Octopus Overlords

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul has been named one of the most corrupt members of Congress in a new report from the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

The report says Paul "double-billed" his travel expenses a number of times over the last decade, meaning he may have been reimbursed for the same flights both under his official allowance as congressman, and by either non-profit groups under his control or his campaign committee.

In the interview, Yenni refused to confirm or deny any content of the article besides admitting to the sexting, saying he didn’t want to rehash it “line by line.” He did say he “believed” a lot of the story was untrue. It’s unclear why knowing what he himself did or did not do is a matter of “belief.”

Louisiana’s age of consent is 17, though Yenni could be subject to a federal law prohibiting the use of a telecommunications device for “the transmission of any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene or child pornography, knowing that the recipient of the communication is under 18 years of age,” WWLTV reported when the allegations first surfaced.

Married-with-children Oklahoma state senator and Trump campaign chair Ralph Shortey is under investigation after he was found in a motel room with an underage male.

hepcat wrote:That's a horrifying choice, man! I opt for door number 3: neither!

Shortey, 35, has been in office long enough that he will get his state retirement.

There is a law that strips elected officials of their pension if convicted of a felony like bribery, corruption, or perjury, but it does not include prostitution with a minor.

Voters in New York state will decide this fall whether to allow a judge to strip or reduce the pensions of public officials convicted of corruption.

The question will appear on the November ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment.
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Lawmakers passed a law in 2011 that allowed judges to revoke or reduce pensions of crooked lawmakers, but that law didn't apply to sitting lawmakers at the time. A constitutional amendment is needed to apply the pension forfeiture law to all lawmakers.

Montana law enforcement officials have charged GOP House candidate Greg Gianforte with misdemeanor assault following an alleged physical altercation with a reporter Wednesday evening, just hours before voters head to the polls.

Gianforte is expected to appear in court before June 7. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail, a $500 fine, or both

Smoove_B wrote:I am going to humbly suggest to the good people of OK, you're in desperate need of legal guidance and updates:

Oklahoma law allows Sen. Ralph Shortey to keep his state retirement even if convicted of prostitution with a minor.

Shortey, 35, has been in office long enough that he will get his state retirement.

There is a law that strips elected officials of their pension if convicted of a felony like bribery, corruption, or perjury, but it does not include prostitution with a minor.

Defiant wrote:

Montana law enforcement officials have charged GOP House candidate Greg Gianforte with misdemeanor assault following an alleged physical altercation with a reporter Wednesday evening, just hours before voters head to the polls.

Gianforte is expected to appear in court before June 7. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail, a $500 fine, or both

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Holman wrote: 3) Why the hell is Montana its own state? Just enough people for one representative, but two senators?

gilraen wrote:

Holman wrote: 3) Why the hell is Montana its own state? Just enough people for one representative, but two senators?

That's kinda the point of a 2-chamber Congress...reps are based on population but every state gets 2 senators.

Isgrimnur wrote:Supposed to help combat the tyranny of the majority. While California can curb stomp Montana in the House by sheer numbers, they're both only 2% each of the Senate.

Isgrimnur wrote:Political disenfranchisement leads to unrest and revolt.

Isgrimnur wrote:Political disenfranchisement leads to unrest and revolt.

Captain Caveman wrote:

gilraen wrote:

Holman wrote: 3) Why the hell is Montana its own state? Just enough people for one representative, but two senators?

That's kinda the point of a 2-chamber Congress...reps are based on population but every state gets 2 senators.

Yeah, and it's bullshit. Under-populated rural states get so much more political power than heavily-populated states. A senator from Wyoming has something like 67 times the representational power than a senator from California. It's bananas.

Captain Caveman wrote:

gilraen wrote:

Holman wrote: 3) Why the hell is Montana its own state? Just enough people for one representative, but two senators?

That's kinda the point of a 2-chamber Congress...reps are based on population but every state gets 2 senators.

Yeah, and it's bullshit. Under-populated rural states get so much more political power than heavily-populated states. A senator from Wyoming has something like 67 times the representational power than a senator from California. It's bananas.

Fitzy wrote:

Captain Caveman wrote:

gilraen wrote:

Holman wrote: 3) Why the hell is Montana its own state? Just enough people for one representative, but two senators?

That's kinda the point of a 2-chamber Congress...reps are based on population but every state gets 2 senators.

Yeah, and it's bullshit. Under-populated rural states get so much more political power than heavily-populated states. A senator from Wyoming has something like 67 times the representational power than a senator from California. It's bananas.

I think the problem is the other way. It's time to break up the big population states. Although combining a few of the tiny ones wouldn't hurt.

Alefroth wrote:
What do you see as the problem? Disproportional representation? Unless you split up the metropolitan areas, you're still going to have states with a very highly concentrated population. Splitting up large cities into different states sounds like a pretty bad idea.

Defiant wrote:

Alefroth wrote:
What do you see as the problem? Disproportional representation? Unless you split up the metropolitan areas, you're still going to have states with a very highly concentrated population. Splitting up large cities into different states sounds like a pretty bad idea.

Divided by 50, the average state would have about 6.5 million people. Only NYC has a larger population at 8.5 million. Unless you're talking about metro areas, where we already see split between states (NY, DC, Chicago, Philly, etc)

Alefroth wrote: Yes, that's if we remap all 50 states. Are you supporting the idea of tiny states consisting of nothing but densely populated urban areas?

LordMortis wrote:

Captain Caveman wrote:

gilraen wrote:

Holman wrote: 3) Why the hell is Montana its own state? Just enough people for one representative, but two senators?

That's kinda the point of a 2-chamber Congress...reps are based on population but every state gets 2 senators.

Yeah, and it's bullshit. Under-populated rural states get so much more political power than heavily-populated states. A senator from Wyoming has something like 67 times the representational power than a senator from California. It's bananas.

And yet we are more held hostage to the insanity of the House of Reps. Go figure.

Defiant wrote:
I don't see it happening, of course, and it wouldn't be simple, but I don't see any serious problems with it. Although apart from NYC, the largest city has just under 4 million, so other cities would need some areas outside of the "densely populated urban areas".

Jeff V wrote: Well, not exactly. It's not like everything outside the city is countryside -- the Chicago metro area, for example, has a population of 9.5 million, almost 2/3 of which is outside the City of Chicago proper.

ImLawBoy wrote:If you want to find a way to make the political differences in the country even more stark and bitter, a good place to start would be to isolate urban centers from rural areas.