<a href="http://articles.courant.com/2013-11-15/news/hc-ed-hartford-treasurer-et…; target="”_blank”">A
Hartford <i>Courant</i> editorial on Friday</a> asked a question that is
not asked enough, Why delay an ethics investigation until a criminal
investigation is complete? Another such question that is not asked

<a href="http://parentsunitedphila.com/2013/11/15/is-right-to-know-the-new-pay-t…; target="”_blank”">A
recent post on Philadelphia's Parents United for Public Education
blog</a> raises an issue that pulls together FOI and confidential
information issues. Entitled "Is 'right to know' the new 'pay
to play'?", the post is about Parents United's attempt to make

According to <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/11/whats_in_a_name_for_a_st…; target="”_blank”">an

I'm reading an excellent novel right now:  <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=AsFLaG69M-wC&pg=PA382&dq=quiet+chaos&h…; target="”_blank”"><i>Quiet
Chaos</i></a> by Sandro Veronesi, translated from the Italian by
Michael F. Moore (Ecco, 2004, 2011).<br>
<br>

<a href="http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/repository/SA/pa13044.pdf%27&quot; target="”_blank”">A
November audit by Tennessee's Comptroller</a> applies the <a href="http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html&quot; target="”_blank”">Federal
Acquisition Regulation</a> (FAR) to a state procurement situation,

As I keep saying, conflicts are about "benefits" and
"relationships" rather than about "interests," and this should be
reflected in the language of ethics codes. The clash of these two
kinds of language is the subject of a recent Virginia Supreme Court

"Frivolous" is a word that, I believe, has no place in a government ethics
program. A look at an attempt to add it to Kenosha's ethics program
shows how, well, frivolous the word is.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/ordinance_seeks_to_derail_frivolous_eth…; target="”_blank”">an

In my estimation, Seattle voters made a big mistake last week. They
voted for two related changes to their government. One was a public
campaign financing program for citywide council elections. The other
was a change from citywide council elections to district council
elections, which would leave only two citywide positions.<br>
<br>
Public financing was rejected 51.6% vs. 48.4%. Council districts
were accepted 65.6% vs. 34.4%. Both votes will lead to more
institutional corruption in Seattle. By this, I mean the legal

According to <a href="http://www.alldc.org/press/Rebrand%20PR%2010-14-2013v2.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">a
press release from the American League of Lobbyists</a>, the
association that lobbies for lobbyists, the membership has voted to
change its name and "brand" to the Association of Government
Relations Professionals.<br>
<br>
It's good that lobbyists do not run election campaigns, because

In early 2009, I started out <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/638&quot; target="”_blank”">a blog post</a>, "Type
'ethics' into the search line at utah.gov, and all that comes up
is Archery Ethics Course Online." That is no longer true. In fact,
the state legislature not only has an ethics commission, it even
passed a local ethics commission act. And in response to