The Political Rag Spectaculaire
Policy Paper No. 1
It hath been said of old time: "All politics is local."
But I say unto you: "All politics is personal!"Socrates Ruggles, Esq.
I have started a new group: Citizens with a Grudge. SWAG, I mean, CWAG, but it is pronounced the same way. I am currently the only member, so we are all in a sort of agreement about almost everything. I also started the Rag Spectaculaire, a local political gossip sheet. I will swear every word in it is true; or, if it is not, it will be as true as my sources, and resources will allow. That should give me a little lee-way, but not much. No one knows everything; but we try. (We meaning myself and my tapeworm, as an editor once remarked.)
I have a few grudges. I'll admit them up front, and then you don't have to wonder, or try (perhaps with limited success) to figure out what they are. I think it was wrong of the Director and Administration of the Boone County Public Library to fire me for no reason after seven years of good work as a Reference Associate, and as the Local History Research Specialist. I think it is wrong for Gary Moore to be re-elected, when he is morally corrupt, and deserved to go to prison. I think it is wrong for Mr. and Mrs. Linda Talley Smith to pretend there will be no conflict of interests between the offices of District Judge and Commonwealth Prosecutor. I think it is wrong to pretend like Obama is the president, when he wasn't even born in this country. I think we are
Taxed
Enough
Already
I think it is time for a Pity Party — not for us — but for our country! This is the politics of the personal: I take it personally when people bring conflict into the community through their own self-interest. I take is personally when the local judge-exec treats women like they are sops to take the blame for his actions. I take it personally when he takes credit for measures he opposed (like tail-pipe emissions testing), and puts blame on others, when he was originally opposed also (like accusing Cathy Flaig in a mailer of opposing the Creation Museum, when the entire Court had opposed it until Answers in Genesis initiated a lawsuit!). It is stupéfactif, as the French say, and I'm here to tell you about the politics of stupefaction!
"If you only knew," they say. Well, now you are going to know, because I'm going to tell you; and you have only yourself to blame if you don't act on what you know, and remember in November.
Professionals are much looked up to in our society, but not always with good reason. There should be no professional politicians. I believe in term limits; even if a few good people are turned out from time to time. There are plenty of more good people where those came from, but the real danger is in continuing evil people in office. There are always good replacements for good people, and a truly good man would want to see another good man get a chance; why would it matter much if one bad person replace another? The present system (or lack of it) perpetuates corruption, waste, fraud, and incompetence. This is true at all levels. Longevity in office breeds contempt for the public and for public trust.
KACo
I am convinced that KACo, the Kentucky Association of Counties, is a grave threat to justice in the Commonwealth. I have evidence that KACo has spent millions of tax dollars to prevent suits against public officials from going to Court. They do this by paying private law firms to fight these suits. And (I believe) by influencing judges through various methods. One of these firms was Covington based Adams, Stepner, Woltermann, and Dusing. This is the firm that employed Joy, Gary Moore's wife before she became Appellate Judge.
There have been at least five lawsuits against Michael Helmig, Sheriff of Boone County, but none of them has ever made it to Court. This is not because they had no merit, but because of the influence of KACo. I have evidence in one case the Gary Moore covered up a huge payoff by the Sheriff's Department to settle a particular case against a deputy, until ordered to release the information by the Attorney General under Freedom of Information. This case involved a payoff of $1,000,000 of Boone County tax money. Two other cases involved people who were tazered illegally, one man in his own home. He sued, but the cases never came to Court. In another case, of which I have knowledge, a deputy entered a home and confiscated guns illegally. This was acknowledged by the Sheriff in a written statement, and yet he refused to return the guns. KACo was involved, and the man lost the Court case, though the Judge stated that the man's second amendment rights had been violated.
I have a copy of a letter in my possession on KACo letterhead, from Tim Sturgill, General Counsel for KACo, that shows that the firm of which Joy Moore was a member accepted $22,799.10 to fight a single case in Boone County against the Sheriff's Department. This document was released under orders from the Attorney General's office under the Freedom of Information Act. According to articles by Ryan Alessi in the Lexington Herald-Leader, this firm has received millions of Kentucky tax dollars to keep similar cases from coming to Court.
This is a travesty of justice, and it is paid for with your hard-earned tax dollars. Every Kentuckian who feels so strongly about an injustice that he, or she, is willing to take the risks that surround litigation in our justice system, should have the right to be heard in Court. But KACo, which I regard as the single greatest political threat to our liberties, as Kentuckians, prevents it. There are still many important issues relating to KACo to be discussed, but that is enough for this installation of the Rag; I have plenty more material!
Gary Moore
Gary Moore is a crapulent old man who cannot stay in his own bed. The C.O.M. cannot tell the truth, and he cannot stand criticism. Every time he attends the Teaparty Meetings he feels he must answer anything that is brought up against his administration — and, believe me, the list of grievances is long. He puts a "spin" on everything he says, and takes credit for everything accomplished.
The highlight of my many experiences at the Teaparty was when he tried to take credit for getting rid of tail-pipe emissions testing, and the citizen most responsible for co-ordinating the effort responded: "You fought us every step of the way!" That took guts. I admire that: it is the solution to the politics of stupefaction. We can't let the C.O.M and his cronies get by with these lies and this corruption any longer. It's bad for Boone County, and it is bad for morals; for him and others. I take that personally.
Gary Moore is endorsed by "Right to Life." That is good, I guess, though the office has nothing to do with abortion policies, and has no influence on that issue. But why should a man get credit for claiming to be against abortion, which his personal behavior is exactly of the kind that causes people to want abortions. Most abortions are the result of immoral behavior; for officials to indulge in this behavior is to sanction by example whatever is the result of it. This contradiction lies at the heart of Gary's political career. It is like the thief who proclaims the values of law and order. Or the poacher who claims to be for stronger game protection laws. Such hypocrisy is a staple of the ego stupéfactif.
I cannot cover all of these subjects here — but I must move on, or I will not get to air all of my grudges. I'll leave the library for another time, as I already have about five long essays on that topic, and their will be more. That issue can wait until after November; the issues involving candidates must take precedence. I'll also give you the scoop on Obama in another essay — did you know he smokes cigarettes and was born in Kenya? — I told you this was a gossip rag. Let's get on to the issue that rivals that of KACo, at the local level. The connivance of the Smith gang!
Mr and Mrs. Smith: Unequally Yoked!
Smith is a very common name. Many people do not realize that our Boone County Prosecutor, Linda Talley Smith, is the wife of Jeff Smith, who is an assistant of Robert Neace. Even many of the people who know this do not realize what it means.
When any two lawyers are married there are potential conflicts of interest; possibility is greatly magnified when they are both officials within the Court system. This is magnified to the inevitable when they are both in the same District Court. This is because the offices of District Judge and that of Prosecutor are linked by statute. Among other coordinated duties, all preliminary hearings for cases tried by the Commonwealth Attorney must be heard in District Court. If Jeff Smith were to be elected he must recuse himself from any case the Prosecutor brings to Court. In effect Boone County would have a Judge that cannot try a very large majority of the cases that would normally come before him. This is stupéfactif.
You say that wouldn't really matter. But the Supreme Court has already ruled that is does. A Court case decided in 2003, the Brandenburg case, involving drugs, was declared invalid, because someone working in the Prosecutor's office was related to someone in the Judge's office!
This is as it should be. The potential for injustice and conflict of interest is too great. But don't you see how much potential conflict the county would be inviting by this situation? The politics of stupefaction would be in full swing. And you ain't heard nothing yet! Things would go from bad to worse in short order. Our local Court system could be in chaos for years to come, since there would be uncertainly attaching to every single Court case tried during the tenure of these two individuals.
Let me explain that though I take this conflict of interest personally, I have no personal animosity to Linda and Jeff. They are the typical Yuppie couple trying to get ahead. The pay is good, the benefits, particularly the retirements, are great. You can't really blame them for trying to cash in on what appears to be an excellent career opportunity. However, this, for me, is beyond the cash; we will pay that in any case; it is about what is right for Boone County. Even the fact that Judge Moore, the C.O.M. wants Jeff (an insider) to be District Judge, should speak volumes about what this election means, and who stands to gain or lose influence by the result. Think about it.
Amanda Benshotten, the Enquirer reporter, wrote an article online about the Walton Parade in which she said that Jeff Smith's mobile sign, featuring a huge photograph of himself, trumped Rick Bruggemann's cavalcade with more than one hundred people. (Yes, I and six of my children were in it too. This is personal, remember!) I commented on Facebook that in my opinion people are more important than posters in any election, but, that if posters were the issue, Jeff Smith had a huge poster of himself, and Rick Brueggemann had a huge poster of the Constitution, and that, as far as I can see, that just about sums up the differences between the two candidates.
I guess that's about enough political stupefaction for now. But I assure you that everything I have told you is true: Every word of it! My informants may not always be completely informed themselves, but my unerring judgment allows me to compensate for this, and you can rest assured that the truth has overcome all obstacles to reach you.
Jas. Duvall, M. A.
Professor of Muckraking and Criminology
Big Bone University
Nec ossa solum, sed etiam sanguinem.
25 Sep 2010. Minor revisions 28 Sep 2010.
