A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
Gould, Arkansas' city council passed a city ordinance recently;
Quote:
The Mayor of the City of Gould shall not call special meetings to discuss City business without two thirds of the City Council’s vote to do so.
The Mayor nor City Council members shall attend or participate in any meetings with any organization in any location without City Council approval by two thirds [vote].
The Gould Citizens Advisory Council by passage of this ordinance is hereby banned from doing business in the City of Gould.
That the said Council is, in effect, causing confusion and discourse [sic] among the citizens of Gould and as a result is contributing to the friction not only between the Mayor and Council but also among the citizens who deserve a cooperative government.
[N]o new organizations shall be allowed to exist in the City of Gould without approval from a majority of the City Council.
It is blatantly unconstitutional.
To the local politicians, as with all politicians, it's about control;
Quote:
Monday night, the city council wrote an ordinance disbanding a citizen's group and forbidding any future groups from forming without city council approval.
The ordinance states, "No new organizations shall be allowed to exist within the city of Gould without approval from majority of the city council."
Another ordinance bans the mayor from meeting with anyone without council approval.
"To tell me that I can't travel and I can't go to meetings and I can't get the money that we need - that's ludicrous!" said the Mayor.
"In everything, you have somebody in control over it. In everything," said Council Member Sonja Farley.
Farley says no matter the group, if you discuss the city at all, the meeting must be approved by the city council.
"You couldn't just come in here and get with four people and decide you want to start an organization," said Farley. "You will go through your city council with documentation, the right paperwork and get an approval."
"To tell me as the mayor I can't meet with all of the people in this room and inform them of city business, that's ludicrous," said Nash.
The Gould Citizens Advisory Commission is banned from meeting in the ordinance. They argue this new potential law would violate their constitutional rights.
These politicians are just stupider than most, but the goal is the same - control. After all, who runs for office? People who want to force a change on someone else.
CR
Re: A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
Sounds a bit extreme. So if I started a D&D group in that city I'd need to fill in the correct paperwork and by the looks of it roll a couple of 20's in a row.
I wonder what set them off?
Re: A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Papewaio
Farley says no matter the group, if you discuss the city at all, the meeting must be approved by the city council.
Ah hahaha! :earmuffs:
AII
Re: A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
I can see the news headlines now.
Tourist's Arrested in Gould
Tourist's today were arrested in the city when 3 of them mentioned what a lovely city they were in and that the price of a coffee was very reasonable. As it was a group discussing the facilities and economy of the city all 62 were thrown in jail for the heinous crime of discussing the city. Each tourist member has to post $1 million dollars bail and remain mute about the city to continue on their journey.
News of this has reached Congress, out of fear they have decided not to comment. Instead they've decided that it is a great money earner and are rushing through a new law that will fine anyone who mentions Congress a copyright infringement. Individuals can expect a $50,000 fine and corporations a $300,000 fine per mention. They've calculated that this will wipe out the government debt in 2 years and as such tacked on a 20% payrise for their genius solution to the $14 trillion problem.
Late Edit:
The journalist who filed this report has been both arrested by City officials of a city rhyming with Tooled and fined $50,000 for mentioning a government branch hat involves a assembly of elected officials.
Re: A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
Re: A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fisherking
Well, isn't is obvious?
Quote:
A witness said Mr Nash had been talking to council members Sonya Farley and Rosieanna Smith in a car when a member of the public joined in the heated discussion.
A member of the public had the temerity to join a discussion of local politics! Without the Council's express permission!
Wow what a third world areas you guys have. Ah hahaha :earmuffs:
AII
Re: A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
No, what Fisherking and most of us want to know is what events set off this whole issue. What's the cause of this ridiculous ordinance?
Re: A Totalitarian Little Town in Arkansas
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Peasant Phill
No, what Fisherking and most of us want to know is what events set off this whole issue. What's the cause of this ridiculous ordinance?
From Wikipedia so :shrug:
Around 2011 Gould had almost $300,000 in unpaid taxes. The mayor, the group, and the city council experienced conflict over how to pay the taxes. The council believed that the citizen's group was trying to take too much influence in the city government. In June 2011 the council passed an ordinance saying that it is illegal to form any group without the permission of the city council. The mayor vetoed the law. On July 12, 2011, the council overrode the veto. The council also overrode a veto on a bill stating that the citizen's council may no longer exist and that the mayor may not meet with any organization in any location inside or outside the Gould city limits without the permission of the city council. The mayor stated that he refuses to stop meeting with groups, and that he would go to jail if given the choice between going to jail or not associating with the group. Nash said that the ordinances were not allowed under the U.S. Constitution and that Gould citizens are generally ignoring them. On Monday, July 18, 2011, Sonya Farley, a council member, said that the council plans to rewrite the ordinances in a manner that is constitutional.
