{"id":2036,"date":"2019-04-28T14:26:10","date_gmt":"2019-04-28T19:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=2036"},"modified":"2019-05-01T14:52:51","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T19:52:51","slug":"the-truth-will-set-you-free-addison","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=2036","title":{"rendered":"The TRUTH Will Set You Free, Addison!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The TRUTH Will
Set You Free, Addison!
By Susan M. Halpern
Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is nothing about\nthe TRUTH that is malicious or disgusting. \nTRUTH is not slander.  TRUTH is\nnot despicable.  TRUTH has returned the\nAddison Way to our community, and TRUTH is what will keep Addison moving\nforward in a positive direction.  As they\nsay, the TRUTH will set you free!  And that\nhas never been truer than it has been for Addison during the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But TRUTH can also be\nunflattering.  Which brings us to some\nrecent writings that have apparently touched a nerve with the negatives and\nnaysayers.  Let\u2019s talk about it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past week, we\u2019ve addressed the TRUTH about a ridiculous mailer sent out by a candidate who is falsely telling voters that $41 million is missing.\u00a0 With detail and precision, I showed how his claims were completely unfounded, and demonstrated that he simply did not do his homework.\u00a0 I\u2019ve since had dialog with the candidate, and invited him to tell me what I\u2019d written that was not 100% TRUE.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t challenge a thing.\u00a0 He can\u2019t.\u00a0 It\u2019s TRUTH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This candidate did call\nme a lot of names, made some veiled threats, and carried his attacks so far as\nto suggest that the non-existent $41 million had somehow made its way to my law\nfirm\u2019s trust account.  Amidst all the\ninsults and absurdities, he confirmed my underlying point.  This candidate has not done his homework.  He has not educated himself about Addison or\nits finances.  And, he apparently refuses\nto do so even when the facts are laid out in front of him, with dates and agenda\nreferences included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings me to the negatives\u2019\ndesignated blogger.  These folks are now\ncirculating an email taking me to task for writing TRUTH about this candidate\u2019s\nnine-years-running bankruptcy case, painting him as a victim of sorts.  In the email, they too call me lots of names,\nsuggesting that my article and a post written by an anonymous author (not me,\nnot that it matters), were \u201cmalicious\u201d and \u201cunethical\u201d and \u201cslanderous.\u201d  They call the Midway Meadows neighborhood \u201chateful,\u201d\nand claim that I\u2019ve provided \u201cpartial information\u201d and \u201cinflammatory\nhalf-truths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a temper tantrum\non paper.  But, when you wade through the\nmany LOUD words and the slightly unhealthy obsession with me, you end up with\nnothing.  Zero.  There isn\u2019t one bit of substance to any of\nit.  And, most significantly, they do not\nmake a single challenge to the TRUTH about which I\u2019ve written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s turn to the\nissue of why this candidate\u2019s bankruptcy case and the revocation of his\ndischarge are important.  To start, there\nis nothing inherently wrong about filing bankruptcy.  There are times when good, honest people\nencounter financial difficulties and they need a fresh start.  That\u2019s what the bankruptcy laws are all\nabout. So, ordinarily, this candidate\u2019s bankruptcy filing would not be\nsignificant.  But all that changes when\nyou review Bankruptcy Judge Stacey Jernigan\u2019s 141-page opinion revoking this\ncandidate\u2019s discharge.  That\u2019s when it\nbecomes significant in connection with the election.  Consider, for example, Judge Jernigan\u2019s\ndescription of the candidate\u2019s reasons for filing his case: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[His] bankruptcy was plainly motivated not by a legitimate need for relief from debts he was unable to pay, but by a willful and malicious desire to thwart Plaintiffs\u2019 pursuit of state court remedies.  With regard to both the Bankruptcy Case and this Adversary Proceeding, [his] ongoing scheme to defraud his creditors \u2013 and Plaintiffs in particular \u2013 constitutes bad faith abuse of the bankruptcy process and the judicial system.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Judge Jernigan also pulled no punches in\ndescribing how this candidate got his discharge in the first place: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[He] obtained a Discharge\nin his Bankruptcy Case through widespread fraud, including the deliberate\nconcealment of assets and significant and numerous false oaths.  In particular, [his] Bankruptcy Filings,\nwhich were never amended, reflect inaccurate disclosures regarding [his]\nemployment circumstances, compensation and professional activities, and\ninaccurate information about his assets and income and that of his wife<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be clear, these excerpts are not\n“cherry-picked,” but you can read all 141 pages of Judge Jernigan’s\nopinion if you have any doubt about that. The point is that these descriptions\nspeak to this candidate\u2019s character, and that is indeed important. They speak\nTRUTH to the picture this candidate has otherwise tried to paint about his\nsupposed business acumen. And, if the candidate or these negative bloggers find\nthat TRUTH unflattering, then they should look to the candidate himself, who\nmade all the choices to act as so graphically described in Judge Jernigan\u2019s\nopinion. There are no \u201chalf-truths\u201d in any of it. If you want a half-truth,\nread this gem from the silly email (this is verbatim): \u201cIt is true that some\nlegal were actions taken against this businessman.\u201d Good grief. If I get what\nthey\u2019re saying, it\u2019s the understatement of the century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s\nthe point of all of it, and despite all this protesting and all the personal\nattacks, these folks won\u2019t touch it: Aren\u2019t Addison voters entitled to know the\nTRUTH?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because TRUTH is what this is all about and TRUTH needs to be our focus.  Not bizarre emails about my council service\nthat are intended to distract us from honestly evaluating candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Addison Way is carrying our town forward in\na positive direction and this election provides us a golden opportunity to keep\nour momentum going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n

<\/div>\n