donald, while i applaud your efforts to apprise your state's legislators of their ethical obligations, it concerns me that supposed adults would need to be.

many years ago, as a consequence of the newt gingrich inspired congressional dog-and-pony show, i and my colleagues were required to attend an 8 hour ethics class. it came complete with a lovely folder full of inspirational (and expensively produced) pamphlets, etc. we had  presentations by various and sundry members of upper-class officialdom.

my comment to my manager (in charge of the proceedings) afterwards was: "if, at this point in your life, you still don't know the difference between right and wrong, i fail to see how an 8 hour class is going to resolve that." he did not disagree.

I can't speak with any degree of authority regarding the controlling Michigan ethics rules and / or statutes, but perhaps each state should consider enacting mandatory ethics training for registered lobbyists, public officials (both elected and appointed) and their senior staff, in the manner that it was for me by institutional rule when I served as a legislative staff member in Hawaii.

Astonishingly, lobbyists are exempt from such a requirement in Hawaii, and until recently it was optional for elected officials, when convictions of two Honolulu city councilmembers for public corruption prompted an internal change of policy at our legislature. Now, newly elected state legislators are given eight hours of mandatory ethics training (still optional for returning incumbents) prior to being issued office keys and allowed to hire staff.

I must disclose my own interest in such matters, in that I was author / advocate for Rule No. 60 of the Rules of the Hawaii State House of Representatives, which governs the official conduct of both elected members of that body and their appointed staff.

I had initially drafted the rule in 1993 on my own while serving as chief clerk of the State Senate judiciary Committee, having become increasingly frustrated with observing conduct I had come to regard as ethically obtuse.

However, I had to wait patiently until December 1998 when I was then working for the House Majority Floor Leader, and a new Speaker took charge who proved to be highly approachable. He agreed to first hear me out in private, and then to my surprise said he would recommend the rule's immediate adoption by House members. The State Senate subsequently adopted it verbatim two years later as Senate Rule No. 57. I still consider that my proudest professional accomplishment as a legislative staff member.

And finally, in GOP in exile news, this is Jeffrey Frederick, and he is no longer the Virginia Republican Party chairman.  How did Mr. Frederick lose his job?  Well, it could have been that Virginia voted for Barack Obama while Jeffrey Frederick minded the Republican store.  Could have been the time that Jeffrey Frederick publicly compared Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden in front of a reporter. Or maybe it was Jeffrey Frederick`s beyond-the-cutting-edge buffoonery.

Democrats have a one-seat edge in the Virginia State Senate.  A few weeks ago, one of the Democratic State senators was apparently about to switch sides, going to the Republican side, which would then split the Senate down the middle.  That would give the Republican lieutenant governor of Virginia the deciding vote.  They`d be giving up control of the Senate.  It would really hurt the Democrats.

Before the deed was done, though, before the Republicans were able to gain this effective control, Mr. Frederick spilled the beans. He used his Twitter account to announce, quote, "Big news coming out of the Senate.  Apparently, one dem is either switching or leaving the dem caucus.  Negotiations for power sharing underway."

And that was really, really dumb.  Because Democrats have computers.  And even Twitter accounts.  The Tweet tipped off Democratic leaders to what was supposed to be a secret Republican strategy.  The Democrats adjourned the session before the switch could happen and they blew the big Republican plan.

Now, Jeff Frederick is out a job as party chairman, making him the sixth party chairman fired by the state Republican Party of Virginia in six years.