17 Jan 2013 6:21 pm
Sen. Dianne Feinstein caught in conflict of interest or just helping the hubby?La Jolla Post Office stands among 4,000 United States Post Office properties set for sale. Residents of the California beachside village want to save their historic building but are losing the battle to more powerful political forces. Crony capitalism is close to home in California.United States Postal Service (USPS) hired the worlds largest commercial real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis Group (CBRE), to sell the properties. Richard Blum is chairman of the board at CBRE. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) is Richard Blums wife.Most of the citizens served by those four thousand post offices soon to be for sale think Dianne Feinsteins wifely relationship to CBREs Chairman Blum represents a conflict of interest. Such thinking is certain concerning Californias post offices and a strongly held belief among La Jollans about to lose their beloved building to a lifelong politician helping her husband.The same is happening to the Berkeley post office. Despite plummeting stamp sales and bill-paying moved from mail to online, Berkeley residents, too, want their historic post office saved from sale. They are buying neither stamps nor the story that their senator acts in anything but a conflict of interest.On December 4 in protest, Berkeley residents marched on Sen. Feinsteins San Francisco offices. They confronted the senators staffer, Brian Weiss, demanding that the sale of their post office be stopped for conflict of interest with the senators husband and his business.His business and her public life are completely separate, said Weiss, leaving Berkeley folks wondering exactly how Weiss would know that.Weiss elaborated in a follow-up email, saying Senator Feinstein is not involved with and does not discuss any of her husbands business decisions with him." Life must be dull in the Feinstein-Blum household or else Weiss is constantly in on the couples conversations.The La Jolla task force fighting the sale--and fighting the personal interests of their own senator were advised by Feinsteins office to file an application with the California State Preservation Office. They were told that their paperwork wasnt filled out correctly. What paperwork?" was the question of the moment.It is uncertain whether the gratuitous advice was a face-saving device for a politician caught in conflict, or whether this is bureaucratic business as usual in California. By all appearances, it looks like crony capitalism at work among high-ranking government officials and businessmen in bed with U.S. senators.http://www.examiner....lping-the-hubbyOne of the reasons for the Postal Service's financial problems is the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which was passed in the 2006 lame duck session.It forces the Postal Servive to prefund its future health care benefit payments to retirees for the next 75 years in a ten year time span, something that no other government or private corporation is required to do.They are funding health benefits for employees who haven't even been born.The bill passed in the House of Representatives by voice vote, and a record of each representatives position was not kept.The bill passed in the Senate by Unanimous Consent and a record of each senators position was not kept of this either.So there is no way to find out how Senator Feinstein voted on it.I'm sure she never discusses any of her husband's business decisions with him.