By: Diane Benjamin
Quote from today’s editorial: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-united-front-is-only-way-to-drive-economic-development/article_942a3be9-533e-5f46-b2f8-d0f15d3ac211.html
There must be a consensus to step forward as a group to support ideas or processes that are in the best interest of the county as a whole.
I didn’t need to attend the joint Council + County meeting this week to know what was said. I knew the speaker would tell government they need to lead economic development because that’s what Renner, Koos, et al wanted to hear.
Comply you foolish citizens.
Pantagraph: Who decides what is in the best interest of the County? Renner? Koos? Sorensen? They get elected for a period of time, so they get to decide? What if the next person doesn’t think what they did is in the best interests of the County?
We have a long history of local government making crappy decisions. Coliseum, BCPA, Quality of Life this and that – each successor pronounces we are now stuck with these failures, so let’s move on and create more! Koos’s Uptown isn’t doing as well as claimed, maybe a reporter should check occupancy rates themselves at the Marriott by camping in the lobby. Forgot, you don’t investigate unless it’s a fired City employee.
What about the consensus that Bloomington roads need fixed? Every citizens survey has said that. Consensus by the people is immaterial – you want government consensus.
American was founded on INDIVIDUAL freedom and liberty. Not government consensus. It fails. It has always failed.
If Apple had waited for consensus I wouldn’t own an iPhone.
The Veterans Administration is KILLING our Veterans, one which I know. Isn’t there consensus that we owe our veterans what was promised? Evidently that consensus doesn’t matter.
How dare you Pantagraph!
The only “best interests” of the County is residents with money to spend on things they chose because they have jobs and low taxes.
A government built downtown, government built soccer fields, government built anything else is only in the best interests of government and the unions getting prevailing wages to build it.
We aren’t a communist country YET. It’s time to target the Pantagraph advertisers. Very few people I know still get the paper, why would advertisers want to support Pravda propaganda?
I’ve seen tweets targeting the advertisers of Cities 92.9. Cities 92.9 stands for individual freedom and liberty, the Pantagraph stands for government.
Pick your side quickly.
Communists invaded the bird cage liner a long time ago. The prevalence of communist thinking in abNormal, IL is just as bad if not worse.
The needs of the community hardly ever outweigh the needs of the individual. That was the concept that made America great and made socialism/communism so bad.
I attended the joint meeting for exactly this reason. Quality of life does NOT need to be improved because B/N rates so high. The editorial does not include the weakness that were identified such as infrastructure, lack of encouragement for entrepreneurship. Not once did she say the city or county should provide financial support or build hotel/retail space.
As a Veteran, I take exception to the comment, the VA is killing Vets. Knowing 1, doesn’t make it so. The VA ranks above the Public Sector in overall satisfaction. Even with the lack of funds from the nuts we elected. The VA is working hard, tend to screw up, and still bring positive results to those that served, some of which we will honor on Monday, Memorial Day. Yes, even a few the VA served.
The one I know is currently dying of a treatable cancer because they waited 2 years to treat it. His son came home from Afghanistan and committed suicide.
Reason number 10 I dropped the bird cage liner. The Pantagraph is so far to the left it will NEVER see the center again!
Okay, hmmhmm, That shouldn’t have happened. Sad. I wouldn’t let lhat happen myself. Unless I lost capacity with no one to help. Sad
Pantagraph the community is quickly becoming United and forming a consensus that your paper is garbage.
The Pantagraph article appears to be calling for a complete repudiation of traditional American governance. It wants to replace it with crony capitalism at best and corporatism at worse. The entire bill of rights and constitution which focuses on the rights of the individual are thoroughly tossed to the side by the Pantagraph. Joe Citizen is now truly the forgotten man. Instead the voice of the voter will be purposely ignored and the voice of big business and special interests groups will be front and center. Oddly, the Pantagraph seems to want to bring the Washington culture of corruption to our community. The people need to stand and boldly tell the Pantagraph “Not in Our Town.”
I must commend you on your response. Very astute.
Dianne, where do you get communism from anything that is written in this editorial? It just sounds like a love letter for downtown development. It it were truly a communist propaganda device there would be great mention of Dear Leader Renner, how great he is, that the government should confiscate the property for the good of the people, how private ownership of the property is pro-capitalist. This editorial is also not suggesting that properties be converted for the benefit of the people.
I also don’t think a Communist editorial would be supporting business. If they would support businesses, any profits would go to fund some other venture such as military equipment or statues for Tari. I don’t see that suggested in the editorial.
I don’t think this passes muster as Communist, but feel free to correct me. Maybe I missed something? It’s OK to not like something, but to suggest it is something that is not, is propaganda in of itself.
They can’t be that blatant! Did you see where we should do what is good for the collective? Individuals don’t matter, just the collective. That is communism spoken so people don’t notice.
Diane, I think you are splitting hairs here. The government can ignore the electorate, but that is not communism because communism would not make the people a part of the discussion. We would be put into re-education camps for going against Tari.
Unfortunately, government subverts the will of the people and makes questionable decisions. But that doesn’t make them communists. Just bad elected officials. Heck there are communists who act like capitalists, but I wouldn’t call them capitalist.
Nice try. Renner and Koos think they know what is best for their cities and they don’t bother with the cost to citizens. They aren’t using guns YET, but Renner is on a campaign to destroy all opposition. He will screw up again soon. Stay tuned.
On the front page of BlnNews.com is a Must Read. It is straight from the communists and was read into the Congressional record. What is left for them to accomplish?
Is Neo-McCarthyism alive and well?
Mike perhaps you should review the tenants of communism as to how it creeps in. The step by step loss of our freedom, our liberties is quite apparent, maybe you see that. Unfortunately when you fail to see the intended incrementalism, one of these days you might wake up and it will be too late. Whether is be a form of communism, socialism, fascism, or some other “ism” many folks are awake and are trying to wake up others.
Meh. A few of the planks are ridiculous in its association to modern day America. I can change a few words and make it an anti-democracy manifesto. Worse you can blame Capitalism and Democracy for the rise of Communism. But I don’t take much stock in the either.
You can blame what you want Mike but it doesn’t change the facts. Capitalism although not perfect incentivizes hard work and ingenuity. Crony capitalism is the problem. Then there is that worn out term of democracy of which the majority rules. No different than two wolves and a sheep talking about whats for dinner. It’s time I think you rediscover the founding of the republic and the real meaning of the rule of law. Until then, I doubt there is much of a conversation here.
I agree. I guess I don’t scare as easy.
No one is scared here, just aware.
Off topic: the pantagraph disable comments on its story about Nora Dukowitz (sp) website. Dukowitz hiring is just another example of govt using our money to facilitate their propaganda. And the pantagraph disabling comments shows their allegiance to the city and not its subscribers.