Those who have been closely following the dismissal of U.S. Attorneys by the Bush Administration may know that one of them involves a U.S. Attorney who did not move fast enough with an investigation into possible kickbacks relating to the building of a county courthouse in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Laws are highly over-rated. This is one reason why the City Ethics Model Code Project is not just about codes, but the centerpiece of a wide-ranging discussion of all the issues involved in creating, improving, and maintaining local government ethics programs.

We have been doing a lot of research into the scene in Iraq, and in doing so, I have formed an opinion regarding what single form of corruption has been the most significant in creating the situation there...
It is the selection of people for roles there based on political persuasion, rather than demonstrated competence in the required field. Of course other things have occurred that warrant mention, but in all cases, the <b>sheer stupidity</b> of some of those actions stems in most cases from the complete incompetence of the people assigned to the tasks.

A former chancellor of Maricopa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona continued to work for the college on contract, while also having a business on the side that did business with the college on a no-bid basis. The business was set up by the college when he was chancellor and was given to him a few months after he retired.

In Isle La Motte, Vermont, according to <a href="http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070319/… recent article in the Burlington <i>Free Press</a>,</i> the longtime town clerk and treasurer diverted $100,000 of town funds to her own use.

Rushworth Kidder's 2005 book <i>Moral Courage</i> is something all municipal officials should read. It's not only a good introduction to ethics, but it focuses on the quality that is most important to create and maintain an ethical environment in any organization, and especially in governments. But since you probably won't read the book, here are a few of Kidder's points that will most profit municipal officials.

Early on, I did <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/116">a blog entry on apology</a>. I even included apology in <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/mc/full#TOC60">107(1) of the Model Ethics Code</a>, as a stated option for officials, so that their municipality does not have to go to the trouble of investigating their actions and holding hearings.

Personal interest vs. public interest is central to government ethics. We tend to think, however, that it's central to them (officials) not to us (citizens), and that we have nothing to learn from this sort of ethics. 

Well, we're wrong. 

Buried in <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/254">my blog entry on the Louisiana legislators' attempt to undermine recusal on constitutional grounds</a> is a short discussion of what I refer to as 'the public-interested side' of recusal. I would like to talk a little more about this, because I think the failure to discuss it enough is a serious problem.

Before I got around to putting up a blog entry on the ethics mess in Louisiana, it took a turn for the worse. What started as two legislators protecting the jobs, respectively, of their father and their brother, has turned into a full-fledged constitutional battle that could undermine the concept of recusal for conflicts of interest nationwide.