Ah, these United States — which is most corrupt?

New Jersey’s a traditional favorite. Chris Christie, the Republican candidate for governor this year, built his reputation as a federal prosecutor convicting 130 state and local politicians of corruption.

But Illinois is a contender: Think ousted Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Now, make room for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Recently, former House Speaker Sal DiMasi was indicted — along with several associates — for allegedly helping a software company obtain $20 million in state contracts in return for lots of cold, hard cash.

The previous speaker left office just before he was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. The speaker before that had been pushed out after pleading guilty to federal income tax evasion.

This rather consistent level of corruption is a sign of too much power and not enough accountability. Frank Hynes, a Democrat who served in the legislature for 26 years, agrees. He says, “The speaker controls, basically, everything — where you sit, where you stand, how many aides you get, whether you get a good parking space.”

Obviously the Bay State needs term limits — DiMasi had been in office for 30 years. But years ago legislators blocked a term limits amendment just as they’ve blocked all but three citizen petitions for constitutional amendments during the last 90 years.

Massachusetts needs a new revolution, one that puts citizens in charge with an initiative process that politicians cannot ignore.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

John Murtha, a Pennsylvania congressman going on 36 years, may be today’s uncrowned “king of pork.” Recently, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “If I’m corrupt, it’s because I take care of my district.”

Murtha was responding to questions about the FBI, which is now looking into his “pattern of steering millions in earmarks to defense contractors who give to his campaign and hire his allies as lobbyists.”

In taking care of his district, Murtha takes care of himself, too. For instance, he has his own airport: the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport.

The airport has received over $200 million in federal tax money, most of it earmarked by Murtha. In addition to a big portrait of the congressman, the airport also has free parking and boasts “easy check-in.”

Of course, the airport hosts only three flights a day — all going to Washington, DC. A recent Washington Post report mentioned that there were seven TSA personnel screening the four passengers boarding with their six pieces of luggage.

Federal taxpayers also provided the airport an $8-million radar system back in 2004 — a system that has never been used.

In addition to Murtha’s numerous earmarks, the Murtha airport just got $800,000 in federal stimulus funds. Seems it was “shovel-ready.”

Yes, one needs a shovel for all the . . . well, you know.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Several years ago, Washington, D.C., “won” a Major League Baseball franchise, the Nationals. City politicians, though constantly complaining about a lack of money even for essential programs,  miraculously came up with over $600 million to build a brand new stadium to lure the team.

Now that the team is playing in its new taxpayer-subsidized stadium, the battle over funding is over. But the war over tickets for the mayor and city council members to sit in a luxury skybox and watch the games escalates.

You see, the Nationals have given a luxury skybox to the mayor and another one to the city council. (Just as an aside, doesn’t this deal strike you as sort of like a bribe? It does me.) Anyway, it seems that the Nationals front office sent the tickets for both skyboxes to Mayor Adrian Fenty. And Fenty managed to forward tickets on to only those council members with whom he isn’t feuding. The other council members were left out, causing some hard feelings.

The very same thing happened last year, too.

There always seem to be problems when the bad guys split up the loot.

Well, one council member, Kwame Brown, offers a very simple solution: Sell both the skyboxes to the highest bidder and use the proceeds to help cover budget gaps.

Wow, a D.C. politician actually making sense. That’s a home run!

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

When Ted Stevens, former senator from Alaska, was convicted on seven felony counts of corruption, I stressed that what I knew about Stevens’s corruption was not what was debated in court but what happened, quite openly, in the U.S. Senate.

Do you remember my verdict? Here’s what I said: “[I]f as many as five or six — or even all seven — of the counts against him are not upheld, his name will still appear dirty in my book, dirty from all the porkbarelling. Senator Ted Stevens is a horrifying example of much that is wrong in government.”

Stevens has always been proud of his porkmeistering, his attempts to transform independent-minded Alaskans into our union’s biggest pork recipients.

Further, Stevens insisted upon his innocence of illegal corruption all through his trial. And in his appeal his lawyers made much of a whistle blower’s leaked information from the prosecution that the office did not fully disclose all the information from a chief witness. At that point, there was almost no possible recourse but to overturn the convictions.

According to Eric Holder, top banana at the Department of Justice, there will be no second prosecution.

I still have no certainty about the DOJ’s case against Stevens. But I do have certainty about my case against Stevens’s politics of pork.

One additional bit of certainty: Corruption is in plentiful supply among prosecutors, including in the U.S. Department of Justice.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

However brutal or irresponsible Roman emperor Nero may have been, he didn’t literally fiddle while Rome burned. The violin hadn’t been invented yet.

Our modern rulers, on the other hand, know the metaphorical instrument’s arpeggios and double-stops, fiddling with taxpayer dollars as our economy sputters and smolders.

Washington Post columnist Al Kamen passed along the news of nothing unusual, just another so-called fact-finding junket undertaken by intrepid congressfolk. Says Kamen, “Spring break is upon us. That means the skies will darken for two weeks with military jets winging our lawmakers and their spouses to faraway places in search of elusive facts.”

Representatives Ed Pastor, James Clyburn, Maurice Hinchey, John Salazar, Tim Ryan, and Rodney Alexander are winging their way south, to a check list of fascinating tourist spots, plus perhaps a Brazilian state dinner or two. Facts, facts, facts — at Copacabana Beach, Corcovado mountain, the beautiful Iguazu Falls, then on to Salvador.

You could probably pick up a lot of facts about these places from Wikipedia and YouTube. But hey — nothing like being there.

Mostly Democrats in this particular gang, but using taxpayer and lobbyist dollars to fund exotic jaunts to far-flung sumptuous locales is a bipartisan tradition.

The full cost is trivial.

This year? Not even a trillion dollars.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.