praise

verb

1. the police praised Pauline for her courage in confronting the thieves: COMMEND, express admiration for, applaud, pay tribute to, speak highly of, eulogize, compliment, congratulate, sing the praises of, rave about, go into raptures about, heap praise on, wax lyrical about, make much of, pat on the back, take one’s hat off to, lionize, admire, hail, ballyhoo; formal laud. ANTONYMS criticize, condemn.
2. we praise God: WORSHIP, glorify, honor, exalt, adore, pay tribute to, give thanks to, venerate, reverence; formal laud; archaic magnify.

noun

1. your praise means a great deal to us: APPROVAL, acclaim, admiration, approbation, acclamation, plaudits, congratulations, commendation; tribute, accolade, compliment, a pat on the back, eulogy, panegyric; formal encomium.
2. give praise to God: HONOR, thanks, glory, worship, devotion, adoration, reverence.

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The Storey Teller received an anonymous Letter To The Editor the other day. It reads:

“The Bible says “out of the heart the mouth speaks;” therefore “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if thee is any excellence, if there is anything worth of praise, think about these things.”

My interpretation of this letter is “Dude, why you always talkin’ smack about Storey County?”

A couple of days before I got this letter I had a conversation at the Storey County Commission Meeting with a County employee who was concerned about me personally. “Dude, you get really worked up about stuff when you are at the podium addressing the commissioners. Why are you so angry? It’s unhealthy to hold onto that stuff.”

This employee was right. I do get worked up about actions unbecoming of publicly elected officials. Part of it comes from my experiences growing up here in The Richest Place On Earth. Some of it comes from having to work against difficult things in my professional career. Part of it comes from things that I have seen done to my fellow man and woman.

Waste, Abuse, Cronyism, and Monkey Business

However, the biggest influence on my fight against waste, abuse, cronyism, and downright criminal behavior is what I have seen happen to our country on our generation’s watch. A relentless decline of our ability as individuals to live without government attention and intervention. Paying for a government system that is increasingly more expensive and less effective, efficient and kind. Watching injustice hand delivered to our less fortunate and of color countrymen and women. Seeing our brave servicemen and women return torn, spindled and mutilated or dead from pointless, thoughtless, and endless overseas “wars”.

In ten short years, our country went from Bill Clinton’s budget surplus to Barak Obama’s $17 trillion dollar deficit. Under Trump, that deficit has grown to $22 Billion. This money will have to be paid back by our kids, and this concerns me. But I can do exactly nothing about what happens inside the beltway. As in Diddley Squat. To wrap your head around exactly how much money a trillion dollars is visually, click here. Jeez.

All Politics is Local

They say all politics is local. I can do almost nothing to influence the way things get done in Washington D.C. But I can influence what happens here in Storey County. That is why I started The Teller. That is why Lance Gilman is suing me.

To the letter writer, I have the following responses:

1. I print just, honorable, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and praiseworthy articles on The Teller. Don’t listen to the Commissioners and County Manager when they say all I do is rail against the beloved County. But I reserve the right to rail against abuse, waste, cronyism, and shenanigans whenever I see it. Remember, dissent is not un-American.
2. While I have read many good books, the writer quotes “The Good Book” so I’ll cherry-pick a verse that came to me on the internet: Proverbs 31:8-9 – “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
3. Johnny Cash wore black throughout most of his career. From his song Man in Black: “I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town, I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, but is there because he’s a victim of the times.”. Based on their actions, many of our County Leaders are more interested in taking care of themselves and the businesses at TRIC than they are taking care of the people who elected them.
   

So there you have it, gentle reader. Sometimes what I write contains praise. Sometimes it doesn’t. Wouldn’t it be great if there were less abuse, waste, cronyism, and monkeys here in Storey County?

Together we can make a change.

¡Hasta la Victoria Siempre!