Expect to begin seeing more of this.

It's amazing how the herd is sensing a return to conservatism pretty much in locked step.  A long standing prediction of mine with respect to signs that the credit driven everything is peaking and in fact declining has been the fall of the police state.  When credit and debt were running rampant, the criminal element climbed to the top of all government services and then corrupted their departments from the top down.  I am sure that there are a lot of good men and women trapped in all of that, having to make a choice between having a good paying job and having honor and morals.  It has to be a tough choice for sure.  The temptation to fall in line is quite strong and when the rest of the herd is headed in that direction anyway (rising corruption, rising socialism, rising Wall St. welfare) then people just tell themselves that's the way it is.  And so they set aside their principles and "take the taste" of corruption.

The cops are well known for protecting their own.  They know all kinds of illegal and immoral stuff happens within the police force but they are afraid to cross the thin blue line.  So that is why today's story is so interesting to me.  It seems that the corrupt cops from the 50k person town of Waldo, FL suddenly and without explanation decided to turn themselves and their police chief in for corruption.   Of course, not being total idiots, that is not how they worded it.  Instead, 5 of the 7 man police force positioned themselves as victims of the evil chief who told them to do illegal things.

While I am glad to see this happening, let me be clear about a few things:

• Turning on and turning in their boss in no way subtracts from the illegal, immoral corruption these cops engaged in.  Without the fraudulent ticket revenue (and likely other corrupt dealings), Waldo could not have paid their salary and benefits.  These officers owed their jobs to corruption which their recent coming clean party shows they were fully aware was illegal.  I'm sorry fellas but I had done this it would have been called a conspiracy and it would have been a felony.  Just turning your boss in does not clear you of that although I do believe it should speak in your favor at the punishment phase should you be tried for your crimes.  Yes, you are all criminals.
• These cops waited until the jig was pretty much up before they came clean.  Perhaps they read my blog and realized the end of the debt Ponzi was near.  More likely they received thousands of other more subtle indicators of this, the sum total of which was powerful enough of a herd changer that 5 cops actually conspired to turn their boss in.
• It is not a legal defense to say that someone ordered you to do something illegal.  This is true for citizens and thus it must be DOUBLE true for police who must be held to a higher standard because they have the daily protection (or intimidation capability) of a state issued gun and badge.  Let's say I had a gun in my car at all times.  Let's say some criminal pulled up behind me and flashed his lights for me to pull over.  I probably would continue driving!  But if you do this with criminal police you are now a felon and likely to get shot as soon as 10 others join the chase and pull you over.  Let's say I do pull over for the citizen criminal out of fear that he will run me off the road.  When he comes to my window demanding money, I will happily shoot him on the spot which would be well within my legal rights.  But if a criminal cop does the same by issuing a fraudulent traffic ticket with a $300 fine attached to it, you either accept the fine or (stupidly) shoot it out with the cops.  You will likely die on the spot and if not you will be jailed for a long long time.  This is why cops have to be held to a higher standard of non-corruption.  Their actions always carry the risk of deadly force and they have been quite liberal in exercising it of late.
• The people of Waldo should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this criminal conspiracy to progress so far.  It is the right and the responsibility of the people to monitor and control their leaders and their police forces.  It is not a defense to say "they didn't bother me personally and thus I did not care".  People need to own their own safety.  That means monitoring and controlling government.