sold-out politicians trying to give themselves a raise!  Well, the money to turn the wheels has to come from somewhere, and they ran the state dry...

I just read a story of some school administrators in the midwest accepting kick-backs from certain companies in return for contracts with the school districts and I thought, what if that happened in Alaska?  They'd be roasted over a slow fire, of course---By people who do far worse on a daily basis, legally.

It's not just that many politicians are corrupt---And yes, shockingly, money is in fact the main vehicle for that corruption---But that it's institutionalised, legalized, written into procedure, rubber-stamped by voters, and worn as a feather in the cap of the politicians involved.

We're looking at the fruits:  Pointless ideological bickering while the state goes broke, a complete absence of leadership, and lots of overtime pay for kicking the can down the road---and the biggest problem on their minds is the next election.