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October 10, 2007-- Just some thoughts to wrap up this
month's round of meetings: Last month's big news in Center was
the 150 percent increase in the residents' sewer rates. There
were some complaints from the citizenry but not as many as I
had expected. There was also a column in the paper the following
week by the "Gadfly" and a Letter to the Editor the
next week from the mayor of Center. The mayor made an effort
to refute the Gadfly's comments and did so with the proper amount
of righteous outrage. (The mayor said he was "shocked"
to see the Gadfly's column in the paper. If so, my guess is that
he shocks easily.) What the mayor apparently failed to recognize
was that the Gadfly's statements amounted to nothing more than
opinion. They were not presented as facts and were printed on
the opinion page. (My oh my, the Gadfly does manage to get under
some people's skin.) There was, however, a certain degree of
truth to what the Gadfly said. In my humble opinion, the Center
aldermen acted in haste when they raised the sewer rates. At
the very least, they could have held a public hearing to explain
to Center's residents why such an increase was necessary. Instead,
they decided on the spur of the moment to raise them simply because
they could and were not legally required to hold a hearing. (Their
attorney told them they were not required to do so; he could
have said it would be the decent thing to do.) Whether the council
was, in the Gadfly's words, guilty of "gang rape" is
a matter of opinion. Notice the difference between fact and opinion,
Mayor? To make matters worse, I've heard from several Center
residents that the councilmen did not go out among their constituents
the next day -- or the next-- to inform them of the decision.
I guess they were waiting for me to inform everyone via the paper.
It's so much easier to hide behind a newspaper story; that way,
you can blame the messenger and not the message.
But the matter didn't end there. I drove over to attend the
October meeting of the Center City Council which began at 6:00
p.m. Wednesday, October 3, and what a frigid reception that was.
It was like crawling into a freezer. One councilman was absent,
and one was very cordial. (I commend him on obviously having
had parents who instilled in him the proper social skills such
as courtesy and common decency.) But the mayor and the other
aldermen did not speak to me. That's okay. Nobody has to speak
to me or even to acknowledge my existence. However, they shouldn't
sit there and make petty, small-minded asides about the Gadfly,
the paper-- and by extension, me -- without addressing me directly.
Parenting?....
Incidentally, why did Center change its meeting time from
7:00 to 6:00 p.m. If you really do welcome the public to attend
these meetings, why do you meet at a time when most working men
and women cannot be there? I notice the Ralls County Library
Board meets at a very awkward time for most people -- 5:15 p.m.
Other boards, such as the Health Department Board, meet at equally
inconvenient times.
Okay...so change the subject. What is wrong with New London's
storm warning siren? There have been numerous false alarms over
the past several months, and the citizens of NL are beginning
to ignore the siren. You know, like the boy who cried "wolf"?
The problem is, the other night when tornadoes were sighted in
Ralls County, the siren was not activated. Ralls County 911 is
supposed to push the button (or whatever it is they do) when
conditions warrant turning on the siren. At the September New
London City Council meeting, the mayor said he would talk to
the director of 911 and find out what is going on. However, he
did not say anything about the matter at the October meeting.
If these false alarms are tests, the public needs to be notified
in advance. If they are errors, somebody needs to read the manual.
Speaking of Ralls County 911 -- Someone told me the director
was not happy about the RCHE's story concerning their recent
audit. No one sneaked me the information. This stuff is public
knowledge. The paper is on the state auditor's mailing list and
we receive a copy of audit reports soon after they are released.
Plus, anyone with a computer and an internet connection can access
the same report on the auditor's website. Was there something
in that audit report that you didn't want released to the public?
Makes me wonder.... By the way, the audit report mentioned several
Sunshine Law infractions. Ralls County 911 people-- I hate to
say, "I told you so," but I told you so. All of you,
including your attorney, need to get a current copy of the Missouri
Sunshine Law, read it, and make an honest effort to follow it.
And don't just follow the letter of the law, but try also to
follow the spirit and intent of the law.
October 18, 2007--Was New London's storm warning siren
activated last night? Just asking, because if it was, I must
have been sound asleep. I like a good thunderstorm and frequently
sleep right through everything. Tornadoes apparently were sighted
in the area, and one did some damage in Monroe City again.
Next week marks yet another annual event "...filled with
sound and fury, signifying nothing." Yes, the MSBA (Missouri
School Boards Association) will hold this year's board frolic
and spouses' shopping spree at the Lake of the Ozarks. The MSBA,
some of our readers may remember, was supposedly formed to promote
"quality education." I think that might be self explanatory.
I mean, would an organization be formed to help promote second-rate
education? Of course, the word "quality" itself is
open to interpretation. Over the millennia, philosophers have
devoted much time, ink, and paper in an effort to define "quality."
Like beauty, quality is in the eye of the beholder, and in the
eyes of this old editor, quality education would include, at
a minimum, teaching our kids how to do math without a calculator,
how to write an error-free ten-word sentence, and how to locate
the United States on a world map. It definitely would not include
any serious discussion of creationism as an explanation of how
the world came to be.
Incidentally, I wonder how much it costs each school district
to belong to the MSBA and to attend these yearly outings.
November 20, 2007--Another Thanksgiving Day is just
a few days away, our eleventh season since Judi and I bought
the RCHE in 1996. A lot of ink and paper have gone through the
presses over the intervening years. The names change, but the
weekly routine stays the same: births, deaths, anniversaries,
birthdays, awards, church news, etc., all are recorded in a never
ending cycle, reflecting the circle of life itself.
We are thankful that we have been able to serve the local communities
of Ralls County over the years and sincerely hope we have been
of positive service. We are especially thankful for our readers,
our advertisers, and our staff. Without you, the paper could
not survive. We hope to continue serving you in the years ahead.
*****
We are also thankful for those men and women in our armed forces
who may be celebrating a lonely Thanksgiving Day far away from
family and friends. We may question the wisdom and necessity
of having our troops fight in wars that seem to benefit mostly
the rich, the powerful, and the politically-connected, but we
could never doubt the courage, loyalty, and conviction of those
young men and women. We hope they return home safe and sound,
as soon as possible.
We do, however, question the motives and judgment of a selfish,
arrogant, power-and-money hungry administration that sent these
troops into danger to fight an illegal, preemptive war against
a people who did us no harm and were not even technologically
capable of harming the United States. With all due respect to
our troops, then, would this administration of "chickenhawks"
please stop justifying our illegal and unconstitutional acts
overseas by arguing that our rights and freedoms are being somehow
protected? They are not. Which of your freedoms are at this very
moment being guarded and preserved by the deaths of innocents
(on both sides of the conflict)? Think about it.
I am thankful that I live in a nation such as ours. I am thankful
that I have the freedom to say and print whatever I wish. But
those freedoms were not in jeopardy when we invaded Iraq, and
we are not in danger of losing them because of any actions of
Iran.
Regardless of whatever House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may have said,
impeachment of the President (and Vice-President) should be very
much on the table, and both men should be impeached on charges
of abuse of power and treason.
But that is not likely to happen.
Because I am thankful for the nation in which I live, I am equally
fearful for its future. If we can ignore torture and "waterboarding,"
detention centers like Guantanamo, and the dismantling of the
Constitution, we have indeed lost our way.
When military inductees take their oaths of office, they don't
promise and swear to defend the flag or the President or some
holy book. Rather, their oath is simple, solemn, and direct:
"to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
(My italics.)
Maybe it's time our military remember their oaths, act on them,
and restore our Constitution and put us back on track.
December 20, 2007 -- Some people apparently don't seem
to know
what the Christmas season is all about.
They don't seem to "get" the First Amendment, either.
Last week, the RCHE printed a "Letter to the Editor"
from a former employee of the City of Perry, Connie Murray. I
say "former," but she was still an employee when she
wrote the letter, and she was still an employee when the paper
made its rounds in Perry on Wednesday morning.
But Wednesday evening the council posted notice of a special
meeting with a closed session to be held Thursday at 8:00 p.m.,
and Friday morning, Connie showed up at work and found out she
no longer had a job. According to the closed meeting minutes,
her resignation was hastily accepted by a unanimous vote, to
take effect at 8:05 p.m. that evening.
True, Connie was not planning to spend much more time on the
job, but I think she expected to still have her position the
next day. In fact, I know she was expecting just that. The minutes
of the regular, December 4, meeting, state quite clearly that
"[City Clerk Danette] Henderson read a letter of resignation
from Connie Murray; she will retire as soon as someone is trained
for the position. [Mark] Fuqua reported he would get with Henderson
and draft an employment ad for the newspaper." (My italics
GS.) The ad ran last week and is still running this week,
so it's evident that Murray's replacement has not yet been found.
Incidentally, there is no need, under Missouri's Sunshine Law,
to go into a closed meeting in order to accept a resignation,
and such an action may, indeed, be unlawful. You just accept
a resignation; you don't have to talk about it in secret. The
law says you may close a meeting for personnel reasons for "Hiring,
firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees,"
not for accepting a resignation. So was the council out of order
in holding that closed meeting? Probably. (Memo to lawyers: Check
into that with the Missouri attorney general.)
Was Connie's firing if it quacks like a duck, etc.
the result of her writing a letter to the local paper? I'll let
you connect the dots.
While gathering ideas for this week's editorial, I toyed with
the notion of giving "virtual" Christmas presents to
various individuals and entities around the county. For example,
a bottle of Windex for those boards which just can't seem to
keep the public's business transparent. Or maybe a stylebook
of English usage, for those who still insist on calling secret
meetings, "executive sessions." And, of course, copies
of the Missouri Sunshine Law for everyone, lawyers included (maybe
especially lawyers).
So, what do we give the Perry City Council for Christmas? Several
items, I would think.
First, the mayor and aldermen need copies of Dr. Suess's How
the Grinch Stole Christmas. They probably need to see the Christmas
classic, It's a Wonderful Life, at least once a day during the
twelve days of Christmas. I would also like to take the council
to the Land of Oz and see if the Wizard couldn't supply them
with hearts and brains, both of which they appear to be lacking.
And maybe they need some courage, too, so that they might, in
the future, have the guts to look a 30-year employee in the eye
before summarily tossing her aside. Oh yes, the mayor and aldermen
also need a copy of the U.S. Constitution more specifically,
the First Amendment, because public employees should not be forced
to give up their right to speak freely and openly simply because
they work for a public entity.
Was Connie treated as we would all like to be treated with
a little common, human decency? Sadly, no. So, I guess the Golden
Rule doesn't apply in Perry City Hall during the Christmas season.
In other words, I know where the Grinch lives.
*****
Speaking of Perry, the council and the community at large failed
to take advantage of the biggest real estate giveaway in the
city's history.
If you remember, the R-II school board offered the old Perry
Elementary building to the City of Perry for something like $100.
The city council turned down the offer because the school didn't,
at the time, guarantee a clear, clean title to the property.
I think the city's attorney said it might be a time-consuming
and expensive proposition to obtain more than just a quitclaim
deed. Well, it seems the school board somehow did just that in
about a month's time and, I would imagine, at very little
expense. Now, since Perry rejected the offer, the school is planning
to take sealed bids for the property, and I'm sure the building
and real estate will go for a lot more than $100.
Talk about shortsighted.
I wish the school could have made me the same offer it made the
City of Perry. In fact, I would gladly have paid the school at
least a hundred times what they originally wanted....
*****
On behalf of Judi and the staff of the RCHE, I hope each and
every one of our readers and advertisers has a very Merry Christmas.
December 20, 2007 -- I just couldn't resist posting
the following comments I found on www.smirkingchimp.com:
Sick and Tired of the year 2007
I'm sick and tired of having to pretend that Christian
fundamentalists are entirely sane when they announce with
straight faces that the earth was created in six days, and is
not billions of years old but actually just 6000 years old.
And that dinosaurs and humans coexisted because, "In fact,
at Answers in Genesis, we call dinosaurs 'missionary lizards.'
No sane literate person would -- could -- hold such utter nonsense
to be true. Such pronouncements should be treated for what they
are -- evidence of ignornace, mental illness or both.
Because they are provably false. They are NOT an equally valid
scientific theory. They are the product of mass-hysterical-crazy
thinking -- viral nonsense. People who believe such things, and
try to get others to believe them, should be treated the exactly
how we treat people who walk city streets shouting at things
only they can see. And when one of these zombies shows up at
a school board meeting demanding religious mythology be taught
in science class, they should be politely asked to either shut
up or leave. If they refuse then someone needs to call the cops
to remove them to the nearest psychiatric facility and placed
on a 36-hour hold. (Except in Texas, which we all know is
a lost cause.)
I'm sick and tired of every politician running for election
or re-election testifying that they, too, "believe."
Believe what? Well, they keep that kinda of fuzzy. Politicians
understand that, when you're seeking the votes of people who
believe crazy things, you've gotta stay vague. That's because
metaphysical-crazy comes in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins.
No two crazies are the same, but they do all have one thing in
common; they believe crazies of a different flavor are ... well,
crazy. Which is why politicians play their "crazy belief
cards" close to the vest. Instead of risking losing crazy
votes by getting specific about precisely what kind of metaphysical
things they may or may not believe in, they vaguely reasure them
with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge -- "Just trust me folks.
I'm at least as crazy as you."
I'm sick and tired of my country listing among our "friends
and allies" creepy, unsavory, smarmy, self-indulgent, utterly
despicable regimes -- to wit -- Saudi Arabia and the Saudi
"royal" family. John Gotti's family had more royal
blood in it than the 7000-odd dictatorial, misogynistic sheiks
that run Saudi Arabia. If they weren't squatting atop lakes of
oil the only kingdom they'd be lording over would have horns
and require milking twice a day. If there's a more despicable
bunch of mobsters masquerading as leaders today, I can't think
of it. And I'm sick of seeing our moron of a President walking
hand in hand with these cross-dressing, lying, cheating, terrorist-financing,
rape-victim-lashing Arab home-boys, at the same time we
continue embargoing Cuba and shaking a threatening fist at Iran.
I'm sick and tired of the global warming deniers.
They should be treated with the same sense of anger and disgust
as Holocaust deniers... just more so. Denying the Holocaust only
denies the murder of six million humans. Denying global warming
and its causes threatens to sentence hundreds of millions, maybe
billions, of humans to slow, painful untimely deaths. I can't
punch global warming deniers, though I'd like to. But if they
persist, they and their families should all be required to relocate
to the lowest lying atoll in the Pacific.
I'm sick and tired of defense contractors, like Lockheed,
running TV ads trying to convince me that everything they do
is "for our troops in harm's way." Gag me with a rocket
launcher! Everything defense contractors do is in pursuit of
billions of defense tax dollars. That's why they do it
--- the ONLY reason they do it. They never seem to mention in
their ads that every year... without exception...every year,
they are each one caught red handed lying, cheating and stealing
hundreds of millions of dollars more. And that, even when caught,
not one of them has spent a day in the slammer for it. So, shut
up with the "we do it all for our troops," crap, will
ya? It makes me wanna reach through the TV and Blackwater your
asses.
I'm sick and tired of hearing that the US has "the
best health care in the world." First of all my wife
is a health care professional, which means I hear the real scoop
every day she returns from work. Tales that curl the blood. We
don't have the best health care in the world, we just have the
most expensive health care in the world. It's a system
run by a bunch of blood sucking private insurance companies that
cherry pick the actuarial pool. They insure only those unlikely
to need medical care, and reject anyone who just might. Those
they refuse to insure eventually end up getting medical care
on the public nickel. Wouldn't you love a business deal like
that, one where you get to shove your risks off on the government
allowing you to pocket all that low/no risk gravy? I sure would.
I'm sick of it... pun intended.
I'm sick of paying a higher percentage of my adjusted gross
income than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. The Bush tax cuts
have been a bonanza for the already super rich, and a
big lump of coal for everyone else. For our national infrastructure
the Bush tax cuts were a "who needs public infrastructure
anyway!" The truth is that the rich got rich largely thanks
to America's generous, reliable and efficient taxpayer funded
infrastructure -- roads, bridges, airports, ports and such.
Therefore they should pay taxes that adequately reflect and reimburse
the nation for that. At the end of the day, every road is a toll
road, and the rich are no longer paying their fair share of tolls.
On the same subject, I'm also sick and tired of hearing
Republicans spout the nonsense that if you cut a rich person
or corporation's taxes they will use that extra money to "create
jobs for working Americans." No they won't. And no,
they haven't.
What they have done with their Bush's tax cut bonanza is sock
it away in tax-protected family trusts and then lobby Congress
to eliminate the estate tax so their heirs can keep every dime
of it. If any of that extra money does end up getting invested
in a job-creating enterprise you can bet your low-wage bippy
those jobs end up in China or someplace like China. So, spare
the "trickle down" crapola fellas.
I'm sick and tired of spending $60 billion a year on
intelligence services that aren't.
I'm sick and tired of Neo-con, lap-dog Republicans
who have defended and aided administration officials who openly
champion views of governance so un-American they border on
neo-fascism.
I'm sick and tired of conniving, weaselly, cowardly Democrats
who could have obstructed our nations slide toward totalitarianism
-- but didn't -- and still haven't.
I'm sick and tired of these new "Christians are
being persecuted" TV ads. You know, the ones where
some Chinese kid narrates how she was forced to walk barefoot
through the snow to a detention center because she wrote stuff
about Jesus ... blah, blah, blah. The truth is the overly religious
thrive on claims of persecution, real or Madison Avenue-imagined.
Nothing stirs up the religiously enthralled like a ripping, tear-jerking
tale of persecution. More importantly, nothing opens up the wallets
of the herd faster either. One might suggest to them that maybe
if fundamentalist Christians tried to be a little less "up
everyone's nose," every time we turn around these days they
might face less persecution. That assumes, of course, they really
are being "persecuted" every time they make the claim
-- which I doubt. Often what they view as persecution is simple,
non-violent, rhetorical push-back from those of us who've heard
quite enough about their supernatural pretend friend(s) of choice.
They consider such push back "persecution." We call
it self-defense.
I'm sick and tired of all things bimbo. Paris, Britney,
Lohan...and all those like them. The only time such appaulingly
stupid people should appear on my evening news is if they should
stumble in front of the Presidential limo, get run over but survived
and, once out of a coma, scribble out the solution to Einstein's
unified field theory. Otherwise I never want to hear their names
or see their vacant faces on the news again. They are nature's
most useless and annoying creatures. CNN and MSNBC -- don't waste
another electron reporting on these people because electrons
have more important things to do -- and so do you.
I'm sick and tired of hearing about how Pakistan is a "valuable
ally in the war on terror." No they're not. Hell, they're
not even a real democracy anymore. Also everyone knows that the
Pakistan army and intelligence services are lousy with al Qaida
and Taliban sympathizers. Calling Pakistan an ally is
like declaring George W. Bush one of America's most accomplished
Presidents. The day Pervez Musharraf fired the whole Supreme
Court and replaced them with handpicked Clarence Thomas' and
Anthony Scalia's, we should have given NATO troops in Afghanistan
the green light go into Pakistan's tribal regions and do whatever
needed doing there.
I'm sick and tired of "Billery." Bill and
Hillary Clinton have worn out their welcome in my head. I appreciate
Bill's accomplishments as President. But fine, can we move on
now? I didn't appreciate the Bill and Hillary soap operas the
first time around. But now the nation and world are too much
in crisis to restart that kind of unhelpful diversions. Hillary
is a smart and viciously accomplished pol. But rather than president,
her skills could be put to better use as Senate Majority Leader.
Ditch the nearly comatose Harry Reid and put Hillary in that
important post. Because, unlike Reid, Hillary knows how to jerk
leashes -- and actually likes it.
I'm sick and tired of being bombarded by TV ads
with American Indians telling me that their casinos are making
life better for everyone, not just the ten members of their
tribe. Have you ever been in one of those casinos? Just
how are casinos making life better for the bus loads of gray-haired
codgers who upload their meager Social Security checks into Chief
Wampum's slots? And what about all those already over-extended,
mortgage-poor, credit card maxed out working stiffs so desperate
their last remaining hope to hit a progressive-slot jackpot?
How is the spreading plague of Indian casinos helping those folks?
So knock it off with those phony feel-good ads and replace them
with something that at least approximates the truth. Something
like this would be more tolerable:
"We had a sweet thing going before Europeans showed
up, uninvited, and mugged the living crap out of Indian tribes
from coast to shining coast. Well, that hunk of Karma has come
home to roost at our Indian Casinos where we are now happily,
and profitably, doing the same thing to you. We even have a name
for you... The White Buffalo."
Now, that's at least true, and defensible. I can live with
that. But even white-guilt has its limits and those spoken-with-forked-tongue,
Indian-casinos-are-good-for-us TV ads have pushed that limit
well beyond the breaking point.
January 3, 2008--By the time you read this, the New
Year will have just begun.
I've never been very keen on celebrating the passing of the old
year and the birth of the new one. For one thing, New Year's
Day is very much an arbitrary calendar event. In and of itself,
it doesn't really signify much.
When I was a teacher, I marked the beginning of my year from
the first day of school. New Year's Day just sort of fell in
the middle of "my year."
In the weekly newspaper business, years don't seem to matter
a whole lot. Each week, or cycle, begins each Wednesday and ends
the following Tuesday night. So I tend not to pay that much attention
to months or years. They're here for what seems like a moment
or two and then they're gone. In a way, then, everything becomes
arbitrary, just like the calendar.
If New Year's Day has value, it lies in allowing one to stop
for a bit and to take stock of the past and make plans for the
future.
So let's take stock.
Each year, I always express our sincere thanks and gratitude
for our readers and advertisers, all of whom make this paper
possible. Literally, we would not exist without you. I only wish
there were more like you, more people out there who truly understand
the value of a community newspaper and who are willing to support
it with their subscriptions and their advertising.
We are, I am convinced, one of the most widely-read weeklies
in northeast Missouri. Of course, official circulation figures
do not show that. But, our "official" rate would soar
if we could count the number of readers "attached to"
each single subscription. For example, how many papers are delivered
to the offices in the courthouse and to other public entities?
Not many; usually only one per office, if that many. (Actually,
one of the three city halls does not care enough to subscribe
to the paper.) But how many people in those offices read the
paper each week? Certainly more than one. How many people read
each paper that's sold by the copy over the counter. I don't
have the exact data; I'll just say, the paper does circulate
far beyond what the official figures would suggest. But that
"extra circulation" does not help pay the bills.
And, while I'm on the subject, I would think that every public
figure in this county would subscribe, if for no other reason
than to keep current with legal and public notices. But that
is not happening and has apparently never happened within the
last 30 years at least.
As for advertising, just let me say again that we greatly appreciate
those who continue to support us. What I am about to say does
not apply to you. Take time some week and count the number of
ads in the paper which come from businesses and institutions
located outside Ralls County. If it were not for those advertisements,
this paper could not survive. I could list the number of businesses
in Ralls County that do not advertise, but what's the point?
But please do stop to ponder this again for a moment: Businesses
outside Ralls County are largely responsible for sustaining your
county's own newspaper.
What do you want in your community paper? More sports? More school
news? More local farming news? More county seat news? More feature
stories? More in-depth reporting on city government? If you care
at all, I'm sure you'd like all of the aboveand more. We would
like that, too. The RCHE could be one hell of a paper (pardon
my French)if enough people cared.
Judi and I would like to print more of everything, and in the
early years of our ownership of this paper, I was naive enough
to think the paper had enough potential that we could cover more
of what people wanted, that we could be a "real" county
paper. But we can't do that alone. And, sadly, I don't know that
many people really care one way or another.
Over the years we have tried to stay current with technology.
Several years ago, we were among the very first weekly papers
in northeast Missouri to "go digital." By anyone's
standards, the quality of our printing is excellent, and our
full-color ads and photos when we can afford them
are almost always superior to those of the area daily newspaper.
(Just check out the RCSBank ad on page three.) We have tried
to give people more than what they've paid for.
But, in the end, do enough people really care enough?
*****
I'd like to close on a more personal note. Last April, I spent
a week in the hospital and was unable to return to work for a
few months. During that time, the paper was produced entirely
by Judi and our staff. Once again, I want to thank Nancy and
Carolyn for their efforts.
I especially want to thank Judi for the many hours she spent
in seeing that the paper met its deadline each week. In addition
to performing her usual duties, she oversaw the general production
of the paper while shuttling me around to what seemed like dozens
of doctors each month. In everything she did, she exceeded my
expectations. I could not have been more proud of her. She kept
the paper and me on track.
*****
We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. GS
January 10, 2008--"...no religious test shall
ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust
under the United States." United States Constitution,
Article VI, Section 3.
Several weeks ago, in one of the almost endless number of
presidential candi-date debates, the moderator asked each hopeful
what his religious beliefs were. To my astonishment, not one
of the candidates declined to answer that question. But I suppose
they all figured it would be political suicide to provide the
correct answer in this situation: "That's none of your business."
Instead, each candidate meekly acquiesced and passed the religious
test which should not "ever be required as a qualification
to any public office"
Yes, all of us potential voters want some assurance that candidates
for public office are people of character, men and women who
live their lives by a shared system of civilized values. But
beyond that, what a political office seeker specifically believes
about God, about the proper way to worship the Deity, and about
what happens to one after this life belongs on the other side
of that wall which was intended to separate Church and State.
I don't for a moment care what Mitt Romney believes or Hillary
Clinton or Ron Paul or Mike Huckabee or any of the other candidates.
For all I care, a candidate might believe that Jesus preached
to indigenous peoples in North America after he delivered the
Gospel in the Mid-East, that each person may some day become
a god of his or her own planet, and that true believers should
don special underwear. Oh, wait a minute Never mind. Let's start
again: For all I care, a candidate might believe that the Grand
Canyon was created by the Biblical Flood about 6,000 years ago.Okay,
on second thought, ignore that last sentence, too.
What I do care about is this: I want our next President to be
an honest, law-abiding, compassionate person and a man or woman
who possesses strong leadership skills.
George W. Bush is supposed to be a religious man and maybe
he is. We can't see into anyone's heart, so we don't know. I
do know that he lied his way into a war which has killed nearly
4,000 of our troops and hundreds of thousands of our fellow human
beings and has led our nation to the brink of bankruptcy; that
he apparently considers himself above the law (In his own words,
he once described the U.S. Constitution as "just a g-ddamned
piece of paper"); that he exhibits no compassion whatsoever
Remember Katrina?; and that he is one of the weakest Presidents
this country has ever known weak in character and weak
in leadership. In any other part of the world, such a man would
have been charged with war crimes by now or he may even have
been lynched by angry mobs. At the very least, he would have
been tossed out of office.
The Book of Matthew says, "By their fruits ye shall know
them." That's all the test we need in selecting a President.
We do not need to know nor should we even be allowed to
ask what each candidate says he or she believes. People
are what they do, not what they choose to wear on their sleeves.
GS
*****
January 17, 2008--There are some important elections
coming up in April the annual spring city, school board,
and other assorted entity board elections. Yes, those elections.
They are important because democracy starts at the bottom, at
the grassroots level. All of us registered voters in each community
and in each school district have an opportunity to directly influence
the course local governmental bodies will chart in the coming
year or years. But we might as well do without the democratic
process if we do not vote, and there certainly can be no democracy
without choice.
We have been covering the spring elections in Ralls County for
ten years, and I don't think I can recall a candidate filing
period that has been as uneventful as this one. New London is
usually first in candidate filings for its city government, and
this year was no exception. There's even one contested seat,
so there is definitely some interest here. But I don't know what's
going on in Center, Perry, and the R-II School District. As of
press time today (Tuesday), only one person has filed for a total
of nine offices: Incumbent school board member Randy Anderson
filed for re-election.
On January 22, one week from today, the filing period will end.
I don't know what to expect. Will there be a mad rush to file
on the last day? Or has apathy finally won out, with no one filing
for some of the positions?
I'm not sure what's happening with the school board election,
but I can guess. It is the policy of this newspaper never to
get involved in politics or elections on the local level, but
I think we could still maintain our objectivity and nonpartisan
status if I were to offer an observation or two.
A few years ago, the state legislature, with a considerable amount
of arm twisting by MSBA lobbyists, passed a law permitting school
districts to forego elections if the number of people filing
for election is equal to the number of seats to be filled that
year.
Now why would an organization which supposedly exists to promote
"quality education" want to short-circuit the democratic
process? There's the cost of an election, the MSBA says; why
have an election when there is no contest?
Money? Is that what it's all about? A few thousand dollars? Democracy
does actually come with a dollar amount attached?
What's undemocratic about not having an election when there is
no contest, you might ask. Well, if only three people run for
the school board and there is no election, there can be no write-in
votes since there is no ballot.
Now, I have absolutely nothing against any of the three incumbent
board members. They've served the district well, and as far as
I am concerned, they can all have their jobs for another term
if that's what they want.
I'm just saying, for democracy to flourish, we need choice, even
if it's only a lone write-in vote. (If you stop and think about
it, what could be more democratic, more American, than the write-in
candidate?)
Plus, the no-contest, no-ballot rule could bring about some under-the-table
deal making, designed to seat those people who might not be electable
if an election were actually held.
So, what constitutes fairness and democracy in a school board
election? Choice and a ballot.
GS
*****
March 6, 2008--This election year looks like an exciting
one, both at the national level and at the county level.
Here in Ralls County, twenty candidates have filed for six offices
in this year's primary election. Within our relatively brief
tenure here at the RCHE, I've never before seen such interest
in local elections. And there are still three weeks to go in
the filing period.
This Presidential election is already one for the history books:
By this time next year, a woman, a black man, or a hawkish old
white guy will be "leader of the free world." How can
said hawkish old white guy, being statistically representative
of one out of every three Republicans, make history? Of course,
there's McCain's age.
I don't know how I feel about this election. I am excited that
we finally have serious candidates who are out of the mainstream
of white/male politics. It's about time. However, I don't know
whether Hillary is the woman for the job, and I don't know whether
Barack is the African-American, either. For all the talk and
promise about "change," the real differences in these
candidates are mostly cosmetic, and I'm afraid it won't really
matter who winds up in the Oval Office; it will be pretty much
business as usual.
I don't think either of the two Democratic candidates has the
guts and broad support of the populace to effect any real change.
This country desperately needs universal health care; it needs
to rebuild its bridges and highways; it needs to overhaul its
educational system. Those programs cost money. Where will that
money come from? We would have the funds to rebuild our country
if we had the backbone to stand up to what President Eisenhower
called "the military-industrial complex" and slash
deeply into an obscenely-bloated "defense" budget.
This country needs a radical overhaul to set it back on course.
But that's not likely to happen.
I'm reminded of a T-shirt slogan I read many years ago: "Wouldn't
it be nice if our schools got all the money they need and the
Air Force had to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber?" One
can only hope.
*****
Too good to pass up: The following is by Jean Maneke, Missouri
Press Association attorney.
"One of my favorite organizations to watch is the Missouri
Municipal League. And I've been amazed this year by one item
I've seen repeatedly from them. When they send out a notice about
a sunshine law bill that is filed, their description of the bill
(generally on opening records) always states that they are opposed
to the bill because of 'policy.'
"What do you suppose that means? Does the Missouri Municipal
League have a policy opposing openness in government? Does the
Missouri Municipal League have a policy opposing public access
to information? Are your city's tax dollars being used to support
an organization that has a standing policy of opposition to openness
in government in whatever fashion it presents itself?"
I think all of us need to pay close attention to how our taxes
are being spent under the guise of local membership in organizations
which like the MML, the Missouri School Boards Association,
and probably the Missouri Association of Counties do not
really have the public's interest at heart at all but which are
rather publicly-funded organizations whose purpose is to keep
the public in the dark. GS
March 27-- I don't have a whole lot of space left this
week, so I had better make this short and to the point.
Last week, newspapers, magazines, television and other electronic
media, and the public in general celebrated National Sunshine
Week. I had intended to do something special last week to help
commemorate the event, but a lack of both time and space got
in the way. However, even though it's great to devote seven days
to the principle of openness in government, I think every week
should be "Sunshine Week."
The Bush-Lite administration is one of the most secretive in
our history. How could it be otherwise with a "Decider"
rather than an elected President in charge? Whole libraries,
for example, could be filled with books containing supposedly
top secret information on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars alone,
for if the government wants to keep a subject secret, a bunch
of "Deciders" simply say the topic is a matter of "national
security," and everything surrounding the issue remains
shrouded in secrecy, sometimes for decades. So, will the true
history of this era ever be told? I doubt it; I have a feeling
that a great many paper shredders have been working a whole lot
of overtime in the basements of the White House and the Pentagon.
Worse than national secrecy, however, is the kind which tends
to trickle down to the state and local levels. Recent county
audits and an ongoing lawsuit in Marion County are proof that
those in power, regardless of the level of that power, would
like very much to keep us in the dark.
So, all of us need to keep in mind that every week, every day,
presents an opportunity to keep an eye on what our government
officials and boards are up to. The Sunshine Law is for everyone.
Use it.
GS
April 3, 2008--Very often I quote Missouri Press Association
attorney Jean Maneke in this column. The RCHE is a member of
the MPA, and along with some other perks members enjoy, we are
just a phone call, an email, or a fax away from an open meetings/open
records legal expert. We have used her services many times over
the past twelve years.
In Maneke's most recent column in the MPA monthly periodical,
she addresses the issue of sunshine law complaints. "Most
of the time when I talk about sunshine law violations and we
get to the point of what happens when someone breaks the law,
I feel fairly powerless," she said. "Yes, you can complain
to Missouri's attorney general, but I realize the odds of anything
happening from that office are generally slim. Yes, you can complain
to your local prosecutor, but the odds of that person taking
action are even slimmer because that person is usually serving
to defend the public body that broke the law." [My italics
GS]
Therein lies the rub. Most people in Ralls County know
if they have ever stopped to ponder the issue that the
prosecuting attorney or one of his assistant PA's serves as legal
counsel for just about every public entity in the county. Such
an arrangement frequently raises questions: Will anything happen
if I make a sunshine law complaint locally? And are there conflicts
of interest involved in the process? Answers (respectively):
I doubt it; and I don't know. I'll let someone more versed in
legal issues answer the second question.
Incidentally, just how many assistant prosecuting attorneys does
this county have? And how many does a county of this size need?
(Just asking questions, so don't go tossing rocks through our
windows.) One of my points being that, given the number of assistant
PA's we apparently have, justice in Ralls County should be swift
and thorough, even for those initially charged with DWI's. And,
hey, maybe one of those assistant prosecuting attorneys could
even handle some of the sunshine law complaints.
I do know that on a number of occasions I have sent a friendly
letter to an entity's attorney, notifying him of what appears
to be a sunshine law violation. No threats; no, "We're gonna
sue you." Just a letter advising him that a violation may
have occurred and that he may want to keep a better watch over
his flock. (I have said many times that we are not likely to
sue anyone. But someone out there in the community with a good
knowledge of the sunshine law, an ax to grind, and the money
to hire a good attorney might very well decide to do so.) Not
once have any of these letters been acknowledged. They most likely
hit the waste basket within three minutes of being received.
But I guess I shouldn't expect anything more. I'm probably cynical
in saying so, but I think the attorneys' reactions are probably
to be expected. That is, they can safely afford such arrogance
when they wield the power they do.
Maneke advises that if newspapers can't get any satisfaction
from the state attorney general's office or from the local prosecuting
attorney's office, they can just write about the violation. In
other words, make people aware that something fishy has happened,
and in doing so, maybe enough people will demand an accounting.
We do that on occasion and will continue to do so. But when we
do, please keep in mind that simply reporting on what appears
to be a sunshine law violation is not a threat; it's just an
attempt to somehow see justice done. GS
April 17-- On April 1 (no foolin'), I attended the
Ralls County 911 Board of Directors meeting to check on the progress
of a Workers Comp issue simmering there.
Part of the problem was hashed out in the "Public Forum"
segment of the agenda, and part of it had been scheduled for
discussion under "Old Business."
When it became apparent that there was a possibility the subject
might be discussed in a closed meeting (listed on the agenda
under the personnel exception), I asked how the board could justify
taking up a Workers Comp issue in that closed session. Keep in
mind that the personnel exception 610.021 (3) can
only be used for "hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting
of particular employees." That's it; that's all. Pretty
simple, isn't it? Or one would think so.
But when I asked, "Can a Workers Comp issue be discussed
in a closed meeting called under the personnel exception?"
the board's attorney, who also serves as Ralls County Prosecuting
Attorney, answered, "I think so." When I asked what
he based his opinion on, his answer was, "Because there
may be litigation involved."
Huh? Let's look at the reasons for closing a meeting under the
personnel exception again: hiring, firing, disciplining, or promoting
of particular employees. Litigation or possible litigation is
not mentioned. Actually, the Sunshine Law allows a board to hold
a closed meeting specifically for litigation or legal matters.
And that's covered under 610.021 (1).
I do not want people to think I'm picking on the 911 Board, but
someone maybe everyone associated with that board
needs to get his or her ducks properly lined up in a much neater
row when it comes to obeying the Sunshine Law. The board has
had several problems in the past with the law. (I remember one
instance several years ago when the board met in closed session
under the personnel exception to re-write the employees' Policy
and Procedures handbook. Was that legal?) And the state auditor
came down pretty hard on the board last year. But judging from
the answers I got at the last meeting, the board members and
their attorney apparently still don't "get it."
By the way, one of the board members mentioned going into "executive
session." The term "executive session," presumably
referring to a closed meeting, is nowhere to be found in the
Sunshine Law. So, please, stop slathering cosmetics on that little
piggy. Good English usage requires calling a spade a spade, and
clarity of expression is best served by refraining from tarting
up good old ordinary words and phrases.
GS
May 8, 2008--Evidently, being an "elitist"
is a bad thing. At least, the Billary and McBush campaigns would
have you believe so. But what exactly is an elitist? According
to my dictionary, an elitist is someone belonging to a group
generally considered to be superior in some way or other.
I don't know exactly how only Barack Obama is supposed to be
an elitist. True, he went to an Ivy-League school. Bush did,
too. (Go figure!) Billary, also. Obama has more money than you
and I will ever see in our lifetimes. So do Bush and Billary
and McBush's wife. So...all of them are elitists?
Evidently, even more telling is the fact that Obama can't bowl
worth a damn. So what? The vast majority of Americans have never
seen an actual bowling alley. Are they all elitists, too? Oh,
I almost forgot...Obama doesn't wear a flag pin, either. Yep,
he must definitely be an elitist.
We've had nearly eight years of a so-called "good old boy"
leadership, presided over by a smirking, inarticulate, illiterate
buffoon who, with a lot of help from his friends, has taken this
nation to the brink of disaster. But the voters twice got what
they wanted: a President they might feel comfortable having a
beer with, not some snooty, book-reading intellectual.
Therein lies the problem. It was a fundamental assumption of
our founding fathers that an educated, well-informed electorate
is necessary if a democracy is to function and survive. But according
to polls taken within the past ten years, 25 percent of all Americans
believe the Sun revolves around our planet; nearly 30 percent
believe the Universe and everything in it were created about
8,000 years ago (An equal number believe the Grand Canyon was
created by the Biblical Flood.); over 50 percent believe in astrology;
only 28 percent of college graduates can locate Iraq and Afghanistan
on a world map; most high school graduates can't write a simple
20-word error-free sentence, and most can't do simple math without
a calculator. I could go on and on, but I hope you get the point.
How can we be trusted to keep an eye on what our elected leaders
are doing when we, as an electorate, remain so blissfully ignorant?
But what started all of this "Obama is an elitist"
sniping were his remarks about the bitterness and frustration
of those who have lost their jobs and homes and look elsewhere
to find comfort and security. He was simply stating a fact. Admittedly,
he didn't state it very well, but it's nevertheless the truth.
He was not being patronizing or condescending. Furthermore, this
whole discussion is moot because those people who were so offended
by Obama's remark, or by the rantings of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
for that matter, never intended to vote for Barack anyway. This
whole non-issue is a straw man created by the Billary and McBush
campaigns. So why don't we move on and stop obsessing about who
does or does not wear a flag pin?
I don't know about you, but I don't want our President to be
a "Joe Six-Pack." I want someone who stands out from
the crowd, someone who's educated, articulate, and smart. I want
the best possible person to sit in the Oval Office. I definitely
want someone who's smarter than I am, and, no, I don't want to
have a beer with him or her. By most standards, I guess, F.D.R.,
J.F.K., Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, and all of our founding
fathers were "elitists." They certainly didn't have
a whole lot in common with us ordinary folks. And I, for one,
am glad they didn't. GS
May 22-- My oh my...Did Center's City Council meeting
this month ever stir the pot! Gentle Readers, I thought long
and hard about printing details of the mayor's temper tantrum,
but in the end I decided, for nearly 12 years I've been covering
those meetings and I've omitted a whole lot of foul language,
racial slurs, name calling, and down-right idiocy from the stories
which finally wound up in the paper, but I'm not going to take
it anymore. The councilmen, for one thing, can take a little
time to learn the Sunshine Law. I'm sorry, guys, but if you intend
to seek election to a public board, the least you can do is to
learn what you can and can't do. And, by the way, how many years
did the mayor spend on the school board? And now he says he didn't
know that when a quorum is reached a meeting is being held? Don't
plead ignorance of the law. Incidentally, every board member
around the county knows that I always carry a tape recorder along
with me. You can't miss it: it's a huge piece of antique equipment
weighing at least five pounds. Yet they constantly open their
mouths and all sort of things fall out. Go figure. By the way,
nowhere did I state or imply that the mayor and council intended
to break the law. I don't think that was their intention. But
I take the Sunshine Law seriously. It wasn't written for the
media only; it was written to keep elected bodies from meeting
in secret and discussing public issues behind closed doors. So,
it isn't my law; the law is for everyone. Another "by the
way": All the mayor has to do when meeting with the DNR
for informational purposes is to make sure he doesn't have a
quorum present. Then he and one or two aldermen can cuss and
discuss all they want and report their findings back to the full
council at the regular meeting. That's the way it's usually done.
But if a quorum is present, a meeting is occurring, and it should
have been posted 24 hours in advance. You know, I don't like
playing the role of "sunshine law cop." But I wouldn't
have to if everyone would get a copy of the law...and READ it...and
don't play dumb! As a newspaper editor, every time I speak to
a publicly-elected official, I automatically assume he or she
has something to hide. That might sound cynical, but it's generally
true. In the twelve years we've been here, getting information
out of public officials and entities has been harder than prying
secrets from the CIA. Why? I don't know. My guess is, bcause
it's been a long time since Ralls County had a real newspaper,
and even when it did, the editors never did their jobs. Keep
this thought in mind: We can't report the happenings of our local
boards if we don't even know when they meet or when we are thwarted
at every turn in our efforts to gather information.
May 29--Sunshine Law 101--Now that the smoke has cleared
and the dust has settled (somewhat), I'd like to clarify a few
things concerning the now-infamous Center City Council meeting
this month.
Usually, I do not like to participate in meetings and events
that I cover. I'm there only as an observer and recorder. But
at this month's regular meeting, I asked to be placed on the
agenda in order to address the council directly about the problem
of the "illegal meeting" on May 1. I figured they might
prefer my addressing them directly instead of tearing off after
the fact into one of my usual lectures in this column. I tried
to be polite in explaining why I was displeased with the previous
Friday's meeting.
But then all hell broke loose! And of course, readers know what
I'm referring to, so I'll not repeat myself. But an explanation
is in order.
Let me make one thing absolutely clear: I do not for a moment
believe the mayor or aldermen intended to hold an illegal meeting.
And I wouldn't call their meeting with the DNR a secret meeting.
I guess I am willing to call their gathering an "accidental
illegal meeting," for want of a better term, and let the
matter remain in the past. But I do hope someone has learned
something from this whole mess.
As I understand it, the mayor and one or two aldermen were originally
expected to meet with DNR representatives. However, a third alderman
showed up; a quorum was therefore had; and by definition, at
that point a de facto Center City Council meeting was convened.
As notice of that city council meeting had not, of course, been
posted 24 hours in advance, the council consequently held an
illegal meeting.
I know the mayor and aldermen were simply trying to gather information
from the DNR representatives and pass it on to the citizens of
Center. But I would like to have had the same opportunity. I
don't like getting information second hand, and had I known the
council was holding such a meeting, I would have been there,
too. (I am assuming the council would not have attempted to exclude
me.)
To recap: Nearly everyone knows that if a quorum is not present
at a regular meeting, no decisions can be made, since in that
case, by definition, no official meeting can be held. By the
same token, if a quorum of a governing board happens to exist
at any place and at any time and the people's business
is being discussed, a meeting is taking place. Regardless of
whether any decisions are made.
That's the law. And the law exists to keep boards, councils,
and commissions from meeting in secret, to make sure the people's
business is conducted as much as possible out in the open for
all to see.
This is "Sunshine Law 101." This is basic; it can't
get much simpler than this. And I guess I'm just feeling frustrated
that more people especially elected officials still
don't get it.
June 11--Someone just posted a comment on another blog
saying he or she didn't consider The Walrus to be "credible."
Did this person not read the disclaimer? Do they not know the
difference between fact and opinion? Opinion is just that--opinion.
It's not meant to be fact, nor is it necessarily presented as
anything other than opinion. Sheesh! Not-so-Gentle Reader, my
advice is Get a dictionary!
June 16--Just another caveat: The owners of this Web
site are not responsible for the content of another blog, "RallsCoGadfly."
A link to the Gadfly Blog has been placed on this Web site for
anyone wanting another alternative opinion, but we neither agree
nor disagree with any comments made there. We do, however, wish
the owner of the blog much success.
In the interest of fair play, and realizing that it's time
to stop beating dead horses, we have removed the previous comments
on the "silent siren" story. We feel that the whole
truth may never be known, and it's probably time to move on.
But one cynical, doubting eye will surely be kept on the whole
thing throughout the future.
*****
August 7--I had intended to write several pieces and
do some editorializing, about this week's primary election, but
those plans fell by the wayside. On the state level of politics,
I was especially rooting for Jay Nixon for governor. And on the
fed level, I was going to encourage everyone to consider voting
for Steve Gaw for our representative in Congress. They're both
Democrats; but, then, I haven't paid too much attention to the
Republican ballot and don't really intend to until November when,
I hope, the electorate kicks the whole bunch of thieving, lying
scoundrels out of office. As far as the Decider, Dick "Darth
Vader" Cheney, and their minions are concerned, they can't
leave quickly enough for me. If I had my way, we wouldn't wait
until January to show them the door. On the day after the General
Election, it would be pitchforks and torches and tar and feathers,
after which they would be frog marched to The Hague to stand
before a U.N. war crimes tribunal.
*****
Speaking of elections once again, I want to thank all here in
Ralls County who ran for office. As I've said many times before,
democracy is all about choice, and this year Ralls County voters
were blessed with a number of good candidates to choose from.
Had I been able to write an editorial last week, I would have
urged voters to choose those candidates who were the most qualified
and those who would keep the needs of the citizens of Ralls County
in mind at all times. I hope that's how the primary turned out.
As you know, we choose not to take sides in county elections,
but this year we had the chance to speak with some of the candidates,
and I was very interested in what they hoped to accomplish if
elected.
Whatever the outcome of this primary, I see this election cycle
as an opportunity for Ralls County to take stock of our assets
and to start some real planning for the future. It's time we
stopped reacting to change and started becoming proactive. Toward
that end, the county commission needs to encourage more input
from the citizens they were elected to serve. Several candidates
suggested the commission should hold a few "town hall"
meetings in various locations around the county to gather citizen
input and listen to concerns. Another idea was for the commission
to hold an evening meeting once a month so that most citizens
would have a chance to attend. I hope the new commission will
seriously consider those options.
Once upon a time, the governing body of each county was called
the "county court" and commissioners were called "judges."
And, indeed, they ruled very much like English lords presiding
over their fiefdoms, passing out political favors, and listening
to petitioners who lined up each session, hat in hand. Those
days are gone, or at least they should be. It's the people's
commission now, and all of us should have a chance to participate.
All of the candidates we talked with promised the newspaper a
new era of transparency and openness in government if they were
elected. I hope that happens, and if one of those candidates
has been elected, I will certainly be expecting him to make good
on his promises.
I explained to those particular candidates that the county commission,
like all other public entities, must follow the rules laid out
under the Sunshine Law. That would include posting advance notice
of a meeting any time a quorum of that body expects to convene
and discuss the county's business. (Incidentally, the definition
of a meeting also includes conference calls.)
The law also requires that all business not covered by the "closed
meeting exceptions" be discussed openly, in public, and
not in the courthouse hallways, over coffee and donuts in a local
cafe, or over somebody's fence.
I explained that the commission could legally hold closed meetings
to discuss such things as personnel issues and legal matters.
But, I said, to my knowledge, the commission has never held a
closed meeting in the twelve years we have been here. Does that
mean, I asked, that in those twelve years the commission has
never had to deal with personnel issues or with any legal matters?
Doubtful, I said. They agreed. So, if the commission did deal
with personnel and legal issues at some point, when and where
were these things discussed and decided? Who knows? As far as
I know, there are no records of any such decisions being made.
Minutes of commission proceedings are usually pretty sketchy,
so you won't find anything there. (Record keeping might be another
area which needs to be addressed.) Finally, the commission's
attorney needs to take the Sunshine Law seriously, bone up on
the rules, and advise his clients as to what they can do, can't
do, and should do.
I believe Ralls County is entering a new era, whether anyone
is ready or not. And everyone who wishes to participate in charting
the county's future should be encouraged to climb on board. The
county belongs to all of us.
GS
August 21--The tragic events in the nation of Georgia
show that U.S. foreign policy is a bust. In particular, NATO
must go. This may seem counterintuitive, but this relic of the
Cold War has nothing to contribute to peace. On the contrary,
it is a destabilizing tool of America's provocative imperial
foreign policy. Let us stipulate that the Russian government
would undoubtedly be interested in having Georgia in its camp
even if NATO did not exist. The Russian elite has always seen
itself destined for a major role in world events, and that dream
of course included a large sphere of influence where friendly
regimes saw things the Russian way.
Nevertheless, NATO - and the U.S. empire for which it stands
- is a major aggravating factor in the tensions between Russia
and its neighbors. Not long after the Soviet Union imploded and
the Cold War ended, the U.S. foreign-policy elite began talking
about expanding NATO to include former Soviet Satellites and
republics. Considering that NATO was ostensibly created to counter
the Soviet Union in Europe, how could expanding the organization
up to the Russian border not be provocative? What was the point,
except to show the Russians who's boss?
Georgia has been angling for membership in NATO for years. President
Mikheil Saakashvili's Russian policy was nothing short of a pro-American
in-your-face policy strategy. The Bush administration encouraged
it by training and equipping the Georgian military. All of this
stirred Russian suspicions about U.S. objectives in its "backyard."
In return, Georgia sent troops to assist in America's misguided
mission in Iraq. The U.S. policy toward Georgia is part of a
pattern that, naturally, is justified in the name of the "war
on terror" and the spreading of democracy, although some
of the Central Asia republics have odious authoritarian governments.
But the Russians, hearing talk of anti-missile systems in the
new NATO countries, don't see the strategy as benign. They see
encirclement. Who can blame them? The immediate cause of the
recent clash was Georgia's violent move to put down separatist
activity in South Ossetia, one of two break-away areas with sympathies
toward Russia.
Russia undoubtedly has helped advance secessionist sentiments
there and in Abkhazia. Its brutal bombing inside Georgia is to
be condemned, but that does not mean that Saakashvili's government
is blameless. Did the Georgian president get a green light from
the Bush administration? We may never know. But the question
is not essential. What we do know is that U.S. policy created
a moral-hazard problem. In other words, the Bush administration's
words and deeds almost certainly emboldened the Georgian government
with respect to South Ossetia and Russia, encouraging it to take
measures it probably would not have taken otherwise. As we saw,
it was a major miscalculation.
Saakashvili may have been counting on U.S. support, but what
could he possibly have hoped for? The U.S. military, spread thin
already in Iraq and Afghanistan, has no forces to spare. But
even if that were not the case, did Saakashvili really think
the United States and Europe would go to war against Russia?
Memories of the bloody 20th century are too fresh in Europe to
make that a realistic expectation. It is one thing to invade
and occupy Iraq, quite another to take on Russia. It was out
of the question. The Bush administration, then, made implicit
- and perhaps explicit - guarantees to the Georgian government
it was in no position to back up. Thus the American imperium
is revealed as a costly, provocative, but in essential ways impotent
force in the world. For this the taxpayers are coughing up hundreds
of billion dollars a year. And people are dying.
The message of Georgia is clear. We need a top-to-bottom rethinking
of American foreign policy. The American people's interest lies
in peace and free trade. Let others work out their own problems.
Most of all, let's keep the U.S. government from making the world's
problems worse than they already are.
August 28--What Separation Of Church And State?
Several weeks ago, I caught part of a TV forum which included
a preacher, a Muslim imam, and a rabbi. (Sounds like the beginning
of a bad joke, but it's not.) The subject of the debate concerned
the religious views of our presidential candidates. To my everlasting
astonishment and gratitude the rabbi said he didn't
personally care whether the Oval Office occupant was a Christian,
a Muslim, a Jew, an agnostic, or an atheist. Character, leadership,
and experience were the only things that matter, he said. One's
theology or lack thereof is none of our business.
Plus, he reminded the audience, all of us know people who consider
themselves very religious but who nevertheless lack character
and a basic moral underpinning. In public life, for example,
Sen. Larry "Wide Stance" Craig comes to mind.
What a radical concept! And a totally American one, too: According
to our Constitution, religion has no place in our government
and, by extension, should have no place in the selection of
presidential candidates.
Then, before my elation at finding so enlightened a clergyman
had subsided, some megapreacher summoned John McCain and Barack
Obama to a faith-off.
McCain, pundits said, won this "forum" because he was
so concise in his replies to the pastor's questions. Obama was
too "thoughtful" in his responses which we're
supposed to believe is a bad thing, I guess.
Incidentally, McCain was not very forthcoming and honest in his
answer to the question, "What would you say has been your
greatest moral failing in your life?" McCain said his greatest
moral failing was when he divorced his first wife. But he didn't
elaborate. He didn't tell the preacher that he dumped his wife,
Carol, for a younger, more attractive, and much wealthier woman
Cindy. While McCain was a POW, his first wife was involved
in a car accident, underwent several surgeries, and gained a
lot of weight. When he came home from his ordeal in Vietnam,
Carol was no longer the attractive woman he had married. So,
McCain's "concise" answer omitted a lot of inconvenient
truths.
All in all, the forum was a political abomination. Both candidates
should have been able to say, "No thanks; I don't want to
take part in your dog and pony show because my religious views
are private and have nothing to do with how I will lead this
nation." But, of course, that would be political suicide.
And that's a shame.
The rabbi was right: Character matters more than glib answers
to someone else's theological questions, and in many ways, McCain
failed the character test.
To paraphrase what I've said on several other occasions in this
column, you are what you do, Sen. McCain, not what you claim
to believe.
GS
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