Who is the real loser when you let other people pick the winners?
By: Steve Trubilla
Last week’s question: Had the time come for me to move on, had this column run its course?
Conflict is so toxic; serious concern for safety and security must be considered.
These concerns still weigh heavy on my mind.
Many responded with a resounding no, saying the time had not yet come, asking that I continue writing the column.
No comment from elected officials, political parties or county executives. How very predictable.
Most of them, I am certain, would prefer the questions stop. Not just mine, but all questions. You see that is the point of attempts at intimidation.
My nature is not to cut and run when confronted with bullies. I would much prefer they are exposed.
Fighting the good fight has its place and merit. I have to consider the consequences my effort has on others.
Threats must be taken seriously, we live in dangerous times.
So why am I even writing the column? Trust me it’s not for the money, and I certainly have no political ambition. If I did, I have done a really good job of Pearl Harboring those prospects.
Neither party is overjoyed with me, most special interests realize I do not think they are all that special.
The answer: I am most motivated by the lack of action and resolve by those that are empowered in our community to find real solutions to real problems.
For years, having worked within the system, going to meetings, serving on boards, and listening to the same thing Miss Washington experienced at a recent county commissioner meeting, I found such things were a waste of time.
I absolutely applaud Miss Washington for taking a stand. She is yet another example of the strong women that live in Franklin County who are fed up with the 1950’s “good old boy” way of doing things.
When the opportunity presented itself to engage issues, the real meat and potatoes of things, not the fluff, I seized upon it and committed to writing the column.
Officials routinely side step with the tactics of Robert’s Rules, saying “I will not enter into a back and forth with you,” or “this is a special meeting and we cannot discuss that.”
Answers are never forthcoming to questions of why our children have to leave where they have grown up to find a job with real pay and benefits, why our electricity costs more than other places, why scandals are the norm, and why thousands of our neighbors have no access to basic medical care.
The unanswered questions never end.
No strategic plan for real economic development, literally millions of dollars being spent to repair buildings that no preventative maintenance plan exists for, the hiring of the same people to do the repairs that failed to get it right the first time, people losing their family homes to foreclosure while banks make record profits.
Things like young people being caught in a meat grinder of generational poverty that predicts a path toward revolving doors of the courts and prison while lawyers cash in. At the same time, others seem to just add to their wealth.
I do not think the questions or message is even being listened to, do you?
This column and The Franklin Times is your conduit for answers. Of course money and power want to control it, or even shut it down.
While your first amendment right was won on the battlefield, it is preserved daily on Main Streets or Bickett Boulevards across this country every day.
We need to remember this; some things are worth fighting for.
Those that would divide us by race, political party, economic standing, gender, or other discrimination command the stage only because we have given them that stage.
We/you cannot continue to accept non-answers as answers while others profit.
What has been done in the past is the past. It cannot be accepted as the future, or there is no future.
The citizens of Franklin County must demand answers to questions like when will the V.E. Owens Park be realized? When will we have a strategic plan for economic development?
Why are county employees being asked to back date thus falsify performance evaluations? When will action be taken to improve and update our library? When will there be high speed Internet connectivity across the county?
To all that have asked me to continue to write, I say thank you for your support and interest in our community.
I am sure the men at the Alamo were a great bunch.
But at the end of the day they did not make out too well, or did they? Long live Texas.
I may stand down for a time to consider the best, or a better way, to approach targets with “Paper Bullets.”
I ask that you continue to engage, go to meetings, and speak out.
The reason we are being taken under fire is because their defenses have been shaken. Together we are many.
There is an election before you right now.
Do not let anyone tell you who to vote for.
The very people who are picking winners by giving you a “sample ballot” are the ones that picked the people that are in office today.
It kind of reminds me of the Alamo.
How did you make out last time?
By: Steve Trubilla
Last week’s question: Had the time come for me to move on, had this column run its course?
Conflict is so toxic; serious concern for safety and security must be considered.
These concerns still weigh heavy on my mind.
Many responded with a resounding no, saying the time had not yet come, asking that I continue writing the column.
No comment from elected officials, political parties or county executives. How very predictable.
Most of them, I am certain, would prefer the questions stop. Not just mine, but all questions. You see that is the point of attempts at intimidation.
My nature is not to cut and run when confronted with bullies. I would much prefer they are exposed.
Fighting the good fight has its place and merit. I have to consider the consequences my effort has on others.
Threats must be taken seriously, we live in dangerous times.
So why am I even writing the column? Trust me it’s not for the money, and I certainly have no political ambition. If I did, I have done a really good job of Pearl Harboring those prospects.
Neither party is overjoyed with me, most special interests realize I do not think they are all that special.
The answer: I am most motivated by the lack of action and resolve by those that are empowered in our community to find real solutions to real problems.
For years, having worked within the system, going to meetings, serving on boards, and listening to the same thing Miss Washington experienced at a recent county commissioner meeting, I found such things were a waste of time.
I absolutely applaud Miss Washington for taking a stand. She is yet another example of the strong women that live in Franklin County who are fed up with the 1950’s “good old boy” way of doing things.
When the opportunity presented itself to engage issues, the real meat and potatoes of things, not the fluff, I seized upon it and committed to writing the column.
Officials routinely side step with the tactics of Robert’s Rules, saying “I will not enter into a back and forth with you,” or “this is a special meeting and we cannot discuss that.”
Answers are never forthcoming to questions of why our children have to leave where they have grown up to find a job with real pay and benefits, why our electricity costs more than other places, why scandals are the norm, and why thousands of our neighbors have no access to basic medical care.
The unanswered questions never end.
No strategic plan for real economic development, literally millions of dollars being spent to repair buildings that no preventative maintenance plan exists for, the hiring of the same people to do the repairs that failed to get it right the first time, people losing their family homes to foreclosure while banks make record profits.
Things like young people being caught in a meat grinder of generational poverty that predicts a path toward revolving doors of the courts and prison while lawyers cash in. At the same time, others seem to just add to their wealth.
I do not think the questions or message is even being listened to, do you?
This column and The Franklin Times is your conduit for answers. Of course money and power want to control it, or even shut it down.
While your first amendment right was won on the battlefield, it is preserved daily on Main Streets or Bickett Boulevards across this country every day.
We need to remember this; some things are worth fighting for.
Those that would divide us by race, political party, economic standing, gender, or other discrimination command the stage only because we have given them that stage.
We/you cannot continue to accept non-answers as answers while others profit.
What has been done in the past is the past. It cannot be accepted as the future, or there is no future.
The citizens of Franklin County must demand answers to questions like when will the V.E. Owens Park be realized? When will we have a strategic plan for economic development?
Why are county employees being asked to back date thus falsify performance evaluations? When will action be taken to improve and update our library? When will there be high speed Internet connectivity across the county?
To all that have asked me to continue to write, I say thank you for your support and interest in our community.
I am sure the men at the Alamo were a great bunch.
But at the end of the day they did not make out too well, or did they? Long live Texas.
I may stand down for a time to consider the best, or a better way, to approach targets with “Paper Bullets.”
I ask that you continue to engage, go to meetings, and speak out.
The reason we are being taken under fire is because their defenses have been shaken. Together we are many.
There is an election before you right now.
Do not let anyone tell you who to vote for.
The very people who are picking winners by giving you a “sample ballot” are the ones that picked the people that are in office today.
It kind of reminds me of the Alamo.
How did you make out last time?
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