...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.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
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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