Thursday, December 8

Binding or Non-binding Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. Even though the voters rejected the wheel taxes by a binding referendum, the result were not respected.

The key word here is "Binding". This means that the government is legally obligated to abide by the results of the referendums –– whether it wants to or not. The word "binding" means that what the people say is "binding" ... ON THE GOVERNMENT.

Are there provisions in the statutes for the local legislative body to override the binding referendum? NO!!!!

After citizens in a county election voted down a proposed wheel tax in Hardin County, the County Commission, in direct violation of Article I of the Constitution, unilaterally set aside the election results and passed another resolution for the wheel tax increase again, without a referendum.

Once the people says you can’t do it, the county cannot say, yes we can. The binding referendum passage denied the local legislature the authority to levy the tax.

Regardless of what the politicians and the bureaucrats want, if the people vote for or against it, it becomes the law of the land. The final power is with the people. They are higher than any branch of government.

Perceived Flaw of the Referendum

A perceived flaw of the referendum process is that in some circumstances the democratic spirit of the referendum may be flouted by the repeated submission to the referendum of a proposal until it is eventually endorsed, perhaps due to a low turn-out or public fatigue with the issue.

This is especially a problem where a proposal may be difficult to reverse, as in a tax increase. The repeated holding of a referendum on a single issue has been pejoratively referred to as the phenomenon of the "never-end-um".

How Did We Let this Happen

Governments have become increasingly less responsive to our legitimate needs and wishes, and more inclined toward high-handed, oppressive control. Our vaunted system of "representative democracy" has failed to guarantee the well-being or respect of the people. Instead it has become the servant of the "special interest" groups, the result being increased profits for them, but increased social problems for us.

How did we let this happen? For one thing, we stopped thinking of ourselves as citizens, and co-creators of public policy, and instead became consumers, happily leaving the big decisions for governments to sort out, while we all went shopping. Slowly, as we settled into denial, becoming used to the perks, raises and rewards we got for being good little cogs in the big machine, by the very system that was buying us off so effectively.

We fell asleep at the wheel, forgetting what real democracy was, happily buying the Big Lie that this IS democracy, when in fact it is only a pale imitation. Year after year, government after government, betrayal after betrayal, one stupid decision after another, we heard the same story: that if we don’t like it, we can vote for the "opposition" next time around. That was our "democratic" chance to correct the noxious blunders of the previous government. Unfortunately it never really worked out that way.

Most politicians pay lip service to the "idea" of democracy, but when it comes down to the crunch, most of them just follow the party executive, and a small group of non-elected people and corporate lobbyists who shape policy.

Those who consider themselves "in power" usually hate real democracy because that means actually sharing "their" power with the people. All too often they fail to realize that it’s the people who pay their salaries, and for whom they are supposed to be working. And since "power" and not "justice" or "doing the right thing" is the name of the game, they naturally tend to crave that power, and then hoard it.

Along the way our political masters (and their tame pundits,) tend to twist logic, common sense and indeed the English language into contortions worthy of a Lewis Carroll novel.

First they contend that despite the evidence to the contrary, our current system of "representative democracy" is in fact "democracy". Then, when pressed to explain how it can possibly be the real thing, when "democracy" means the rule of the people, they then argue that if it isn’t really the real thing, then it is as near to the ideal as we can possibly get. End of story.

It may be distressing for some to ponder, but real power in this county rests with the executive branch, and to the elites to whom they, in turn, answer. It does not rest with the people. If it did, then how does one explain the systematic betrayal of the authentic, expressed wishes of the majority of the people? Face it. We live in an elected dictatorship.

The fact is that in the 21st century "representative democracy" is an oxymoron –– a contradiction in terms. Democracy means that the people get to rule themselves, make their own laws. Pure and simple.

Can We "The People" Really Be Trusted?

People in general think of "themselves" as trustworthy, able to think things through and discuss things rationally.

It’s just the "other people" who we’re not so sure of, never ourselves.. However, everyone is the "other people" to someone else. People who find themselves high up on the power pyramid like to make everyone else believe that only they –– "the experts" –– can be trusted, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

But we have reached the stage where after decades of betrayal by the elite, people are finally realizing how they have been unscrupulously manipulated and coerced. We are finally waking up to how badly run "the system" really is, and how seriously unbalanced and destructive it has become.

And as we begin to awaken we also begin to trust our own better judgment, our logic, and our common sense. Indeed, history has shown that we, the people, most certainly can be trusted to make the right political and economic decisions –– when given all the facts and the arguments in a free and open debate.

Can the people be "bought off" by big money and the advertising it can buy? A careful reading of past referendums shows that "big money" has more influence in "representative democracies" than it does in binding citizens’ initiated referendums. We are learning that it is the politicians who cannot be trusted to make the right decisions for the people, preferring as they often do to cater to special interests who not only "own" the party in power, but the "loyal opposition" as well.

When we are told by those who hate the idea of real democracy that we can’t be trusted to make the "correct" political decisions, what they mean is that we can’t be trusted to make the same decisions that they would make.

Can the people make a mistake, a wrong decision in a Binding Referendum? Of course we can. However, even if sometimes we make mistakes, they are certainly no worse than the mistakes made by our so-called "representatives".

Definitions

A de facto government is defined internationally (for instance by the World Bank) as a government that has taken power in the absence of, or in disregard to, a constitution approved by a vote of the people
A constitution is properly defined as a Charter of Government Deriving its Whole Authority from the Governed. (Blacks Law Dictionary, 6th Ed)

Thursday, November 24

The Delaney Letter, Part II

Our Readers Write
Personal Opinions
November 24, 2005

We stand by our statements of Nov. 17 in Our Readers Write. At no time did we state, infer or otherwise mention Ted Cook, except to note him as the one heading the petition and the one to contact if you wanted your name removed.

Anyone who attempts to apply the letter to Mr. Cook has no reason to do so, including Mr. Cook. We apologize if anyone assumed otherwise.

Steve Delaney
Phillips Drive
Savannah

We stand by our statements of Nov. 17 in Our Readers Write.

That would be that Cook mislead Delaney, et. al., by telling specific untruths that led to Delaney and others to opposing the wheel tax in 2004 and warned others to not let Cook mislead them to oppose the wheel tax in 2005. Oops, Delaney didn’t oppose the wheel tax in 2004, he didn’t sign the petition and, in fact, supported the wheel tax in 2004 and 2005.

So be it, stand right there. If, in fact, Steve is the author of the letter, why does he speak in the plural with things like, we stand and our statements, instead of I stand and my statements? Who else is Steve speaking for? Who are the real authors of the letters?

At no time did we state, infer or otherwise mention Ted Cook,

Who were you talking about? Here’s your sign. The law has been relaxed to allow the plaintiff to merely allege the gist of the defamatory communication. Tenn. R. Civ. P. Rule 8.01; Handley v. May, 588 S.W.2d 772, 774 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1979). That would be, Cook lied to us, don’t let him do it to you.

Let’s consider whether the Letter was defamatory. The question of whether the Letter was understood by its readers as defamatory is a question for the jury, but the preliminary determination of whether the Letter is capable of being so understood is a question of law to be determined by the court. Cook has concluded it is defamatory and knowingly false.

It don’t matter what Delaney intended or thought with his innuendos, what matters is what a reader of the letter thought the innuendo was. Let’s see, if one were to ask, if you talk about the wheel tax issue and ‘one individual in particular’ at the same time, who do you think the majority of folks in this part of the country would probably think you are talking about? Especially in the Courier’s Readers Write section. Duh!

The letter is libelous, it constitute a threat to Cook's reputation. The words can reasonably be construed as holding Cook up to public hatred, contempt or ridicule. They carry with them an element of disgrace.

Trial courts are permitted to determine that a statement is not defamatory as a matter of law only when it can say that the statement is not reasonably capable of any defamatory meaning and cannot be reasonably understood in any defamatory sense. Gonna be hard to get past that.

Trial courts in defamation proceedings possess one additional adjudicatory prerogative that they do not possess in other civil cases. They have the independent authority to determine, based on all the facts, (a) whether the communication at issue is reasonably capable of conveying the particular meaning or innuendo ascribed to it by the plaintiff and (b) whether that meaning is defamatory in character.

If the letter is not reasonably capable of conveying the particular innuendo, why write this letter of apology? The disclaimer should have been in the first latter.

except to note him as the one heading the petition and the one to contact if you wanted your name removed.

No way to connect Cook to that ‘one particular person’ just because Delaney noted Cook ‘as the one heading the petition and the one to contact?’ Right!

Anyone who attempts to apply the letter to Mr. Cook has no reason to do so, including Mr. Cook.

innuendo - n. In law it means "an indirect hint." "Innuendo" is used in lawsuits for defamation , usually to show that the party suing was the person about whom the nasty statements were made or why the comments were defamatory.

Cook has good reason to do so, Cook knows at least the next leg of the truth behind the letter.

We apologize if anyone assumed otherwise.

How does one apologize to anyone for contributing to a wrong assumption, when the assumption your are apologizing for is the assumption you wanted them to assume?

Respectfully submitted for your consideration.

Ted

Wednesday, November 23

Here is a bit of Hardin County triva.

HISTORY - $28 wheel tax increase as proposed by Resolution No. 08-2004-137 and adopted by the Hardin County Commission on August 16, 2004.

Rhetoric - We have only two choices, this wheel tax increase or a property tax increase and we can't do the property tax thing until next year and we need to fund the jail project, right now and wheel tax is our only available funding source.

November 2004, 55% to 45%, the majority of the voters said no to the wheel tax increase to fund the construction of a new jail. Seems to me that means the voters accepted the risk of a property tax increase as an alternative.

TODAY - $36 wheel tax increase as proposed by Resolution No. 10-2005-176 and adopted by the Hardin County Commission on October 17, 2005.

Rhetoric - We didn’t do the property tax thing when we had the chance because we were in a state of flux with this lawsuit thing and it’s too late to do it now. It would be next year before we can do a property tax increase and the funds won’t start coming in until October 2007.

We’re ready now and we must build a jail complex, right away. What they don’t say is that they want to fund the expense of the jail lawsuit and everything else relating to the jail problem, as soon as possible, even though there is over $3 million in general fund balance.

Our only other choice to fund the $9.3 million dollar project, is the wheel tax and it has already cost over one million dollars in construction costs because of the delay caused by the voters, by vetoing this same funding resolution last year. If we don’t do it right now the costs will continue to go up, don’t veto this one.

THE FUTURE - Question: How can the county legislature body take it upon itself to pass and try to enforce virtually the same resolution, except that is ignorant of the results of the citizens vote, less that a year ago?

What prevents a county legislature from over-riding the vote of the citizens, over and over until the voters say, why bother. Going up on the rate each time as punishment for vetoing their resolutions, over and over again. When does it end?

I say, the only thing that can over-ride the lawful vote of the citizenry, is another vote of the citizens.

Have I missed something here?

Ted
NEED SOME HELP WITH DEMOCRACY IN HARDIN COUNTY, TENNESSEE

Simple Story - In late 2004, Local government wants and needs money, want to float some Capital Improvement Bonds to build a new Jail/Sheriff’s Department complex.

The question - How to pay for it!
Options - A regressive Vehicle Privilege Tax (a.k.a. Wheel Tax) increase or a proportional Property Tax increase.
Choice - Regressive Wheel Tax

The Question - How to pass the resolution authorizing the Increase in Wheel Tax?
Options - Two-Thirds majority at two consecutive meetings or voter approval.
Choice - Two-Thirds majority at two consecutive meetings.

The Question - Can the resolution be vetoed by the voters?
Option - Petition for referendum by 10% of last governors election voters.
Choice - Let’s Vote - Results - 55% vs 45% - November 2004 - NO wheel tax to construct the jail. Resolution vetoed by voters.

The Question - Can the will of the majority of the voters be overridden or ignored?
Option - Pass another resolution in October 2005 with no substantive change other than the dollar amount.
Choice - Override and Ignore the vote on the core issues and pass another resolution with 19-1 vote.

The Question - What to do about it after a second petition failed to get the required signatures due primarily to all out intimidation of the voters by the plantation overlords?
Option - File suite in court to challenge the resolution as violating the sovereignty of the vote by the people under Art. I, Section 1, State Constitution.
Option - Tell Bill O’Reilly and outside media and beg for a spotlight to shine on Democracy in Hardin County, Tennessee.
Choice - Both Options. Results - The will of the voters, once established by an actual vote, will not be violated or ignored in this Country, State or County!!!

While were spreading Democracy and respect for the vote of the people around the world, let's see a little bit of it here in Hardin County, Tennessee.

Thanks for your time. Respectfully submitted for your consideration.


Ted G. Cook
470 Hard Rock Road
Savannah, TN 38372

The Delaney Letter

Were There Reasonable Grounds for Believing
That the Statements in the Letter Were True?

Was There a High Degree of Awareness of Their Probable Falsity?

Did the Publisher In Fact
Entertained Serious Doubts as to the Truth of His Publications?
The Letter

We have learned a great deal more this time around what the true facts really are regarding the need for a jail and a wheel tax.
We were misled by one individual in particular regarding the facts the last time. Who Else But Cook?
We were told a lawsuit would not be filed. - Not Cook’s documented position
We were told that voting down the wheel tax would not cost the county any money. Not Cook’s documented position
We were told that the jail could be built without more taxes. Not Cook’s documented position
We were told a lot of ‘stuff’ that turned out to be untrue. Like what?
We even heard there were individuals who believe their names were signed for them on the last petition. Who knows; you tend to hear everything these days.
But we’ve heard enough now to realize we were misled last time and we weren’t the only ones. This Dude actively supported and Voted FOR the wheel tax, Cook opposed the wheel tax. Who else was misled?
You won’t see our names on the wheel tax petition. Who is 'our' because Delaney's wasn’t there the last time, either.
We encourage others who were misled or misunderstood before to not sign either. Who might that be?
And, if you have already signed and wished you didn’t contact Mr. Cook and insist your name is removed. Would that be that 'one individual in particular' person?
Let’s not be fooled this time. Cook fooled Delaney last time?
-end of letter-

Ostensible Factual Summary -
We were misled last time and we weren’t the only ones.
We were mislead by one individual in particular regarding the facts.
One can not trust Cook, he will mislead you with false statements like he did us and others.
We were told, by Cook, a lot of ‘stuff’ that turned out to be untrue.

The Case


The free communication of thoughts and opinions, is one of the invaluable rights of man and every citizen may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.


Did the writer intended to provoke to wrath of Cook, or expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule, or to deprive him of the benefits of public confidence and social intercourse with the defamatory matter published in The Courier, on the 17th day of November 17, 2005?


The First and Fourteenth Amendments embody profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government, public officials and public figures. But not with actual malice. You Can’t Just Make It Up And Publish Lies!! Duh!


Actual malice exists when a statement is made with knowledge that the statement is false, or with reckless disregard of whether it is false and made with 'actual malice' -- that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. If a person receives a letter containing libelous matter, he will not be justified in publishing it. However, there are broad protection for misstatements about public figures that are not animated by malice.


Excerpts from U.S. Supreme Court Cases on Defamation.


Although honest utterance, even if inaccurate, may further the fruitful exercise of the right of free speech, it does not follow that the lie, knowingly and deliberately published about a public person, should enjoy a like immunity. At the time the First Amendment was adopted, as today, there were those unscrupulous enough and skillful enough to use the deliberate or reckless falsehood as an effective political tool to unseat the public servant, smear a public figure or even to topple an administration.


That speech is used as a tool for political ends does not automatically bring it under the protective mantle of the Constitution. For the use of the known lie as a tool is at once at odds with the premises of democratic government and with the orderly manner in which economic, social, or political change is to be effected. Calculated falsehood falls into that class of utterances which 'are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality. . . .' Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568, 572.


Hence the knowingly false statement and the false statement made with reckless disregard of the truth, do not enjoy constitutional protection. Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 75 (1964).


The legitimate state interest underlying the law of libel is the compensation of individuals for the harm inflicted on them by defamatory falsehood. We would not lightly require the State to abandon this purpose, the individual's right to the protection of his own good name reflects no more than our basic concept of the essential dignity and worth of every human being a concept at the root of any decent system of ordered liberty.


The protection of private personality, like the protection of life itself, is left primarily to the individual States under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. But this does not mean that the right is entitled to any less recognition by this Court as a basic of our constitutional system." Rosenblatt v. Baer, 383 U.S. 75, 92 (1966) (concurring opinion).

The Program
I choose to exercise my right to protect my own good name.
That’s All I Have Left. I’ve Earned It The Hard Way, Thank you very much.

Tuesday, November 8

American Are Dying,

Defending Our Right to Vote

Let’s Not Let Them Down

Sign the Petition - Let’s Vote

Don’t Let Jeff Sparks, the Landlords, the Preachers, the Car Dealers, our County Commission or Anyone Else Talk You Out of Exercising Your Right to Vote

We’ve Already Earned it!

Sign the Petition - Get It In

Let’s Vote

Sunday, November 6

The Natural Way To Fund Our Operating Obligations

When will we accept the natural way to fund our operating obligations — property taxes that are enough to do the job. We now have to pay for the foolish decisions and procrastination of our county government in the past or even today.

The public needs to understand, that the taxes well-off people aren’t paying translate directly into a combination of higher taxes and reduced public services for the vast majority of Hardin County citizens.

County officials could have engendered more support by being up-front. Critics can chastise commissioners for failing to include the public in the decision-making process, in their rush to solve the jail crowding crisis. They deserve any criticism thrown their direction. This is a message that should resonated well with the voting public.

Any reassurance that community leaders are accurately representing the needs and interests of their constituents, has been total lip service.

Why do they do things in secret and wait until it's all done to tell us? They decide, and then they tell people what they're going to get stuck with. This doesn’t send a clear message to community stakeholders that their opinions matter.

Jail opponents can accused the jail planners of concentrating too much on bricks and jail bars and not enough on treatment and prevention programs to keep criminals from re-offending and re-entering the criminal justice system.

The guiding philosophy in criminal justice is to change the lifestyles and behaviors that lead to crime, resulting in fewer arrests, a reduced need for jail beds and a savings to taxpayers. This is a message that has resonated well with the voting public.

Tennessee’s tax system is the third most regressive in the entire Country, requiring low- and middle-income families to pay more of their income in tax than wealthier Tennesseans. In Hardin County it is about 4 times more for the low income families.

I think we can do better and I had rather not force my grandsons and their children to have to pay for the foolish decisions and procrastination of our county government.

Can't you just see, back some time ago in a smoke filled room somewhere in the past it has been decided - Since we own most of the property in Hardin County, we’ll keep the property taxes artificially low and soak the poor folks with sales tax, wheel tax, litigation tax and any other kind of regressive taxes, fees or charges we can, to operate on.

When we get the land prices where we want them and after we have sold all of the land we want to sell, when we get a lot of folks moved here because of our artificially low property taxes, we’ll increase the property taxes and catch up on repairing/replacing our infrastructure that won’t be able to maintain with no more taxes the low taxes will generate or for lack of funds.

Respectfully Submitted
The Landlords, The Ministers and The Car Dealers

Well now, there are some interesting observation to be made about the letters from the landlords, the ministers, the car dealers and 17 of the commissioners, with the mayor, in a recent Readers Write section in The Courier.

These folks’ letters and Mr. Johnny Bellis’ pretty ads attempt to debate the pros and cons of the wheel tax issue, I think.
At the same time they tell the citizens to not participate in the petition drive that would lead to a much needed debate of the whole jail problem solution, not just how to pay for it. The rational seem to be that if enough of the citizens do sign the petition, they will have to arrange for the citizens to vote and somehow that would not be a good thing because we don't have the time to mess with it.

They would have us believe that if they have to take the time for the citizens to express their wishes, again, the sky is going to fall in and we are really going to be in bad shape, then. Yah, Right. I believe that is the same rhetoric that was put out the last time this issue came up.

If the citizens exercise their constitutional right to vote, the voters may will veto the wheel tax, again. That might mean a property tax increase or, even worse, it might just require a real attempt to minimize the total cost of this project to the taxpayers, by thinking outside the box to plan solutions that will meet our needs for at least the next 15 to 20 years.

In reality, it needs to be pointed out that the only real issue we are facing today is whether or not there are enough concerned citizens with enough courage to step up and sign a petition. Some folks have refused to step up because of their concern that somehow the public record of them exercising their God given right to participate, could come back to haunt them someday.

The penalty of course would surely be some sort of retaliation from the Plantation’s Overlords for us sharecroppers going against their wishes.

The question is - Do at least 750 voters want to exercise their right to vote on the actions of our County Commission in raising our taxes or should we accept their actions on the face value of truth and wisdom.

You often hear the question, "Who’s looking after the minority?" In Hardin County the question is screaming, "Who’s looking after the majority?" It sure as heck is not our elected officials, not the landlords, not the car salesmen and as bad as I hate to say it, not the preachers.

The preachers ask "the citizens to support our elected officials as they make the tough decision of leadership for which they were elected." Yah Right. How can one support someone when they make the tough decision of leadership that they WERE NOT elected to make.

The citizens of Hardin County, in a duly called and held election, under the laws of the State of Tennessee, voted by a majority, in the privacy of the voting booth, not to increase the wheel tax to fund ‘the Jail Project.’

While it is true that the County Commissioners were elected to make tough decisions, the laws of the State of Tennessee give the voters a right to veto that decision, when it applies to local tax non-property increases, if a majority of the voters think they made that tough decision, wrong. This is called checks and balances. Duh! What a concept for Hardin County go get use to.

I wonder what part of that concept the Hardin County Ministerial Association do not understand. If one has any understanding of our form of government, one would know that our elected officials do not have veto rights on the citizen's vote. Not in a democracy.

Let’s try to remember that at one time I was ‘a preacher’s kid’ and the best I remember the notion on fair taxation is - A fair tax system asks citizens to contribute to the cost of government services based on their ability to pay.

This is a venerable idea, as old as the biblical notion that a few pennies from a poor woman’s purse cost her more than many pieces of gold from a rich man’s hoard. As someone once told my dad, there are times when preachers quit preaching and start meddling.

This debate is between the citizens and their elected officials. One could make the assumption that the registered voters also represent a cross-section of the folks that make up these folks congregations. With that thought in mind, if 55% of the flock do not want the wheel tax, just who are these folks representing and speaking for?

As far as the wheel tax issue is concerned, we have been there, done that. Let’s get about doing it different. That was the vote of the majority of the voters in Hardin County and one must remember that the citizens of the county are sovereign, and our county government's legitimacy flows from them.

These folks were elected to represent the citizens, within the limits of the County Charter and the Tennessee Constitution. Even if the state left the loophole in the statutes, I don’t believe they were elected to thumb their noses at the expressed wishes of the majority of the citizens. That action defies the concept of representative democracy or the majority rules concept, but clearly represents the concept of an aristocracy, controlled by a noble or privileged class.

It’s like these folks are telling us "excuse me, you poor forks, even if you are the majority, you have to listen to us because we know what you really want to do, even if you don’t.

The Unites States of America is a Federal Republic. Federal, state and local governments choose their officials based on the popular vote. This is commonly referred to as "representative democracy," and assumes voters choose candidates who represent their views.

Over the years their has been some divisive attitudes developed in Hardin County that keep the County pulled in different direction, to this day.
There is the ‘this or that side of the river’ thing, the ‘Savannah vs Hardin County’ thing and the ‘Savannah/Hardin County vs Pickwick/Counce/ Hardin County’ thing.

But, worst of all is the ever present ‘have and have nots’ attitude. Or as I like to call it, the ‘I got mine, to hell with you, Hardin County elitists attitude.’ Over the years this attitude had gone underground to the general population but it is in times like this that it is quite visible, even to folks who don’t really want to see it.

Our community leaders are constantly challenging the citizens to get involved and to participate in their schools, their community affairs and in their government, so they can trust the decisions made on the citizens behalf. Yet when one of the few opportunities under Tennessee law come along for them to do that very thing, we are told to not do it. What’s going on there?

Does that trust thing apply to an obvious breach of trust by those folks who are asking the citizens to blindly follow them, without questions or comments. Even though they are brazen enough to tell the a citizens they voted wrong.

I would submit that the citizens were not wrong in the last election when they vetoed the wheel tax, but they appear to have been wrong the election before last when they elected this group of commissioners and this mayor, if the voters had any expectation of representative democracy.

I don’t mind debating these folks in an open forum in order for the citizens to familiarize themselves with both sides of the debate. In reality, signing the petition says, ‘we want to hear the debates.’ What’s wrong with that?

Did you notice that the landlord’s think that "Hardin County currently enjoys relatively reasonable rental rates" and if the property taxes were increases they would be required to raise the rents. They make the point that ‘most people rental rates rise in increments of $5.00 per month . . . .’

Excuuuuse me. In order to justify a $60.00 annual increase in rents and attribute it to a .24 mill increase for the jail project, you would be renting a $100,000 per unit appraised market value. Yah right, they would just have to get a little more from those non-property owners.

Signing the petition does not overturn the wheel tax, it puts it on hold. The decision to overturn the tax, will be made by the voters. The Petition is the vehicle we have to use to make that happen.

Well now, it’s nice to have the super car salesmen and political giants, Mr. Jones (D) and Mr. Bellis (R), join in the debate, but as expected they arrived on the side of the plantation owners/overlords and not the sharecroppers.

The car dealers, a.k.a. - 'really good car salesmen,’ tell us that we can’t afford for someone outside the county to dictating to us about building and operating a jail for decades to come. Yah, right. Thee county commissionhas been doing such a wonderful job of doing nothing they were not forced to do over the last two decades with the jail problem, we certainly want to rely on them and their past history of building and operating the jail, don’t we?

Only a car salesman could conclude that "The wheel tax will be paid for by more individuals than a property tax." Well, duh!! According to the U.S. Census, 60% of our owner-occupied houses have two or more vehicles. Heck, eight percent have no vehicles and only thirty-two percent have only one vehicle.

Now when you couple that with their position that the wheel tax is the most efficient, broadest based and fairest tax available as an option to fund the jail, it really gets questionable.

I have no idea what data these folks reviewed to conclude "most efficient," but "broadest based and fairest tax available" can not be supported. Broadest based - while there are approximately 25,000 vehicles registered in Hardin County, there are also approximately 25,000 partials of property in Hardin County.
What they don't share is the fact that 40% of the tax bills for those partials, representing 25% of our total property tax base, are mailed out of state or out of the county to be paid. I would bet that most of these non-resident folks do not have a vehicle registered in Hardin County.

See the difference? The average Hardin County family has one partial of property valued at $70,000 and two vehicles. The increase on the vehicles would be $72.00 and would be only $42.00 on his property. With wheel tax, 40% of the property owners will get the benefit of a new facility for no contribution. What's fair about that?

The average poor and middle class citizen would have to have a $120,000 partial of property, instead of $70,000, to equal the cost of the wheel tax increase. But then again, it would be safe to bet that most, if not all, of the signators of the super car salesmen letter have substantially more real estate holding than the average citizen.

But then again, car dealers are exempt on paying wheel taxes in Hardin County on all of those cars you see parked on their lots, and one must remember these folks are basically really good ‘car salesmen’ and in this case I would highly recommend that you really need to read their warranty on their representations. Ever hear, trust me, it just needs running?

Respectfully submitted for your consideration.
Ted

Wednesday, October 26

Was it an Epiphany or a Violation of the Open Meetings Act (‘Sunshine Law’)?

We Report, You Decide.

BACKGROUND - There is a limited exception of the Sunshine Law for Attorney-Client discussions.

The narrow exception applies only to discussions between the members of the public body and the attorney. Once any discussion begins among members of the public body as to what action should be taken based on the advice of counsel, those discussion must be open to the public.

The exception was limited to cases in which there was present and pending litigation and the public body was named in the lawsuit. In 1991 the exception was extended to a meeting of the board with its attorney regarding a pending controversy that was likely to result in litigation.

In summary, this narrow exception applies only to meeting between a public body and it’s attorney that 1.) Must concern litigation that has already been filed or which is likely to be filed and to which the county is or will be a party, and 2.) The private meeting must be limited to discussions between the attorney and members of the public body regarding the public body’s legal options, and no discussions between members of the public body as to what action should be taken can take place.

One could argue that the private meetings held on October 13, 2005 and on October 17, 2005, as accurately reported in The Courier, violates the Open Meeting Act in that there must have been discussions between member of the County Commission as to what action should be taken at these meetings or they all had an epiphany at the same time. Each of the commissioners would have to have had a sudden intuitive realization or a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of the settlement agreement.

Now we’re talking about our Hardin County Commissioners and our Mayor here.

The Courier noted:

"After the public was readmitted, Commissioner James Whitehorn’s motion to "accept the settlement as presented" was unanimously approved without discussed by the board.

Mayor and Commission Chairman Davis did not offer any details about the settlement at the meeting and the attorney would not release a copy of the settlement to The Courier, saying it would not become a public record until signed by the parties to the suit."

This is the same settlement agreement that had just been unanimously approved at a public meeting, but it was not a public record, yet and the public couldn’t see it. Yeah, right.

Think about it. The standard is that NO discussions as to what action should be taken can take place and once any discussion begins among members of the public body as to what action should be taken based on the advice of counsel, those discussion must be open to the public. Not in Hardin County.

This is one of those wrongs without a remedy, but worthy of note for historical information.

But the question needs to be ask - remembering the litigation has been going on for months and the subject has been discussed for decades - Did it really take two more private meetings to explain the county’s legal options on the Jail to the Commissioners?

(Epiphany - A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.
A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.)
Whatta think?

Monday, October 10

You ask - when we get this paid off, will our wheel tax and other prices go down? The short answer is, NO.

It might depend on what we call ‘paid off.’ Not all of the $36 is going for debt service.

The current plans call for thirty year bonds to be issued. No one, and I mean no one, expects this facility to meet our needs for the next thirty years.

The County Jail Consultant (from Kentucky) use 15 years out population projections to determine our bed needs, but this is also the same consultant that determined that 29,000 population at 4.5 beds per 1,000 is 152. Yep that's what we need, 152 beds. Well, 4.5 X 29 is 130.5. Trust me, I can't even make this stuff up.

The folks who ought to know say that we could fill up the 152 beds the day the facility open. The day after we will be back to overcrowding again. But then again, we do have the room to expand the jail by 100 beds, when we need to. Wonder how we are going to pay for the expansion?

Also, you might note that one-third of the wheel tax income goes for increased operating expenses of our new and improved facility. How do you ever get those 'paid off?'

The debt service for 30 years on $9.3 million at 4.5% per year (approx. $600,000 per year) is almost $18,000,000. By the way, does anyone have a clue as to what makes up the $9.3 million. Me Neither.

One must remember that a detention facility is capital project. And capital project are generally funded with property taxes. There are specific statutes that say the County Legislative Body, our County Commission, has a DUTY to erect a jail and courthouse. That's a capital project.

Who gains the most from having the ability to get the bad guy off the streets? The folks who have something for them to mess with or them that have to work pay check to pay check.

Said another way, The bad guys and gals drive by those $125,000 homes and say, O. K. let’s mess with their stuff. They drive by my $10,000 trailer and say, don't bother.

Both of us have cars, his is a Hummer and mine is a 1975 Ford pick-us that needs tires and some bondo, that I can't afford.

Both vehicles get charged the same for the privileges of driving on the roads in Hardin County. His is black topped and mine is chips and oil with a lot of patches on it. But, we all pay the same amount to build a jail and sheriff's department facility.

If I'm paying to have my $10,000 trailer protected, why shouldn't I expect those folks that are getting their $125,000 home protected to kick in a few dollars more. They are getting the greater benefit, aren't they?

Ted

Sunday, October 9

Why Should the Rich Pay More?

Some say, for the same reason John Dillinger robbed banks: because that's where the money is. There is some logic to that, the richest 2% control in the ballpark of 40% of the private wealth in the USA.

Others say; "Because they can afford it." Others who complain about progressive taxes say it's because people want "revenge on the rich", or it's "class envy". Or they say, "Why should the successful people be penalized?" That is an interesting take on reality.

But there is one argument that is not often seen, the "follow the money", or follow the tax money argument. Simply put, it says you get what you pay for. It says that if you eat a gourmet meal, you have purchased an entire different meal (not just more of it) than for a McDonald's Happy Meal.

One could claim that progressive taxes buys Rich Boy toys, regressive taxes buy Poor Boy toys. We say fair is fair. To test this idea, we follow the tax money.

Progressive taxes (such as income taxes) pay mostly for Rich Boy toys: the War on Terror, Katrena, gunboat diplomacy, the Fed's infinite labor pool and any related poverty, NAFTA, GAT, free trade agreements, interstate freeways, National Parks, FBI, CIA, a hot-shot standing military, etc. And regressive taxes: (mostly local sales taxes and fees) go for Poor Boy toys: local roads, hospitals, schools, local parks, libraries, cops, city/county councils, fire fighting, etc.

If "toys" sounds too flippant, feel free to swap with a term that rings true for you, such as "tools of the trade", or "economic infrastructures."

To oversimplify a bit, a carpenter does not require the Rich Boy toys, and the CEO of General Motors does not require the Poor Boy toys. And progressive (mostly federal income) taxes soak the rich, regressive (mostly local sales) taxes soak the poor. We are going to talk about Soaking the poor and middle class.

What Makes the Tennessee Tax System Regressive and Why Does Hardin County Have to Make It Worse?

A January 2003 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) report, Who Pays, found that Tennessee had the third most regressive tax system in the nation.

The report showed that the poorest twenty percent of non-elderly Tennessee families paid, on average, 11.7 percent of their income in state and local taxes. Hardin County would be about 12.5 to 13 percent.

By contrast, middle-income Tennesseans paid 8.8 percent of their income in tax, while the very wealthiest 1 percent of Tennessee taxpayers paid just 3.4 percent of their income in state and local taxes.

In other words, the poorest Tennesseans paid three to four times more of their income in taxes than did the very wealthiest families.

In Hardin County it is even more because of our artificially low property tax rate. Sixth (6th) lowest in the State that has the lowest tax burden on it's citizens, in the entire Country. It would be about four time as much in taxes than those at the other end of this bell curve.

Your at the bottom of the bottom, if you have anything to be taxed. Our poorest and middle class folks, who don't have much to be taxed, are at the top of the top in the percentage of their income they pay in state and local taxes.

We can do better. We need to rethink that policy. Know what I mean?

FYI We have a 19% Poverty Rate among adults and 26% among children. Our elderly population is well above average for the State. Face it, we are older and poorer than the average Tennessean and we are infested with drugs. Gotta problem here?

Later

Ted
Why Should the Successful People Be Penalized?

As we have noted, that is an interesting take on reality. It's human nature to overestimate one's own powers and to undervalue the help we have received. The toys.

Some say that the American meal is the best meal in the world and some say that Tennessee is the best entre` in that America meal and we say that Hardin County has some of the best desserts in the Tennessee meal of the American dream.

If you have eaten of the Hardin County meal, pay your debts, and don't try and sneak out the back door. There is no free lunch.

Perhaps taxes are like any other transaction. A bundled transaction. When you buy a set of tires or a meal at a restaurant, you are paying for employee theft, drunk employees, security, air conditioning, accountants, and stupid business moves, etc. that you may disapprove of, bundled into the cost of doing business and it's not on your invoice.

Bottom line: nobody is forcing you to buy the tires or eat the meal.

Your choice. You can live like a hermit in a shack, eating roots. If you do not consume the toys or meals, likely you will be poor and owe no taxes. But once you have eaten and grown fat you are now in debt.

There is no free lunch. The bigger portions you have, the more your bill should be.
When will we accept the natural way to Fund Our Operating Obligations — property taxes that are enough to do the job.

We now have to pay for the foolish decisions and procrastination of our county government in the past or even today.
Guiding philosophy in Criminal Justice

Opponents can accused the jail planners of concentrating too much on bricks and jail bars and not enough on treatment and prevention programs to keep criminals from re-offending and re-entering the criminal justice system.

The guiding philosophy in criminal justice is to change the lifestyles and behaviors that lead to crime, resulting in fewer arrests, a reduced need for jail beds and a savings to taxpayers.

County officials could have engendered more support by being up-front. Critics will chastise commissioners for failing to include the public in the decision-making process. It was a message that resonates well with the voting public.

In their slow crawl to solve the jail crowding crisis, commissioners and corrections officials failed to involve the public in the decision-making process. They deserve any criticism thrown their direction.

Why do they do things in secret and wait until it's all done to tell us? They decide, and then they tell people what they're going to get stuck with.

This doesn’t send a clear message to community stakeholders that their opinions matter. Again, they deserve any criticism thrown their direction.

Ted
JAIL/JUDICIAL COMPLEX - What do we need and when do we need it.

Don't ya just have to wonder why we had a need for a Criminal Justice Complex in 1998-99, when the ($10,000) needs assessment study was done by an independent analyst (Not hired by Joe Barker), but we don't today? The analysis was changed by our perennial, inveterate and entrench consultants (Hired by Joe Barker) at the instruction of someone in County Government.

Said another way, Why can't we have what we have a need for, a Criminal Justice Complex? The most effecient and effective answer to our 'problems' by the experts, is just such a "Complex."

The answer lies in the answer to the question, Who owns the land, and doesn't want to sell, that you would need for such a "Complex" in Hardin County, if you have to include our existing Courthouse as an element of the "Complex?"

Answer - A County Commissioner (Office/House) and the Foreman of theHardin County Grand Jury (Parking lot leased to the County).

Go figure.

Just an old thought.
Ted

Thursday, October 6

Because We Had a Public Meeting

Do you understand the concept of slight of hand. Let’s review the ‘public meetings’ held by our Mayor and County Commission.

You say the folks will go along with the wheel tax this time because’ we had a public meeting and let everyone know what we were doing.’ Really?

When the Mayor first mention these public meetings taking place, it was announced at the Commissioners meeting in August that there would be two public meetings held TO GET INPUT FROM THE CITIZENS on what they (THE CITIZENS) wanted to do about the jail problem. The purpose was not to ‘let everyone know what we (the County) were going to do!!!’

At that time, property and wheel taxes were the options that were going to be presented for funding this ‘Jail Project,’ even though the wheel tax option had been turned down (BY THE CITIZENS) less than ten month earlier. For whatever reason, the voters said NO, the majority of them (55%) voted NO on wheel taxes.
Remember the question at that time was wheel tax OR property tax. I believe the vote could be view as, NO on wheel tax, do what you say you gotta do. Property Tax. Am I the only one who looks at it that way? I think not.

The Mayor also announced that the plans that were going to be presented at these public meetings had been unanimously approved by our "Jail Committee" yet, when ask, by me, to review whatever the "Jail Committee" had approved, the Mayor admitted that the "Committee" had approved the public meetings, not a specific plan.
The stated purpose of the meetings were TO GET THE CITIZENS INPUT and then the ‘Jail Committee’ would finalize a plan to present to the County Commission for their approval, at a later date.

At the first public meeting, we have the tape, the Mayor again addressed the "plans" that were being reviewed at these public meeting as follows:

"This jail plan that we’re presenting tonight is not the jail plan of the County Commission. This is for public input. This has not been voted by the Jail Committee to be the jail plan, it could be. It could be, after the public hearings go forward, as the jail plan."


Between the first and second public meeting the County Commission voted 19-1 to impose a $36 wheel tax to fund the 9.3 million dollar estimated cost for these same plan, that have not been approved by either the Jail Committee or the County Commission. These are basically the same floor plans that was presented in the 2004.

At the second public meeting, we have the tape, the Mayor again spun the wheel, again. This time it is, this is going to be the plan and we are going to pay for it with a $36 wheel tax. Now what is the citizens input on that?

The rules at this public meeting were, no yielding the floor to a third party, or yielding your time to a third party; Citizens will have 3 minuets to make their comments; after that 3 minuets the citizen can be cut off and will not be recognized by the Mayor again or would not be recognized again for any further input or to address any other issues that might be raised by another citizen, even if it is wrong as rain. The three (3) minuet rule will be strictly enforced, at the second meeting.

The Mayor has this cute little egg timer that he uses for the clock on the three minuets and the time the panel uses to answer any question, counts against the citizens three minuets. Kinda limits you to one question, unless it's a yes or no with no explination or remarks.

Said another way, We’re going to have public meeting this time, as a matter of fact were going to have 2. But we’ll only give the Citizens 3 minutes to say what they have got to say and then we’ll go and do what we want to.
They can’t complain because we held their ‘public meetings’ and let them vent. We have a record of it, too.

Oh, Goody. We have acted like we wanted the citizens input, like we were suppose to. They got no complaint, now. Wrong again.
Ted

Tuesday, October 4

SOAK
THE POOR
AND MIDDLE CLASS

Vote YES For

Wheel Tax
TAX FAIRNESS FUNDAMENTALS

Basic Historic and Biblical Notions on the Subject.
The question is, Why don't they apply in Hardin County, Tennessee?

"The subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state . . . . [As Henry Home (Lord Kames) has written, a goal of taxation should be to] ‘remedy inequality of riches as much as possible, by relieving the poor and burdening the rich.’ "

Adam Smith, AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES
OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONS (1776)
(Book V, Chapter II, part II, pp.777,779 (1937 ed.))

A fair tax system asks citizens to contribute to the cost of government services based on their ability to pay. This is a venerable idea, as old as the biblical notion that a few pennies from a poor woman’s purse cost her more than many pieces of gold from a rich man’s hoard.

The question was, Why don't they apply in Hardin County, Tennessee? The answer may be because the majority of the citizens of Hardin County have, in the past, abdicated their responsibilities as Christian/Citizens to keep themselves informed and to participate.

We could fix that, August 2006.
Respectfully submitted for your consideration.
Ted

Tuesday, September 27

Representative Democracy in Hardin County

What part of "No" do 19 out of 20 Hardin County commissioners, our sheriff and our county mayor, not understand?

These folks are generally out of step with the citizens.

If they continue on down the path they have chosen for themselves, over the next couple of months we will again get into the evils of using this regressive tax, known as wheel tax, to fund a capital improvement project in general and the validity of this ill conceived project, specifically.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my opinion on a far more basic problem that has finally and clearly manifested itself.

It is one thing for our county government to have to admit they are guilty of deliberate indifference to those folks who are unfortunate enough to find themselves confined in what passes for our detention facility, but it is a major breach of their sworn oaths and responsibilities to act with deliberate indifference to those folks who elected them.

It was just ten or so months ago that the voting citizens of this county, by a public referendum, said loud and clear that we did not want a $28 wheel tax increase to fund "the Jail/Sheriff’s Department Project." Do these folks really think we are going to like a $36 wheel tax any better?

By this attempt to usurp, displace, supplant and cut out the voters, our county commission has clearly established their intent to lay claim to the right to appropriate, seize, commandeer or preempt the decisions of the citizens.

Representative Democracy and Majority Rules is, at best, on life-support in Hardin County.

A review of the results, by voting district and precinct , will be helpful, but first it must be noted that the majority (55 percent) of those voting on the issue, were against the $28 wheel tax in November 2004. Yet, 95 percent of the commissioners voted to make it $36 in September 2005.

See anything wrong with this picture, yet? It gets worse.

Let’s assume the commissioners who represent the districts that supported the issue could ignore the majority vote in the county and take the position that my constituents support the issue. Weak at best, but a semi-effective shield.

Why doesn’t the same apply to commissioners whose constituents defeated the issue?

On a district count, it should have been 12 "No" to eight "Yes." No way to get a two-thirds majority "Yes" vote out of that. On a precinct count, it should have been 13 "No" to seven "Yes." No way to get a two-thirds majority "Yes" vote out of that, either.

Again, I think representative democracy and majority rules is, at best, on life-support in Hardin County.

Those elected officials who thumb their noses at the will of their constituents should consider resigning and not seek public office again. They can’t seem to function in a representative democracy or they have sold out to the good-ol-boys.

You decide.

Respectfully submitted for your consideration.

Ted

Monday, August 15

What's Going On With the Jail Project?

At the August planning meeting for the Board of County Commissioners, the Chairmen of the County Commission, Mayor Davis, who is also the Chairmen of the Jail Committee, announced that there would be a ‘public meeting’ on the Jail project at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 6, 2005 and a second one in October.

This ‘public meeting’ is suppose to present "a plan that was unanimously approved by the ‘Jail Committee’ at a meeting on July 28, 2005." The Chairman/Mayor/Chairman also announced that the lawyers have found the plans to be acceptable.

My first question is, How many folks knew there was going to be a meeting of the Jail Committee on July 28th? How many folks knew the purpose of the meeting was going to be to approve a final plan to present to the County Commission for their approval, that would among other things, resolve all this pending litigation over the Hardin County Jail?

I have expressed my concern for the adequacy of the public notice that the Mayor or Jail Committee was giving regarding their public meetings to Mayor Davis. The response, as I understood it was, I talked to CTAS and thay said that putting a notice on the bulletin board in the lobby of the Courthouse a day or so ahead of time is all we have to do. Something to do with being a special committee and conducting routine business.

The answer will be, either The Mayor and Jail Committee determined that the jail issue is one that would not be expected to be of interest to the general public or there has been a routine violation of the State Sunshine Law, again. Of course, any actions or approvals of the Committee of any plan would be void and held for nought.

It was not adequate notice based on the totality of the circumstances as would fairly inform the public, nor was it intended to be.
Congratulations to Henry Williams, Bob Shutt and Blake White for their recent election or re-election to the Savannah City Commission and a well deserved thank you to Helen Hamilton and Joe Cromwell for their excellent service as City Commissioners.

Being a fellow who likes to keep himself informed, I have monitored the City elections for the quite a few years now and this past election is the most interesting one that I can remember since Brother Randy Isbell decided to run for re-election.

You might be asking yourself, well, Ted, you live in the county, what difference does it make to you, who is or is not elected to the Savannah City Commission? That’s simple. I live in that mythical 5 mile radius of Savannah and I have city water and gas. I have a dog in their hunt. By that I mean that these folks, the City Commission, have the final word when it comes to some of my fire protection and some of my utilities.

But even if that 5 mile thing wasn’t there, in addition to Savannah having the status of a city, it is also the County Seat or as some know it, the County Town and the center of County Government. Most of the Hardin County Government employees, work in Savannah.

After you get past that, it seems that I am having to remind some folks that the citizens of the City of Savannah are also fellow citizens of Hardin County. They pay county property taxes and all of the rest of the County’s fees and charges, just like us folks who don’t live inside the City limits. They also pay city taxes for a much higher level of services than the County can or will provide.

There I go again, digressing.

One of the most interesting statistics from this election is that 65% of the voters voted for Williams. This is the same Williams that some have said for years was unelectable because even though he may have more city commissions meeting time under his belt than most of the setting Commissioners have, he was just too confrontational and plain spoken for the ‘Ya Gotta Go Along, To Get Along’ creed, that local politics seem live by.

Maybe the voters are sending a message, to hell with that creed, they want plain speaking folks setting and carrying out policies. Is it the message of change? I pray so, and look forward to the County-wide election in less than a year. You can bet there will be more to follow on that subject, thank you very much.
Finally, I would like to thank the editorial staff at The Courier for their well throughout and well written editorial in last week’s Courier, "Voting is a civic responsibility." I can only hope that they will rerun it again next year, about this time would be nice.

If you take nothing else from this editorial opinion, please take the point that simply voting is not enough, an informed vote is what is required, and to do that, a good citizen must make an effort to learn everything he can about the candidates and their views on the issues.

On a sad note, there were only 657 voters out of some 3,985 registered voters who took the time to participate in the City elections. That is 16.49% turnout. Of course that is up from the elections in the recent past by about 1.5%, but that is still sad when you think about the tasks and functions of the City Commission. Apathy is alive and well in Savannah.

Respectfully submitted for your consideration.

Friday, August 5


County Government vs Ted Cook

A friend sent this to me but didn't say who was what.

Friday, July 29

Who Holds All the Power?


The Citizens of Hardin County, you and me, who are eligible to Vote, hold ALL the ultimate Power and WE hold the ultimate responsibility for abdicating, relinquishing and/or renouncing our Citizens responsibilities as the holder of this ultimate power that keeps Hardin County encumbered in it’s chains. Sorry about this tough love thing.

The painfully truthful answer is that the folks who have chosen to register to vote, and who actually vote at each and every opportunity, exercise the ultimate power for all the other complacent and apathetic citizens. These folks disburse all the power to our elected officials, who now hold all the power that keeps Hardin County encumbered in it’s chains, whatever they are.

"Originally, our founding fathers envisioned a government Of the people, By the people, and For the people, that included a checks and balance on governmental powers with the Separation of Powers Doctrine.

The Separation of Powers Doctrine basically states that there shall be a separation between the three branches of government, i.e. Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. Neither branch could exercise the power of the other." THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1821

Hardin County’s Judiciary - Complaint of the Hardin County Grand Jury – All one need do, is look at the composition of the Grand Jury. How can a Grand Jury which has been infiltrated and influenced by the judiciary/law enforcement be expected to do its primary job of investigating official malfeasance, judicial arrogance, lack of accountability and corruption?

Hardin County has had national exposed, via the Internet, with judicial and political corruption allegations, along with a designation as a major drug route for illegal drugs coming from the gulf coast via the Tombigbee Waterway to all points North via the Tennessee River to the Mississippi River to all points northeast, with a lot dropped off along the way for local area distribution. We are at the end of the Tombigbee Waterway corridor in a tri-state area, that’s good for our industrial development programs, but it comes with a price.

Hardin County’s Legislature/County Executive - On December 10, 1998, I noted in a letter to each of our County Commissioners the following:

"Over the years the 20 member County Commission have come to relied on the County Mayor to administer the affairs of the County Commission by his almost ritualistic election to the office of Chairman of the County Commission. Over the year this reliance has evolved to an abdication of responsibility by those County Commissioners who take the position that "I have to rely on the Chairman/County Mayor" because he has looked into it, for me. Or "I have to go along" with the Chairman/County Mayor and the Sheriff because they know what they want to do.

This reliance violates several fiduciary responsibilities of the individual Commissioners, the primary being the check and balances system of oversight. The County Commission as an entity has the oversight responsibility for the County Government including the County Mayor and Sheriff. In Hardin County the question can be asked - Where is the oversight when the Chairman and the County Mayor are one and the same?

And last, but not least, Hardin County Executive Branch - All in all, with the exception of the County Executive and the Sheriff, the Executive Branch is mostly operated by a group of dedicated elected officials and county employees.

THE ANSWER: WHO HOLDS THE POWER?
WE DID, BUT WE GAVE IT AWAY.
WANT TO GET IT BACK.
PARTICIPATE AND VOTE IN 2006 General Elections.
THE JAIL, WHOSE FAULT IS IT, ANYWAY?

You, my brothers, my sisters, and I are and have been the one’s that were responsible for the conditions of Hardin County.

The family had to protect them, that’s all there is too it. (NOTE - My ‘brothers, et.al.’ in this case include members of the Judicial Branch, Legislative Branch and Executive Branch of our local county government, several enforcement arms of our State government and the citizens of Hardin County, for tolerating it.)

The Sheriff - T.C.A. §§41-4-121(a) "The sheriff has authority, when the jail of the county is insufficient for the safekeeping of a prisoner, to convey the prisoner to the nearest sufficient jail in the state."

The Judges - T.C.A. §§41-4-121(b) "In all cases, also, where it is shown to the committing magistrate, judge or court, that the jail of the county in which the commitment should be made is insufficient for the safekeeping of the prisoner, the commitment shall be by mittimus or warrant stating the fact, to the nearest sufficient county jail."

The Lawyers - Why did it take an ‘out of town’ Lawyer to file a ‘class action’ lawsuit for deliberate indifference? Didn’t some of our local Lawyers collect money to represent the best interest of some of these prisoner? Where the hell has the Public Defender’s Office been?

The Mayor - T.C.A. §§ 41-4-116(b) "The county executive shall be an ex officio inspector of the jail in each county."

The County Commissioners and The Citizens - "As long as we make it look like we are doing something, they, (The Feds or State), won’t bother us." And my personal favorite - "Ain’t gonna do nothing about it until somebody makes us and there ain’t nobody making us, yet," or, "Don’t care, we ain’t gonna pay for it with increased property taxes!!"

Wednesday, July 27

Chamber of Commerce
Why should I care about the Chamber of Commerce.
Answer this - Do citizens have an obligation to the community? Every person owes a debt to the community that cannot be paid in taxes - a debt of personal service.

I entered the public service area, first when I joined the Navy, in 1961, and again when I decided to stay in Hardin County, in 1994, with my family instead of returning to the business world in Memphis.

As a citizen I believe that I owe it to my grandsons, and my extended family, to do what I can, and the best that I can, to present to them for their care and keeping, when the time comes, a clean, safe living and working environment.

This includes a Chamber of Commerce that is not only user-friendly but is also pro-active to the wants and needs of it's members. A Chamber of Commerce that utilizes it's assets, both manpower and position, to ensure maximum efficiency of services to the members, while at the same time planning for the future members and citizens that will enjoy an ever evolving Hardin County.

THE CHAMBER AND IT’S MISSION

My research reflects that the Chamber of Commerce is a private, self-governing, self-administrated, public benefit corporation organized to facilitate a continuing effort to provide the means and resources, whether financial or other, to advance and maintain public awareness, and promote the advancement of the commercial, industrial, civic and general interest of the attributes for Hardin County and any other activity permitted by law for a non-profit corporation.

It is a perpetual entity, organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes.

The Board of Directors, on a voluntary and part-time basis are task with the responsibility to provide the means and resources and to administrate over all business and function of the Chamber. The Board of Directors look to the individual selected for Executive Director to carry out this function on a full time basis, with the guidance and counsel of the Board of Directors.

COUNTY GOVERNMENT QUESTIONS

For their own reasons, our local county government has kept the leading question before the citizens and the business community - Is the Chamber of Commerce a W.O.M.B.A.T.? Is it a Waste of Money, Brains And Time?

My personal opinion is that it is the local county government, as administered, is the W.O.M.B.A.T.! That's a fact Jack. It is an absolute injustice, for all the wrong reasons. To borrow from CHESTERTON, My County Right or Wrong is like saying My Mother Drunk or Sober and as Tom Hayden would allow, A Silent Majority and Government by the People is INCOMPATIBLE. The past silence of the Chamber of Commerce about this injustice has contributed to the life of the injustice.

The Chamber has to develope the backbone to stand up and take positions, even on non-business issues.

Some other thoughts are -

I believe that one of the most effective constructive influence, of our time, is the force of organized business functioning through the Chamber of Commerce for community betterment.

I believe that the Chamber can and should help create and express sound opinions on questions affecting the welfare of my community.

I believe that the Chamber of Commerce should unify the public spirit of my community and directs it to useful and constructive channels.

Finally I believe that all we have are our values and when we lose those we don‘t have anything left.