Butler Eagle readers on Thursday learned about another plea agreement atrocity stemming from a drunken-driving arrest.

In Allegheny County Court on Wednesday, Shanea Leigh Climo, 23, of Evans City, the Cranberry Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps driver who claimed the lives of two men in a crash in September 2007, was handed what probably will be less than a year behind bars for the offense.

Climo demonstrated gross irresponsibilty on the day of the crash by drinking before reporting for her ambulance-driving shift. The crash that killed two took place in Marshall Township, Allegheny County, as Climo was transporting a 90-year-old man to a hospital.

The two crash victims were in the car struck by the ambulance as the ambulance driver ignored a red light.

"Frankly, I'm sick of these cases," said Allegheny County Judge Randal Todd during Climo's sentencing, noting that Climo's was the fifth drunken-driving case over which he has presided this year.

But 11½ to 23 months of jail time for taking two lives? That hardly demonstrates Todd's purported disgust and ignores the value of life.

In addition, the sentence is another basis for public disgust over the willingness of prosecutors and the courts to enter plea arrangements that disregard the facts and tragedy of cases.

Todd shouldn't feel at all satisfied about the sentence; he ought to be embarrassed that he had any part in it.

Richard Allen Lynch, 47, of Center Township was front-page news in the Butler Eagle Thursday after having failed to post $25,000 bail for his fourth DUI offense.It's certainly not Lynch who deserves a cheer for having a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit at the time his vehicle crashed into another vehicle on Jan. 25. Instead, it is District Judge Lewis Stoughton who deserves praise — for setting Lynch's bail so high that Lynch wasn't immediately able to post it and ended up in the Butler County Prison, away from car keys."I have a duty to protect the community," Stoughton said.Other district judges should embrace that kind of attitude when multiple-DUI offenders come before them on that same charge.Anyone who has followed Lynch's DUI criminal history knows that having Lynch behind bars is a good thing. While he is in prison, he can't get drunk, get behind the wheel of a vehicle and endanger innocent motorists or pedestrians.Stoughton's attitude should be carried forward by the District Attorney's Office and the Butler County Court as Lynch's case proceeds through the criminal justice system.Lynch shouldn't be a candidate for a weak plea bargain that provides a pass for him to risk getting a fifth DUI arrest. Any sentence ultimately meted out to him should reinforce the seriousness of the offense, not make a mockery of the sentencing.Had Lynch been dealt a truly tough sentence after his third offense, he might not have risked a fourth — although it must be noted that he also had no qualms about ignoring a driver's license suspension that was in effect at the time of the Jan. 25 crash.That suspension was a result of a past drunken-driving case.Reflecting on Lynch's four DUI cases, it is reasonable for people to ponder how many other times Lynch has driven while drunk but did not get caught — and how many other people's lives he might have endangered along the way.Butler County's criminal justice system finally should make clear that Lynch has worn out its patience.

The headline reads, "TARP recipients paid out $114 million for politicking last year."Should we be surprised to learn that the Wall Street firms and giant commercial banks that received federal bailout money have paid lobbyists and donated money to politicians in Washington, D.C.?News reports reveal that companies receiving funds from federal bailout plans have spent millions of dollars on lobbying and in campaign contributions.It also has been reported that some of the top beneficiaries of campaign money from financial and automotive companies receiving federal bailout money are congressional leaders who chair committees and otherwise have some influence over regulating the financial sector and determining which companies get government bailout funds.Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and he received $854,200 from TARP-aided companies during the 2008 election cycle, including money for his failed presidential campaign.Some individual companies stand out in the report. General Motors spent $15 million on lobbying and direct campaign contributions, and so far it has received $13 billion in bailout funds, and now is asking for billions more. Citigroup spent $12.5 million on lobbying and campaign contributions, and in return has received $50 billion in bailout aid.Even if there is no direct correlation between politicking and bailout money, it certainly looks bad. Some have suggested that the lobbying money and campaign contributions were extraordinarily smart investments, since they turned mere millions into billions.The Obama administration sees the potential for abuse in this situation and has said that any company receiving bailout money will not be able to lobby the federal government from this point going forward.Better late than never.