How many "mistakes" Constitute Lying? (Chuckle)

Hi readers,

I did get around to listening to Mr. Willi's interview with Bill Becker today.

Bill I really do appreciate you questioning Mr. Willi. You asked good questions to which he gave you what I believe to be false answers - but I'm sure he would just say that they were little mistakes that we should ignore, and why are we talking about this anyway when we're trying to sell the Hickory House and hurricane season is just a few days away?

Bill has contacted me and asked me to respond to Mr. Willi on the air. I haven't got back to him.

I'm not really sure that I want to get in an on-air debate about this. When dealing with important topics, I like to be accurate. Perhaps next week, if this is still topical. I obviously have a lot to say, but I'm not sure that this will still be news.

I wonder, after exercising my right to free speech, whether or not I'll get my final paychecks. Thankfully, this is handled by the Clerk of Court, who I believe is one of the fairest and most honest people in Monroe County government.

This is getting weirder. Tom could just refuse to speak about it, but instead, he tells the public things that I believe are not true to justify this bizarre decision.

I have some questions for Mr. Willi:

Tom,

Did you really not speak with Harry Miller about firing me? You sort of dodged Becker's question in the interview. As you know, Miller called wanting his aircard back before we spoke (remember when you fired me over the phone?)

He threatened to call you after he was told that it would be Monday when he got his card back. When your office called with instructions about turning in my keys, notebook computer and cellular phone, they were sure to mention my "Nextel AirCard." Mr. Miller works for the Nextel dealer, but the air card was on loan from Sprint, who now owns Nextel.

I read that Mr. Miller told the Citizen that he called to get his air card back after he found out I was fired. A week earlier, he had told me that you and he were close personal friends. If he told the truth, then you told him I was fired before you told me. Can you relate the circumstances how this happened and why you thought that was appropriate? Or did Mr. Miller lie to the Citizen?

You spoke of "sit down sessions with the division to blow off steam." According to my records, you, me and Debbie Frederick met to address a specific complaint on September 7, 2006. On that date, we had the one and only division "sit down session to blow off steam" right after you shook my hand, looked me in the eye and told me that I had "your full support" in the door of your office.

That would indicate that you use the singular, not the plural when referring to this. "Session," not "Sessions."

The plural would be misleading - and false.

You and I discussed these issues again on December 21, 2006, during my review. You said that I was a victim of "mother hen syndrome" and I told you that I was working to maintain good relations with my staff.

Have you and I personally discussed this issue as a disciplinary issue at all at any time since that date until you called and fired me?

The correct, truthful answer is NO, Tom, no matter what line of crap you're telling anyone else.

When asked about the innovations that Technical Services implemented during my tenure, you stated, "You make that statement as if you think these were his ideas, which they weren't, Bill. When he was hired, these were mandates that we wanted to see happen. Those are part of his evaluation."

Yes, I guess now would be a good time to take credit for all of this, huh? How come you didn't get any of this done (or even underway) before I arrived?

I don't know for sure, but I suspect that the bullshit meter of the Technical Services staff went off the scale on that one. Can you recall giving me any such charges or direction? I CERTAINLY DO NOT.

Technical Services knows exactly how these projects evolved and how they were funded. I suspect that the County Commission does as well.

ALL of these ideas and solutions came from, were designed by and implemented by Technical Services staff on a shoestring budget with expenditures within the Director's purchasing authority. No, they were not my "ideas" - I'm not Al Gore, who invented the Internet - but would they have happened if you didn't hire me?

My evaluation is a document available to the public. Anyone can request it and see if streaming video, indexed video on demand, wireless in the library, cost reduction on the network or all the other projects that are in my reports and I spoke to in front of the Commission are on my evaluation or assigned to me by your office in any way.

Honestly, as far as projects and priorities were concerned, I felt like I was poking around in the dark. The budget as it was when I arrived was all out of whack and, if you'll recall, ADS was telling you that you needed to spend $400k on a project that we never did do, did we?

The things you DON'T do are as important as the things you do.

Tom, you were, and continue to be, out of the loop. I honestly don't know what's worse, your inattentiveness to me and to Technical Services while I was aboard or this attempt to justify your bad decision to fire me.

Think of other reasons, Tom, because these don't hold water.

Now, go and "have a good chuckle" about that, quoting you on Becker about my reaction to the press about 2 hours after an unexpected firing over the telephone with no good explanation.

County Commissioners - are you paying attention? Are you going to stand by and let this crap continue or are you going to download the US1 Radio audio, check out Tom's statements and the facts and determine if all these mistakes constitute prevarication - or just inept handling of an interview. Either way, is this the path that is right for the County?

What would you have said if Tom came to you with a $400k request for equipment and another $125k for ADS instead of hiring me when he did? You are headed there again...