The Acreage Cancer Study

Hi Everyone,

It is finally Friday. Please note, there will not be a Blog entry on Monday, September 6th in observance of Labor Day. Please check the Forums for updates.

Today, the theme is greed and corruption. Below are some great quotes and a few articles for you to review.

Have a great weekend.

Author: Simon Cameron

An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.

Auhtor: Clarence S. Darrow

The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.

Author: Catherine of Siena

Every evil, harm and suffering in this life comes from the love of riches.

Author: Samuel P. Hays

The root of the evil...lay not in corruption but in the system which bred it, the alliance between industrialists and politicians which produced benefits in the forum of tariffs, public lands, and federal subsidies.

Author: Immanuel Kant

The enjoyment of power inevitably corrupts the judgment of reason, and perverts its liberty.

Author: Thomas Paine

Beware the greedy hand of government, thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry.

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What are your local politicians worth?

Click Here for more.

• Domino: $28.5 million
• Santamaria: $10.3 million
• Burkert: $9.2 million
• Scott: $218.6 million
  

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Santamaria finds job half rewaring, half "waste of time".

Click Here for more.

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Cure for Corruption County
The Palm Beach Post

November 27, 2009

A year ago, Palm Beach County commissioners would have been as likely to endorse strict new ethics reforms, including an independent inspector general, as they would have been to solicit campaign contributions from the FBI.

On Tuesday, that misguided reluctance officially ends. Commissioners are poised to submit themselves to aninspector general selected by an independent body. They are prepared to pass tough ethics rules overseen by an independent ethics commission.They didn't come to this rational place easily.

Even after the resignation and imprisonment of Tony Masilotti, Warren Newell and Mary McCarty, some commissioners viewed the prospect of an inspector generalwith arrogant disdain. Through their misguided prism, for instance,business groups demanding accountability were acting out over thecommission's rejection of budget-cutting proposals.

The shift inthe commission's attitude can be traced to an invitation from State Attorney Michael McAuliffe. He asked all the commissioners in Februaryto appear before a grand jury to examine how Corruption County was born. Even then, three commissioners — Burt Aaronson, Addie Greene andShelley Vana — initially declined. Mr. McAuliffe assured them that their appearances would not be used against them. After Mr. McAuliffe'sgrand jury issued its report in May — calling for the reforms now moving forward — commissioners took the lead in putting them into law.

To view the full article, Click Here.

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This is a re-post

Cancer cluster credibility problem plagues the Acreage and county's politicians.

The Sun-Sentinel

By Doug Lyons

July 23, 2009

On July 15, at his regular monthly forum, Santamaria met with local residents and has been quoted by a number ofresidents as saying, “Let this be a lesson to us all, we have to be careful about how much pesticides and fertilizer we use on our lawns.” Santamaria’s alleged uninformed and ill-considered quip did not sit too well with his Acreage constituents.

After meeting with Acreage residents on Sunday, July 19, state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo sent a letter the next day to all the Palm Beach County commissioners that said in part: “They (Acreage residents) were disappointed that their government is not immediately attempting to identify the cause of the brain cancer. Furthermore they thought the response that their cancers were due to genetic bad luck, poor judgment, or their own use of pesticide was insensitive and callous. At the end of our meeting last night, it became clear that the county must reconsider its response to the situation.”

(Santamaria did not return my call to clarify/confirm his quote or to comment on this story.)

Santamaria’s remarks were insensitive and callous, but I don’t think they were said with malice. A lot of politicians make statements about issues they are not qualified to comment on. Sometimes, the best thing a politician can do is to admit they don’t have an answer.

A potential cancer cluster is a tough problem that requires rigorous scientific evaluation by qualified health experts. In cases like this, the role of a politician is to expedite, not pontificate.

To view the full article, Click Here.