What Shall it Profit Apparatchiks to Win Rigged Elections and Lose their Souls?

As designed, the $80,000 rigged special election on February 19 tax votes in Lee County proffered low (3.6%) turnout results similar to convicted felon Hubbard’s $3 million wasted on our 2012 Statewide special election sham result (14% turnout 49 days before a general election) to rob the ETF back in 2012 and 4.5% turnout to get the last Lee County sales tax to pass after failing twice on a general election. I’m confident most of my readers are familiar with Mark 8:36-38 (KJV) scripture the title above evokes:

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Hubbard minions (most notable Superintendent Delano who used her school/taxpayer funded e-mail system to press the vote) lost whatever shred of moral standing they may’ve still held among thoughtful decent citizens. The painful fact these apparatchiks, educrats and politburo members had so little confidence to stand the scrutiny/approval of voters on the recent general election ballot speaks volumes. I voted NO on of all of the tax votes in protest of this reoccurring practice of special election abuse in our county, although I would’ve voted yes on at least two of the taxes if put on the last general election a few months ago as any decent public servant would’ve wanted. Most productive citizens (as planned) did not know there was a special election vote to put a little fear in these undisciplined tax parasites continued misuse of special elections. If enough NO votes showed to close the margin of victory, waste of this sort would attenuate. Taxpayers spent $80,000 on this special election to get about 4,000 participants -- that’s right we spent $20 to get each vote for this skewed, pressed, sham 3.6% sample of voters. Not that our school superintendents in Lee County show much concern for wasted taxpayer money these past years and the $80,000 did not come out of the school budget where it might cut some overpaid administrator salaries by a few bucks.

This is the modern ‘reality TV show’ world we live in. In fact, it really isn’t all that difficult (as shown by the current BCA, Riley, Inc. et al corporate welfare queens) in a State like Alabama for a group of parasites to do well extracting from our productive taxpayers. The ability to manipulate the system in an increasingly more command economy, less driven by market forces is seen by many as good, profitable business activity instead of selling one’s soul for inconsequential wealth transfers. I do find it revealing how many devote great effort and focus to be a ‘one percenter’ or better. For me to move from a five percenter to a ‘one percenter’ would not impact the quality of my life and Spirit one scintilla of substance. My parents made it very clear what the ‘Good Book’ is… today it seems “Art of the Steal” - you know the book with four Chapter 11s is more in vogue with the zeitgeist.

Bringing 30 years of teaching to a close, I still can’t understand why anyone would become a teacher for the pay. I understand my charity. I made much more in the private sector and purposefully did so that I could afford to be a teacher; if things got tough I would simply return to working for money instead of charity. Even with all the govt. impediments, corrupt administrators, hatred from lazy/jealous faculty, I’ve NEVER lost the joy of seeing a student understand the diagrams/math applied to economic concepts, and appreciate the importance of using words carefully and correctly. While my students seem as bright as ever, it saddens me how more ill prepared I find them this past decade. Most simply assert me as the problem after being told how wonderful they are for a dozen years, but it does give me all the more joy to get those who realize they’ve been poorly served (sound teaching requires a lot of caring, effort and Spirit) to learn how to do a percentage and what it means, the power of taking a derivative and decision making analysis on the margin, etc... Seems memorization and multiple guess is now the ‘common core’ of teaching, but when a student has to actually draw a graph and show the important/relevant points or actually write a few equations and explain the results - words can’t convey the joy I receive in their accomplishments. My biggest paycheck ever earned at FoMoCo doesn’t even come close! If this text makes me sound like “I’m Rotten to the [Common] Core” so be it. I know how blessed I’ve been to be a teacher not a robot sticking to some predetermined script these past decades; I cheerfully tell my honour students I’m the one who’s honoured to be able to shepherd great young minds to exceed my greatest accomplishments - which are not too shabby for a lowly college instructor. This is the greatest joy of accomplishment for a teacher of good Spirit.

Again, what can be more revealing ‘public servant’ Delano et al thugs have little confidence in their inferior, over-subsidized result than going through the effort to put these votes on a special election, waste tens of thousands of tax dollars in direct expense and productive (non-special interested) voters time and effort instead of putting it on the recent general election to get a more representative result? Certainly our corrupt Lee County Commissioners have no moral standing to berate this path after taking “Hubbard Boulevard” to perdition via special election abuse. Commissioner Eckman was most entertaining claiming the prior tax increase had to be put on a special election ‘so the people could decide’ after voting it down twice on general elections with respectable voter participation results. Terrifying to watch people ‘snake fascinated’ by a political predator rhetoric of this sort. I pray our attenuating number of honest legislators on Goat Hill follow-up on Sen. Glover’s recently passed amendment to again display courage and statesmanship in crafting sound text to stop political predation via this sort of special election abuse.

One poll worker on Facebook said she didn’t know about the special election until receiving notice to work the poll. At her precinct (usually one of the busiest AT A SCHOOL) 183 votes were tallied with 6,600 ballots wastefully printed. This was about 40% more ballots than all the votes cast in the entire county with such low turnout! Another precinct reportedly tallied 50 votes of 2,200 registered voters. One voter said they received all the literature on it through the school. I’ve heard mixed reports on if some of what was done by educrats and superintendents are ethics violations according to the Sect. of State. If so, I pray John Merrill will pursue the matter, but understand if he doesn’t given his past efforts on clear ethics violations going nowhere in our State. Spending this much effort/money/time to get the 3.6% special election abuse turnout is despicable. No doubt the politburo get their minions to the polls and carry the day with such a small denominator. The spirit of Hubbard special election abuse is alive and well in Lee County, God help us if this deleterious spirit has permeated to our classrooms.

My understanding is State law determines poll workers are paid $100 for the day - approximately 14 hours work or just under federal minimum wage. My impression is these good folks are passionate about the dignity, importance and sanctity of voting and did not appreciate their time and sincerity squandered in such a despicable, sham result. As an economist, I’m further sensitive to the opportunity cost of my sheriff deputies taken away from other duties after just working a general election a few months ago. We (me and my bride) had about a 6 mile round trip to vote and just over half an hour out of our busy day to levy our protest votes in this sham, unrepresentative result. My voting place was NOT a govt. school - it would be interesting to analyze how skewed results are where administrators/teachers could easily go (and of course disproportionately informed using taxpayer e-mail systems, etc.) vote in this special election. I’ve still not been able to find any official returns before having to go to press.

I assure you I’ve heard the usual slings and arrows of how I don’t care about “the children, the children!” To those who voted for this knowing the despicable circumstances, you have no moral standing. May the chains you’re forging upon yourself weigh lightly and not too greatly saddle your innocent posterity you’ve accelerated upon this ‘Boulevard’ to perdition. My orthodox Sunday school education taught us the cautionary scripture of John 12:5-6 (KJV) about those feigning concern for the poor to cloak their avarice:

Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

Perhaps the biggest heroes of the day were those few voters with children in govt. schools and/or employed by this corrupt county school system under these hostile tactics and still voted no. Sadly with our anti-competitive ballot access laws, hyper-gerrymandering, corrupt contracting, etc. all these malfeasant ‘public servants’ will be re-installed and undisciplined. It is time for those of good Spirit to remove your children from these corrupt institutions, knowing the money wrongfully taken in unrepresentative results of this sort is the consequence of poor government allowed to stand as the “Noon Day Devil” a dear orthodox brethren and scholar of the KJV Bible would reference at times of this sort. I’ve grown increasingly more impressed with home schooled students these past years and it seems Lee County students who do well are more a result of parents who are educators and friends of students with educator parents passing on what they learn. The most astute economic historian of Lee County I know claimed it was over when Auburn was no longer a county school and the occupational tax got to extract from those outside the city limits but couldn’t vote to discipline the increased corruption the ill-gotten revenue incubates. There’s no easy way to move forward out this now deep rooted rot.

Postscript: many thanks to John Martin’s mention of our fight to the US Supreme Court on eminent domain abuse. Our case was simple/straightforward because we could prove they did not meet the public purpose for making us homeless for almost a year as claimed in open court. We weren’t kicked out (without compensation) so our house would be immediately razed, we were removed so others could live in our home and increase the financial and emotional burden to finally get our day in Lee County Circuit Court. We submitted the documents proving perjury which went undisciplined in Judge Myron Thompson’s court as expected, given the pattern and practice of a public servant of his character, intellect and integrity. Many have asked me to write on the matter and I shall when the time is ripe… it is difficult to put 1.1 million acres of arable land (as some have estimated) in proper perspective. Of course, my point will be simple - I don’t care if you think the wall is the greatest thing since Qin Shi Huangdi (first Emperor of China) or you think it the greatest folly since Seward… there’s no justification for these property owners to disproportionately bear the burden of the endeavour according to the text of their 5th Amendment civil right. Sadly the 9 in black robes these past several score have almost completely gutted this civil right.