Wednesday - June 07, 2006

Ticket To Ride

_{Jim Day - Las Vegas Review Journal}

- Houston Chronicle: “Lawmakers took millions in free trips, study finds”

WASHINGTON - Members of Congress and their aides took free trips worth nearly $50 million paid for by corporations, trade associations and other private groups between January 2000 and June 2005, according to a study released today. Some of the 23,000 trips featured $500-a-night hotel rooms, $25,000 corporate jet rides and visits to popular spots such as Paris, Hawaii and Colorado ski resorts, said the study, by the Center for Public Integrity, American Public Media and Northwestern University’s Medill News Service.

Former House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay and his staffers accepted about a half million dollars in trips during the period under review—more than any other congressional office, the study said. DeLay resigned as the number two House Republican in the House and will leave Congress this week, after he was indicted of violating campaign finance laws in his home state of Texas. “In many instances, trip sponsors appeared to be buying access to elected officials or their advisers,” the study said.

While some excursions were legitimate fact-finding missions, others appeared to have been little more than “pricey vacations” wrapped around speeches or seminars in which the lawmaker was joined by family members, the study said. The data emerged from a nine-month-long review of congressional travel disclosure forms and coincided with ongoing federal investigations of political corruption and efforts to clean up how Congress does business.

Congressional trip sponsors, the study said, included Microsoft, Time Warner and The Walt Disney Co., along with the Association of American Railroads.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/07/2006 at 03:41 AM   
Filed Under: • Humor • Politics •  
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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