Ok, the last 2 post of mine, and several conversations later I've come to some conclusions. Now I'm not going to take credit for these ideas being mine originally, but I will say that I'm going to try to in-brace the thought a bit more.
Back 2 1/2 - 3 years ago a newspaper editor named Greg Little attacked not the policies of, but the personality of one of our council members. In a single instant he made it okay for small town politics to go negative and for us to 'hate' our neighbors based on their politics and/or personalities. The worst part, and I'm just as guilty of this as the next guy, is that we've allowed that to happen! We have allowed the negativity to drive wedges between people to the point we don't want to even talk to some people.
We can't allow that to continue.
Just because we don't agree with someones personal life, or a decision they've made, doesn't make them evil. Nor does it mean that we can't work together for the betterment of our community.
Some of you would think that after my posting on ethics I think Bob Burchard is a two headed monster. I don't. I don't like the current tactics he's using in his attempts for mayor. I wish that all we heard from his campaign were what Bob was going to do for this community, and cut out the bashing of his opponent Bobby Logan.
But last weekend Bob and I worked together with the scouts and other organizations to help clean out the city cemetery. We can agree to disagree and still work together to make our town, that's right yours and my town of Gonzales, a better place for all who live here and visit here. For 3 hours we worked as a team. No punches were thrown. No snide comments were made. No x-ray visions hoping to blow the other one up with their superhero powers were being used. No, didn't happen that way. We came together, we saw a problem, we conquered it together.
Still don't like his political tactics, but love what's he's spearheading in the cemetery. No hatred.
There is not a councilman sitting that I haven't gotten onto about something over the last 2+ years. But that's not personal. It's not because I think they are the evil city monsters trying to rule the world. It's because I felt like in those instances they didn't think things through, they didn't look long term, or they weren't looking at the whole picture. But I get along with most everyone that sits on the council including Bobby Logan whom I've smacked hard over the last 2 years in this blog. Everyone of them INCLUDING the mayor has sit at my dinner table for some talk or another over the years.
Now I'm going to say that part of this demeanor is still perpetuated by our papers. Notice that's papers not paper. Headlines like Judgement Day and similar have to stop. Facebook comments about 'the other paper' have to stop. If you want to make a personal comment then make it under your name, but don't put it on the newpapers website or Facebook page for the public to see the dirty laundry! Leave them under your blog or own personal page and don't link them. Just worry about the news you're going to report next paper, and the real news in our community that our town needs and wants.
Our community has come a long ways over the last 2 years in healing a lot of wounds created after Mr. Little opened Pandora's box. But there is still some festering and ooze leaking out. It's time we finish the healing.
When there's something wrong let's address it. This blog will continue to do that too. It doesn't mean that we won't have issues with JB Wells, finances, or other things in our city, but they need to be about what's going to make our city better, not the personalities.
As one who has crossed that line more than once I'm going to apologize now, and I'm serious when I say I'm going to make every attempt to take the personalities out of this blog and keep it more narrowly approached on the issues.
It is NOT okay to hate your neighbor. I don't care what some editor might of told us 3 years ago.
Who's with me on this?
God Bless
Dennis
Showing posts with label Greg Little. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greg Little. Show all posts
Friday, April 20, 2012
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
I hope I'm wrong
So the day that Greg Little was released from the Gonzales Inquirer my wifes' first comment was "I wonder how long before he has a city job?"
We both laughed, and both sighed at the same time, because behind that laughter there was a moment of realization that both the city manager and the mayor owed Mr. Little a good deal of thanks for their current positions. But surely not even they would be so blatant as to try to pass that by the citizens of Gonzales as he's the most qualified.
Now all of a sudden Mr. Little is being seen at city functions and meetings. As a citizen of the city he is entitled to be at these meetings just the same as you and I are. But me smells a rat in the closet.
I'm just going to say this once, if Mr. Little is hired by the city of Gonzales for any position, it will be purely because of the above mentioned reason. A political favor. I will also put on my chalkboard "I TOLD YOU SO GONZALES" when/if it happens. You won't even have to bother with the blog, because all it will be is pointing back to this one where I am forewarning you.
The Gonzales Inquirer didn't fire Mr. Little because of his outstanding citizenship in this town, and we don't need him as an employee of our town!
No, there is nothing behind this other than the facts stated above. I'm hoping (praying is more like it) that this is seeing shadows that aren't there....but every time I've thought that, those shadows have smacked me upside the head.
By the way, after tonights council meeting I have more to blog about ...so come back tomorrow for more.
God Bless
Dennis
We both laughed, and both sighed at the same time, because behind that laughter there was a moment of realization that both the city manager and the mayor owed Mr. Little a good deal of thanks for their current positions. But surely not even they would be so blatant as to try to pass that by the citizens of Gonzales as he's the most qualified.
Now all of a sudden Mr. Little is being seen at city functions and meetings. As a citizen of the city he is entitled to be at these meetings just the same as you and I are. But me smells a rat in the closet.
I'm just going to say this once, if Mr. Little is hired by the city of Gonzales for any position, it will be purely because of the above mentioned reason. A political favor. I will also put on my chalkboard "I TOLD YOU SO GONZALES" when/if it happens. You won't even have to bother with the blog, because all it will be is pointing back to this one where I am forewarning you.
The Gonzales Inquirer didn't fire Mr. Little because of his outstanding citizenship in this town, and we don't need him as an employee of our town!
No, there is nothing behind this other than the facts stated above. I'm hoping (praying is more like it) that this is seeing shadows that aren't there....but every time I've thought that, those shadows have smacked me upside the head.
By the way, after tonights council meeting I have more to blog about ...so come back tomorrow for more.
God Bless
Dennis
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Truth, Justice and the American Way
It's been said that truth will ultimately prevail. For the last 4 months I've pounded on the Gonzales Inquirer for their lack of reporting of news, their misleading articles, and their half truths. I've complained that they are making more news than they are reporting on by doing such a thing. I've argued that their childish antics on Facebook and in the paper are incredibly unprofessional as a mainstream paper in our community.
It got so bad I wrote the President and Chairman of Granite Publications and told them I was reporting more news than the Inquirer. I pointed them to specific articles that were absent in the Inquirer. I pointed them to specific bias columns (not editorials) that showed that they had become nothing short of henchmen for the mayor and city manager.
Look, I believe that every paper has a right to an editorial. I appreciate it even more when they are willing (or better yet, their staff) post 2 opposing views. It's keeps us sharp in our thinking if we have to support what we are saying. Doesn't mean we have to agree, just appreciate that there is another side to the story. The Inquirer had, over the last 12 -18 months drifted so far down the party line they couldn't see what was happening right in front of their shop. They only wanted to hear one side to every story, and that was the city managers side. No one else had the truth in their books.
Well today it's being reported that Greg and Nichole Little were met by Mr. Chionsini, Chairman for Granite Publications, and were told to leave. These 2 are directly responsible for the direction that the paper has taken since Mr. Cunningham left the paper.
I personally think it's a good day for Gonzales. I am praying that Mr. Chionsini and his staff have replace the Littles with someone who will bring the Inquirer back to it's standard of reporting that this town deserves and expects from a 100 year old paper. I hope the editorial page will once again be a place for discussion of our issues that we need to be discussing in our town, but that opinions stay in the editorials and not the news sections.
Good Luck Gonzales Inquirer, and Gonzales, it's a great day for Truth, Justice and the American Way!
God Bless,
Dennis Nesser
It got so bad I wrote the President and Chairman of Granite Publications and told them I was reporting more news than the Inquirer. I pointed them to specific articles that were absent in the Inquirer. I pointed them to specific bias columns (not editorials) that showed that they had become nothing short of henchmen for the mayor and city manager.
Look, I believe that every paper has a right to an editorial. I appreciate it even more when they are willing (or better yet, their staff) post 2 opposing views. It's keeps us sharp in our thinking if we have to support what we are saying. Doesn't mean we have to agree, just appreciate that there is another side to the story. The Inquirer had, over the last 12 -18 months drifted so far down the party line they couldn't see what was happening right in front of their shop. They only wanted to hear one side to every story, and that was the city managers side. No one else had the truth in their books.
Well today it's being reported that Greg and Nichole Little were met by Mr. Chionsini, Chairman for Granite Publications, and were told to leave. These 2 are directly responsible for the direction that the paper has taken since Mr. Cunningham left the paper.
I personally think it's a good day for Gonzales. I am praying that Mr. Chionsini and his staff have replace the Littles with someone who will bring the Inquirer back to it's standard of reporting that this town deserves and expects from a 100 year old paper. I hope the editorial page will once again be a place for discussion of our issues that we need to be discussing in our town, but that opinions stay in the editorials and not the news sections.
Good Luck Gonzales Inquirer, and Gonzales, it's a great day for Truth, Justice and the American Way!
God Bless,
Dennis Nesser
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)