If your town had a new mayor take office and they uncovered criminality by the old mayor

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

wouldn't you expect that they would do the right thing and refer the matter to the local DA, or if they felt necessary, to the USA?

What I would NOT expect is my new mayor or city council to tell the citizens of my burg , "oh, well, just let it pass. It will be very messy to discuss the old mayor's misdeeds even though our town is now bankrupt and apparently the mayor and his cronies made off with our municipal funds. Let's just be positive and press on."

If it would not be acceptable at the town or city level or at the state level, why should it be tolerated at the highest level?
If this is what you would expect from your mayor, why would you expect any less from your President?

To Obama or anyone in his administration who is presented with or uncovers evidence of criminal activity or malfeasance or corruption from the previous occupants of office - make a criminal referral to the Justice Department. At this point, I am not looking for any political theater, like commissions or Senate hearings. Treat it like you would if you were mayor.

[Hotler]

1. I agree! eom.

[hwmnbn]

2. umm, I live in Chicago....

so our criteria may not be the same as for a normal municipality.

I figure here, "who" gets paid "what" and "by whom" determines "whose justice" will prevail.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. I understand. I lived for years in Rhode Island

Land where a former governor resided in the big house after dumpster diving for a brown bag of cash payoffs which he had absent-mindedly thrown in the trash of the fast food restaurant where he lunched.

The place where a top official of the Department of Transportation was arrested after the State Police witnessed him personally looting a trailer truck accident of boxes of cookies and bathroom scales.

But, strangely enough, even in Rhode Island where corruption has a lush greenhouse of cultural acceptance, state and local officials have been marched off to serve time on a regular basis, because the entire state IS NOT corrupt and many refuse to accept it.

[Horse with no Name]

4. In my town

They'd just kill someone off and pretend it never happened.
Seriously. It's happened before.
The current DA uses his office to prosecute his political enemies with trumped up charges and paid off witnesses and a polluted jury on nothing more than hearsay from years ago. I have NEVER been called for jury duty and this town has less than 1000 registered voters.
The one thing I can say is...I can smell political stink from far away. I'm very familiar with it.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. WOW!

:scared:

I'm not kidding, I would be terrified to live in a place like that. No one has ever dropped a dime to the Feds or someone on a state level about the DA? If you know it, others know it.

[Horse with no Name]

7. Honestly?

It scares the shit out of me to speak out against anyone in this town. Anyone who speaks out or seeks change is killed or thrown in prison.
I'll send you a link in your email and you can see for yourself.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

9. If it were me I would

take a vacation and then go someplace far away to a public library and use their computers to open an email account that I would use just for that one time. I would email a very long and detailed anonymous letter about what I thought I knew to the state USA AND the FBI and the any local officials as well as the local and the state newspapers. I would put in the body of the letter that I was emailing it to multiple entities but I wouldn't say who. And then I would hope for the best.

And, I would also email the ACLU, the Nation magazine, Greg Palast, Glenn Greenwald and Seymour Hersh. They seem to be the only people on the face of the earth who give a flying f!@!k about anything serious.

[TheKentuckian]

6. EXPECT.......?????????? LOL!!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Local level? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Certainly more likely than at the state level where such a thing as an expectation of justice would make your head explode if you insisted on seriously pretending to think about it.

In short, that sounds great but I'm not so far gone loopy that I'd actually expect it, no. Fuck no, not at all.

You crazy kids with your pie eyed dreams....Whew, that's rich there. Even the shrub's DoJ is more trustworthy and interested in justice than the local cretins.

Maybe that's why I don't get some DU'ers, I've often wondered how some of your benchmarks even come into play. How your expectation surpassed my hope.

You all actually have reason to think that those responsible for screwing the people will be held accountable?!? Shit, I'm doing cartwheels just for the screwings to be paused.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

8. Ok, I've always had a theory about corruption anyway

In short - corruption thrives in small populations. A town, a very small state, an organization like the Congress or the Senate,- anyplace where it is easy for a finite amount of of people to know each other and for a few people to become acknowledged "big fish in a small pond".

Anonimity becomes impossible and the usual 6 degress of Kevin Bacon are reduced to 1 or 2. A culture of corruption flourishes because, just like high school, you're told "we all do it, what's your problem, why not do it to.' A weirdo dissents.

I do believe however that just as a culture of corruption may flourish, it may be equally possible for a culture of non-corruption to flourish and be the norm. "Take your payoff and get the hell out of my office!" "Yes, I told that guy the same thing!"

I think it is more possible recently for a "fake" culture of non-corruption to flourish since nowadays people may never be able to discern if they are being taped or photographed or videotaped. An ironic side benefit. Insincere honesty.