Why I Won’t Fly

The answer to why I won’t fly is a simple one: I refuse to be treated like a criminal and am personally offended by the tactics of my government in what is supposed to be a free country.

If you doubt that that’s the case simply take a look at how Transportation Security Agency screeners position would-be air travelers – feet apart, arms extended as they search one’s body with beeping wands or hands. Then compare that with the ‘pat down’ procedures used by real cops. It’s demeaning and, worse yet, puts you in the position of having to prove yourself innocent of any evil intent. Get that? The American presumption of presumed innocence is now gone folks.

If that wasn’t bad enough, now the Feds intend to climb inside your mind. That’s right, a bad attitude toward the thugs who are making you miserable can now net you even more hassles.

TSA has announced SPOT, which stands for a program called Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques. It works by using "specially trained" TSA employees to pick out suspects who exhibit changes in mannerisms or changes in the pitch of a person's voice. If you exhibit those signs expect to be examined more thoroughly.

Let’s look at that more closely. Let’s say you are a woman and the arrogant, badly smelling, TSA screener is running her hands underneath your bra. You are justifiably ticked and you show it. A perfectly natural reaction. However, your gritted-teeth responses are just the thing to trigger SPOT. It’s your day, Cindy, you’ve just moved up a notch on the terrorist scale and your government is going to make the next hours of your life living hell.

I wonder just how civil TSA director Chertoff would be if some slug had his hands down in the Chertoff Jockey shorts? But then, agency heads generally don’t travel tourist class, so it’s probably not an issue.

And, don’t think TSA isn’t an equal opportunity harasser. The agency plans to put its program into train and bus stations. I just wonder what the response to the program will be when it encounters a smoked up schizophrenic trying to ride the hound from Mesa to Tucson.

Fact is, folks, when your government climbs inside your shorts, your bra or your head, no matter the justification, it’s gone too far. Way too far.

Arjay

South of the border, way south of the border, down Brazil way they seem to have found a way out of oil dependance on less-than-friendly Arab states. The Brazilians turned to something they know very well -- the soil, and from that soil came sugar cane and from that sugar cane came alcohol, beautiful, 200 proof, absolute alcohol that cars run on. It too 'em years to get it right, but not as many years as we've had to get it right since the oil embargo of the 70s. There's a lesson there. A guy named David Pogue writing in The New York Times (http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=24) has a neat story about how they did it, along with a nifty twist on a long distance rally.

Here's the bottom line: Oil here is about $70/barrel. Alcohol in Brazil is about $30/barrel. Even Junior can do that math. True, you don't get quite as many miles to the gallon with alcohol but the difference isn't that significant. In a pinch Brazilian cars can run on either ethanol or gasoline.

Now I ask you, how, with a miniscule auto industry compared with the U.S. did Brazil manage to make itself independent from the rapacious ragheads and oil company plutocrats? Fact is, they wanted to. The gumment wanted to, the people wanted to and the auto companies had to.

Given this little story we have to wonder what our central government was or wasn't thinking about from the time Jimmy Carter pointed out our problem? No, don't answer that one, it'll just make you think about other government ineptitudes.

Arjay

How About a Hand Mr. President?

There is an email circulating that, via sarcasm, puts the illegal immigrant situation in a different perspective than what we’ve seen from the bleeding-heart, liberal, TV folks. Without comment we pass it on......

Dear President Bush:

I'm about to plan a little trip with my family and extended family, and I would like to ask you to assist me. I'm going to walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico, and I need to make a few arrangements. I know you can help with this. I plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws. I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Vicente Fox, that I'm on my way over? Please let him know that I will be expecting the

following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.

2. English_speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.

3. All government forms need to be printed in English.

4. I want my kids to be taught by English_speaking teachers.

5. Schools need to include classes on American culture and history.

6. I want my kids to see the American flag flying on the top of the flag pole at their school with the Mexican flag flying lower down.

7. Please plan to feed my kids at school for both breakfast and lunch.

8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.

9. I do not plan to have any car insurance, and I won't make any effort to learn local traffic laws.

10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from Pres. Fox to leave me alone, please be sure that all police officers speak English.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.

12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, and don?t enforce any labor laws or tax laws.

13. Please tell all the people in the country to be extremely nice and never say a critical word about me, or about the strain I might place on the economy.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all the people who come to the U.S. from Mexico. I am sure that Pres. Fox won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely. However, if he gives you any trouble, just invite him to go quail hunting with your V.P.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

Sonny

Let's Go the Mexican Way

Now here’s an idea....why not just adopt the Mexican version of a Green Card?

That certainly should be fair in the eyes of the illegal Mexican immigrants who are making so much noise in their ‘adopted’ country about their ‘rights’ to enjoy the American Dream.

Enough from me, how about a first-hand account from an American about his experiences working in Mexico....Read it very carefully.

Subject: From the other side of the fence.....Americans working in Mexico

From the other side of the fence.....

Received the following from (Tom O'Malley) who was a Director with SW BELL in Mexico City.

You remember I spent five years working in Mexico.

I worked under a tourist Visa for three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that you were working Illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval

During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.

To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals (not copies) of my:

1. Birth certificate for Barbara and I.

2. Marriage certificate.

3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.

4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.

5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.

6. A letter from The ST. Louis Chief of Police indication I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."

7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican Citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on Earth" letter. It was fun to write.

All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right.

Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours accompanied by a Mexican Attorney touring Mexican Government office locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times. At each location and we remember at least four locations we were instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey their laws or face the consequences. We could not protest any of the Governments actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US customs in Loredo Texas. This meant we had rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.

We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law.

We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the Licensing agency to come to our Headquarters location with their photography and finger print equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our US license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never received instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was never give a policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay ransom to get it back.

We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The companies Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. It was about twenty legal size pages annually.

The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after paying more fees.

Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets or liens) before our household goods were released to customs.

It was a real adventure and If any of our Senators or Congressman went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.

The Mexican Government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White house or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican Military surround the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.

Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being hard on illegal immigrants.

And then there’s this posting from an American who wanted to buy some property in Mexico. It is equally enlightening.

A few years ago I considered buying some property in Mexico and was told very quickly that I could forget that! I could rent, and that was it!

I guess my feeling is that, if Mexicans who don't want to go through the regular immigration procedures to enter the US are unhappy with conditions in their native land, then vote the rascals out! That not being possible, then create a revolution, same as our American forefathers did.

But for God's sake, stop this illegal entry into this country and then demand, and demonstrate for, "rights." They have no "rights" here, because their presence is predicated on "wrongs."

Steve

Oh, one more thing . . . a popular apology these days is that this is a "nation of immigrants." Quite true: LEGAL immigrants . . . although we may wish to check with Native Americans about this. They may have some feelings about the legality of it all.

*******************************

I sometimes feel we are stupid, naive, and so political we loose sight of common sense of what is good for the country and it's people.......sn

‘Nuff said.

Arjay

All Latins not Created Equal

We don’t expect the rabid illegal immigrants who plan to flood the streets and shut down the economy on Monday to pay any attention to this, but a word to the wise: Don’t Do It
.
No attention will be paid because the leaders of the mob action shout louder and appeal to the crowd’s baser instincts. One of those leaders is Jorge Rodriguez, a union official who helped organize earlier rallies credited with rattling Congress as it weighs the issue.

"We want full amnesty, full legalization for anybody who is here (illegally)," Rodriguez said. "That is the message that is going to be played out across the country on May 1." Mr. Rodriguez may be high on rhetoric, but he’s low on common sense.

Worse yet, the present hordes of illegal immigrants seek a shortcut to the ‘American Dream’ they say they are entitled to. Fact is, the American Dream is available to anyone who follows the law, learns English, studies the Constitution, takes the test and is of the kind of moral character that’s necessary to gain citizenship. Just ask the Cubans.

America during the Marileito boatlift were hit with the dregs of the Cuban jails and insane asylums. You didn’t see the Cubans staging mass rallies demanding their ‘rights." No, the Cubans simply took care of the bad guys within their own community, continued to work hard and pretty much follow the rules and got what they wanted.

Taking a page out of the Jesse Jackson playbook is just not good sense. Basically the blacks when they staged their freedom marches were for the most part American citizens. They were protesting social injustices they felt were inflicted upon them because they were black and because their forebears were brought to this country involuntarily.

Contrast this with the illegal immigrants who, came to this country voluntarily and violated our immigration laws to do it. If they were exploited it was because they asked to be exploited, virtually begging for the low-wage, unskilled, jobs that they now claim as somehow being their birthright. What they are demanding is pure political and economic blackmail, and if our government gives them anything but a good long look at a detention camp and the inside of a deportation bus, then shame on us.

Interestingly, an American citizen can’t even legally buy property in Mexico. Lack of property ownership immediately puts him in a second class of residency. Strangely, we don’t see hordes of Americans stomping through the streets of Tijuana demanding their rights to the "Mexican Retirement Dream.’ What’s wrong here?

If the government had a scintilla of guts it would mobilize ICE teams to go to these planned rallies and round up all the illegals they can find. If the jails fill up we know of a nice, fenced, bean field in Ruskin where they can be kept until they can be whisked back home.

One final item: The argument that they are doing work that no American will do is specious on its face. They illegals have the jobs because they willingly work for less. If they weren’t in the fields working for cutrate wages the wages would increase and Americans who used to have the packing house jobs would come back.

You never have parity when one group doesn’t have to play be the rules of the other group. Billy Bob and Nancy wouldn’t last five minutes in the strawberry fields if they insisted the 4, 6 and 8-year old children had to work with them. School and child welfare officials would be on them like white on rice. Pedro and Inez, on the other hand have no trouble putting their 3, 4, 5 and 9 year-old children to work because it’s a ‘cultural thing." Last time I heard child labor was a cultural thing was in Nazi Germany.

I have Cuban friends, and they are sickened by what the Mexicans are trying to pull. And, if you’ve noticed, none of those rallies are scheduled for Little Havana. Wonder why.
Arjay

St. Pete Times & the Border-Jumpers

The St. Pete Times on Sunday had a frontpage article by Mary Spicuzza that told one and all very explicitly how to break the law. Matter of fact, the story’s tone almost made it sound heroic to commit an unlawful act. Maybe next week the good folks at the St. Pete Times will favor us with a nice story that tells us, step-by-step how to make, say, methamphetamine. This week, however, they were content to tell us how to violate customs and immigration law and, believe it or not, attempted to evoke pity for those who died while violating our country’s laws.

We all know the Times never met a liberal cause it didn’t love, but somehow an American newspaper championing the cause of a group of lawbreakers, U.S. lawbreakers at that seems wrong. Of course, were these the 1930s we’d expect the Times to be championing the cause of the Nazis because they were attempting to overthrow the oppression of the Kaiser, but that’s another topic.

Spicuzza tells the story from the point of view of the Zavaleta family’s women. The men are off jumping the Mexico/U.S. border, an internationally illegal act which she attempts to portray as some sort of heroism. She also tells of one member of the family who died crossing the border illegally. That’s sad, but it’s no more sad than Al Capone being shot dead in a theatre marquee. Criminals sometimes die and most of us think they deserve what they get. After all, there’s not much sympathy for the burglar who is torn apart by the guard dog who is guarding the place the burglar is attempting to burgle, now is there?

Spicuzza tries to justify the illegal border crossings because of economic necessity. She uses an example of the U.S., thanks to NAFTA, flooding the Mexican market with cheap onions, thus putting the Mexican onion farmers out of business. Get real Mary or, better yet, go talk to a Texas farmer about Mexican market flooding.

Of course, we’re taking to task the poor, downtrodden, St. Petersburg Times to make a point: There is no glory in breaking U.S. Immigration law, any more than there is glory in breaking any other of our laws, and that includes the ones against murder, fraud and elderly abuse.

One of the reasons border-jumping is wrong is that it violates our national sovreigenity. It is as if we’re being invaded when, in fact, we are. One of the things the government was worried about during World War II was something called the Fifth Column. It was a buzzword for something worse than spies. It denoted organized groups of foreign elements who actively worked against the U.S. government. In case you haven’t been paying attention, folks, those immigrant marches and protests two weeks ago – that’s your Fifth Column in action in the 21^st Century.

But I digress. Spicuzza’s story leaves us in suspense over the fate of the wayward Mexican border crosser. Did he live? Did he die? Did he fall into the hands of the Evil Empire? Stay tuned.

Arjay

Amigo, you should have figured there was a piper to be paid when you took to the American streets in your thousands to demand your 'rights' as undocumentated, illegal tresspassers into the United States of America.

All those miles you trudged , waving your banners, telling us how much you liked our country while all the while you were propping up the Mexican economy with the dinero you were shipping back home by the bale has come back to bite you in your tight bracero pants.

That's the price you pay for picking poorly your activist roll models. The likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpeton might be overraught in their rhetoric, and they may stand in the head of long columns of loud, uncouth, demonstrators. But there's one little difference: they are here legally

So is it any surprise that the immigration folks, seeing so much prey, flaunting their illegal status so blatently, that those folks with guns and ciffs took some action, albiet late, to round up the lawbreakers who were thumbing their noses, en mass, at the very laws the ICE folks are sworn to uphold.

The rhetoric of Sharpton and Jackson is a monotone.....freedom for the racial dispossed. a call for the black man to take his rightful place, yatta ta yatta. These black dudes display their ignorance. Their constituants aren't the sons and daughters of slaves. There is no historical imperative to give them equal rights with all americans.

No, the new constituency --- mostly mexicans -- are here as economic refugees. Nobody made them come here in shackles Nobody held them in bondage or sold them like wheat or cattle. No, these folks came here to work hard for a while so they could take as much American dinero to their home country where they could live like kings in their depressed econmy. Better yet, while they're here, they bleed this nation with their skyrocketing birth rates and impositions on our public healthcare institutions.

It is indeed time to call a halt on this rape of the nation. These folks need to be rounded up and sent back from whence they came. The plea that no American workers will take their jobs in the fields is nonsense. Yeah, we might get blacks working those fields and then, maybe, just maybe, Messers Sharptopn and Jackson will have a pulpit to pitch from, but not until the current problem of sneakthieves that have invaded our country are sent packing back across the border --- waay back across the boarder.

As for the bleeding heart liberals in Congress who want to mollycoddle them in exchange for their votes --- they can be sent packing too in the mid-term elections.

Finally, if we really want to see what's gone wrong we only have to listen to our president when he rants, "i'm the decider here. I decide what's right and wrong." Are these the words of a dcmocratically elected president or are the those of a misbegotten despot? YOu decide.
Arjay

Chief Barnes, Are You Listening?

A story in Friday’s New York Times has an interesting headline, "Path to Deportation Can Start With a Traffic Stop."

Here’s the URL for the story, so I won’t have to repeat all of it: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/nyregion/14jails.html?hp&ex=1145073600&en=16ab5da5a53003f4&ei=5094&partner=homepage

What it says is, basically, that local police are taking it upon themselves to do the job of the Immigration Service, which admits it’s undermanned and overworked (and what federal agency isn’t?, just ask ‘em.)

The point here is that local cops really are the point men and women when it comes to putting people in jail. John Ashcroft never arrested anyone.

The other point is that the ‘illegal’ in ‘illegal alien’ is just as much an illegal act as any other illegal act, like, say, burglary, fraud or trespass, and the job of a cop is to enforce all the laws, not just some of ‘em.

As it stands now, whenever Chief Barnes, or one of his men stops anyone for anything they ask the dispatcher to check for wants and warrants. How hard, with a little cooperation from the Feds, would it be to check immigration status as well?

The reason the immigration laws worked for so many years was because of fear on the part of New Americans that the knock on the door wouldn’t be the preacher, but the immigration man instead. That fear has gone away mostly because we haven’t enforced the laws and because the present wave of immigration stems from an illegal act itself – scaling a fence that says "Keep Out."

I’m normally a big proponent of curbing police powers, especially when enforced by bumpkins and yahoos who should be behind a plow, but when things get so out of hand that the illegals can and do take to the streets demanding their ‘rights,’ then it’s time to give Billy Bob the hammer.

Arjay

Interesting Times

Here’s the good news: Tallies for the election on Tuesday show the 538 people who bothered to vote really studied the Charter Revision proposals.

Here’s the bad news: The fate of the 7,575 registered voters of Zephyrhills was decided by the 538 people who bothered to go vote.

Here’s the bottom line: Citizens get the government they deserve. If you didn’t vote then don’t think you have a right to complain when the city does things you don’t like.

Now for the painful stuff: I was wrong. I predicted to both Molly Moorhead of the St. Petersburg Times and Nicola White of the Tampa Tribune that due to the length and complexity of the Charter revision questions the electorate would simply vote NO on everything because that’s what people do when they don’t understand things.

You, the voters, surprised me. When I was in my polling place there were two men, both of an age, huddled over a voting machine to my left. One was voting, one was helping. The helper read the question then explained it. He explained it so well I felt ashamed of the cheat sheet I had prepared and which I consulted as I filled in the yeas and nays.

The numbers tallied speak to exactly that. On Question #1, dealing with the Preamble showed 346 yeas and 155 nays with 37 voters not voting on that question. It’s that last number that tells the tale. Only 37 folks were confused enough not to have an opinion. In election parlance those non-voting electors are called ‘undervotes,’ but we know what it means. If there were widespread confusion we’d expect the undervote numbers to be substantial. They weren’t. Thirty seven was the highest, 15 the lowest. Overall, all of the Charter revisions passed, thus making my predictions to the two reporters worth exactly what they paid for them – nothing.

Voters returned Celia Graham to Council in the only contested race. They did it by giving her exactly 100 more votes than they gave her the last time she ran – unsuccessfully against Dan Burgess.

It’s hard to say what the new Council lineup will do, but as the ancient Chinese curse reminds us, "may you live in interesting times."

Arjay

They Have Rights Back Home

The New York Times, in a Page 1 article wrote,

"In rallies that appeared to be exceeding the expectations of organizers and the police, hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their supporters marched today in more than 100 cities throughout the country, casting off the old fears of their illegal status to assert that they have a right to a humane life in this country."

I beg to disagree.

Illegal immigrants to the United States have a right to a humane life in their own country. They have no rights in the country they, admittedly, have entered illegally. The only right they have here is to be deported.

Imagine this, if you will. You, an American citizen, slipped into Germany with no visa, no papers, no nothing. You stand at the Brandenburg Gate beating your chest and demanding your rights as an illegal entrant into Germany.

How long do you think it would take before you were in a jail cell?

How much longer before you were on your way back home?

Is America crazy, or what?

During these huge rallies were are the Immigration and Naturalization officers? Seems to me the pickings would be pretty good, or maybe these officers are sworn only to enforce some of the immigration laws.

I repeat. Is America crazy, or what?

Stay tuned for the next episode of Immigration Loony Tunes.

Arjay

They Would Be Shocked

Seldom do I write notes to my congressperson, in this case Ginny Brown-Waite. Usually my Congress notes go to a prep school classmate who, somehow, got elected to Congress years ago and has made a career of it.

However, and, yes, dear reader, there is always a 'however,' the recent nonsense about illegal immigrants and their 'rights' prompted me to pen a little screed to Rep. Brown-Waite. It's a little tale about my great grandparents' immigration and I'd like to share it with you.

RE: Immigration debate

When my great grandparents, all four of them, came to this country from Wales they didn't try to sneak across the border. They were upright and straightforward and they did what the immigration laws required. It would have never crossed their minds to do less than what was required of them to comply with the laws that governed them as immigrants. They did everything this country required of them and became productive, law abiding citizens.

It is with this family background that I have to question the current immigration debate. I wonder if we're living in some strange parallel universe when folks who admit to blatently breaking our immigration laws stand before the TV cameras and demand their 'rights' as Americans. As I see it, if we are a nation of laws, then the debate can only begin when those laws are complied with. That means the illegal immigrants need to go back home, wherever that may be, and begin the process anew; just like my great grandparents did.

There may be some merit to the argument that the illegals are doing jobs no American will do. In the case of my family the job opportunities were in and around the anthracite coal mines of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Yes, these were the jobs the Welsh immigrants did, but they didn't use the argument that they were doing dangerous, hard, dirty work as justification for violating the law.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo seems to be speaking out on the immigration issue and he seems to be making sense -- obey the law, and if you're here illegally you need to go back where you came from.
I'm sure if my great grandparents were still here they would be shocked that any group, immigrant, ethnic or racial would dare make the argument of descrimination if they were first and foremost lawbreakers.

Sincerely,
Arjay Morgan

New Steps

Two years ago Gina King and I ran side-by-side for separate seats on the Zephyrhills City Council. We did the things campaigners do: We visited the city’s sewer plant, we spoke at candidate’s nights, we shook hands at the (then) city’s single polling place, Alice Hall. In the end Gina won, I lost, but not by much. We both had visions of bringing a little more light, a little more common sense, a little more class to city government.

Now, on the eve of a new election season we both realize that those modest aims are more difficult to accomplish than either of us would have dreamed. The entrenched power structure of the city; the embedded self-interested folks and worst of all, the appalling apathy of the citizenry just can’t be changed by the few who truly care about the direction the city is traveling.

Gina did her stint on Council and did, indeed, bring to light some of the more egregious goings-on. The under-the-table deal that pay favored councilperson’s health insurance to the tune of sometimes double their ‘honorarium.’ The sneaky renaming of 6^th Ave. despite a city ordinance that spelled out how such renamings should be done. The wholesale annexation of developments without determining whether the city’s resources could service them The amazing loss of a half-million dollars from the city’s coffers. These, and more, were the kinds of things that popped out when she began to kick over the anthill that is City Hall. But Gina’s was only one voice.

Now, it appears, she is not going to run to reclaim her seat. And more’s the pity.

What we want to point out as forcefully as the written word will allow, is that until the citizens of this town rise up and demand to be heard there will be no change in how things are done around here. The good-ol’-boy network, the government-by-pals, the waste and inefficiency will continue. The only time there is even a hint of life from you, the voters, is when you perceive a threat to your own self interests – a development that might invade your privacy, a potential that a new development might flood your yard or home. Then, and only then, do you stir yourself to voice your sentiments. That, my friends, is disgusting.

Arjay Morgan

Aaah, Some Sense Here

The Zephyrhills City Council faced a difficult choice: cherry pick a juicy tidbit from the Charter Revision Committee's offerings, or do the right thing.

It took some doing and some cogitating, but eventually Clyde Bracknell, the longest-serving councilperson did the right thing.

We speak of the reform that would have restructured council and the terms of office of the councilpersons.

The intent of the Revision Committee was to present the voters with a package that would have reduced Council by one seat; given the mayor a real seat and a real vote, and increased the terms by a year. It was feared that when the package went to Council the councilpersons would simply cherry-pick by submitting the longer terms (3 years instead of 2) to the voters and let the rest of the package die.

That's exactly what they did. Voting your own self interest is an easy thing to do.

Then the flack began.

Councilperson Gina King got together her own set of Citizen Initiatives, but since council had dragged its feet for so long she only had two weeks to get the requisite signatures. To no one's suprise the test wasn't met.

Then, Monday night, Bracknell moved to strike the increased terms. His motion passed. So, councilmemebers will continue to serve two year terms, the voters don't get to voice their choice and the original package, which was a major restructuring of the makeup of council died a'borning.

The Mayor, Cliff McDuffie, brought up a major point. He wondered how to educate the voters on the charter revisions which will be on the ballot. To be honest, with the legalese that will be on the ballot it would take a Philadelphia lawyer to understand what it's all about. And, voters being voters, they will tend to vote against anything they don't understand.

Voter education was a concern of the study committee and the members, more or less, signed on to do some explaining, but that was before Council had its way with the proposed charter document. As a member of the Committee I was willing to support the document we produced. I'm not so sure I support the folded and spindled document Council turned out. It doesn't look a whole lot like what the Committee labored to produce.

We'll see.

Arjay Morgan

Political Weasel Words

If you want a straight answer to a question here are two folks you don’t want to ask: lawyers and politicians. Here’s proof of the latter.

We just wanted to know if a group of like-minded individuals could run as a "ticket" in the non-partisan Zephyrhills municipal election.

We asked the City Clerk, Linda Boan, and she opined that there was nothing in the City Charter to prevent it. Just to be on the safe side we wrote a letter to the county’s Supervisor of Elections.

Here’s that letter:

January 29, 2006

Hon. Kurt S. Browning

Supervisor of Elections

West Pasco Government Center

7530 Little Rd, Suite 110

New Port Richey, FL 34654

Dear Mr. Browning:

If possible, I would like a written opinion from you regarding formation of a ‘ticket’ of candidates for the upcoming City Council election in Zephyrhills.

I have spoken with Linda Boan, the City Clerk, and she can find no prohibition in the City Charter. I have spoken with Trish in your Dade City office and she was going to get back to me if she could find a prohibition in the State Statutes. She hasn’t called.

The proposal is simply this:

There are three Council seats open this election. The idea is to field three candidates who would campaign and advertise their candidacy as a group – say Three Good Men for City Council. However, for election purposes they would each be running as a nonpartisan individual with separate organizations, treasurers, etc. The only difference would be that the three would band together to purchase advertising materials in the name of the group, but would simply split the expense three ways and report the expenditure on their individual expense reports.

In no way would their mutual candidacy be considered a political party, it would just be an association for a single election. The voters would still have to cast their ballots for the individuals since that is how they would have to appear on Election Day.

Since time is of the essence in this election season, I would appreciate a timely reply since it would make no sense to move this idea forward if somehow it was not permissible.

Sincerely,

Rj Morgan

Here’s Browning’s reply

February 6, 2006

Pursuant to your letter dated January 29, 2006, please be advised that I do not have the authority, under Florida Statutes, to issue written advisory opinions regarding election law. Legal opinions may only be provided by the Attorney General of Florida or the Secretary of State through the Division of Elections.

However, I would remind you that candidates are treated independently from one another except when the statutes specifically states (sic) that they run as a "ticket." This would included (sic) the office of President of the United States and Governor of the State of Florida.

I wish I could give you a more definite response but I am unable to do so.

/s/ Browning

xc: Linda Boan

Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. Fact is, if we wait for an answer from either the state Attorney General or the Secretary of State the election will be over. Watch your local political signboards for developments.

Arjay Morgan

Let's Take Over the City

I can safely write this because, according to the built-in counter, nobody reads this blog anyway.

That means I can say things here that I wouldn’t say in, uh, public.

I could, for instance, muse about the upcoming vacancies on the Zephyrhills City Council. Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s muse.

The scorecard at this moment shows Council’s Fearless Leaderette, Cathi Compton, making good on her plans to run for the County School Board. To do that she has to resign her City Council presidency before beginning her school board run. Ever dutiful she has already given the city her resignation, effective right after April’s Municipal Election. That’s one seat up for grabs, although her lawyer husband is rumored to be thinking of running. He already dipped his toes into the political waters by serving on the Charter Study Committee, along with this writer and a bunch of others. Our suspicion is that now that he’s seen Council gut his work he’ll either see the light and run from elected city office, or he’ll become filled with a reformer’s zeal and will run for city office.

Next batter up is Liz Geiger. After she beat me last election by one – yes one – vote she pronounced she wouldn’t seek another term. This, of course, is coming from Liz who has been on Council for 14 years. That easily qualifies her as a politician and we all know what happens when politicians move their lips.

I’ve been asked at least twice if I’ll consider running again. My unqualified answer has been ‘NO,’ but then, I’ve run for office once so that qualifies me to be called a politician, and we all know what happens when politicians move their lips. Seriously, the only way I’d run would be if Liz asked me to, and if she’d promise to deliver at least two votes.

Third up is Gina King. Why is it the good die young? The blonde crusader is the best thing to come to city government in decades, but she can’t live on the $4,800 Council stipend and her bosses at Verizon are thinking of promoting her to a job that will put her on the road. One thing Gina knows is that you can’t govern Z’hills from afar. Of course the stress of dealing with the generally wrongheaded City administration and her equally wrongheaded fellow councilpersons is taking its toll. Add it all up and Gina may be moving on, at least she’s not taken out her re-election papers, and may not.

That means potentially three seats on the five-seat Council can be up for grabs in the next election. That, folks, is a majority. A majority.

Now here’s a novel idea. Yes, the Council election is non-partisan, but nothing prevents three like-minded souls from joining together to run as a ticket. Imagine that; three folks in Zephyrhills who agree on the direction the city should take, who can write a platform, run, get elected and TAKE OVER THE CITY.

Arjay

Implosion? Wingnut? Where do they find 'em?

Tom Jackson printed a column in Mother Trib this week that calls one city councilperson a 'wingnut' for her plans to put critical city governance issues before the voters, since the City Council won't. He says these modest proposals put the city of Zepherhills on his list of cities most likely to implode in the coming year. If casting out the rascals and revamping city goverment in a rational fashion is what prompts implosion, let me have a dose of one of those them, that, implosion cocktails. As for the 'wingnut' reference, I find wingnuts to be among the most user friendly members of the hardware family.

Full disclosure here: I was a member of the Charter Study Committee which came up with some of the radical ideas that City Council rejected -- Radical things like term limits (old time pols hate term limits -- are you listening Liz and Clyde?) Radical things like giving Council realistic tools to hire and fire key emloyees like the City Manager. Radical ideas like an article that makes the city provide locally-manned police and fire protection. Some of those ideas were hijacked during the Charter Study Commission's studies, others were hijacked when Council went after the recommendations with a meat axe.

If Councilperson Gina King, the aforementioned 'wingnut' and 'neutron bomb trigger' of Mr. Jackson's column, hadn't come forth with the idea of a citizen's referendum I would have.

Under state law we have to get 725 signatures just to get the questions on the ballot. We plan to get 800 -- that's 126 more people than those who chose to vote at the last municipal election. So, doing the math if every signer voted, the citizen referenda would win in a landslide.

Now, Mr. Jackson might call that an 'implosion' we call it a mandate.

In the meantime, keep your eye out for the petitions to sign. Better yet call Gina at 788-0090 and volunteer to get signatures in your neighborhood or stroll down to L.G. Hood's lawnmower shop and put your John Henry on one of the petitions he has there. Time is of the essence here folks, so do what's right, guarantee at the very least your right to vote on your future, not the Pablum City Council thinks you should vote on.

Arjay