Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Gov. Ed Rendell has violated his own hiring freeze -- again.

Reporter Charles Thompson of the Harrisburg Patriot-News has confirmed that Rendell has hired has hired an attorney from Philadelphia to fill a vacancy in the Office of General Counsel -- the solicitor's office for state government.

Since when are lawyers considered essential personnel?

The latest case of "do as I say, not as I do" is a familiar one. The hire is a politically-connected friend or colleague of Rendell and the pay is at least $100,000.

It's the four time Rendell has done this since he imposed a hiring freeze in light of the $2.3 billion budget deficit he put the state into by years of uncontrolled spending.

All total, 110 people have been hired by the Rendell administration since the governor ordered the "hiring freeze."

You see why it's so hard to take this guy seriously.

From Thompson's story:

General Counsel Barbara Adams announced via e-mail this week that she has hired Patrick Lord as an executive deputy general counsel, effective April 13.

Chuck Ardo, press secretary to Gov. Ed Rendell, said Lord has been hired as a replacement for Nora Winkelman, who has moved on to work as chief counsel for the House Democratic Caucus.

Lord has "many but not all of her duties while also assuming many new duties for which the office has a need," Ardo said, adding the administration has not filled 14 attorney positions vacated since the statewide hiring freeze took effect in September.

Lord's state salary will be $125,008 per year

.Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.