Disconnect

Nationwide there is a severe disconnect between the people of our country and the people elected to represent us.

In conjunction with Norman Kjono’s many articles about the disconnect taking place in our Nation’s city councils, county councils, state and Federal legislating offices, it is interesting to note the disdain with which people are treated when attending these various meetings. For instance in Illinois, both Jim Blogg and Garnet Dawn were given only FIVE minutes to speak for the cause of freedom in their State, while the know-absolutely-nothing-and don’t-want-to-hear-it legislators greedily helped themselves to TEN minutes of speaking time. What’s wrong with this picture?

Here in the State of Alabama, the exact same disconnect is continually taking place. For instance, we are granted only THREE minutes of speaking time. And that time does not have to be entered in the Minutes of the Meeting, so in effect everyone who goes out to speak at a city council meeting is INVISIBLE. In Decatur, Alabama, the folks who sat quietly in their city council offices with signs protesting the smoking ban, were such an annoyance to the council that they were asked to leave or the police chief would be called. Talk about DISCONNECT!!! Also in Decatur, 50 some people protested the smoking ban ordinance outside the city hall but were told it would not be changed! DISCONNECT again. And in Decatur, too, I have requested a copy of their smoking ban ordinance but to no avail. I cannot find it on their site, nor can I get a city councilman to send me a link to it. I continually receive no answer – SILENCE. I guess their ordinance is as invisible as are we the people of Alabama, but that doesn’t matter to them – they implemented it anyway, even though no one seems to know what it contains.

In the City of Madison, Alabama, the same disconnect goes on and on. Many of us spoke out against their ban ordinance. After that the council amended their rules so that peoples’ statements do not have to be in the Minutes. We filed a lawsuit in Madison against the ordinance and while it was in litigation Mayor Kirkendall implemented it anyway! To our way of thinking, this was absolutely FRAUDULENT on his part. Our lawsuit was heard on February 28th, 2007 and we have received NO RULING on it as of this writing. It would seem that even lawsuits are included in the disconnect between people and government. If they don’t like the suit, just don’t bother ruling on it.

This is not simple disconnect we are talking about here – this is absolute dictatorship. The will of the people is totally ignored.