Department of WTF, ex-con bureau

Guess who's started a career as a crusading anti-corruption activist? Jack Abramoff. No, really. He's judging TPM's "Golden Dukes" competition for the worst (or best?) in Washington corruption, and he wrote a book about his life as a corrupt lobbyist.

At first I thought, jeez, that's kind of greasy. But then I reconsidered: shoot, the man did his time. That's more than the vast majority of Washington and Wall Street's panoply of criminals. Prison is not fun by any stretch of the imagination. If he wants to make a career profiting on the promotion of a pretty good cause, I say more power to him. I hope he discovers that working for something genuinely worthwhile can bring benefits no pile of cash, no matter how big, can match. Now let's see him come out for prison reform!

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