On the growing ethical issue of politicians and charities, check these online commentaries:
1. Dubious donations by C-SPAN corporate vice president general counsel Bruce Collins notes concerns that American politicians are using their personal charitable foundations as a way of circumventing American campaign finance laws.
2. A 2002 article from the National Center for Policy Analysis points to the number of American politicians who have been creating charities and then securing federal funds to support the charities. "Government funds for local pork projects usually flow to local government entities -- but setting up these charities eliminates the government middleman and allows politicians to receive the credit."
3. "Limits urged on political charities" is a news report from Boston on growing efforts to curb the use of charities by politicians as a way of evading American campaign finance restrictions.