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FBI LOOKS FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS IN TALLAHASSEE
An Opinion By Jan Bergemann
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Published June 14, 2011
What would you think if you sit down to read your morning paper -- and the first thing you see is an ADVERTISING from the FBI -- printed in big letters: "Dishonest government officials aren't just wasting your tax dollars. They're betraying your trust. Report public corruption to the FBI."
That just happened to the readers of the TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT -- the local newspaper of the hotspot of Florida corruption -- TALLAHASSEE.
Together with the ad on the front page came an article inside the paper, headlined: "FBI seeking tips from the public in crackdown on government corruption."
Personally, I feel it's about time somebody cleans out this cesspool -- known as Florida's capital. In my opinion Tallahassee is not only the actual capital of the State of Florida, it's as well the capital of political corruption -- a pay-to-play system that has more or less destroyed Florida's economy. What we are seeing now are the shambles of our once great State, formerly known as The Sunshine State. And instead of seeing the failure of their ways, our legislators continue to sell Florida to the highest bidder. What we see in Tallahassee shouldn't be called POLITICS -- it should be called "DRIVEN BY GREED!"
Broward County has always been named as the poster child for political corruption in Florida -- see MATTERS OF TRUST below. But in my opinion that is only because these Broward elected officials, already convicted or still under investigation, are not well enough connected to sweep the charges under the table.
The Broward County folks are convicted for taking bribes -- or "presents" -- ranging from $2,000 to $50,000 that would be mere peanuts for the bigwigs in Tallahassee . But everybody knows what's going on, runs around with blinders -- and/or just doesn't want to upset the apple-cart -- in this case a well-oiled corruption machine any Banana Republic elected official would be proud of!
But it's not only taking the bribe -- the wife of a Florida senator took $500,000 from a "benefactor" as a present -- it's as well the fact that these so-called elected officials have no problem with filing knowingly false affidavits regarding their financial status and/or where their income comes from. For me, a legislator unable to fill out a simple financial report regarding his/her finances -- or where exactly the income is coming from -- is either a crook or too stupid to be even a guard at the Tallahassee capitol building. But once they get caught they are allowed a second shot -- or even a third shot -- of getting it right. Don't forget, we are talking here AFFIDAVITS -- you know sworn under oath! [See Merriam-Webster: A sworn statement in writing made especially under oath or on affirmation before an authorized magistrate or officer.]
It's no wonder Florida is in such bad shape.
Wouldn't it be great if the New York Times could finally report that Florida is no longer leading the charts in the nation for having the highest number of corrupt politicians?
Let's just hope that the FBI officials are not just wasting more taxpayers' money by placing such ads, but that they are really mean business and make sure these corrupt politicians end up where they belong: In jailhouse garb!
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