EDITORIAL: Obama team honors Walpin-gate transgressor

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | June 9, 2010 | THE WASHINGTON TIMES

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Only in the Obama administration would a public official sanctioned for a form of malfeasance be honored as a speaker by the same organization that sanctioned him. It helps, of course, when he is a self-proclaimed Friend of the First Couple. It also doesn't hurt that the administration already found it politically convenient to fire the inspector general, Gerald Walpin, who blew the whistle on his misdeeds.

Still, the public should consider it a brazen affront for this administration to feature Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson as a key speaker at a major conference sponsored later this month by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Common decency should disallow such a scandal.

On the grounds of image alone, Mr. Johnson sends the wrong message, considering that four different young women or teenage girls have accused Mr. Johnson of inappropriate sexual conduct. Three of the four were actually affiliated with the very institution, the St. Hope Academy, that was sponsored through CNCS grants. (CNCS is the parent body for the AmeriCorps national "volunteering" program.)

..investigators found that Mr. Johnson and St. Hope misused federal funds to assign political projects to AmeriCorps workers; to have them run personal errands for Mr. Johnson, wash his car and drive him to personal appointments; to pay staff salaries at St. Hope from funds meant for AmeriCorps grantees; and several other similar improprieties.

Despite such flagrant abuse of CNCS programs, CNCS has invited this man to be a featured speaker at the June 28-30 National Conference on Volunteering and Service,

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From American Thinker

This week the White House announced $234 million in grants to Americorps and other "service"-oriented nonprofits through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The press release reports:

Together with other positions in AmeriCorps VISTA and NCCC, AmeriCorps is on track to support more than 85,000 members this year, the first step towards the Serve America Act goal of 250,000 annual AmeriCorps members by the year 2017.

These numbers don't approach the perhaps hyperbolic remark by candidate Obama in July 2008 that "[w]e've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded [as our military]." But a force of 250,000 isn't insignificant; our Marine Corps numbers 203,000.

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[Pearls Before Swine]

Johnson was the likely malfeasor, but by quashing the IG’s inquiry, Obama was the enabler.

[opentalk]

There is a lot of tax dollars being pumped into Americorps, Not good with no over sight and looking the other way when funds are misused .

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--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 10,2009 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. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins, respectively the chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, from Norm Eisen, special counsel to President Obama.

...board meeting where the 77-year-old Walpin "was confused, disoriented and unable to answer questions and exhibited behavior that led the board to question his capacity to serve."

Walpin Is Cleared