Rod R. Blagojevich’s alleged corruption climaxed in connection the governor’s methods of operation in his obligation to fill the Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he was elected to the presidency of the United States. In the impeachment hearings held in the Illinois state capital, the full senate was allowed to hear and review transcripts from phone conversations taped by the FBI, which had been investigating Blagojevich for this and other pay-to-play schemes many politicians have become infamous for. These tapes not only exposed Blagojevich as a willing participant in attaining money and other considerations for him and his family, but more sensationalism was brought to this case by the language in which he used to conduct business. The transcripts of these conversations were fillied with so many-expletives, traditional media had to warn its readers and viewers before the edited contents were displayed.

Blagojevich was elected Governor of Illinois in 2002 after ethics scandals and allegations of impropriety plagued the tenure of then Governor George Ryan. Through his six years as governor of the state of Illinois, Blagojevich was also the subject of multiple investigations by multiple law enforcement agencies. In fact, he has been called by some of his opponents the most investigated governor in Illinois history. In what has become one of the more highly publicized collections of stories of this historic election year, Rod Blagojevich has fought some of the most difficult battles of his life. In the process he has become one of the most pivotal characters in the world of politics today. Though he is considered by many to be one of recent history’s worst political leaders from a moral and ethical standpoint, there are those who believe that Blago’s charm is still enough to warrant him the attention it seems he craves and seeks to use to his advantage. In lieu of participating or testifying at his own impeachment hearings, Blagojevich embarked on a media tour to proclaim his innocence directly to the American people, via television and radio shows. This unorthodox approach may have actually worked in his favor, at least for those who tend to take what we hear at face value. As an addendum to this story, there is also a comedic stageplay that is being performed in front of sold out audiences that centers around Blagojevich entitled Rod Blagojevich Superstar! To give an insight into his popularity, it has been reported that the character who plays Blagojevich appears onstage sporting a wig similar to Blago’s now famous ‘do’ causing the audience to swell with laughter before one line has even been delivered. Blagojevich has also been guest hosting a series of radio shows to an audience that seems to still support him or at least be intrigued by him. His audacity to remain in the public eye in spite of his list of accusations has also led him to ink a book deal with Phoenix Books that is expected to shed light on the corruption many politicians have been accused of in their careers as public servants. A statement from Michael Viner, President and CEO explains the excitement at the prospect of hearing the full story, unedited, courtesy of an independent publishing company.

While the Blagojevich story has yet to totally unfold, it is worth mentioning that corruption in Illinois politics is not a new concept. In fact, three other former governors have left the governor’s mansion amid scandal only to be escorted to a correctional facility. There are many people, including critics and pundits alike, that feel that Blagojevich should and will eventually follow his predecessors in obtaining a prisoner number. Although this remains to be seen, the one thing that is the definite truth is that whether you love him or hate him, Mr. Blagojevich has not gone willingly into the night. He has fought with all the means readily available to him to reconcile what is an otherwise dead brand. His political career is indeed over in Illinois, but I think it is safe to say, we have not seen the last of the infamous hair that many will no doubt identify him with for years to come.

Sources cited:
[1] http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/uselection/story.html?id=1052309 Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich arrested on corruption charges. Sheldon Alberts. December 9, 2008
[2] http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/12/09/Blagojevich-busted-cont-d.aspx Blagojevich Busted. Jason Zangerle. December 9, 2008
[3] http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jan/27/eugene-robinson-what-impeachable-offenses/ What Impeachable Offenses?. Eugene Robinson. January 27, 2009
[4] http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/12/09/four-letter-word-abounds-in-ill-govs-indictment/ Blagojevich drops 18 F-bombs in complaint. Michael O’Brien. December 9, 2008
[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/us/10blago.html?_r=1&ref=politics Portrait of A Politician: Vengeful and Profane. Susan Saulny. December 10, 2008
[6] http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/38995972.html Ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich tells David Letterman ‘I’ll be vindicated’. Marcus Franklin. February 4, 2009
[7] http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/29/blagojevich-is-still-everywhere-%E2%80%93-and-some-can-smile-about-it/ Blagojevich is still everywhere – and some can smile about it. Mark Guarino. March 29, 2009
[8] http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-blagojevich-radio,0,401472.story Blagojevich on the radio again. Associated Press. March 27, 2009
[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-viner/why-we-gave-rod-blagojevi_b_171973.html Why We Gave Rod Blagojevich a Book Deal. Michael Viner. March 4, 2009

[10] http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9876 Politics and Corruption, Together Again. David Boaz. January 6, 2009

The following includes the latest developments to my topic surrounding former Governor Rod Blagojevich. The most useful info so far has been found on a google newsgroup and can be located at:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.rush-limbaugh/browse_thread/thread/f80ff1b7c96a9e35?q=blagojevich
This link discusses the proposed book deal between Blagojevich and Phoenix books, including the reasoning for him choosing this large independent publisher instead of one of the larger, "major" publishers. Blagojevich wanted to secure a publisher that would not censor his comments, so the whole truth could be told, as this is expected to be a tell-all book, which is sure to embarrass himself as well as others in politics.

Also of interest is the renewed call by some to remove Roland Burris, Obama’s Senatorial replacement appointed by Blagojevich in the midst of the scandal that expedited his impeachment and conviction. Some say Burris’ appointment was tainted from the beginning as Blagojevich was being accused of wrongdoing in the attempted sale of the very Senate post he now occupies. Investigations into Burris’ recent past have revealed that he has at least attempted to raise funds to contribute to Blagojevich’s campaign. Emerging from this growing crowd of opposition is labor lawyer and congressional candidate Tom Geoghegan. Geoghegan and his attorneys have filed suit against the state of Illinois in an attempt to force a special election, causing a candidate to be chosen by the people. The newsgroup ny.politics has a posting in relation to this at

http://groups.google.com/group/ny.politics/browse_thread/thread/721be292312523b6?q=roland+burris

Listservs

Today's blog deals with the never ending quest for information that spawned the creation of Listserv. This specialized method of obtaining information was designed to allow users to access many databases and archives from servers around the world that contain information on a wide range of topics.

The listservs to which I have subscribed are part of the u.s. government's printing office that publishes information on a large scale for different organizations. The difficulties I have encountered so far in this particular listserv group is that the issues listed in the archives are just that: dated archives that do not directly relate to my topic. this listserv is located at

The other listserv that I have been attempting to access information from is located at URL:http://www.ire.org/quickhits/09_Feb13.html. Although this site seemed to be promising, a few days after I registered i was sent an email stating that I had accessed an area that I should not have been allowed to access. The message follows:

This email list is intended to be used by federal executive branch ethics officials and other interested federal Government employees. If you are a federal employee using a commercial email address, please provide the name of the agency that you work for. If you are not a federal employee you will be removed from this list.

As a side note, I still find it a little troubling to think that my name and email address are floating around the government ranks somewhere, but maybe I've just watched to many movies dealing with conspiracy theories......... I am not quite sure where it came from, but since signing up for the listservs, I was also sent a message that contained a survey intended only for teachers of government or social studies........possibly related?

I am still searching for a listserv that will give me more information on my topic, centering on political corruption with the former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as the main character in a story of greed, arrogance, and what has become one of the most intriguing cases in recent public history.

Assignment Update - Blagojevich

Although there were stories being published in papers across the country about former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich detailing his exit path from the Governor's Mansion and the impeachment trial, many of these were reprinted from the Associated Press. There was much media hype concerning Blagojevich's refusal to be present at the trial to defend himself against allegations of corruption in connection with President Obama's U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich tried to capitalize on the hype by going on an media tour, giving interviews to many tv programs, including two late-night talk show appearances. This ploy was of little effect, as he was unanimously voted out of office, a vote of 59 - 0.
As quickly as Blagojevich became somewhat of a household name, he seems to have disappeared into the night, but who knows he may resurface somewhere. Many politicians are like cats, nine lives and claws.

The Color Of Money

This blog will focus on the lasting importance of Bill Dedman's piece that was first published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on May 1, 1988 entitled The Color Of Money. This piece is monumental in that it exposed the truth that racial based discrimination was a covert practice among the banks and savings and loans in the Atlanta area. The depth of the data presented was both overwhelming and compelling, making this story rather lengthy. The ways Dedman dissects the banks and mortgage companies' own reports and statistics shows that even if it were not a deliberate attempt to ostracize the black community by denying home loans in predominantly black communities, the banks' failed to market their products in those areas and make themselves visible as a source for the purpose of home ownership. One of the reasons banks offered for the disparity was that they were not primarily in business to make home loans. While this may be true, the study also took into account mortgage companies that were owned by the banks and savings & loans in question. In the second story detailing how the study was conducted, the reader is informed on the steps taken to remove bias from the findings of the study. Since many of the reports considered for data purposes did not contain information on race, the study was conducted in a city where the middle class black population rivaled that of the middle class white popluation and only took into account areas where at least 80 percent of the residents were of one ethnicity or another. This gives us the truest sense of what the data represents. Regardless of the reasoning, the bottom line is that Blacks were not able to secure home loans from financial institutions at the same rate as whites, or in other words, black are denied at a much higher rate. This story was aided by the use of computers which housed the data with which all of the statistics were created, allowing us to see clearly into a problem that existed since this country's origin.

Blog #1

Hello, world wide web. My name is Christopher Davis and I am a student at Lane College in Jackson, TN. I must type quickly before the Lane internet slows or stops working and my connection is lost. My plans for my impending mass communication degree from Lane includes an extremely lucrative career in movie and commercial voiceovers. You know, the guy whose voice you hear on all the previews before the movie comes on, that's gonna be me! I can see it now the lights go down in the movie theater and then you hear me say, "In a world without peace, one man etc, etc, etc......" Don't laugh and don't say I didn't tell you it was gonna happen. And don't call me to ask for tickets to the Oscars!