Posted below on the SIB Reporter is Tim Elfrink’s article entitled “Isaac Aelion, Sunny Isles Beach Commish Gets Year of Probation for Shady Campaigning.” We posted that last year when it was published. While the article has not changed, the blog underneath it has recently become a discussion forum. The recent activity was kicked off by a writer calling himself “What really happened” (WRH), who is believed to be Commissioner Isaac Aelion defending and justifying his crime and lack of public apology. WRH, whose identity has not been confirmed, posted the following (in part):
Sometimes in life one is confronted with a situation where one has to choose between acting at a sacrifying cost to save a City from bad elements coming to City Hall , or stay inactive and allow those bad elements to take over City Hall and create a downward trend for the City and all its residents.
This Joan of Arc paid the heavy price and got wounded protecting the City, and will always carry the scars of the wound with pride, because at the end of the day a great service was rendered to the residents of this beautiful City.
There were various responses to this posting, some quite funny, which I encourage you to read by clicking on the link at the end of this section. Below is the response that I think best addresses WRH:
Mr. “What really happened” — The problem with your statement is a logical fallacy known as a false dilemma. You present the “facts” as if there were only two choices for the SIB Joan of Arc. 1) Save the City by breaking the law or 2) be inactive. The third obvious choice is to be active and remain within the bounds of the law. Because Mr. Aelion could not fathom this third option, or any other option that was even close to ethical, Sunny Isles Beach now has the dubious distinction of having a sitting commissioner on probation. No matter how much Mr. Aelion may wish for this to go away, what he did was so offensive to the voters who trusted him and so embarrassing to the city, that the scandal will not simply be swept under the rug. Time has not been kind in this respect. The residents remember. The residents talk about it. The residents resent it. And rightfully so.
Hours after the Commission Meeting on June 21, 2012, where Jeniffer Viscarra asked, once again, for Commissioner Aeilion’s public apology to the residents of Sunny Isles, WRH posted the following:
When a soldier in battle sees a dangerous situation which may kill his fellow soldiers and takes action to save them even if his superior tells him to stay put, he is braking the law by refusing a direct order, but in the process saves the lives of his fellow soldiers.
Conclusion: He broke the law, but he also saved lives, so he is a hero !!!
The timing and tone of the last WRH posting would point to Commissioner Isaac Aelion as the author of the statement, which explains why in the span of ten months there has been no public apology for the elections-related crime. Based on the posted comments, it is clear that he does not think he owes an apology. He thinks he is above it. He thinks he is a hero and we should be grateful for the way he “sacrificed” himself into office.
While we have not definitively uncovered WRH’s true identity (nor do we intend to), there seems to be no doubt in the minds of those who have engaged WRH on this blog.
One of the responses reads, in part:
Hero? Saint? You fashion yourself a hero and also a saint? Listen up St. Isaac of Sunny Isles Beach; just because you claim to have been an officer in the Israeli army doesn’t make you a hero. You made your way to the U.S. by way of several countries and began your amazing HEROIC, SAINTLY business career; selling alcohol and bingo cards. Peddling to the weak although I’m sure you think yourself a purveyor of fine wines and entertainment.
Another response reads, in part:
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary – Definitions of the word “Hero”
(1) Hero – a man admired for his achievements and qualities: brave, courageous, gallant, greathearted, noble – NONE OF THESE apply
Webster’s also has another definition for the word “hero” and this is the one that applies to Isaac Aelion
(2) Hero – a large sandwich on a long split roll filled with lots and lots of bologna and ham
No doubt about it…Aelion belongs to #2 – lots and lots of bologna and ham.
We are not making this up. For full context, please go the the article by clicking on the link that follows and read everything for yourself. Feel free to join the conversation initiated by WRH (who may be Isaac Aelion or somebody who seems to know the inner workings of his mind). The blog is at the bottom of the article, which you can see by clicking here: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/08/isaac_aelion_sunny_isles_beach.php