The Abramoff Ax fells another. Kevin Ring, former minion of Jack Abramoff and once upon a time chief of staff to former Rep. John Doolittle has been indicted on ten counts of bribing public officials to take action on behalf of his clients. Insert your own "corruption ring" puns here. Somewhere Doolittle is scanning the sky nervously for signs of a dropping shoe.

It appears that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's extensive cooperation with federal investigators is paying off. He received a reduced sentence in connection with the corruption investigation that has ended the careers of a handful of politicians and government officials.

Let's assume that John McCain did in fact have Alaska Governor Sarah Palin thoroughly vetted before selecting her as his running mate. One can only further assume then that he really savors a challenge, because in addition to the more high-profile news that has leaked about the Governor over the weekend, several questions have been raised about just how ethically sound this "reformer's" credentials are.

Heh. As a follow up to yesterday's news that Congress' favorite influence-peddler Jack Abramoff might be getting out of jail early we have this delightful item about how Abramoff has been spending his time in prison. He's caught the teaching bug and has been instructing other inmates in subjects such as, according to TPM Muckraker, "Parenting from a Distance," and "Cinema Studies." I hear an additional course, "Buying Congress for Dummies" is in the works for next semester. Enroll now!

Is Jack Abramoff going to get sprung from the pokey a little earlier than anticipated? Apparently folks at the Justice Department are seeking to have his sentence reduced in return for Abramoff's cooperation in their ongoing public corruption inquiry which has already ended the political careers of a handful of legislators.  He's currently serving a sentence in connection with another fraud charge, he's yet to be sentenced on the congressional stuff.

We asked last week why Sen. John McCain, a guy who prides himself on a reputation as a "reformer" would attend a fundraiser that Ralph Reed -- buddy of Abramoff who profitted handsomely off the corrupt lobbyist's tribal casino scam -- helped pull together. Perhaps it had to due more with the $1.75 million he raised than with any ethical itching McCain may have experienced taking money that a man he investigated helped to raise.