pressure the companies into making political donations to the chairman, according to several former committee...

Palin to face another ethics battle By Tony Romm - 12/05/09 09:35 AM ET Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) faced yet another ethics complaint on Friday: This time, for allegedly using state resources "for partisan political purposes" during the 2008 campaign. Under state law, elected officials may not "use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another government asset or resource" for campaigning, stumping or politicking. But Palin, argues Andree McLeod -- a local activist who has filed many ethics complains against the former Alaska governor -- sought political advice from her staff and asked...

Concerns that the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee may have used a credit card bill to woo donations from credit card companies has prompted the chamber's ethics panel to open an investigation. The Washington Post first reported on Friday that staffers to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) suspected foul play as early as this summer, after the committee unexpectedly took up a tough bill that would have implemented new fees to protect against credit card identity theft. According to the Post, Thompson collected about $15,000 in donations from the industry shortly after those hearings began, but no bill was...

  Cryonics. Neural implants. Designer babies. Welcome to the future of transhumanism. This energetic movement, comprising thousands of adherents, actively promotes the enhancement of humans via cybernetics, genetics, medicine, surgery, nanotechnology, and a full panoply of other scientific advancements. This enhancement would, according to Nick Bostrom's "Transhumanist Declaration," seek to advocate "the moral right for those who wish to do so to extend their mental and physical (including reproductive) capacities and to improve their control over their own lives. [They] seek personal growth beyond [their] current biological limitations" (see www.transhumanism.org).   This may sound like science fiction, but the...

Pols ponder tangle with aging Rep. Rangel: Ethics issues cloud future of once-unbeatable congressmanBY David Saltonstall DAILY NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT Friday, November 27th 2009, 4:00 AM For years, just raising the possibility of a primary challenge against Rep. Charlie Rangel was like a third rail in Harlem politics - touch it at your peril. But with a flurry of ethics charges and old age bearing down on Rangel, the 79-year-old Harlem legend already has one announced challenger and several others circling around his reelection bid next year. "After 40 years in office, I just think it is fair to ask...

On Politics Cleaning House By Charlie Cook National Journal November 24, 2009 As House Democrats try to avert political disaster by limiting their 2010 losses to about 16 seats, the norm for post-World War II presidents' first midterm elections, dealing with their members' ethics problems may be one of their toughest tasks.With health care reform off their plate for now, House Democrats are showing that they understand the tightrope they must walk -- address unemployment without exacerbating worries about the size of government and the federal deficit.Meanwhile, though, the ethical clouds over House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles...

Political analyst Charlie Cook says that the scandals enveloping Reps. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and John Murtha (D-PA) threaten to increase losses for their party in next year’s election. He writes: As House Democrats try to avert political disaster by limiting their 2010 losses to about 16 seats, the norm for post-World War II presidents' first midterm elections, dealing with their members' ethics problems may be one of their toughest tasks. The task is tough because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s reluctance to move against either one, notwithstanding her promise to “drain the swamp” of Congressional corruption and to  “create the most...

"General reaction seems to be that the CRUgate emails are genuine, but with the caveat that there could be some less reliable stuff slipped in. In the circumstances, here are some summaries of the CRUgate files. I'll update these as and when I can. The refs are the email number. Phil Jones writes to University of Hull to try to stop sceptic Sonia Boehmer Christiansen using her Hull affiliation. Graham F Haughton of Hull University says its easier to push greenery there now SB-C has retired.(1256765544) Michael Mann discusses how to destroy a journal that has published sceptic papers.(1047388489) Tim...

Oversight: After an unjust firing and campaign of character assassination, the former AmeriCorps inspector general has been cleared of acting improperly. Now where does he go to get his job and reputation back? On June 10, Gerald Walpin was fired with one hour's notice as the watchdog of AmeriCorps in violation of a federal law requiring Congress to be given a heads-up 30 days in advance. He then fell victim to a campaign of character assassination. When pressed for a reason for the sudden and improper dismissal of a federal watchdog, the White House responded with a letter to Sens....

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Were ethical lines crossed when the city purchased the property that will be the future site of the new west police precinct? One concerned citizen thinks so and is taking his complaint to the Tennessee Ethics Commission Related: Watch This Story His question about the property comes down to who owned it, a familiar name on the trust with Metro ties, and a price tag he says is way too high. Mike Peden believes something isn't right when it comes to the old Ford dealership on Charlotte Pike. Metro just bought it to become the future site...

Mollohan's leadership of Appropriations panel seen as possible conflictFor three years, Rep. Alan Mollohan has chaired the important Appropriations subcommittee that controls the Justice Department's $65 billion budget. At the same time, he has been under a Justice Department investigation, according to documents and two sources briefed on the probe. The investigation has centered on the West Virginia Democrat's finances and nonprofits he created and helped fund in his district, and has put him in the unusual position of wielding control over an agency at the same time it is probing his conduct and contractors he helped while in office....

<p>The Alliance Defense Fund just filed an emergency injunction and restraining order in response to the decision a couple hours ago by an "ethics panel" at East Tennessee Children's Hospital to discontinue care of 9-month-old Gabriel Palmer.</p> <p>Baby Gabriel was born prematurely with a genetic abnormality, club foot, and narrow airway, but he flourished when he went home from the hospital in June, where he grew, played, and received physical therapy while going to regular doctor visits. He was fed through a tube and received some oxygen and medications.</p>

The S.C. Ethics Commission has charged Gov. Mark Sanford with 37 counts of breaking state ethics laws. The commission filed its charges last week but only released them Monday. Those charges allege that, in 18 instances, Sanford authorized, approved or allowed the purchase of business-class airfare so that he could travel to and within the continents of Europe, Asia and South America. Four of the flights cited involved a 2008 state Commerce Department trip to Brazil that Sanford extended to Argentina so that the married, two-term Republican governor could see his Argentine lover. State law bars the use of high-priced...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford faces 37 ethics charges he broke state laws limiting official use of airplanes and involving campaign money. The details were released Monday by the State Ethics Commission. They came five days after the panel charged the governor without offering any specifics. Sanford's lawyers have claimed the charges involve minor and technical aspects of the law. The charges followed a probe into whether Sanford used state aircraft for personal and political trips, used pricey airline seats despite low-cost travel requirements and reimbursed himself with campaign cash.

NY State is trying to do its best to surpass Illinois in Scandals. According to Bloomberg News NY State Attorney General and President Obama's choice for the next NY Governor, Andrew Cuomo took campaign contributions from law firms defending clients who the AG's office was investigating for wrong-doing. Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP, a New York law firm led by David Boies, gave Cuomo $35,000 this year, records show. The firm represents former American International Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Maurice “Hank” Greenberg in a civil fraud case the attorney general is pursuing. Lawyers defending Dell Inc., Deutsche Bank AG...

Link only, per FR copyright rules

Enabling terror: This month, corrupt Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd helped block a congressional amendment, supported by nearly 150 relatives of the victims of 9/11, that would have prevented the prosecution of Islamic terrorists in the U.S. court system. Days later, the Obama administration announced it would try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other terrorist suspects in a civilian court in New York City. Granting the accused the U.S. constitutional rights they despise and raising the possibility of acquittal on legal technicalities are bad enough. But the trial poses a severe threat to public safety by making the courthouse and federal...

JW Will File FOIA Lawsuit against Chicago Mayor Daley's Office to Obtain Records Related to Olympics Bid. Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it will file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's office to obtain records related to the Obama administration's failed bid to bring the Olympics to Chicago. President Obama tapped White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett to lead the Olympics effort, despite her personal and business ties to Chicago, which included a stint working for Mayor Daley. The Obama White House granted Jarrett...

Standing on the shoulders of RangelBy STEPHON JOHNSON Amsterdam News Staff Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009 12:05 AM EST Congressman Charlie Rangel: We have your back. That was the theme of Thursday morning’s news conference outside of City Hall, where fellow politicians, nonprofit leaders and businessmen all stood up for the embattled Rangel, who has faced attacks from the right wing calling for him to step down from some of his more prominent positions on congressional committees. “It’s a bum rush, as one might say,” said State Sen. Bill Perkins. “It will create guilt without process, and I don’t think...

Black Lawmakers under Ethics SpotlightWashington AFRO Zenitha Prince Posted: Nov 09, 2009 November 8, 2009) - Are seven investigations too many to be a coincidence? All seven of the full-scale ethics investigations currently underway in the U.S. House of Representatives are focused on African-American lawmakers—and it would be eight if the committee conducting the investigations hadn’t deferred to the Justice Department’s investigation involving Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. The disparity is beginning to raise some eyebrows. “I don’t think they (Black lawmakers) are scared—they’re upset. They think [Congressional Black Caucus] members are being singled out,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, former chairman of...

Democrats' Ethics Targeted by GOP By BRODY MULLINS Republicans are seizing on newly revealed ethics probes of congressional Democrats ahead of next year's midterm elections, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues of failing to make good on their pledge to clean up Washington when they regained control of Congress. None of the Democratic lawmakers under investigation by the House Ethics Committee is expected to lose in 2010. And ethics concerns are usually less important to voters than pocketbook issues. But Republican campaign strategists say ethics issues rumbling under the surface could help the GOP pick up a few...

Charlie could catch a breakBy DAPHNE RETTER Last Updated: 7:50 AM, November 6, 2009 WASHINGTON -- Rep. Charles Rangel is likely to be cleared on one of a half-dozen ethics charges, it was reported yesterday. Rangel and four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus may be exonerated of allegations of rule violations stemming from a 2008 trip to the Caribbean for a conference, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. **SNIP** Members of Congress are barred from accepting multiday trips from companies that employ lobbyists.

Generation Cynical Sarah Carlsruh, November 6, 2009 “Cynicism exists. It’s toxic,” said Michael Josephson at an October 29th presentation on “High School Character” at the National Press Club. Josephson is president of the Josephson Institute of Ethics (JIE), which recently released its study on the link between high school attitudes and subsequent adult conduct. In its study, the Institute found that “younger generations are significantly more likely to engage in all forms of dishonest conduct than those who are older.” This raises the question, is the study measuring the increasing moral degradation of society or simply the fact that older...

Paul Singer of Roll Call is reporting: The House ethics committee is likely to exonerate five members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) who were accused of taking an improper trip to the Caribbean, according to sources familiar with the case. If this is true, we are not surprised. When we provided photographs and audio recordings from the trip at the request of the Committee in May, we made clear that our willingness to do so was not an endorsement of the Ethics Committee process, which has again proven to be a joke.Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC), a member of...

very ironic announcement that I just got in my Harvard email announcing a forthcoming lecture: HARVARD UNIVERSITY EDMOND J. SAFRA FOUNDATION CENTER FOR ETHICS Eliot Spitzer, former Governor and Attorney General of New York, will deliver a public lecture as part of the 2009/10 Labs Lectures on the Question of Institutional Corruption. Thursday, November 12 at 4:30pm Emerson Hall, Room 105 25 Quincy Street, Cambridge This is a ticketed event.

Finding Critics for Science Allie Winegar Duzett, November 4, 2009 There are many fields with rigorous critics; many writers make a living critiquing music, dance, art, and literature. At Accuracy in Media and other media watchdog groups, employees critique the claims of major news organizations. But one crucial field regularly goes without any public criticism: the field of science, and scientific discovery. “Science lacks for critics,” David Berlinski claimed at a recent Heritage Foundation Bloggers’ Briefing. “It is really remarkable that in the sense in which literature or dance or music has always entered public consciousness with a very rich...

Lies, Tax Fraud and DeceitMy theory is that Alan Grayson is a liar, a fraud, and a tax-cheat. Who is this guy? How did he really obtain his wealth? It’s certainly worth further investigation in light of the following.Summary: Roll Call lists Alan Grayson’s largest asset is a claim against Derivium Capital, the now bankrupt Ponzi scheme, in the amount of $34 million. Central Florida Politics lists Alan Grayson as the Derivium Capital scams most frequent customer. Roll Call lists Grayson’s net worth at $31.12 million. Grayson’s only other asset is said to be a trust fund worth $5...

Before taking control of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history." However, with dozens of mostly Democratic lawmakers and various staff under investigation by the House's twin ethics bodies, the majority clearly values political power over clean government. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles B. Rangel, 20-term New York Democrat, and Defense Appropriations subcommittee Chairman Rep. John P. Murtha, 19-term Pennsylvania Democrat, are the poster children for how failed ethics cops protect old-guard lawmakers. While under investigation by the ethics committee, they continue to...

No one saw the truck drive off, it left the alley between the bank and another business. You could pick up the cash and no one would see you. What should you do?

WASHINGTON (AP) - Dozens of lawmakers have drawn scrutiny from their ethics monitor this year for everything from financial dealings to travel and campaign donations, according to a leaked account showing an active House panel secretly at work.

Rangel: Ethics talks unrelated to personal finance issuesBy Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, October 30, 2009; 11:37 AM House ethics committee investigators have interviewed Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee whose personal finances have been under investigation for more than a year, a committee document from July reveals. Committee staff met with Rangel in late July. In an interview with The Washington Post, the lawmaker said the meeting concerned only a recent trip to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten that he and four members of the Congressional Black Caucus took...

WASHINGTON -- Internal investigations into the conduct of several House members have been exposed in an extraordinary, Internet-era breach of security involving the secretive process by which Congress polices lawmaker ethics. Revelations of the mostly preliminary inquiries by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct -- also known as the Ethics committee -- shook the chamber as lawmakers were immersed in a series of scheduled votes Thursday. The panel announced that it was probing two California Democrats -- Reps. Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson -- even as its embarrassed leaders took pains to explain that several other lawmakers also...

A leaked document shows that House ethics investigators are probing the activities of nearly three dozen lawmakers — an ethical dust storm that will empower the Republicans and could imperil efforts to get health care reform through the House next week. The House ethics committee said Thursday that it was opening two new investigations — one into the foreclosure scandal of Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) and one involving financial questions about Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and her husband. But shortly after the committee met, chairs Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) interrupted proceedings on the House floor to say...

House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July. The report appears to have been inadvertently placed on a publicly accessible computer network, and it was provided to The Washington Post by a source not connected to the congressional investigations. The committee said Thursday night that the document was released by a low-level staffer.

Dozens in Congress under ethics inquiry AN ACCIDENTAL DISCLOSURE Document was found on file-sharing network By Ellen Nakashima and Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, October 30, 2009 House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July. The report appears to have been inadvertently placed on a publicly accessible computer network, and it was provided to The Washington Post by a source not connected to the congressional investigations. The committee...

Report: Dozens in Congress Under Ethics Scrutiny Nearly half the members of a House panel in control of Pentagon spending, including Rep. John Murtha, are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, according to a leaked report October 30, 2009 WASHINGTON -- Nearly half the members of a House panel in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing a leaked confidential House ethics committee report. Investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.,chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on defense, and six other lawmakers...

The House ethics committee has voted to begin full-scale investigations into ethics allegations against Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Laura Richardson (Calif.), but decided against investigating Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.). After Thursday’s votes, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), chairwoman and ranking member of the committee, went to the House floor to assure members that a cyber-hacking incident – which apparently resulted, they said, in an internal panel document ending up in the hands of the Washington Post – did not signal a major security breach of the committee’s computer system. They suggested that the document in...

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) is criticizing the new ethics office that recommended he be reviewed by the House ethics panel. Graves issues a statement Thursday thanking the House ethics committee for dismissing the charges against him and lashed out at the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Graves struck early by releasing the statement before the ethics panel publicly announced that it had unanimously dismissed the complaint against him. Graves lashed out at the OCE in his statement, accusing it of investigating an anonymous complaint and looking into a matter that even if true did not violate House ethics rules. “I...

"Once a liar, always a liar" is a proverbial parental admonishment. A new study claims there is truth to the adage: People who cheated on exams in high school are considerably more likely to be dishonest later in life, according to a report to be released today by the Josephson Institute of Ethics. The study, which surveyed nearly 7,000 people in various age groups nationwide, offers a sobering assessment of today's youth as cynics who are aware that their behavior crosses boundaries but believe it is necessary to succeed. And the findings suggest that habits formed in childhood persist: Those...