American’s are waking up this morning and greeting a brand-new day – in more ways than one.

Overnight, our world changed.

As Gerald Ford said in the aftermath of the Watergate tragedy, “Our long national nightmare is over” – and I’m not talking about the change in political power in this country.

This grueling election cycle was ghastly – and a true learning experience for smart people who paid attention.

Friends, family and whole segments of our society remain bitterly divided, not so much by partisan politics, but by the simmering ideological differences that have been suppressed in this country for too long.

These include our national policies (or lack thereof) on immigration, trade, Washington gridlock, almost two decades of war, domestic social issues, and our dwindling national standing in the world – tough problems that trigger strong emotions.

Elections are about preserving and progressing our Republic.

And despite the best efforts of some of our most trusted institutions, democracy prevailed.

Our national media proved that high-level politics are hard-fought battles with no rules of engagement.  Unfortunately, the press also demonstrated the depth to which uber-wealthy corporations, and those who control them, will stoop to force an artificial agenda.

In my view, that crossed a line.

Because President Elect Donald Trump was an “outsider” – someone who has never held public office, and whose positions on the issues of the day were often diametrically opposed to the talking heads, political pundits and Hollywood’s limousine liberals – he, and his followers, were dismissed as ‘deplorable’ and worse.

To say election coverage was divisive doesn’t come close to describing what we collectively experienced.

And at the end of the day, the media didn’t just get it wrong – they imploded right before the eyes of the world.

In fact, the clear majority of our corporate controlled media outlets – and the political pollsters who feed them –  were so laser-focused on coordinating prejudice, abusing their influence, and openly manipulating the outcome of our national election that they lost sight of their important purpose.

In my view, once respected journalists will have a hard time washing the blood from their hands and explaining to the American people why they ignored their professional ethics and journalistic standards when we needed their integrity most.

Perhaps the most destructive outcome of this mess is that the once venerated fourth estate no longer enjoys the public trust.

And that is a true problem.

In my view, it no longer matters which candidate you supported – like it or hate it – the people have spoken and the peaceful transition of power in the greatest nation in the world will soon begin.

In the aftermath of one of the most corrosive and polarizing elections in the history of our nation, now is the time to heal, to accept, and to demonstrate our patriotism and solidarity to our allies and enemies alike.

Let’s come together as American’s always do, and stand united in support of our new president.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

There’s a land that’s fair and bright

Where the handouts grow on bushes

And you sleep out every night

Where the sun shines every day

Oh, I’m bound to go where there ain’t no snow

Where the rain don’t fall and the wind don’t blow

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

 — Haywire McClintock

 

Let’s be honest.

The Daytona Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce has a tough sell – and the recent “kick out the jams” coverage of their annual awards luncheon by the Daytona Beach News-Journal was an interesting read.

Rest easy.  All’s well on the “Fun Coast.”

Really?

Look, I understand the Chamber’s important role – and I’ve worked with their impressive 2016 chair, Teresa Rand, in my past life.  Good people who are passionate supporters of business and commerce in east Volusia County, and they do a wonderful job of staging our area in the most positive light possible.

In her “upbeat” report on the local economy, Rand said, “We all feel the energy that’s taking place in our community right now.”

Call me the perpetual Debbie Downer – but I’m not so optimistic.

Not feeling the whole ‘energy’ thing.

Unfortunately, in my view, the Chamber looks like the cheer-leading squad for the 1980 New Orleans Saints – crying inside, while outwardly smiling and enthusiastically rooting for a perennial loser – as we, the long-suffering fans, sit in the stands with paper bags on over our heads.

Watching our local ‘Trailblazers’ take credit for anything even remotely resembling an economic “achievement” is like staring at a pack of hungry dog’s pile on a bone.  I mean, is there any of our local “leaders” –  or the entities they represent – that haven’t used the same dubious “accomplishments” to convince us of their success and worth to the community?

Their collective triumphs include One Daytona, Tanger Outlets, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s research park – all of which were paid for, in whole or in part, with taxpayer dollars.

Add to that everyone-who-is-anyone’s “engagement” with the issues of blight and homelessness – a still festering quagmire that has not improved one jot since the “Occupation of Beach Street” – and you get the feeling that these folks will glom onto anything that makes them look relevant.

Hardly a ringing endorsement for the achievements of our local movers-and-shakers.

According to Eric Peburn, the chief financial officer of Halifax Health who will succeed Rand as chair in 2017, the Chamber has set lofty goals, to include revitalizing the city’s beachside, downtown, and the cruddy International Speedway Boulevard corridor.

That’s like saying, “I like ice cream.”  We all want that – but when?  

We’ve been listening to the same saw for years.

Typically, the Chamber of Commerce – much like Daytona Beach and Volusia County government – is long on hope, but short on a plan for getting us there.

“We need all those with the will and vision to get involved in this effort (to revitalize both ISB and the Boardwalk area) as it will reshape the image of Daytona Beach to the world class community designation it deserves,” Peburn said in an interview with The News-Journal.

Good luck with all that.

Look, I’m not knocking their enthusiasm – but we’ve heard it all before.

Anyone want to take a bet that come next year’s awards gala absolutely nothing will have changed on the beachside, downtown – or anywhere else?

Unfortunately, those with the “will and vision” (read: money and influence) are too busy manipulating elections for their own self-interests, and surreptitiously diverting our tax dollars for their private profit motives, to give two-shits about revitalizing anything.

That’s the way it is, and the way it shall be.

Until our business community gets fed up with the status quo and exerts their formidable collective influence to fundamentally change the way our elected and appointed officials govern, things will stay the same – and all the well-meaning “rah-rah” speeches and fancy luncheons in the Chamber’s repertoire won’t change anything.

 

 

I encourage all members of the Barker’s View team to join me in supporting DeBary’s elected Mayor, Clint Johnson, on this morning’s courageous announcement that he will not participate in the city’s illegal special election to name his successor.

Find Mayor Johnson’s announcement here: http://www.teamdebary.com

As everyone with a detectable pulse knows, this summer, the Fraudulent Four of the DeBary City Council intentionally misinterpreted provisions of the city’s charter – coupled with outright lies and deceitful “charges” cobbled together by disgraced former city manager Dan Parrott, and his toady, city attorney Kurt Ardaman.

To add a look of legitimacy to the charade – Ardaman snatched more taxpayer dollars to hire yet another outside law firm to prosecute the city’s “case” against Mayor Johnson.  When the table was set, they orchestrated a chilling kangaroo court where these filthy scam artists served as judge, jury and executioner.

Smart people stood by and witnessed what has been adopted by the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as the highest example of collective criminal insanity.

Four half-bright elected officials – each caught with their hand in the cookie jar – then led astray by perhaps the worst case of corrupt legal counsel ever perpetrated on a hapless elected body.

Just like that, the Fraudulent Four spit in the face of 240-years of sacred democratic principles and overturned the peoples vote like wiping something foul off their shoe.

Unbridled hubris.  Abject arrogance.

Now, the feckless vice mayor, Lita Handy-Peters, has temporarily clawed her way to power through a cheap coup d’etat.  For the time being, she sits in the catbird seat, regurgitating anything and everything Kurt Ardaman tells her to; all while pretending the citizens can’t see through her inept façade.

Don’t take my word for it – watch the meetings.

The unfortunate “interim mayor” snaps her head to take direction from Ardaman so frequently she looks like a Tourette’s victim.  It’s like watching some sick Pavlovian experiment – when it comes time to decide a question – Lita instinctively looks to her master like a chimp earning a peanut for combing his own hair.

The remainder of what passes for a city council sit on the dais and go through the motions like the haggard crew of a rudderless ship, while their embarrassment of an interim city manager, Ron McLemore, rocks himself to catatonia between pointless euphemisms that he thinks make him look wise.

To the long-suffering citizens of DeBary I say – hold on.  The worm is beginning to turn on this macabre cartoon.

Soon a legitimate circuit court judge will have the opportunity to review the powerful Writ of Certiorari so gracefully constructed by Johnson’s attorney, Doug Daniels.

Once a genuine jurist sinks his teeth into the heart of this con – trust me – things will change at DeBary City Hall.

Add to that the pending ethics inquiry and on-going criminal investigations by the Office of the State Attorney and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and one gets the idea that things are about to get very interesting for Lita and the boys.

I also have it on good authority that the council’s old partner-in-crime, Long John Miklos, is about to have a Come to Jesus experience with the Florida Commission on Ethics – let’s wait and see.

Yes, our system of “Justice” takes a while to spool up – but once it does – it can be a magnificent thing to watch.

With any luck, these conspiratorial assholes will finally be hauled before the court for openly perverting our democratic system to hide their collective crimes – and several highly placed staff members will shudder every time the doorbell rings, hoping against hope that it’s not a United States Marshal with an arrest warrant.

For instance, Roger Van Auker and Eric Frankton should remember:  There is no such thing as paranoia.  Your worst career fears can and will come true.  And Kurt Ardaman’s ‘legal’ career will become a sad cautionary tale taught in law schools around the globe.

I hope all citizens of DeBary will join with your duly elected mayor and boycott this illegal and incredibly expensive ‘special election.’  In my view, to participate by casting your sacred vote only serves to legitimize the Fraudulent Four’s outrageous acts against our constitutionally protected rights and democratic values.

Besides – these giddy bastards have had their twisted way with all we hold dear for too long – and who’s to say they won’t simply overturn your future choice when it serves their own self-interests?

I suppose I sound like my father and grandfather before him, when I say, “In my day we. . .” followed by an abject condemnation of everything “new,” modern or progressive.

We had it tough – walked five-miles to school, uphill, both ways.

You get the picture.

It’s human nature, and I suppose the need to humble our juniors by pointing out how easy they have it started with Neanderthal man (“Stone tools?  We didn’t have any tools!  You wanted a Mastodon steak, you ripped it out with your teeth, son.  It’s why God gave you incisors.  Times were tough back in the Pleistocene, I tell you. . .”) 

The good-natured ‘humbling’ of our kids just progressed – or dissolved – from there.

Earlier this week, we learned of “hazing” allegations filed by the parent of an Atlantic High School student against head football coach Matt Dixon.  While returning from a recent game, Dixon ordered his players off the team bus and directed them to perform light calisthenics in a shopping center parking lot.

To their credit, the Volusia County School District conducted a timely investigation and determined that the issue was one of childish disrespect and open insubordination – rather than the physical and mental abuse of vulnerable youngsters.

It appears that several of the students – including the accuser’s son – were disruptive and refused reasonable attempts by responsible adults to stop the ruckus.  In turn, Dixon used the opportunity to reestablish his dominance as head coach, restore order, and engage in an effective team-building exercise before things escalated.

Apparently, the whole incident amounted to a few repetitions of a strength and agility drill called “up-downs” – an exercise they do every day at practice.

When the accuser’s son and a few others refused Dixon’s directive – they were asked to consider the ramifications of their decision, participate with the team, or turn in their equipment.

You know, the important life lesson of, “take responsibility for your own decisions” – cause and effect – being held accountable for your own acts and omissions.

Of course, the overexcited ‘helicopter mom’ attempted to validate her stupid attempt to ruin a young educator’s life and career by using her 15-minutes of professional victimhood to full effect.

According to an interview in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Supermom (who I’m not identifying by name) said, “If you need to make them run drills, you do that at practice, at the school.  You do not do that in public; I am sorry.”

The hell you are.

You’re not sorry – but you will be – when Junior repeatedly boomerangs back into your spare room every time his feelings get bruised and he’s just to overwrought to stand on his own two feet as an adult.

In my view, this is a misguided parent intent on developing her son into a co-dependent, self-absorbed, hyper-sensitive tool with a strong sense of entitlement.

Unfortunately, she’s not alone.

Fact is, we’re raising a whole a generation of them.

Don’t believe me?  Just check the nearest ‘safe space’ at any college or university in the country.

(If you do, please be careful not to trespass on the “interactional” territory of any self-identified ethnic/gender/religious group who may feel offended or threatened by your own ethnicity, gender or religious preference. . . Fair warning.)

Bullying and hazing are sensitive topics these days – and well they should be.

The intentional infliction of demeaning, sadistic or punishing mental and physical abuse is ethically and morally wrong, and it should never be tolerated.  (Unless you’re into that.  Who am I to judge?)

Coach Dixon wasn’t abusing anyone.

During my basic military training, I was routinely subjected to the type of “hazing” I think our young mother is trying to describe.  In fact, our drill sergeants began “hazing” us long before daybreak and continued well past sundown.

Those guys brought the art and science of “hazing” to a whole new level.

They yelled.  They screamed.  They called us vile names.  They pushed us well beyond the point of what we thought was our point of exhaustion, and they physically “corrected” us whenever they felt it necessary.  (As a friend of mine experienced, “I’m not saying having your chest hair ripped out by the roots is fun – but I guarantee you’ll never leave the top button of your shirt undone again. . .”)

In addition to the physical challenges, the Army used subtle mental “hazing” as well.

There is nothing in the world like returning from an all-day forced march with full field gear, only to find that the training cadre have ransacked your barracks – bunks in a pile, mattresses out the windows, your locker upside down.

Builds character.

The intensity of our training was specifically designed for one purpose – to break us down as self-absorbed individuals then collectively build us back up as a disciplined and cohesive team.

Our military has been doing this with incredible success for over two-hundred years.

I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

I recently heard one of our nation’s most accomplished Special Forces commandos – a true ‘Tier 1’ operator with over 10-years of combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan – explain that during his brutal military training and qualification he learned that there is no hardship that will befall him on any given day that he cannot survive and overcome.

It’s simply a matter of taking things as they come – and developing the mental toughness to never quit.  The ability to focus on the next second, minute, or hour until the objective is accomplished – then move on to the next challenge.

What a great metaphor for life.

My fear is that today’s misguided, but well-meaning, parents are so intent on intervening in every aspect of their child’s development that they are removing the all-important traits of self-reliance and the ability to overcome personal adversity.

Let them scrape a knee.  Take a punch and give one.  Stand up for themselves and others – and learn kindness, empathy and respect.

It won’t hurt them, and I guarantee they’ll thank you for it later.

Support your children.  But give them the tools they need to adapt and survive in an ever-changing and very dangerous world that will not be as kind, loving or caring to them as you are.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are a resident of Volusia County, you know things are ‘different’ here.

I’m talking Alternate Universe different.

Like many of you, I have the perspective of growing up in the Halifax area.  I know what it was like before the Volusia Mall came to town, when we shopped ‘Downtown,’ and if you were good a trip to Dunn Brother’s Toys made for a very special day.

If you still call the county administration building on Beach Street “Sears,” you know what I’m talking about.

Unfortunately, the years have not been kind to our community.

Like an aging beauty who was famous and popular once upon a time, now Daytona Beach suffers the indignity of neglect, even abuse.  Her once dapper and playful persona ravaged by withering blight born of greed.

Truth be told, the same can be said for many areas of Volusia County.

Those who pay the bills – the long-suffering taxpayers – are looked upon by what passes for “leadership” with utter disdain.  We are routinely lied to and ignored by our elected and appointed officials – and bullied by the big money donor class who consider our opinions a mere impediment to their bought-and-paid for place at the public trough.

The cancerous scourge of violent crime, drugs, homelessness and dilapidation have left scars on our once vibrant beachside – a place where those who invest in residential properties are looked upon by a weary populace like intrepid homesteaders in the Old West – gambling that their determination, sweat equity, and personal resiliency will somehow overcome the barren and hostile environment all around them.

All while our elected and appointed officials pompously point to a handful of development projects – all of which have been subsidized with public funds – as a means of showing off their ‘vision’ and commitment to revitalization.

Deep in their hearts they know – and we know – that so many of them are compromised bullshit artists – hacks who have lost the capacity for shame and have sold their soul, and their vote, to the latest speculative developer, resort-town grifter or old money power broker willing to throw down a Black American Express for appetizers, watery cocktails, and an ego stroke.

Don’t try to understand it.

It’s a closed system, and the powers that be don’t need or want your input – just pay the damned bills and shut the fuck up.

Know your role.

Occasionally we catch a glimpse of the greasy mechanism – the inner workings of what passes for governance in Volusia County and Daytona Beach – two isolated and dysfunctional entities who get on like Baby Jane and Blanche Hudson.

This week we had a fleeting opportunity to look behind the curtain when the Daytona Beach City Commission issued their annual performance evaluation of City Manager Jim Chisholm.

Now, please don’t labor under the mistaken impression that this is an independent outside management audit – or even an objective review of Chisholm’s actual work product.  It is merely the best guess of the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker who have been elected to high office with low expectations – and accept regurgitated “information” from Chisholm like baby birds in some foul nest.

Through the years, Mr. Chisholm has received grades ranging from D’s to high B’s – this year, he scored a solid “B” – or as his most complimentary assessor, Commissioner Ruth Trager, puts it:

“A pretty good job.”

What does “pretty good” performance get you in the City of Daytona Beach?

$275,000.00 annually, that’s what.

Insanity.

If we’re on the topic, let’s look at the curious case of Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen – arguably the slimiest organism in the primordial ooze that is our local political scene.

Unlike Jim Chisholm – who, in my view, is simply incapable of addressing the festering problems of a community in crisis – Dinneen is a mean-spirited asshole with a God complex who basically serves as a bagman for uber-wealthy insiders who use our tax dollars like a private piggybank.

Now, both Chisholm and Dinneen will take full credit for throwing Chanel No. 5 on the hog that is One Daytona, Tanger Outlet and the never-ending renovation of a couple of squalid beachside motels – all projects that you and I paid for.

They will squawk-on about private/public partnerships (read: gambling with our money) with local movers-and-shakers, and frighten us with ominous hand-wringing gibberish over dubious problems when they need more of our money.

Never mind the horror show that is Dinneen’s personnel management practices, the arrogant thuggery and open suppression of legitimate pay increases for sheriff’s deputies and others on the front line providing core services to the citizens.

Oh, and just ignore the steady tax increases needed to feed his elephantine budget.

So, what does an unscrupulous fraud like Jim Dinneen command in this rickety economic environment?

Around $325,000.00 (including benefits) annually.

You read that right.

I’ll save you the cha-chi comparisons (no I won’t), like the fact Dinneen hauls in more than the Mayor of New York City, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or the manager of Duval County – you know, a little burg north of us called ‘Jacksonville.’

Little Jimmy is also within a few thousand dollars of the Orange County administrator – who oversees the Orlando Metro area – with a permanent population of over one million people.

In fact, Mr. Dinneen is consistently ranked among the highest paid county executives in the State of Florida.

Why?

Because he shamelessly does the bidding of our benevolent dictators and ensures that their path to the public teat is unobstructed.

A cheap fixer – a conduit.

If the extent of Jim Dinneen’s mismanagement, lack of strategic vision, and contemptuous disregard of the true needs of the public he serves were ever brought to light, this little shyster would be thrown in stocks and given the Bastinado treatment on the steps of the old Volusia County Courthouse.

$325,000.00.

Obscene.

 

 

 

So long as money is how we affix value – the means to discharge debt, or to purchase goods and services – it will always be a significant influence in our lives.  Right up there with love and lust.

Unless you live like some primitive eremite, you’re affected by it.

Money controls people – and our so-called “democratic” process – to the extent that We, The People, are now powerless to overcome its pervasive influence on our once honored system of governance.

By any measure, this election season has been the most bizarre spectacle on record – and not just at the national level.  With one week to go, we are witnessing the worst-of-the-worst of what passes for politics in 2016.  And anyone who still believes in the maxim, “In the voting booth, everyone is equal” is simply a victim of the game.

For instance, I was speaking to a friend recently and noted that the District 4 Volusia County Council race between Al Smith and Heather Post has gotten too weird for even the likes of me.

I wouldn’t touch the inner-workings of that wet turd with a ten-foot pole – mostly because, while I understand the base motivations of the players, I can’t for the life of me figure out how an influential insider would risk so much on so little.

Ugly allegations and counter-accusations of drug use. Hints of personal financial mismanagement, if not outright misappropriation of funds.  Claims of money owed and nasty family disagreements.  The insinuation of dubiously obtained pre-employment polygraph results – privileged information about one’s life taken at a time when the individual is most vulnerable.

Let’s face it, it’s a new low.  Even for J. Hyatt Brown.

Look, I don’t know if this is even mathematically possible, but, in my view, both Smith and Post represent the lowest common denominator simultaneously.  If either of them represent the ‘best and brightest’ District 4 can offer – we’re in real trouble.

What I find interesting is that, perhaps for the first time, many residents of Volusia County are beginning to see the enormous influence of big money donors in relatively benign local elections.

Is it possible that we are beginning to tire of the Volusia Triumvirate of Mori Hosseini, J. Hyatt Brown and Lesa France-Kennedy, and their very real influence on our lives and livelihoods?

Many believe we are now experiencing the distillate of their long-term artificial manipulation of our local political system – and they have forced choices on us no voter should have to make.

Of course – even as the worm turns – the ruling class still feel a servile sense of loyalty to their masters.

I was recently taken to task in a social media post by former state representative – and failed congressional candidate – Fred Costello.  He took issue with a piece I wrote on Mr. Hosseini and the nexus of public funds and private interests at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

According to Dr. Costello, “All three, Mori, Hyatt and Lesa, along with many others, simply care enough for the community to support candidates who share their vision.  And Mori, Hyatt and Lesa are willing to take the criticism that often comes when you exercise leadership.  Their alleged excessive collective influence is overrated.”

Clearly, the cheese has finally slipped off Fred’s cracker.

Anyone with the ability for cognitive thought understands the enormous role these power brokers play in Volusia politics.  

To believe that these billionaire insiders aren’t purchasing political influence as a return on investment is delusional – and Fred Costello damn well knows it.

In my view, it’s time we tell these perennial politicians, and their masters in the power elite, that there is some shit we won’t eat.

It is time we find a way to take big money out of Volusia County politics – and restore integrity and fairness to our democratic process – while there is still something left to care about.

Let me apologize up-front.

I hate to always be the bearer of bad news – the hypercritical, faultfinding cynic who never seems happy about anything.  I think it’s all part of my karmic cycle – my samsara – the whole “wheel of life” thing.

At my core, I am a terribly flawed man cursed with the inability to simply turn my head and ignore.

Fall in line.  Conform.

Just can’t do it.

Some days I feel like old Diogenes of Sinope – the poor bastard who believed that virtue was best revealed in action, rather than theory – and he spent his days criticizing the fraudulent “social values,” corrupt politicians, and dishonest institutions of the day.

Suffice it to say, Diogenes was not well liked.

After all, he preached reason and virtue to so-called “leaders” who had lost the capacity for self-criticism and shame.

Many thought he was crazy.  Perhaps he was.

He had a scraggly white beard and roamed the streets making people feel uncomfortable.

Diogenes often slept in a large ceramic jar in a marketplace in downtown Athens, and was most famous for carrying a lamp around in the daytime, telling anyone who would listen that he was looking for ‘one honest man.’

He criticized and embarrassed the politicians of the day, disputed corrupt interpretations of the law, and disrupted the lectures of Socrates and other great academics and philosophers.

He also publicly mocked Alexander the Great.

Yep.  Diogenes was one weird dude. 

He was ultimately captured by pirates while traveling to Aegina and sold as a slave in Crete to a Corinthian named Xeniades.  When Diogenes was asked how he made his living, he told his captors that he had no trade – other than governing men – and asked to be sold to a man who needed a master.

That’s rich.

Most of what we know about Diogenes is anecdotal, stories passed down through the ages.

Not all of them kind.

In fact, physicians have named a disorder after him – Diogenes Syndrome – also known as senile squalor syndrome; characterized by extreme self-neglect, domestic squalor, social withdrawal, apathy, compulsive hoarding of garbage or animals, and a lack of shame.

That’s a tough handle to drag through history.

Clearly, the thing Diogenes hated most was the stench of political lies.

I was reminded of this recently when I saw County Manager Jim Dinneen, and a few of his elected toadies on the county council, onanistically wallowing in self-congratulation for their soi-disant “A+” response to Hurricane Matthew.

In the heat and hubris of their celebration, Mr. Dinneen gave into his base instincts and blurted out the whopper that all storm-related debris would be collected within the next 20-days.

You read that right.

Per Daytona Beach’s WNDB radio, “Dinneen said it could take up to 20 days before all the debris is cleared.  The debris may be an eyesore, but it’s not a health or safety hazard.”

That was nine days ago.

In my view, Mr. Dinneen is either delusional, or he lied to us when the truth would serve him – and us – better.

People took the county manager at his word – and now they are pissed.

And they should be.

The fact is, it will be weeks before this mess is cleaned-up and we are back to normal – and Mr. Dinneen damn well knows it.

Why does he feel the intuitive need to lie to us so openly? 

Because he knows there will be no repercussions, that’s why.

A proper public communications strategy would have reminded us that crews are working hard to collect and dispose of the debris piles, and our roads and right-of-way’s will be cleared as soon as possible.

Simple.  Clear.  Concise.  And the truth.

In my view, Mr. Dinneen’s patently mendacious behavior is indicative of all that is wrong with county government.  If our highly paid county administrator will lie to us over seemingly insignificant matters – what is he capable of on more important issues?

I am sick and tired of being lied to by people who accept public funds to perform a public service.

How about you?

Where is Diogenes when we need him?

 

 

 

 

 

The outsized influence of the economic elite in Volusia County politics is best exposed during periods of transition.

Someone once told me that Volusia’s economy can best be described as five well-connected people passing the same nickel around.  But what happens when those same influential insiders begin artificially manipulating the allocation of public funds for private gain?

In my view, this weird election season has confirmed my theory that we live in a ‘benevolent dictatorship’ – a mini-oligarchy, controlled exclusively by Volusia’s uber-wealthy who buy and sell political candidates and shape public policy with unnatural infusions of cash and personal influence at the highest levels of government.

Clearly, there are many residents who have simply acquiesced to this make-believe form of democracy, and some simply owe their soul to the company store.

Let’s face it, a significant number of people either work directly for companies and institutions under the direct control of the Volusia Triumvirate of Mori Hosseini, Lesa France-Kennedy and J. Hyatt Brown; or are employed by their subsidiaries and sub-contractors.

To their credit, the Big Three have been extremely successful in their respective – and often overlapping – marketplaces, and they cast a wide shadow in Volusia County and beyond.

That influence begins each election cycle when Hosseini, France and Brown inject huge sums of money into the campaign war chests of hand-selected candidates for local offices through their countless corporate interests and business alliances.

While the spirit of quid pro quo corruption is ever-present in this bastardized political system, the threat seems to be ignored – or at least winked at – by election officials and Florida’s feeble ethics apparatus.

These individuals did not accumulate massive personal wealth without the ability to control their environment – that is exactly what the political influence they purchase provides.

It also places them at the very nexus of public funds and private interests.

Which is exactly where Mortenza “Mori” Hosseini operates.

Florida’s High Panjandrum of Political Power, the Emperor of Embry-Riddle, and reigning King of the Realm – Mr. Hosseini is the titan who built ICI Homes into one of the largest residential and commercial development interests in the nation.

He also serves on numerous influential governing and advisory boards – and is said to be the gatekeeper for Governor Rick Scott’s personal board appointments across the state.

Mr. Hosseini is also a graduate and current chairman of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Board of Trustees.

Like Volusia County, ERAU finds itself in transition; and the students, alumni, and disenfranchised faculty are beginning to pull back the curtain on the Oz-like omnipotence of Mr. Hosseini’s oversized influence on campus.

And from what I’ve seen – things aren’t pretty at our own Harvard of the Sky.

Why does it matter?

Here’s why:

In early August, Mr. Hosseini and interim university president Karen Holbrook, came before the Volusia County Council to order $1.5 million in public funds, ostensibly to assist “struggling startups” participating in ERAU’s new research park.

That’s the “John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Complex,” the multi-million-dollar research and technology facility that will – to-date – house elements of the International Speedway Corporation, DuvaSawko (medical business solutions), mega-law firm Cobb Cole, FireSpring Fund (startup funding), accountants James Moore and Company, Vann Data (information technology), and venVelo (venture capital).

Wait.  Talk about passing the same nickel around.

I mean, these are all established local companies with little, if any, direct connection to the aerospace industry.  So why are we being asked to fund them?

Cobb Cole?  ISC?  Am I missing something here?

And don’t give me that speculative babble about ‘economic development potential’ – if it were so lucrative, the big boys would be gambling with their own money – not ours.

Regardless, where’s the beef?

Where are all the big engineering and aerospace companies – Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman, Harris Corporation, General Electric, Raytheon, etc.?

While we’re on the topic, where are the endowed chairs, corporate scholarships and research opportunities from these major industry leaders at ERAU?

Apparently, these aerospace and technology giants are rapidly partnering with other colleges –  such as the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne – institutions that aren’t known as the personal fiefdom of Mortenza Hosseini.

FIT, a private, nonprofit college, recently met many of the same challenges facing ERAU through a “strategic shift from outward expansion to inward improvement,” and in doing so, raised over $123 million in private endowments and corporate giving.

You know, they did what a Board of Trustees is supposed to do.

At ERAU, rather than raise funds and build an endowment, I guess it’s easier to just play three-card-monte with taxpayer dollars.

Not only did the County Council pony-up the $1.5 million at the snap of Mori’s fingers – they also authorized the sale of public property near Clyde Morris Boulevard and Bellevue to the university for half its appraised value.

You read that right – your elected representatives sold public property to a private entity knowing in advance it would result in a 50% net loss to the taxpayer.

The college also requested that the county consider lowering the cost of some of its current lease structures and providing future grants for construction projects.

(Oh, did I mention that between 2010 and 2012, Hosseini owned Intervest Construction took that exact amount – $1.5 million dollars – out of the university in office leases, utilities, and aircraft charter services?) 

Now, I’m just spitballing here, but what gives?  Can that be legal?

ERAU is whole.  Mori is whole.  And you and I are left holding the bag.

So why do I care about the inner-workings of ERAU?

Because now I’m a Patron of the University.  A benefactor, baby.

That’s right.

Now I have actual skin in the game – and so does every hardworking resident who struggles and sacrifices to pay taxes in support of Volusia County’s bloated, caustic and horribly mismanaged plutocracy.

I don’t know about you, but I intend on ensuring that my investment is properly managed.

From what I’ve seen thus far, Mori’s Machiavellian attempts to control virtually every aspect of university operations – including unilaterally selecting the next president – has not been well received by those that matter.

In April, student government representatives going back 15-years issued an open letter denouncing the actions of the current board of trustees and expressing their collective concern for the future of the University.

Then, in August, the faculty senate took the courageous step of issuing a vote of no confidence against the board of trustees – the most powerful statement of disapproval available to faculty members – who must feel increasingly marginalized under Mr. Hosseini’s dictatorship.

That’s a big deal.  Or at least it should be.

Unfortunately, it appears both desperate cries for help have melted into the obscurity of a closed system – flippantly dismissed by Mori and his sycophantic minions on the board, and ignored in the executive suites of the expansive Jim W. Henderson Administration and Welcome Center, a 42,000-square foot Taj Mahal where just a handful of ‘very important’ – and very well paid – administrators work. . .

Did I mention that the building’s namesake is Mori’s Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and former Chief Operating Officer of J. Hyatt’s own Brown & Brown Insurance?

Clearly, Boss Hosseini could care less about the opinions of those whose tuition pays the bills – or the professors and staff who produce and present the very curriculum that has made ERAU top in its class.

In Mori’s World, he controls organizations and institutions with the dominance of a feudal lord – and those that get crossways with the big man suffer the personal and professional consequences.

It’s Mori’s way or the highway – and his benevolence only goes so far.

Well, shit on that.

You’re playing with MY money now – and I, for one, demand transparency.

In my opinion, its risky business infusing $1.5 million in public funds into an organization with a developing reputation for lavish, over-the-top spending so board members can luxuriate in a chateau at the Paris Air Show, extravagant accommodations at New York’s finest hotels, dubious moves by anointed administrators, and the dysfunctional game of musical chairs that has been the interim leadership process.

(In my view, if Mori and the board want to stay at the Four Seasons – they can do it on their own dime.  But when my tax dollars – or your kid’s tuition – is involved, they can bunk at the Motel 6 just like the rest of us. . .)

Add to that the exorbitant salaries paid to top administrators (for instance, over $1 million in annual salary for the past president) and Mr. Hosseini’s backdoor siphoning of “office leases, utility payments and aircraft charters,” and you get the idea that ERAU’s  moral compass has precessed.

Frankly, it’s a slap in the face to every strapped parent who scrimps to send their kid to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

If Mr. Hosseini and his friends on the board of trustees want to use the university as their private playground – or as a means of accessing public funds with private profit motives – then I strongly suggest it is time for close external oversight by an entity with the independence and authority to affect positive change.

(And, for the record, allowing Mr. Hosseini to simply reinstall his lackey, Dr. John Watret, will not inspire confidence in students, faculty, alumni – or the long-suffering taxpayers of Volusia County who increasingly fund various aspects of the operation.)

I’m not an academician – just a hillbilly with a limited vocabulary – but now that I’m a benefactor of a prestigious aerospace and engineering university, I think it’s important to roll up my sleeves and lend a helping hand.

In my view, it is high time that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges – the agency which accredits ERAU – took a close look at this festering situation.

According to the SACS Principles of Accreditation:

“Integrity, essential to the purpose of higher education, functions as the basic contract defining the relationship between the Commission and each of its member and candidate institutions. It is a relationship in which all parties agree to deal honestly and openly with their constituencies and with one another. Without this commitment, no relationship can exist or be sustained between the Commission and its accredited and candidate institutions.”

 Given the on-going discord between the board of trustees and their student, faculty and alumni constituencies, one might think it important for the Commission to reevaluate the nature of their “relationship” with Embry-Riddle.

After all, SACS demands that accredited institutions make “reasonable and responsible decisions consistent with the spirit of integrity in all matters.”

I agree.

I’m no expert, but I’ll just bet funneling $1.5 million to a company owned by the chairman of the board of trustees – or allowing one man carte blanche rule of a university – is considered an ethical no-no by SACS, and everyone else with the ability to think for themselves.

Look, I could give a rat’s ass who gets the goofy ego-massage of putting their name on the campus lunchroom.

But I’ll be dipped if I’m going to stand by and watch our precious tax dollars squandered by Mori Hosseini, his board of trustees, Volusia County officials, or anyone else.

There are two people I never forget: A friend who stands with me – and someone who steals from me.

If you don’t want the scrutiny – then keep your damned hands out of my pocket.

In my view, it is time for the university’s oversight authority to commission an independent external review of ERAU’s governance practices – to include an investigation of Volusia County’s strange relationship with Mr. Hosseini and the wholesale giveaway of public funds.

The students and faculty deserve better.  And so do the rest of us.

Stay tuned, kids.  I’ll have more on this important issue later.

 

When I was training for the FAA commercial pilot certificate – after a particularly good landing, or a well-performed maneuver – I would often take a moment to point out to my long-suffering flight instructor just how good I thought I was.

In my opinion, Chuck Yeager couldn’t have done it better.

Whenever I felt the need to toast an accomplishment, my instructor, in his own quiet and completely unflappable way, would remind me: “A good pilot never congratulates his own performance.”

Cautious pilots constantly monitor and mitigate potential risks during all phases of flight.

There is simply no room for hubris, self-importance or foolish pride.

It was one of the best lessons my flight instructor taught me – and anytime I fly, I try hard to live up to his high standards of humble professionalism and good airmanship.

A good pilot is always learning – from his or her own mistakes, and from those of others.

While being self-assured is an important trait in a good aviator, cocksure overconfidence can lead to devastating results for an arrogant pilot and his unfortunate passengers.

I suspect that holds true for other professions as well.

Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen is a man of extremes.

One of life’s lessons that I have come to embrace is that things are rarely as good, or as bad, as we think they are.

I don’t believe Mr. Dinneen subscribes to that theory.

Perhaps Jim simply has the worst communications skills in the known history of governmental management – or maybe he truly is the “tell ‘em what they want to hear” shyster I’ve always believed him to be.

Regardless, under the circumstances, he might want to tone down his patented “This is the best/worst thing I’ve ever seen” shtick.

There is a definite Boy Who Cried Wolf component to Mr. Dinneen’s public pronouncements that cannot be ignored.  And in the aftermath of a major natural disaster, residents who are still reeling from the devastating results prefer facts – not wild emotional speculation and self-congratulatory tut-tutting from their elected and appointed “leaders.”

It’s simply too soon.

The fact is, many people in Volusia County suffered devastating personal and professional losses during Hurricane Matthew – homes destroyed or seriously damaged, businesses lost or disrupted – and many of our neighbors have mounting expenses that will never be fully recoverable.

I would hazard a guess that the majority who have filed storm-related claims have yet to see an adjuster – let alone a settlement offer from their insurance company.

Several motels and restaurants in the Halifax area have announced closings – some for months – to allow for restoration.  This means that employees have been laid-off or had their hours cut back.

The trickle-down effect is grim – especially for families trying to survive in a service economy.

Most of us still have massive piles of rotting tree debris, yard trash, and splintered fencing ringing our homes like huge beaver dams; and anyone who believes that these festering corridors of rubble don’t pose a significant public safety hazard haven’t tried to navigate local streets, walk to school, or maneuver in or out of a driveway.

Add to that the fact FEMA just approved Volusia residents for individual and household assistance – two-weeks post incident – and you get the idea that it’s going to be awhile before we collectively get back to what passes for ‘normal’ on the Fun Coast.

I guess that’s why I’m sick and tired of hearing local emergency managers – people who know better – drone on about how we “dodged a bullet” on this one.

It can always be worse. I get it.

But that doesn’t mitigate the fact that we are dealing with the significant aftereffects of a major hurricane.

In my view, marginalizing this experience is patently irresponsible.

This offensive brow-mopping by public officials does nothing to alleviate the fears and financial realities of folks with an oak tree still sitting in their living room.

Frankly, I could give a damn about their ‘what could have been’ doomsday scenarios.

How about we focus on the here and now – work the reality of our common situation – and stop using goofy metaphors to describe how fortunate we all are that the beachside isn’t a moonscape.

For instance, Volusia County Emergency Management Director Jim Judge recently weighed in with, “We got lucky.  We didn’t dodge a bullet, we dodged a cannonball.”

What exactly does that statement add to the discussion?  Or the recovery efforts?

More importantly, with some 38 homes destroyed, thousands of structures seriously damaged, and power just being restored in some areas, why is our feckless Volusia County Council stopping to congratulate their own performance?

As former Volusia County Emergency Management Director Jim Ryan – the hard-charging former Marine Corps officer who, in 2004, led our county through three Presidential disaster declarations, would say in these situations – “Now is not the time to let our packs hit the ground.”

Clearly, Director Ryan was an extraordinary leader – and his insight and inspiration was sorely missed this time around.

Using his ‘best/worst’ spiel to full effect, Jim Dinneen recently told local media outlets that the County’s response to Hurricane Matthew was, “The best effort he’s ever seen in his career.”

Really?  The best he’s ever seen?

Normally, once response and recovery operations are complete, governmental and private agencies involved in managing an emergency will conduct what’s known as a “hotwash” – essentially a candid and open review of the good, the bad, and the ugly – a thorough self-critique that tells all levels of the organization what went well, and what can be improved upon.

I have direct personal knowledge that the County’s first responders did an outstanding job before, during and after the storm.

They performed their duties under difficult and dangerous conditions with a true commitment and personal dedication, and all citizens of Volusia County can be exceptionally proud of their Sheriff’s deputies, public protection officers, emergency management staff, EMS personnel and the team at VCSO Communications.

However, many things about the Dinneen administration’s emergency response efforts were less than “the best I’ve ever seen” – starting with the timely dissemination of public information to frightened residents – and important preparedness measures that were lacking.

For instance, by any measure, the confusion and delay caused by “voluntary” and “mandatory” evacuation orders were counterproductive.

Although Monday Morning Quarterbacking is kind of my ‘thing’ – given the gravity of what we all experienced, it serves no good purpose to point out the obvious to those who lived it.

Now, like clockwork, on Thursday our county’s elected and appointed officials took their first opportunity to slap each other on the back and tell themselves just how awesome they are.

County Chair Jason Davis gives the response an “A+” – while that sniveling sycophant Councilman Josh Wagner all but gushed over Jim Dinneen while elevating him to superhero status.

The pomposity of these big-headed shitgibbons never ceases to amaze me.

Although our county officials may be satisfied – I sense a growing public cynicism with every whiff of decomposing vegetation.

I’ve got a novel idea for our elected public servants in Deland:  Let’s focus on telling the truth, setting realistic goals, and effectively communicating strategic recovery plans to residents.

And most important – let’s use all available resources to help those who were most affected.

Trust me – there will be plenty of time for over-the-top accolades and awards for every politician on the dais.  But for the moment, how about we stick to the task at hand?

At the end of the day, Volusia government should evaluate ongoing recovery efforts based upon established performance metrics and use the positives and negatives to increase our understanding of what works, and what doesn’t, in a vulnerable coastal county.

This is best accomplished by officials with the capacity to humble themselves to the important and difficult process of becoming better – not by the self-satisfied blathering and systemic arrogance exemplified by Jim Dinneen and his finger-puppets on the county council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone ever buy a used car?

I have.

In fact, I didn’t own a “new” car until I was well in my 40’s – that means I bought my share of clunkers through the years.  The problem is, I’m a sucker for a good salesman – they have me over the barrel, be it a Kirby vacuum or a ’79 Ford Torino, I’ll fall for a good pitch every time.

I’ve been fleeced more times than a Galway sheep.

For those who aren’t familiar, the Latin phrase – Caveat Emptor – which translates, “let the buyer beware,” is the principle that the purchaser is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a sale is made.

Truth be told, it was probably coined right after Julius Caesar drove away from some “buy here, pay here” lot on the outskirts of Rome and a wheel fell off his slightly used chariot.

It essentially means that if you don’t do your homework, or fail to perform the due diligence required to ensure the item you are buying is sound, then you have no recourse once you drive it off the lot.

‘As is’ means – It is what it is.  Take it or leave it.

I guess it’s why some used car salesmen get such a bad rap.  But the fact is, most people decide their own fate whenever they perceive a “good deal.”  However, there are a few ‘pre-owned’ dealers who go out of their way to give the rest a bad name.  Their bread-and-butter is feeding off the gullible and the foolish.

Like P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

Some lawyers work much the same way.

On Monday evening, the Fraudulent Four of the DeBary City Council were once again openly complicit in City Attorney Kurt Ardaman’s increasingly obvious plan to stock the larders of every parasitic law firm in Central Florida as he recommended hiring not one, but two, high-end attorneys to defend a lawsuit filed by elected Mayor Clint Johnson.

To his credit, Mayor Johnson has decided that he’s not going to simply lay down and take this political buggering without a fight.  Love him or hate him, you have to respect Johnson’s chutzpah in standing up for that which he feels is right and just.

After meeting in Executive Session – a fancy term meaning the council, attorney, and city manager met in private, you know, outside the prying eyes of the public – Kurt Ardaman shamelessly suggested Drew Smith (a second time winner of a trip to the public trough), and Orlando-based attorney Anthony Garganese, as the tag team of high-priced squawk-boxes who will represent the city.

Oh, did I mention that self-anointed Mayor Lita Handy-Peters and the boys also authorized Smith and Garganese to gorge at a rate of $190.00 taxpayer dollars per hour?

That’s right: $190.00 per hour.  Each.  No limit.

Interestingly, during the special session a citizen (someone who is obviously paying attention) had the cheek to question the council on the myriad of additional expenses Smith and Garganese will no doubt charge the city in addition to their exorbitant hourly fee, such as – court presentations, mileage, incidentals, copying, etc.

As usual, Ardaman answered on behalf of the citizen’s elected representatives and gave a half-assed explanation that the motion would also authorize the city to pay for what he described as other “standard expenses” incurred by the attorney’s which would, of course, be paid above and beyond the hourly rate.

These added costs were never mentioned during public discussions as transparency would require.

In other words, the city attorney and council members attempted to pull another fast one, but this time they got caught like the cheap sneak thieves they are by an astute taxpayer.

Now, in his own cowardly way, Ardaman attempted to insulate himself by suggesting to the public that the hapless Interim City Manager, Ron McLemore, actually assisted him in the selection process.

Perhaps that’s true.

However, anyone with a still-firing brain synapse understands that the spineless McLemore, and that rabble on the council, have essentially turned the city’s throttle over to Mr. Ardaman, and everyone else is just on a very expensive ride.

As usual, the events were almost too painful to watch.

Maestro Ardaman could be seen whispering direction regarding the conduct of the meeting to pseudo-mayor Lita Handy-Peters, who ham-handedly stumbled through the proceedings like some deranged lost child.

I suspect even Ron McLemore knew this doubling-down on expensive lawyers wouldn’t be an easy sell.  He just sat there, awkwardly rocking and swaying in his swivel chair, no doubt pondering how his career hit the bottom of the porcelain bowl and trying to keep his supper down.

At one point, Handy-Peters looked even more confused than normal as she openly asked Ardaman if the council should hear public comments before voting on the issue.

Tragic.

Lita – You are out of your depth.  You are unprepared.  And it shows.

Stumbling and bumbling your way through an important public meeting does not inspire confidence – it exposes your base ineptitude – and the people of DeBary deserve better.

These self-aggrandizing rubes have lost all capacity for shame.  And, more importantly, they have lost the ability to understand how shaken their frightened constituents feel now that they have lost faith in the sanctity of their vote.

The one constant at DeBary City Hall is that nothing changes.

These elected fools wade from one internal shit-storm to another, attempting in vain to distract each other from the fact they have lorded over the most colossal political train wreck in the known history of Volusia County.

Don’t they get it? 

Rather than recognize that their hired leech of a city attorney has clearly taken control of the reins and is now running amok, openly showering those in his sub-species with public funds at a rate not seen in the history of municipal fleecing’s, the remaining “elected officials” who haven’t yet been cannibalized stand idle, paralyzed by their own fear and dumbness.

Is that rude?  I hope to hell it is.

Because at the end of the day, the role of the cursed citizens of the City of DeBary is limited exclusively to paying the massive bills these arrogant shit-heels continue to accumulate.

Public involvement and legitimate oversight is anathema to this adulterated and utterly illegitimate form of “governance” they continue to foist on the good people of this long-suffering community.

The Fraudulent Four and their money-hungry pied piper, Kurt Ardaman – with the acquiescence of retired dingbat Ron McLemore, and the help of a few painfully corrupt senior staff members – will long be reviled as the architects of the most expensive screw-job ever perpetrated upon the City of DeBary’s unsuspecting citizenry.

And nobody will feel sorry for them.

Good luck, DeBarians.