Red states lead in political corruption convictions

[pocketfullofshells]

That's because we actually go after ours. The less convictions there are, the more there is. It doesn't get any more self-evident than that.

I see so then I guess IL must be good to then right ? cuz they rank high as well so they must go after theres......

 

[Dr.Who]

"First, by just allowing the fed to do the things the constitution allows and no more."

Any activities that violate their authority under the Constitution would be illegal. Why don't you detail some of the things our federal government is doing in violation of the Constituion. This should be interesting.

Our constitution, as it was originally written, did not allow for any distribution of public funds from the general public to a specific part of the public OR from the states in general to any specific state.

Secondly, the general welfare clause of the constitution is not an excuse for the fed to do any and all things that it thinks generally are beneficial to our country. Madison, when talking about the gen wel clause said that if that were true it would make it completely useless to have listed any limitations on the powers of the fed. Yet the court has ruled (most recently anyway, before that they ruled the other way) that that is exactly what the fed can do and so now we have come to the point that the limits on congress are meaningless.

So technically they are not violating the constitution right now, but technically they can do whatever they want as long as they say it is for the general welfare and they won't be in violation of the C.

Patriot Act? If it is for the general welfare then it is fine. Gitmo? If it is for the gen wel then it is fine. Do you think that honors our constitution that our founding fathers wrote? Do you think that is the way it should be?

 

[Bunz]

With all the recent talk about Illinois corruption, an analysis by USA Today shows something interesting... North Dakota is the leader in political corruption with 8.3 convictions per 100,000 residents, followed close behind by Louisiana (7.7) and Alaska (7.5). What do these 3 states have in common?...They're all traditionally red states. What a surprise.

Illinois is at 3.9, while my state, Washington, has but 1.5 convictions per 100,000 people....we are progressive and clean. Check out the link, you can find out where your state ranks.


North Dakota tops analysis of corruption

MAJOR RED HERRING ALERT!

You cant possibly consider the small poppulations of North Dakota and Alaska and fairly compare the X per 100,000 people comparison with other states with millions of people in poppulation.

What would be fair to compare would be Alaska versus Seattle, and North Dakota versus Oakland or other similar sized city. As for Lousiana, they rank 25th in poppulation, it would be fair to compare Lousiana to Los Angeles.

If one wanted to rank the most corrupt states, it takes a hell of a lot more than simply a conviction rate based on per 100,000 people.

I will say that throughout history, going back to the "Kingfish" of Lousiana Huey Long, LA has been among the most corrupt. Also Illinois and specifically Chicago would certainly be included.

The fact of the matter is that corruption, happens everywhere and among all parties. To point out two small red states including my home state, that has been through a rough period with our elected officials, does not indicate more corruption over another.

Also, I doubt if the individual anti-corruption/ethics laws are taken into account. Alaska has among the toughest ethics laws in the country right now as a result of a handful of convictions that has thrown the entire scale off balance.