I have embedded the full text below if you want to reach it in its entirety. I’d just like to comment on a few key passages. The original text from the speech is bold, my comments are italicized.
I remember that most constituents are gazing down from the window of an airplane. And after following the state of local politics, I’m heading to the emergency exit, parachute be damned!
The phrase “tough times” comes to mind in relation to the difficult economy, crazy weather, infrastructure problems and at-risk neighborhoods. For me, the phrase “Good Times” comes to mind ala Jimmy Walker as we managed to demolish CHalmers in 2011. Dyn-o-mite! (pun intended)
Unlike the County and the School District, we have held to a self-imposed 3% tax cap. Of course, the COunty and School District get a free pass on exceeding the tax cap from the local pundits and community leaders, only the city tax cap matters when predicting the ultimate demise of the city.
Demolition of 45 dilapidated and dangerous structures with some participation from Montgomery County. Woo-hoo! Only 4500 more to go and through the magic of shared services with the county, city tax payers pay nothing for demolition– it’s a shared service, hence it’s FREE!!!!. It’s a Christmas miracle every time the demolition ball hits. Just ignore the loss of taxable properties when you wonder why your tax rates are so high.
Additional improvements to the park include a new band shell, café deck and landscaping. Landscaping?! Why can we simply not pave with asphalt? After all, these are tough times and what better to get you through tough times than the sweet smell of driveway sealer decimating more green space. If the city were like the Target parking lot, think how little we would pay in taxes.
we now understand social networking to be more than a pastime. It is an essential tool of effective communication. Not in the 12010– no one cares about the Web; why does the Mayor hate the elderly? Why does she want to disrupt the way we understand and interact with the world. Doesn’t she know that the local naysayers on the Web and social media as a disruptive technology will ultimately be proven right in a few years as the Web amounts to “nothing”? Especially blogs, eewww.
While community-initiated efforts have begun to transform our image, we have also taken a more direct and professional approach to marketing our community. Not marketing again– the city sucks and will forever suck; we don’t need marketing, we need vilification. After all, “why put lipstick on a corpse”? I could answer why someone would pose the question in that way — clinically, the term would be “psychological projection”. Let’s now move along. And quickly I may add.
Recently, Chinese immigrants have purchased 40 properties. What the hell are they doing here?! Get me Marcus Welby MD and a pitchfork, posthaste! And don’t tell the seniors– they are terrified. It’s like a Buddhist version of Menace2Sociiety.
We are faced with the imposition of a 2% cap on property taxes that will force us to be both brave and creative. And let’s not forget delusional from local taxpayers who expect services to be maintained in light of double digit health care and pension increases in expenses. How do we solve it –”shared services”. Of course.
Traditionally we have only thought to reach out to the County Board of Supervisors as partners. However, this year the Supervisors face unprecedented challenges: which chair do I sit in? why do kids call me poopy-pants? how can I get back at poopy-smarty-face? how can we drive development to anywhere but the city of amsterdam? oops, I let that last one slip
It is time to put political agendas aside, to identify commonalities in our positions, to rally people and resources, and solve the problems that we are charged to overcome. To this end, I have invited the chairmen of the Republican and Democratic City and County Committees, as well as the members of the Common Council, to assist me in this pursuit. This may be tough to do, but it’s time for the factions to move past their differences. Good grief– the rumor is true: Mayor Thane smokes peyote. She is clearly trippin’ by this point in the address. This like asking Homer Simpson to stop drinking, stop eating donuts and elope with the Bouvier sisters.
Tough times dictate that we create a network of like-minded communities. There is no like-minded community to Amsterdam; unfortunately Wikipedia is blacked-out today but I’m pretty sure there is no other city named Nihilism. My assertion stands.
we will complete the demolition of the Chalmers property. We will hold the opponents to Chalmers redevelopment accountable for articulating and developing a plan to make best use of the site. We will demand that it is not enough to simply rail against other prople’s vision of the future; you must also offer a vision of the future of your own. Who will own shaping the redevelopment of Chalmers? What is the best use of Chalmers property? How do we attact investors and developers? What is the optimal way to market the property?
Oh, sorry about that, I lost myself for the moment. Never mind.
We cannot let naysayers and negativism determine our fate.
But, but, what else is there?
