The Angry Citizen ©

Below is the response I sent back to the previous letter response.  It to fell on deaf ears.

My goal is to stimulate a discussion on Jerry Modena’s poor performance. I don’t want to see the media ignore his opponents until just before the election thereby denying them the ability to effectively challenge him.

I believe that Jerry Modena has been a very poor sheriff and has basically written off Lake Wildwood and other areas of Bibb county as far as routine patrols are concerned. Captain Davis told me specifically that he does not see Lake Wildwood as a priority and feels that there is no need to patrol on any regular basis since it has a security patrol. I often go 6-7 months without seeing a BSO car within Lake Wildwood.

I am caught between LWW security on one side and BSO on the other with neither willing to address the core issues. Both tell me to call the other. I have several Boom Cars that drive by my house at all hours. I had one recently that woke me up from about a quarter of mile from my house. I could track him as he came off of Greentree Pkwy through two turns down to my street. He rattled the windows as he went by at 0337. You published a letter about this several years ago that resulted in a visit by Lieutenant Scarbary who promised results but delivered nothing.

I have provided BSO with tag numbers and descriptions of vehicles as well as the drivers. I have given them the addresses where the car is normally parked. I have even offered to go to court. However, I was told by a deputy I know that Jerry Modena has made it known that he does not want his deputies tied up in court with penny ante stuff.

I also routinely see serious problems with stop sign running, speeding, reckless driving and other very dumb behavior. For example I recently saw a young lady driving around our neighborhood on a riding lawn mower with eight children standing or hanging on. The youngest was about two. I also saw an adult drive down my street with three children standing on his bumper holding the roof rack. His speed was in excess of forty miles an hour in a 25 mph zone. Another adult was driving a white van down the road as escort for her toddler on an electric toy car. What will happen when someone tries to pass her and fails to see the child? As a nurse I shudder when I think of seeing these kids in the ER. Yet, there is little point in calling BSO as the only response is a laconic “thank you sir we’ll check the area”. This is code in law enforcement meaning we may drive by sometime in the next 24-48 hours. Even with a prompt response the chance of catching anyone is slim if not nil. These are the type of problems that can only be solved by an engaged and proactive law enforcement agency. In most cases a visible presence is sufficient to deter much of this type of problem..

I think that these quality of life crimes are real and pressing problems that neither the Macon PD nor BSO take seriously. I want to change that by highlighting the issue. The way to have a responsive law enforcement agency is to let their leaders know that their actions and decisions have consequences.

The letter below was sent on May 15th 2008 but not published.  It did get a response via email to contact the Board of Elections.  I doubt the Board of elections is allowed to sponsor “democratic dialogue”.

Editors,

On May 1st I wrote you a letter asking for more information on the opposition to Jerry Modena. You did not publish it. Here is a short request. Please publish the names and contact information for his opponents. There are many of us who want to see him replaced but with the media chilling free speech and true democratic dialogue it is quite difficult.

64 words

I think any blogger worth his salt should make a show of support for the Nation of Burma. Now called Myanmar the nation has been ruled by a military junta since 1989. In 1990 the government held open elections and the people voted overwhelmingly for the National League for Democracy or NLD. The NLD won 392 of 489 seats. Following the election the government threw out the results and violently crushed the demonstrations that followed.

Aung San Suu Kyi the leader of the NLD has been under house arrest since forming the NLD. She won the Nobel Prize for peace in 1991 for her non-violent refusal to acquiesce to exile.

Today, Myanmar is again on the front pages of history as its people take to the streets seeking the same freedom I enjoy. I can do nothing less than show my support. I have added the flag of the NLD to the Angry Citizen site in a show of support.

I also call on all athletes who will be competing in any event within China or against or Chinese teams to consider adding the fighting peacock from that flag to their clothing as a show of support for the Burmese people.

The Angry Citizen

Freedom

I was watching a show on the military channel the other day and I had an epiphany of sorts.  First I thought, war is one of the greatest drivers of innovation.  Then I thought about capitalism.  Next I mentally looked at those things which suppress innovation and I think that religion and totalitarianism are the two biggest on that front.

I now think that the two greatest driving forces  for social and technological  change and innovation are war and capitalism whereas repressive regimes and religion are the greatest hindrances.

The reasons for this are really quite simple.

• War demands that a deadly game of keep up be played in order to prevail.
• Capitalism rewards innovation and punishes complacency.
• Religion worships the status quo and stigmatizes or ostracizes those who do not blindly follow the doctrine.  Religion fears free thought.
• Totalitarianism fears its subjects and suppresses innovation as potentially harmful.

By far the worst is religious totalitarianism as it can offer no rationale for its existence but rather demands complete subjugation of individualism and innovation simply to survive.

Not really new thoughts but it’s the first time I congealed it so concisely in my mind.