A Jeffersonian In East Texas

Whatpartofno.com had a short piece on the Tyler paper poll this morning, I have been wondering how it would come out, and the results show that 65% of the people who took the poll believe that the jail proposal will fail! The poll in the Tyler paper will be wrong for some obvious reasons. My guess is that we will see something more along the line of 75% opposition when the voting is done.

It is my personal belief, that when this happens, our County Judge and commissioners court should withdraw all opposition to the Attorney generals ruling, and save the taxpayers any further cost in supporting this “windmill tilting” exercise,  and then, offer their resignations immediately! They are obviously out of touch with what the public wants and needs, and should clear the way for new officials with more clear headed thinking and transparency!

County and city government in Tyler and Smith county Texas needs to be put back into the hands of the people. It is no place for secret, clandestine meetings designed to prevent the public from having input in the system. We need to remember this, after the last vote is counted. There will still be desperate attempts to resurect this issue, and we should continue to fight it until more reasonable methods have had a chance to work, and until transparency in county government has been sufficiently demonstrated to insure that no further “behind closed door” dealings poison the democratic process!

If you watch the news, or read the newspapers, especially when Smith county attorney Robert Davis is speaking, you would know that Tyler attorney Ken Good, and Judge Cynthia Kent are the epitome of evil in today’s world! They are the cause of all disasters both natural and otherwise. I know that sounds a little ridiculous, but it is no more ridiculous than other statements such as this one, direct from the mouth of Mr. Davis: “Ken Good would love nothing more than to be able to give bail bond companies and criminals detailed security plans for our correctional institutions.”

No, seriously, he really said that! No, I am serious, stop laughing!

What is the truth? Well, it goes like this: The commissioners, who are by and large, responsible for the past jail overcrowding, developed a plan in secret, violating a number of laws related to open records and open meetings, in an attempt to sneak a jail proposal onto the ballot. They got caught! Mr. Davis was hired at our expense, to defend them against the Attorney General of the State of Texas, and against our right to know. The floor plans to the jail, are just the final bit of evidence showing that they had in fact developed this plan in secret, an admission already made by county Judge Baker.

Why is this important?

It is important, because our right to know what is going on in matters of public trust is the last defense we have against corruption in government, followed by tyranny! If public officials can hide matters of this nature from us, what else are they hiding? This is not a minor infraction, it is not like carving a name in the tree of liberty, it is a direct attack at the very root of constitutional government, and it cannot be tolerated!

Recent developments in the Smith county jail, “Jailzilla” saga and the “Commissioners Gone Wild” comic drama give rise to numerous questions.

Some of these questions are legal, and I do not know the answers, but I will raise them anyway in the hope that someone will.

• The admission that the plans for the latest Smith county jail proposal were prepared in secret, as I understand, is equivalent to an admission of guilt. This law allows for both civil and criminal penalties for violation. In a county bent on maximum penalties, in a state bent on maximum penalties, can we expect maximum penalties for those involved in this crime and cover up?
• Can we expect resignations to occur soon?
• What will become of this jail proposal, or any jail that might be built as a result of this proposal, now that we know that the plans were formulated in violation of state law?
• Will there be an investigation to see what other open meeting and open records laws were violated?
• What other issues, projects, proposals, contracts, or other matters could have been done under cover of darkness, and behind closed doors, and will there be an investigation including an audit?

This situation is the worst sort of behaviour in public officials, secret meetings and cover ups strike at the very heart of why the open records and open meeting laws are in place.

With all the lies, and there have been many, we know that eventually it will be found that someone is telling the truth, we have not figured out who, but when we know, we are sure that they will be prosecuted for it! It makes as much sense as the rest of the situation.

I am a little ticked off at the guys over at whatpartofno.com, for the picture of Richard Nixon in the story “I am Not a Crook!” another chapter in the continuing saga of “Commissioners Gone Wild”. The obvious attempt to show the similarities between Richard Nixon and the Smith county commissioners court, is very mean spirited, and unfair to the memory of Richard Nixon!

Just joking guys I am really not ticked at you.

The story I am referring to says that:

“On July 30, 2008, in response to an open records request, Judge Baker stated, in writing, that the private SECRET meetings were primarily for information gathering.  He even stated publicly several times that the group gathered information.  Last night for the first time, Judge Baker admitted that a jail proposal was developed during these private meetings.

Let’s pause for a moment.  The sound that you just heard was the collective gasp of anyone and everyone who is familiar with the Texas Open Meetings Act.  These people know that Judge Baker just made a major concession.  It is important and on video.  This statement by Judge Baker is very significant.”

I saw the clip, and the only thing that is wrong with the article quoted above, is the word “concession” should be replaced by the word “confession”.

This would seem to have moved from the court of public opinion to the actual court system.

I am still baffled by all of this.  Just exactly what are these people trying to do? It would seem that they are destroying what they fought so hard to build, and doing more of the same every time they have opportunity! The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. A group of officials, breaking the law, in order to build a jail! Who could have imagined?