[Vision2020] Me Thinks He Doth Protest Too Loudly

[Saundra Lund]

Visionaries:

I understand Rose Huskey's and my most recent efforts have created quite a
stir on Doug Wilson's monologue the past few days.  Quite frankly, I find
the bluster rather amusing.

I want to preface my remarks by saying that while Rose and I are a team in
these efforts, and while I am incredibly honored to consider her a friend in
the most treasured sense of the word, I am speaking for myself here.  Should
you have quarrel with what follows (including the length), your quarrel is
with me  :-)

I think Rose's speeding parable posted last night is a good one, but I have
a few points I'd like to make.

Comments have come from various quarters indicating the desire for Rose & I
broaden the scope of our inquiries into property tax exemptions and equity
in Latah County, and I'd like to address that.

First, as I've said before, I have absolutely *NO* reason to think that the
vast majority of non-profits receiving property tax exemptions aren't
following the rules.  Period.

Second, I'd like to gently remind folks that Rose and I are just two people,
and this isn't a job for which we receive any financial compensation, nor do
we want any.  The reason I mention this fact is because rumors to the
contrary have been spread in the past, but also because, believe it or not,
looking into these issues takes time and a lot of work.  We have plenty on
our plates, thank you very much, to keep us busy for *quite* awhile even if
we didn't have very rich & full lives otherwise  :-)

That said, if anyone has questions about the validity of any property tax
exemptions, you are certainly free to make you are certainly free to make
your own inquiries.  This, of course, also applies to Doug Wilson.

Indeed, if Mr. Wilson *honestly* believes that other non-profits have
engaged in the same sort of shenanigans he's been a party to, then he has an
*obligation,* IMHO, to bring those concerns to the BOE.  I'm not holding my
breath, though, because I don't think he honestly believes anything of the
sort.

Remember, Rose & I have no special training that uniquely qualifies us -- we
are simply two concerned citizens who share some (well, probably many) of
the same values including justice, fairness, and equity in property tax
application, distribution, and exemption.  Plainly put, if we can do it, I
think anyone can do it.

I'd also like to make the point that in spite of the implications in his
monologues, Doug Wilson is ***not*** a lawyer.  He seems h*ll-bent and
determined to *demand* that those with real legal training interpret the law
in the way *he* thinks it should be interpreted.  Not surprisingly, he wants
the law interpreted in a way that either *he* gets the upper hand or *no
one* benefits.  IMHO, that's why he's trying to twist the law and make us
think *all* local non-profits ("Consistency would require virtually all tax
exemptions in Latah County to be revoked") are doing exactly what he's done
with Wilson World.  Quite simply, I think that's nothing more than yet
another load of hogwash.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer, either, and clearly Doug & I differ in the
correct interpretation of the law.  One difference, though, is that Rose and
I are asking *questions* rather than trying to ram our own self-serving
interpretations down everyone else's throats.

Whatever spin you want to put on our motivation for raising our
questions/concerns (and don't forget no one has a greater self-interest in
attributing the worst possible motives to us than Mr. Wilson), those
questions *were* legitimate and with merit as evidenced by the property tax
exemption revocation for two of the three parcels, decisions that were based
in part on the legal advice the BOE received from its own counsel . . . a
*real* lawyer, unlike Mr. Wilson.  Or, wait . . . maybe Mr. Whitney was part
of the dreaded Intolerista conspiracy, too?

If anyone is still reading, I have just a couple of other points I'd like to
make.

It isn't Rose's or my fault there's apparently a longstanding history in
Latah County of not reviewing property tax exemptions annually as required
by law.  Nor is it our fault that a formal BOE hearing is the only forum in
which our questions can be raised.  And, it's not our fault there seems to
be a longstanding history of granting of property tax exemptions based on
not much more than self-assertion of eligibility/entitlement.

With respect to the latter, though, I wonder if that isn't really a positive
comment about our community more than anything else?

This is a community where it isn't unusual for deals to be sealed with
nothing more than a handshake . . . and trust.  I think we all see things
going on and just assume that everything is as it should be . . . that the
applicable rules are being followed even if -- or perhaps especially when --
we don't know exactly what those rules are.  We *trust* that most everyone
is pretty honest and truthful about the big stuff.

Thus, when requests for property tax exemption are made, perhaps our
commissioners, just like many of us, assume those making the requests are
genuine, honest, forthright, and truthful.  There might be honest
misunderstandings of the law so that some making requests don't actually
qualify, but generally speaking, I think it's incomprehensible to most of us
that anyone would be slimy enough to ask for a free ride and *not* reveal
all the pertinent information.

In that respect, I *hope* this experience with Anselm House and NSA has
opened our collective eyes.  Indeed, had those involved gone before the BOE
with honest intentions to disclose all pertinent facts, the property tax
exemption would have been revoked on the second NSA parcel as well.
Unfortunately, though, since some involved had a vested interest in
withholding relevant information, those facts weren't available  to us until
the IBTA hearing.

In his never-ending monologue, Doug Wilson has referred to Rose & I as
"troubled people."  To which I respond, "You're DARN RIGHT I'm troubled!
Whatever our doctrinal differences (and they are significant), of *course*
I'm troubled, just as *any* reasonable person would be when discovering a
pattern of blatant disregard for the rules and laws under which the rest of
us operate."  It's that simple.

So, Doug has started insipid whining and cries of "Discrimination!" to any
and all who will listen.  Indeed, even folks who share his worldview and
read his blog with genuine interest wonder what on earth has happened to
him?

Frankly, I don't give a rip . . . he can whine & spew vitriol & make threats
& try to intimidate until the cows come home.  He's just plain wrong, and it
doesn't matter how long or how loudly he bellows otherwise:  the facts are
the facts.  I believe any reasonable person examining the objective *facts*
-- and not through Doug's self-serving and narcissistic rose-colored glasses
-- can see the truth.

One last thing . . . Doug has apparently coined yet another Dougism:
Diversity Cleansing.  Of course, this is sheer nonsense and nothing more
than another trite attempt to deflect attention away from the real issues.

Nonetheless, I can't resist saying I think *nothing* would be more
beneficial to this whole issue than a good colonic cleansing for Doug to get
rid of all the excess . . . well, you know.


Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
Edmund Burke