Ethics

Steve Benen explains:

The McCain/Palin ticket is the first in American history in which both candidates were found to have violated ethics standards before a national election.

Ouch.

Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's chief strategist has resigned from the Clinton campaign amid allegations of conflict of interest and ethical improprieties.

Penn had worked full time for the Clinton campaign even though he had not taken a sabbatical from his position as CEO of the international communications and lobbying firm Burson-Marsteller. What that meant was clear : Penn was taking meetings with political, corporate and consular clients while managing the campaign of a potential future president of the United States.

One of those clients was the government of Colombia, which had hired the firm in order to market in Capitol Hill a bilateral free-trade agreement with the United States as well as their anti-drug trafficking initiatives.

Penn vigorously defended the meeting saying he was there as CEO of Burson-Marsteller, not as campaign manager of the Senator. Yet he later retracted after it was revealed that Clinton was opposed to the trade agreement as well as her supporters with the labor movement.

Also from CNN :

Sources said a federal money-laundering investigation led agents to Spitzer. According to two sources, Spitzer hit the federal radar when a bank reported to the Internal Revenue Service that a significant amount of money had been suspiciously transferred from one account to another.

After receiving the IRS report last year, the FBI corruption squad linked the account transfers to a prostitution ring, according to various sources.

The FBI criminal division joined the inquiry to look into the prostitution ring, while the federal corruption team continued its investigation into Spitzer. Investigators are focusing on how Spitzer paid for the sexual encounters, what he may have done to conceal the movement and source of the money, and whether he broke any laws doing it, sources said.

I'd like to you take a moment to track the progression of how journalists like to muck around with the political process without being accountable to anybody but their editorial boards.

Yesterday I was happy to go to bat for John McCain, thanks to the New York Times incredibly crass hit job. Well, today the Managing Editor of the Seattle Post Intelligencer has this to say about the NY Times' hatchet job:

Admitting that Keller was in a better position to vet the sourcing and facts than I am as, basically, a reader, let's assume that every source is solid and every fact attributed in the story to an anonymous source is true. You're still dealing with a possible appearance of impropriety, eight years ago, that is certainly unproven and probably unprovable.

Where is the solid evidence of this lobbyist improperly influencing (or bedding) McCain? I didn't see it in the half-dozen times I read the story. In paragraphs fifty-eight through sixty-one of the sixty-five-paragraph story, the Times points out two matters in which McCain took actions favorable to the lobbyist's clients -- that were also clearly consistent with his previously stated positions.

That's pretty thin beer.

And the "it must be so because it's in The New York Times" argument will never hold much water after Judith Miller and Ahmed Chalabi got done perforating it.

Ethics and Standards of Conduct for Tribal Officials

Type of Event: Training
Hosted By: Falmouth Institute
Event Dates: 4/21/2008 - 4/22/2008
Event Location: Albuquerque, NM
Cost: $755
Contact: Falmouth Institute
Email: information@falmouthinstitute.com
Contact Phone:800-992-4489
Contact Fax:703-352-2323
Website: http://www.falmouthinstitute.com

Course Description:Though the vast majority of tribal officials conduct their business with flawless ethical standards, many decisions that they make are fraught with ethical dilemmas, either real or perceived. The fact is, when it comes to ethics, appearance is everything. Public scrutiny of tribal government activities and an increased awareness of ethics laws and regulations mandate that all tribal officials be above reproach. Find out how to develop a code of ethics, from the code structure to purpose and objectives to rules and guidelines. This class will teach you how to distinguish between legal and ethical considerations. Real-life case studies, ethical dilemmas and conflicts will be explored to help you develop a sense of what is legal, ethical or both. Self-assessment exercises will allow you to examine your organization’s current status and future needs.

How to Register: Falmouth Institute class sizes are limited. Registrations MUST be received at least 10 business days before the class start date.

Elections - Ethics and Voting

Type of Event: Training
Hosted By: J. Dalton Institute
Event Dates: 6/23/2008 - 6/24/2008
Event Location: Las Vegas, NV
Contact: J. Dalton Institute
Email: jdalton98@aol.com
Contact Phone:1-888-886-0664
Contact Fax:920-338-8683
Website: http://www.jdaltoninstitute.com

Course Description:DAY ONE: Seminar Overview, Professional Networking Exercise, Ethics and Professional Responsibility - Core Values Role Play, Roles and Responsibilities of Board Members and Staff, Role of the Tribal Council, Fundamental Fairness in Tribal Elections, How to Prepare SOP's for Election Staff and Boards. DAY TWO: Electronic Voting vs Manual Voting, Ballots, Evaluations, Presentation of Certificates, Closing.

How to Register: http://www.jdaltoninstitute.com/registration.html

Memorandum is off the hook this morning with news that Alberto Gonzales has resigned as US Attorney General.

There are cheers and jeers all around the blogosphere for what many consider the worst Attorney General to the worst Presidency in the history of the United States. The press release from Ralph Neas over at People For the American Way better encapsulates what a lot of people in the blogosphere are saying :

The Ennabler General

It’s high time this attorney general resigned. Alberto Gonzales was the 'Enabler General' for the imperial Bush presidency. He undermined the Constitution, made a mockery of the rule of law, and turned the Justice Department into an arm of the Bush Administration’s political operation.

Gonzales protected the interests of George W. Bush over the interests of the American people at every turn. He oversaw a Justice Department that was twisted to serve political interests, from the president’s domestic spying program to bogus allegations of voting fraud that kept minorities and poor people from the ballot box. He showed open contempt for oversight by Congress, and gave testimony under oath that was at best incompetent and at worst, deliberately untrue.

...

Now, it’s time to heal the Justice Department, and find a new attorney general who will restore integrity to the office.

To me though, what's really is important is how Gonzales' fall is not just a foible of his character. To me what is important here is how the Bush administration has used the idea of "diversity" to empower into corruption racial, ethnic and gender minorities.