Re-fighting a 150-year-old battle
In the 15th year of the 21st Century some of us re-fight battles that are 150 years old, while a menace as old as time itself devours our social, moral, economical and political system.
The quest for political power and wealth has replaced free political debate and our once unique capitalist system where once a worker was allowed to keep what he or she labored for.
Here in Siloam Springs, the City Board arbitrarily imposes a system of unfair taxation called partnering where the lower classes and those on fixed incomes are forced to give to the well-to-do land developers, Chamber of Commerce, and a private religious school without the citizens being given a chance by a vote to voice their wishes on such a corporate welfare system for the rich.
A capitalist system that is financed by the over-taxation of our working class and our fixed income citizens to give to the corporations in the disguise of partnering is not a fair system, but is out and out fascism.
Putting all clever words aside, an enactment of this program of partnering will increase our lower class citizens' tax burdens, increase the number of our citizens in the poverty zone and create financial victims of our citizens.
In closing, this grotesque system of partnering has already been declared illegal in North Little Rock and Pulaski County, Arkansas. As usual, this Board has no shame!
Making A Statement
Some of the Watts, Okla., cops are telling motorists who speed through the town that their only purpose of issuing tickets is to "make a statement" to protect the children.
According to the cops there are many children crossing the highway on their way to the swimming hole on Ballard Creek. (Swimming hole is actually fenced off with no lawful access these days.) In the winter months when Ballard Creek is frozen solid three-feet thick, the children must be ice skating to account for the tickets issued during that time period.
The chief of police has told people how much he appreciates me sitting by the roadside with my speed-trap sign because I am slowing people down and saving him and his gang of armed robbers from having to write as many tickets and do all that paperwork. If you believe that raise your right hand. Whoops, I don't see a show of hands. I don't think anyone believes such nonsense as that.
The robbers aren't always armed. Watts has its own Barney Fife. One of their part-time, unpaid group spent an evening shift protecting the night swimmers. When he got off shift he decided to clean his gun. That is when he discovered he had neglected to put his clip of bullets in the gun. He turned a little red the other day when I told him to make sure his gun was loaded.
The volunteer deputy, who killed the person in Tulsa a while back, caused a lot of chaos in the sheriff's department there. Having an unpaid volunteer Barney Fife running up and down the highway by himself in Watts might just come home to bite Watts in the rear someday.
Watts is not even consistent in its ticket prices. One woman's ticket was for $190 and a man from Missouri showed me his for the same offense and it was for $200. The only thing I can think of to account for the difference was the fact that she was cute. Cute garners you a discount in Watts I guess.
I am hoping that J.B. Hunt trucking will jump on Watts for stopping a live-haul chicken truck and making it stay stationary for several minutes in hundred-degree heat. I bet some chickens prematurely bit the dust in that escapade.
Editorial on 07/29/2015