In the news

It's rare that the number of a <a href="http://www.nigeria-law.org/Criminal%20Code%20Act-Part%20VI%20%20to%20th…; target="_blank">fraud
provision</a> (419) is used as the chorus of a musical number, but this
is what happens in a song about government corruption in the new

Michael J. Sandel's famous introduction to ethical philosophy course at
Harvard University, <i>Justice</i>,
is becoming available on video both <a href="http://www.justiceharvard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=categor…; target="”_blank”"><b>online</b></a>
and on many PBS stations across the country (dates and times vary; in some

When a congressman goes after a lawyer whose organization filed an
ethics complaint against him (in his capacity as Colorado's secretary
of state), you know he is more interested in getting even than he is in
the public interest. Getting even, however, is not what public servants should be doing.<br>
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No one does unethics like Chicago. It's been four months since I've
written about the city, so it's long overdue.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/1670645,CST-NWS-oconnor17.article…; target="”_blank”">a
recent article in the Chicago <span>Sun-Times</span></a><span>, </span>Alderman Patrick O'Connor is the

<br>
<big><span>If I am corrupt, it is because I
take care of my district.<br>
<br>
</span></big>—Rep. John P. Murtha (PA)<br>
<br>
Click for <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/490&quot; target="”_blank”">more on this topic</a>.<br>
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<b>See Update Below</b><br>
At a <a href="http://evans.washington.edu/node/2146&quot; target="”_blank”">University of
Washington panel</a> on Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the Northern
District of Illinois, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, known most recently for
his investigation and arrest of Gov. Blagojevich, spoke about
corruption in government and what can be done about it.<br>
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The saying goes that nice guys finish last. People who act ethically,
especially in politics, are rarely remembered.<br>
<br>
But there are, occasionally, exceptions. One of them, former Argentine
president Raúl Alfonsín, died last week, and he is being
memorialized all over the world for his decency.<br>
<br>

There's <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR20090…; target="”_blank”">a
great article</a> in Friday's Washington <span>Post</span> about Pres. Obama's ethics
guru, Norm Eisen. It provides an excellent picture of what it means to
be an ethics adviser, which is summed up in Eisen's nickname, Mr. No.<br>
<br>

Check out <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090214_Karen_Heller__Fumo_s_g…; target="”_blank”">this excellent look</a> at Vincent J. Fumo, a Pennsylvania state senator who "made no distinction between the personal and the political." Of special interest is his intimidating treatment of his staff.<br>
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It's good to see that, upon his death, attention is being given to the
life of Donald C. Alexander, the IRS Commissioner who stood up to
President Nixon at the end of Nixon's time in office.<br>