Michael Scanlon

A federal investigation of corrupt lobbying practices on Capitol Hill intensified Friday as a former business associate of lobbyist Jack Abramoff signaled that he would plead guilty to a charge that the two conspired to defraud four Indian tribes out of millions of dollars and to improperly influence a member of Congress.

Maybe in a few years the high-flying machinations of notorious Washington puppet-master Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, his partner in crime, will be funny. But even with Kevin Spacey trying his carnival barker hardest in "Casino Jack," it still feels too painfully close to find much humor in Abramoff's now legendary, and illegal, lobbying efforts. If a fast-talking manipulator of political egos wasn't hard enough to make appealing in the way of, say, Michael Douglas' "Wall Street" abuser, there were other problems facing this fictionally flip tale.

Promising to cooperate fully in a burgeoning federal probe that has engulfed Congress, a former partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff entered a guilty plea Monday to a charge that he and the lobbyist conspired to bribe public officials, including a senior Republican member of Congress, and to defraud Indian tribes of millions of dollars. "Guilty, your honor," Michael P.S. Scanlon told U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, pleading to one criminal conspiracy count leveled against him.

Promising to cooperate fully in a burgeoning federal probe that has engulfed Congress, a former partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff entered a guilty plea Monday to a charge that he and the lobbyist conspired to bribe public officials, including a senior Republican member of Congress, and to defraud Indian tribes of millions of dollars. "Guilty, your honor," Michael P.S. Scanlon told U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, pleading to one criminal conspiracy count leveled against him.

Maybe in a few years the high-flying machinations of notorious Washington puppet-master Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon, his partner in crime, will be funny. But even with Kevin Spacey trying his carnival barker hardest in "Casino Jack," it still feels too painfully close to find much humor in Abramoff's now legendary, and illegal, lobbying efforts. If a fast-talking manipulator of political egos wasn't hard enough to make appealing in the way of, say, Michael Douglas' "Wall Street" abuser, there were other problems facing this fictionally flip tale.

A Superior Court jury ruled Thursday that five Huntington Beach police officers did not use excessive force when they arrested a man in 1991 who was driving a pickup that had been reported stolen. Michael Scanlon, a 34-year-old paralegal, sued the officers and the city, alleging officers used excessive force during the traffic stop, including a type of neck hold that rendered him briefly unconscious.

House Republicans, who have been calling for a return to moral values across the nation, avoided total embarrassment Monday by reversing their 2-month-old decision to permit Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to keep his post even if he's indicted by a grand jury. But don't be fooled. On Tuesday, they eviscerated congressional ethics rules with a more insidious approach. It's not as though the House ethics committee has been much of a watchdog.

All-around talent: Heather Donahue, 13, of Thousand Oaks tied for second All-Around in the finals of the National USA competition in Lakeland, Fla., June 2-6. Donahue came back from an arm injury that caused her to miss last season to score 9.3 on the floor exercise, 9.2 on the vault, 8.875 on the beam and 8.825 on the uneven bars. Donahue competes for Leading Edge Gymnastics Club in Camarillo.

"Why would you make a documentary," kingpin lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a.k.a. the Man Who Bought Washington, asked filmmaker Alex Gibney. "No one watches documentaries. You should make an action movie," he advised, which, in the best possible sense, is what Gibney has done. "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" is a film that's always on the move, a smart, lively, thoroughly involving doc about a complex, critical subject. As previous credits such as "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" and the Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side" demonstrated, Gibney is as good as it gets at making complicated political material come alive on screen.

Two teams. One loaded with rookies. The other stocked with veterans. Inexperience got the nod. That was the story in Kennedy High's 8-6 victory over Chatsworth on Sunday in the baseball championship game of the L.A. Watts Summer Games at Compton College. "You know how rookies are, they always win when there is no pressure on," Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado joked. "But any time a team full of rookies can win something you have to be pleased.

A federal investigation of corrupt lobbying practices on Capitol Hill intensified Friday as a former business associate of lobbyist Jack Abramoff signaled that he would plead guilty to a charge that the two conspired to defraud four Indian tribes out of millions of dollars and to improperly influence a member of Congress.

A Superior Court jury ruled Thursday that five Huntington Beach police officers did not use excessive force when they arrested a man in 1991 who was driving a pickup that had been reported stolen. Michael Scanlon, a 34-year-old paralegal, sued the officers and the city, alleging officers used excessive force during the traffic stop, including a type of neck hold that rendered him briefly unconscious.

It's a ridiculous way to determine a champion. In fact, it doesn't even determine one. It determines two. When teams play for a title, the game isn't over until there is a winner and a loser. A champion and a runner-up. Period. Apparently the world of soccer has a more egalitarian view. Moorpark and Calabasas highs played to a 1-1 tie Friday in a Southern Section Division V final and were declared co-champions. Come on. Co-championships are so . . . unresolved. To the victor goes the spoils.

I'VE BEEN waiting for quite a while now for conservatives to come up with a theory to explain why large chunks of the Republican Party are, or soon will be, under indictment. The argument I've been anticipating has finally arrived, in the form of a long lead editorial in the latest edition of the influential conservative magazine the Weekly Standard.