[Vision2020] Crazy Train

[whayman at adelphia.net]

Thus greasy Joan doth keel the pot?

---- Joan Opyr <joanopyr at moscow.com> wrote: 
> Dear Visionaries:
> 
> I am done arguing with Donovan.  Perhaps not forever, but certainly for 
> now.  If list members want to talk about water, let's talk about water. 
>   We cannot, however, only talk about water.  There's more at stake in 
> the future of Moscow.  Smart growth, dumb growth, and anti-growth; 
> growth that benefits the few, not the many.  There's also urban 
> renewal, development options, the University of Idaho, traffic along 
> the Miracle Mile, and parking in the downtown retail district.  As we 
> get into issues of cultural hegemony and differing visions of what 
> constitutes a healthy and diverse community, we're bound to get into 
> sticky territory.  We're facing a constitutional amendment banning 
> same-sex marriage on the November ballot.  I expect some important and 
> potentially hot debates over that.  And when we do get around to it, I 
> warn you, Pastor You-Know-Who and his You-Know-Church will likely serve 
> as both the tar baby and the briar patch.  If He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named 
> takes as active a role in this political fight as he took in the 1994 
> battle over Proposition One, then it's going to get hot in here.  Might 
> want to open a window.
> 
> That said, I think it's important to recognize that unmoderated chat 
> groups are like the railroad tracks in a Roadrunner cartoon.  We, the 
> list members, are like Wile E. Coyote.  We're on the train, chasing the 
> Roadrunner, when we look out the window and see that we're running out 
> of track.  So, we open up the Acme box and hang out on the engine, 
> laying track before the train just as fast as we can.  What happens?  
> We find ourselves halfway over a chasm; we look down, pause, and drop, 
> right to the bottom of a deep canyon, where we thump to a halt in a 
> cloud of dust.  But we always get back up again.  That's the nature of 
> this list, and it's the nature of every other unmoderated list.  
> Freedom of expression is not freedom from annoyance, and if it were, 
> I'd be bored senseless.  This is a great community, and I'm always 
> interested to hear what most of you have to say.
> 
> It's true that my Bozo Bin is wide and deep, and that I filter out 
> quite a few posters, but I have relatives that I don't like, either.  I 
> don't want to hang out with them, but I don't think they should be 
> tossed from the family.  I still meet up with them once a year at the 
> family reunion, and we watch one another eat fried chicken.  (It's 
> always too greasy.  Best to stick to the deviled eggs.)
> 
> Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
> www.joanopyr.com
> 
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