Daily Archives: September 16, 2008

More Tampering?

Besides Governor Brian Schweitzer embarrassing our state with his speech to the trail lawyers in Philadelphia where he detailed how he tampered with the election of 2006, it appears his staff has been doing a little tampering with the Governor’s Wikipedia site. Check out the story HERE from the U of M College Republicans.


Of course, they wanted to take down the section that informed readers about the Governor turning some dials to rig the election victory for Jon Tester.


They also apparently used a computer registered to the State of Montana when editing the site. Taxpayer-funded staff helping the Governor to look good – sounds like the PSA issue all over again.


Will the Governor and his employees ever learn that using taxpayer-funded computers for non-duty related work or campaign work and doing it during the time you are earning a paycheck from the state is illegal, not to mention unethical? Maybe they need to remove Internet access like they did the games that come installed on the computers?


In 2006, the Montana media went wild about the same issue when it was a Republican. We’ll see if they cover this. It won’t be going away anytime soon.


Also, for more news about the Governor’s election rigging scandal, click HERE.


Money

Tailored suits, chauffeured cars. Fine hotels and big cigars. Up for grabs, all for a price! -Money Talks –AC/DC



We’ve all by now probably heard of the problems that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), is having. There is now an ethics investigation going on regarding his problems with, of all things, taxes.



So much for the promise by the Democrats to clean up things in Washington.



Back in early 2007, I commented about Rangel and Montana’s own Max Baucus, from the Senate Committee on Finance, starting their own Political Action Committee (PAC) to raise money.



Interestingly, they abruptly ended their PAC in late July 2007 after raising around $150,000.



Maybe Rangel and Baucus already knew there were going to be rough waters ahead for Rangel. Each have 30+ years back there. They can read the tea leaves well.



On another, more current, issue involving Rangel and Baucus which deals with the failure of some investment firms, CQ Politics reports today that:



Congress is likely to feel the loss as well of securities firms Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, as well as the downward spiral American Insurance Group (AIG), particularly in their campaign coffers.



The three financial institutions and their employees have given about $4.7 million this election cycle to members of Congress, presidential candidates and parties; particularly to those who oversee economic and monetary policy.



And guess who received some of that money?



Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus , D-Mont., and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel , D-N.Y., also cashed in from the three PACs. Baucus accepted $15,750 and Rangel, $14,000.



Maybe they should give it back?