Why we are fucked as a nation...

...unless we elect people not subject to the influence of big money. Democrats OR Republicans.

Bought and paid for

Just in case you weren't convinced that our politicians were all bought and paid for, consider this from Daily Kos...

The United States of Corporation is here:

For the first time in recent history, the lobbying, grassroots and advertising budget of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has surpassed the spending of BOTH the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee.

Why they vote the way they do...

and why we get screwed over...

From Acerbic Politics

Another Republican's Crooked Ways Come To Light

The Washington Times, which is a conservative newspaper out of D. C. had to admit this one is just not right - another Republican scandal.

"The pharmaceutical industry that long has benefited from Sen. Orrin G. Hatch's legislative efforts has directed large sums of money to a charity he helped found -- and still raises money for -- while also hiring the Republican lawmaker's son as a lobbyist.

Though Congress boasts that it is more transparent after passing new disclosure rules, Americans have had no way of knowing about the drugmakers' largesse to the charity, Utah Families Foundation. No way, that is, until a normally confidential tax filing was mistakenly released by the Internal Revenue Service to a nonprofit database last year."

Did You Know - International Corruption

The biggest crooks in the world are often the richest to begin with. And they all run in the same circles. And they all share the same moral code: screw the little guy.

From the Washington Post....

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family and the kingdom's former ambassador to the United States, pocketed about $2 billion in secret payments as part of an $80 billion arms deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia that was first signed in 1985, British media reported Thursday.

The reports revived questions about the British government's decision in December to drop a fraud investigation into the deal, which has been plagued by allegations of bribes and secret slush funds for almost two decades.

In remarks Thursday, Prime Minister Tony Blair did not comment
directly on the reports made on the BBC and in the Guardian newspaper. But he repeated his frequent defense of the decision to drop the investigation on national security grounds.

"This investigation, if it had gone ahead, would have involved the most serious allegations in investigations being made into the Saudi royal family," Blair said at a meeting of the Group of Eight nations in Germany.

The Center for American Progress continues to provide some of the best stories about the Bush Administration with links providing excellent documentation. Be sure to subscribe to their "Progress Report" newsletter.

ETHICS -- REPORT REVEALS HUNDREDS OF WHITE OUSE/ABRAMOFF CONTACTS, LEGAL QUESTIONS RAISED:

The House Government Reform Committee has released a 95-page report documenting 485 contacts between top White House officials and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, "as well as tens of thousands of dollars worth of meals and tickets to sporting events and concerts." The contacts "raise serious questions about the legality and actions" of those officials, Roll Call reports. During a three-year period beginning in early 2001, "Bush administration officials repeatedly intervened on behalf of Abramoff's clients"; 82 of the 485 documented contacts were between chief White House strategist Karl Rove and Abramoff's lobbying team. After attending a NCAA basketball game with Rove in 2002, Abramoff described Rove in an e-mail: “He’s a great guy. Told me anytime we need something just let him know through [his secretary].” Other e-mails cited in the report add evidence that former White House political director Ken Mehlman "was Jack Abramoff's prime favor man in the White House." The most damaging e-mails reveal that Mehlman pressured Justice Department appointees "to release millions of dollars in congressionally earmarked funds for a new jail for the Mississippi Choctaw tribe, an Abramoff client." Check out this comprehensive
database on the Abramoff investigation.