A character on the canceled science fiction TV series "Firefly" once said, "A government is a body of people -- usually notably ungoverned." It's strange that a Fox Television sci-fi western could impart such wisdom since the recent news stories coming out of Tennessee's capital appear to confirm this theory.

Questions about ethics and payments of "consulting fees" are filling the headlines of newspapers across the state. Most, if not all of the stories, are centered around State Sen. John Ford, a Memphis Democrat with a checkered past.

According to an Associated Press story running this weekend, Ford has lost paternity lawsuits, gave a political job to a girlfriend and was once successfully sued for sexual harassment. But his latest troubles began in January after he testified at a child-support hearing that he has two households -- one with a pregnant ex-wife and their three children, and another with a longtime girlfriend and their two children, not mention another young child he has with a third woman.

But it wasn't the question over the two homes not being in Ford's district, as is required by law, but the release of Ford's tax returns at the hearing that really got the media's and lawmakers' attention. The returns revealed that Ford got nearly a quarter of a million dollars from a consulting company with financial ties to TennCare, the state's Medicaid program for the poor that has Tennessee in budgetary dire straits.

The release of Ford's tax returns has now snowballed into a major scandal on Capital Hill, with ethics legislation being looked at for the first time in recent memory, mostly due from pressure from the public, who are apparently outraged at the lack of oversight when it comes to outside payments to lawmakers. Many members of the public are asking what the difference is between a "consulting fee" and a bribe. But members of both political parties are accusing the other of writing ethics bills so that they can gain the upper hand against their opponents.

Not only that, authorities are confirming that a criminal investigation is currently underway, examining possible Medicaid fraud involving Sen. Ford. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has also confirmed they have opened a formal investigation at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nashville and other sources say the FBI is nosing around as well.

And it's not just the TennCare questions that Ford faces; it was revealed this week that Ford asked Capitol Hill lobbyist John Summers for help in paying his legal bills, a request that is illegal. The Tennessean reported that lawmakers were shocked, shocked that Ford would have the gall to ask for a lobbyist donation to pay legal bills in an ethics case. It was not known if the lawmakers were doing any impersonations of actor Claude Raines from the classic movie Casablanca when they expressed this opinion.

Given all the current brouhaha surrounding ethics and openness on the Hill in Nashville, you would think that lawmakers would want to swing open the doors of the Capital and let the light in to assure both the public and the media that everything is working like it should. Instead, legislators delayed a bill which would have required state and local offices housing public records to designate a person to become knowledgeable about them.

The person selected would have acted as a contact for the public and media, however the bill will not be considered this legislative session. This is surprising since the Tennessee Press Association and the AP recently found after a statewide survey that some in our government are less than cooperative when it comes to open records requests.

But one freshman lawmaker is shining his own spotlight on what's happening on the Hill, and other legislators are clearly not amused. Knoxville Republican Stacey Campfield has started a blog, an Internet website where he posts about the goings-on at the state Capitol. The site is at lastcar.blogspot.com, and Campfield pulls no punches about his goals for the blog.

"Many times here in Nashville the saying is: What happens in Nashville stays in Nashville. I am not a believer in this," the Knoxville legislator said in his blog in early March. "I am more of a believer that you shouldn't do anything in private that you wouldn't mind seeing on the front page of the paper. So here we go."

And go he has. Within a few short weeks, Campfield has managed to stir up a hornet's nest over his postings, resulting in the freshman lawmaker having his first bill buried in committee, more or less killed, and an angry democrat taking issue with the content of the website, blasting it in a recent Calendar and Rules hearing.

Cookeville representative Jere Hargrove called the blog "scandalous and scurrilous," apparently upset over one of Campfield's posting, titled "15 Ways to know if you are a Democrat in the Tennessee Legislature." No. 15 is "You define 'capitalism' as selling your vote for $237,000" an apparent slap at Sen. Ford's ethical woes. The list also jokes about Lt. Gov. John Wilder and the Democratic party's stance on gay marriage.

A report on the AP wire about the controversy over the blog states that other lawmakers have been offended, saying the blog "is unfair, full of malicious attacks on Democrats and a violation of the decorum required of lawmakers."

''My, my, my how the attacks' innuendo and threats have hit and hit big, on and more so off this blog, since I launched this little site." Campfield wrote on March 22. "I guess some people don't want the sunshine in their dark little secret corner.''

Usually, when you began to take flak, you're probably over the target. Campfield also believes that other lawmakers should set up there own blogs to express their thoughts and opinions. This seems like a great idea. Lawmakers could save a ton of money on mailings and getting the word out to their constituents, not to mention that the blogging software also allows readers to respond to the postings, which would be an excellent way of gauging hometown reactions on current issues.

"When I started my blog I did it to listen to, speak with, and inform people. Not to silence anyone," Campfield writes. "I am not trying to discourage any competition. In fact, I have always felt that trees competing for the light have always grown the tallest. An informed public makes the best democracy."

Indeed. Instead of getting upset over an e-mail joke, lawmakers should heed Campfield's advice and join him on the Internet to converse with and inform the public, unless they wish to remain behind closed doors with closed lips and remain usually notably ungoverned.

Brian Mosely is a Times-Gazette staff writer.