Kudos to former Mesa police sergeant Bill Richardson for exposing corruption in Tempe. He appears to be an honest man who needs all of our continued support. Guys like this don’t grow on trees. Kudos also to the Tribune for giving him a wide berth in this regard.

CHICAGO -Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan to auction off President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat marked the culmination of years of scheming for personal gain that included trying to extort a congressman and pressuring businesses to hire his wife, prosecutors alleged.

VATICAN CITY -- Bishops attending a Vatican meeting on Africa issued a blunt ultimatum Friday to corrupt Catholic political leaders in Africa: repent or leave public office.

I wanted to address some facts in advance of any legislation targeting Arizona workers in state government and Gov. Jan Brewer's proposal to uncover them in the state merit system. State employees are covered for a reason; to prevent undue political influence and corruption in state government. State employees are precluded from becoming elected precinct committee persons, holding office within the political party of their choice, or running for most political offices while a covered state employee. This was done to remove politics from employees tasked with serving the public. Covered status positions require background checks, interviews and competitive screening before hire.

If there ever was a time and occasion for an investigative reporter to win a Pulitzer, it’s now. For now is the time to blow the lid off an Arizona county, other than Pinal, rife with political corruption to whit, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the county’s judiciary. Now that the “kangaroo” judicial board has hanged Andrew Thomas, et al, out to dry, it’s only the beginning of their inquisition of those who have attempted to clean up the politico wrong-doers.

The Supreme Court says that it is corruption in American politics that gives it the right to take away rights — to tell people what they can and cannot say on TV as an election draws close, for instance.

CHICAGO - Rod Blagojevich's schemes and corruption stretch back beyond trying to sell a Senate seat, beyond handing out jobs to political donors and even beyond his first day in the Illinois governor's office, federal prosecutors say.

Court records made public Thursday show that a grand jury ended its investigation of a judge, county officials and one of their lawyers on corruption allegations, but the reason for concluding the probe is a subject of dispute.

NEW ORLEANS - Fed up with crime and political corruption, New Orleans’ business leaders in 1952 organized to flush out the twin poisons they believed were harming economic development.

WASHINGTON - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that threatened to end the 40-year career of Alaska's political patriarch in disgrace.

Why is it that when New Orleans was hit by a very strong hurricane, the Democratic party wasted no time demonstrating and condemning the Republican party, the president and all Republicans in congress for not supplying food, shelter and repairing or replacing homes that were completely destroyed by mother nature.

David Petersen thought he was clear of his legal troubles when he cut a plea deal with Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. But then the former state treasurer found out he was being targeted by MACE.

McALLEN, Texas -- Corruption along the U.S.-Mexican border takes many forms.

Even if Sunday's Russian presidential election were fair, Vladimir Putin would win. He is incontestably popular, with approval ratings above 70 percent for the four years of his first term.

XINHUA, China - Chinese leaders moved to contain the political aftershocks of last week's deadly earthquake, promising a big rebuilding fund, reining in the recently aggressive media and trying to keep despair from turning to anger in the disaster zone.

Considering he struck comedy gold with "Meet the Parents"/"Meet the Fockers" before successfully entering the cable political arena with "Recount" and "Game Change," director Jay Roach would seem to have been the ideal guy to be steering "The Campaign."

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration's Justice Department's actions were inappropriately political, but not criminal, when it fired a U.S. attorney in 2006, prosecutors said Wednesday in closing a two-year investigation without filing charges.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - President Bush scolded Russia for backsliding on democracy Monday and urged Mideast allies to take difficult steps for peace, appealing for Europe's help in both troubled areas to "set history on a hopeful course."

Last year, not long after Diane Humetewa was handpicked to become the next United States attorney for Arizona, she received a letter from the leader of the state Democratic Party.It was blunt.

Considering the wreck that is our state's economy, the dismal literacy level of Greater Phoenix as reported in your paper should surprise noone. The Boobs, Babbitts and Bigots of both parties who have set themselves up as our Arizona power structure, and who are responsible for our dire straits, absolutely depend upon an uneducated, unifnormed and apathetic citizenry to survive. They have transformed The Valley of the Sun from "America's Future" into a third world nightmare with cartel corruption flowing in, and tuberculosis showing the only real growth potential.

It's tough being a politician in the modern world. Just ask Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman. I wonder if today's politicos long for the time when civic leaders had enough clout to simply make their enemies disappear. I remember when Chicago Mayor Richard Daley had such pull - with law enforcement and alleged mafia types - that his detractors were too frightened to speak out against him.

It was refreshing to see a Republican, especially one as prominent as our own Sen. John McCain come out and call the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision as, "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen."

While working as a newspaper publisher since 1985, a couple of things have not changed over all of that time. I don’t like politics. I rarely like politicians.

Since the days of big-city bossism decades ago, it remains today a delicate balance to restrict just enough political activity by government employees to prevent politically corrupt behavior while preserving as many of a worker’s rights as possible.