Jonathan, dude, you weren’t supposed to take me literally. Sheesh. I have to admit that it was a little bizarre to learn that only hours after I called, once again, for Jonathan Goins to resign, he sat down and wrote a resignation letter to the Louisiana Secretary of State. So, let me get this out of the way:
Ed Larvadain III, you should resign too.
Just want to make it absolutely clear: Only a fool would think I ACTUALLY believe my silly little blog post has anything to do with anything. I was being snarky and flippant. I thought it was obvious, but apparently to at least one person, it wasn’t. Then again, the facts are rarely obvious to this dude.
Either way, I have mixed feelings about Goins retiring. He was never the “voice of reason” on the City Council; Chuck Fowler and Harry Silver have always been much more reasonable and even-handed than Goins. So spare me, talk radio and Greg Aymond, because what you really mean to say is that Goins knew how to leverage his vote better than practically anyone else, that he was skilled politically. And he was, and he is. I have never discounted that. He wasn’t the voice of reason, though. In fact, when it mattered the most for his district, he acted unreasonably; he proved himself to be more of a political opportunist than a leader. Sorry to say, because I used to like the guy. And I doubt he or any of his defenders will believe me, but it’s absolutely true: I once believed in Jonathan Goins. I thought he could become Mayor one day. I thought he could be the future of Alexandria. I don’t think that right now, but I also want to make it clear: If his resignation was for a principled reason (which I think it appears to be; I believe he resigned because of his outrage and disgust at the ways in which his elder and senior Councilmen were forcing him to take unscrupulous and potentially illegal positions on procedure and policy), then he needs to admit this. He won’t be able to pass muster by vaguely referring to taking the Texas Bar and “national” business opportunities. Yeah right, sure, uh-huh.
I had lambasted him for voting for an investigation and then walking out of that very investigation, but if it turns out that he walked out in disgust and then resigned the next day because of his disgust, I owe him a giant, earnest apology. I want this to be the case, because again, despite my vociferous criticism of him, I have always WANTED him to succeed. I didn’t really want Goins to resign. I just wanted him to make things right. Seriously. Sheesh. And that’s why I continue to be upset with the guy. He’s smart. He’s kind. But dammit, he has always seemed to struggle with his own principles. After his residency was challenged, he should have immediately moved into his district. He didn’t. Too often, he listened to the bottom-feeders and the racist malcontents, and in so doing, he passed up several golden opportunities to lead by example and change his community for the better. This made me more angry than anything Ed Larvadain has or could ever do as a City Councilman, because Ed Larvadain is, manifestly, an idiot. He’s a rarity: the guy who becomes more confused and disoriented by the law AFTER attending law school. And that has been obvious since the moment he was sworn in. Larvadain doesn’t know if he sits on a “board” or on the Council. He has trouble distinguishing between the City Charter and the Code of Ordinances, and apparently, he doesn’t really understand the critical differences. Goins always seemed to know those differences.
I’ll be completely upfront here: I criticized Jonathan Goins. I challenged him publicly. And I don’t know why but for some reason, I expected he would be honest with me. He wasn’t. Instead, he cut me off online, and then, he wrote me some ridiculously patronizing e-mail, a type of underhanded compliment. Is it too much to ask a lawyer on the City Council to defend his own legal positions?
Sorry, Mr. Goins, but until you give Alexandria an honest answer, then I am going to assert my right to question your true intent. And moreover, I will continue to challenge anyone and everyone in the media or blogosphere who claims you were “THE voice of reason.” However, I will not contest the fact that resigning from the City Council was reasonable. At the same time, I know it’s not unreasonable for me or anyone else to demand more accountability from our elected officials: Live in the district you represent; listen to everyone (not just the bored interlopers); be a leader. Mr. Goins, in my opinion, squandered much of his talent and became a victim of the same forces that have repeatedly divided and destroyed Alexandria– unsophisticated, self-opportunistic politicos who think of local government as if it were their own personal goldmine, while, in the meantime, attempting to shield themselves from criticism under the pretense of race. That won’t work forever. At some point, sane people realize the ploy. At some point, people will realize that when you’re an African-American attempting to perpetuate racist memes about others– through a white dude who used to be in the Ku Klux Klan and who only two years prior referred to African-Americans in Alexandria as “n**** street thugs”– you’re obviously exploiting racial prejudice in an attempt to advance your own narrow political agenda; you have no moral compass; it doesn’t matter who agrees with you. You’re not principled. One day, Tony Brown is hurling f-bombs at Greg Aymond; the next day, he’s coddling him on his radio show. Give us all a break, guys.
While I’m at it, one more thing, Tony Brown, wow. I listened to about twelve minutes of his radio show today. He may be the most incendiary and dumbest radio talk show host in the country. Move over Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck. And like Limbaugh and Beck, Tony is also likely too arrogant and too hot-headed to admit that he is completely, pardon my French, full of the worst-smelling shit you’ve ever experienced. I hope he pays for his time on the radio, because he shouldn’t make a penny from a single advertiser. He’s a liar. In the brief time I listened, he wrongfully implied people were responsible or could be responsible for major crimes. It’s not just irresponsible; it’s almost criminal.
His radio show has been subsidized by taxpayer dollars for too long already. He doesn’t have much of an audience at all. Indeed, the only time he makes an appearance in the public realm is when he complains about the government not spending money to advertise on his stupid talk radio show. Boo freakin’ hoo, Tony. You’re not the victim of some massive racist conspiracy. You’re an AM talk radio host on a station with a very limited audience… VERY LIMITED… who has tried to milk as much money from government advertising as possible. (Yeah, I remember when you accused Lisa Harris of being a racist for not buying ads for Que’in on the Red. You looked like a fool).
I have an idea: Greg Aymond can donate his SSD/SSI check to the Tony Brown radio show, and together, they can spew their own original vitriol at the world. That way, Tony could still rely on government money to subsidize his radio show, but it wouldn’t be as direct; he’d have a willing sponsor. (Seriously Tony, I’d bet good money that Greg and I both have a larger audience than you do, and despite my criticism of Greg, neither one of us has ever asked for taxpayers to fund advertisements).
CenLamar 
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