Rope Dance To The Tennessee Waltz
May 28th, 2007 at 7:51 am by SmantixWhat greater way to restore public trust in government?
A scandal-tainted Japanese minister committed suicide today just hours before he was due to be questioned in parliament over a political expenses scandal…
[...]
Mr Matsuoka had been dogged by two political scandals. He allegedly claimed more than 28 million yen (£116,184) in expenses for utility fees at his parliamentary office, where such costs are free. MPs were due to question him on the scandal later today.He was also forced to apologise just three days after taking office for not declaring 1 million yen (£4,150) in political donations from a scandal-linked group.
He acknowledged the undeclared funds, which came in the form of purchased tickets to a fundraising party, saying he was unaware that the contributions had not been reported.
I stood at my monitor and applauded.
He hung himself over USD equivalent of ~$239,000.00. Roughly 2.4 Al Gore trips to Buddhist temples and $1.2 Million less than what Maria Hsia was convicted of.
What do you say we finally get around to mending those fences, Al? I understand the Assault on Reason but I’m more familiar with your Amadou Diallo-like brutality towards Ethics.
Lead by example and explore The Ultimate Carbon Offset ™. The line for ethical and environmental integrity, not to be confused with the line for eco-secularist posers, forms to your rear.
May 28th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Oh no you di’unt.
That’s the kind of Carbon Offset purchase I wholly endorse.
May 28th, 2007 at 10:52 am
$239K? Is that ALL?
My gosh, if our government had such guilt-laden consciences, Washington would look more like Jonestown.
May 28th, 2007 at 11:16 am
So says the currency exchange.
But our campaign finance penalties are part of the problem. You can illegally raise as much money as you want and the penalty is only a fraction of what you get convicted of.
Imagine robbing someone’s house of $20,000 worth of goods, get caught, and only have to pay a $1,000 fine. Seems worth it doesn’t it?
Steer the wheel of the most powerful country on the planet for a measly million dollar fine.