posted on Jan, 22 2009 @ 04:17 AM
LOP - I used to work for a member of Congress. One of the best ways anyone can get to the bottom of something in the federal gov't (as much as you
can call it a bottom) is to write/call/email a district office with your complaint.
OSBI is a state agency, so don't contact your Congressman/woman in this case. If you do, all they're going to do is forward everything to state
people, or just give you a phone number or whatever. This is not their jurisdiction. Contact your state rep and senator and ask them what the hell the
OSBI is doing staking you out, and whatever else you want to know.
I don't live in Oklahoma, so I perused the OSBI site. They're managed like many other agencies in other states. OSBI can be asked for assistance by
the feds, but they're only concerned with what happens inside the Oklahoma border. They're run by a commission. Those members have to go through the
governor's office and then the state senate, plus the commission holds public meetings. I'm with you - local/state/federal government is so beyond
FUBAR these days it's disgusting. But OSBI doesn't operate in a vacuum. There's a lot of oversight. Use it to your advantage.
You could also contact local media about it. However, I was once a member of the media, too. Your story better be incredibly compelling. Going only by
what I've read here, there's no way I'd do a story. You weren't arrested, you weren't interrogated under a light bulb in a dark basement, you
weren't unlawfully searched, etc. I'm not saying what happened is not important to you. I'm just saying get in line - 299,999,999 other people in
in America have some kind of gripe with the government.
Plus, you gotta understand that Oklahoma law enforcement doesn't operate the same way it did before 1995. I sure as hell don't want an overreaching
government, but a little more vigilance isn't always necessarily bad. You have no idea what that mystery snitch said. Maybe they said you were
stockpiling ammonium nitrate, or giving away I (Heart) Timothy McVeigh tattoos. That person could have filled the OSBI with so much crap that it would
be totally irresponsible to at least check it out. You simply don't know at this point.
Again, your state senator helps decide who serves on the OSBI commission. If one of their constituents is being harassed, or if it's just perceived
harassment, that senator will want to be your new best friend because that senator needs your vote. And don't think wanting your vote is just flimsy,
self-serving BS. Scratch that. Let's say it is only flimsy, self-serving BS, and they don't care about anything in the entire universe except for
getting your vote next election. They're not going to get your vote if they blow you off.
Feel free to try to talk to someone at OSBI on your own. But trust me, I used to contact agencies on behalf of citizens every single day, all day
long. Your call will not carry the same weight as a letter written on Oklahoma Legislature stationary. I'm not saying you'll get the answers or
solutions you want, but it is your best shot and/or starting point.