Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 49. Sunrise is 7:31 and sunset 5:49 for 10h 14m 32s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 76.7% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1917, the Balfour Declaration proclaims British support for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people:
His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
For many years, Whitewater has been a town beset by special interests. What’s new is that they’re now working in daylight to cement control over the town for another generation. Whitewater’s an open-air theater of small-town cronyism in action.
A few quick points.
1. Special Interests Would Rather Not Be Seen. Ideally, they will put their operatives and catspaws on boards and commissions without much attention. For elected positions, they’ll look for districts with no one else running. Districts like that are a golden opportunity to run candidates wholly devoted to them but so objectionable to ordinary residents that those types of candidates could never win otherwise.
2. If Seen, Special Interests Will Never Acknowledge Their True Purpose. No one will stand up and say, for example, “I’m Landlord Number 1, this is my Dogsbody Operative, and we’re here to make sure you pass an ordinance that favors rental properties of mine or disadvantages my competition.” They’ll never say that! Instead, they’ll argue for those very changes and dare others to call them out for having a conflict of interest.
3. Special Interests Never Defend, They Accuse Others. Every so often, something goes awry, and someone calls a special interest man out. Special interests count on others to stay quiet from ignorance, other obligations, poverty, or malaise. Damn it, people were supposed to stay quiet and let others walk all over them, but ordinary residents will tire of being doormats, and they’ll speak out.
When they meet opposition, special interests will accuse others of the wrongful conduct they have, themselves, have committed.
There are two reasons that they prefer to attack. First, it draws attention away from the special interests’ conduct. It’s critical to accuse others so that they “flood the zone with sh-t” and leave everyone confused about who did what to whom.
Second, few people will have sympathy for well-positioned special interest men. When they try to play on others’ sympathies, they learn quickly that deep down others resent their overbearing influence. The sharper among them suspect this, and so don’t even look for others’ sympathy.
When normal and decent people hold office, the special interests conspire for their ruin with bad faith accusation after bad faith accusation.
omg! so true and so funny. the memes and videos you use make your points really well, to be honest. you do a good job mixing sweet and sour.
Thanks very much. There’s more than one way to make a point, more than one tone in which to deliver a message. I thought about this while watching the last session of the Whitewater Common Council, and perhaps I’ll have a chance to expand on the point in a post tomorrow. (There are always a few drafts of posts at FW nearly ready to go, and I usually select from among them for each day’s post.)
A post on messaging in Whitewater is forthcoming, but not today (11.3). Some economic news today.
It is a front row seat into peopel effing up a town. No question Allen plus Knight are creating a fight that pulls other people in who wouid rather not be in. Who wants to line up and say “yeah we were the guys who cut a contract short” in this place? Only stupid people. THese guys are giving the city new lows at every meeting. Amazingly stupid people.
I think we all would give up our good seats for a better group of politicians.
And yet, indeed, one does not make history in conditions of one’s choosing. This is one’s city; there will be no leaving.
This is, also, a conflict of others’ choosing. They are responsible for their words and actions. They began this conflict, they have perpetuated it, and now they have exacerbated it. It will stop when they stop, and only when they stop.
In truth it falls to the rest of us to press on even while a conflict of others’ choosing rages because the needs of one’s city cease to exist for no special interest.
“Leadership is service, not position.” – Tim Fargo
Indeed.
This, again and again: “They began this conflict, they have perpetuated it, and now they have exacerbated it. It will stop when they stop, and only when they stop.”
Some of these men have spoken and acted as though they were the only people in Whitewater. They will be reminded so often as necessary that they’re not. Others of us are happily, gratefully, and blessedly in Whitewater forever.
We’ll carry on.