Journalism done correctly is inherently liberal. It is inherently on the side of Truth and Justice. It is supposed to be that way. That is its function in a democracy. You can find this in mission statements of journalism organizations all over the place.
The Ethically Challenged
Submitted by Sisyphus on Fri, 02/08/2008 - 5:04pm.
Not a week goes by where yet another ethically questionable transaction occurs in Republican dominated state government. The latest fiasco is the Senate confirmation of Butch Otter's appointment to administration director of his good buddy and business partner Mike Gwartney. Among many other things, Gwartney sits on the Board of Directors for Regence Blue Shield and Blue Cross of Idaho, which just happens to contract with the state for providing health benefits for state employees. Since the state is a major employer its of no small significance to Regence. He will take no pay for his position.
Yet Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, saw no issue here. He wishes we had more rich people working for free in government. Well, why not just slide the whole IACI Board of Directors into state government? I'm sure they'd do it without a state funded payroll check as well. And it would just eliminate the need for lobbyists since they'd already be in government. Senator Kate Kelly found issues of Gwartney's accountability and the glaring conflict of interest and properly voted no on Mr. Gwartney's appointment.
On Tuesday the question was raised whether Jeff Malmen, a lobbyist and former chief of staff for Governor Otter, should remain on a committee that oversees legislative salaries, a recipe for quid pro quo if one ever existed. After inquiry by the media, Mr. Malmen decided to resign the membership he'd accepted only hours before.
Some believe Gwartney is the reason Jeff Malmen left the Governor's service, neither willing to share power. Mr. Malmen didn't stay long with Kempthorne when Phil Reberger assumed the reins of power in that office. The new chief of staff and Mr. Gwartney were seen downtown the other day. No determination could be made on who was holding the leash.
Republican is the party of closed session lawmaking, cozy relationships, and sweetheart deals. If the media and Senator Kelly hadn't been doing their jobs these things wouldn't have been exposed. Makes you wonder what's been missed.
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I received this correction
via email.
I'm aware of the distinction but have no idea how accurate this is. It sounds right.
Nice post ...
Sisyphus. It does indeed make you wonder.
For those of you who don't read The Idaho Statesman, two articles ran yesterday and today about this very topic.
The Sunday Statesman had a long
article about Otter's relationship with Gwartney. Be sure you read far enough into the article to enjoy Gwartney's comment about his and "Butchie's" trophy wives.
The Spokesman Review ran this story about Erika Malmen, Jeff Malmen's wife, who was recently hired as the lobbyist for Areva, a French "nuclear-services" company, on January 31st. The Statesman ran a slightly different version today, about Malmen and other lobbyists who enjoy cozy relationships with those they now lobby. (I can't find the Statesman's article online.)
And that Statesman article is
here.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/1306/story/290361.html
The relationships are much tighter than are portrayed.
Thanks shrew, I was just getting around to that. That was big help.