I caught this photo of the State House in April sunshine with amazingly dark clouds behind it. (All photos © H. Philip West Jr. 2013 unless credited to others.) This sunset photo of the State House became the basic image for the cover of SECRETS & SCANDALS. (All photos © H. Philip West Jr. 2013 unless credited to others.) Unquestionably one of the most beautiful state capitols in the USA, Rhode Island's State House provides the setting for many stories and becomes a character in SECRETS & SCANDALS. The State Department sent leaders from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania to learn about ethics, open government, and separation of powers in Rhode Island (27 Jul. 2001). Other groups came from Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, Palestine, and many other countries. Rhode Island has important lessons to teach--with the strongest Ethics Commission in the nation and our recent progress toward separation of powers. These visitors came from Thailand with the International Visitors Leadership Program came in 2006. Students from Democracy Matters worked to provide clean public financing for campaigns. Play Pause