Misanthropic Luke
EAT YOUR HEART OUT ARNOLD: Conventional wisdom would dictate that the notion of recalling elected officials, so successful in modern California, would slowly work its way across the lower forty-eight eventually reaching the cultured East Coast.
Not now. Not anymore. Conventional wisdom be damned, thank you. Recall just this week took a single giant step from Sacramento all the way to Bibb County Georgia, my home county, the little fiefdom where nineteenth century Hometown Macon is located. And it is hitting the fan around here.
Georgia has an open meetings law which means that all get-togethers of government officials (1) must be announced ahead of time and (2) open to the public. Therein lies the rub. Officialdom in the Peach State likes to work in secret. And when elected leaders get caught, it’s a little bit like turning on a light in a roach infested kitchen. They scurry. They hide. They deny. They practice CYA.
One day last week, Tommy Olmstead, Bibb head County Commissioner and two lesser commishes held a meeting in which they started the ball rolling on rezoning land in the southern part of the county. The operative reason being that it would (somehow) help preserve the integrity of the local numero uno economic engine, the mammoth Robins Air Force Base.
The base, however, is in no danger of closure. It has been a vital support link in every war and military action this country has been engaged in since before Viet Nam. What appears to have been the intent of the meeting was to lay the groundwork to rezone and devalue properties in the disputed area so that, in some improbable future, it could be purchased cheaply as an addendum to the already sprawling facility.
A voters’ meeting was held in that same area last night, and a petition began circulating to recall the politicians involved. Further, they may well be charged with violating the Open Meeting Law which, although a misdemeanor, would probably put an end to their public service careers. There seems to be wide support for both recall and indictment. We shall know in a couple of weeks.
In the interest of fair play, My Pop and brother detest Mr. Olmstead for misleading them in a business matter a decade ago. Dad has been on the phone already this morning trying to locate a copy of the recall petition suitable for his John Hancock.
While local politics may not be of interest to those outside the immediate area, there is a larger picture here. Private property in this country is under attack.
There was a time in recent history when, following an injunction by founding father John Adams, it was well understood that a democracy cannot survive unless private property is protected.
Of late, local governments, encouraged by the Supreme Court, have been swallowing up property, seizing land and dwellings by ‘right of eminent domain’. This makes sense when the municipality needs the land for, say, a road, hospital, or other legitimate public purpose. But more and more ‘eminent domain’ means confiscating lands, or forcing their sale, so that some business enterprise, a shopping mall, a Wal-Mart (corporate Wal-Mart is a frequent practitioner of this kind of piracy), can be erected in their stead. Why? Tax revenues, of course, as simple as that. Wal-Mart will pay far more in taxes than Octogenarian Mary Smith who has lived on that land most of her life. So let’s screw the old lady and bring in the universal Golden Calf of corporate greed.
Don’t believe me, folks. Here is a full and reasoned treatment written by our favoriteTalkmeister, Libertarian Neal Boortz: http://boortz.com/nuze/alabaster.html Read ‘em and weep.
MICHAEL JACKSON, AGAIN: Don’t give a damn about this one. Whacko Jacko can stew in his own juices. Or seminal fluids, to be as gross as possible this evening.
GAY MARRIAGE IN THE BAY STATE: Haven’t researched this except to note that my biblically correct neighbors and at least one local talk show host are up in arms and are convinced that the end of the world is nigh upon the land.
Horse Droppings!!! Or Dog Poop!!! since we possess not a horse. My tentative opinion is that since the ruling by the Mass Supremes will not affect me, or any personal rights I might have, nor will it affect my family, why the hell not?
As a matter of fact, considering that I won’t be eighteen for another month yet, it has ‘long’ been my belief that proselytizing, fundamentalist Christians are a lot like practicing gays and lesbians. They have a right to do whatever they will in the privacy of their own homes and churches, just don’t try to cram it down my throat.
Around here, deep in the heart of the Biblical Belt, most of my fundamentalist neighbors would love to see this country become a kind of theocracy, with Christian principles and beliefs the law of the land. They love to point with pride to the Puritans, who, admittedly, made a ‘slight mistake’ when they executed a couple dozen innocent people accused of practicing witchcraft. These good folk would repeat the Puritan experience in the twenty-first century. Can you imagine how many scarlet A’s some of our Hollywood folks would have to wear? Politicians? The people next door? Bill Clinton would look like a bowl of one letter alphabet soup.
Christianity, Conservative Christianity especially, is a woefully over-rated thing. Does anybody else see close parallels between conservative Christianity and Muslim fundamentalism?
JOHN HINKLEY WANTS UNSUPERVISED VISITS HOME: Why not? What’s one more dangerous nutcase loose in the land.
I HAVE AN INTERESTING EMAIL FROM FEARLESS LEADER, IAN KLEINFELD: Now the good gentleman starts off by stating, “you’re getting more and more sensible.”
It’s not that I don’t mind being called sensible, you understand. Oh, hell, yes I do. I really do. Once people start thinking of me as sensible I lose the slightly (?) obnoxious edge that endears your Luke to, to, well, my family, friends, and a phalanx of loyal readers. Loyal? Yes, usually, unless they get pissed off about something I write or say. My Dad would have a massive coronary if he were to hear some respected individual referring to his youngest kid as ‘sensible’. He’s gotten used to ‘that little bastard’ and other soothing epithets, ‘little shit’ being especially common.
Some of you probably have kids. Ever call them anything like that? Bet you have! A favorite line from Kramer v Kramer, “I hate you, daddy!” “I hate you too, you little shit.”
Anyway, after discussing slippery slopes, gun control, abortion, and the mis-named Patriot act. Mr. Kleinfeld commented, “Further, in regards to the ridiculous Zero Tolerance bullsh*t, which I wholeheartedly agree with you on, I know I don't need to remind you that it's the RIGHT, not the left that screams and yells about all that and puts that crap in place.” I had, in last week’s outing, commented about zero tol in schools.
I cannot entirely go along with this notion. And the reason for it is that the NEA and school administrators in general endorse the concept. These people are almost invariably found somewhere on the political left. At least those who dare venture a political opinion.
So, in my mind, anyway, concepts like ‘two strikes and you’re out’, ‘mandatory sentencing’, and ‘zero tol’ belong to neither end of the political spectrum. They are ideas embraced by (1) the weak, (2) the cowardly, (3) knee-jerk reactors, (4) officials and administrators who would rather substitute the letter of picky little regulations for the kind of common sense that should be paramount when officialdom is dealing with people. Officialdom should be people, too; people should not be treated like robots. Zero tol substitutes written or spoken rules for human interaction. It denies due process its humanity.
In the case of schools, mincing little administrators love zero tol because it takes thought and feeling out of the equation when dealing with children. Find a kid with a ten inch billfold chain and call the cops. The RULE says ‘no chains’. That is all that matters. Letter of the goddam law. What kind of a lesson does that send to young people? Wonder while teens and pre-teens despise so many of their unthinking administrators?
Taking common sense away from judges in sentencing, locks up a lot of people, taking them off the street. But draconian penalties cause more long-term damage than the short term miniscule lowering of crime stats. We also jail a huge percentage of our African American citizens. In Georgia, a Black male stands a twenty-five percent chance of enduring long term incarceration at some point in his life. And every year we build new jails, throw more folks in the slammer, and yet crime remains high, drugs are everywhere.
It is all about common sense. Human common sense. Human compassion. Human anger. Human needs.
A wise man once told me, “Without mercy, the law will only punish.” Great comment.
Despite what many think, I am not a conservative. Not entirely, anyway. I try to see each issue as an entity al by itself. My favorite president of all time was Harry S. Truman. After him, would be Lincoln, Eisenhower, and Roosevelt….Teddy Roosevelt. Always liked trusting busting and carrying a big stick. I admire former Senator Barry Goldwater as the great exemplar of genuine conservatism. Senator Zell Miller is the man I most admire in what is generally a pathetic version of the American Congress. The clowns we have elected in recent years are but warts on the backside of the human race.
You go figure it out. What am I? Where do I stand? And while you are figuring, Let me devote my energies to writing and learning and observing and, hopefully, thinking.
WE ARE IN THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF JFK: I know many people are totally absorbed by the subject. I’m not.
Kennedy was before my time. Way before my time. I can’t get off on questions like, “Where were you when the president was shot?” It seems to me a meaningless and futile exercise.
The man might have become a great president, but we shall never know. He was slain too soon. My generation does not go along with moaning and pissing over ‘the lost promise of Camelot’. Sorry, just can’t buy it. It is an emotional issue, supported neither by history or politics.
I did write about this recently while watching conspiracy speculation via THE HISTORY CHANNEL. You can find it at http://expage.com/lukester288 feel free to comment.
Jack and Bobby are dead, but we still have Rotundus Kennedy with us into seeming perpetuity.
And, to tie this subject into my views on gun control, my favorite bumper sticker of the week reads: TED KENNEDY’S CAR HAS KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN ALL MY GUNS PUT TOGETHER.
THIS JUST IN….Carol Moseley Braun has just selected the former head of N.O.W., Patricia Ireland as her new campaign manager.
“Patty” and I go way back. During the Lewinsky affair when I was still pretty much of a little kid I tuned in to John Gibson who was then hosting his show on MSNBC. His guest of the moment, Ms. Ireland, who was busy defending the President’s behavior. So I sent in a quick email that simply pointed out that the perp was the most powerful man in the world and the vic a simple, little, young intern. Mr. Gibson read the thing straight, looking directly at the camera. He then turned to his guest. She started stammering and managed only to point out that Lewinsky was an adult woman and not a child; she neglected to comment one scintilla on the power relationship between the two.
We will be looking to nail the good lady one more time before Ms Braun’s candidacy implodes in the next few weeks. Could be fun.
By the way, It was Gibson’s show and the ruckus over Clinton/Lewinsky that weaned me from watching Jerry Springer after school in those long ago days. Of course my Pop's dislike of Jerry might have had something to do with it.
THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK, FOLKS: Remember you can catch us at http://members.aol.com/luciusson/contents.html which is the table of contents to my own website. Have added quite a few articles lately. Plan to have at least number 300 done by the end of the year. Or over at http://www.politicalpuzzle.org which used to be political pulpit dot com, but they changed the name and added a bloggy front page. I try hard to write each article specifically for the web site hosting it. I would be like cheating to use the same essay in more than one venue.
And cheating is a good thing only in a government school.
Ciao,
Luke Angelo
The CyberBrat Out Of Hell
Macon, Georgia
Sometimes called ‘the ass end of the Peach State’…OK..OK
”Frequently called” the ass end of the Peach State
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Luke Angelo, Cyberbrat Out Of Hell, lives in Macon, GA, where he regularly causes trouble and proves that the pen is far mightier than the Mayor
