Archive for the ‘transparency’ Category
Ken Good And Judge Kent Responsible for Apocalypse and More
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!
What Else Are Smith County Officials Hiding?
Any reluctance on the part of our public officials to be completely transparent and forthright causes the public to question. After all these are “public” officials! How any secrecy on the part of the commissioners court, or other public officials could be seen as advancing the causes they espouse is beyond comprehension. Surely they must know this.
With that in mind, what other reasons could be set forth for such questionable activities? (Yes, they are questionable, and the participants knew this at the time, or they would not have sought counsel on the question of open meetings. It comes across like “How far can we go, and what can we get away with and still be beyond prosecution?”) The issue seems to be a reasonably simple one, with a very easy and simple face saving mechanism like: “Yes, we did this in secret, but we thought that we were within the boundaries of the law at the time. We now see that we were wrong, and would like to make it straight and avoid this in the future.” That would be the simple, humble, easy, and dare I say(?), endearing solution. The fact that it has not been done leads people to believe that something else is going on.
Either the participants don’t understand the law, and the lack of trust and the level of opposition to such opaque proceedings, or there is another skeleton or two in the closet. Those are about the only options. One is based on ignorance of the law, and arrogance toward it and of the peoples opposition to being kept in the dark. The other is based arrogance toward the law and the people, and fear of having those skeletons jump out.
In case you didn’t notice, the common factor is arrogance!
