The MaconBest Blog

This comment on my previous entry deserves its own post for all to see.

If you had any doubts regarding the blatant bias and favoritism that rules the state run Telegraph’s Viewpoints page, read this letter sent to the state run Telegraph’s Senior Editor.

April 24, 2009

Ms. Sherrie Marshall
Executive Editor
The Telegraph
Macon, GA

Dear Ms. Marshall,

On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, the Telegraph published a letter from Mr. Frank Gadbois, trashing the National Rifle Association, of which I’m a member. On that same day, I wrote a letter to the Telegraph in response to Gadbois’ comments, but it was not published. I believe my letter was ignored because of the Telegraph’s obvious anti-gun posture. Now today, just 3 days later, the Telegraph published another of Gadbois’ letters, although on another topic. In publishing a second Gadbois letter in the same week, you’ve violated your own “one letter per week” rule. Clearly, you’re in love with the Gadbois mindset. The Telegraph’s bias is showing.

Editors of the state-run newspaper The Macon Telegraph today personally addressed a letter writer who dared suggest Frank Gadbois received preferrential treatment on the Viewpoints page, informing her that they limited him to “one letter per week”.

Link to Viewpoints for Tuesday 7 July 2009

Oh come on guys!  Man up and admit it, you have your favorites to whom the 1 letter a week rule doesn’t apply.

As I said in Part I, the Telegraph edited my letter to make it all about Frank Gadbois because they don’t want the truth exposed. They’d rather marginalize my letter as just another “anti-Gadbois” and hope this all just goes away.

I won’t let it go away.

I spent only 30 minutes searching the Telegraph’s site to compile some stats. Their search function sucks and the archives are horribly organized, but I did come up with a list from the past 2 months.

This isn’t about liberal or conservative, this is about laziness and carelessness on the part of the Viewpoints page editor and the arrogance shown in the way my letter was edited.

Frank Gadbois:

Faye Tanner:

Joe Hubbard:

Glenn Gibble:

Bobby Chastain:

James Rumage:

Lee Ballard:

Dwight Poole:

Hey, this is after all our State-Run Media.

***UPDATE!***

Go read today’s Viewpoints page and then compare what you read to Viewpoints for Thursday 28 May.

They PUBLISHED THE SAME LETTER TWICE!!!!!!! Did Mr. Pearsall send in the same letter twice, or is the Viewpoints page on some sort of malfunctioning autopilot?

The editors of the Telegraph decided to finally publish my letter regarding their blatant disregard of the ‘one letter every seven days’ rule.

Link to Friday’s Viewpoints Page

Here is my letter as it appears in the paper:

‘Chosen class’

Macon

They edited this letter, folks!

Here is the letter I sent, with edited portions bolded:

Are there so few letters sent to the Telegraph that the editors have no choice but to ignore the ‘one letter every seven days’ rule?

Mike Ganas,
Administrator, MaconBest.com

Why edit out the part about Dwight Poole? Not like the letter was too long, not when compared to the rambling missives from some of their “favorites”. No, they’re trying to portray my letter as an objection to the over-publication of a liberal, which it isn’t. Nobody takes Frankie Boy seriously except for Frankie Boy, and obviously the Telegraph editors. I’m merely pointing out the obvious, which is the fact that *some* people get preferential treatment on the Viewpoints Page. And why edit out my position as Admin of MaconBest.com? Afraid of a little competition from a site that doesn’t have a bunch of annoying pop-up ads?

Over the weekend, I’ll be combing thru the archives of the Telegraph. Dumpster Diving, if you will. This isn’t over, not by a long shot.

I’ve received some disturbing reports about behavior taking place at at least one school in Jones County, possibly more.

The behavior includes large groups of students disrupting lunch by pounding on the tables chanting “Obama! Obama! Obama!”.  Even worse, some students have been attacked and beaten by groups of students for having “nobama” stickers.  According to what I’ve been told, teachers and faculty are taking no action whatsoever.

To make it worse, teachers and faculty have been ordered to not say a word about what is going on.  Not to anyone, even parents!  And they’ve been threatened with termination if they don’t obey this order.

Sorry folks, not gonna happen!  Parents have a right to know what is going on and I am going to make sure they find out.

Parents of students involved in any incident or who have witnessed any incident, PLEASE contact me.  I will help get the word out and your identity will be protected.

Teachers and faculty at Jones County schools.  Please don’t stay silent.  Parents and the public have a right to know.  Please contact me!  I promise you, your identity will be kept absolutely secret.  Your responsibility is to the students who are there to learn, not to school administrators.

I can be reached at bendrr@cox.net

I’d like to address some statements by Sheriff Jerry Modena and Macon Police Captain Willie May regarding the surge in crime here in Macon.

Link to Macon Telegraph article

Authorities in the city and county cite the lagging economy as a driving factor for armed robberies in the last couple of years.

“Since 2007, the economy has played a serious factor in it,” Modena said.

“It’s not an excuse,” May said, “but you have to focus on the mentality of the armed robber, especially when a juvenile is involved. Are they enduring hard times at home? Are they able to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner?”

“They may not reveal this motive to us, police, but a lot of times these crimes are committed because kids are thinking of some desperate way to help out mom who has no job and no money,” he added.

Sir, you should have stopped at “it’s not an excuse” because it isn’t. You know what? Once someone makes the choice to threaten the life and safety of others in order to take money or property from them by deadly force, I really don’t care to hear law enforcement try to make me feel sorry for the human filth.

Authorities encourage residents and business owners to install security and surveillance equipment at their homes and businesses.

Aren’t y’all forgetting something? Anybody care to guess what they’re not mentioning?

Most importantly, victims of armed robberies are urged to cooperate with assailants - not resist.

“Go ahead and give the people what they want. The money is not worth fighting over, it’s replaceable,” Modena said. “Comply with instructions given. Don’t make quick or hostile movements. Alert law enforcement as soon as possible.”

DING!DING!DING!DING!DING!

Mr. Modena, where is the garantee that robbery victims will not be harmed if they comply like the meek little sheep you’re encouraging us to be? Robbie McCauley complied and look what it got him. Shot in the back. Did it ever occur to you that when you say things like that, it serves to encourage the urban terrorists? That what they’re hearing is the cops telling potential victims not to fight back and they know that we (unlike them) do what the authorities tell us to do?

The State of Georgia issues, as a “shall issue” state, licenses to carry firearms both openly and concealed. The State of Georgia also put teeth into our carry laws by passing a “castle doctrine”, a “stand your ground” law that does not require us to attempt to flee first from the criminals who seek to do us harm. You, as the Sheriff of Bibb County, should be well aware of the fact that compliance is no garantee of safety, and the fact that law enforcement cannot protect everyone all the time. It is irresponsible of you to ignore the fact that the citizens you are sworn to serve and protect have every right and the personal responsibility to defend their lives and property.

You and the Macon Police would serve the public and potential victims a lot better by engaging in open and honest discussion of self-defense by deadly force. You are sworn to uphold and defend the law; the right to carry firearms and the right to self defense by lethal force are among those laws sir. Please do not remain silent on them.

The thugs keep getting bolder and bolder. Friday night, two thugs, two urban terrorists, boldly attacked customers dining on the porch of The Back Burner restaurant on Ingleside. One customer was shot, fortunately he survived.

Link to Macon Telegraph Story

Unfortunately, none of the customers there were armed. That’s a shame because Georgia Law allows Georgia Firearms License holders to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol. It’s a shame that there wasn’t at least one freedom-loving law-abiding Citizen there who could have drawn a gun and blown those two urban terrorists to hell.

And that is what it is going to take. The police can only do so much. It is our own responsibility to defend ourselves, our property, and our fellow Maconites when there are no police around.

So I’m issuing a call to arms. Go down to the Bibb County Courthouse to the first floor and apply for a Georgia Firearms License. It is an easy process that doesn’t take very long at all, the employees are friendly, and the cost is only $40.25. You’ll need to either bring a money order or cash in the exact amount.

When you receive your license (I’ve heard the turn-around time is around 30 days, sometimes sooner) you can carry a concealed firearm anywhere except for government buildings, schools, churches (and who really needs a gun in church anyway? That’s just wrong!), and bars. Oh and the Atlanta Airport. You can carry your gun concealed in a restaurant that serves alcohol, such as the Back Burner if you want to go hunting.

Oops! Did I just say that? LOL!

You can also carry concealed in WalMart, the Macon Mall, Smiley’s, pretty much everywhere you need one in Macon. I want to see the good people of Macon exercise their Second Ammendment rights openly as a show of force to the thugs who want to terrorize and rob us. Everywhere the thugs go, I want them to see armed citizens and I want them to be afraid. Very afraid.

The liberals whine about “more guns on the streets” but that is exactly what we need. More guns on the streets, more guns behind the counters of our businesses, more guns within reach in our cars, more guns on our hips anytime the thugs are on the prowl for victims. I want the next Robert McCauley to be able to fight back with equal force instead of cowering in fear while some cowardly piece of human filth shoots him in the back after robbing his store.

We can make this happen, people!

Continuing the saga of Elaine Lucas versus the Museum of Arts and Sciences….

The favorite councilperson of MaconBest made the charge that the MAS is, in the minds of her core constituents, “…not as open to their children as it should be.” (Link to Macon Telegraph Story)

Out of the blue, a question crossed my mind. A light shone down from heaven, I had an epiphany, but I didn’t vote for Obama. I went to the website of Macon’s Tubman African American Museum to investigate its admission and membership fees, hoping to find a museum that Mrs. Lucas would consider “as open as it should be” to her core constituency.

The Tubman African American Museum: Tubman Museum’s Website
$5 for adults
$3 for children ages 4-17
$3 for college students with ID
$2 for students on school field trips
$3 for students from outside Bibb County and private schools
Free for children under 4
Free for members
Membership: $15 for students

The Museum of Arts and Sciences Museum of Arts and Sciences Website
$8 Adults
$6 Seniors
$6 Military
$5 Students
$5 Ages 12-17
$4 Ages 2-11
$2 for students on school field trips
Free for Bibb County Residents Every Monday: 2 - 5 p.m.
Free for Bibb County Residents and College Students on the last Friday of Every Month: 5 - 8 p.m.
Free for members.
Membership: $15 for students.

Now granted, the Tubman is cheaper by $1 or $2 depending on the age of the child, but we’re only talking about one or two dollars! This is not a huge difference in price! What she neglected to mention is the fact that admission is free for members and that the membership is the same price for students (children) at both museums!

Another niggling little detail is the fact that the Tubman charges an extra buck per snot nosed little brat for field trips from schools outside of Bibb County, same as the MAS does, as well as private schools whether they’re in Bibb County or not. Quick question here, is the Tubman “not as open as it should be” to Bibb County’s private school students?

The Museum of Arts and Sciences has free admission for all Bibb County residents every Monday afternoon and on the last Friday of every month. The Tubman does not offer any such “free time”. So Mrs. Lucas, which museum is making more of an effort to be “open” to those who can’t afford to pay admission or membership?

“There are not enough black kids that have access to the museum…..Black parents pay taxes that support the museum too, she said, and there is a perception that it is not as open to their children as it should be.”

Link to Macon Telegraph Story

Let’s see. Admission is $5 for students over 12. $4 for kids 11 and under. And only a whopping $2 for the snot-nosed little brats when they’re on a school field trip. So how do they not have access?

The people who the old battleaxe has spoken to who expressed the perception that the museum is not as open as it should be, I have a few questions for them:

Do they have cell phones?
Do their children have cell phones?
Do they have 20″ or larger custom wheels on their car or SUV?
Do they take their children to the movie theatre?
Do they play the Georgia Lottery?
Do their children have a Playstation/Xbox/Nintendo?

Is this really even a problem?

What it looks like is Elaine Lucas, the current favorite councilperson of MaconBest, creating a racial issue where there was none before, which is what she does best. Meanwhile, Mr. Krok polished the turd as best he could by raising money for the Museum so that a ton of disadvantaged kids can walk through the doors for free. Commendable, but a case of ready, fire, aim. It isn’t enough to simply pay for admission and open the museum doors for the kids of Lucas’ core constituents or any other kids because he still hasn’t provided any means of transportation to get the kids to the museum and then back home.

What?! You don’t honestly expect the parents to take them, do you?

Thanks to Chris Krok, what was a brief ho-hum story buried on page one of the Macon Telegraph turned into much more this morning when a co-worker of the “Beef Theef” called in to add a human angle to the story at the risk of his own job.

Link to Mr. Krok’s blog: Kroktalk

I’ll go one step further than Chris and say that the guy shouldn’t have been fired, based on the call from the Cracker Barrel employee. And definitely not prosecuted. Take the steaks away from him at the door, cut his hours for a week or so, and watch him in the future. Hey, maybe the employees there should be recording the free meals the managers eat and make sure they pay for them. If not, then some higher-up in the Cracker Barrel chain of command should fire and prosecute the managers for stealing as well.

Look, when someone is working for pennies and doesn’t have anything, and some of us have truly been there, they still gotta eat. You can lose everything else, a car, a roof over your head, you name it, but you still gotta eat. I’d like to know how much food Cracker Barrel throws out every night. Give me one of those haz-mat suits and let me dig through their dumpster. I bet I’ll find far more than $11 worth of steaks.

One final niggling little detail to this whole story that I hope Mr. Krok will cover.

Searching employees.

I’m sorry, but ain’t no employer gonna search me. If an employer ever wanted to search me, they’d be treated just like a cop or the receipt-nazi door greeters at Wal-Mart. Got probable cause? Got a warrant? No? Then put your hands on me at your own risk.