CULTURE OF CORRUPTION UPDATE:

She may have defaulted on mortgages and lost a home in foreclosure, but that hasn’t stopped Long Beach Rep. Laura Richardson from driving in style and at great expense, courtesy of the taxpayer. The lease on Richardson’s 2007 Lincoln Town Car costs about $1,300 a month — the most expensive lease of any member of the House of Representatives, reports the Daily Breeze. Richardson’s monthly lease, paid by the federal government, is much larger than the $400 to $800 a month that other House members pay, according to a taxpayer group.

While Richardson has leased the vehicle only since last fall, it already been involved in one traffic accident while being driven by a staff member. In addition, Long Beach police ticketed the car in January for illegal parking, a ticket that has gone unpaid.

But that’s not all. Read the whole thing. And try

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A public hearing on a proposed charter school for Elmira drew about 20 people to the Elmira Free Academy community room Tuesday night with only a handful speaking about the proposal.

Because, lets face it people, if Afr wants this charter school shoved through, a couple of his lapdogs on the City Council will start shoving.

Who wants to be that the schools books will be closed to taxpayer oversight?

But no real worries folks, Afr will do fine and turn a tidy profit, you and I, not so much.

High energy prices are likely to be the hottest issue in the upcoming 29th District congressional race.

Kuhls plan is to drill now, drill often and to sell oil cheap.

Massa, sue the oil companies, tax the oil companies and maybe offer free cake to you (so you can eat cake).

Which plan do you like better?

Elmira police want to remind everyone that a free garbage pickup program on the city’s Westside is over.

Consider yourself warned!

A new school board president and vice president have been appointed.

Appointed was a good word to use, as they were not elected. They were selected. Hand picked by Bryant, weeks ago. Sniff…snifff…whats that smell? Fraud?

WASHINGTON POST: Obama Got Discount on Home Loan.

“The real question is: Were congressmen getting unique treatment that others weren’t getting?” associate law professor Adam J. Levitin, a credit specialist at Georgetown University Law Center, said about the Countrywide loans. “Do they do business like that for people who are not congressmen? If they don’t, that’s a problem.”

Yes, that’s the question.

UPDATE: Bob Owens: “Obama had no prior relationship with the lender, was taking out a $1.32 million loan below market rates, without paying the customary fees. So what? . . . Barack Obama did precisely what every other politician does, and nothing more. The only reason this story merits any attention is that Obama’s campaign has created a mythology around him that casts him as a reformer.”

Yeah, “Barack Obama: More of the Same” wouldn’t have been much of a slogan.

IN COLOMBIA, A MAJOR HOSTAGE RESCUE and another embarrassment for the FARC terrorists: “Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos has confirmed that former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was held captive by the FARC, was rescued during a military operation on Wednesday. Santos said no one had been hurt in the rescue.”

The Counterterrorism Blog says the operation was something right out of a spy thriller. More on the rescue here.

HELLER AND NEW YORK: “In a sign that federal courts here in New York will defend New York City’s restrictive gun regulations, a judge is allowing the city to strip a disabled Vietnam War veteran of his gun license.”

Some constitutional rights are less equal than others.

FIVE VULNERABLE NODES in the global energy network. The logical response to such vulnerability, and a fear that disruption might be imminent, say because of something involving Iran, would be to build stockpiles. But if people started doing that, oil prices would rise to record levels. Probably even at a time when the economy was slowing.

Meanwhile, from the comments:

My two cents of logic.

1. As oil prices rise higher, more and more sustainable energy solutions become financially viable.

2. Sustainable energy helps cool the earth thus solving the problem of global warming and saving the planet.

3. Greenpeace supports saving the earth.

4.Any attack on Iran would cause the price of oil to spike.

My conclusion - Greenpeace supports an attack on Iran (at least in concept).

You can’t argue with logic like that.

CHINA AND THE INTERNET:

A recent analysis of web sites pushing malware (software that helps hackers steal data) revealed that half of them are connected with just ten ISPs (Internet Service Providers), and six of those ISPs are in China. This came as no surprise, as China has become the favorite hideout for Internet criminals.

There’s just one catch. The Chinese Internet is highly policed by a special force of 30,000 secret police technicians. On the Chinese Internet, you don’t do something the government does not want, at least not for long. So how do these criminals manage to survive on such a heavily policed portion of the Internet? It’s no secret that a lot of Internet mischief comes out of China, with the tacit approval of the Chinese government.

Indeed.