Corruption! and it's ISN'T (entirely) about Tom DeLay!

While speaking with Micah Sifry last night about calling politicians on the carpet about their actions, he quipped, “I don’t think it’s possible to be guilty of libel when speaking of Jersey politicians,” (or something to that effect – understand why by reading this). That certainly seems to be the truth. If federal prosecutor Chris Christie got paid per conviction; then he’d be about three days short of being ready to retire. Lots of people are trying to get the US attorney to run for office – and I might even vote for him if he did – but I’d rather he stay where he is and really serve the people by locking up crooked politicians.

Hoboken has long had a reputation as a “dirty politics” (is there another kind?) city. Hey, when your immediate past mayor is actually doing time for his shenanigans, is it hard to understand why? (Ask Mr. Snitch if you need a second opinion.) It’s even more understandable when the current (but not for long) mayor, who ran on a platform to change “business as usual”, actually conducts business as usual – although I have to say that I don’t know of any actual laws being broken.

Speaking of corruption, did someone say “Tom DeLay”? I’m sure the two will be synonymous before long. We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of Chris Bell’s filing of an ethics complaint against the Bug Man of Sugar Land. Why not celebrate by helping clean up politics in Texas? Host a house party and get in on a conference call from Chris. Learn what kind of man Chris Bell is here

Since we are focusing today on helping politicians take responsibility for their actions, Chris Bell would also like to know why Governor Rick Perry doesn’t feel any responsibility towards the children of Texas. Maybe it’s because the man doesn’t live in this universe – after all, he thinks blogs are a tool of the liberal conspiracy. Oddly enough, he wants bloggers to be more responsible. Okay, I’ll be responsible for what I write, if you’ll be responsible for the cuts to child protective services that lead directly to the death of Jovonie Ochoa. Deal?

For the time being, Jersey City Ward C City Councilman Steve Lipski can still claim that he isn’t corrupt. However, the charges raised by Channel 7 need to be investigated – and investigated fairly (someone call Chris Christie). If he’s clean, I’ll be the first to admit that the circumstantial evidence was wrong. I’d also like to get a clear explanation (as would the Tris McCall Report) of why he can’t seem to say “NO!” to a tax abatement. Maybe he should quit bragging about his degrees and try talking some sense. As someone who has put a considerable amount of time into school, when someone tells me they received two bachelor’s and three master’s degrees, I start wondering why they can’t figure out what they want to be when they grow up. Maybe my misgivings are just tied to the fact that when someone tries so hard to show me they are good, I wonder what they are really doing – like when a preacher opens up a ministry in an adult book store.

The end up on a general note: here is an excellent article that explores “political corruption”. I noticed that the US doesn’t make the “top 12 transparent government” list. Gee, I wonder why.

To end on an up note: I’d like to welcome Binnaz to the blogosphere and wish her a happy birthday. Visit her blog and say hi.