Did indicted Illinois governor skip online ethics training ...

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

The case is interesting because, while the things he is quoted as saying are 
reprehensible, nothing in the quotes that have been brought forth to date that 
I have seen are in themselves illegal. That is, he is neither offering a 
bribe nor accepting one--he is merely saying that he would like to make money on 
the deal. Whether this is an indirect speech act of soliciting a bribe depends 
very much on the context--whom he was addressing being of paramount 
imporatance. Note that he keeps saying, "I did not say anything that broke the law."

If all that is true, then the prosecution might be able to use this as 
evidence of his state of mind to corroborate other evidence. But I suspect that he 
will defend himself by saying that he was just venting his frustrations.

In a message dated 12/10/08 3:05:01 AM, DEBARON at ILLINOIS.EDU writes:


> There's a new post on the Web of Language:
> 
> Did indicted Illinois governor skip online ethics training that he 
> mandated for all state employees?
> 
> In 2003, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich ordered mandatory online 
> ethics training for all state employees. Illinois had a reputation for 
> being a politically corrupt state, and Blagojevich was determined to 
> put an end to that. He told USA Today, "To truly change the culture in 
> state government, we need to ensure that everyone involved – from the 
> elected officials down to the mailroom clerks – understands what the 
> rules are and how they apply to our work as employees of the public."
> 
> But apparently, the governor forgot to take the ethics training 
> himself. That's why FBI agents arrested Blago on Dec. 9 for trying to 
> sell the Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama and other 
> acts of political corruption. According to  Patrick J. Fitzgerald, 
> U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois (the same federal prosecutor who 
> convicted Bushie Scooter Libby in the Valerie Plame affair, while 
> letting Karl Rove off the hook), Blagojevich's actions "would make 
> Lincoln roll over in his grave."
> 
> ....
> 
> read the rest of this post on the Web of Language
> 
> http://illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage
> 
> Dennis Baron
> Professor of English and Linguistics
> Department of English
> University of Illinois
> 608 S. Wright St.
> Urbana, IL 61801
> 
> office: 217-244-0568
> fax: 217-333-4321
> 
> http://illinois.edu/goto/debaron
> 
> read the Web of Language:
> http://illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 




**************
Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and 
favorite sites in one place.  Try it now. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&
icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010)

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org