I Wanna Know Where Love Is!

FI-NUH-LEE!

Finuhlee is our lead scent Chi, whom we dispatch to search for truth-in-advertising about Senator John McCain, AKA McNutz, McBush, McWar, McFavors.

It's hard work, but today, in the piles of senatorial ethics and straight-shooter underbrush surrounding the AZ GOP senator and presidential candidate, Finuhlee turned up this, ahem, gem from the New York Times, about the 26-year mutually loving relationship between McBush and Arizona gazillionaire, lifetime "free trade" supporter, and real estate developer Don Diamond. An excerpt:

"In California, the McCain aide’s assistance with the Army helped Mr. Diamond complete a purchase in 1999 that he soon turned over for a $20 million profit. And Mr. McCain’s letter of recommendation reinforced Mr. Diamond’s selling point about his McCain connections as he pursued — and won in 2005 — a potentially much more lucrative deal to develop a resort hotel and luxury housing.

"In Arizona, Mr. McCain has helped Mr. Diamond with matters as small as forwarding a complaint in a regulatory skirmish over the endangered pygmy owl, and as large as introducing legislation remapping public lands. In 1991 and 1994, Mr. McCain sponsored two laws sought by Mr. Diamond that resulted in providing him millions of dollars and thousands of acres in exchange for adding some of his properties to national parks. The Arizona senator co-sponsored a third similar bill now before the Senate." [Emphases added.] More

For a closer look at Mr. Diamond's recent donations (reported)--or anyone else's, for that matter--Arianna Huffington has provided a helpful database. Be sure to scroll down, in Diamond's case. Wwhile there, you can also peruse the affectionate support given to McNutz from the senior management team at Diamond Ventures. Don't you just know there's way more love there.

And while you're at it, read their bios, available at the Diamond Ventures site. These little tidbits are useful to connect the dots. For instance, take David Goldstein. Notice all his magnanimous public service on behalf of habitat conservation and desert land use. No self-interest there. Now notice his campaign contributions -- the Goldstein of Diamond Ventures, not the Minneapolis Goldstein.

Bless his tireless little heart, Finuhlee also turned up this little jewel on Open Secrets:

"Lobbyists in McCain Land Deal Have Close Ties to Senator," Post Reports
Published on May 9, 2008
"The Washington Post's story this morning about a land deal supported by John McCain that benefits his donors, bundlers and staffers illustrates how furiously Washington's revolving door spins. It's enough to make even a senator dizzy...." (Continue)

And my personal favorite, widespread indicators of McCain's particularly loving care of Peabody Western:

". . . (Public Law 93-531 as amended in 1996 (Partition), 1999 (Settlement), 2001 (Enforcement of Resettlement) and 2005 (Expansion of Resettlement) . . . bills introduced by Senator McCain - has led to the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Hon Abdeltalif Amor's condemnation of human rights violations inside the US, over the stripping of rights and forced resettlement of these gentle and deeply spiritual band of Dineh-Navajo Indians from Arizona, swept off of lands they'd owned since 1500 A.D. so that Peabody Western Coal could mine the Coal from beneath their farmlands and tap their wells to slurry pipe it to a power station in Nevada)."

For more on this, a little legislative history and this little item in which Peabody alleges that in a deal for Peabody facilitated by Donald Hodel, Reagan's Interior Secretary, the Tribe sought "special preferences." AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Last but not least, McCain's little family-owned jet travel present from his efforts at campaign finance reform. You do know that he pursues his presidential campaign traveling on wife Cindy's private jet, right?

Serving up John McCain as the champion of ethics in government and campaign finance reform is like serving up Ann Coulter as the good manners maven. In my opinion, his one great lifetime achievement was marrying a woman with a whole lot of money. After that, he's just a dime-a-dozen crony Republican. His POW service cuts him some slack--which he's well and truly used up by now. But it sure doesn't erase the entire rest of his life, or relieve him of the obligation to disclose his favors, the sources of his financing, his wife's tax statements, and the sources of her fortune. After all, Cindy McCain is no more irrelevant to his career and campaign financing that Theresa Heinz Kerry was to John Kerry's.

I wanna know where the love is. I SO wanna know.

More on campaign financing.