SafariMari.vox.com

The meeting was held, as scheduled, and was accompanied by a tv crew, and 2 citizens' video cameras.  Perhaps it was those recording eyes that had such a moderating influence on how the meeting was run, but you, reader, will be pleased to learn that no one was physically injured in Tuesday night's city council meeting.

At the briefing before the meeting, Councilmember Paul Ford (3rd District) selected item 2C to be held off the 'Consent Agenda', and requested that it be placed onto the regular Agenda where discussion is held and votes are cast.  Item 2C read: "Award of bid to Paradigm Traffic Systems, Inc. in the amount of $184,020 for traffic signalization cabinets and accessories."

At the appropriate time during the Council Meeting proper, Mr. Ford signaled his desire to speak and was recognized by Mayor Green.  Mr. Ford proceeded to point out that both Mr. Green and Mr. Smithey had received significant campaign contributions from the Paradigm company, a traffic signal company, its subsidiaries, and its seeming "mailbox" or "shell" company called Durable Enterprises partnership, and pointed out that it would be improper for Mr. Green and Mr. Smithey to vote on the issue as it would be a conflict of interest and suggested they recuse themselves.  He highlighted the fact that only 2 bids were received, with the second being almost 1 1/2 times that of the winning bid from Paradigm, an unusually wide range.

He deviated from the topic at hand for 30 seconds, prompting Mayor Green to...tap...his gavel and look very agitated.  Speaking off topic about unflattering matters was the very thing that prompted Mayor Green to direct City Manager Cagle to direct Police Chief Brown to remove Mr. Ford at the last meeting that the Council held, nearly a month ago, on April 7th.

Mr. Ford then concluded his comments about the item and why he would not vote for it.

While he spoke, Mayor Green conferred with Mayor Pro Tem Dorothy Burton (At-Large) and when Mr. Ford was finished speaking, the Mayor asked if there was anyone wishing to comment.  Grady Smithey was recognized and denied any wrongdoing in his 2008 receipt of an illegal campaign contribution from a corporation as he had given the check back after it was pointed out as illegal.  Mr. Smithey then asked City Manager Kent Cagle if the bidding process for the traffic lights had, in any way, included him, to which Mr. Cagle answered, "No."  Mr. Smithey revealed that he'd been in hospital and so had no dealings with this matter and then continued explaining how he had handled that situation with the check from the corporation, and asked the city's attorney, Bob Hager, if he should recuse himself.  Mr. Hager answered, "You're fine."  Mr. Smithey finished his statements with, "Mr. Ford, I think your village back in Massachussetts is missing its idiot."

Then Ms. Burton took a turn speaking, without her usual clarity, conviction, or volume, saying that she understood how it was 'customary' for few bids to return when government entities sent out requests, and she spoke in support of the Mayor as he recused himself.

Mr. Green then spoke about his friendship with  local businessman, Mr. Bryant, and said, "I did not know Paradigm was a part of his system, and even though, Mr. Attorney, you say that there is no conflict of interest, I will recuse myself...I'm glad you pointed it out Mr. Ford.  I had no idea."  He then recused himself and turned the meeting over to Mayor Pro Tem Burton to conduct the vote.  Mr. Smithey confirmed with the attorney Hager that it was not necessary for the Mayor to recuse himself, but Mr. Smithey offered to recuse himself but declared, "I think this represents a new level of paranoia."

The action to approve $184,020 for traffic light components was approved by the Yes votes of Councilmembers Weaver, Cannon, and Burton to the No votes of Councilmembers Ford, and Jameson, and then Mayor Green and Mr. Smithey returned.  The Mayor joked that he was ready to take the chair back, and Ms. Burton joked that she would give it back.  The Mayor then asked lightly, "How did that come out?"

The meeting progressed and had the highlight of a new program initiated by Councilmember Jameson called the Keep Duncanville Beautiful Adopt-A-Park in which civic-minded groups like sororities, and others, can periodically convene on a park for some cleanup and planting.  The city will supply tools and training.  Note: If you are interested, but perhaps not officially affiliated with a group, please send a note to Brian of bswcitizen.com to join together, across the divide, to keep our city beautiful.  See you there!

Lastly, I expect elected representatives to act with the most noble intention of serving the will of the people, and to follow their own consciences.  Dissent, not for the sake of being ornery, is an appropriate and natural consequence of a person acting with such high motives.  Consolidated Majority of the Duncanville City Council, i.e. Mayor Green, Dorothy Burton, Grady Smithey, Ken Weaver, and Scott Cannon, take note: The absence of dissent is unnatural and unhealthy.  

Some good quotations about dissent.

050509-GreenYes

Hello, just some quick feedback about the recent newsletter, and the call I just received this morning. In the newsletter, the quotes selected were from unknown, Associate Justices that have not had a remarkable effect on history. Perhaps there is someone out there doing a dissertation on any or all of those quoted, but generally, selecting a quote from the unknown is not one's best decision. Secondly, it is remarkable to me that the choices given on that survey call from Rep. Marchant were so colored that there was not even the opportunity to select, "Other" or "None of the Above", or be allowed to record my interest. This is especially poignant when he asked, "Which of the following 3 social issues is most important to you?" And the choices were: Pro-Life Issues, 1. Protection of Marriage Issues, 2. 2nd Amendment Issues, 3. Listen, it was an offense that a politician cannot even frame a question without expressing outrageous bias! Regarding 'Pro-Life Issues', I feel that women own the sovereignty of their bodies, and as such, know what is best regarding their pregnancies--in all cases, though such sovereignty may go in a gray area in cases of underage persons. Regarding 'Protection of Marriage Issues', it is a shameful thought to deny a sovereign person the right to love whomever they please, and this prejudice is underlying every single utterance of "protect marriage," shame on you! The real issue could be resolved if civil unions are granted, through the State, allowing for equal protection under the law. If you choose to believe it, such persons will NOT be protected by your conception of G*d's law, but in America, Church & State are, and should remain, separate. Make our laws accordingly, and leave the mortal justice to Your G*d. And lastly, I do believe the 2nd Amendment is a valuable part of our privilege & responsiblity as Americans, but if I'd selected #3, it would have been like writing you a blank check. The right to bear arms should never have handed our country over to gun manufacturers who sell the most sadistic weaponry ever conceived, for the purpose of killing people--such rampant disrespect for others as is repeatedly espoused by people of the Republican Party and the so-called Right, such as yourself, is what makes our country weak.

Secretary Vilsack, Please don't make people the perpetual guinea pigs to greed-driven corporations. Even if you don't see the risk to yourself, please respect our thoughtful consideration and comments before throwing all caution to the wind. Some of these actions are irretrievable/undoable/permanent. Help humans advance by not sacrificing the ecosystem in which we share. Respect the thousands and thousands that have repeatedly reached out through this arcane labrynthine system to tell you STOP Genetically Engineering Our Food! Your rights to experiment (and profit) end where our lives begin.

Hello,
Just a note to strongly urge you to remove the company, Koolprint.com, that is listed on your website. 

It was my experience of ordering stickers and then receiving an official looking receipt, but no product.  Various customer service emails were sent to various people with no response.  When I was able to locate a phone number on their site, those that answered gave me the runaround and sent me to voicemail.

Perhaps they are no longer in existence, and that would be a victory for the many people that were victimized and robbed by that company.  However, if you are a legitimate entity, it is strongly advisable that you remove any association with Koolprint.

Sincerely,
Mari Vega

Dear Sir,

It is most unfortunate and unbecoming of a religion that aims to serve and fulfill God's wishes (which must include the health and continuity of God's Great Creation, and ALL of God's Great Creation) to allow someone such as Bishop Williamson to be a voice or spokesperson of Catholicism.

I myself respect any entity of any religion that respects God's Creation and ALL of God's Children but it will be a great injury to me, and my family and friends, several of whom are active Catholics, if the Catholic Church does not condemn Mr. Williamson's beliefs and disconnect itself from him entirely.  He is a strong believer in a falsehood that he would then perpetuate to all of his congregation, and with the complacency of the Church if you allow it.  That would be a very dark mark upon you and your organization.

Very adamantly,
Jay and Mari Vega
Texas, USA

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How can Muslims, Jews, and Christians come to agreement on a workable
and just peace plan for the Holy Land?

A good start is by respecting the holy books of all three "Abrahamic"
religions, both the Bible and the Qur'an. Religion plays an important role in the lives of many
of the region's inhabitants. A peace plan satisfying
the holy books includes:

1) One nation including Israel, the West Bank and Gaza,
with two "states" based on the 1967 boundaries.

2) Both Israelis & Palestinians recognized as citizens.

3) Jerusalem shared as national capital.
Ramallah & Tel Aviv as the two "state" capitals.

4) Right of return & reparations

The peace plan being circulated spells out these requirements
and others according to the scriptures of both holy books.
Play a part in bringing peace to the Holy Land!

PS:

In order to present this peace plan, spiritual language from both the
Bible and the Qur'an are necessary. No one is being asked to convert.

Imperialism doesn't respect the belief systems of indigenous groups.
Your feedback is appreciated.

For the complete article, please see Who Is Ephraim? which expands upon the key concept- that modern Palestinians are descended from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, and thus are entitled to a prescribed portion of the Holy Land.  The article extensively cites the OT, NT, and Qur'an to prove this.

God's Peace Plan gives the boundaries laid out in various books of the Bible and shows how the modern political scene fits into the prophecies.

Authored by Robert Mendelson, reprinted here because I believe it's so important to share.

I stumbled across his Myspace page, and damn, this guy is a phenom.  

50 States, Over 3,000 counties, over 170,000 polling places= Lots and Lots of Cracks

There really shouldn't be so many ways to steal an election--What Is To Be Gained by making our voting system so porous and ripe for fraud, a curious citizen would have to wonder.