June 23, 2006
Culture of Corruption
Mayor Ron Gonzales of San Jose, California was indicted yesterday in a fraud and bribery scandal. The Seattle Times article didn't mention Gonzales' party affiliation, so you can safely guess what it is. The San Francisco Chronicle fills in the details
[Gonzales] raised money for [former California Governor Gray] Davis and was named one of 100 rising stars by the influential Democratic Leadership Council. He raised more than $50,000 for John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 and was one of the party's go-to people when it came to urban issues.
Apparently so. Of course if this were a Republican mayor involved in a scandal, the Times would probably feature that
detail more
prominently .
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at June 23, 2006
09:21 AM | Email This
1. I am not supprised in the list bit. I used to live down in San Jose back in the 80's and it has only gotten worse there from what family has told me. SJ has always been known for its wacky lib Mayors. For example back in the early 90's one of thier wacky mayors tried to build a baseball stadium to attrack the SF Giants to SJ (using public funds of course). Her plan was to build the stadium right in between the city dump and the city desalinzation plant.
2. Don't forget just about every Slimes article about
Jack Abramoff mentions that he is a Republican, and there's nary a mention of his tribal clients who gave generously to Democrats.
3. Also, dont forget that Rep Murtha was an unideicted co-conspirator during the Abscam sting. He was caught on tape saying that "he was not intrested at the moment".
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=//Politics//archive//200601//POL20060113d.html
4. You all forget political rule number one: "It's different when it's democrats."
5. Not newsworthy, common occurrence:
"Dog bites man."
"Democrats corrupt."
Newsworthy, uncommon:
"Man bites dog."
"Republican corrupt."
6. And don't forget Geore Soros, who just received his guilty verdict for insider trading.
7. I've noticed that it IS pretty automatic that way-- Whenever they don't mention political party, it's bound to be a democrat. And they say the old media aren't liberal. Quelle agenda!
8. Also about 20 to 25 years ago, San Jose had a mayor whose name was McHenry. One of the local newspaper columnists referred to him as "Lord McHenry". (And yes, a (D)).
His claim to fame was that his extended family owned a big chunk of land in part of their failing downtown - land which became far more valuable after the mayor pushed through a bunch of publicly funded "re-development" efforts. This predates the Internet stories but there is a mention of McHenry's "accomplishments" in a comment to this post here http://sanjoseinside.com/sji/blog/entries/the_big_fight/
I am generally of the view that "politician" = corruption, regardless of party.
9. Its got nothing to do with the liberal agenda! The only reason they specify that an R did it is because that is a surprise. You would normally expect a D in that situation, so saying D is redundant.
(How am I doing on rationalizing? Up to D standards on spin yet?)
10. But don't you understand that it is never politically correct to point out race/sex/political party unless it is a white male who happens to be a Republican-then they are fair game and deserve whatever they get! Case in point again today where the Seattle Times (and KOMO website) fail to mention that the deputy in Kitsap County who pulled out a handgun instead of a taser was a FEMALE...just like the deputy in Grays Harbor who was overpowered by a male prisoner (in handcuffs and leg irons!) ...and the deputy in Atlanta, who was overpowered by a male prisoner, who got her gun and then shot and killed three people! But it isn't polite to mention that maybe, just maybe, the average woman isn't as physically strong as a male and maybe, just maybe, we have lowered our standards so as to allow more "diversity". But we aren't allowed to say that, are we? Before anyone has a hissy fit, I am NOT saying that women are not capable of being police officers, firefighters, soldiers, etc. I am simply pointing out that when standards and qualifications are changed so as to allow those who are not able to do the actual job, we ALL suffer the consequences. And it would be nice if the media was not so scared of special interest groups that they would homest about that fact!
11. Instead of a tinfoil hat for Joni, how about a photo of her and another KC Council member wearing tinfoil wrestling masks ala Jack Black in his current film
In looking at the two links, I cannot tell if the party identification is due to slopliness by the Associated Press, the Seattle Times, or both. It does seem oddly coincendental that the above chose to identify Rs but not Ds
Someone posted last week about the difference in D response to medicare and medicaid fraud at the State Medical Schools in Washington and New Jersey. I did do a search and yes both got accused of misbillings.
What is interesting is that in New Jersey both acting Governor Codey and current Governor Corzine said the behavior at the NJ School of Medicine is unacceptable. Both of the governors are Democrats and speak out against fraud and corruption
Is because both of them ran businesses? Codey a funeral home and Corzine ran Goldman Sachs?
Strangely enough Gary Locke, Ron Sims, and Norm Maleng were strangely silent on ethics and fraud. I guess wearing a tinfoil hat, holding hands, and singing Kumbuya around the campfire is a full time job
12. i make no distinction for D or R or whatever for fraud and corruption; it pizzes me off equally; i hope all convicted get banged really hard! this is about character and honor, not party; i'm willing to hang any party; at a job or in politics; crime is crime--in a ghetto or on Rodeo Drive; pointing party fingers at corrupt individuals is like arguing over how the liferaft punctured as it's sinking;
13. I'm gonna echo Jimmie's words here.
If we pay attention to the flow of things, we see that politics has a corrupting influence on the practitioners. No member of any party is immune to it. Politiciansof all stripes are legendary in their excuses for their pathetically poor behavior.
While it would be nice if the political contemporaries of elected official treated "tainted" members with all the consideration of a typhoid carrier, we know that they routinely do not.
It is our obligation and responsibility therefore to point out the offenders and make them "come to Jesus".
Partisans will cry "But this is all partisanship!". Fine. Be that as it may, that is the way of it. Should any of ours stray, shout it out! We will certainly do the same for yours. The only difference is, we will also police out own (unlike the "at any price" liberals)...
14. Alpha--your 'policing your own' concept is one i also have stongly advocated for whiny minority groups who blame everyone else for their culture's failures, illegitimate births and low school performance and enrollments; clean your own house first; i'll then give you the respect you deserve--but no sooner; like this mayor GOnzlaez, there's talk and there are actions;