The shell game

The latest spin on controlling the proceeds from the sale of Bradley Memorial Hospital is a little more devious than the previous arrogant rants of the so-called hospital board but the result will be the same. Control of the money. The good ol' boys of Cleveland had to find a way to gain control that eliminated the people's representatives - the Bradley County Commission. As usual the spin is for the good of all county citizens by handing the money over to the Cleveland Bradley United Way but in reality the money will be used for the continuation of quasi-government agencies that have citizen friendly sounding names but do little for the ordinary person. I know what I am about to suggest is going to anger some and surprise almost everyone else. This is just my opinion but I believe the Cleveland Bradley United Way is a gigantic scam. And I will tell you why. Over the eight years I have been publishing this paper I have had a number of needy people call me to complain that when they approached the local UW for help they were laughed out of the office - not actually laughed at but you know what I mean. Yet I haven't spoken to one person that praised their help. When asked a few year's back, Allen Mincey, who is employed by the UW, said that the organization did not help people directly because they didn't want help to go to the wrong people, instead the charity handed the money over to a variety of "agencies" and "programs."

Before I receive angry calls from those organizations like the boys and girls clubs who do provide a useful and deserving service, I have to qualify a point. If individuals want to give their hard earned cash to a charitable organization, then so be it and congratulations for being public spirited. But just because an organization has a public spirited name and whip up a "giving" frenzy each year raising millions for their agencies, doesn't mean the charitable donations are used to help people in need - in fact I would wager that most of the money gets used on expanding the agencies office space and staff rather than help the less fortunate. If a private individual chooses to give to an organization that does nothing but publish an annual list of recipient agencies with no accountability to the giver, then you-know-what is in all probability going to happen. And it does. Cushy jobs and comfy offices for the ever increasing agency staff under the guise of charity.

I have absolutely no objection to people giving what they want to who they want, but I will object strongly when public money - as with the hospital proceeds - is siphoned off to be used in the same way. And there is nothing united about that.

All I ask is for you to research who actually will be doling out the money. You may be surprised to learn that they come from the same Cleveland social group that make up the

"What do you think" Continued

current hospital board, and we all know how efficiently they can handle large sums of money.

Well, you may ask, what should we use the money for? I support an idea I first heard from Bradley County Mayor, D. Gary Davis, that of initiating a Capital Project Account in which public money is accumulated with the intention of using it, or its accumulated interest to build schools. The idea  would also ease borrowing and interest charges to the general fund, and thereby help keep taxes low.

Truly an idea that would benefit everyone. And the people we choose in the voting booth would control the money.

That's what I think. What do you think?

Taser use

Tasers are a useful law enforcement tool for the obvious reason. When used properly they are non-lethal and can help prevent injury to both the officer and law breaker. But in the wrong hands they can become a menace to society. And when allowed to be used by an individual with sadistic and abusive tendencies they can become a tool of torture.

Bradley county law enforcement should be encouraged to review taser protocols and devise a method of selecting only people sufficiently mature to bear the responsibility for its deployment.

That's what I think. What do you think?

Election snafu

So.... officially we are expected to believe that less than a week before one of the busiest and politically important elections in Bradley County's history, Election Director David Ellis, has been mysteriously and suddenly afflicted with a medical condition preventing his participation in the vote counting process. The grapevine though, is sending us a different message.

It is understandable the Bradley County Election Commission would want to ensure confidence in the election process, especially so close to election day but it is my hunch that something much more sinister is going on. A few years ago the Election Commission made a decision to buy new electronic voting machines so close to an election that even the commissioners themselves had no idea how they worked. MicroVote, the company that manufactured the machine couldn't even fill the order immediately so had to lend an obsolete model to fill the gap.

Why the rush to change from the old style mechanical tabulators just before an election, you ask? Because this editor had been conducting an investigation into election fraud and had noticed that the tabulators were malfunctioning and were unlikely to count every vote. Ellis admitted that the count was only accurate to within 5 percent.

According to state law, an election is a transparent process and the press and citizens alike are to be encouraged to view it in action. Not so in Bradley County. As soon as I suggested that I would video tape the tabulators in action - bam - new electronic machines were ordered. Not ordered to secure the election process but to make it less transparent to avoid a scandal.

So..... Why the rush to remove Ellis from the election process?  It is my opinion that like the old tabulators, Ellis had become a liability and was causing unwanted scrutiny of  ballot accuracy. It was to avoid a scandal.

As I say, this is my opinion, in reality only the future will reveal the fate of the election process in Bradley County and Tennessee as a whole. With or without Ellis.

That's what I think. What do you think?

"What do you think?" Continued

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