We all know what it’s like to be distracted on the job. Even now as I write, I have another tab open to my Facebook profile.

Sometimes technological goodies – such as, for instance, Wii bowling – take priority over all else.

Apparently that’s the case even if you’re a Tampa, Fla., cop – even if you’re in the middle of a drug raid.

An article recently published by the Associated Press exposed yet another abuse of power and waste of tax dollars on the watch of officials who swear to serve and protect.

Apparently video surveillance found officers playing a Wii game system after breaking into the home of someone who was already

detained.

And it wasn’t just to get a quick fix. The AP reported that one of the officers was seen jumping up and down in celebration of what I’m guessing was a perfect 300 score or possibly a game-clinching strike in the final frame. One of the detectives was seen taking frequent breaks from cataloging evidence to take her turn.

Though there is, of course, no clear answer how to go about doing so, the American public needs to start holding its officials accountable for their actions while on the taxpayer tab.

Probably the best place for that revolution to start is within the organizations and departments themselves. Of course the aforementioned gamers will face some sort of discipline, but stiffer penalties must be implemented for those who forsake the trust of the public for

personal gain.

We need to ensure a zero-tolerance policy for that kind of inexcusable behavior.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel also published an article earlier this year with an even more infuriating example of police misconduct.

The Milwaukee Police Department set up an internal sting operation to uncover possible corruption in its own department.

The department dispatched officers to an abandoned vehicle that was being watched. An iPod and cash were placed in the glove box of the car.

One of the department’s officers was arrested for pocketing the contents of the glove box. The 26-year-old officer’s arrest came just three weeks after another Milwaukee policeman was arrested for stealing cash planted in a separate sting

operation.

Unfortunately, the stories go on and on.

What is really interesting is that many of these state-funded departments are crying out in “need” of more funding after cuts made by tight budgets. The money, they say, would be used for more manpower – to put more officers on the pavement to ensure the safety of the community.

However, how dire is the need for more officers? If officers have time to play Wii and engage in other inappropriate behaviors, they must be pretty bored, right? Maybe it’s time that departments get a hold of their employees and use the resources they already have to the fullest.

Police officers shouldn’t be singled out, however. Anyone who is paid by the public needs to be held accountable for his or her actions.

The political landscape in the state and nation has recently been rocked with scandal, giving the public even less reason to trust the people they elected and the people that ultimately run the way of life in this country.

For those who weren’t absolutely sickened by the news of State Representative Jeff Wood getting hammered, crashing his car and urinating on the roadside, all while holding a pipe and a bag, it’s time to shed the ignorance.

For those who didn’t miss a beat while Tweeting about how great organic muffins are as the news of the Rod Blagojevich scandal broke, its time to be concerned about the proverbial wool being pulled over our eyes every day.

Besides my admitted Facebook addiction, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that most of us who hold even the most pathetic and trivial jobs would not behave in the manner that some of our elected

leaders do.

Call me naive, but I guess I just thought appropriate conduct comes with a job – especially the job of police officer, representative or

governor.

Obviously there are many police officers that take their role in society seriously, and there are also politicians who really work hard to better our country. To you, we salute. Let’s face it, this world would be even scarier if there were no laws made, and in turn, no one to uphold them.

But to maintain any faith we have left in our officials, the criminals need to be ousted from our

government offices.