Sometimes things are said during Tribal Council sessions that really stick in my mind. While I can't remember what month it was, I remember the issue discussed was restricting voting in tribal elections to the counties of western North Carolina. The issue of non resident voting aside, one boisterous tribal deputy had to chime in with his opinion.Charles Penick, the deputy of Budget & Finance, addressed the Council to deride the proposal. While I have no issue with him expressing his opinion on this controversial issue, and in fact I have no issue with his opinion on non resident voting itself, I do have to take one particular and important exception.
Penick cited the fact that he's a veteran. He served in Vietnam, up through the first Persian Gulf War, and he was adamant about the fact that he was defending the rights of those non resident tribal members to vote and wasn't going to sit there and listen to someone try to take those rights away.
Here's why I take exception. Penick actually served on the same Army base as my father, Fort Campbell, at the same time as my father's service. I know the oath servicemen and women take at induction time, "Support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same."
Penick didn't get to pick and choose which rights he was defending. He also fought to protect freedom of speech and freedom of the press, guaranteed by that same Constitution to which he swore an oath to defend and bear true faith and allegiance. When the principal chief attacked freedom of speech and the free press, Penick, who oversees Marketing & Promotions and the tribal weekly newspaper The Cherokee One Feather, sat on his hands.
Now this is a man who stood up to Ho Chi Minh and Saddam Hussein. Why in the world wouldn't he stand up to Michell Hicks?
2 comments:
penick is a fool, and the worst thing about a fool is when a fool doesn't recognize he is one, but thinks he knows what he's doing. those people can do lots of damage.
and there has been a finding of probable cause by a cherokee court magistrate judge that he beats women. of course michell has no problem keeping him on the job as magistrate judges have made the same findings in the past against him. michell probably toasted him and welcomed him to the club. larry just beats kids, not women, so he's ok too.
the man has no business making $100k a year. he has degrees from educational "institutions" that are basically pay $99 for an online degree. what a fraud.
my nephews are enrolled members of this tribe, they are also serving in Afghanistan. I talked to them about this very issue and told them of Penick's response.
First, they wanted to address his woman beating ways. They both said he dishonors himself and the oath he claims to uphold. Real men don't beat women. Secondly, they said that he does not speak for them, nor would they ever consider voting in a place that they do not live. The would not take that right from the people who live here. "It's ridiculous of those who do not live under the rules of the reservation to vote in an election that does not affect us. We would be voting blindly, especially since we do not know the issues. How many of you vote blindly?" This was there partial response.
However, I will tell you this. They were outraged at his "balls" to presume to speak for al those who do not live on the reservation. They were still outraged at the fact that he would use his service in the armed forces as a basis for his argument.
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