jdtippett's Blog

Everybody should probably try to listen to Driver in the morning. From what I've gathered, it'll probably sound like a bunch of roosters all set to go off at the same time.

All this time, I was willing to give the new Council a chance, thinking they said they were going to be working for the PEOPLE of Anderson County. Turns out, based on their positive impact on the bottom line of a couple of legal firms last night, they're working for LAWYERS too, just like the old Council.

Some things never change, I guess.

I would rather hope that civility from both sides would become the order of the day.

-pappy

That's been my hope, too, PAPPY, but with Ms. Vossbrinck's "call to arms" and Willieh's thinly disguised "carpetbagger" insults, I just don't see it happening. A pity, too, because Anderson County really does have the people and the resources to move forward if somebody would find a way to put a halt to the "so's your mother" games and let it happen.

I am amused that the county's Democratic Party has stepped into the fray, though. Up until now, the Council war has been mostly Republicans versus Republicans - and that just HAS to be good for the Democratic Party all by itself.

For some reason, Ms. Vossbrinck's move reminds me of a Napoleon quote. When he was asked by one of his aides why he wasn't attacking an enemy that was making camp in an exposed area at the bottom of a hill, Napoleon said, "Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake."

The Anderson County Democratic Party would be well-advised to heed that warning. .

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Democrats getting together, Republikin, but I don't recall seeing "free cheese" on tonight's Council agenda.

(I know, I know. Danged moderators are falling down on the job.)

Of course, I suppose it's possible this bunch of left-leaners misinterpreted today's editorial in The Anderson Independent-Mail, which called for a clean start and civil debate from a "loyal opposition" - not more mob tactics. Ya think?

A new beginning: Council, Cunningham promise a 'clean slate'

Independent Mail
Tuesday, January 6, 2009

A mission statement - before you scream call and verify it came from her. The following information was received from Diana Vossbrinck, Campaign Manager for Marshall Meadors, and is forwarded for your information and action:

I would like to address the issue of our local political environment. The efforts of the ACDP will mean absolutely nothing if we continue to let our county be high jacked by conservative extremists. While we can make small contributions on state and national level issues, there is a great deal we can do to rescue our own community from a fanatical faction determined to destroy everything that is positive and progressive about Anderson County.

A manipulative talk-show host and his narrow-minded followers have taken over our political body and it is up to us to put a stop to their hateful agenda. Those of us who know better have been silent for too long and we are now dangerously close to being too late.

The first County Council meeting of the year is this Tuesday (January 6th), 6 pm, at the historical courthouse. There is little doubt that the new majority within the council is determined to remove Michael Cunningham, our new County Administrator, from his position, in spite of a three year contract.

I personally am very grateful to our prior council for the actions taken to provide for Mr. Joey Preston and to appoint a new administrator who truly has the best interests of our community at heart. Whether or not one agrees with the council's tactics, I don't think anyone in our party could rationally argue with Mr. Cunningham's qualifications or believe we are better off with an administrator who is hand-picked by those who have been working so hard to tear down our county.

Several community leaders have joined an effort to bring the minority community out for Tuesday's meeting in force, and it is important for Democrats to be there. The meeting begins at 6:00, but we are encouraging all to arrive between 5:00 and 5:30 so that we can fill the seats before the other side even arrives. While an ongoing presence is certainly needed at all County Council meetings, it is absolutely imperative for this first one on Tuesday. I do not think I exaggerate by saying that our future is at stake.

Diana Vossbrinck

There is another important item. Stuart Sprague has called a meeting of the ACDP Officers for Thursday, January 8, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. at our Anderson Headquarters on Main St. Among other business they will be formulating a Path Forward for our Party during this year. Everyone is invited to participate. We need good ideas to capitalize on the renewed> interest in the Democratic Party in our County.

-1-opinion

Perhaps the new Council isn't being vindictive but actually going to perform their campaign promises and have the audit? 

-1-opinion

Perhaps, 1-Opinion. But if you and Prevail have been speaking for them - or if they have been taking advice from you two rabid scapegoaters - vindictive is what it is going to be. No more, no less, and to the detriment of the long-term future of Anderson County.

I keep hoping some adults from both sides will step forward, forge a truce and take honest steps to rescue the county from this never-ending cycle of one upsmanship, but so far I'm still looking for those adults. Ron Wilson tried, and we see where it got him.

Aw, c'mon, Republikin. Your logic is the same as that used by the burglar who claims he just HAD to break into that house because somebody kept locking the doors on him. Yes, Joey Preston probably left in part because of the forced accountability, but FIVE MEMBERS of a SEVEN-MEMBER COUNCIL made the decisions that led to the $1.14 million buyout of his contract, not TWO members of the minority.

Time for everybody on both sides in Anderson County to face reality. The reality is the old majority was arrogant and far from transparent in its actions and motives, while the new Council is apparently going to be vicious and vindictive. It's not going to be pretty in Anderson County until one side or the other lets go of the past and decides to move on to the business of the people.

Virginia, I can see you didn't understand my question. Let me rephrase it and keep it more consise:

ASSUMING YOU CANNOT HAVE BOTH, which is more important in the classroom: a) Smaller class size, or, b) adequate budget for teaching materials and supplies?

I drafted a longer response earlier, but it got lost in cyberspace when I hit "SUBMIT." Probably just as well. The elites from Districts One and Five would be leaving dead chickens on my front porch by morning if they had seen my call for a unified school district in response to your second paragraph.

Is anybody else having problems with posts not showing up or getting lost? If so, I need to inform Lefora so they can fix it. We're still having issues with double posts that was supposed to be fixed already.

We don't have as many nukes as we once had, Republikin, and based on what I understand of the new regime, we're going to have even fewer before long.

Mrs. Tippett and I are not a war, at least not in the traditional sense of America vs. Japan in WWII. We're more like North Korea vs. the United Nations.  It's an uneasy truce that could blow up at any minute, but we're happy with it. For now.

It's modern logic, Ron.

Think about it relative to national politics: A Congressional majority of Democrats with an approval rating of less than 20 percent convinced the American voters to send even MORE Democrats to Congress and sold it as "change."

And now you have a government that's in hock for TEN AND A HALF TRILLION DOLLARS telling industries that were just having a tough time meeting their payroll last month how to run their businesses. Yeah, that's going to work. Gonna be kinda like the space shuttle Challenger. We have a complex piece of machinery with more than 100,000 parts, we contract the whole thing out to the lowest bidder, we put it under the absolute control of government bureaucrats - THEN we have the audacity to act surprised when it blows up. 

So certainly, using the same logic, two members of a seven-member County Council can be totally responsible for everything and the other five can be totally innocent. Come on, it's called "the new math" and considers 2/7 to be more than half. It's called "passing the buck until something blows up in your face."

Virginia, I'm intrigued by your "top-down" concept of reforming our public schools and would like to ask you a hypothetical question here. And this one is assuming that in public education, as in real life, you take care of your NEEDS first with available resources, then take care of your WANTS only if it's possible within the budget.

You noted that five science classes of 30 kids with a budget of $300 for supplies. Now, let's assume you have three teachers sharing the teaching duties of those five classes (we all know teachers in the public schools are multi-talented and teach more than one subject in some cases.)

If you could reduce those five science classes of 30 kids to, say, FOUR science classes of 37 kids (and a fraction of a kid, but this ain't math class we're talking about), and make equivalent cuts in other areas to eliminate a teaching position at, say, $30,000 a year - THEN put that $30,000 toward those supplies and teaching materials, would that be a more effective use of available funds during tight budget years?

Put another way, is it more effective teaching a small class with limited supplies and materials, or to teach a larger class with more than adequate materials and supplies? I mean, I was a chemistry major for a couple of semesters after I abandoned pre-med, and we had, like, 150 students in the average chemistry class three times a week. Yeah, students lost their individuality, but we had a lot of really cool stuff to play with while we were learning.

Your answer may determine whether you really understand what's so galling to many of us about the current educational mindset. It's never a re-allocation of existing resources with some educators. It's just "throw more money at the problem, and that'll fix it."

We've tried that. It hasn't worked. Maybe we should approach this from a different angle and try something else? Like, maybe, reforming from the BOTTOM UP for a change and involving parents, taxpayers AND students in decisions about what's best for them rather than just being told year after year by professional administrators what's best for us?

South Carolina has a history of canning coaches before they've had a chance to totally put their stamp on the program (Dietzel, Carlen, Holtz, etc.) Spurrier's doing just fine, considering that particular program has a century-old history of playing NOT to lose, rather than playing to win, when it comes to football.

He'll change that mindset eventually, or he'll come to the conclusion that it just can't be changed and he'll leave on his own.

I do relish the absurdity of the ol' ball coach getting bent out of shape over his quarterbacks - switching back and forth like most people change their underwear - even thought when he was playing in the NFL he was given the opportunity to quarterback the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers all the way through to a stunning 0-14 record. I could have quarterbacked them to that record.

Leopold, you're going to have to cite a specific case on that one before I'll buy into your contention hook, line and sinker. I'm aware the courts have consistently ruled that elected bodies cannot VOTE in executive session, but I am totally unaware of any case where discussions regarding appointments, compensation and personnel matters - including discussions regarding the County Council Chairman - were ruled illegal under the FOIA.

Enlighten me here. Did the case you mentioned hinge on the executive session vote, or on the legality of the executive session itself? I'm not a lawyer, but I do try to keep up with issues relating to the FOIA. Seems I might have missed one that would change the entire essence of that law. How 'bout throwing me a nickel's worth of sound legal counsel.

It also deals with a possible promotion and with compensation (since the CC Chairman gets higher pay than the other Council members.)

Ellie, I agree with you that these discussions should be held in open session. Read the context of what I wrote above. I just don't think it's illegal for them to go into executive session if they choose to do so, whether we like it or not.

Ellie, the first order of business will be selecting a new Chairman of County Council. Discussions leading up to that decision can be (but do not have to be) held in executive session. It keeps the bloodletting out of sight of their adoring public, so they can come out of executive session and give the appearance of getting along like good little boys and girls in their first chance at playtime together.

I've argued in the past in Pickens County AGAINST having that discussion behind closed doors, and I lost the argument. It may be hypocritical of them to campaign on a policy of open government, then run to the bunker to hide out and discuss their first big decision, but it's perfectly legal under the FOIA for them to do so. Or, at least, that's what I was told when I formally contested one of those closed-door organizational meetings a couple of decades ago.

Magpie, of course I understand there's "nuance" to these issues, but with the exception of you, SSHM and a handful of others here, that "nuance" gets lost in the babble of partisanship.

My point is that somewhere over the last half-century we have lost our sense of individuality and traded it in (not wholesale, but to some degree) for a national mindset of dependence and collectivism. And there's nothing wrong with that, in a limited sense, because society always has a responsiblilty to take care of those among us who CANNOT take care of themselves. But we have no responsibility for those who WILL not take care of themselves.

Call it what you want to - socialism (no, not in its purest sense), fascism (certainly not in any sense), or just plain lack of common sense by both our business leaders and our elected officials - but we've reached the point now of bailing people who have been crippled by greed, ignorance, laziness or just plain bad planning.

The ongoing "bailouts" of various industries have brought it home to a lot of us. PAPPY (from the center left) and ol' JD (from the center right) both find it APPALLING that our government has gotten itself so heavily involved in saving industries and businesses from their own excesses. In private business, if you spend more than you make, you either restructure quickly, or you go bankrupt. That's a free-market, laissez-faire philosophy that, granted, is cruel, but it works.

And, for what it's worth, I'm not as cynical as I sound. My tone in my response to the Krugman piece was tit-for-tat with his style. He HATES conservatives and free markets. He has long mocked American values. I happen to think he's wrong, no matter how many awards he wins, and I reserve to the right to mock HIS values in kind.

Personally, I've always been an optimist, and I will continue to be an optimist. Hey, I survived the Carter Administration. Four or eight years of Obamanation won't kill me, as long as the cyclical nature of political power in the United States continues to follow the course it has followed for the last six decades or so.

It wasn't that long ago that Republicans were talking about a long-lasting majority in Federal government (about a decade after Democrats were talking about the same thing in 1993 following the election of Clinton.) Now, Democrats are gleeful at the thought of their own "long-lasting" majority in the wake of the last two elections.

Reality has a way of bringing partisans down to earth quickly. I really do suspect that cyclical nature of politics will continue as long as the majority of people (and, Magpie, believe it or not I do see you as someone who is capable of seeing the absurdity of rigid political ideology) refuse to exhale and face the reality that as long as we stay at each other's throats, nothing will ever really change for the better. The Republican Party, after being slapped and poked in the eye recently by the Democrats, will return as a force in national politics, probably having learned nothing. Then the Democrats will recover, slap the Republicans, and have another go at it, also having learned nothing.

It's like a Three Stooges movie, only it's not really that funny because real lives and real people are threatened by their games. NYUK, NYUK, NYUK! OOOOH!

One thing that really ticks me off about being JDTippett - and almost thankful that his time is growing to a close - is that that particular character came aboard two and a half years ago as a "right-winger" on a forum dominated by lefties and has continued to play that role. And I'll continue to do so to the extent that my conscience will let me for as long as the screen name remains active. But, really, my heart's no longer in it.

Oddly enough, events in Anderson County over the past year or so have made it ever more difficult to play the role, though. The man behind JDTippett is not anti-tax, anti-growth, anti-progress at all. He loves museums, and recreational facilities, and tourism - and has worked hard on all those things over the years in real life.

In other words, the viciousness and vindictiveness of the Cindy Wilson supporters (who had a very valid point about her being deprived of information on a timely basis) bother me far more than the lame defenses the Prestonites continue to offer for his shenanigans. Over the course of the past couple of years, I've tried to be objective, pointing out the laws themselves to back up my opinions and, at times, siding with BOTH of the two warring factions. That's why JDTippett has trouble lining up a good chess match with ATZ members lately.

I'm glad you've enjoyed some of my responses here, Magpie, but the bottom line is, you should know that even I don't agree with some of what I say. Sometimes, I throw stuff out there just to see where it leads - and then laugh to myself when I draw out the usual suspects...

Republikin, they're all confined to this thread - POLITICAL FUNNIES & SATIRE - and that's exactly what they are, whether we agree with them or not. As long as they're not obscene, racist, slanderous, libelous or in totally bad taste - or if they're not thrown in deliberately to disrupt other threads - deleting them probably would be too much moderation.

Besides, anybody who takes 'em seriously probably needs serious psychiatric help - and probably also believes Sarah Palin actually said she could see Russia from her front porch (that was Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live.) The moderation team at ATZ has enough of its own problems without dealing with somebody else's.

Virginia, I'm not throwing up my hands and cursing anything. I'm just accepting that things are what they are. I thought that's what the majority wanted?

I'm 58, Virginia, so I don't know if that makes me an "old man" yet. I do know there is a magical age at which us older Americans are automatically considered to old, feeble and senile to be of any merit to society, at which point we're supposed to fade away to the nursing home and keep out noses out of the business of younger Americans who know everything. I do not know what that age is, but I do know some on your side said John McCain was too old to be President - and he's 72 years old - so obviously sometimes in the next 14 years I will, indeed, be an "old man" according to the liberal rulebook.

Do you happen to know what that exact age is, Virginia, just so I can prepare for it? I might want to fade away a year or two early just to avoid burdening the younger society with things like EXPERIENCE and HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE that mean so little to them nowadays.

As for the "good ol' days" let me just say this. My father grew up in the 1920s and 1930s as the son of a Southern farmer who made it as far as seventh grade before having to drop out of school to help HIS father on the farm (he was one of those "ignorant rednecks" you so despise. About the time he his his early 20s and got married, he found himself drafted into WWII and spent two and a half years in Europe dodging bullets and artillery rounds.

I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, when we regularly had nuclear drills in school whereby the alarm would go off and we would duck and cover under our desks to protect us from that 5,000-degree nuclear blast and devastating shockwave that would follow. It made us feel better. Actually, it made us understand how little would could do in the event of a nuclear attack, but it was something.

I also grew up when schools were still segregated. I questioned that sometimes, but I was always told, "That's just the way it is." Fortunately, that's NOT the way it is now - but when I recall the discrimination and racism I saw growing up, and then hear people call mild racial epithets "blatant racism" I question whether they actually understand what was going on back then.

Anyway, no, I don't long for the "good ol' days" any more than my father did as far as economic and social conditions are concerned. But I do long for a time when Americans were a "Yes, we can" people instead of a "Yes, we can if the government will help us" people. Many of our founding fathers feared an all-powerful central government. Many of us still do. Is that so difficult to understand? 

I'll say again, Virginia: I'm willing to give the liberals in the "new" Federal government (New? HAH!) exactly the same chance the liberals in the "old" Federal government gave George W. Bush starting on Jan. 20, 2001. No more, no less.

Personally, I've earned the right to be a pessimist. For most of my life, I thought the underpinnings of American society - faith, family, initiative, capitalism and speaking with one voice in foreign policy matters - would carry us through any crisis. For more than two centuries, we have been more like those midwesterners who live on the banks of the Mississippi River - those who work feverishly ON THEIR OWN INITIATIVE filling sandbags and preparing for those regular floods - and less like those dumbasses in New Orleans who sat on their porches (and later their roofs, if they were lucky enough to still have one) in the face of a Cat 4 hurricane cussing because nobody from the government showed up to rescue their dumb asses.

You know, personally, I've always thought it was my responsibility, not the government's, to take care of my own family. Somebody sent me something a day or two ago that makes a lot of sense to a lot of us: "I carry a gun because a police officer is too heavy to carry around all day."

The United States is no longer a sovereign nation whose people are capable to taking care of themselves. We are a nation totally dependent on government for salvation. In other words, instead of being a great country, we are now just one huge New Orleans where the prevailing mindset is that we can only succeed as a people to the extent that our government ALLOWS us to succeed or HELPS us to succeed.

This is not the America I love or the America we should be. Fortunately for me, I don't have much time left - but I fear for my children, and their children, and their children. And this isn't about Obama or Republicans or Democrats. A majority of our elected officials seem to be perfectly content with paying the auto industry and others trillions of our dollars to smooth the ride in our handbasket to hell. Bottom line: The ride may be more comfortable, but the destination hasn't changed.

Good, God, I've turned into my father! (I'm just glad he was right.) 

Nah, Virginia, that didn't bring me out for a serious conversation. I've said before that Krugman is just as much a mouthpiece for liberals as Ann Coulter is for conservatives. The only difference is, Ann Coulter has a sense of humor.

If I wanted to engage in serious debate about something in this miserable new year, I'd go back and jump on your "oppressed minority" BS and discuss the double standard in this country for use of racially-tinged words. But it wouldn't matter. The die is cast. Capitalism is dead. Socialism has prevailed. I'm off to see if I can attach myself to the Federal titty now like everybody else is going to have to do - all in the name of economic fairness, of course. 

Heck, if I can show the proof that my great grandmother was one-quarter black, my uncle married a Mexican woman and my wife is half Cherokee, I can probably RETIRE now that those who claim American society should be color-blind and all-inclusive, then spend four decades separating us by race, ethnic background and national origin in order to favor some over others have taken control. And, after all, why should I continue to try to overcome my own bad choices and mistakes in life when, if I just wait awhile and whine loud enough, Uncle Sam will bail me out. .

Well, I'm definitely oppressed, but I've been married for so long now that I just accept it as a way of life.

(What? No, no, I'm just joking, hon. No, please, not the ... OW! OW! OW! ... TORTURE! Somebody call the U.N. Human Rights Commission!)

But I don't understand a group of people who have been oppressed turning around and oppressing someone else.

-ibvirginia

Virginia, maybe this Kris Kristofferson song will put it all in perspective for you. It was one of my favorite songs back before I got edjukated and became a Republican who values all viewpoints:

Jesus Was A Capricorn

Jesus was a Capricorn, he ate organic foods.
He believed in love and peace and never wore no shoes.
Long hair, beard and sandals and a funky bunch of friends.
Reckon they'd just nail him up if He come down again.

'Cos everybody's got to have somebody to look down on.
Who they can feel better than at any time they please.
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on.
If you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me.

Get back, John!

Egg Head's cousin Red Neck's cussin' hippies for their hair.
Others laugh at straights who laugh at freaks who laugh at squares.
Some folks hate the whites who hate the blacks who hate the klan.
Most of us hate anything that we don't understand.

'Cos everybody's got to have somebody to look down on.
Who they can feel better than at any time they please.
Someone doin' somethin' dirty, decent folks can frown on.
If you can't find nobody else, then help yourself to me.

Help yourself, brother.
Help yourself, Gentlemen.
Help yourself Reverend.