Riding the Beaufort County bobsled Into… Failure | Eastern North Carolina Now

By:  Hood Richardson

The 4.5 million dollars Beaufort County is now planning to spend on improving broadband (the internet) is at best controversial and at worst is doomed to failure.  This is a good example of using public money to improve and benefit private industry.  Namely, the telephone company.  Another reason for failure is the rapid advance of electronic technology.  There is a good chance the project will be obsolete before it is complete. Scheduled completion is within the next three years. 

Verizon and its competitors  (Hughes, AT and T, T-Mobile, Suddenlink, etc) are all in a fierce competition to provide internet services by satellite.  Elon Musk’s Starlight system is already launching satellites that will reportedly cover rural areas where fiber cable is not cost effective.  Prices are competitive ranging from $40 to $120 per month.  This means the internet is available almost anywhere.  It may also mean that cable internet will go the way of landline phone service, replaced by satellite systems.

So, why is the Biden Administration so anxious to take up the internet where the Obama Administration left off?  Consider President Biden’s reputation for being drawn to failure like a moth to a flame.  Originally the Obama liberals wanted the internet for the surveillance of all of us.  An example of how far this can go is one of the Australian state governments required citizens to check in during a corona virus lock down daily by computer using the computer camera. The identification of the individual was done using identification imaging technology to verify the person calling is actually the person who was supposed be there.  The thought that any government in the United States may require people to do this is chilling.   Such a requirement would reduce the Bill of Rights to ashes.

Supporters of building out the internet say we need to do it because of “the children.”  They cite education.  We just tested the internet’s use for mass education during the recent lock down.  It did not work at all.  So the education of children is not a valid reason.  Classical methods of education with teachers teaching face to face in the presence of students has worked for thousands of years. 

The bottom line is, this money is a gift to the telephone company.  Frankie Waters is a stockholder in the telephone company.  He says his vote is not an ethics conflict.  If the liberals and communists gain power during the 2022 and 2024 elections, the internet will be used to control those in the population who are not considered to be loyal “communists.”  You may think this is a stretch but I never thought I would see this nation shut down like it has been during the past two years.

The 4.5 million dollars is required spending under the American Recovery Act.  Either we spend it or we give it back.  There are other things the money can be used for, such as building out the jail, and additional water system infrastructure.

The Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners has a long history of making really bad big decisions.  The decisions have always been bipartisan.  It has always been RINO’s (Republicans In Name Only) joining with Democrats.  The location of the US Highway 17 Bypass (cost $192 million) on the west side of Washington resulted in a useless road for most Beaufort County residents and ignored the area in greatest need (eastern Beaufort County).  It should have been on the east side of Washington.  The over building of schools at a cost of approximately $43 million, resulted in some school buildings operating at 50 percent of capacity. Also we abandoned a lot of good buildings.  This was a massive waste and we will be paying on the bonds for another 20 years. 

The loss of the ownership of the Beaufort County Health System was another bad bipartisan project.  We gave away a $70 million asset. 

Then there was the moving of the school out of the Town of Belhaven and the closing of the Belhaven Hospital.  Because of these two things Belhaven is severely depressed and continues to lose population.  But, the wealthy elitists seem to be pleased with themselves.

We still have the bipartisan (RINO’s and Democrat) team on the Board of County Commissioners.  We have Two RINO’s and two Democrats making the decisions.  The political game has not changed.  The Democrats are making fools out of the RINO’s.  The vote to spend the 4.5 million  dollars on broadband (the internet) was  dominated by Democrats Langley and Booth voting with Waters and Rebholz.   Randy Walker voted for this also but the majority is always the two Democrats with the two RINO’s. The same four voted not to investigate the claims of child abuse made by a parent.

If Frankie Waters runs in 2022 and wins, we will have changed nothing.  The Democrats will still control the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners.  This is egregious considering Republican candidates carried Beaufort County by a 3 to 2 majority during the 2020 elections.  The 2020 and 2022 elections will offer Beaufort County an opportunity to put a stop to this nonsense.  But it is going to require two things:  Conservative candidates and a high turnout of conservative voters.

It is time to get involved.  Join a group of like-minded people and lend your time, money and effort to make a difference.