Back in Buffalo

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Our family returned from our far-flung Christmas tour, including Washington D.C., Raleigh, NC, and the Tri-Cities, TN area.

We're happy to be home, though it's awfully cold and our pilot light was out when we returned to a 46-degree apartment. Don't worry, it's warmed up now.

Some news:

#1: Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2007

Of course, Hillary is #1 on the Top 10 list.

Rudy makes #5 and Clemency/Unethical Huck gets the #6 spot.

5. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY): Giuliani came under fire in late 2007 after it was discovered the former New York mayor’s office “billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons…” ABC News also reported that Giuliani provided Nathan with a police vehicle and a city driver at taxpayer expense. All of this news came on the heels of the federal indictment on corruption charges of Giuliani’s former Police Chief and business partner Bernard Kerik, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting a $165,000 bribe in the form of renovations to his Bronx apartment from a construction company attempting to land city contracts.

6. Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR): Governor Huckabee enjoyed a meteoric rise in the polls in December 2007, which prompted a more thorough review of his ethics record. According to The Associated Press: “[Huckabee’s] career has also been colored by 14 ethics complaints and a volley of questions about his integrity, ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income to his destruction of state computer files on his way out of the governor’s office.” And what was Governor Huckabee’s response to these ethics allegations? Rather than cooperating with investigators, Huckabee sued the state ethics commission twice and attempted to shut the ethics process down.

Judicial Watch is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Judicial Watch neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office. For more information, visit www.judicialwatch.org.

Update: I've since learned that this Top 10 is alphabetical. Hillary likely would remain at #1 if rankings were performed according to degree of unethical behavior. Rudy and Huck might even move up.

#2: Leader of Christian Iowa Group Gives Romney His Vote

Wait, was he supposed to do that?

Mitt Romney got a surprise endorsement on Saturday from the Rev. Morris Hurd, chairman of the Iowa Christian Alliance, a prominent conservative Christian group in the state, as he introduced the former Massachusetts governor at a rally tonight.

Officials with the group typically avoid making public endorsements because of their tax-exempt status, but Mr. Hurd blurted out his decision tonight in what felt like a bit of an accident.

“I’ll tell you a little secret,” he told the audience of more than 200 people. “I haven’t told anybody else this. I’ll tell this secret out here. Next Thursday, when I go to the caucuses, I’m going to cast my vote for Governor Mitt Romney.”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to endorse a candidate,” said Mr. Hurd afterward, when the Caucus approached him. “I hope I don’t get in trouble.”

Don't worry, Mr. Hurd. I won't tell.