The Daily Muck

The administration rolled out its new disaster recovery plan this week, and the states aren’t happy about it. Despite drafting the new system for two years, they allege, the government has still left unclear any chain of command during a disaster, and the plan gives no substantive detail for guiding officials through different types of disaster. The government fired back saying that the final plan would be a “collaborative process”: the states have 30 days to digest the plan and come up with improvements. (Washington Post)

Hsu- you’re freaking me out, dude. An investor with Norman Hsu is complaining that the money he gave to the investment company of the fundraiser-turned-best-story-ever is now missing. The investor? Joel Rosenman, one the original creators of Woodstock. (Wall Street Journal)

Hillary Clinton has long told her staff that the biggest threat to her presidential campaign would be to accept questionable funds, which would link her, in the minds of voters, to Democratic scandals from her husband’s tenure. Whoops. (NY Times)

On the plus side, presidential candidates are buckling down on campaign contributions, with both Edwards and Clinton performing criminal background checks on all donors. (LA Times)

The Justice Department has announced that it will not prosecute executives of Chiquita Banana for paying bribes to Columbian paramilitaries that are designated as terrorists by the U.S. government. I guess preventing the funding of terrorists is not on the list of DOJ priorities. Although it always helps when your college roommate was Michael Chertoff. (Washington Post)

Apparently Senator Vitter (R-LA) has been mixing business and pleasure more than we knew. A former New Orleans prostitute has come forward to declare that she had a “pure sex relationship” with the Senator. He “would come in and do his business” and “I want the truth to be known.” (Associated Press)

Where do you go after government work? If you’re Marion Blakey, head of the FAA, you go to become CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, one of the largest organizations that your agency currently oversees. No conflict of interest there; none at all. (USA TODAY)

Rep. Waxman agreed yesterday to Republican requests; he will investigate whether President Clinton’s staff hosted their fair share of political briefings. Waxman did note that the inquiry is less onerous, primarily because almost all of the documents that would be needed for such an investigation were released by Clinton, back when Congress first requested them. (Politico)

Republicans in Congress are searching for religion – the “fiscal religion they feel was lost somewhere along the way amid the earmark scandals.” The Politico reports that House Minority Leader John Boener (R-OH) is picking a fight with Democrats over the new leadership’s discretionary funding as “part of a concerted effort to recapture the party’s soul on tax and spending issues and find an issue the GOP can tout for next year’s elections.” Democrats have proposed modest discretionary spending increases but with the fiasco in Iraq and memories of Abramoff’s earmarks spending scandals, Republicans such as House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) believe that “this fight is going to play very well for us.” (Politico)

An 18 million dollar American Indian cultural center in South Dakota (Wakpa Sica) remains a vacant 30,000 square foot shell because funding has disappeared. The project is a victim of the “anti-earmark sentiment, prompted in part by the scandals surrounding the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Representative Randy Cunningham of California and by proposed projects like the $200 million “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska.” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has criticized the project, once championed by former Sen. Tom Daschle, asserting that “we don’t need any more cultural centers,” “we’re fighting a war; why should we be spending any more on a cultural centers.” But despite tougher rules on earmarks, “Washington has hardly sworn off earmarks. House lawmakers have put together spending bills with nearly 6,500 earmarks worth almost $11 billion, though the budget process is far from done.” (NY Times)

One of Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D-Mo) top aides has been supplementing his $98K a year job with the Congressman by moonlighting as a state-level lobbyist. Phil Scaglia is interoffice coordinator for the Congressman’s office in Kansas City and Washington, D.C., but also maintains a lobbying practice in the home district. Apparently, Scaglia is not in violation of any House rules that cap income from outside enterprises as such rules apply only to those earning over $111K. As for any conflict of interests, the Congressman’s spokesperson insists that “Mr. Scaglia makes sure to separate the two jobs,” even when Cleaver’s name has come up during lobbying appearances. (Roll Call)