A listener who has been following Pima County government for years watched Dr. Cullen's hearing on Thursday and sent me this on Saturday the 11th. The writer asked to remain anonymous. The conversation has to start happening about Cullen stepping down from her Pima County post based on the revealing answers she provided. -CD
Christopher,
It is not easy to take the time to go to a hearing in Phoenix. Thank you for putting in the effort on the Cullen hearing and thank you for sharing clips of the hearing on Friday.
Dr. Cullen showed by her testimony that the concepts of individual freedom and private property rights were never a considerations in her decisions. She either forgot or did not seem to care that this country was founded on our unalienable God given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution was established to, among other things, secure the blessings of liberty. The Fifth Amendment states that no one shall be deprived of liberty or property without due process of law nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation. In case Dr. Cullen is confused, a bureaucrat's edict does not constitute due process of law. I also believe that demanding a business shut-down for months on the basis of a supposed public emergency is just as much if not more a taking of the business owner's property as an easement for a sidewalk. Where was the compensation?
The least I would expect is a serious discussion about some balancing of our individual rights vs a speculative public health benefit. Where is the memo discussing the harm these edicts will do vs the supposed gain? I see no evidence that there was such a discussion. I also see no evidence that anyone considered the known harm being done to school children by keeping them out of school vs the very speculative “benefit”. The priority should be to first do no harm. This was not just a mistake the middle of a sudden emergency. This was a long-running failure to even consider individual rights, destruction of businesses, and the harm being perpetrated on children.
I thought at one point she was basically using the "I was just following orders” defense. A defense regularly used to justify the unjustifiable. The question about whether she ever pushed back when the County Administrator gave the “orders" was very telling. The answer was no. Is that the behavior of someone qualified to give health advice for the State of Arizona? All of this also is part of the legacy of CHH and his acolytes.
I could go on for pages but the main point is GOOD JOB. It is essential that the actions of these bureaucrats be highlighted, documented, and remembered. Otherwise, they will do the same thing the next time they can frighten the pubic into believing that some “emergency” justifies the suspension of our freedoms and Constitutional rights.