Dozens of members of Congress will be retiring next month, and some should be missed. But there is only one Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma senator the Christian Science Monitor has dubbed 'a rabble-rousing statesman.'

Tom Coburn never forgot that members of Congress are spending the hard-earned money of the people back home. Even a lot of conservatives end up forgetting that. Here's hoping that back in the private sector, Tom Coburn keeps up the fight for his beliefs and that he remains a constant reminder to lawmakers and the White House of ethical standards to which all should aspire.

Dozens of members of Congress will be retiring next month, and some should be missed. But there is only one Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma senator the Christian Science Monitor has dubbed 'a rabble-rousing statesman.'

There have been brilliant satires about the tax bureaucracy before, from the Beatles song ‘The Taxman’ to the film ‘Harry’s War,’ but in some ways Jim Greenfield’s The Taxman Cometh outdoes them all. His tale of a little guy who can’t take it anymore is both compelling and timely, given the tax scandals we read about in Washington almost every day.

I believe careers should be judged independently unless there's a clear conflict of interest in a specific case.

One thing members of Congress need to realize is how much their reliance on staffers is hurting the institution and helping make it unaccountable.

As government grows, its increased power to grant favors or inflict pain attracts more people who would abuse the system.