I find it disturbing that news about the corruption in New Jersey is not making headlines in our newspapers. On September 06, 2007, 11 city officials were arrested for their involvement in a corruption investigation. It is offensive enough that Katrina lacked the attention it deserved, but even now as the corrupt officials there are arrested for taking bribes it is not newsworthy enough for our papers. Among the arrested were:
• Alfred E. Steele, state assemblyman and Passaic County Under sheriff
• Samuel "Sammy" Rivera, Passaic mayor
• Mims Hackett Jr., Orange mayor and state assemblyman
• Jonathan Soto, former Passaic city councilman
• Marcellus Jackson, Passaic city councilman
• Keith O. Reid, chief of staff to Newark City Council president
• Jayson G. Adams, former Pleasantville School Board member
• Maurice "Pete" Callaway, Pleasantville City Council member
• James T. McCormick, former Pleasantville School Board member
• James A. Pressley, Pleasantville School Board president
• Rafael Velez, Pleasantville School Board member
• Louis Mister, Pleasantville resident
All of these people hold positions that have authority in towns and neighborhoods that trust them, and all of them have betrayed that trust and deserve to be made examples of to any other officials that may be thinking about taking bribes or using their position in any way to their own advantage or financial gain.
If our reporters or media do not want to take on our own president who does this whole country wrong when he himself acts like he is above the law, or Vice President, Dick Cheney, as he gains enormously on the contracts in Iraq then the very least they could do is take on the government officials that accept bribes in this country. This needs to be a message to others who may think about taking advantage of the positions they have been graced with that they will not get away with it. I cannot believe how much damage this administration is causing on every level of government. Everything they touch is corrupted or corruptible and it is about time somebody starts to bring justice to those people who are willing to accept the bribes and sell out this country to line their own pockets.
To the New Jersey Attorney, Chris Christy, who has been doing a great job tackling the corruption, Bravo! He vowed to take on the problem and it finally looks like someone is doing the job they were hired to do. This definitely could not be an easy one, but necessary and warranted. There are still those of us who want to see our country get the upper hand on taxpayer spending and stop overpaying contractors. It has gone on far too long, and without people like Christy it would have extended its way from Washington to the streets and City of New Jersey.
All stories that are factual and sourced will often come down to black or white, true or false, right or wrong, I include personal opinions about where these stories fall in that spectrum and allow humor whenever possible to lighten the topics. Goto @twiggles4u for more.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Media Spotlight
Last June, Idaho Senator, Larry Craig, plead guilty to lewd behavior after being arrested in a men’s bathroom in the Minneapolis airport. Although, he later said it was a mistake and only in an effort to make it go away quickly. The arresting officer said Craig had made several gestures indicating he wanted to have sex. Some of the charges included placing his hand beneath the stall and touching the officer’s foot with his and leaning his luggage against the stall door. The senator claims he was only picking up a piece of paper. Although, anybody who was completely innocent would not normally rush to plead guilty, that is exactly what the senator claims to have done.
As I watched the week unfold for the senator I knew he was in for some trouble. In the beginning he told the press, “I am not gay!” Then went on to say he made a mistake pleading guilty and that he did nothing wrong. At first, the senator seemed to believe he actually had the option to stay at the white house and see how everything played out in the court room, but by the end of the week we saw that option had disappeared. The media coverage brought forth other lawmakers that not only voiced their opinion but also asked for his resignation.
There had been rumors that the Idaho senator was gay circulating since the 1980’s. It was not until the senator entered his guilty plea that they were given credibility. This is exactly what a local paper in Idaho thought too. Allegations surfaced about 6 months ago from several sources claiming that the senator might engage in sex in public places, but the paper chose not to publish anything until they had more proof. They even interviewed the senator about it a few months ago. This may have been the reason for the senator’s lack of judgment to plead guilty without talking to an attorney or anyone else.
The media wasted no time in finding fellow senators and Presidential running mates to interview and voice their opinion. All of them negative. This could have been from the already tarnished view by Americans of the Republican Party and the current administration and a general need to stomp out any further damage the situation could cause for public support. As to whether he really is gay and solicited the undercover officer, maybe it is true and maybe it’s not. There really is not a whole lot of evidence against the senator and given that rumors have been circulating for over 20 years you would think something or someone would have been able to prove his guilt one way or another. One thing is for sure, his career is definitely over.
As I watched the week unfold for the senator I knew he was in for some trouble. In the beginning he told the press, “I am not gay!” Then went on to say he made a mistake pleading guilty and that he did nothing wrong. At first, the senator seemed to believe he actually had the option to stay at the white house and see how everything played out in the court room, but by the end of the week we saw that option had disappeared. The media coverage brought forth other lawmakers that not only voiced their opinion but also asked for his resignation.
There had been rumors that the Idaho senator was gay circulating since the 1980’s. It was not until the senator entered his guilty plea that they were given credibility. This is exactly what a local paper in Idaho thought too. Allegations surfaced about 6 months ago from several sources claiming that the senator might engage in sex in public places, but the paper chose not to publish anything until they had more proof. They even interviewed the senator about it a few months ago. This may have been the reason for the senator’s lack of judgment to plead guilty without talking to an attorney or anyone else.
The media wasted no time in finding fellow senators and Presidential running mates to interview and voice their opinion. All of them negative. This could have been from the already tarnished view by Americans of the Republican Party and the current administration and a general need to stomp out any further damage the situation could cause for public support. As to whether he really is gay and solicited the undercover officer, maybe it is true and maybe it’s not. There really is not a whole lot of evidence against the senator and given that rumors have been circulating for over 20 years you would think something or someone would have been able to prove his guilt one way or another. One thing is for sure, his career is definitely over.
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