An Open Letter to @uyobong and @steemchurch Members

My name is Paul Savage and my Steemit username is @quillfire. And, I am a Member of the Power House Creatives (Steemitbloggers).

As a younger man, I spent five years in the Legion Etrangere (French Foreign Legion) and a significant amount of that time was spent in countries throughout Africa. 

As a soldier, I was instructed in, and readily internalized, the Military Code of Honor. 

Inherent in that Honor Code is the belief that "Even in War, there must be Rules" ... and that those Rules are to govern one's manner of comportment.

In the present @theycallmedan 20,000 STEEM Delegation Contest, the Power House Creatives are, again, being frustrated by the fact that their primary competitor is engaging in rampant vote-buying/selling. In this present contest, that it your organization, @steemchurch.    

Following the "voting irregularities" that occurred in the prior @theycallmedan 10,000 STEEM Delegation Contest, in which the Power House Creatives placed second, "voting filters" were put in place in an effort to ensure a fairer follow-up Contest. And yet, Steemit's perennial problem with cheating has simply morphed, employing techniques that the filters cannot detect. 

@crypto.piotr, Wallet Spam & "Upvotes for dPoll-Votes"

Upon the announcement of the 20,000 STEEM Delegation Contest, the Power House Creatives' Commander-In-Chief, @jaynie, and our Second-In-Command, @zord189, were contacted by @crypto.piotr who was offering a deal: He would Wallet Spam hundreds, if not thousands, of Venezuelans and other Steemians from poor countries, offering them compensation in exchange for dPoll Votes. 

In payment for his services, upon winning the 20,000 STEEM Delegation, the Power House Creatives would delegate to him, 1,000 STEEM. A kick-back. 

In any system based upon "voting," vote-buying/selling is the very definition of corruption. Ethically, one cannot help but wonder if the immorality of the undertaking is not magnified by the fact that it seeks to exploit the "poorest amongst us" ... turning them into, quite literally, "penny-whores."

@jaynie and @zord189 turned him down. @steemchurch, apparently, did not. 

Out of respect for the religious nature of your organization, I will refrain from including pictures (screenshots) that "speak a thousand words."  

Of My Code, and Yours  

I will not presume to instruct you upon the morality inherent in Biblical teachings, but would merely proffer that, like the Military Code of Honor, religions instruct their followers to uphold Moral Rules of Conduct.

Nothing about blockchain technology or cryptocurrencies has in any way effected the manner in which the Military Code of Honor constrains my behavior, and I doubt that they ought to effect the way that your Code constrains yours. Indeed, you seem to be inherently aware of the problem at hand as articulated in your recent post: 

CAUTION TO VOTERS – PLEASE ADHERE TO VOTING RULES ON 20K DELEGATION POLL

During a personal audit on the votes cast on the 20k delegation poll courtesy of @Theycallmedan, I observed that some users in their dire desire to support the @Steemchurch did not observe the voting rules and qualification criteria set for voters. While, I appreciate their support for @Steemchurch but, I, as a Priest of @Steemchurch do sound this alert and caution to them as well as voters in the future and hereby state that ...

Given the scale of what's going on, that's a bit of an understatement ... but I appreciate the sentiment.

@uyobong and my friends at @steemchurch: Let there be Honor in Victory, so that there may be Honor in Defeat. 

If the Power House Creatives had engaged in such systemic vote-buying/selling, I would now be publicly calling for them to disqualify themselves from the Contest as condition of my continued Membership. 

I expect no less from the Members of @steemchurch.

Sincere Regards

Paul Savage
@quillfire  
Member, The Power House Creatives