Manda and I were listening to NPR this morning as she dropped me off at work (my car's in the shop getting a tune-up) and the topic of discussion was the "culture of corruption" amongst the Republican ranks and what, if any, sweeping reforms might be enacted as a result of so many hands getting caught in the proverbial cookie jar.
And I have to say, I'm shocked if anyone in the world actually thinks that there will be some kind of massive reform from this whole Abramoff debacle if the Congress is left to police themselves. These aren't 7 year-olds who are still learning Right from Wrong. They knew what they did was illegal, and they knew that it was going on. It makes me want to vomit any time I hear a congressman say "Well, if these allegations are true, I'll be shocked and surely we should push for reforms." Bullshit. I mean, honestly, here's a quote from Rep. John Culbertson (R) from Houston, Texas:
"I've never encountered any member of Congress who appeared to me to be engaging in unethical or illegal conduct."
Can we, as a people, line up and take turns peeing on this a-hole from the balcony of the Senate Chamber?
Anyway, I get disgusted just thinking about all of this crap. Our government is so broken right now. I have no idea how it can be fixed. What makes me saddest of all is the realization that such a small portion of the country even seems to care. It's the pervasive apathy that allows these elected Tools to fuck with our money, fuck with our liberties, and fuck with the world like it's a plaything for their moral pulpits.
Bah. I have to stop. I'm just getting more and more angry the more I think about it. Suffice it to say, 1.) I'm not surprised by any of it, and 2.) I don't expect anything to change.
I mean, seriously, multiple state constitutions require that a bill pertain to only one subject. Why isn't this applicable to our federal government? Why is the legislature at the federal level even allowed to tack on Alaskan Drilling into a Pentagon Budget bill? It's ludicrous.
Assholes, the lot of them. Has integrity ever existed in politics?
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Three easy fixes:
1.) Allow for a line-item veto by the President.
2.) No more riders attached to bills out of context (Alaskan oil in the Pentagon budget)
3.) No longer equate, legally speaking, corporate donations with "free expression" and thereby protected under the first amendment.
Most corruption problems would be either solved or greatly reduced.
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