The more things change the more they stay the same.

What do “some” bloggers have in common with Armstrong Williams, Doug Bandow and Jack Abramoff, all of whom have been mercilessly condemned by bloggers? Twenty-five bloggers are on their way to Holland, eh … “going Dutch” … as they describe it, to tiptoe amongst the tulips, but are they really? I report, you decide.

Here’s the “going Dutch” deal at “Bloggers In Amsterdam”, and the 25 “going Dutch” bloggers. Here is the “nitty-gritty” on “going Dutch” to Holland from the sugar daddy, Holland.com.

One has to ponder if the Dutch folks at Holland.com, who are in fact paying for the trip, do not know the real meaning of the phrase “going Dutch”? And they probably believe that a junket is a pudding too, as “MediaPost Publications” headlines the story “Bloggers Get Amsterdam Junket”.

USING TICKETS AND HOTEL STAYS normally reserved for the travel press, the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions is sending a group of 25 bloggers on a free trip to Amsterdam.

The promotion, “Bloggers in Amsterdam,” was arranged through the BlogAds Network. Invited bloggers–including CityRag, AmericaBlog, TalkLeft, Slice NY, and Jossip–will stay for five nights in a five-star hotel.

The bloggers must agree to be interviewed by the tourism board, and provide the board with free ad space on their blogs; the board will use that space to highlight the trip. Each ad unit will be customized for the site on which it is hosted, featuring the bloggers themselves, and linking directly to their interviews with the tourism boards. The bloggers won’t be required to write any blog posts about the trip.

Ruffles and Flourishes to “Beltway Blogroll”.