I hadn’t noticed the downed trees.  Driving home tonight I passed through a stretch of road historically so thick with trees you would think it’s twilight at noon.  A couple of acres have been cleared.  This county is roughly 85 percent fields and forest and I’m not opposed to the latest development but the change was nonetheless jarring.  A fellow comes to the radio station every Wednesday and does a segment with me about finance, economy and investment.  We’ve become friends and I like a phrase he often uses.  “The only constant in our lives is change”, he tells me.  September the 5th I mark two years on the job here at the Lower Shore.  Two years ago tonight a short Asian man was barking orders at me, instructing me to hand sort third and second class mail before loading an automated machine.  When he wanted to speak with me he would walk up and take my identity badge in his right hand and look at my name and then babble at me in some failed effort to communicate in English.  “Beeeeelllll”, is all I understood. 

While life here is quite different and a boon for my self esteem, not much about day-to-day life has changed around the house or at the grocery store.  I met my buddy Phil Plack at the diner the other morning and we had breakfast in anonymity.  I still cherish being unnoticed in public.  The redhead dropped by on her way to a doctor’s visit and we talked about our hopes for the future.  Too many to mention in my letter and perhaps we didn’t share nearly enough of our fears.  Phil and the woman with the long red hair suggest I start making some demands at work.  Hey, I’m just happy so many people are listening.  Saturday I get to meet many, many of them. 

A few weeks ago some folks affiliated with Delaware Tea Party asked if I could be the master of ceremonies at the first centrally located statewide tea party.  Of course I accepted.  I’m getting four hours in the sun on the Legislative Mall in Dover.  We’ll see some of the national folks from across the big bay joining us and there was a rumor Glenn Beck would drop by, or some fellow on Facebook identifying himself as Glenn Beck.  Tomorrow’s program is a warm-up for September the 12th in Washington.  In between I’m squeezing in a vacation for my daughter.  Last summer I postponed the time with my teenager because I was on a mission to Washington.  One hundred twenty one miles by bicycle to deliver petitions to our elected officials and our state’s member of the House of Representatives brushed it aside.  And he now wonders why he faced an angry “mob” on June Thirtieth.  It was the spark igniting the powder keg.  Georgetown, Delaware may well become the historical “Ground Zero” of a populace taking its government back from an insensitive House of Lords.

Not long ago I didn’t see much hope for my country’s future and it mirrored my time in the wilderness in late 2006 and 2007.  The forest around me appeared an immovable object.  Today I’ve been experiencing inner stirrings I haven’t felt in years.  The feeling you had throughout the 24^th of December, as a kid, as you watched the ticking clock and the anxiety multiplied exponentially.  I see light.

Yesterday an old coworker sent me a note and said there was a time 4 years ago when I warned the country was heading for a crack-up that she thought I was cracking up.  So did my employer, a company now heading for the fire sale.  About the same time I made the on-air prediction I had a lunch meeting with an old friend, Father Chuck Vavonese.  He’s the actual administrator of schools for the Syracuse Roman Catholic Diocese, even if the title belongs to someone else.  We talked about our nation’s cultural and economic rot and he suggested a second civil war was approaching.  It wouldn’t be regional, he explained, instead it would pit neighbor-against-neighbor.  For Father Chuck it was 1850 all over again.  Last week I thought the experience was 1859 and from what I’m observing today we could be at 1861 by summer’s end.  Like the land down the road stripped bare of trees there won’t be any cover for which to hide.  Now we’re riding history’s tide and it promises to sweep away so much and leave us a clean slate. 

A fellow at a local newspaper wrote a story headlined “Irate conservatives get together…”  It’s a piece about the tea parties.  I wrote Dan Shortridge an email:

Dear Dan, I understand you aren’t exactly New York Times caliber talent but I see you’re trying to ape that paper’s spin.  How do you know all of the folks at the tea party are conservatives?  I personally know two Democrats who attended.  How about libertarians or don’t you know the difference? 

Liberal media bias isn’t a myth.  You’re exhibit A locally.

Bill Colley

You can also send Dan an email and express your thoughts:  dshortridge@delawareonline.com

This is a note originally posted at Facebook describing some recent political events in Delaware:

Thurman Adams and Joe Biden weren’t likely political soul mates. Adams was a gentlemanly old style Southern Democrat. A social conservative vexing the liberals in the northern reaches of Delaware, the powerful State Senator died last week. Biden offered a eulogy at Saturday’s funeral. I didn’t go. It isn’t personal. The redhead’s grass hadn’t been mowed in almost two weeks because of our unexpected monsoon season and I only met Adams on one occasion. No disrespect intended and I offered my respects to the man’s family during my radio show.

An acquaintance did attend and Tuesday telephoned me with news of what he labels a gaffe. Biden was reminiscing during his eulogy. The American born Biden explained it wasn’t easy as an Irish-Catholic to get elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972. Biden often works to portray Delaware as Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964 and ignores the fact political power is actually concentrated in New Castle County, Delaware, which is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biden then looked at the Adams family and said it’s like running for office as a “black convert Jew”.

My acquaintance was seated with friends. He is roughly the color of President Obama. He voted for the Obama-Biden ticket. He wasn’t pleased by what he views as a condescending, stupid and racist remark. Recently elected to his local school board, my acquaintance is growing very disillusioned with the rampant socialization of his country.

You know, I may have learned about this earlier but I had a rare three day weekend from work. None of which was spent on rest and relaxation. Yard work Saturday and a shopping trip Sunday and Monday I went to New Castle County, where I was a guest of a local Republican club being built on new internet technology. I came home late, went to bed after 12:30 A.M. Tuesday and by 10:00 A.M. was showered, shaved and dressed to meet an old Castle. Cap and Tax Castle, Republican Representative Mike Castle is one of the 8 members of his party jumping ship last week on a plan to put the final coffin nail into my country’s economy.

He was holding a town meeting and I carried two signs with me. “China thanks Mike Castle” read one and the other “Malevolent Mike”. He saw only the first and asked if I was representing China. Then he dashed into the meeting to see more than 200 people waiting for him. About 6 were there asking him to support socialized medicine. The rest to suggest he retire. Mr. Castle may run next year in a special election to fill the last four years of Mr. Biden’s U.S. Senate term.

I’ve now heard GOP reaction to Mr. Castle’s vote on both ends of my state. He may no longer have much support. His most recent vote isn’t an aberration.

Castle still has a few friends. There are people who moved here from Annapolis and Washington to open pottery shops, however. Firing pottery requires a great deal of generated energy. Here’s a suggestion, put down the clay, pick up a sign and join me in the effort to retire the guy.

With the help of a generous Court of Common Pleas judge and a good attorney, 38 year old former Sussex Central High School principal, Dana Goodman, is free on bail.  Judge Rosemary Beauregard reduced Goodman’s bond from $331,000 to $125,000 dollars, which he was able to post Thursday. 

 He has been ordered to have no contact with the 17 year old victim,  the Indian River School District or its employees and no contact - direct or indirect - with any children under the age of 18.  Goodman is charged with 30 counts of 4th degree rape and continual sexual abuse of a child and endangering the welfare of a child.  All are felony offenses.

On Goodman’s release the school district has this comment:

Statement concerning the posting of bond by Sussex Central High School Principal Dana Goodman: 

“Mr. Goodman continues to be prohibited from having any contact with Indian River School District students or staff while his case is being adjudicated. The Indian River Board of Education has directed administrative staff to advertise the position of principal of Sussex Central High School, identify qualified applicants to be interviewed by the board and conduct background checks on all such applicants consistent with IRSD procedures.”                                               

                                Susan Bunting, SuperintendentMay 9, 2008

Earlier this week the Indian River School District appointed former IR and Woodbridge School District teacher and administrator, Robert Powell, as the interim principal at Sussex Central High School for the remainder of the school year.  Also Assistant IR Superintendent Gary Brittingham has been assigned to the school for the rest of the school year. 

The school district has now announced a special meeting for parents and members of the community regarding Sussex Central High School: 

Just a few thoughts to get used to posting on this blog:

This could be a daily topic on the radio show, the interest is huge.  Georgetown police Chief Topping mentioned his forces spend about 70% of the department resources for what amounts to just over 30% of the Georgetown population.  The medical community and the local schools are having a tough time handling the immigration influx for sure, but the most difficult stories to hear are from the everyday Sussex Countians who deal with the crimes associated with the “undocumented” residents.  The drunk driving, driving without insurance, and the accidents with unlicensed drivers stories hurt the pocketbook of the legal resident here.  The costs associated with special Spanish language court nights are also very real.  And do the pictures taken in Georgtown by Sheriff Reed really say “MS-13”?  Yes they do.  Georgetown seems to be turning a blind eye to illegal behavior, just for the sake of keeping the peace with our new Latino neighbors.  I hear stories of code enforcement officers turning a blind eye to housing violations by Hispanics. The police chief admits to letting immigrants get away with using aliases and carrying fake documents evident by this blurb from the State News:

Georgetown Police Chief William Topping said his officers are trained to ask immigrants in traffic stops or other encounters for their “real name” and their “work name.”“We tell them, ‘We don’t care what you tell Perdue, but you need to tell us your real name,’” Chief Topping said. His force of 18 officers now includes two Spanish speakers, and two years ago the local court instituted a Spanish arraignment night each Tuesday.
Chief Topping said local police don’t try to determine a person’s immigration status. They don’t accompany federal immigration agents on raids. Chief Topping said the goal is to win the trust of the Hispanic community so crime victims are willing to work with police, without fear of being deported. “My take is that they’re not leaving. My best bet is to make them educated about the criminal justice system here, and I definitely feel like we’re making headway,” Chief Topping said.What would happen if you were using a  fake name around town?  Perdue seems to know that fake names are being used by employees, (you’d have to be brain dead to not see this in Georgetown)  but take a relaxed attitude, according to this from the News Journal:What would happen if you were using a  fake name around town?  Perdue seems to know that fake names are being used by employees, (you’d have to be brain dead to not see this in Georgetown)  but take a relaxed attitude, according to this from the News Journal:About 75 percent of the 1,700 employees at Perdue’s Georgetown plant are Guatemalan. Spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said employees must present proper documentation to be hired. However, the company is not in a position to say whether the documents are valid, she said.
What would happen if you were using a  fake name around town?  Perdue seems to know that fake names are being used by employees, (you’d have to be brain dead to not see this in Georgetown)  but take a relaxed attitude, according to this from the News Journal:Hey Perdue, call an auditor and check out the validity of your I-9 forms if you want to be a good neighbor. What would happen if you were using a  fake name around town?  Perdue seems to know that fake names are being used by employees, (you’d have to be brain dead to not see this in Georgetown)  but take a relaxed attitude, according to this from the News Journal:What would happen if you were using a  fake name around town?  Perdue seems to know that fake names are being used by employees, (you’d have to be brain dead to not see this in Georgetown)  but take a relaxed attitude, according to this from the News Journal:

What would happen if you were using a  fake name around town?  Perdue seems to know that fake names are being used by employees, (you’d have to be brain dead to not see this in Georgetown)  but take a relaxed attitude, according to this from the News Journal: 

About 75 percent of the 1,700 employees at Perdue’s Georgetown plant are Guatemalan. Spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said employees must present proper documentation to be hired. However, the company is not in a position to say whether the documents are valid, she said.

 

Hey Perdue, call an auditor and check out the validity of your I-9 forms if you want to be a good neighbor. The town of Georgetown simply has no leadership.  Even Mayor Wyatt in the latest issue of El Tiempo Hispano talks about  riding with the police and letting intoxicated Hispanics, drinking publicly in the streets, walk away after being caught red handed by police.

The problems associated with illegal residents will only get worse unless Georgetown starts acting a little like Hazelton PA.