Thick As Thieves (Pun Intended)

This year, the City of Lumberton didn't have an organized event for the National Day of Prayer. For years, the event was hosted by Paul Ockmond. For some reason, he opted out of the event this year. When Mayor Ben Winston announced that there wouldn't be a program this year, many wondered if there was a rift between Winston and Ockmond. I addressed those that posed that question by saying that Paul Ockmond was distancing himself from Ben Winston because they have too much invested in one another. It was my belief that Paul was laying low because his cloak of "christianity" (purposely not capitalized) was tarnished by his responses made on this blog. Ockmond attempted to defend his friend Winston or as he called him "a bastard did good for himself." Ockmond, a self-professed man of God, and I'm sure he has the paperwork to prove it, went into zttack mode while I kept giving him scriptures in response but I'm the heathen. I won't go into all the details of our exchange but out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. No matter how many times you stand on the corner and preach, how many church services you attend or how many ministers you finance, what's in you will eventually come out. You can only fake for so long.

If there's any doubt in your mind about the relationship between Paul Ockmond and Ben Winston, all you need to do is take a drive from Main Street to the Interstate. Every sect of property owned or affiliated with Paul Ockmond has a Help Ben Win sign posted. Now ask yourself, why is Paul Ockmond so invested in the Winston campaign. Hell, I would probably support him too had I been given a cushy salaried job on the Lamar County Planning and Zoning Board. Ironically, Winston does not want Lumberton to have a planning and zoning committee but appointed his friend/business partner to the County position. If you need more proof that Ben and Paul are bosom buddies, just look at Sunday's paper. It seems that Paul Ockmond is organizing a political rally through the Lumberton Economic Development Council (LEDC) so we can meet the Lamar County candidates. If memory serves me correctly, I thought Stanley Rayborn and Tommy Dukes were paid off by Ben, oops, I mean, elected as officers of the LEDC. If so, why is Paul Ockmond organizing the event. Since the LEDC is Ben Winston's organization, I guess there's no one better than his side kick to organize an event on his behalf.

Now that you have the facts, here's something you need to realize. Ben Winston is the registered owner of the LEDC. He's running for a County position. His business partner/friend, Paul Ockmond, is organizing a political rally for Lamar County candidates for an organization that's under the control of one of the candidates. Now, in all honesty, do you think this is going to be a level playing field? By organizing the event, they have put other candidates in a precarious position. If they don't attend, Winston can say they don't care about Lumberton but if they attend, the other candidates know the game is fixed. They're pulling out all their tricks and now you know another reason why Ben Winston don't want me to blog. I hope this information was helpful. I will do my best to keep you "Informed." Happy Monday!