I have concluded there is no corruption in Washington, D.C.

Ask Mainers and they will tell you their representatives in Washington are not corrupt. The very idea is ridiculous.

Now go to the other 49 states and ask the people there if their representatives in Washington are corrupt. They will tell you their representatives are not corrupt — it has to be the representatives from the other states.

With the people from all 50 states stating their representatives in Washington, D.C., are top-notch, candidates for sainthood, how can there be any corruption in Washington?

Impossible.

We pay their salaries and vote them into or out of office. How could they not do what we want them to do? Approximately 95 percent get re-elected. I guess the other 5 percent get too sick to stay or die or retire.

It's a good thing those in Washington are not corrupt, because we control our representatives for about a quarter of a second — the time it takes to pull a lever or mark a ballot, and then we have no control for the duration of their term. The money for re-election comes from special interests and such, so their salaries don't give the voter much leverage.

Could you imagine the problems if Washington officials ever became corrupt? It's so comforting to know we have so much control of government.

Joel Denison, Strong