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I'm sure the fearless Mr. O'Neal thinks that we "hippies" will take a break from our crying to, ohhhhhh, I don't know -- maybe meditate en masse for a harmonic convergence of fire-preventing energy to settle around Hawkins. It's about as practical and logical as his ideas for healthy growth and municipal co-operation.<br><br>Keely<br><br><br><br><br>> Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:30:47 -0800<br>> From: rhayes@turbonet.com<br>> To: vision2020@moscow.com<br>> Subject: [Vision2020] Michael O'Neal's blathering<br>> <br>> ><br>> <br>> Reading Michael O'Neals tripe made me laugh. It is obviously satire. No <br>> one could make so many errors in logic without out having their tongue <br>> firmly in cheek. But here's another real thought from a proud aging <br>> person (sorry, not a hippie). What happens if, in the case of a fire at <br>> this sprawl mall if Moscow cannot supply the vast quantity and <br>> sufficient pressure legally contracted? Hawkins will sue our city "Big <br>> Time." Oh, they wouldn't do that, some would say. There too nice of a <br>> corporation to injure this little town, eh? Think again folks. In <br>> order to prevent this from happening Moscow water may have to set aside <br>> a quantity agreed to. This might adversely affect our own city's <br>> ability to deal with its own emergency needs. In perpetuity!<br>> <br>> Roger Hayes<br>> <br>> <br>> ><br>> > Michael J O'Neal, MPDN 1/19/08<br>> ><br>> > It's hard to keep crybabies quiet.<br>> ><br>> > The back story to this scrap of wisdom runs thus. An out-of-area <br>> > developer,<br>> > the Hawkins Companies, wants to put in a retail development just west <br>> > of<br>> > Moscow. Five Moscow councilmen, three of them recently elected after <br>> > running<br>> > on an openly pro-business platform, are now officially a nefarious <br>> > cabal,<br>> > the "Hawkins Five," dubbed so on this page because they voted to sell <br>> > water<br>> > to the developer after closed-door mediations.<br>> ><br>> > Now *the United States has this thing called representative <br>> > government*.<br>> > Voters, expressing preferences at the polls, elect people to office, <br>> > then<br>> > turn over to those people decision-making authority. That way, <br>> > everything<br>> > doesn't become a referendum. Every time a decision has to be made, we <br>> > don't<br>> > have to run to the polls, or sit in hothouse meeting halls picking up <br>> > the<br>> > flu from the guy with the wet cough behind us.<br>> ><br>> > But *there's a class of people in Moscow who don't like representative<br>> > government, for it gives misguided little people license to vote*. <br>> > Those<br>> > voters in turn have *the temerity to elect to office candidates who <br>> > are not<br>> > aging hippies whose notion of economic development is coffee stands <br>> > (which<br>> > use water) and tattoo parlors*.<br>> ><br>> > What's their problem? For starters, the developers are from Boise. <br>> > That must<br>> > mean they're curly-mustachioed, cigar-chomping carpetbaggers, in town <br>> > to<br>> > offer the rest of us 40 acres and a mule in exchange for our water.<br>> > Reasonably, though, *the developers believe that business owners might <br>> > want<br>> > to tidy up after us and that employees and shoppers should wash their <br>> > hands<br>> > after flushing*.<br>> ><br>> > But *these are all salutary activities*. People would presumably be <br>> > doing<br>> > them anyhow, somewhere (one hopes), thus using water from the same <br>> > aquifer,<br>> > unless of course they're really good at holding it so they can go use <br>> > water<br>> > from someone else's aquifer. But then they'd be burning gas, melting <br>> > the<br>> > polar ice caps, and drowning the giant Palouse earthworm - the point <br>> > being<br>> > that *we all exist, so every single one of us uses resources no matter <br>> > what<br>> > we do and where we do it. And if we don't have to leave carbon <br>> > footprints<br>> > between here and Lewiston or Spokane to do it, something's been <br>> > gained*.<br>> ><br>> > *Further, these establishments might sell things people actually want, <br>> > need,<br>> > and can afford, without turning to the Internet, as many currently do, <br>> > thus<br>> > shipping away dollars and the tax revenues they generate*. It's likely <br>> > that<br>> > *most of the products they'd sell won't be made of hemp or bamboo - or <br>> > made<br>> > in co-ops redolent with patchouli*. So that means they represent <br>> > sprawl.<br>> ><br>> > The usual gambit employed by people who don't like a decision is to <br>> > grumble<br>> > about process. Closed doors for them are always a bad sign, as they <br>> > are for<br>> > my cat. But as I've tried to explain to my cat, mediations are always<br>> > closed. People are more inclined to mediate (another salutary <br>> > activity) when<br>> > they know that a card they show behind closed doors won't get trumped <br>> > later<br>> > in a lawsuit.<br>> ><br>> > *So the crybabies, who didn't get their way in the last City Council<br>> > election, want to "recall" the newly elected councilmen*. They intone<br>> > solemnly that there should have been more "public discussion" and that <br>> > the<br>> > Hawkins Five (one quakes at the very name) has "betrayed the public <br>> > trust" -<br>> > by doing what the little people elected them to do. *Of course, the <br>> > process<br>> > included no vigorous "public discussion" when the mayor unilaterally <br>> > filed a<br>> > petition to quash Hawkins, but this mote of hypocrisy escapes the <br>> > notice of<br>> > the hemp-and-bamboo crowd*.<br>> ><br>> > Meanwhile, the little people are cattle. We're told that the <br>> > councilmen who<br>> > voted in Hawkins' favor were "ushered into office by the Greater Moscow<br>> > Alliance," more cigar-chompers bent on selling off the Palouse in <br>> > pieces to<br>> > the highest bidders. *Many of us little people find smug, elitist <br>> > comments<br>> > like this a slap in the face. The council members were ushered into <br>> > office<br>> > not by the GMA but by the citizens who chose to vote for them*. The GMA<br>> > didn't even exist when two of the Hawkins lapdogs were elected.<br>> ><br>> > *But the voters, lobotomized by the GMA, were wrong. The people the <br>> > voters<br>> > voted for voted in favor of something some people don't like. So of <br>> > course<br>> > we must throw the sonsabitches out*.<br>> ><br>> > *Get out the (organic) teething biscuits*.<br>> ><br>> > Tellin' it like it is<br>> > GS<br>> > -<br>> <br>> =======================================================<br>> List services made available by First Step Internet, <br>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br>> http://www.fsr.net <br>> mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>> =======================================================<br><br /><hr />Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest Loser! <a href='http://biggestloser.msn.com/' target='_new'>Learn more.</a></body>
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