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July 29, 2008 by
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Today, New Jersey State Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D) submitted his resignation effective immediately following pornographic material being found his official, taxpayer paid for computer.
According to , lipitor online
This is another example of government corruption where an elected official believes that he is not required to follow the same laws as the everyday citizen.
It was reported that Republican and Democrat leaders of the New Jersey Legislature immediately ordered all legislative computers be equipped with the most advanced internet filtering software.
The question all taxpayers should be asking themselves is why wasn’t this software already installed?
It is sad that another elected official has betrayed the trust of the people that elected them to office.
Shame on you!
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July 29, 2008 by
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Scott White from continues to document his difficulty in convincing the Suffolk, VA press office to send him routine press releases. In his follow-up post, he includes email correspondence from Dana Woodson, Suffolk city (and taxpayer-funded) FOIA officer. Since Debbie George (old media communications professional) continues to rely on the crusty “bloggers aren’t real media” argument to escape her duty to send the press releases, Mr. White was forced to request the public information via FOIA.
Scott was able to purchase June pressers for an excessive $15 and can only receive them via snail mail on CD. Additionally, Woodson refused to email the press releases to any blogger. I thought I would check out the to learn more on their communications policies. This is what I found:
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Oh really? Rapport? Goodwill? I’m not sure that’s how I would describe Suffolk’s current communication with the public. Now, I’m not in the habit of predicting the future, but it doesn’t take a genius to see “public service” employee difficulties becoming a hot topic next election cycle.
- you might want to check out Suffolk for some responsive activists…
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July 29, 2008 by
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New York state seeks to produce 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2013. Great goal- it reduces our dependence on foreign oil, helps use new technologies for clean energy, and develops a renewable resource. What’s not to love? Call me crazy, but maybe it’s the palm greasing, conflicts of interest, and corruption involved with closing the deals with local town boards.
According to the , Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne investigated allegations of corruption and found seven town board members that had conflicts of interest in his one county. Town boards have the ultimate say in whether wind farms come to their communities, and some board members have made the unfortunate choice of seeking to lease their own land to wind farm companies. Critics wonder if wind energy companies are actively seeking to do business with town board members in order to facilitate approval for their proposals.
With Champagne’s assistance, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is now getting involved.
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So what is the moral of this all-too-familiar story? All taxpayer-sponsored programs need to be open to public scrutiny, and elected officials need to be held accountable when they have ethical lapses. Visit to shed some light on your community.
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July 29, 2008 by
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The Shreveport Times printed an op-ed from Ernest LeBlanc Jr., director of the , applauding Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for his work on new transparency legislation. The piece also did a good job spelling out why transparency is important to all citizens.
From the :
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LeBlanc also mentions that citizens that know and understand government can have more influence in policymaking. More influence for less of my tax dollars? That’s change all taxpayers can believe in.
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July 25, 2008 by
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When is government transparent enough? Is it enough for a city or county to send press releases to newspapers, hope to get covered, and think that’s enough information for the taxpayers to know? And who makes the decision on when enough information has been distributed- The person hired to disseminate information, or the taxpayers funding the city employee’s salary?
Deme Panagopulos from Suffolk, VA seemed to have a when he asked Debbie George, the Suffolk City Communications Director, if he could join the city mailing list to receive press releases. Panagopulos wished to post the information on his blog, , which exists to urge greater transparency within city government. Unfortunately, Ms. George replied that she didn’t consider blogs to be news sources, and if she added one blog, she would have to add other blogs that requested the information.
lipitor online Someone had the audacity to ask a city communications person to communicate information to more than the mainstream media??? Outrageous!
Ultimately, this standoff is not about whether a blog is a credible source of information (in most minds, that fight was won years ago), but it is about having an open, transparent government that is responsive and accountable to taxpayers.
Dave Forster from quoted Panagopulos: “First of all, we have a city that claims to be open and transparent. I question that at this juncture.”
Alarmingly, blogger Scott White from had a similar experience:
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New media or old- it’s the responsibility of government employees to keep taxpayers as informed as possible on all the ways their money has been/will be/might be/could be/should be spent. Less information available = less citizen oversight and involvement. And we all know the result of that.
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July 24, 2008 by
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During most state’s budgeting time, politicians, good government organizations, the press, and interest groups often toss around huge numbers regarding the ever-increasing costs of health care services. Most of the time, taxpayers have no idea where these numbers come from, who these health care providers are, and how much each is actually paid for their services.
South Carolina is attempting to make that data accessible to the public through a transparency initiative that includes placing state Medicaid payments online.
reports:
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The database can be viewed , through the SC DHHS website.
Gov. Sanford, a potential VP candidate for John McCain, is on the right track on this issue.
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July 23, 2008 by
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Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin L. Wiessmann opened a new yesterday that allows taxpayers access to information on state contracts. The database was created to comply with PA’s new Right-to-Know Law signed into law early this year.
According to the , the database seems to have been carefully crafted for usability.
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Additional parts of the Right-to-Know legislation will be enacted on Jan 1, 2009.
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July 22, 2008 by
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From the files of “Coulda Seen That One Comin’”…
Illinois distributed $20,000 grants to 89 organizations to assist with after-school tutoring for the 2007-08 school year. Unfortunately, a Chicago Tribune investigation of 48 of the grant recipients found that about half of those 48 organizations were not running programs, and a third were under the care of a person with less-than-stellar financial histories.
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Senator Hendon, allow me the honor of helping you out with a little Public Service 101. You do not “deserve” taxpayer money. You’re not entitled to it. It is not a prize to deliver to campaign workers. It is entrusted to you by your constituents and the hardworking taxpayers of Illinois to be used for legitimate, worthy, quality programs that benefit the people that pay your salary.
Learn this lesson: Transparency, and a competitive bidding process, is necessary in ALL instances where tax dollars are used.
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July 19, 2008 by
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‘s newest release: Transparency in Government.
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See more on Reform Michigan Now and .