Ruminations On the "War" On Drugs and Those Who Purportedly Protect and Serve

News out of Colorado has a National Sheriff of the Year sullying the name of honest peace officers everywhere with his arrest for allegedly offering meth in exchange for sex with a young male. http://mycenturylink.com/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CD9RB5VRO1%40news.ap.org%3E&ps=931

Back in Minnesota the out of control drug and gang strike and task forces are huddling with their paid snitches and conspiring to raid individuals, not who are major drug dealers, but rather, individuals with substance abuse problems who happen to have valuable assets that these corrupt law enforcement agencies can seize hoping the victim will then be out of resources to fight the seizures so they can augment their budgets in times of fiscal austerity. http://thegreatrollcall.blogspot.com/2011/06/corruption-coverup-completed-fbi-closes.html

In New York City there have been numerous press conferences in the last month announcing the indictment of police officers for crimes ranging from fixing traffic tickets to gun running. http://www.npr.org/2011/12/01/142909989/is-nypd-commissioner-raymond-kelly-bulletproof

What is the common thread with all this stories? The more power we invest in law enforcement, especially in the post-911 world, the more , not less, safeguards and checks must be placed on those who purportedly "Protect and Serve". Absolute or unbridled power corrupts absolutely.

Meanwhile the citizenry sits on the sidelines thinking "serves 'em right" or "this can't happen to me". Just wait...