[Vision2020] Me Thinks He Doth Protest Too Loudly

Fri Apr 22 20:15:01 PDT 2005

Poor, poor Cult Master.

It looks like that although he loves to wield The Serrated Edge, he doesn't like to feel it himself between his tiny balls.

Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at adelphia.net>
To: "'Vision 2020'" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 7:22 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Me Thinks He Doth Protest Too Loudly

> 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
> 
> 
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