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monicaangela

(1,508 posts)
Sun Mar 6, 2016, 08:00 AM Mar 2016

Is this a precursor describing where we are headed in this nation?

All over the nation we are seeing bit by bit problems with state and local government. We have environmental catastrophes like Porter Ranch, the Gulf Oil Spill, the Flint, Michigan water catastrophe along with water problems and pollution problems throughout the nation. Our infrastructure is crumbling with none of the elected representatives caring about it or being able to do anything about it, and more and more we are reading stories like the one I am about to share with you. What is happening in the United State of America?

CRYSTAL CITY, Tex. — Packs of dogs roam the streets in this small town about 120 miles outside of San Antonio, and dozens of vacant homes and businesses have their windows barred or boarded. The city council, which is supposed to run the government, has only one member not facing federal criminal charges, and the city manager, also charged, has been suspended. In recent weeks, the water from some residents’ faucets gushed out black.

“It’s, like, this poor town,” said Tomasa Salas, 55, as she waited in front of city hall to pick up plastic jugs of water. “There is good here, too. You just got to dig really deep to find it.”

The confluence of poverty and suspected political corruption have made Crystal City a national emblem of a small town gone bad, a place where nepotism festered for so long that the FBI had to bring in nearly 100 agents to clean it up.

“If this is a wake-up call for all other towns and cities and other municipal areas, thank God,” said Councilman Joel Barajas, the only council member not to face a federal charge.
The FBI has long waged a war against corruption in small towns across the country, but the problem seems to have grown particularly acute in the southern and western parts of Texas. In recent years, the feds have charged county officials involved in bid-rigging and kickback schemes, law enforcement officers who sold drugs they seized to other traffickers and even a state judge who took bribes for favorable rulings. The FBI’s San Antonio Division launched 23 public corruption investigations in 2012, 51 in 2013 and 64 in 2014, authorities said.


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-might-be-the-most-corrupt-little-town-in-america/ar-BBqo43Y?ocid=spartanntp

Now that we have Citizens United, this can only get worse. When will we as citizens begin to recognize the fact that our government is and has been corrupt for a long time now. Members of both parties are on the take, and in my personal opinion this has gone on far too long, and by the way did I mention Citizens United is going to cause this to become exponentially worse?



Should we as citizens stand up and confront these problems? I say yes and it is about time we start. Occupy was a beginning, we need to reorganize and begin again to confront this situation.
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Is this a precursor describing where we are headed in this nation? (Original Post) monicaangela Mar 2016 OP
(If only the EU had an FBI (and greater democracy)) Ghost Dog Mar 2016 #1
So politicians are corrupt around the world monicaangela Mar 2016 #4
It absolutely is a trend Hydra Mar 2016 #2
I agree Hydra monicaangela Mar 2016 #5
Then let's work to kick the laziest group of legislators out on their asses -the obstructionist GOP. randome Mar 2016 #3
I have been trying for years monicaangela Mar 2016 #6
 

Ghost Dog

(16,881 posts)
1. (If only the EU had an FBI (and greater democracy))
Sun Mar 6, 2016, 09:51 AM
Mar 2016


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-might-be-the-most-corrupt-little-town-in-america/ar-BBqo43Y?ocid=spartanntp


...
Here's a recent case from Spain, though, following the recent political shift towards the anti-corruption left.

Major political corruption raid in Valencia nets 24 arrests

All of the detainees have ties to the (rightwing) Popular Party (PP), which governed in the Mediterranean region for two decades until May 2015, when local and regional elections resulted in a political shift to the left

(E)veryone under investigation is believed to have participated in a corrupt network that charged commissions in exchange for granting public contracts. These sources said investigators are also contemplating the possibility that part of the money was used for illegal party financing on the part of the Valencian branch of the PP.

The suspects may have incurred in offenses of embezzlement, bribery of public officials, influence peddling and money laundering, among other crimes. The scope of the irregular activities, which went on for years, was described by one source as “enormous.”

The Civil Guard entered Valencia City Hall at 10am on Tuesday and reviewed information in the power of the PP group. Its secretary, María del Carmen García Fuster, was arrested…

/… http://elpais.com/m/elpais/2016/01/26/inenglish/1453812542_400725.html

monicaangela

(1,508 posts)
4. So politicians are corrupt around the world
Sun Mar 6, 2016, 04:02 PM
Mar 2016

and stories like the one you posted here and in Spain are the canaries in the coal mine for me. It appears this trend is occurring around the world. Imagine, Lula being arrested for corruption, one of the best presidents of Brazil. Is this what the Oligarchs are creating, a political class that is robbing the citizens of the world, especially the poor and so called middle class blind.

Hydra

(14,459 posts)
2. It absolutely is a trend
Sun Mar 6, 2016, 12:49 PM
Mar 2016

And it's top to bottom- selective enforcement of the law favoring cronies mixed with outright corruption.

This is one of the reasons I am so adamant that the law needs to apply to everyone and fairly. It never ends well when we let some of us ruin it for everyone.

monicaangela

(1,508 posts)
5. I agree Hydra
Sun Mar 6, 2016, 04:04 PM
Mar 2016

Problem is where and how do we begin. It isn't going to be that easy when the majority of people in this country and around the world are, or appear to be unaware of why their lives are changing so drastically and what is causing it.

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
3. Then let's work to kick the laziest group of legislators out on their asses -the obstructionist GOP.
Sun Mar 6, 2016, 12:54 PM
Mar 2016

They are the laziest creatures on the face of the planet.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)
[/center][/font][hr]

monicaangela

(1,508 posts)
6. I have been trying for years
Sun Mar 6, 2016, 04:06 PM
Mar 2016

but to be honest, an electorate that doesn't appear to care about this, an electorate that will know about gerrymandering and other methods used by politicians to control the vote continue to allow it and do nothing about it is hard to influence. Any ideas as to how we might go about this?

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