Uncle Ted epilogue, Or: round and round...

It wasn't widely reported, but: did y'all catch that plane which crashed not only included disgraced former US senator Ted Stevens, and former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, but also two DC lobbyists, and a GCI executive? Oh, and the plane was owned by GCI, all of the passengers except the GCI exec were guests of GCI, and they were going to be staying at a GCI owned lodge. Oh, and O'Keefe is now chief executive of EADS North America, which is the US holding company for EADS, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V., the world's second largest aerospace and military contractor, which, among other things, has an active proposal in to build the US Air Force's new aerial refueling tanker? They make missiles and other stuff, too.

Now, of course, there is nothing obviously illegal or unethical about a former senator and a former NASA administrator turned plane and missile making CEO going fishing with a couple lobbyists and a telecom executive, with GCI footing the bill, but it does indicate that Stevens has his hand in the proverbial cookie jar until the very end.

(Why in the hell does GCI own a fishing lodge and a plane to get there, anyway? And is that why my cable modem and phone service in Anchorage was so expensive?)

And oh, yes, the canonizing and lionizing did occur, though the newsmedia was surprisingly on the ball about mentioning Stevens' felony convictions. At least once on NPR, a host (Neil Conan?) corrected a caller when they said Stevens was "acquitted" which he wasn't (he was convicted, but the prosecutors were overzealous [Editor's note: saaaay WHAAAAAT? Overzealous prosecutors?!?! Madness!] and the convictions were dropped, and not re-filed. I also found this wrapup of the discussion in which Ron Elving and Neil Conan were discussing the extensive corruption of Stevens, Dan Rostenkowski, Rod Blagojevich, and Charlie Rangel quite amusing:

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Talk of the Nation, Political Junkie, August 11, 2010:

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CONAN: Dan Rostenkowski later served time in federal prison and later said: I know my obituary will always say: Dan Rostenkowski: Felon. Do you think he's right?

ELVING: Well, of course, he did actually get a presidential pardon in 2000 before he left office. Bill Clinton pardoned him. But, yes, of course, in the same sense that there's a taint on Ted Stevens because of that last final trial, there was also always, and always will be, a taint on Dan Rostenkowski's record because of that conviction.

CONAN: And interestingly, we have to note that Dan Rostenkowski's seat, lost in 1994 to a Republican, but then he was succeeded in that seat by a Democrat who later became governor of the state of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich.

ELVING: And we are waiting, even this afternoon, the results of his trial on corruption charges back in Illinois, and we'll wait to see what may happen to him and his brother. The jury is apparently coming back to talk to the judge this afternoon.

CONAN: And eventually, Dan Rostenskowski seceded as Ways and Means Committee chairman by Charlie Rangel. It all goes around and round.