Post 9: Ethics in politics?

So this will likely not be the world's longest post, as it is 1:21 a.m. and I have to be up at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Yuck.

But I couldn't help but blog on this article when I came across it. The agency that looks into and files ethics violations for politicians in the state reported that it closed 721 cases in 2009. Apparently, that was double last year's number.

But even more disconcerting than that, very few of these people are being punished -- only one out of six, according to the Los Angeles Times. It's a shame that that's the case, and frightening at the very least.

Sure, some of the violations were minor, like turning in forms late. But shouldn't the government take its role more seriously?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/05/hundreds-of-ethics-violations-few-fines.html