Bipartisan corruption in our Government

[Electrophil]

How about a list of every politician being investigated, or convicted for some sort of corruption. Local politics included, within the last ten or so years.

To keep it bipartisan, (Since I'm suppose to be some sort of flaming liberal tree hugging, save the anthills, rope smoking, whale watching hippy.)

lets start with William Jefferson.

A democrat congressman from Louisiana, 2nd district if I remember.

Who believes money should be served up frozen. What kind of a wannabe mafia reject would hide money in a refrigerator? Especially when he knows they are on to him. The only thing worse than a corrupt politician is a stupid corrupt politician.

Wishful sentence: 15 to 20 confined in a butcher's cold storage room, wrapped in a money sleeve.

[lhopp77]

As I have stated all along---neither party has a corner on corruption. It is fairly equally spread over both parties. I still think the best way to keep the corruption at reasonable levels is to pass the term limitation laws. The longer they stay in Congress, the more corrupt they appear to be. I guess it is just the many temptations that finally catch up with them.

Lee

[lhopp77]

How about a list of every politician being investigated, or convicted for some sort of corruption. Local politics included, within the last ten or so years.

To keep it bipartisan, (Since I'm suppose to be some sort of flaming liberal tree hugging, save the anthills, rope smoking, whale watching hippy.)

lets start with William Jefferson.

A democrat congressman from Louisiana, 2nd district if I remember.

Who believes money should be served up frozen. What kind of a wannabe mafia reject would hide money in a refrigerator? Especially when he knows they are on to him. The only thing worse than a corrupt politician is a stupid corrupt politician.

Wishful sentence: 15 to 20 confined in a butcher's cold storage room, wrapped in a money sleeve.

It is interesting to note that the one example you provide has been appointed to a committee chairmanship by the current Democrat leader--Pelosi. :eek:

Lee

[elninoalex]

Democratic or Replublican, it doesn't make any difference. That's just a distraction to keep the masses occupied so they don't worry about what's really going on.

[ensteele]

It would be great if we could clean house and start over. :(

[sicksubie]

Term Limitations, PLEASE.......... We need Ted Kennedy out. He has done nothing for Massachusetts in the past 10 years at least. He is a bumbling idiot. He gave a speech sometime in the last year or so up here and the crowd started cheering/applauding at one point during his speech. Teddy just started making incoherent, non-sensical, gutteral noises. The noise died down as people slowly stopped applauding, but Ted kept going for a couple seconds before trailing off into silence. He did finish the speech and nothing was ever said about the incident. He seriously reminded me of my grandfather who is seriously afflicted with alzheimers and will make these incoherent, weird noises/words at times. We won't even get into the topic of the pregnant babysitter that he let die in his car.

[ensteele]

Term Limitations, PLEASE.......... We need Ted Kennedy out. He has done nothing for Massachusetts in the past 10 years at least. He is a bumbling idiot.

Teddy just started making incoherent, non-sensical, gutteral noises.

Has he done anything else but make those noises? :rolleyes: :o

[lhopp77]

Has he done anything else but make those noises? :rolleyes: :o

Yep, let a young girl die when he was was drunk and driving.

Lee

[richardstanley]

I hate how politics is so closely related to capitolism. I dont want a representative (at any level) to possibly even maybe be in or running for a position to gain money. I almost kinda wonder if we'd be better off if it was sort of like clergy, enough pay to be able to live ok on and thats it. They should be in it to make a change for the better, to represent their peoples interest, not for personal capitol gain.

[lhopp77]

This is worth reading and considering.

Our Future?

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government."

"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."

"From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginningof history, has been about 200 years."

"During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through thefollowing sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, S t. Paul,Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:.... Gore: 19; ............Bush: 29

Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580,000;. .. Bush: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million; Bush: 143 mil

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore: 13.2; ....................Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."

Olson believes......the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty-million criminal invaders called illegals and they vote, then we can say good-bye to the USA in fewer than five years.

Pass this along to help every one realize just how much is at stake,knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom."

Just some food for thought. :)

Lee

[shotgunslade]

There is also the issue of who pays for government and who gets the benefits. I think you will find that the blue states have a significant deficit with respect to taxes versus government spending whereas the red states make big money off Uncle Sam.

Data from 2003 shows that two states of the 50 states (Oregon and Florida) had roughly $1.00 federal benefits returned for every $1.00 federal taxes paid.

Of the 31 states that gain wealth from the federal government, 25 (81%) voted for Bush. Of the remaining 17 states that LOSE wealth to the federal government, 12 (71%) voted for Kerry. A "large" win is defined as 20% or more margin over all opponents, and a "small" win as less than 10%.

Of the 31 "gain" states, 25 (a different 81%) are "big gain" states, using the definition of obtaining $1.10 or more back in benefits for each $1.00 paid in taxes. Of those 25, Bush won 21 (84%), and Kerry 4 (16%).

Of the 17 "loss" states, 10 (59%) are "big loss" states, using the definition of obtaining $0.90 or less back in benefits for each $1.00 paid in taxes. Of those 10, Kerry won 9 (90%), and Bush 1 (10%).

In identifying bias, the single largest category of states was "large Bush win, large beneficiary": 11 states ... Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. The next largest category was "small Kerry win, large payer": 7 states ... California, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin.

A lot of this can be explained by the fact that rural voters tend to be conservative, and that rural areas tend to get larger federal expenditures for farm subsidies, federal land management, military bases, and in the case of Alaska, pure pork. On the other hand, urban voters tend to be more liberal, and urban areas, being denser contribute much more to the federal income tax coffers, while offering fewer opportunities for federal spending. Having said all that, as a resident of a state, New Jersey, that receives $0.55 in federal spending for every $1.00 in federal income taxes paid, speaking to a resident of a state that receives $2.00 in federal spending for every $1.00 of income tax, I take exception to Professor Olson's comments. Those "tax-paying citizens" of the Bush states are seriously feeding at the the federal trough to turn "tax-paying" status into "spending beneficiaries." Us poor New Jerseyans, "citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare," somehow are really getting screwed to wind up on the short end of the revenue stick. Those "various forms of government welfare" must be highly taxable.

The same stuff came through on the Homeland Security expenditures. Red state locations that would be totally off of any prospective terrorists radar screen got lots of funding for protection, while numerous NYC locations were deemed not important enough for funding. Without our blue state tax revenues, you guys out in the red states would be sucking wind to fund those bridges to nowhere.

[richardstanley]

Wow, that makes alot of sense.....

[svxcuseme]

Yes, good stuff.

I love America and the freedoms the founders fought for. Much smarter folks than I. Glad to see such good reader here.

I hate the partisan crap. We need a major change...and in my mind less government. My voting priveldge reflects this.


I definately support term limits.
I feel Mexican immigrants should do so legally.
I believe women have a right to choose (I'm not a woman, it's not my choice!).
I believe in a strong defense.
I beleive the government has no rights in my bedroom or in how I live my life.
etc. etc. etc.

[richardstanley]

Yes, good stuff.

I love America and the freedoms the founders fought for. Much smarter folks than I. Glad to see such good reader here.

I hate the partisan crap. We need a major change...and in my mind less government. My voting priveldge reflects this.


I definately support term limits.
I feel Mexican immigrants should do so legally.
I believe women have a right to choose (I'm not a woman, it's not my choice!).
I believe in a strong defense.
I beleive the government has no rights in my bedroom or in how I live my life.
etc. etc. etc.



Wow dude, i agree with every word of that :)

[Noir]

There is also the issue of who pays for government and who gets the benefits. I think you will find that the blue states have a significant deficit with respect to taxes versus government spending whereas the red states make big money off Uncle Sam.

.....

Without our blue state tax revenues, you guys out in the red states would be sucking wind to fund those bridges to nowhere.

:D i always enjoyed shotgunslade's posts. :)

[lhopp77]

:D i always enjoyed shotgunslade's posts. :)

Me too. Always in for a good chuckle.;)

Lee