We go from hard nosed, maybe excessive, but honest Sheriff Joe in Arizona to this week's infusion of elected criminals. Mayor Eddie Perez of Hartford, Connecticut is surrounded by charges of bribery. He surrendered to police, but insisted he did nothing wrong and will not resign his office. Then there is Mayor Larry Langford of Birmingham, Alabama who was arrested by the FBI this past Monday on charges including conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering and filing false income tax returns. [Pillar of the community! Probably want your daughter to marry his son.] According to his lawyer, Mayor Langford is going back to work. Not forgetting Portland, Oregon: Mayor Sam Adams says he will not resign after getting himself elected by lying about a sexual relationship with a teenager (age 18) and getting his paramour to lie with him. Mayor Sam Adams (isn't there a beer by that name?) reportedly only "kissed" the young man at age seventeen and "waited" until he was 18 to involve sex in the relationship. Mayor Adams said he is not guilty of sex with a minor because "kissing is not sex." Hummm....do we recall our former president Bill Clinton saying something like that....oral sex is not sex. Finally, the continuing saga of the Illinois Governor, Mr. Rod Blagojevich found him arrested this week for, among other things, attemtping to sell the senatorial seat vacated by Mr. Obama. Where do all these liars, thieves, and corrupt people come from??? And why are they still in office? None of these men are going to resign. None of them intend to do the honest thing. They all say they will stay in office. Why are our elected official criminals? Well...I have a theory! It is because WE, the electorate, allow them in office. We allow the criminality! Why? Because we are selfish! If the politician will do WHAT WE WANT DONE, we will turn our back on whatever else he or she does, and they know it! "Gimme" "Gimme" "Gimme" is our electorate motto. And it is only going to get worse with the economy as nasty as it is. This country is on path to become a second rate nation, and when we arrive there, we will have no one but our own selfish urges to thank. A Nation That Was Once Generally Great, Has Become Commonly Dirty.