County Commissioners
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Define “Proof”
On my third post on December 19, I told a commenter that I would approve the comment about corruption but invited her to provide more than just a hypothesis of corruption. That was met with a list of campaign contributions from another commenter, offered as proof. I responded, “I can see where you might draw… Continue reading
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Political Cartoons?
A recent comment on my blog said “any politician who cannot handle a political cartoon (which those memes are) should try another line of work. That comes with the territory, and so does criticism.” This was in response to my describing what (in my mind) would be humiliation on the part of those Commissioners at… Continue reading
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Do the ends really justify the means?
You’ve probably heard the phrase “the ends justify the means,” right? Apparently, that phrase is attributed to Niccolò Machiavelli, a political philosopher from the 14-1500s. He did not use the phrase, but much of his writing in The Prince was around achieving “the ends” in whatever way necessary. I would like to think that we… Continue reading
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Imagine, if you will
You are a local elected official. It doesn’t matter why you ran for office. What does matter is that you sign on for a four-year term and take an oath of office that says, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States… Continue reading
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Hiding Behind Inference
An inference is the process of drawing a conclusion from supporting evidence. It’s when you go beyond the evidence and reach some further conclusion that either was or was not the intention. Definition from literaryterms.net. We draw inferential conclusions all the time. Someone yawns, we infer they are tired. Someone’s face turns red, and they scowl,… Continue reading
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What does it mean to “censure?”
The term has been used more than once in government recently, at the national and the local level. It invokes strong feelings because it is a strong statement. But that is all that it is – a statement made by a Board that expressed disapproval of actions of a Board member. From Wikipedia: “A censure is an… Continue reading
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When One Wins, Someone Else Loses
That’s just the way the world works, right? Winning feels good – losing, not so much. Ask anyone wearing team colors at the end of the season and you’ll probably get a resounding YES to that statement. When the win or loss is among one’s community however, it’s not as easy to justify one winning… Continue reading
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White Knights, Crusaders and Decorum
We all love a battle between good and evil where the good guy wins even if he has to use some…um…well….unconventional tactics. We root for the good guy trying to topple big business or trying to shine a spotlight on corruption, regardless of the tactics. And because we know they’re good guys, we cheer them… Continue reading
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Have we lost the ability to reason? Part I of III
This is Part I of a Three-Part Series on the current conflict in St. Johns County. This year, St. Johns County holidays are looking more and more like conflict rather than holiday spirit. Why is that? While some may think it is the fault of one or more County Commissioners, it is my opinion that… Continue reading
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Have we lost the ability to reason? Part II of III
This is Part II of a Three-Part Series on the current conflict in St. Johns County. Read Part 1. The Background This rift between the Commissioners has been building for a long time, and in reality, it does boil down to the perception of over-development in St. Johns County. Back in 2021, I joined with… Continue reading
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