It’s not just the Digital World that’s flat — today’s “0/1” right/wrong thinking destroys all debate, and creates enemies. If we want to advance our society; we need to go back to the wisdom of previous Presidents:
“I don’t like that man. I’m going to have to get to know him better.” — Abraham Lincoln
“There are no problems – only trouble makers.” When you have a dictatorship; everybody agrees — or else. And when the colleges that “define the county” are intellectually dishonest — you have the kind of oppression that permeates every thought and act.
The county’s “independent” bookstores are not independent enough to allow non-conforming books on their shelves.
And exposing an issue, even a serious one, that differs from those officially pronounced; is rejected by the local media on the grounds it “would confuse our readers.”
People don’t smile much: not from being serious minded — but from being afraid.
Form Based Codes create neighborhoods – and prisons: they’re created by the same people; and for the same purpose.
How do you get to be a “trouble maker”? Speak out. While you can.
“The politicians elect the voters.” It’s not such a reach as it seems – by controlling the community’s environment; politicians attract and select those who will fit into their template of society. Form Based Codes, lock-step bureaucracy, and intransigent, hand-picked policy making ensures that no opposition larger than an individual can be sustained.
There is no one like a politician or bureaucrat for sidestepping the obvious. If every lake that is surrounded by agricultural activity is impaired; they will find an impaired lake without agriculture; and use that to claim, “We don’t know what’s causing the impairment of our water bodies.”
Cause and effect cease to have any meaning in the political decision making process — and not by accident.
The elderly in New York aren’t dying because of equitable paddy cake and bureaucratic indifference — they’re dying from “COVID-19”; and they’re not categorized as “elderly” — but as “New Yorkers” — thereby removing both the identity of the victims, and the reason for their deaths. . . and not by accident.
“It’s a self-fulfilling sophistry.” In Tompkins County; every policy argument becomes true; because everything is controlled by the same people. It’s no surprise to residents that the fox not only guards the hen house; but also investigates the disappearances, and rules them to be “runaways.”
Tompkins County and Tammany Hall will examine the origins and credibility of the term “rural sprawl” and why it immediately replaced all mention of “urban sprawl” at every level of County planning and policy making — and its use in carving up rural towns for commercial exploitation.
“The taxpayers aren’t the stakeholders.” Tompkins County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States – but the formula used to determine the property tax on any one property is so complicated; that it’s not possible to condense it to a simple tax rate.
When the simple is made complicated; there’s always a reason.
In the rural northeast part of the county – there is only one Sheriff’s deputy for two towns – so if there’s criminal activity; just give them a call and they’ll come and write a report – and in the new budget, the County is making additional cuts in the number of deputies.
The problem is not that the rural towns in the county don’t have police departments; it’s that Ithaca and its suburbs do — and they don’t want to budget money for the needs of anyone else; especially people they don’t want living there.
While the formula for determining the property tax may be complicated; the formula for determining County services is simple: RURAL = LESS.
Download, Print and cut out this card deck – a page of card back images is included for double-sided printing.
“’Passing the buck’ is welcomed.” These days; when the meanings of so many words and statements have become twisted and subverted in a mocking, “in-group” way: This piece changes “buckshot” to “bills” – guns to money becomes “robbery” — and what better definition of corruption?
A chapter in “Tompkins County and Tammany Hall” will deal with the ongoing attempts to get traffic management on the rural roads running through our hamlet.
When we tried to get the County to stop the flood of aggressive and lawbreaking industrial trucks short-cutting through Lansingville [by posting a 4-ton weight limit for non-local deliveries] – they first claimed there weren’t any – then posted a 20-ton weight limit.
We emailed every County Legislator; trying to find out who was responsible for this decision; but no one would respond.
The voters of Tompkins County have no say in the running of the county. Zoning Codes and decisions were based on the “visions” and “reimaginings” of Comprehensive Plans; themselves created without meaningful public participation or oversight.
This closed door decision making has been granted the respectability of legislation with Form Based Codes.
The defining characteristic of Form Based Codes is the power it gives government authorities to decide what people are allowed to do — and what they MUST do.
People can fight zoning decisions; but they can’t fight Form Based Codes. Fait accompli.
