Our local media made a point of covering the issue, but it seemed to be very nebulous at that time. No one here in Catawba County seemed to understand what the vitriol was about, when it was purported that Mr. Burleson was an outstanding Superintendent and a few rogue School Board Members were behind his non-contract renewal/dismissal. The BurkeEd blog has more in-depth information than any of us ever received from our local media. This issue has long since left the radar of the people in Hickory or the coverage it received from the media in Charlotte.
The BurkeEd Blog is very thorough and lays out a lot of issues that definitely weren't relayed to the public a few years ago by the media. One of the comments posted relating to the Taped Conversation article hits the nail on the head and so I am going to repost it here on the Hound. It relates to the 4 classes of people who live in Burke County (but I think it relates perfectly to the whole area) in terms of understanding and action towards Power Politics. I could not have written the following any better. It defines the issues that we face when it comes to the Powers That Be in our area's control of our governance versus the average working class citizens who mostly don't participate in the political process, because of the complexity and murkiness of the dynamics in which it operates.
Burke County is an odd place. We are segregated into four distinct groups:a) There's the Elite Viewpoint held by those whose noses are firmly planted in the clouds; most of them are condescending, high-maintenance, snooty people who simply do not associate with the under-educated "rednecks" of Burke County. They're religious, but not overly-so (not your Holy Roller types at all). They're more your Sunday-only County Club Christians. These people are also known as "Townies". They expect and almost always receive the edge of favoritism from our local governmental entities. Money talks. Loudly. And so does the old family name. They managed to get two new high schools built for their children, and they can attend them whether they live within that school's boundaries or not. Their children are allowed to transfer to the elem-middle-high schools of their choice regardless of where they live and how overcrowded the school is (Patton High and Forest Hill Elem), their spouses/relatives/friends are given cushy local gov't jobs they may/may not be qualified for, etc. Of course, these special people are a small minority of people in the county. Superintendent David Burleson was at the beckon-call for this group, as are the SWAT board members. With their mouths they say they're for "all children"; with their actions they show their true allegiance.b) Then there are the people who believe everything that those in category (a) say without verifying the facts. Even if they knew the truth, it appears they wouldn't even care. This is the majority of the county's population. They'll take the short-end of the stick without questioning it; it's just always been that way. (Of course they have the voting power to overrule those in category a; they simply choose not to recognize or use it).c) Then there are the people who know the truth about how things work around here - and about the corruption - but are too afraid to do anything about it. Reason? See item d.d) Then there's the regular guy who has wised up and does publicly speak out about it. I'd say that's where I fall. People in this category are "persecuted" or vilified for their beliefs' retaliation is the name of the game. Those in category (a) will, without mercy, make up rumors about the category (d) people (affairs, "open marriages", financial problems, say we threw a fit in a library about a book, say we called a politician on the night of the election at 11pm, waking up her children, to gloat about her losing the election, etc.) they'll boycott our businesses, send letters to our franchisors (those of us who have one), refuse to do business with us - even to the point of not selling us products we'd like to buy (hint: cutting their nose off to spite their faces), remove us from receiving band parent notifications (shun them), etc.So those in category (d) above do try to avoid the repercussions of speaking out by remaining as anonymous as possible. Hence, no author names on burkeed.
And there you have it! This isn't from a "Conspiracy Theorist," this is something that a lot of us have witnessed. But, we need to ever vigilantly shine the light.
Do you understand the symbology of Vampires and why they operate at night under the cloak of darkness and are fearful of the day and light. Vampires stalk their prey and increase their energy level by sucking the blood (life force) out of their victims. They do this through deception and they always operate in the shadows, not out in the open. When light is shined on them (ie they are exposed) it destroys them.
We aren't out to destroy people. We are seeking understanding through truth and love. We are out to give people freedom. The Vampires complain that we don't talk about positives, which means that they don't want us to talk about the Powers That Be and accountability. They want us to talk about hyperbole and fluff like they do. They are the ones always trying to bring others under their control for their personal benefit. You pay the taxes. They reap the rewards. All anyone is doing by operating Blogs is bringing you a message. It is what the media used to do -- investigative Journalism and Opinion. Now the mainstream media has become a propaganda arm for governments at all levels.
If you don't agree with the commentary on blogs, then you are free to move the dialogue forward and give reasons why things were done in a certain manner. I know that all I want to do is ensure Freedom of thought and expression -- Critical Thinking. That is what this country was founded upon. We have lost that to a great extent. The Vampires want to control us and operate in the shadows. Their worst fear is when anyone uses their tactics against them. That is why they always complain about anonymous comments. They can govern anonymously, behind closed doors; but you are supposed to do everything out in the open, while they sit behind the mirrored glass spying on you. When you accept the way that they operate, then you are doomed. There are way too many people who accept this Shadow Governance. It is not the way that this country is supposed to operate. Shine the light!!! Our Freedom is at stake!!!
12 comments:
Pretty much hits the nail on the head. The Burke analogy can serve as a blanket analogy in Catawba County, Caldwell, Alexander, and pretty much every other county in this State, the State itself, and thus the nation.
I completely agree. I'm not here to bring anyone down, harm anyone, or bring them ill will. I am here to remove this shroud of access and privilege from government for a select few and restore it back to what it was intended to be. So in that regard, if you're elected, you sought out the position you hold. No one dragged you into the board of elections office and made you file. So you have little standing to complain or object when people challenge what you do or say. And if it is of a dubious nature, you need to pony up a valid and lucid why. So remember, there is always a connection, no matter how well you thought you may have covered the tracks over, to those you do special favors for. And with more people searching the grid, you will be found out.
I find it hard to believe that 235 years after the Declaration of Independence, 148 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and 146 years after the ratification of the 13th Amendment, those in category (d) vilify those in category (a) for supposedly keeping them down (sounds like the Wall Street protests) and then in their own self-important way say "we are out to give people freedom". Well, we don't need you self-appointed do-gooders to do so. The Founders and those who repose under the soil at King's Mountain, Gettysburg, Flanders and just off of Normandy's beaches already have accomplished that task.
In Burke County in 2007, we supposedly got a school board majority made up of people from category (d). Unfortunately, the "d" stood for "disaster". It was like having Elly Mae Clampett and Jethro Bodine in charge of the education of the County's youth. Every stupid decision that could have been made was made, much to the chagrin of the populace, resulting in the chairwoman receiving just 7% of the vote in her re-election bid, an unheard of amount in a representative democracy.
The moral of the story is, if people from category (d) want to govern, they need to have a modicum of common sense and act like they've been there before.
I love it. The 12:49pm just gave us yet another example of the condescending attitude of he and his fellow type-a muckity mucks.
First he attempts to impress us with his vast knowledge of American history (no doubt a history major to go along with his law degree), then he takes a shot at those with less education than he by equating them to characters on the Beverly Hillbillies. It's so typical.
I don't think they even realize how they come across. Many of the category-a's in this area are the descendants of those who hired "The Help" and never even thought of folks in another race or SES class to be their equal. In the very fabric of their beings, we're so beneath them.
Burke County doesn't want to improve. We are stuck in the past and that's where we will stay by design.
Hmmm. There are 368 dead Americans in the American Cemetery at Flanders, Belgium. The poem that renders the memory of that area was written in 1915 by a British doctor serving there. Is that your justification for the vilification of those in group d? And since "we" don't need those to speak, how is it you need those buried in Flanders? Or Normandy? Or a thousand other places? You think thier dying entitles you to speak for others by deciding what they do or don't need, simply because you have money or what your last name is? Why not let them decide for themselves, after they've looked at all sides of the issue. Oh, they did do that, didn't they? It was called voting. Obviously, that didn't go to your liking.
Morganton is full of serpents and the school board is no exception. Things have been hidden and slid under the rug for years, and Mr. Burleson facilitated a vipers brood for such behavior in Burke as the schools Superintendent.
He didnt start it, but it grew under him like no other!
Building a high school was against the taxpayers wishes,he built two,naming the schools after people was against the taxpayers wishes, he did it anyways. Then he allowed a coach to steal from students in the locker room at East Burke High School and that was something he tried to cover up.The kids took matters in to their own hands by setting up a camera and catching the theif! At the time the coach Billy Anderson, was the son of assistant superintendnet Andy Anderson who now coaches at CVCC as head basketball coach. Billy was the son in law of former long time Burke Schools human resource director Steve Demiter who is now Catawba County School's associate superintendent.
Yes Burke County Schools was run amuck with family and cousins that provided the ultimate family reunion, and still does. Nepotism is not a word found in any dictionary in Burke County nor is it allowed to be mentioned.
Now, the Big news on David Burleson after reading blogs, is that he was instrumental in a 1 million dollar transfer of funds that is questionable at every turn.It will be interesting to see how he gets out of this web!
On the contrary, the 2009 vote DID go exactly how group-a wanted it to go. The media storm* was enormous so the public elected SWAT. SWAT was voted in to save the day. But, SWAT they failed.
They haven't shown SACS that they can abide by their AdvancED standards or state law or their own board policies, they refused to consolidate schools to reduce overhead, they just bought off the contract of the Superintendent for a cool $370,000 - the man who had the audacity to put the Elite Schools on the closings/consolidation list, then they began promoting, giving raises to, and hiring back their buddies and family of buddies (this is called the 'Buddy System' here in Burke County, after 14-year board member Buddy Armour), and they placed a man without any experience whatsoever in the Central Office to be the interim-Superintendent. They haven't talked about the budget for next year nor their plans to regain accreditation (we're still on probation after 2 years).
2011 will be the year of amazing voter apathy. That tends to happen when candidates make promises with their lying mouths that they don't deliver.
How to win with 90% majorities in Burke County:
1) Lie to everyone about how great the school system is, how large the percentage is of those passing the high stakes tests, how well we manage the finances of our school system. People never ask for details; realize they'll believe whatever we tell them.
2) Get the Morganton News Herald to run story after story about how awful the board was that ousted David Burleson, and get them to gloss over the SWAT candidates shortcomings. (Former Principal Susan Stroup's elementary school had one of the worst schools in the county in terms of students passing EOG's; they were on the Title I improvement list for several years). Don't tell anyone about that. The editor can censor letters to the editor, and he should write rebuttals at the end of letters he disagreed with, run a condescending cartoon editorial of the evil board chairwoman with a pig snout nose - relate her to "swine flu", and let the readers go nuts with their accusations, libel/gossip on the MNH comment pages unabashedly.
3) Act like absolute fools to disrupt the board meetings (this is ok for civic leaders as well) to attract media attention from Charlotte (not that it took much for the pro-Burleson reporters to cover the story); make it look like the entire county believed it would dissolve into dust if David Burleson's contract was ended. Throw in a big dose of "idol worship" so that the personal feel-goodisms are more important than even the education of our own children.
4) Bring even more attention to the mess by filing lawsuits against the school board - none of which were won - to cause more media frenzy.
5) Don't forget to spread more gossip & rumors & hate to assassinate the character of everyone who disagrees with us. Call board members and threaten, intimidate them. Hate speech is perfectly acceptable.
6) Blow every mistake of the board majority out of proportion.
7) Call SACS-CASI to tattle on our board for trying to get rid of the favorite son so they'll come in to provide accountability; schools are now on accreditation probation.
One person, one vote. So, those who are perceived to be in group(a) have no more power at the ballot box than those perceived to be in group (d), just as the Founders intended. Whining is unbecoming, Silence.
Three things hamper 'one man - one vote':
1) Propaganda. It takes money, connections, power to fool most of the people most of the time.
2)Apathy. Our county is filled with apathetic citizens who've thrown up their hands "they're all crooks - what does it matter?".
3)Lack of discernment/gullibility. People don't ask for details anymore - they just believe everything they hear. To critical thinkers and those who verify, this is absolutely maddening.
The Group A's have the money to prey on the gullible and easily misled.
@10/11/11, 0659: Perhaps, given the uncontrolled for variables of an informed populace and the will to do what is right, not what is popular. Ever hear the term, 'sheeple'? Controlling information can work to any side of any issue, or for the benefit of some other interest not immediately apparent. Being 'firstest with the mostest' also seems to be the going trend, relevent to the dissimination of information, factual or not, accurate or not. Truth has little bearing in either of those concepts.
But I will say this. It's your school system. It belongs to all of the people of Burke County. If you want to give parents the reins and let them make willy nilly decisions, that might not be in the best interest of the entire student body, go right ahead. If you have overcrowding to the point that it's at standing room only, have at it. But the thing is this. Burke County Schools are going to have meet certain criteria to maintain accreditation. If the parents know better than the professionals about how to do that, then maybe you need to dissolve the school board and take on the task yourselves. If the professionals aren't conducting themselves in a professional manner, yes, it's time to replace them. Burleson got stuck in a crack trying to garner more power than the board thought he should have by pandering to the parents by acquiescing to them, no matter what it was. So this pathetic little power struggle of oneupsmanship played out in the media just to prove who had the most push. Burleson lost, the majority of the Board lost in the next election, and who else has lost in the time since then? And what about the kids? That is supposed to be the object of the exercise, isn't it? A better question is, "Who Dares Win?"
Do you need to ask who lost in Burke County's version of "Hatfield and McCoy" feud, more aptly named the:
I'll-buyout-your-Superintendent-because- you-bought-out-ours?
When you throw education funds at attorneys and administrators to make them leave, do you think the funds make it to the classrooms?
Good news: When 8,000 people get enough gumption about them to sign a petition, in Burke County we have the ability to recall the school board members and start all over.
Nope, sure didn't. But it fit so I left it.
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