To be generous, even grifters, shills and hacks need to make a living. Maybe believing his own story becomes a lifelong struggle of self-identity for this kind of guy. He no doubt has loved ones, pets, a back yard grill and favorite television shows; so, he may not stand out for you in a crowd. A crony, a local scam artist has a name that isn’t important to the point here. He’s part of an array of some rich, some ingratiating, some with official standing, some in the shadows, some are befuddled while obedient, etc. Not all are as vocal or obvious as others. Regardless, they are a club.
- facts be damned
- goodwill be damned
- reputations be damned
- public good be damned
- personal integrity? – ptooey!
The point is merely that there will always be cronies preying on the community. There are profits to be had in this richly endowed town. Every election in Encinitas the same forces fire up the rhetoric and fan the flames of fear and accusations. Huge out of town money is spent on slate mailer lies and showy billboards. Grifters target greed and gullibility, emotions familiar to all of us. The uninformed are truly vulnerable, those sincerely trusting better natures will again be betrayed and the stupid remain ever-willing accomplices even as they pay the price like everyone else – rinse, repeat.
Nothing can be done for the willingly stupid group, but the naïve and the uninformed need never be abandoned. Good people far outnumber the cheats. The numbers of people old and young who are or who have begun to transform themselves into mature, informed participants in their city’s governance can overwhelm the well financed plans of the cronies.
WARNING: The image of a toy belies the central feature of what is being discussed. At the core is a viciousness as the central feature, the anchor point that most people are ill prepared to anticipate.
Then the task becomes simple vigilance, always. And the huckster will always try and divide people, but the man can remain a non-threatening joke to anyone who knows how to spot the scam when he pops up again. Citizen duty #22, keeping the cronies in check.
Breaking: National Case Study of Citizen Vigilance
All over the nation women and men were exercising their citizen duty #22 (not really numbered) by going right to the source, the money, when calling out the nation's largest huckster of hate, Rush Limbaugh. 98 top advertisers dump Rush Limbaugh.
But it’s not just Limbaugh that these advertisers want to disassociate with, but other big names in right-wing radio too. As the Daily Beast’s John Avalon notes, this is unprecedented in the 20-plus years that Limbaugh and his imitators have been on the air and could spell real trouble for an industry that’s already suffering demographically. Women ages 24–55 are the prize advertising demographic, but Limbaugh and other conservative hosts have steadily alienated these listeners over the years, so the sexist attacks on Sandra Fluke were “a perfect storm.”Our mayor, crony to our local version(s) of Rush Limbaugh, is apparently a fan of this national bully. That's right. Jerome Stocks lists both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck as interests on his facebook page.
The advertising flight is reminiscent of Glenn Beck’s Fox News program. After major companies refused to advertise on Beck’s show in light of racially insensitive comments, he was left with just fringe businesses like survival seed banks and gold sellers. Not long thereafter, he left Fox, reportedly under pressure.
