Corrupt Politicians

                    Corrupt politicians have been much in the news in recent weeks, months, and years on both a state and a national level.  Alaska certainly has its share of corrupt politicians.  Several years ago Sarah Palin declared war on the "good ole boys club" of Alaska when she ran against Governor Frank Murkowski, a former Senator from our state.  The late Senator Ted Stevens had his legal problems over corruptness before his case was dropped - after he lost the election.  Congressman Don Young was investigated by the House Ethics Committee but was legally cleared because he obeyed the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law.  Due to the fear of a Republican landslide in 2012, Young does not have any high-profile Democrat running against him and will probably be re-elected even though he is named as one of America's most corrupt politicians.  I have my own doubts about the ethics of both of our current Senators - Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, but neither of them is up for re-election or on the list.

                    Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch, recently released a list of the ten most wanted corrupt politicians for 2011.    

The list includes the following members of the Obama Administration:  President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder with dishonorable mention going to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

The list includes the following members of the U.S. Senate:  Former Senator John Ensign (R-NV) with Former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) as a dishonorable mention.

The list includes the following members of the U.S. House of Representatives in alphabetical order:  Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D.IL), Rep Laura Richardson (D-CA), Rep. David Rivera (R-FL), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Rep. Don Young (R-AK).  The dishonorable mentions for 2011 in the House are:  Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY).

Judicial Watch is a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes corruption by government officials.  Fitton's articles explainingwhy these politicians were selected can be found here.  

Will American citizens recognize that two presidential candidates were named as either most corrupt or mentioned dishonorably?  They are Barack Obama and Newt Gingrich.  I hope voters will automatically eliminate these two people from possible contenders and vote for someone else.  We must elect honest and honorable men and women to represent us in our national governments if we want to gain control over the corruption currently in our nation's capital.  Make sure that you search out and support good people!

                                                           

Teapot Dome Scandal

The Teapot Dome Scandal was "one of the most notorious government scandals in United States history." It took place while Warren G. Harding was President of the United States and was part of the reason for his poor ranking among U.S. Presidents.

The scandal was investigated by committees of the U.S. Senate and a special commission from 1922 to 1928. The investigation found the Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall guilty of persuading Harding "to transfer control of three naval oil reserves from the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Interior in 1921."

Fall then leased the reserves - located at Elk Hill, California, and Teapot Dome, Wyoming - to two private oil companies without competitive bidding in 1922. Fall was given a "loan" for $100,000 for helping to arrange the Elk Hills transfer and more than $300,000 in cash, bonds, and valuable livestock for the Teapot Dome transfer. He then resigned from office in 1923 and joined one of the companies. The government sued to cancel the leases and won the case in 1927. Fall became "the first Cabinet member to go to jail for crimes committed while in office." He was convicted of accepting a bribe in 1929, fined $100,000, and sentenced to one year in prison.

Facts and quotes for this post came from an article by Robert D. Palmet in World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 19, p 74.