Just a Man with a Mash Paddle

To say Ithaca is eccentric would be the understatement of the year. It’s yet another fine example of the minority being so vocal they color all perceptions of a place. These so called “enlightened” people are some of the most close-minded hypocritical types that I’ve ever met. They claim to want free and open debate, yet if any one takes the opposite side they immediately brand that person as wrong, or stupid. They have very little tolerance for the things they don’t believe in. It’s what has driven me away from this town several times now. If not for the very good friends I have here I doubt I would have moved back.

However this most recent nonsense has really spurred that whole restless I need to get out of here feeling. I’d like to preface this by saying that I’m not coming to the defense of Bush, Chenney, or any of our current administration. I do feel they have been extremely short sighted and done several things that have eroded our civil liberties, and that may take several generations to recover from. Do I think they’ve mislead the public? Yes, yes I do. Do I think they have flat out lied to people? Quiet likely they have. Do I think they they should be impeached? I’m not sure I have the information or the legal knowledge to make that kind of decision. All that said our local county government should be tossed to the curb.

We have more than enough problems in our county that have nothing to do with the federal government, that can be solved at home if our local leaders would actually take the time to address them rather than waste county time and money by passing resolutions outside the scope of their power. If they want to write letters to their congressmen and senators, or petition the Power that Be, that’s fine, but do not try to insult those of us who are capable of thinking on our own by saying that it is your elected duty to pass resolutions asking for the President to be impeached. I’d like to know why all the construction around here has been so delayed, why there are setbacks, why there are financial overruns in those areas. What are they doing to help keep unemployment in check? What are they doing to help support our local infrastructure such as police, fire, and the hospital? Instead of tackling these issues which affect the quality of our everyday life they chose to enter in to a realm that they have no authority over because it’s easier to throw yourself at a wall than it is to fix problems that are within the scope of your own power. The only thing that upsets me more is that these actions are being applauded as a brave step and the right thing to do. Impeach whoever you want, but if we ignore the little problems in our own front lawns it won’t matter what the hell happens on the federal level because our quality of life will have been directly, every single day impacted due to the neglect of our local leaders.

Our county government wants to hold Bush accountable for the war and eroding freedoms? Well that’s fine. I want to hold our local administration accountable for declining educational standards in the county, an increase in theft and other property related crimes, and their constant roadblocks to small local businesses who they claim to support. Being a part of a small local business I can tell you that most of the local administration has little interest in doing anything that might make a positive impact.