Tom Head: The Writing is on the Wall
I’m finally getting around to posting pictures of the full array of insane political postings that our County Judge Tom Head posted on the public notice board outside the County Commissioners’ offices in the County Courthouse. A friend sent them to me Monday afternoon (they were taken on Friday before Commissioner Bill McKay took them down), and I’ve now got them saved for size on the web.
Without further ado (click for big):
The public notice board on which these were posted. The crazy takes up about half of the space on the board.
Obama as the Pied Piper leading the media. This is the tamest of the bunch, but it still has no place on a public notice board in the Courthouse.
Dead Presidents (and the Bushes) playing poker. The fact that Teddy R. isn’t giving Nixon an eternal wedgie makes this afterlife scenario pretty unrealistic.
An Eagle Forum (extremely right-wing group) court watch piece critical of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. The gist is that she is not “Constitutional” enough, where “Constitutional” means what-we-say-it-means (Christian! Free enterprise!) and nothing else.
Who knew that 100 years ago, we still had plenty in the “speak English or get out!” crowd? Anyone who’s read even a little history, I suspect. Hey, here’s a thought: speak Cherokee or get out!
And here’s the one that made the paper and the TV news in Lubbock: a mostly-black spread of mugshots along with text implying that Obama supporters are lazy criminals. It’s definitely the most infuriatingly ignorant posting of the bunch — I can see why it was the last straw for Commissioner Flores, who had to look at this crap every day at work.
And last but not least, three pages of hardcore birther crap. This posting begins, “Dear Christian Friend and Follower of Truth,” and leads the reader through the case for an apocalyptic new American civil war — “spiritual warfare” — based on the citizenship status of our President. I’m not even joking. This is what these people long for:
If the Supreme Court backs down, refuses to stand with the constitution of the U.S., then indeed our constitution will have been hijacked by godless usurpers. This will undoubtedly force the hand of militias, constitutionalists, and freedom fighters who will consider it their responsibility (under the constitution) to throw off the present government who abandons the constitution. This would be critical and there would be much blood shed in the streets of our own great nation.
(from the second picture above)
It’s inappropriate to use a County public notice board to post political opinion of any type. The fact that County Judge Tom Head felt the need to post political opinion from the far-right lunatic fringe takes us well beyond inappropriate and into the realm of outrage.
Update 8/14/2009: Just got word that there will be a press conference today at 3:00pm at Southwest Digest (902 E 28th St) regarding the Tom Head postings.
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August 13th, 2009 at 6:56 am
Thanks for this “off the wall” report.
August 13th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Hah! Puns make my morning. :)
August 14th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
you are just as lunitacal
August 16th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Head also posted PRAVDA ONLINE Stanislav Mishin’s op-ed on America’s slide into Marxism. Mishin is the darling of the Limbaugh/Beck set. This essay has been making the rounds though out the radical right wing blogosphere.In some twisted way, right wingers view the piece as proof America is headed into Marxism.
In another time this would have been considered Russian anti-American propaganda, and Mr.Head would have been bum rushed out of the court house.
The ridiculous quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln is not the words of Lincoln at all; rather, those of William John Henry Boetcker (1873–1962), a religious leader and public speaker. Ronald Reagan liked to use this quote and misattribute it to Lincoln. basically to say, “Well, Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but he still wanted to keep the Black Man down.” Still Judge Head and his apologists insist nothing he said was racist.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Interesting, Head posts a quote from T. Roosevelt. Did he post that one of Roosevelt’s key Bullmoose party planks in his run for President in 1912 was NATIONAL HEALTH CARE. Head will cherry pick quotes to to impose himself on others. This is twisted behavior. Head claims he posted those things merely to “facilitate community participation”. What a load.
He did it because he wanted to bring attention to himself and to taunt others. His apology is not enough.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
@ Texfedup: Did you try to talk to Judge Head about any of the posts? Then how do you know that facilitating community participation is “a load?”
@lubbockleft: The only reason anyone would think the Obama-mugshot poster is racist is if they are looking for any excuse to call a conservative political official racist. The poster is a clear political statement - please point out on the text of the poster where it says one thing racist. Guss what? There are white people in the mug shots, too. Does that mean that white people should be offended by it?
It is a clear political statement, no doubt about it. You mean a politician made a political statement? Heaven forbid! Or I guess we could all listen to Speaker Pelosi and can call anyone who disagrees with you “un-American.” Hmm…I could have sworn that there was something about free speech that the Founding Fathers wrote about…an amendment, or something….
Have you by any chance looked at Judge Head’s record to see how he acts? The support he’s given and voted for to minority groups in Lubbock? Or how about when he was a Justice of the Peace and would bring the truant students (yes, minority students, even) alarm clocks so that they would be able to wake up and get to school so they wouldn’t be truant any more? I guess you conveniently forgot that, huh?
Would you prefer politicians who insult and degrade the very people they are supposed to represent, try to pass bills at 3:00 am, or try to pass a 1,018 page bill in two weeks without ever reading it? Tom Head is the kind of politician we need more of - those who stand up for what is right for everyone, who values life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and who will fight to give every member of the one race on earth, the human race, the opportunity to succeed above and beyond what they thought was ever possible.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:39 am
@Seraphat — Firstly, I never said it was racist. I understand how it could be interpreted that way, but I never said that. For one so nitpicky, I think you really should have caught that.
The real problem is posting political opinion on a public notice board at the Courthouse. Regardless of Judge Head’s past, that’s the problem in the present. To his credit, he did apologize and promise to stop posting political stuff.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Seraphat Head,
Iwas a wishin we’d had one of them alarm cloks so weed nod when to hed back to 4th period after skipping third. Wood haf com in handy.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Hooky Guy
August 21st, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Judge Head’s misconduct should be reported to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct:
http://www.scjc.state.tx.us/faqs.asp#faq1
August 22nd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Lubbock Left:
What can you tell us about Friday’s rally? How many people attended? Who spoke? Is Judge Head going to resign? Do you have any pics you could put on your site, since there are no pictures or “real” news coverage about the event.