Corporal Gripweed: "Damn the Torpedoes; Full Speed Ahead!"

Monday, April 23, 2012

Augusta, GA

By Corporal Gripweed

“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”

               Admiral David Farragut (Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5^th 1864)

              .

It seems of late, that we here in Augusta GA have had our fair share of controversies concerning latent governmental ineptitude. From the TEE Center/parking deck debacle, to the most recent revelations surrounding CHODO shenanigans in the Laney -Walker district, it appears that we have no shortage of city leaders who are willing to look the other way, while deals are made that benefit the few at the expense of  the many. I am continually saddened by the fact that many of these so-called leaders will attempt to  explain away these missteps, by calling those of us  who question their decisions as "divisive".

The fact that mines or “torpedoes”, in Civil War parlance, will be put in the way of any one who seeks the truth is just plain wrong. Sadder yet is the fact that so many people in this county feel that they have no voice and so are powerless to stop the machinations of their “representatives” that they don't attempt to engage government on any level. 

Case in point: The process for awarding the contract to conducting a forensic audit concerning the TEE Center parking deck has been delayed for a third time. More recently, a sitting commissioner has voted in an apparent conflict of interest to have the city repay money his CHODO owes to the federal government.

The ruling “elite” hope we won't attempt to navigate the minefield of connections and incestuous relationships that have “ruled” this city for generations, and to that I say, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”

Moreover, these same elites also know they have the local mainstream print media, The Augusta Chronicle, as well as the so-called alternative print weekly, The Metro Spirit, solidly in their corner. So they say to themselves, “How can we lose?”

Well ...They WILL lose if we continue to ask questions, expose graft and navigate the minefields that scare the timid, but spur the brave to say, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

If the  ruling class in Augusta loses, the city, and it's citizens win. It is up to concerned citizens to step up and ask questions and DEMAND answers...We here at Augusta Today and City Stink ask for your help in this battle...To continue to ask questions and expect cognitive, coherent answers. This is the bedrock of a representative republic. To expect anything less from our local leaders is tantamount to giving away our rights as citizens.

To any one who wonders whether this is a strategy that will produce results....Admiral Farragut won the battle of Mobile Bay when he roared, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”***

CG

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