Twisting Words

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One of my favorite quotes comes from the book Middle Passage by Oludah Equiano. The slave owner was trying to justify slavery with the use of a bible passage, and the former salve turns to the slave owner and asks “O, ye nominal Christian, learn ye this from your God?” So many people try to use the bible to justify their actions. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword ..." (Hebrews 4:12) Scripture has the power to transform a man -- not just in word, but in deed and lifestyle. But as wonderful as it is, the power of the word can also be dangerous when mishandled. Because every word and every verse is true, sometimes people think it's harmless to take words and verses of the Bible out of context. But doing so can actually dilute or completely change the original intent. Now there are readers of this blog that are trying to make turn the chaos that is taking place at city hall of city into a Holy War. For the record, I am also a Christian. So, are we going to turn this blog into a my God is bigger than your god demonstration? But since we are saying that our clerk is such a devout Christian, let’s take a look into some of her past actions. You know we love to dig up a person’s past here in Lumberton. Was our clerk a Christian when she allegedly took part in locking the only handicap accessible entrance at City Hall (which was a violation of the Americans with Disability Act) in order to gain brownie points with the previous mayor? Was our city clerk a Christian when she disregarded the laws governing a code-charter municipality by allegedly refusing to let the aldermen have access to the minutes and records at city hall? Was our clerk a Christian when she threw Jo Ann Ladner, Leonette Wynn , Janet Raine and Joan Adams under the bus in order to get to a position that she can’t handle? Was our clerk a Christian when she allegedly misplaced job applications in order to steer the board into hiring the applicants she wanted? I think I’ve made my point. Let’s not try to turn these incidents into something they are not. No one is trying to “crucify” our clerk for her actions, we are asking for accountability within the hallowed halls of our city. Someone commented that the clerks should sue me for the things that have been said on this blog. Well, if the statements I made were not true I am sure they should be able to file a defamation of character suit or even a suit for liable or slander. (Please note that whenever I am not certain of a fact, I always use the word allegedly.) So, I would welcome the opportunity to defend this matter in court. Then I would be able to subpoena all the records, clerks and files. Unlike EEOC claims and charges, testimonies from defamation of character lawsuits are accessible to the public. Anyone can get a copy with a freedom of information request. My goal is not to get anyone to resign. My goal is to make sure that ALL the residents/business owners of Lumberton are treated in the same manner. If one business owner is getting free water services, then all business owners should be afforded the same privileges. While we’re allegedly giving out free water, why not give everyone in the city free water. I haven’t looked through the records lately, but I am almost certain that there has been a significant loss of funds in the WSOM accounts, and I’m sure these deficiencies were occurring long before Cooper Industries started downsizing. Unfortunately, with the lack of revenue from Cooper, it‘s become a little more difficult to finagle the numbers (allegedly speaking of course). If this city thinks it can continue to operate in the same manner, then let’s just ignore the fact that businesses are closing almost every day and continue to spend an exhaustive amount of city money to retain individuals that are not doing their jobs. So, let’s not try and turn the chaos at city hall into a Holy War, using scriptures and the badge of Christianity in an effort to defend half truths. James 2:19 states “. . . even demons believe—and tremble.” Let the church say. . .

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2010 at 1:08 AM

    Well this will be the last time that I read your blog!! The female you are referring to is a member of the church that I attend!! What makes you so wonderful......your mission says that you created this blog so that the members of the community can come together for the greater good, yet all you ever do is blast the people of this town. Hypocrite!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ashely berghmanSeptember 5, 2010 at 9:18 PM

    As a former citizen of the Lumberton community, I agree that the citizens of Lumberton need to come together as a whole to fix the problem. If your elected officials can't or won't fix the problem, then vote them out. We are a nation based on the principle of "for the people, by the people".

    I myself am a Christian. I also know that just because you attend church every time the doors are open, it does not make you a Christian; furthermore, no one human can see what is on another person's heart. So we cannot say if the person next to us on Sunday morning is a Christian or not, nor can we say that the person next to us in the convenience store is a Christian or not. I believe that the purpose of this blog was to say that some people are trying to turn the battle at City Hall into a Christian versus non-Christian battle. This problem at City Hall, from what I gather, is about the budget for the City, whether or not someone is attending required/additional training, or if someone has been "borrowing" money from the City. I know Lumberton is a small town. It was the entire time I lived there, and will continue to be, but people need to look at public records before they decide that someone did or did not do something. Do not base your opinion on whether or not this person attends church with you, grew up with you, or is some relative of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 6, 2010 at 6:38 PM

    I would like to encourage Stephanie to keep her head up b/c we all have our cross to bear. Remember the source of this blog and it's just the rantings of an educated thug. He want to let everyone know he has two degrees and he is just jealous of the fact that you made it to the position of city clerk with just a high school education.

    ReplyDelete

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