On Mark Foley, GOP et al...

Reading through reports like http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/08/foley.ethics/ and others on the post-election finding on Mark Foley's conduct and who in the GOP top knew what when and whether/what actions they did/did not take, one can't help but be reminded of the church scandals in US in recent years.

Looking beyond Mark Foley (a nothing but shameless, hypocritical freak who preys on the young), and we can see some pattern that can be generalized. When we put someone in a power position with no checks-or-balance (and no enforcement of the rules/law, if any), and we're bound to have problems. Problems could be corruption, or it could be exploitation, or much worse.

Who in the public in the right mind would have any doubts that the GOP leaders did not know about Foley's conduct, and they simply looked the other way since Foley is a six-term congressman, and they just wanted to keep him in that GOP seat. They would rather see him consume the sacrificial lambs (much like the church looking the other way to avoid scandals or lawsuits, rather than watching out for the kids). Bush's administration might have made my blood boiled, but the GOP leaders are worse, much worse.

At least there's a silver lining to the Foley scandal, which is to tip the scale in the election. But if we don't see the structure changed, anyone (and any party) in that position is 99.99% likely to do the same thing again in the same way. And there's been no change in Capitol Hill (even though it changes hands). American public is just so complacent. With that attribute, there is no motivation and no need at all of _any_ party to make real change. That's sad.