They may choose to keep all of this from the citizens, but it won’t stay hidden forever. Our dear mini‑leader’s term ends soon, and with God’s luck we’ll get someone with some common sense in Tallahassee. Then perhaps all of these shady goings‑on will finally be brought to light.
As in the military, stepping out of the uniform—or out of the chair—doesn’t make you immune to prosecution. Karma has a way of circling back and hitting you when you least expect it.
Worst‑case scenario: let’s say these so‑called leaders live out their lives without ever facing legal repercussions. That still doesn’t mean history will be kind to them; and that applies all the way up to the White House. Actions have consequences, even if they don’t land you in jail or prison.
While that may be small consolation for us right now, I truly believe the ship will right itself eventually. I can only pray it happens within my lifetime.
If I were younger, I'd try to run for political office, but my time's nearly up. When I envision the State Capitol, I picture a snake pit. Florida elects the most slime-ridden politicians to be found anywhere, except perhaps Texas. Men like Ron DeSantis, Rick (shudder) Scott, and even human refuse like Matt Gaetz. It's no coincidence that all are members of the Republican Party, but we never seem to be able to find well-qualified and personable candidates on the Democratic side. I think a main problem has become the exorbitant amounts of money required to run a winning campaign. Citizens United was the death of American politics. I'm actually glad that I'm no longer young. Our future is looking very bleak.
The difficulty of prying information out of state and federal governments via FOIA requests points out something most citizens might find surprising: Governments in the U.S. may not be as bloated as folks like to think. Playing umpire for a nation of 350 million people, or (in the case of Florida) a state of 23 million people, is a big undertaking, but that's the main job governments are there to do. To do it successfully requires a lot of human resources. DOGE-style activities haven't been cutting fat from government bureaucracies, but the muscle needed to do the work that needs to be done (such as servicing FOIA requests)!
I hate the word "efficiency" used in an organizational-behavior setting because it designates an activity that generally removes the resources organizations carry in reserve to deal with unanticipated events. We live in a chaotic universe where, as Heraclitus of Ephesus warned 2,500 years ago, "The only constant in life is change." We need to have those "inefficient" reserve resources available to fend off Shakespeare's "Slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."
Yes, the current crop of MAGA morons wants to hide in the dark, and eviscerating government bureaucracies is one of the ways they have to keep the lights off, but we don't have to aid and abet them by accepting their nonsense about bloated bureaucracies.
They may choose to keep all of this from the citizens, but it won’t stay hidden forever. Our dear mini‑leader’s term ends soon, and with God’s luck we’ll get someone with some common sense in Tallahassee. Then perhaps all of these shady goings‑on will finally be brought to light.
As in the military, stepping out of the uniform—or out of the chair—doesn’t make you immune to prosecution. Karma has a way of circling back and hitting you when you least expect it.
Worst‑case scenario: let’s say these so‑called leaders live out their lives without ever facing legal repercussions. That still doesn’t mean history will be kind to them; and that applies all the way up to the White House. Actions have consequences, even if they don’t land you in jail or prison.
While that may be small consolation for us right now, I truly believe the ship will right itself eventually. I can only pray it happens within my lifetime.
If I were younger, I'd try to run for political office, but my time's nearly up. When I envision the State Capitol, I picture a snake pit. Florida elects the most slime-ridden politicians to be found anywhere, except perhaps Texas. Men like Ron DeSantis, Rick (shudder) Scott, and even human refuse like Matt Gaetz. It's no coincidence that all are members of the Republican Party, but we never seem to be able to find well-qualified and personable candidates on the Democratic side. I think a main problem has become the exorbitant amounts of money required to run a winning campaign. Citizens United was the death of American politics. I'm actually glad that I'm no longer young. Our future is looking very bleak.
The difficulty of prying information out of state and federal governments via FOIA requests points out something most citizens might find surprising: Governments in the U.S. may not be as bloated as folks like to think. Playing umpire for a nation of 350 million people, or (in the case of Florida) a state of 23 million people, is a big undertaking, but that's the main job governments are there to do. To do it successfully requires a lot of human resources. DOGE-style activities haven't been cutting fat from government bureaucracies, but the muscle needed to do the work that needs to be done (such as servicing FOIA requests)!
I hate the word "efficiency" used in an organizational-behavior setting because it designates an activity that generally removes the resources organizations carry in reserve to deal with unanticipated events. We live in a chaotic universe where, as Heraclitus of Ephesus warned 2,500 years ago, "The only constant in life is change." We need to have those "inefficient" reserve resources available to fend off Shakespeare's "Slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."
Yes, the current crop of MAGA morons wants to hide in the dark, and eviscerating government bureaucracies is one of the ways they have to keep the lights off, but we don't have to aid and abet them by accepting their nonsense about bloated bureaucracies.
the time to start researching our candidates, seeing how they move, and holding them accountable is NOW
Dyckman in his full time working days was one of Florida's first and finest investigative reporters. All the rest of us looked up to him.