The Rabbit Hole of Indoctrination and Politically Correct city government             April 17, 2011

The Fort Smith Board of Directors brought a new level of politically correct absurdity and nonsense to their Saturday “Retreat” in Wonderland. There is no question that our Directors are physically adults.  The real questions are, are they mentally immature, ignorant, stupid, complicit, or just pleasing their suitors and/or enablers?

The just completed politically correct exercise really brings into question the maturity and rationality of the participants.  Designating Directors as ‘Creators, Advancers, Refiners, Executors, & Flexers” is right out of the government P. C. playbook, which ultimately produces automatons/egalitarians.

The aforementioned “categories” reminds of the various donation levels for a college sports team.

Ron Holifield who “facilitated” (staged) this charade, e.g. “Advancers are those who communicate new ideas, carry them forward, and manage the human part of any solution”.   Can anyone tell what “managing the human part of any solution” means?  He nominated Directors Hutchings, Pam Weber & Phil Merry as Advancers.  Mr. Holifield, please tell us the new ideas that any of the three of these have communicated.

Now comes “Flexers who have an equal preference for all roles and can often adapt their styles to fit the team’s needs”.  Director Good was a recipient of this auspicious title which simply says he feels strongly both ways or will hunt with any ole dog.  Frankly, Director Good should be mad as the devil for having this title hung round his neck.

Times Record reporter Ben Boulden wrote this doublespeak and failed to define why Ron Holifield classifies himself as a consultant with Strategic Government Resources (taxes) and what exactly is Strategic Government Resources and what was the cost to Fort Smith taxpayers for bringing Mr. Holifield to town to put on his production.  This whole affair smacks of fiscal irresponsibility.

 It should be noted that Directors should tell taxpaying Fort Smith citizens why we need an assistant City Manager, what the cost was to hire a search firm to locate candidates for the position of assistant city manager, and why in all likelihood would they hire any of the three that have reached the finals.  Administrator Gossack is obviously dictating the tenor of business in the Fort Smith city government—a huge mistake.

Furthermore; if each of them were genuinely interested in the future of Fort Smith, they would spend their time dealing with the soon to be defunct Convention Center and its many substantive potential uses, and at the same time would morally and constitutionally allow citizens to vote on the contentious issue of increased food taxes, and invasions of profit & loss statements of privately owned businesses, which can only be described as vulgar and unlawful. The fact that some of these Directors are willing to launch a new tax in these times of economic distress is outrageous. This ain’t Wonderland.

Congratulations to Director George Catsavis for not participating in the Saturday Mad Hatter event.

Joe McCutchen                                                              arkansasfreedom.net