On Political Corruption

" When God wants to destroy an ant, He gives it wings " - Idries Shah

One of the more fun things for me yesterday, was reading the various Illinois blogger's reactions to the indictment of their fair governor. Clicking the link on the left to the Daily News Blogs takes you to a network where you can read blogs from all over the US, categorized by state. Seems the good state of Illinois has a tradition of corrupt officials and many bloggers were pretty casual, if not gleeful in commenting on Rod Blagojevich, who is now out on bail. If the Feds had been investigating him for over 3 years, why pick now as the time to arrest him, why not earlier? Of course, the selling of a Senate seat makes for sensational headlines, and shows a level of cynicism and grandstanding by the prosecutors.

Our governments are rife with corruption, and the temptation is there involving any position that influences policy or regulatory enforcement, the making or passing of laws. The bad we call a crime, the better we call lobbying. What's the difference between selling a Senate seat, telling all lobbyists that from now on they have to be Republicans and can only lobby through the Republican members of Congress, or Paul Bremer distributing one billion dollars in cash bribes to members of the Iraqi Parliament? The reason the surge worked was because we began paying the former insurgents a monthly stipend to not attack us. Will we be happy of the democracy established in Iraq if it's also known as the most corrupt, even worse than under Saddam Hussein?

I used to work for a small, family run Internet Service Provider, and we were known for our spam protection. We routinely did not allow email to enter from Texas and Florida, considered to be the most corrupt of states, where two Bush brothers were governors, coincidence? Even now I won't donate to charities that are based in those states because the percentages are good that they are bogus charities committing fraud.

Every member of Congress is probably guilty of some ethics violation, receiving favors, money and gifts at some point during their tenure. Lord knows they are not smart individuals, and we don't make them take periodic lie detector tests, though we should. Worse, if the newspapers disappear, then who will dig for the dirt and report on those misdeeds? Most on-line sites are known for their partisan outlooks, and bloggers are even worse. 

I'm beginning to sound like a comic book, wondering whom we can turn to for truth, justice, and no corruption of the American Way. It's a constant uphill battle, one hopefully that each successive generation will pick up, as we get older, tired, and sell out.