Worse And Worser

  • Friday, October 31, 2014
We hear a lot about voter apathy, citizens of this, the greatest nation to ever grace the face of Planet Terra, these United States of America, who fail to take advantage of their right, nay, accept their responsibility to participate in government of this great nation. How many of us know citizens who don't vote? Worse yet, how many of us know citizens who aren't even registered to vote?

Take, as an example of citizens failing to vote, our Tennessee Governor. When he ran for governor in 2010, Governor Haslam touted his percentages during elections for mayor of Knoxville.
During his first run in 2003 he won with a majority of 52.64 percent... 15,730 votes out of a total 29,883 cast. In 2007 he won by a landslide, 87.32 percent... 5,728 votes out of a total 6,682 cast. Knoxville, TN, with a population of 175,000-ish at the time, and they couldn't muster 7,000 citizens to vote for their mayor. But we don't hear about the numbers of voters, do we? All we hear are those landslide percentages. Could it be they're embarrassed by the fact their creds are so uninspiring few citizens are even willing to go to the polls? An interesting question, one that goes directly to the quality of candidates.

Why don't we have better candidates?

By first eliminating those whose employment would be a conflict of interest in holding political office, not that this little issue hinders some, and those like a friend who isn't willing to give up a six figure income, from just one principle, because their sales contract requires that no company owner or member of management hold elected office, the population becomes somewhat limited. Then we have those who refuse to submit themselves to the abuse presented by, say, a college professor who's never, in almost 30 years, published any peer reviewed research, not only has never written a paycheck or created a job, but has never had a real job outside of academe, out in the real world, the world of profits and losses and returns on investment, a perennial candidate who's run for elected office, and lost, several times, and no longer posts his vita (that's, like, a resumé for us working schlubs) because others might discover his lack of real world creds... but would presume to lecture real working people, who've had those real world jobs, about governing a community. Add a smattering of what some might refer to as "pompous patooties" who'd like nothing more than to use public money, funds squeezed from working schlubs with the power of a government gun, to serve their own ends and what do we have?

A very small population of prospective candidates on two extremes... those who are quite incompetent at anything even resembling leadership and those with a set of big old clanky brass ones who bow up and say "Bring it, baby." when the mud and other, often less appealing, stuff slinging starts.

Let's look at one community where, over the years, citizens have donated property with the specific request that it remain a community asset to maintain its small town, open spaces atmosphere without wall-to-wall houses and businesses stacked on top of one another, so future residents might enjoy the benefits of openness as in the past... the town of Signal Mountain. It's a nice little Southern village that's easy to observe, like a fishbowl.

On the one hand there's a group of officials who've done everything possible to draw down community debt without raising taxes, debt incurred by previous councils even after selling community land assets donated to remain open, undeveloped, for public use. Two council members whose seats are currently at contest have shown with their walk, they'll stand by their talk... as leaders should. And what's the best cheap shot their opponents can take? Something about ensuring those parcels of land donated to the town remain as intended, community assets? Complaints about being annexed by those who take advantage of town facilities at little or no cost otherwise? Oh my, and then there's that school everyone wanted so their property would be more valuable and kids have a better learning environment, but only Town of Signal Mountain residents were willing to ante up with any cash... while everyone else accepted the benefits.

And their opponents? Weren't they the group on the losing end of a recall stick just a few years ago up on that mountain, yonder? Aren't some of their supporters previous elected officials, one of whom advocated the school board be given taxing authority? Who was it got busted for hiring a private crew, a violation of State statute, to survey sections of Prentice Cooper State Park? Isn't one of the opposing candidates on record, like, black-and-white with audio, advocating taxation of other businesses to limit their ability to compete with his? How conservative and business friendly is that?

Interesting questions, all. But even more important, how would the opposing group propose to raise funds for those foofoo projects they've been advocating? Would they continue the current mode of pursuing private funding when practical, and available, or would they sell off community assets and raise taxes... perhaps put in parking meters? Fooooo... fooooo... got to remember that Foo Bird.

We hear explicit statements of issues during campaigns such as "Well, some dude said there are two sign companies that won't do business in town." Red Bank had statements about cameras chasing people away. Where are the specifics? Where are names of businesses having problems? Are those problems self inflicted or are they just whinerbabies, as a friend refers to them, whose business practices don't accommodate their desired clientele? I mean, like, who wants to pay exorbitant prices for shrimp that isn't even fresh thawed or an oyster sammich that isn't cooked properly? Oyster? What ever happened to double cheeseburgers, the kind that dribble grease all down the front of one's shirt if we aren't careful?

We hear all sorts of candidate complaints about business climates that don't encourage business to locate in an area. What's the plan, Stan? When do we hear real, specific problems identified and plans to overcome them?

Plans, that is, other than some elected official pimping his or her constituents' wallets, and the assets that could otherwise be used to expand existing business or passed on to constituents' heirs, are rarely presented and explained, are they.

"That's the way it's done." as stated by the Chamber of Commerce's and Governor Haslam's budette running for the State House seat in District 27, at best, is all we get isn't it. That's the lady running as a Republican who's historically voted as a Democrat. We hear about all those dollars returned to the local economy by government "investing" our TaxBucks for us. It's our money. Why do we allow others to "invest" what isn't theirs, that has in fact been forcibly removed from our collective wallets? Has government ever done more than upchuck numbers to us when asked for bona fide explanations and proof of their claims? I've never received one, and have asked several times... of several officials. I did, however, during my own investigations discover a research paper from the University of Arizona that stated these figures are fictitious, nowhere near actual returns, if there ever are any.

On election day, 4 November 2014, it will have been 2,016 days since Congress has passed a budget. "Continuing resolutions," we're told, are necessary to keep government running. In actuality they're nothing more than blank checks given the current administration by our congress... de facto amnesty for illegal aliens, open borders, administrators and bureaucrats giving our tax dollars to foreign nations without express approval by congress... nations whose citizens hate us, diseases heretofore eliminated, or nearly so, in our nation on the rise, our national treasure being squandered, government "investment" in junk science, government "investment" in businesses and projects with no real benefit to our nation or society, dependence on Russia to re-stock the International Space Station instead of our own space program, shutdown of our national space program, our nation's finest being told to go into battle... but don't shoot back if it might violate someone else's human rights... oh, and be sure to get permission first too. All of these are a direct result of those blank checks.

We're told there's nothing to worry about from illegal aliens bringing their diseases with them. Leprosy was eliminated in our nation for all practical intents and purposes. Los Angeles, CA, has a humongous clinic dedicated to treatment of leprosy these days. Leprosy. One of my grandmothers had polio as a child. As a child of the '50s I remember the scares of epidemics, knew other families stricken with the disease until it was eliminated here. It's on the rise. We're told enterovirus D68 is nothing to worry about, that it's been in our nation since 1962. A total of 26 cases were reported between 1962 and 2013. Just this year there've been several hundred cases reported, a disease endemic to Central and South America. Still, we're told there's nothing to worry about. Four year old Eli Waller's parents in New Jersey would probably disagree. He died on 25 September 2014. Little Madeline Reid was 21 months old when she died in her daddy's arms at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit at 2:55pm on 10 October 2014 from the same disease.

Ebola... there's absolutely no reason this disease should ever have come to our shores. As a child of the '50s I remember quarantines, legally enforced quarantines, enforced for public safety. But now we have those who've been exposed to deadly diseases, such as this one with a mortality rate as high as 80%, whose basic human rights must be protected, don't you know. How about the basic human rights of our children and grandchildren?

Where's that "it's for the children" gang now? No money in it for them, one might suppose.

Colonel David Crockett... Tennessee Favorite Son and adventurer extraordinaire, according to his autobiography and about any biography one might care to read, disliked being called "Davy." It's unfortunate Senator Alexander, a Tennessee son who proclaimed himself to be more like another Tennessee Favorite Son, former Governor-Congressman-General-G
overnor-Senator-And-I've-Missed-A-Few Sam Houston, intended to belittle and trivialize one of his colleagues, Senator Cruz, for attempting to interfere with that blank check in 2013, even with the power of incumbency and his significant re-election bank account, could only convince 49.64% of our voting homies he was the best choice in the most recent republican primary. This from an official with a mere 27% favorable rating by the Conservative Review, but pooh-poohed by the good Senator and his supporters. More about his self-serv... uh, community service and adventurous nature another day... including the day Governor Houston whupped the snot out of, excuse me, educated one Congressman William Stanbery with a hickory stick on Pennsylvania Avenue. Had it not been for Stanbery's pistol misfiring, though, Houston, Texas, would probably be named something like Schmuckatelliville.

Some who know him will tell us the good Senator's never worked a day in his life. Some of his supporters, and business partners, will tell us he's a wonderful businessman... but whose business adventures seem to involve government and using advantages not available to others, if we make even a cursory effort to investigate. His investments, and those of his wife, well, Secretary Clinton could take a lesson. 15,900 percent gain in four years? Oo la la...

We'll never get rid of the riffraff until we hit them where it really hurts... their power and influence. Protest votes are a waste of time and energy. When do we get out and campaign for good candidates? Isn't it time we started using the power of peer pressure to get our homies to the voting booth? When do employers begin encouraging employees to go vote, to work campaigns? Our company does as in the old days, election day is a paid day off... as long as we go vote.

None of these people would know a rumble if it hit them over the head with a chair. Isn't it time we, the tax paying and sometimes voting citizenry, showed them what it's like to have a real uprising with pitchforks, torches, tar, feathers, and a run on the polls at election time?

Rails... I forgot rails.

As long as we're willing to accept mediocrity, holding our noses and accepting a choice between worse or worser, government will never change.

Royce Burrage, Jr.
Royce@Officially Chapped.org
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