Election selection

It will be no surprise to learn that this editor does not believe we have honest elections in Bradley County, or in some other places  in Tennessee for that matter. It will change, but not in time for the next election, so I need some help to watch our election officials while the polls are open. If you like playing detective, value the democratic process and have a few hours to donate, please call me. Of course not all those folks helping out at election time are crooks but most of the high ranking officers know what's going on even if they are not personally involved. My beliefs are not without foundation and it is more difficult to cheat if you are being watched. The election commission operates in secrecy, at least the important parts of the procedure are hidden. They routinely refuse access and ignore regulations designed to keep them honest. They have so far refused to release the Bradley County voter list for inspection and are currently purging up to 1700 names from the list. The use of a fraction of 1700 illegal votes could decide the outcome of almost any local political race or referendum. How election officials remain in office with such an inaccurate voting register is beyond belief. 1700 people didn't appear or disappear overnight. We will probably never know the full extent of past tampering but we can take measures to make it more difficult and risky in  the future.  If you value your vote, avoid early voting like the plague, vote on election day. There is a week's time between the end of early voting and election day with little ballot protection. If you witness anything unusual please call me at 559-2150. Is it time to ensure your vote counts?
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And the award goes to....

OK I admit it, I read the Cleveland Daily Banner. If you haven't seen their 150th Anniversary edition yet, go to the library and take a look, it is impressive. I personally do some of the work to produce a little rinky-dink paper like The People News, so the effort expended on the mammoth 150 page issue while still producing a regular daily paper is mind boggling. Enough of the praise, they may think I'm going soft. While reading the Banner day after day, it is apparent how many of our elected officials are members of, and receive awards from organizations formed by associations of government employees. The Tennessee Municipal League is a prime example. The TML is dedicated to it's members, all of whom can be traced back to government employees. They don't advertise the fact but that is what the organization is all about. The TML, as would be expected, is an ardent Nashville lobbyist for higher taxes and larger and more powerful government and it uses the prestige of city mayors and councilmen for it's clout. Sure, they make a big show of the fact that almost every city mayor is a member and a lot of councilmen too, but without the elected officials behind them it would be difficult to make social changes in there favor. Also, dues are paid to the organization by the employees, mayors and other elected officials that come directly or indirectly from local taxes, so in effect taxpayers are paying for the fight to raise taxes. Convenient for them, huh! The Tennessee Municipal League is not a friend of the taxpayer or democracy as Mayor Tom Rowland would have you believe and by being a member, neither is he. City Council member Bill Robertson and most recently council member David May are, or have been high ranking officials of the TML.  This conflict poses a question, which interest do the mayor or councilmen represent, the Tennessee  Municipal League or the voters at home. It is not healthy for democracy if the people's representatives accept honors and official positions with organizations run by people they employ. It removes an elected official's allegiance to the voter.
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Deceptive advertising

There it was, the letter everyone dreads to get, a recall notice. Staring at the red sign on the envelope - Recall Notice, Recall Information Inside - thoughts of an appliance exploding or a wheel dropping off the car sent shivers down my spine. Fumbling to pry it open, the envelope was quickly ripped to shreds to reveal an advertising flyer for Ducktown Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep. This advertising gimmick is probably the most blatantly misleading I have ever seen, and remember, we print advertisements in the paper. It amounted to shouting fire in a theater as a way of getting attention, which as you know is illegal. It was an insult to my, and every recipient's intelligence and invaded my privacy in the most deceitful way. The people running this company must be morons to base sales strategy on such a shameful ploy. Needless to say this editor will not ever be patronizing this establishment, in fact it has tarnished the names of Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep too.
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