oxymoron!! I agree with you, Phyllis, that common sense would lead you to believe that what these gentlemen did in their own time is their own business. I have worked as a civil servant for 7 years now (Plumbing Inspector for major City). The State Ethics Commission will not allow us to take anything of value from any customer at any time..not even a cup of coffee. They took it a step further a while back and said that we can't even work in a local hardware store in the field of our expertise. In other words, I can't even work in the plumbing section of Home Depot!!! Yeah, I can see me making all kinds of dirty deals there It's absolutly ridiculous how the State and Federal Govenment put the clamp on front line employees, but managers, administrators and the like are allowed quite a different set of guidelines. Our Administrators and Chief Building Official receive items of value all the time, and not little things... Personally I see a double standard in how State and Federal ethics guidelines are applied.