Taking Liberties by Joe McNally
Kathy's Big Crackdown
Stop complaining about the county-or else
In this age of terrorism when unexpected horror on a massive scale can threaten our way of life at any time, there is nothing more terrifying to some public officials than a sudden outbreak of democracy.
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Some proposals are beyond satire. It's an indication of just how isolated county supervisors are from the political concerns of citizens that Arciszewski not only would consider such an idea, but that she'd reveal it out loud to an already angry group of constituents.
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Arciszewski was right, of course, that there was a lot of citizen unrest. She was totally wrong to believe there was something frightening or unsettling about that. . .
. . .the citizens who sought to recall Ament and members of the County Board were following an orderly democratic process. There were gathering signatures on petitions as required in recall election procedures under the law.
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It shows just how small the world of elected officials is when they confuse citizens' complaints about their actions with civil disorder that must be controlled by the police.
We will never know exactly what Arciszewski had in mind for deputies to do to put the community at ease after the sheriff's department seized control of the county. It's doubtful that armed deputies showing up at the doors of those who signed petitions would put those citizens "at ease" about their government.
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If complaining about excessive county pensions prompts a call for martial law to restore order, then suggesting the County Board could be reduced by half without any loss of brainpower could be enough to get us all thrown into concentration camps.
The nature of the jobs pretty much ensures that a fairly large percentage of the people who want these jobs are the people who should not have these jobs. Comments are welcomed.