San Domingo Was The Hot Spot Last Night

I sat in my driveway last night and I punched into my GPS System, Mardella Springs. The I put in San Domingo Road, NOTHING! I then changed it from Mardella Springs to San Domingo, NOTHING! Granted, my GPS System is 9 months old but it was around $700.00 when we bought it, so it was top of the line at the time.

I then got on the phone with a friend who was able to give me directions to this tiny Town in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, mainly because it was night time and I was heading down one lane wide roads that take two way traffic.

When I finally arrived at my destination I was a little late but I had arrived safe and sound. I was told to watch out for all the deer on the roads along the way because this was truly God's Country. I stood outside the building they were holding this event and I couldn't help hearing something very familiar from my past. No noise whatsoever. No cars, no voices, it was completely silent and peaceful and you knew you were only miles away from a completely different environment.

I walked into the building where to my amazement the room was almost packed with around 40 locals and the rest filled with concerned politicians who were there to listen. Sure, they had some things to say, each and every one of them and even I learned some cool things I hadn't known before. After going to most meetings in the County for the past few years, I thought I at least had a heads up over most but last night proved me wrong.

Perhaps I'm so used to the Salisbury style of politics, "what you don't know can't hurt you" style. I learned last night that the Wicomico County Sheriffs Department is 86 sworn Officers strong. I started thinking about what Chiefy Gary Baker had said and I thought, wait a minute, isn't the Salisbury Police Department the same size? I was right, they are.

So here we are with this gigantic County being Policed by 86 Officers and that includes the Officers behind desks in the main Office as well as Gary Baker & Mike Lewis. Seriously Folks, you have to tip your hat to an organization that size running an entire County far more efficiently that those running the Salisbury Police Department. Sorry but it's a fact.

Mrs. Sheree Sample-Hughes pulled off something I have yet to see anyone else pull off in my recent memory and she needs to be commended for it. The photos above clearly show who showed up and how many showed up. More importantly it was about WHY they showed up. They wanted everyone to know, no matter where you're at, big Town or little Town, this County Council cares and your voices are going to be heard.

Rick Pollitt joked about how perfect the conditions were for a landfill in that exact community, yet the people had spoken and by the time they were done with their meeting there was absolutely no way they were going to consider that community for such a landfill.

It was simply refreshing to watch citizens ask good solid questions and not hear silence, like the Salisbury City Council always does. There were immediate answers to every one's questions and not a single, we'll have to get back with you on that one.

So why did things flow like they did? Because the Wicomico County Council and County Executive HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE! I need to firmly add as well, BECAUSE THEY TRULY CARE! If only the City of Salisbury could adopt this same kind of community management, Salisbury would be the perfect place to live. Eventually people are going to see this pattern of Government in the Sunshine and demand the same kind of respect to those Citizens paying taxes no matter if you're in West Nithsdale or on the West Side, it makes no difference!

My hat is tipped to everyone in attendance last night and it truly was a pleasure participating.

Don't You Just Love 3M Products?

Free Speech?

Something very interesting just came to my attention regarding the use of the internet as a method of communication. As you may know, thousands of people have been protesting in Myanmar for democracy. It appears that the Government of Myanmar has determined that the internet has been instrumental in facilitating free speech and is fueling the fire of democracy. The Government of Myanmar has subsequently interrupted the access of the internet by the citizens in an attempt to stop the protests.

It appears to me that there are similarities between what is going on in Myanmar right now and what is going on right here in the U.S. on both local and national levels, albeit in lesser degrees. While no one is being shot in the street by the govt. here in the U.S., the attempts to quiet unfettered free speech in both locations are obvious.

People in Myanmar are trying to OBTAIN democracy and free speech.
People in the U.S. are trying to RETAIN democracy and free speech.

The govt. in Myanmar is actively trying to stop the people from having a democracy and free speech.
Many members of local and federal govt. here in the U.S. are actively trying to reduce our rights to free speech which, among other things, equate to our democracy.

The govt. of Myanmar is using it's military as a tool to suppress free speech and democracy.
Members of our govt. are using the courts and legislature in attempts suppress free speech and democracy.

Govt. in both nations have recognized that free communication between the people is detrimental to the idea that the govenment should function without regard to the will of the people. In both nations the internet has been identified as an effective method by which the people communicate the voice of democracy. In our nation, members of local govt. have initiated lawsuits against you in attempts to stop your challenge of thier decisions and the methods they use to govern. On a national level, certain members of congress are actively seeking to implement legislation known as the "Fairness Doctrine" which gives the government control of the content of the speech on radio stations, another form of media which is used here to promote our political views. This follows the failure of the passage of an "Amnesty Bill" due almost entirely to collaborative efforts by "We, the People" who united via talk radio and blogs to present our resounding will.

I promise you - the writing is on the wall. A time is coming very soon when we will see members of our govt. attempting to enact legislation that control or limit communication on the internet, especially the blogs. It will come quietly and will likely be hidden in the pages of an entirely unrelated law in an attempt to fly in under the radar - but it is coming.

Think about this. Communication is the vehicle used to unite people. Two of the methods used most widely by people in our country are talk radio and the weblogs (blogs). Attempts are already underway to control radio.
1) There is one step between the govt. of Myanmar and the suppression of free speech (communication) of its people - Force.
2) There are two steps between the U.S. Govt. and the suppression of free speech of it's people - Legislation (which almost always authorizes the use of force to ultimately ensure compliance) and Force.

In order to prevent our democracy from slipping away any further than it already has, we must all be diligent and speak out against any legislation that erodes our right to free speech in ANY form. We must challenge ANY effort that threatens to divide us as a people. If we don't, we will have been permanently divided as a people and the remainder our constitutional rights will have been effectively revoked .

The Next Expansion Of The GOB?

Considering the Fire Department wants to be rid of this particular building, I believe pressure should be put on the Mayor and her Administration to remodel this building, (already paid for) and expand what Offices the Mayor feels necessary to expand into.

The location is extremely convenient, (as close as you're going to get to the current GOB) and the renovations would be minimal. There's no question the City is expanding as well as the County, so why not relieve that expansion by relocating let's say Public Works to this location?

There's no reason to rid of this real estate and as the Mayor has been allegedly searching for other locations, this one makes sense and it's your City, you should decide.

Gary Comegys spearheaded a meeting months ago referencing Citizen Input on what the City should do with this property and very conveniently dropped the ball on it. There has been no follow up by the Press on this matter, (even though I have personally been trying to get someone to do so) as I feel this matter is an important one.

It is my opinion the City should NOT get rid of this real estate and the current administration has proven they need additional space, so why not here? In a City Council Meeting I also asked the Council, (specifically Gary Comegys) if this property extends all the way to the River, since they closed off the road beside the old Fire Station. No one answered me then and no one got back to me on that question. Since they closed to road, my guess would be that the City could even extend the building on that additional real estate and triple the size of that building.

There are plenty of variables with this property and I would hope someone would put pressure on the City to keep the Fire Station and convert it for future use. It's up to all of you?