Clarence Norman, the former head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, is currently in jail for grand larceny and coercion of judicial candidates.

That tells you most of what you need to know about the Brooklyn Democratic Party, one of the more corrupt political organizations outside the Republican Party.

Things change and things stay the same. Things change in that yes, Clarence Norman got caught and thrown in prison. But things stay the same. Norman's replacement, Vito Lopez, has carried on in similar fashion, though perhaps slightly more subtle about it.

Republican Congressman Vito "Vino" Fossella is really not looking too good right now. His conduct the night of his drunk driving arrest is something he is going to have a hard time living down.

Mug Shot thanks to FossellaFive.org

Drunk driving AND a secret love child all revealed in one scandal. People are arguing over what to call this scandal. Simple "Vinogate?" "Double the Family Values?" "A Congressman Walked into a Bar?" Or, a suggestion on Daily Kos, "In-Vito Fertilization."

The behavior of Vito Fossella leaves much to be desired, though perhaps by Republican standards where even pedophilia is accepted, maybe he isn't so bad.

The Spitzer scandal and resignation probably still has a few days to go - Sex! Money! Power! Fall from Grace! Read All About It! - and there are a few gems in the flood of dross.

The Nation profiles incoming Governor David Paterson.

Feministing spotlights the harrowing tale of Dr. Laura Schlesinger, who has found the root cause of the Spitzer scandal: Silda.

"When the wife does not focus in on the needs and the feelings, sexually, personally, to make him feel like a man, to make him feel like a success, to make him feel like her hero, he’s very susceptible to the charm of some other woman making him feel what he needs,”

Oh, fuck you, Dr. Laura.

Scott Horton in The New Republic asks "Was the investigation of Eliot Spitzer politically motivated?" Look for that story to not be picked up by the Times, Post, News, and so on.

Just wrong: The New York Times finds the young woman at the center of the affair, complete with links to her freaking MySpace page. In contrast to the Horton piece, look for this story to be picked up by every media outlet under the sun.

CNN has confirmed that Eliot Spitzer will announcing his resignation at 11:30am.

I have largely kept quiet about Spitzer. I mean from the start. When he decided to run for Governor, many of my political allies were thrilled. For awhile I heard nothing but glowing odes to the man. I felt uncomfortable about him though, and continued to feel uncomfortable. There was always an arrogance around Spitzer that bothered me.

Still, he was obviously our candidate. I met Suozzi and actually kind of liked him, but...He came off passionate, competent and an excellent candidate...for a Republican. He struck me like Bloomberg--someone who kind of is on the border between Democrat and Republican. He talked like a smart Republican, emphisizing cutting taxes, running as a CEO with a business model for government, denegrated "Bloated Unions." Spitzer got my vote. But not my enthusiasm.

Hillary Clinton's unofficial surrogates in New York City have wasted no time trying to smear Barack Obama with the alleged involvement of Eliot Spitzer with a prostitution ring.

Specifically, less than 30 minutes after news of the Governor's alleged involvement with the high-priced Emperor's Club broke on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, I received an e-mail from one of the most persistent Hillary backers in New York.

To wit, "As a reminder that a scandal can always be brewing around the corner -- especially for those politicians who like to project that they are 'above it all' -- see Eliot Spitzer. The hypocrisy is rich."

My receipt of this opportunistic and jaw-dropping e-mail was almost as shocking as the revelations of Governor Spitzer's misjudgment itself.

The speed and ease with which Hillary Clinton's unofficial surrogates have sought to benefit from the personal and professional troubles of a fellow Democratic - and the leader of her home state party no less - is mind numbing and frankly disgusting. While the e-mail does not mention Senator Obama by name - the implication is clear.

Sometimes it seems the vast majority of Republicans are corrupt. From run of the mill political scandals right down to pedophilia, the vast majority of political scandals are Republican scandals. The layers of hypocricy and corruption always amaze me.

Out in California, the Republicans, led by a barking crazy right winger from Missouri who has been fined for ass-biting...yes, fined for ass-biting...are trying new ways to steal elections. Of course no one is buying it. The Republican Ass-Biter Initiative seems not to be too popular anymore, now that people have thought it over. I think California now realizes that if they let the Republicans split their electoral votes, it will basically make California irrelavent in elections. This kind of initiative has to be done either not at all or across all 50 states or it just plain isn't fair.

Soon Brooklyn will have a man, Noach Dear, as one of its Civil Court judges. This is a man who never seems to have practiced law in his life and has been declared unqualified to be a judge by the NYC Bar Assn. How did this man become judge? Because a handful of politicians decided it would be politically convenient for him to be shoved aside on a court bench, essentially making the Brooklyn court system a political garbage dump. This is what these backroom politicians think of Brooklyn.

Things were supposed to change once Clarence Norman was in jail. That is what people keep telling me. Brooklyn politics will be better now that Clarence Norman is out of the way. No more unqualified judges, some told me. They had their chance to prove that this year and, to some degree, there certainly was an improvement in the quality of judges endorsed by the political insiders of Brooklyn. But they spoiled that effect by bringing out possibly one of their worst choices ever for a judge. Well, now the proof is in the pudding and this time the pudding is the unqualified Judge Noach Dear. Who delivered this unsavory pudding on our plates? These politicians:

It's back to business as usual in Timewasterville Albany, reports Newsday.

Monday, August 27th, 2007:

It appears unlikely there will be an official inquiry into allegations that Republican campaign consultant Roger Stone Jr. threatened the father of Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The heads of three Senate committees that could investigate the controversial voice mail expressed no interest yesterday.

Thursday, August 9, 2007:

Today, the Senate Committee of Investigations and Government Operations is set to start what will likely be a series of hearings onTroopergate, in which aides to Gov. Eliot Spitzer improperly had State Police re-create helicopter and other travel records of the governor's political nemesis, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

Odd how the Senate's investigatory zeal has lessened now that there's scandal inching ever closer to Joe Bruno, isn't it?