Gainesville Times and the story of the year

Ah yes, the news stories of the Year!

The Gainesville Times announced their personal list today. No, the story about James Mills and the illegal driveway on Thurman Tanner didn't make the list. Nor, did the story about Gainesville City manager getting paid to be a pervert.

The financial problems at the Gainesville School System got blamed on Ballowe again. Funny. The $10.6 trillion dollar debt gets blamed on the tax and spend Democrats who allegedly keep blacks in poverty. But, let a school system demonstrate that blacks and other minorities can learn to read, write, and do 'rithmetic, we'll fire the man responsible when an economic downturn starts. "Well, after all, the executive is ultimately responsible." Thank you to the School Board of Gainesville. You'all should remember this day. The city schools were out performing the county schools and were also above the state averages.

Story number nine amazes me, a positive pat on the back of local Republican, Casey Cagle. The Times has the details on a huge cash shortage tied to Casey Cagle. "Someone" has embezzled over $50,000 from his campaign fund. But, of course, the Times has never run the story. I personally emailed them the files. The money is missing. It has been missing for a long time. Cagle continues to file financial disclosures as if nothing improper has happened. If he's that dumb and has done nothing wrong, then he's unfit for public office. He would be unfit to be the head of a bank, the job he held when the cash went missing. The head of a bank would be fired for covering up a shortage in the vault. Possibly jailed. Certainly expected to pay the money back. Now, Cagle wants to be the head of the state government. Is the Times covering up the cash shortage to help elect Cagle? Do the voters deserve an idiot or a criminal as Governor? Well, at least let them know about "character defects" and "cash shortages" before handing Cagle financial responsibility for the entire $20 billion state budget.

But, the Gainesville Times doesn't hold local Republicans or any Republican to the same standards as the administrative head of a school system. If the mere appearance of financial incompetence was grounds for firing Ballowe, then Cagle's incompetence or embezzlement is worth at least one headline in the Gainesville Times.