Earmarks investigation aside, Obama still king of the hill

The Washington Post investigated earmarks requested by current members of Congress, and a number of those earmarks raise serious questions about ethics—not in the sense of official ‘ethics,’ but real ones, the kind that resonate with Main Street. What many people may have forgotten: President Barack Obama’s astronomical earmarks during his brief time as a junior senator from Illinois.

Current members of Congress have admittedly directed US taxpayer dollars to questionable projects. Among them:

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Details of Ellison's Muslim pilgrimage pose ethics problem for House Democrats

Icons of Islam: The ancient erected stone obelisk located in the Hippodrome in Constantinople. The image was made between 1880-1893. [US Library of Congress Photo by Abdullah Frères].by Chris Carter

House ethics officials have called for disclosure of costs associated with Minnesota Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison's religious pilgrimage to Saudia Arabia last year. Originally, Ellison – who is the United States' first Muslim congressman – opted not to announce the cost of the trip, which had a price tag of $13,350. More disturbing than Ellison's lack of transparency is the fact that The Star-Tribune (Minn.) said the Muslim American Society of Minnesota  (MAS) paid the $13,350 bill for Ellison’s two-week visit to Mecca.

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