The right wingers and the media have been having fun with my outburst the other night at the council meeting. I get it. The only thing I regret is that I did not stop at my 3 minute mark. For that I (mildly) apologize. But my decorum pails in comparison to what several councilors (RS5) have been up to and the mayor. They have been violating the Roberts decorum rules for months. One of the reasons I showed up is because I was frustrated with how Councilor Erickson constantly berates Councilor Stehly anytime she proposes an ordinance or resolution. She is vicious. Any councilor has a right to propose ordinances and resolutions, and it was a good one, but we know Erickson is doing this because the election is two weeks away. It is politically motivated and disgusting and highly unethical. On top of that, she should of recused herself for voting on a resolution that affects her private business. Also unethical.
But let’s move onto Mayor ‘Child of God’ TenHaken (as he called himself in a FB video last night posted above). Mayor ‘COG’ has been speaking out of order for months. One of the reasons I assumed that the security guard didn’t even get up from his chair when the mayor demanded it from the podium is because the mayor didn’t have the gavel, Council Chair Selberg did. It was Selberg’s duty to gavel me and send me on my way. While my outburst may have been disruptive, it was NOTHING in comparison to the Roberts Rules violations of several of the councilors and mayor. If we want to have a discussion about civility and decorum, let’s have it. But first you need to obey the rules also and set an example. I often tell elected officials when they demand respect that respect is earned and not automatically granted. If you respect the rules, I will also.
Of course what got lost in all this is what I actually testified about and why it was hypocritical of the ENTIRE council and mayor to do what they did. They are telling the private sector that it is safe to go to work and go out to restaurants and bars but several city employees are (supposedly) working from home. But we really have no proof. The issue I have with this is that if you are telling the rest of us it is safe, it is time for city employees to return to the office, provide services, open the pools, libraries and transit. Many of the low income people in our society are suffering because they don’t have access to the library (internet) and to transit. I think is it HYPOCRITICAL to say the private sector is safe but public employees are not. Are they some special class of people? It appears that way. And on top of that, why is it safe for public works, parks, fire and police to show up to work each day, but not building inspectors, librarians and other office staff? I have been working in an office all the way through this, we put measures in place to be safe, and so far, it has worked. This isn’t rocket science folks. (FF: 2:50)
Calling out elected officials for being hypocrites is NOT dangerous to civil discourse. It is calling a spade a spade. Kettle meet black.
But the media has had fun playing my clip on the radio (KELO AM Right Wing Wacko Radio) without identifying me. Joe Sneve has been the only one to identify me on twitter. But last night’s performance between Don Haggar (Americans for Stupidity) and Mayor ‘COG’ was interesting on FB. Without mentioning my name throughout but throwing me in the basket of deplorables. Everyone they mentioned was anonymous which made it seem we were all one in the same, from the anonymous blogger (not sure who that is) or the anonymous 2nd Amendment threatening person on FB, to the fake twitter accounts and finally me who was a fellow ‘Child of God’. I’m not sure if Detroit ‘COG’ Lewis has a very good ring to it.
I will state something I have said several times before, I don’t do anonymous posts on my site, FB or twitter. If I have an opinion or criticism you will get it directly from the horses’ mouth. What I found odd (or even more hypocritical) was the mayor complaining about social media but admitting he uses it all the time to get out his message and videos. I have often suggested to my elected official friends that you probably shouldn’t have a FB page associated with your political position, and if you want to post a video, do it thru YouTube where you can shut off commentary. But that’s a whole other discussion.
One thing Paul pointed out was he preferred that citizens reached out to him privately instead of thru public input. I have the exact opposite opinion. When citizens have concerns and grievances with elected officials, they need to air them publicly to not only inform those officials of issues but the public. Unless it has to do with personal information about yourself, you should always strive to air your concerns in public during public input. Democracy dies in darkness folks, and there has been a lot of darkness from the administration these days.
And lastly, Paul keeps peddling this idea that our tax dollars should not be spent on tornado cleanup. He exclaimed during the video ‘Look how much money we saved!’ Really? We are concerned about saving money during a disaster cleanup? Infrastructure maintenance such as roads, storm cleanup, etc. should always be top priority. And last I checked we got reimbursed by FEMA. I will say it again, we pay taxes for exchange for services, not for entertainment facility mortgages and failed parking ramps. When there is a storm, send out the troops and clean the sh*t up hypocrites!
It’s disturbing how politicians use Facebook and Twitter. Trump tweets something stupid and brain dead republicans regard it as truth from the Bible. I miss newspaper critique. It’s sad how they’ve disappeared. Network news has become focused commercially. Local news is brushed over with slight mention and no comment from the city. Erickson should focus on keeping her AirBNB’s fumigated from the virus. Her activity on the council has gone from attentive to hissy and catty.
If Erickson is in the hotel business, how much has she paid in lodging tax?
Say, if a commentator used an anonymous name which played off the famed Don Quixote character by using the first name Don and the USD mascot Coyote, would that be within the ground rules of the “Billboard Rule”?
Because there used to be a commentator on some local blogs that used to use that alias until hired by some Kochs. #JustSaying
Do you have video clips of Councilor Erickson berating Councilor Stehly?
Yeah, pretty much watch all the council meetings for the past year. This last one was one of the worst.
Scott you lost all credibility and made a complete fool of yourself when you made the gesture you did at 2:52:40 of that clip. How is anyone going to take you seriously when you do things like that? There is no justification for that PERIOD.
And to make it worse, I know for a fact people want to contribute to public input but they don’t want to be labeled or thought of as the same group of “gadflies” that do the same garbage every week. You guys have ruined public input for the people who want to use it appropriately. Nobody wants to be associated with it anymore.
The Mayor never bothered to share his concerns privately with the Governor !
I didn’t know I had credibility to begin with. If people think everyone who speaks at public input are associated with each other you are sadly mistaken. That is one of poorest excuses I have ever heard. That is like saying everyone who shops at Goodwill is white trash.
“It looks pretty much like a conservative trying to save a conservative”….
I’ll tell you what’s embarrassing. Embarrassing is when a mayor holds a press conference about Chick-fil-A coming to town after he claims earlier in the week that he has some big news to tell us all, then one day after the C-f-A press conference, he shifts gears and finally starts getting serious about COVID-19. Now, that’s embarrassing.
The city’s policies concerning COVID are not only hypocritical, but also confusing. We’re buying, or leasing, more ambulances for COVID, while we open up the city.
No, I take that back. They’re embarrassing, too, and not confusing.
Once Alex gets elected things will get much better.
F & L in SF,
I have some rather obscure and esoteric knowledge which dispels your conspiracy theory RE: ‘Don Coyote’.
I was a lurker on a forum to which this person posted under the moniker ‘Gomezz Adddams’. ‘Gomezz Adddams’ used that forum to brag about his conquests on local blogs as ‘Don Coyote’. It was memorable because Corey Heidelberger somehow found these brag board posts to this obscure forum and issued a scolding on Madville Times/Dakota Free Press.
At a later date on that forum, someone who knew him IRL announced that ‘Gomezz Adddams’/’Don Coyote’ had suddenly passed away.
Yet another poster to that forum, used clues which ‘Gomezz Adddams’ offered of his real life and date of death to administer a post-mortem doxxing of ‘Gomezz Adddams’.
Although you might think these one in the same, F & L in SF, it was death, rather than employment by the Koch Brothers which brought an end to ‘Don Coyote’. Well, the admonishment from Heidelberger took some sport from ‘Don Coyote’, too.
‘Don Coyote’ died on July 23, 2017.
Hardly anyone posts there anymore, but the forum and these posts are still out there in the vaporous void of the interwebs.
To Rachel: better in what respect and for whom? His election would not help the blue collar commoners of the city. Just look at who wants him elected and where the campaign donations come from. Would definitely make Council voting more lopsided that it already is.
TGfG,
That’s fascinating. Perhaps, I stand corrected. Don-gone it!
But does a commentator ever die, if such a person heirs their alias to an other?
F & L in SF,
If inheritances are made from aliases on internet forums and blogs, you will leave many enriched with bequeathment of just those from South Dacola.
Those are a legacy which you will leave “in quotes for no reason”.
TGfG,
Like I said before, the taupe has gotten to you. Try Lysol, but don’t quote me on that one. ( “;-)” )
“I wonder how many dossiers that TGFG guy has?”….”He must collect them on people”…. “I hope he’s not that guy Trump warned us about, who lays in his bed wearing just some underwear and whacking away at his laptop and causing web issues”…. #400PoundsToo?