Is it only obvious to me, or have others also noticed the similarities between Governor Doyle’s antics and attitudes and those of former State Senator Chuck Chvala? You remember Chvala – He’s the former Senate Majority Leader, recently back in the news regarding his plea bargain. Chvala was indicted on 19 felony corruption charges involving strong-arm tactics, pay-to-play schemes and general chicanery. As leader of the state senate, he would often prevent a bill from reaching the floor for a vote until a contribution was made to his campaign or some other cause he favored. He even held up one bill, waiting for a guarantee from the (then Republican) governor that he wouldn’t use his constitutional line-item-veto power to alter the bill.
Although Governor Doyle is in the executive rather than legislative branch, he also seems to favor arm-twisting and political trickery over diplomacy. His governorship got off on the wrong foot right from the start. The usual “honeymoon,” that elected executives are accorded at the beginning of their first terms, quickly dissipated as his intent to run roughshod over the legislature became clear. It became obvious that when Doyle spoke of cooperation and bipartisan legislating, he meant, “Do what I want, my way, and I’ll agree with you.”
Doyle, known as Governor Veto in some circles, tends to veto any bill coming out of the legislature that isn’t of Democrat origin or at least a left-leaning bipartisan effort. It appears that in order for a bill to avoid a Doyle veto, it must be authored by a Democrat, directly benefit him or his administration, or be custom tailored to Doyle’s extreme left ideology. The “Concealed Carry” and “Voter ID” bills are prime examples of this. Both bills have wide bipartisan support, both in the legislature and in the constituency, but both were authored by Republican legislators. Both bills were vetoed – more than once – by the governor, who wields enough political clout in his party to keep democratic legislators from voting in favor of an override. Incidentally, why are the Democrats the only party so adamantly opposed to any realistic and effective election reforms?
Although the line-item-veto has long been a valuable tool, particularly in the budget process, Doyle abused that power so severely that the legislature has initiated a constitutional amendment attempt to limit its use to common sense application. If the amendment makes it through the rigorous process required for it to pass, Doyle and future power mongering governors like him, will no longer be able to delete portions of words and combine the remaining letters to create new sentences and paragraphs with completely different meanings and purposes than the bill’s original intent.
What Doyle can’t dictate with the veto pen, he ties up with administrative bureaucracy. He seems to particularly enjoy interfering with projects that would benefit predominantly Republican districts. The Highway 23 Corridor project, which will be beneficial to the entire state, will have the most direct benefit to areas represented by Republican legislators. After assurances earlier this year from the DOT that the project was on schedule, it has suddenly and without any real explanation been put on the back burner by Doyle’s administration to be completed much later than required by the legislation that originally authorized the project.
Similarly, the Town of Sheboygan Wal-Mart project currently stands to benefit the town’s tax base. The project has been controversial for a number of reasons, but will likely occur one way or another. Once again, the Doyle administration’s DOT has muddied the waters. After assuring the town board, Wal-Mart and Republican Senator Liebham that the Highway J access requirement could be waived, the DOT has reversed itself without explanation and reinstated the requirement.
Because of safety and traffic congestion concerns in a residential neighborhood, terms of the agreement between the town and Wal-Mart stipulated that Highway J would not be accessed from the Wal-Mart property. It is unlikely that the town can accept a change that requires it. Wal-Mart’s only recourse then is to seek annexation by the City of Sheboygan, which would have no issue with the access since the town voters do not decide city elections. The city, represented by Democrat Terry Van Akkeren, will then be the tax base beneficiary, leaving the town to reap only the negative effects.
Doyle isn’t against using other questionable and unethical tactics either. He appears to embrace “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” and “pay-to-play” influence peddling. While the governor cannot sell votes, he has managed to implement campaign contribution paybacks by negotiating favorable terms for donors to his campaign fund. The Indian Gaming Contracts and the state’s travel contract are prime examples of political payback.
Doyle originally negotiated a contract with the tribes that extended into perpetuity, effectively stripping future governors of their right to negotiate contracts more favorable to the state and rewarding the tribes for their very generous donations to his campaign. Fortunately for the state, those contracts were negated in court.
More recently, questionable bidding evaluations led to the state’s lucrative travel contract being awarded to a company that donated heavily to the Doyle campaign fund in spite of the fact that another company rated more favorably in the initial process.
A long line of manipulative behavior including bullying, favoritism and bureaucratic obstructionism has from the start characterized the Doyle governorship. The governor has illustrated that he is more concerned with building a Doyle Dynasty than governing in a manner that best benefits the State of Wisconsin. From all appearances, Governor Doyle is headed full-tilt toward burying the State of Wisconsin in the darkest traditions of politics established by such infamous entities as New York’s Tammany Hall and Chicago’s original Daley administration. How many dead people’s votes do you suppose it will take to get Doyle reelected?
Monday, October 31, 2005
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Supreme Court - Supreme Injustice
Talk about the foxes guarding the chicken coop - a five to four majority on the Supreme Court has just chewed up any last vestiges of personal property rights guaranteed by the constitution.
In spite of the fact that our federal government has long subverted and misinterpreted our constitution, the recent "eminent domain" ruling by the Supreme Court was a clarion call to the citizens to rise up and take back our liberties. Not that it will happen - we have become way too complacent for that.
Our local radio talk show hosts have contended that this is conservatism or liberalism at its worst, depending on which one you listen to. They ended up in a compromise, saying it is neither, that neither side likes it and that the ruling came out of nowhere. I disagree. It isn't conservatism or liberalism at its worst, it is simply liberalism at its socialist core and we have been heading that direction on both sides of the political aisle for generations. It has just accelerated to an attention getting speed in recent years.
This isn't about empowering big land developers (which the liberal press mischaracterizes as a conservative idea), it is about the rights of individuals being usurped by the government for the supposed benefit of the collective - a purely liberal idea. I.E., "the government knows best."
Paul Harvey said it best, "The communism we defeated at the Berlin Wall has found a new home in New London, Connecticut." I would argue only that its new home is instead in the chambers of the Supreme Court justices. The justices on the majority side of this decision should be impeached for their blatant disregard of the constitution they are sworn to uphold. Then they should be disbarred for their blatant abuse of power and total lack of judicial ethics.
No wonder they keep trying to take away our guns and our pens.
Thomas Jefferson said, "And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
I only hope that there are enough patriots left to make a significant impact at the polls. Failing that, we are headed for either a second revolution, which, due to modern technology, is doomed to fail or to a life of servitude to a government that is supposed to serve us. I strongly suspect the latter.
Unfortunately, neither of the two major parties will well represent us in this struggle to regain our lost liberties. They are only interested in expanding their own power. And, unfortunately, "we, the people," are evidently too blind to realize that no political party has earned our loyalty.
The unfortunate truth is that we will continue to suck up the slop that the mainstream press flushes at us instead of making the effort to do some research, study history and think for ourselves. We will continue to vote Democrat or Republican like our parents did, just because they did. We seem to be incapable of learning from the past and switching our support to a more deserving third party.
In spite of the fact that our federal government has long subverted and misinterpreted our constitution, the recent "eminent domain" ruling by the Supreme Court was a clarion call to the citizens to rise up and take back our liberties. Not that it will happen - we have become way too complacent for that.
Our local radio talk show hosts have contended that this is conservatism or liberalism at its worst, depending on which one you listen to. They ended up in a compromise, saying it is neither, that neither side likes it and that the ruling came out of nowhere. I disagree. It isn't conservatism or liberalism at its worst, it is simply liberalism at its socialist core and we have been heading that direction on both sides of the political aisle for generations. It has just accelerated to an attention getting speed in recent years.
This isn't about empowering big land developers (which the liberal press mischaracterizes as a conservative idea), it is about the rights of individuals being usurped by the government for the supposed benefit of the collective - a purely liberal idea. I.E., "the government knows best."
Paul Harvey said it best, "The communism we defeated at the Berlin Wall has found a new home in New London, Connecticut." I would argue only that its new home is instead in the chambers of the Supreme Court justices. The justices on the majority side of this decision should be impeached for their blatant disregard of the constitution they are sworn to uphold. Then they should be disbarred for their blatant abuse of power and total lack of judicial ethics.
No wonder they keep trying to take away our guns and our pens.
Thomas Jefferson said, "And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
I only hope that there are enough patriots left to make a significant impact at the polls. Failing that, we are headed for either a second revolution, which, due to modern technology, is doomed to fail or to a life of servitude to a government that is supposed to serve us. I strongly suspect the latter.
Unfortunately, neither of the two major parties will well represent us in this struggle to regain our lost liberties. They are only interested in expanding their own power. And, unfortunately, "we, the people," are evidently too blind to realize that no political party has earned our loyalty.
The unfortunate truth is that we will continue to suck up the slop that the mainstream press flushes at us instead of making the effort to do some research, study history and think for ourselves. We will continue to vote Democrat or Republican like our parents did, just because they did. We seem to be incapable of learning from the past and switching our support to a more deserving third party.
Monday, June 06, 2005
SS Commandant Helmke and the Seatbelt Gestapo
Well, they're at it again - Big Brother is alive and well in Sheboygan County. As if it isn't bad enough that the meddling overlords at the state level are considering changing seatbelt use to a primary offense, we in Sheboygan County now have to deal with our own local SS enforcers.
While I disagree with all seatbelt laws in principal, those that protect minors from their irresponsible parents are at least understandable. Adult seatbelt laws, on the other hand, are totally unacceptable in a country that prides itself on its freedom. We even send our young men to die in foreign countries so that others can taste that freedom.
Yet, here we are, at a point in history where we seem to be willing to abdicate our freedoms for the sake of a relatively minor reduction in risk to our lives. What a bunch of whining, sniveling, cowards we have become. We are willing to frivolously throw away the liberty that our forebearers fought and died to obtain, for the unsubstantiated promise that we will be safe from all harm if we just let our government dictate our personal choices for us.
There are those of us who choose to resist, either passively by simply refusing to comply, or through diatribes such as this, which are themselves endangered by a proposed government decree. This is where Commandant Helmke and his ilk come in. It seems that those of us who choose to resist are making the local enforcement detail look bad. So even though it is a seemingly minor offense (secondary, meaning you must be stopped for another violation before they can get you for this one, and the fine is only ten dollars) Helmke and his crew have decided to make it a primary enforcement effort. We can't have the ordinary citizens making personal decisions for themselves. Why, they might not be under the good sheriff's control!
Why am I making such a big deal over this seemingly minor inconvenience? Because it isn't about the inconvenience. It is about the principal of freedom, limited government control and right of adult citizens to make choices for themselves without the government's interference. Its that simple. And, the small encroachments on our freedoms lead to ever larger encroachments. The freedoms we enjoy today are less than half those that were enjoyed by citizens of this country a century ago.
From helmet laws for cyclists and seatbelt laws for motorists to how long you can let your grass grow and what color you may paint your house, our individual choices are being usurped by local, state and federal government officials in the name of the public good. I submit that these erosions of liberty and freedom are not in the public interest, regardless of the perceived benefits we obtain. The greatest of those uncertain benefits is not as valuable as the least of the lost freedoms. After all, no one is sacrificing their life to make sure we all have to wear our seatbelts. Maybe if that were what it cost they would reconsider the necessity of their effort.
While I disagree with all seatbelt laws in principal, those that protect minors from their irresponsible parents are at least understandable. Adult seatbelt laws, on the other hand, are totally unacceptable in a country that prides itself on its freedom. We even send our young men to die in foreign countries so that others can taste that freedom.
Yet, here we are, at a point in history where we seem to be willing to abdicate our freedoms for the sake of a relatively minor reduction in risk to our lives. What a bunch of whining, sniveling, cowards we have become. We are willing to frivolously throw away the liberty that our forebearers fought and died to obtain, for the unsubstantiated promise that we will be safe from all harm if we just let our government dictate our personal choices for us.
There are those of us who choose to resist, either passively by simply refusing to comply, or through diatribes such as this, which are themselves endangered by a proposed government decree. This is where Commandant Helmke and his ilk come in. It seems that those of us who choose to resist are making the local enforcement detail look bad. So even though it is a seemingly minor offense (secondary, meaning you must be stopped for another violation before they can get you for this one, and the fine is only ten dollars) Helmke and his crew have decided to make it a primary enforcement effort. We can't have the ordinary citizens making personal decisions for themselves. Why, they might not be under the good sheriff's control!
Why am I making such a big deal over this seemingly minor inconvenience? Because it isn't about the inconvenience. It is about the principal of freedom, limited government control and right of adult citizens to make choices for themselves without the government's interference. Its that simple. And, the small encroachments on our freedoms lead to ever larger encroachments. The freedoms we enjoy today are less than half those that were enjoyed by citizens of this country a century ago.
From helmet laws for cyclists and seatbelt laws for motorists to how long you can let your grass grow and what color you may paint your house, our individual choices are being usurped by local, state and federal government officials in the name of the public good. I submit that these erosions of liberty and freedom are not in the public interest, regardless of the perceived benefits we obtain. The greatest of those uncertain benefits is not as valuable as the least of the lost freedoms. After all, no one is sacrificing their life to make sure we all have to wear our seatbelts. Maybe if that were what it cost they would reconsider the necessity of their effort.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
We Have a New Set of Local Officials...
...Now lets see if it really matters. Our mayor and about half of our aldermen/alderwomen will be replaced when the new term starts. A common thread running through all of the campaigns this last election (like most campaign seasons), was what each particular politician promised to do if elected. The way I see it, that is half the problem.
Instead of promising the moon, I would like to hear what principles the candidates each stand for. I would like to hear what they believe is the proper role of the office they are seeking. I would like to hear what they promise NOT to do - what powers they will not abuse, what private issues they will not stick their noses into, what causes they will not champion, what taxes they will not raise and what individual freedoms they will not encroach upon.
These are the issues that will determine whether they will be self-serving politicians or true public servants. The problem with our local government (as with our state and federal governments) is activism. Instead of offering the core services that government is there for, our "public servants" seem to think it is their collective job to take our money from us and spend it on their pet projects - what THEY think is best for us or the things they want to take credit for accomplishing. They have a real hard time understanding that they are there to serve US instead of expecting us to be a cash source for their goals.
We can hope that the new, less entrenched office winners will turn things around and start putting our local government back in its place - but I'm not holding my breath waiting.
Instead of promising the moon, I would like to hear what principles the candidates each stand for. I would like to hear what they believe is the proper role of the office they are seeking. I would like to hear what they promise NOT to do - what powers they will not abuse, what private issues they will not stick their noses into, what causes they will not champion, what taxes they will not raise and what individual freedoms they will not encroach upon.
These are the issues that will determine whether they will be self-serving politicians or true public servants. The problem with our local government (as with our state and federal governments) is activism. Instead of offering the core services that government is there for, our "public servants" seem to think it is their collective job to take our money from us and spend it on their pet projects - what THEY think is best for us or the things they want to take credit for accomplishing. They have a real hard time understanding that they are there to serve US instead of expecting us to be a cash source for their goals.
We can hope that the new, less entrenched office winners will turn things around and start putting our local government back in its place - but I'm not holding my breath waiting.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Terri, Her Evil Husband and the Sadistic Judge
Not only has Terri Schiavo had the misfortune to be in her present condition, but she is further cursed with an evil husband who obviously doesn't take the "for better or for worse" part of his wedding vows seriously. As if that were not enough, a society that is supposed to be civilized has elected to the Florida judiciary judges who make a mockery of our constitution's "right to life." In spite of Terri's loving parents willingness to assume responsibility and care of her, the judge in the case insists on granting her evil husband the right to murder by proxy.
How can we possibly have gone this far? How does a society which insists on punishing people for the mistreatment of animals care so little for one of their own species? Any animal owner, tired of caring for a pet, who decided to starve it to death would face huge fines at a minimum and possibly jail time. Yet, here we have a judge who not only condones this treatment of a human by her terribly wicked husband, but stands ready to enforce his right to do it.
Maybe I just answered my own question. Perhaps people like this husband and this judge have disgusted us so much with people that we no longer value them. But Terri hasn't acted this way. Unfortunately it is she, the innocent victim, instead of the guilty husband and judge, who will die as a result of this crime.
If justice were truly served, Terri's husband would be facing jail time for neglect, abuse and breach of contract; Terri would live on in the loving care of her parents; and The judge would be impeached, disbarred and run out of town on a rail...
How can we possibly have gone this far? How does a society which insists on punishing people for the mistreatment of animals care so little for one of their own species? Any animal owner, tired of caring for a pet, who decided to starve it to death would face huge fines at a minimum and possibly jail time. Yet, here we have a judge who not only condones this treatment of a human by her terribly wicked husband, but stands ready to enforce his right to do it.
Maybe I just answered my own question. Perhaps people like this husband and this judge have disgusted us so much with people that we no longer value them. But Terri hasn't acted this way. Unfortunately it is she, the innocent victim, instead of the guilty husband and judge, who will die as a result of this crime.
If justice were truly served, Terri's husband would be facing jail time for neglect, abuse and breach of contract; Terri would live on in the loving care of her parents; and The judge would be impeached, disbarred and run out of town on a rail...
Monday, March 07, 2005
Hot Mayoral Race?
I voted for Mayor Schramm when he ran for his first term. He seemed like a viable alternative to previous adminstrations. But, it turns out he was just a slightly different flavor of the same soup, taking the people's money and using it to ram his own agenda down their throats! After all, he is smarter than the rest of us and he knows best. There are way too many 'public servants' out there with that attitude these days.
When I first considered the options in the mayoral primary, I thought to myself, 'Anybody has to be better than Schramm!' I was fully prepared to go to the polls and vote for the best candidate. Unfortunately, after reading what I could find about the various candidates views, ideas and backgrounds, I came to the realization that there still wasn't a real choice available. Each candidate had their own little agenda that they were ready to force on the city residents if given the chance. Most of them gave lip service to cutting or holding the line on city taxes and then, in the next breath, started spelling out the things they wanted to spend our money on. Go figure.
The primary came and went without my vote. This is the first time since I have been eligible to vote that I have voted for none of the candidates. While I still disagree with the mayor on some core issues, I just didn't see any the others as an improvement. Change does not necessarily equal progress.
The primaries are well behind us now and we have two choices: keep Mayor Schramm and continue on as before or vote for Perez and get another slightly different flavor of soup. Anyway it goes, it'll still be soup. I would vote for the lesser of two evils if I could tell which one was the lesser, but I don't see a real choice here.
Hot race? Maybe in the media hype, but not in my book. It is a shame we can't find someone who is ambitious enough to actually serve out of a sense of duty without being so ambitious that they let their own ideas and agendas get in the way of the will of the people. It would indeed be nice to have a mayor who would run city government with a strict and frugal iron fist instead of using that iron fisted approach toward the citizenry.
Will I vote in the general election? Yes, I will - but probably not for mayor. I just don't see how wasting a vote on one of the two available candidates is a good thing, and there isn't a place on the ballot to show my displeasure by voting for 'none of the above.'
When I first considered the options in the mayoral primary, I thought to myself, 'Anybody has to be better than Schramm!' I was fully prepared to go to the polls and vote for the best candidate. Unfortunately, after reading what I could find about the various candidates views, ideas and backgrounds, I came to the realization that there still wasn't a real choice available. Each candidate had their own little agenda that they were ready to force on the city residents if given the chance. Most of them gave lip service to cutting or holding the line on city taxes and then, in the next breath, started spelling out the things they wanted to spend our money on. Go figure.
The primary came and went without my vote. This is the first time since I have been eligible to vote that I have voted for none of the candidates. While I still disagree with the mayor on some core issues, I just didn't see any the others as an improvement. Change does not necessarily equal progress.
The primaries are well behind us now and we have two choices: keep Mayor Schramm and continue on as before or vote for Perez and get another slightly different flavor of soup. Anyway it goes, it'll still be soup. I would vote for the lesser of two evils if I could tell which one was the lesser, but I don't see a real choice here.
Hot race? Maybe in the media hype, but not in my book. It is a shame we can't find someone who is ambitious enough to actually serve out of a sense of duty without being so ambitious that they let their own ideas and agendas get in the way of the will of the people. It would indeed be nice to have a mayor who would run city government with a strict and frugal iron fist instead of using that iron fisted approach toward the citizenry.
Will I vote in the general election? Yes, I will - but probably not for mayor. I just don't see how wasting a vote on one of the two available candidates is a good thing, and there isn't a place on the ballot to show my displeasure by voting for 'none of the above.'
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Sheboygan's Own "Bullies in Blue"
It seems that all the serious crimes in Sheboygan have been solved or prevented. How else can we explain the apparent lack of anything for the police to do but write parking tickets?
Sheboygan's winter parking rules are unnecessarily awkward, especially for visitors. Alternating sides according to the even/odd date is goofy enough, yet when the end of the month falls on the 31st, it causes two odd numbered days in a row. Citizens with more important things on their minds can understandably err by switching when they should stay parking on the same side.
A little humanity on the part of our robo-cops might allow them the decency of issuing a warning instead of a ticket under these unique circumstances, especially when the weather is clear and snow removal is not an issue. Yet, in a recent incident, an officer with an over zealous attitude felt the need to issue a ticket to an unfortunate citizen who made an honest mistake.
Let a citizen off for a parking error today and they might be robbing banks tomorrow! I guess one of our local Barney Fifes has an overinflated view of his importance. Or our city government just needs more funds.
Sheboygan's winter parking rules are unnecessarily awkward, especially for visitors. Alternating sides according to the even/odd date is goofy enough, yet when the end of the month falls on the 31st, it causes two odd numbered days in a row. Citizens with more important things on their minds can understandably err by switching when they should stay parking on the same side.
A little humanity on the part of our robo-cops might allow them the decency of issuing a warning instead of a ticket under these unique circumstances, especially when the weather is clear and snow removal is not an issue. Yet, in a recent incident, an officer with an over zealous attitude felt the need to issue a ticket to an unfortunate citizen who made an honest mistake.
Let a citizen off for a parking error today and they might be robbing banks tomorrow! I guess one of our local Barney Fifes has an overinflated view of his importance. Or our city government just needs more funds.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Sheridan Park - GET OVER IT!
Ok, I like 'green space' as much as the next guy, but there comes a point where practicallity has to rule the day. As nice as Sheridan Park is, and as badly as 'green space' is lacking in the area, I just don't see it's loss as a catastrophe.
Let's face it - the park itself is nice to look at and I have no doubt it is a pleasant facility to utilize; however, the view from or through the park is another issue. To the east is a lovely view of the scenic FACTORY DISTRICT! To the west and northwest, a less than attractive commercial district with a few houses mixed in. To the southwest, a school - nice enough, but not outstanding and certainly not 'green space'. And to the north and south? - older, lower to lower middle income housing in various states of repair. A neighborhood in which the most recent news of any significance was the not so long ago shooting spree and murder of one of the local neighbors. A neighborhood in which there have been reports of drug deals and other unsavory happenings. The neighborhood hardly promotes the pristine atmosphere that protesters claim to be afraid of losing. The park is certainly a jewel by comparison, but it falls far short of being the neighborhood's salvation!
Playspace? Well, it is a nice play space, but how much is the rest of the city to sacrifice in order to provide a playspace that is so severely under-utilized and at the same time abused? And what about that 'less than gorgeous' school? Doesn't IT have a playground? Of course it does - and with adequate, safe, state of the art playground equipment, surrounded by a chain-link fence to keep the little ones from straying into the busy 14th Street traffic. We sure don't get our money's worth from the school district otherwise - why not let it provide the playspace, since we've already more than paid for it.
The new police station, which is long overdue, would - besides providing a badly needed upgrade from the current facility - benefit the neighborhood in several ways:
In appearance, it would likely block the view of the factory district with an attractive, modern building surrounded by plenty of 'greenspace'. With city enforcement so close at hand, the over-abundance of city ordinances regarding building codes would more likely be followed by the errant landlords and property owners who have let maintenance matters slide.
With officers all over the neighborhood at all hours of the day and night, criminal and delinquent behavior would be significantly reduced. Local citizens should welcome the increased safety and security.
Speaking of safety, the effect of patrol cars on traffic is remarkable. School children and old folks alike should have a much easier time crossing the busy area roads.
Improved response time is a factor the entire city will benefit from, but none so much as those in the immediate area. When a first responder is needed, seconds matter.
The new station is badly needed. The old facility is inadequate and an embarrassment to our city. It is time to put personal 'wants' aside and address the 'needs' of the community for our greater good. If we allow this disruption in the process to delay progress once again, it may be another twenty years before we find a site that is functionally as desirable and aesthetically adequate. No matter what is decided, no place will be acceptable to everyone. Nobody wants it in their backyard.
Let's face it - the park itself is nice to look at and I have no doubt it is a pleasant facility to utilize; however, the view from or through the park is another issue. To the east is a lovely view of the scenic FACTORY DISTRICT! To the west and northwest, a less than attractive commercial district with a few houses mixed in. To the southwest, a school - nice enough, but not outstanding and certainly not 'green space'. And to the north and south? - older, lower to lower middle income housing in various states of repair. A neighborhood in which the most recent news of any significance was the not so long ago shooting spree and murder of one of the local neighbors. A neighborhood in which there have been reports of drug deals and other unsavory happenings. The neighborhood hardly promotes the pristine atmosphere that protesters claim to be afraid of losing. The park is certainly a jewel by comparison, but it falls far short of being the neighborhood's salvation!
Playspace? Well, it is a nice play space, but how much is the rest of the city to sacrifice in order to provide a playspace that is so severely under-utilized and at the same time abused? And what about that 'less than gorgeous' school? Doesn't IT have a playground? Of course it does - and with adequate, safe, state of the art playground equipment, surrounded by a chain-link fence to keep the little ones from straying into the busy 14th Street traffic. We sure don't get our money's worth from the school district otherwise - why not let it provide the playspace, since we've already more than paid for it.
The new police station, which is long overdue, would - besides providing a badly needed upgrade from the current facility - benefit the neighborhood in several ways:
In appearance, it would likely block the view of the factory district with an attractive, modern building surrounded by plenty of 'greenspace'. With city enforcement so close at hand, the over-abundance of city ordinances regarding building codes would more likely be followed by the errant landlords and property owners who have let maintenance matters slide.
With officers all over the neighborhood at all hours of the day and night, criminal and delinquent behavior would be significantly reduced. Local citizens should welcome the increased safety and security.
Speaking of safety, the effect of patrol cars on traffic is remarkable. School children and old folks alike should have a much easier time crossing the busy area roads.
Improved response time is a factor the entire city will benefit from, but none so much as those in the immediate area. When a first responder is needed, seconds matter.
The new station is badly needed. The old facility is inadequate and an embarrassment to our city. It is time to put personal 'wants' aside and address the 'needs' of the community for our greater good. If we allow this disruption in the process to delay progress once again, it may be another twenty years before we find a site that is functionally as desirable and aesthetically adequate. No matter what is decided, no place will be acceptable to everyone. Nobody wants it in their backyard.
HERE WE GO...
Well - this is it. An open venue for the twisted, demented innermost thoughts of my fertile mind. Unless this meets with unexpected success, I predict my postings will be few and perhaps far between. Unless, of course, something really sets me off and I feel the need for a more regular venting...
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