Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Corporal Gripweed: The People Deserve the Whole Truth


Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Corporal Gripweed

The least deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold
                                                                                                                      Aristotle

After watching the recent machinations regarding the TEE Center parking deck, and the subsequent revelations about the TEE Center itself, I was reminded of this quote by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. I wondered if this could explain the problems that have been associated with this entire project.

Basically that a few, “half-truths,” set into motion at the beginning have now multiplied beyond the control of those who set them in motion. Granted, this would not be the first time politicians or businessmen  have told  half-truths to get their particular, “pet project', pushed through, nor will it be the last time.  There is an old Yiddish proverb that says, “A half-truth is a whole lie.”

That seems to be where we are in this ongoing saga.

I'm not really surprised at the businessmen involved. Unscrupulous practices in business are legendary, and their allegiances are not always to propriety, but to profit.

The more troublesome part for me is the fact that those we elected, and those they appointed, may have believed and signed off on, the half-truths. It also looks as if legal counsel retained by the city was more interested in looking out for the interests of the businessmen, rather than the interests of the taxpayers.

With the exception of a few commissioners, very little in the way of actual, “fact-finding,” seems to have been done on this whole affair. This is the saddest part of it all. The few commissioners brave enough and smart enough to ask questions have been vilified in the media for doing so.

We, as voters, and taxpayers, have entrusted these men to protect the interests of ALL citizens of Richmond County.  It seems that some of  these same men have let down the very people who elected them. How? By not doing their due diligence when obvious problems with this deal arose, and by trusting those who are prone to telling half-truths in order to achieve their goals.

As usual, our so-called, “Mandate Mayor,” has been absent from the debate. No surprise there.
But as to the whole affair, judging from what I've seen thus far, it's either incompetence, which is scary enough, or it's corruption. If it is the former, everyone involved should be ashamed. If it's the latter, someone should be in jail.

We deserve the truth...

And to paraphrase Aristotle. .. deviation from the truth has not multiplied a thousandfold. It has multiplied to the tune of  $50+ million. How many more millions must we spend to finally get the truth?***

    

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