Some of you are tired about reading about Cortney Niland and you have clearly let me know. Others are just angry that she has figured so prominently when I point out the things that are wrong about El Paso. There are, of course, those that have realized that if they don’t do something, Cortney Niland’s usefulness as a politician to drive the current public policy agenda will be coming to an end soon, unless they intervene. Those individuals would love nothing more than to see my blog go away.
You may have noticed a couple of comments on Monday’s blog threating me about censoring comments on my blog. I will not bore you with the details but it is suffice to say that I relish comments on my blog, the more the better it is for me. I rarely engage readers on my comments section because I believe my blog allows me to make my point and the comments section gives you an opportunity to make your opinion known. Engaging in a conversation through the comments section only leads to a battle of who has the last word. I want my readers to feel comfortable expressing their opinions without feeling that I will shut them out by replying or defending my post every time someone comments.
Basically, I like my blog to be a place where I express my opinion and readers, such as yourselves, can express you opinion about what I wrote earlier. It doesn’t matter to me whether you agree or not with me because I realize not everyone agrees. I do enjoy the commentary though.
Obviously, I hit a nerve with my Monday blog as evidenced by the full-court press launched against me through emails and the two comments making threats about censorship. Some of you may have noticed that my blog was offline for a few hours as well yesterday. This reaction to my latest blog about Cortney Niland, I believe, has been orchestrated because the truth is the first casualty of political propaganda.
The commentary on my blog and David Karlsruher’s blogging about my topics and me are a knee jerk reaction to my exposing the truth that some do not want you to see. The fact is that El Paso is being overtaxed because of a misguided public policy agenda focused on giving playgrounds to a few of the city’s elite. To be clear, the activities against my blog are multifaceted because those who support the public policy agenda need to silence my criticism of Cortney Niland and the public policy agenda.
I have written previously about how economic terrorism is applied to those in El Paso that do not want to go along with those that are driving the public policy agenda. They use many tools; among them is additional scrutiny by government officials at all levels up to and including threatening the economy viability of those who dare to criticize. I have written many blogs giving you examples of this. Since I am no longer in El Paso and my economic activities are no longer dependent on El Paso, it has become harder to silence me. However, that has not stopped them from trying.
The fact that they have increased their attempts to silence me recently only reinforces my belief that I am getting through to some individuals in El Paso who can affect change and they are afraid of that. Because I do not normally engage with commenters on my blog or because I do not always share with you what it is they do does not mean I am not cognizant of how and why certain things are happening. The two comments on my article on Monday are nothing more than an attempt to create a perception that I am writing about Cortney Niland because of some nefarious reason or because I have picked one political faction over another. Like all propagandists, the truth is just an obstacle to their goal.
Niland’s cohorts have been attempting to create the illusion that I pick on her and her friends because I am like the useful idiots I regularly write about. They cannot help it because that is the environment they live in and therefore they assume everyone else does the same thing. After all, they have been relying on useful idiots to control public discussion for many years now.
The two comments on Monday’s blog are intended to serve two purposes; one is to create a search engine optimization (SEO) element for search results for Niland’s future run for office. They are also an attempt to discredit my reasons for blogging. I realize that pointing out to propagandists that my two largest clients in El Paso are the City of El Paso and the County of El Paso is irrelevant to them. However, how that simple fact somehow dictates the topics I choose to write about is beyond me. Of course, the facts are just an inconvenience for those that don’t want the truth to be known.
Yesterday Cortney Niland officiated the city council meeting. It was her opportunity to attempt to revitalize her public persona before the voters. I believe she prepared for her appearance before the electorate as the presiding officer. It was politically expedient for her to do this and proper for a viable political future. However, this was a multifaceted and well-orchestrated attempt by her and her enablers to take back control of the public perception about politics in El Paso.
There are two things you should be aware of to better understand how the public’s perception is being manipulated. The issue that is dogging her currently is the fact that she is not sitting where she should be at the dais. As much as her useful idiots try to distract from that fact, unfortunately for her, the electorate is well aware of it.
As part of that issue is the issue of the cost to setup a working station for Ann Morgan Lilly in the area that Niland pushed her to. The inconvenient truth is that Ann Morgan Lilly has been dislodged from her seat by Cortney Niland. Because of this, it will end up costing the taxpayers about $6,000 to rectify that inconvenient fact.
That is right; the taxpayers will pay about $6,000 because Cortney Niland does not want to sit where tradition has had her predecessors sitting before. Rather than address this cost directly, Niland and her cohorts deleted the item from the agenda to discourage public commentary on it and to hide the facts.
Without publicly voting on the issue, city council has agreed to shift taxpayer monies to pay for a workstation that is only needed because of Niland’s actions. We do not know exactly how much it is going to cost because city council agreed to pay for it behind closed doors. If that is not corrupt then nothing is! We think it may be $6,000 but we really do not know.
That is right, rather than vote publicly on this issue, city council chose to “wink-wink”, we’ve got the problem resolved by shifting money from one place to another keeping the public from participating on how their money is spent. Notice also, how instead of addressing the issue directly about the seating arrangement the city has been deflecting the discussion with the notion that the city charter does not require a certain seating arrangement for city council representatives.
What about the cost to the taxpayers?
Isn’t that reason enough to have an open and public discussion about the expenditure and the reasons for it? Of course not because to allow that would destroy the public perception that has been so carefully crafted.
The unnecessary behind-closed-doors expenditure you witnessed yesterday to fix Cortney Niland seating problem and the comments and attacks upon my blog are just the beginning of what is to come.
The truth is the first casualty in the manipulation of the public discussion. Anyone exposing the truth is the target. The $7,000 behind-closed doors deal is just pennies to what is to come from those needing to keep Cortney Niland in play.
Unethical conduct and corruption exists in El Paso solely because of the apathy shown by the voters. They either don’t vote or vote as instructed.
So it is our fault that these shenanigans occur.
El Paso is and will be any better after demolishing historical buildings and destroying neighborhoods. It needs to shake loose of the hold that a few money bags have decided to borrow scenes from old western movies. The rich cattle baron owning the town, sheriff, council with the towns people afraid to disagree. If they do, the baron brings in the thugs or in this case, the useful idiots to imtimidate or attack the opposition.
Martin..keep writing about her….. Just remember to not misspell her name..it’s Cortney…without a U.. Thanks. She probably doesn’t give a crap what you say about her as long as you spell her name right.
Fast Edit after refresh..nice work Martin
Of course we are all engaged in a propaganda scheme! You are too. That’s how political advocacy works. You need to be comfortable in your skin and admit what you are. You’re going after Niland and not the four other votes on council that do exactly what she does? Why? Because your boss doesn’t like Niland, that’s why. I get it. Don’t pretend we all don’t know exactly what’s going on, who you have a history with and what your goals are.
In this piece you show how you invent propaganda against those your boss doesn’t like.
1. Because Niland ran a good meeting it’s some kind of conspiracy? Truth be told, she has always ran a very efficient meeting when she has had to step in for the mayor. That’s not a conspiracy. That’s just doing your job well.
2. Ann Lilly’s item was deleted by the only person who could delete the item before the meeting started – Ann Lilly. There was to be no vote in council chambers on whether or not to fund the move of Lilly. It was simply a discussion item. No action was to be taken. Lilly clearly states to the El Paso Times that the MAYOR decided to make her station whole and thus no discussion was needed. This was the mayor’s decision and if I remember correctly, Mayor Leeser is your boy. Why aren’t you calling out the mayor? You got this completely wrong because you failed to read what was on the agenda and understand it. When you are dealing in propaganda that happens.
3. If you simply have an issue with Niland’s policies, then why are you talking about her shoes and where she sits? Why not focus on what matters – what she says and how she votes? You personally attack Niland, which means you are not objectively observing her performance. You are your own worst enemy.
4. How did you like that part in the El Paso Times article where they mention that the dais was built for expansion? That had to hurt. I’ve been wrong a couple of times – probably in the last week alone! – but I’ve never been dumb enough to insist that a physical object doesn’t exist even though visual proof of it exists everywhere.
The problem you have in the end is that you make ME look all that much better. When the alternative to my blog is a guy who is convinced that everything that happens in local government is a grand conspiracy – I look like the New York Times. Keep up the good work. As one of the ankle-biters told me last time I was in El Paso “Martin does more damage to what we are trying to accomplish than anyone we’ve ever had speak at a meeting.”
David is correct in that you do so much damage to all of us trying to correct the problems in El Paso.
Good morning Martin. please keep writing. I enjoy reading your blog. God bless.
if the problem is Lilly Limon’s mumbling, why are we activating another station?
just move her next to carl. he wont know.
Ah yes… the useless idiots do not give up! Seemingly, they are defending the continuously vulgar and common actions of a shrill woman and her Westside tonto, but don’t be fooled. They are deflecting attention from what should really be the primary concern: the wasting of our hard-earned tax dollars as a result of public officials who lack the decorum and maturity to carry themselves in a dignified manner or even to behave like adults. To say that their conduct is unbecoming of the office they hold is too mild. But no, the useful idiots don’t touch the $7,000 (which compared to all the other wasteful fiscal policy initiatives and project this woman has pushed and which generously favor her most generous political benefactors chump change). Unfortunately Martin, you provide them the tool to defect by focusing on Niland’s continous outbursts, her bigotry and overall, distasteful behavior.That unfortunately, is par for the course for “elected” individuals in this cesspool of progress. The so-called conservatives and anti-government waste town criers won’t blog or speak about the obvious waste of taxpayer dollars by Niland. Doing so might put them at risk of their snouts losing their place in the public trough.
Anon E Mouse… Have a great day!!
I just tip the DTEP street bums $5 to pee on Anson 11’s doorstep. No reason for a restroom in SJ Plaza, if it ever gets done. Of course, we’ll never know why the price doubled because someone in city hall might be embarrassed by their fuck-up.
Martin,
I don’t have an agenda. You can track my IP, do a little research and see if I am “involved”. I am sure you already did and know that I am not. My only interest is Cortney herself because I know her and her husband. They are good people and your endless personal attacks are un-called for. If you despise her policies that much, that is fine but focus on that. Not her personally. Maybe you just hate the fact that her balls are bigger than yours?
But seriously man, your conspiracy-theory blog is becoming comedy. I think Max already has that corner covered.