Wednesday, January 04, 2012

The Body Politic of COP 24/7

Your head would have to be buried deep if you haven't realized that 2012 is going to be all about politics. We've heard about for the last six months in order to be ready for an entire year of front runners, flip-flops and foolishness that will littered the landscape and airwaves. Unfortunately we will not be able to escape the on slaught of ads both positive and negative plus those "ro-bo" calls that will come calling this November. In the meantime, COP 24/7 will be "on point" as we proceed through this democracy in action process. No matter which side of the isle you favor, it's paramount that everyone become engaged with the facts and not the fantasy that will be ballyhooed by candidates from each political party. It's onward and upward with more of what we hope you are looking for!

Santorum Talking Out Loud

Iowa has spoken and it's Romney that they are offering up as the contender for incumbent heavyweight President Barrack Obama. However, as they say, it ain't over til its over,as Rick Santorum's stealth campaign slipped past others to come in for second place prize. Meanwhile knocking out Michele Bachman in the aftermath.  Amazingly all that separated the two candidates was a mere eight votes. Wow, not to much wiggle room for either nor any margins for errors. So as the presidential parade moves on to the next debate and state voting, it's Santorium who this forum finds quite arresting and unsettling with his home spun conservative approach to many issues. Most notably Mr. Santorum has been very vocal as well as expressive about his views on the LGBTQ community. In case you missed it, this gentleman who believes that Don't Ask- Don't Tell should be repealed and has disdain for marriage equality wants to be the leader of the free world. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions and value system but if we as a country is going to denigrate others for their human rights abuses then how can this jester really carry forth that viewpoint if he wants to embrace such policies that would be a denial of those very rights. If nothing else my readers please listen closely to what these candidates are really saying. Don't buy the sound bites or the politico speak that often means nothing. There's going to be much said over the next ten months and everyone needs to raise their radar to a high pitch. To illustrate this point, COP 24/7 has embedded the following video from a FOX interview conducted by Chris Wallace featuring Mr. Santorum. Look, listen and just imagine if you really want this attitude reverberating from the Oval Office.



Forestry Commission Shortfall Gets Tax Payer Bail Out

Here comes that sound again. It's another "bail out" for an agency that hasn't had its financial house in order for the past four years. And get this, no one including state bean counters were watching or our favorite mea culpa, " not aware" of such goings on. What's at stake is this fact that the Forestry Commission used or misappropriated government grant cash to operate. Its reported that Gov. Beebe will ask for a supplemental $2.7 million dollars to offset this accounting debacle amid impending layoffs and the resignation of Chief Financial Officer, Robert Araiza. What stood out for COP 24/7 were the statements from the Governor's spokesperson Matt DeCample and DFA Director Richard Weiss whom remarked that they didn't know if the financial misreporting was "intentional." Now really. So let me get this, the CFO knowingly cooks the books citing that the Forestry Commission is not in the red and that all grant monies were being used as designed. However, what's been learned is the fact that Mr. Araiza "signed off'" on documents that inflated the coffers including counting grant money twice while auditors learned that all of this shell game was illegal. So are we to really believe that Mr. Araiza didn't know what he really knew when he signed all the misleading documents he help create? Even more insulting is the fact that DeCample called this mess, "an unfortunate but rare occurrence, that it hadn't been caught earlier." Also in this mix is the "see what had happen was," position that Forestry Director John Shannon has taken stating that he was only working off the information that he was given by the CFO. Not to mention that, "agency officers don't often go back and check what people do." Therefore there will be an investigation but most likely no one will be fired or jailed for any of this.  Enough already. COP 24/7 finds all this interesting in lieu of the fact that this forum was asked to request The Living Affected Corporation to post their financials in regards to a recent ACPG transaction which amounted to less than $5,000. The intrepid reader spoke of transparency and paper trails of the organizations inner workings as well as transactions should be made public. Unsubstantial citing that their may be some mistrust by the public it serves with the dollars its uses for its programming was the nexus of the premise offered. However, when you look at all the paper that was created by this state agency that flowed through many hands it seems that it doesn't matter what's submitted or signed off by whom to still get a messy situation that now will fall to the tax payers to resolve. Talk about the public trust being jaded. If you compare the $1.2 million needing to be paid back to the Feds to the trickle of dollars spent by the ACPG is almost laughable. And so it goes....

IT Help Wanted

The world of "IT" has been in warp speed since this blog came into view. I can remember when I first heard about this new medium where "you" could be the town crier while taking your views, observations or whatever globally. If you check out our Feedjit feed, you can see that COP 24/7 reaches far and wide. According to our Google analytics, this forum gets many "hits and clicks" from France, United Kingdom and Australia but also we know that we are being read in Mena, Star City, Pine Bluff, Cabot and the Ozarks. This is why we are seeking tech geeks or otherwise to come share their greater knowledge of how to take this forum in new directions. Actually we've done quite well, thank you, however, I am open to learning, hearing or implementing the latest wizardry that will enhance the experience of those who visit. If you are out there and I know that you are, hit us up with your interest or suggestions. We are also on look out for interns that may be wanting to share their expertise with area agencies or community based organizations that could use the help. Come on, help us out so we can continue to be on the cutting edge. Let's hear from you today!!!! Nealix101@comcast.net

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