[Vision2020] The Future

Fri Jul 1 15:00:24 PDT 2005

Hi Again Phil,

You wrote:
"For the very reasons that you state, this community has to stop quibbling
over the tiny stuff and start organizing to become more politically
effective in insuring that Micron and the Eagle Mafia do not high grade all
of our futures."

My question for you is why do you present this as an either/or situation?
What makes you think that the people you perceive as "quibbling over the
tiny stuff" don't care and aren't involved in what I guess you assume is the
"bigger picture"?

This is something that irritates me.  Because of the position I've taken
regarding the fair, equitable, and just distribution of property taxes, I
think there's a perception that's my *only* cause.  Nothing could be further
from the truth -- it's just the cause that's most visible at the moment.

Besides, we are all individuals with our own individual strengths and
interests free to have our own hopes, dreams, opinions, beliefs, thoughts  .
. . and causes  :-)  Different people are, presumably, most effective in a
range of different areas.

Yeah, I really just don't get it when people argue from the false premise
that it's an either/or kind of thing.

Not to mention I think it's antagonistic to community-building to . . .
belittle the interests and concerns of others who have different interests
and concerns.

JMHO,
Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2005, Saundra Lund.
Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum
without the express written permission of the author.*****

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Phil Nisbet
Sent: Friday, 01 July 2005 11:01 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] The Future

Mark

For the very reasons that you state, this community has to stop quibbling
over the tiny stuff and start organizing to become more politically
effective in insuring that Micron and the Eagle Mafia do not high grade all
of our futures.

You and I have had many a politcal disagreement over the years, but I do not
call you names and you have never done such to me.  We can disagree and
still discuss, find common ground and accomplish joint goals.

I am not sure that all the people on this list are aware of the things can
be accomplished when people of varying views set aside anomosity and strive
together.

When Phil Nisbet of Grassroots for Multiple Use and Mark Solomon of the ICL
put aside their differences, the first Habitat Conservation Agreement for
Endangered Species was born.  That agreement ended up restoring miles of
spawning grounds for Chinook Salmon and steelhead and at the same time gave
ranchers in Lemhi and Custer Counties a chance to clean up their acts
without extreme financial hardship.  We could have just as easily screamed
at each other and hurled insults, but I still remember the fun of doing
pledge for pledge of GMU against ICL on Books for Bucks (Candice Donnicht's
annual Salmon School District fundraiser) on the Salmon Radio instead.

We can make a great community better by practicing some commity  We can make
a great community better by seeking our common ground and finding ways to
work together to achieve our common dreams.  If Phil and Mark can do it,
surely some of the rest of these well educated and well meaning folks can
find it in themselves to do the same?

Phil Nisbet

>From: Mark Solomon <msolomon at moscow.com>
>To: "Phil Nisbet" <pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com>, vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] The Future
>Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 10:22:21 -0700
>
>Phil,
>
>The shipment of UI jobs to campuses elsewhere has less to do with local 
>real estate and a lot more to do with the parochialism of the Idaho 
>Legislature. The Legislature, for reasons known (Simplot, Micron, the 
>Boise "mafia", etc) and unknown have been doing their best to shave off 
>programs from the UI Moscow campus for over 20 years. The engineering 
>programs have been their largest target. You're right... those programs 
>stand the best chance of receiving grants that focus on technology and 
>they are to a large extent going elsewhere. The University Place 
>project (before it turned into the debacle it now is) was primarily a 
>UI response to that Legislative pressure.
>
>Until the Legislature changes their tune on both program emphasis 
>location and appropriate employee compensation, local Moscow 
>development issues are just about irrelevant to retaining a quality
research faculty at the UI.
>
>Mark Solomon
>
>At 9:14 AM -0700 7/1/05, Phil Nisbet wrote:
>>Tom
>>
>>You can have all the little stores in downtown that you dream of and 
>>it will not replace any lose of high paying University Salaries.  And 
>>other Universities are snapping up what this one either turns away or 
>>ships to other locations.
>>
>>Just as an example, the plastics industry is moving to include 
>>nanotechnology into its designs to make nano-composite materials that 
>>will help to improve the life of products.  If a plastic bummer is 
>>stronger than steel and has half the weight, energy savings result.  
>>If a nano-composite can make a house less flammable, lives are saved 
>>and inert nano-composites can be used to replace more toxic fire
retardants.
>>
>>So the plastics industry sees growth in those types of materials going 
>>from less than 1% of their sales to 30-40% of their sales in the next 
>>decade, from a current sales of just under a $100,000,000 to in excess 
>>of
>>4 trillion dollars.
>>
>>University of Alaska Fairbanks just snagged $17,000,000 in a grant to 
>>study just one aspect of nanotech composites.  University of 
>>Pennsylvania picked up some research initially done here in Moscow and 
>>got a DOE grant for about ten million to look at how nano particles 
>>could assist in nuke waste disposal.  Heck, the NIST of the Department 
>>of Commerce is handing away $600,000,000 a year in grants and do we 
>>have any active here in Moscow?
>>
>>You have to sell one heck of a lot of Wild Women Traders dresses or a 
>>pot of Tie Die T-shirts to equal even a fraction of what’s out there 
>>in terms of research money, let alone the potential for spin off 
>>technology businesses that this kind of work could be bringing in.
>>
>>If we keep losing jobs at U of I and refuse to get in touch with the 
>>future of technology, this will end up being nothing more than an 
>>admin center for branch campuses that get all the good jobs and all 
>>the Research Grants.  How many shops can we have in Downtown, Tom, if 
>>the University loses more jobs and payroll?
>>
>>The reason that the non-conforming businesses are siting in downtown 
>>is that the business climate here makes downtown space cheap. Housing 
>>costs are through the roof here and what sort of disposable income do 
>>you think that kids making minimum wage at Wendy’s or Tri-State have 
>>once they pay their landlords?  Half the school year population is 
>>living hand to mouth and we offer no better paying jobs to them.  Want 
>>to see non-conforming uses move?  Increase disposable income by getting
some real jobs in here.
>>If downtown businesses could make more profits, they would of a matter 
>>of course push those other businesses out and expand.
>>
>>How many jobs will beating the CCers up and forcing them to leave 
>>bring in?  How many jobs will turning Wallmart out end up ponying up 
>>here in Moscow?
>>
>>And its not that I concur with Doug Wilson’s ideology or that I am in 
>>love with Wally World’s stores, I just see people chasing their tails 
>>and refusing to deal with real economic development issues.  This area 
>>needs jobs and yet this very list felt free to jump all over Barbara 
>>and claim she was part of an evile conspiracy for even suggesting that 
>>we need economic development.  As the person in charge of Economic 
>>Development in the county, rather than assist her and get some 
>>desirable growth, she ends up fighting an uphill battle to get even a 
>>few things going in the Alturas Park.
>>
>>So stop whining about downtown and tell us, what sort of development 
>>should we be looking at? How should we as a community get with the 
>>University to see that it ships no more jobs out to Boise or CDA?  How 
>>should we go about attracting firms to move here and use our access to 
>>a large intellectual community to increase hob opportunity here?
>>
>>That’s what the FUTURE is about, not NSA or LOGOS or any of the other 
>>piddling issues that absorb your time.
>>
>>Phil Nisbet
>>
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