To start, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has maybe a few months left before it folds. It could be weeks away from its demise, and those who have regularly been forced to read the only daily newspaper --- IE the citizens of our region --- already know that it's taken a severe turn for the worse over the past 20 years. It was 20 years ago when the city of St. Louis had two daily newspapers, albeit briefly, in the Post-Dispatch and the St. Louis Sun (remember it's one-year run as the tabloid-style newspaper? I do --- I was a subscriber from Day 1 to it's final day of publication). Sadly, the Sun was entering the world at a time when daily newspapers were struggling due to economic conditions. It's a similar and in many ways a tougher world for newsprint these days. After all, here I am working online, getting readers to see what I have to say about things around our region, and there are numerous sources for news between the radio, TV, and online newspapers, all vying for the audience of a printed word. This is not to say that all newspapers are doomed --- that is prematurely calling something dead the way atheists say Christianity is dead --- it just don't make it so if you say it.
However --- I am saying it about the Post-Dispatch --- it is all but dead now.
The latest reason to see it's in the final days is evident in the online criticisms over the recent firing of columnist Sylvester Brown Jr. --- with only a brief statement showing its complete inability to make a case against Brown as an explanation. You do not have to read between the lines of their statement to see that they only thing which happened was he did not fit the management's way of doing things: in other words, he actually did his job in the correct way and made waves by stating the obvious and reporting it in his columns. To say that Sylvester Brown Jr. has his critics is to state the obvious. His critics don't want him talking. And many of them include perceived heavy-hitters who are aligned with the weak-minded politicians in power in city government. Yes --- I am at liberty to say that many of the politicians in St. Louis City and County are weak-minded. I don't work for them, nor would I pull the slam from the pages of my own blog or newspaper if they asked me to do so --- I calls it as I sees it...and I sees that there are limp-headed numbskulls running much of the city government because they did what the kings and queens and bishops and generals were doing 250 years ago --- finding a way to conquer through monetary means and being in charge. I'm no fool to these people. I know how to report their shenanigans on the new technologies --- and they can read about themselves from time to time in my columns and those of countless others. It is ONE reason that so many of them will fall from power in the next five years.
Now --- I'm holding back ever so slightly right now because I am a person who works in the media industry and the current sets of kings and queens occasionally have employed me. This still does NOT mean that I am going to side with them and be quiet. But I will be as fair as I can be when not being threatened by them.
Being threatened --- well, that only increases the likelihood that someone who is "powerful" or "rich" becomes the target of my RobinHoodesque-writings when they are doing a perceived or actual wrong (sorry, dear brother Robin). You see --- I WILL state a perceived wrong and try to follow it thoroughly until it is either proved or disproved as a reality instead of mere perception. And for the moment --- it appears the city of St. Louis' leaders are all about killing their own. After more than 10 years, I moved out of the city.
Revelation of revelations: the city is poised to lose hundreds of its newer citizens because it is talking about its progress...and showing it's assinine side. IF the city wants to spearhead an effort on something progressive, it should include someone like Sylvester Brown Jr. in the LEAD ROLE of those who can see both sides of the race issue. Race issues are perceived as progressive. In fact, our world has changed dramatically since 1968, so this perception is somewhat reality. Barack Obama became the president of the United States of America --- proof to many of us that race is not as "severe" a factor to how things can be accomplished in 2009. But make no mistake --- St. Louis is a RACIALLY DIVIDED CITY. No matter what Mayor Francis Slay, chief of staff Jeff Rainford, and countless city "leaders" say --- there has been less progress made locally over the past five years than during the 1990s. That's not saying it is the fault of the mayor or his staff. It just is what it is, and we need to make sure that the dialogue is spurred. It's too bad that it appears --- rightly or wrongly --- that the mayor's staff may have had something to do with Sylvester Brown Jr.'s disappearance from the pages of the Post-Disgrace. But, we know that the perceived realities will eventually show up one way or another. The P-D is but a puppet piece for some city politicians who are about to find out that they will have no puppet piece soon --- but will find out how difficult it is to be in the 21st Century where the average citizen can show how disenfranchised they feel by the power of the holyshit politics in St. Louis City. Something is not right near the intersection of I-44/I-55/I-70 --- and those in charge seem to not notice they are steering things into the flood wall.
For now, the reality is: Lee Enterprises bought a ship that they have only helped sink, in a city where the politicians are all praying that they will still be able to use the editors and writers for many years to come. That won't happen unless they bail out the P-D...and I'm not seeing THAT happen.
The Post-Dispatch will die soon. Will its final printing be in 2009 or 2010?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Column To Follow
Following the media conference from Sylvester Brown Jr. in St. Louis, I am compelled to state something: I will be reading his columns --- wherever they land.
For the moment, join me in reading what has been happening to Sylvester Brown Jr. on HIS blog:
http://sylvesterbrownjr.blogspot.com
I encourage support for this man. He writes with emotion and compassion, empathy and stance, forcefully and tenderly, depending upon what needs to be stated. Sylvester Brown Jr. and I have never had a lengthy face-to-face conversation, but we have exchanged emails and will likely see each other in public soon.
It's sad that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is earning its high school "letters" for 2009 as the Post-Disgrace. I'd suggest only giving it a "D" instead of "PD" --- it is too bad for the people who put in so much effort, time, and heart into their work, as Sylvester Brown Jr. has done. The next step for Lee Enterprises is easy to see: failure...bankruptcy.
Not surprisingly, St. Louis will soon be a city without a daily press --- but we will find news stories throughout the internet the day that the Post-Dispatch dies. Between the different columnists and writers and editors who are blogging, we can only surmise that someone will step forward and print some sort of daily paper within the next 24 months or so.
For the moment, join me in reading what has been happening to Sylvester Brown Jr. on HIS blog:
http://sylvesterbrownjr.blogspot.com
I encourage support for this man. He writes with emotion and compassion, empathy and stance, forcefully and tenderly, depending upon what needs to be stated. Sylvester Brown Jr. and I have never had a lengthy face-to-face conversation, but we have exchanged emails and will likely see each other in public soon.
It's sad that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is earning its high school "letters" for 2009 as the Post-Disgrace. I'd suggest only giving it a "D" instead of "PD" --- it is too bad for the people who put in so much effort, time, and heart into their work, as Sylvester Brown Jr. has done. The next step for Lee Enterprises is easy to see: failure...bankruptcy.
Not surprisingly, St. Louis will soon be a city without a daily press --- but we will find news stories throughout the internet the day that the Post-Dispatch dies. Between the different columnists and writers and editors who are blogging, we can only surmise that someone will step forward and print some sort of daily paper within the next 24 months or so.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
City of St. Louis: "The Bevo Mill Deal - Another White Elephant In the Making?"
So many of our historic landmarks have gone by the wayside over the past forty years.
Why does this happen, and what is it about CITY LEADERS who seemingly complicate things more than they help?
Recently, the operators of the Bevo Mill restaurant stopped paying their bills.
It got a lot of publicity. The city of St. Louis owns the Bevo Mill and was soliciting restauranteurs to run the facility --- get it reopened as quickly as possible. Very few were chomping at the bit to run what has historically been a German food restaurant. Pleasing German food lovers in the United States is said to be more difficult than pleasing the many French food eaters. Both kinds of food are difficult to find in the metropolitan St. Louis area. But, see...there are many more Germans - and German-speaking residents - in St. Louis than those with French heritage, even though the city was founded by the famous French men with streets and neighborhoods named after them (Laclede's Landing, anyone?).
What I'm pasting/posting is from Facebook. It's a telltale sign of the times in the city of St. Louis.
______________________
City of St. Louis: "The Bevo Mill Deal - Another White Elephant In the Making?"
Last night, veteran TV reporter John Auble of Fox2 produced and aired a story about an apparent deal between the owners of the Bevo Mill (the CITY OF ST. LOUIS) and the owners of Dreamland Palace German Restaurant (in Foster Pond IL), in which the historic old "mill" restaurant at Gravois and Morganford would reopen under the management of a couple (Mike and Joan Lang) who not only fully understands the business of owning and operating a German Restaurant for 20 years, but who came from the Bevo neighborhood before they opened Dreamland Palace in 1989. The Langs used to be involved in a local association along Gravois, and they haven't stayed away from the city --- they are regular customers of city businesses on their days off.
Meanwhile, most of us had read the sad and aggrivating stories which came out last week. The former operators who had been running Bevo Mill [allegedly] skipped out on paying bills to the city and other business interests and employees, and worse --- left SEVERAL people holding onto unfulfilled promises that they could have banquets or wedding receptions at Bevo Mill. Mayor Slay even blogged about this disappointing series of events, so it's not likely he was uninformed about a possible deal between parties to reopen Bevo Mill under a better management group.
The almost embarrassing news reports of the Bevo Mill closure were numerous. But the story that ran on Fox2 was a scoop, and was also posted on their website. And after a positive story --- operators who KNOW what they are doing, all was seemingly going to be good in the world of German food-eating St. Louisans with regard to Bevo Mill, and despite what had happened with the former operators --- with the city having gone to someone with a stellar reputation --- we were going to see BEVO MILL RESTAURANT operational, probably before summer, and run WELL...right?
Well...according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch online --- no.
Here is the story published by the Post-Dispatch online just after noon today:http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/2009/03/24/want-to-run-the-bevo-mill-city-hall-wants-to-hear-from-you/
++++++++++++++
I have to give credit to one of my co-workers, a city resident, who told me today...and I quote:
"Don't worry, the city'll find a way to screw it up."
That co-worker was apparently onto something. I don't know if it really is going to quash the deal, but if the city SLDC has decided to wait until March 31st to post the RFP, they should have told the group they were soliciting. Someone at city hall didn't talk with someone else at city hall, and all it takes is one slip-up from a talking head to make things look like it will all fall apart before it gets going --- and it really falls apart.
I hope Mike and Joan Lang hold on and get a good deal, and eventually operate the Bevo Mill. They know what they're doing, but I'm sure there are others who will claim they know how to run a German restaurant at Bevo Mill. Frankly, I can only think of one other restauranteur who has enough history and may be able to roll the dice and win at Bevo Mill: the owner of the Feasting Fox.
If the city doesn't reach an agreement with one of these two restaurant operators to reopen Bevo Mill with German food, they will surely have another WHITE ELEPHANT.
+++++++++++++++
What next??? A softball field instead of Ballpark Village for this summer's Baseball All-Star Game?
Why does this happen, and what is it about CITY LEADERS who seemingly complicate things more than they help?
Recently, the operators of the Bevo Mill restaurant stopped paying their bills.
It got a lot of publicity. The city of St. Louis owns the Bevo Mill and was soliciting restauranteurs to run the facility --- get it reopened as quickly as possible. Very few were chomping at the bit to run what has historically been a German food restaurant. Pleasing German food lovers in the United States is said to be more difficult than pleasing the many French food eaters. Both kinds of food are difficult to find in the metropolitan St. Louis area. But, see...there are many more Germans - and German-speaking residents - in St. Louis than those with French heritage, even though the city was founded by the famous French men with streets and neighborhoods named after them (Laclede's Landing, anyone?).
What I'm pasting/posting is from Facebook. It's a telltale sign of the times in the city of St. Louis.
______________________
City of St. Louis: "The Bevo Mill Deal - Another White Elephant In the Making?"
Last night, veteran TV reporter John Auble of Fox2 produced and aired a story about an apparent deal between the owners of the Bevo Mill (the CITY OF ST. LOUIS) and the owners of Dreamland Palace German Restaurant (in Foster Pond IL), in which the historic old "mill" restaurant at Gravois and Morganford would reopen under the management of a couple (Mike and Joan Lang) who not only fully understands the business of owning and operating a German Restaurant for 20 years, but who came from the Bevo neighborhood before they opened Dreamland Palace in 1989. The Langs used to be involved in a local association along Gravois, and they haven't stayed away from the city --- they are regular customers of city businesses on their days off.
Meanwhile, most of us had read the sad and aggrivating stories which came out last week. The former operators who had been running Bevo Mill [allegedly] skipped out on paying bills to the city and other business interests and employees, and worse --- left SEVERAL people holding onto unfulfilled promises that they could have banquets or wedding receptions at Bevo Mill. Mayor Slay even blogged about this disappointing series of events, so it's not likely he was uninformed about a possible deal between parties to reopen Bevo Mill under a better management group.
The almost embarrassing news reports of the Bevo Mill closure were numerous. But the story that ran on Fox2 was a scoop, and was also posted on their website. And after a positive story --- operators who KNOW what they are doing, all was seemingly going to be good in the world of German food-eating St. Louisans with regard to Bevo Mill, and despite what had happened with the former operators --- with the city having gone to someone with a stellar reputation --- we were going to see BEVO MILL RESTAURANT operational, probably before summer, and run WELL...right?
Well...according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch online --- no.
Here is the story published by the Post-Dispatch online just after noon today:http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/2009/03/24/want-to-run-the-bevo-mill-city-hall-wants-to-hear-from-you/
++++++++++++++
I have to give credit to one of my co-workers, a city resident, who told me today...and I quote:
"Don't worry, the city'll find a way to screw it up."
That co-worker was apparently onto something. I don't know if it really is going to quash the deal, but if the city SLDC has decided to wait until March 31st to post the RFP, they should have told the group they were soliciting. Someone at city hall didn't talk with someone else at city hall, and all it takes is one slip-up from a talking head to make things look like it will all fall apart before it gets going --- and it really falls apart.
I hope Mike and Joan Lang hold on and get a good deal, and eventually operate the Bevo Mill. They know what they're doing, but I'm sure there are others who will claim they know how to run a German restaurant at Bevo Mill. Frankly, I can only think of one other restauranteur who has enough history and may be able to roll the dice and win at Bevo Mill: the owner of the Feasting Fox.
If the city doesn't reach an agreement with one of these two restaurant operators to reopen Bevo Mill with German food, they will surely have another WHITE ELEPHANT.
+++++++++++++++
What next??? A softball field instead of Ballpark Village for this summer's Baseball All-Star Game?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Maybe It's Not Just Me
So, here is the "scandal" that's rocking America - this week. AIG executives received bonuses after the U.S. taxpayers were forced by the "idiots in charge" - Congress - to "give" about $170-Billion to keep them afloat as part of the ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY BAILOUT everyone was supposed to believe would ease the "crisis" that financial institutions were in because of their inability to watch themselves --- you know, be accountable for their own lending practices and expenditures.
Well...I don't know if it's just me --- but are the Democrats overblowing this scandalous self-pay because the first bailout money came during a Republican presidential administration, or are the Republicans overblowing this scandal because the Democratic Congress and subsequent presidential administration didn't see the fine print in AIG's "bonus program" --- something which neither side either asked about or cared to view until the money had already been passed onto AIG without such scrutiny OR "carefully worded restrictions" placed upon the bailout money???
Somehow, I'm thinking that it's not just me who sees it this way. Not that everyone even CARES to hear it and think it through, but most people who have paid any mind to this situation is feeling very weary about the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, and both the G.W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
Voting for congressional representation won't be easy this next round for almost anyone in the nation with the most freedom because we won't feel like freely trusting the candidates. In local primary elections and in the final elections to Congress it will be evident that both Democrats and Republicans need to be held accountable. This latest group called Congress surely didn't figure out financial oversight because they rushed through what must truly have been an unnecessary bailout package.
If the bailout was necessary, then - most, if not all, of us would believe - AIG wouldn't be giving out bonuses. If it really WAS necessary, then the congressional representatives and those in two presidential administrations surely WOULD HAVE KNOWN about the stipulations in the AIG executives' contracts and made legally binding stipulations in the bailout legislation which would have prevented the executives from receiving bonuses if the company received taxpayer money.
Since we are looking at a flawed system which needs a fix, I'm thinking the only way to vote next time around is to vote ANTI-TWO-PARTY-SYSTEM. State laws will prevent independent candidates from receiving an "instant pass" onto a ballot. This seems wrong, considering the "instant pass" system of giving taxpayer money to companies who cry out "we're hurting and going down...and if we don't get a bailout, the economy will FAIL miserably", or the TIFs which come to an area where jobs do not follow as promised by the companies who benefit from the tax-free years. No --- we'll have to change some state and local laws in order to get independent candidates onto the ballots for the primaries, then the elections to Congress. That, in this two-party system is not likely. But it's necessary to stem the pending collapse of our national integrity.
I would maintain that as a person who has a view that there has to be balance to "profit taking" - I am someone who doesn't believe in free passes for the rich or the poor --- we need to be electing people who are neither too liberal or too conservative, but with a clear moral compass that both left-leaners and right-leaners can see has a true Christian background which can be shown to be even-handed in giving liberties and justice for all. I believe that this kind of candidate will have their Christian principals in hand, and be unwilling to give up the liberties which are in jeopardy by the workings of "the liberal left" who are willing to claim "even handedness" but are showing propensity to be unwilling to allow continued freedom/liberty of Christians with a true moral compass. This candidate would also be unwilling to bow to "the conservative right wing" who believe that it is okay to eliminate all oversight and protections so that we can just hand over our money to big business or eliminate healthcare because they see the world as "survival of the fittest" instead of "helping out your neighbor as you would have them help you in times of need".
I would like to see hundreds of independent candidates elected - en masse - to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives over the next four election cycles, to see if we can show that most of us are "common goal, middle of the road" citizens, and not simply partisan citizens bowing to those who found a powerful platform for their own agenda, as opposed to the "agenda" set out by our forefathers --- which was set up so Congress would fairly represent the people.
Maybe it's not just me.
Well...I don't know if it's just me --- but are the Democrats overblowing this scandalous self-pay because the first bailout money came during a Republican presidential administration, or are the Republicans overblowing this scandal because the Democratic Congress and subsequent presidential administration didn't see the fine print in AIG's "bonus program" --- something which neither side either asked about or cared to view until the money had already been passed onto AIG without such scrutiny OR "carefully worded restrictions" placed upon the bailout money???
Somehow, I'm thinking that it's not just me who sees it this way. Not that everyone even CARES to hear it and think it through, but most people who have paid any mind to this situation is feeling very weary about the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, and both the G.W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
Voting for congressional representation won't be easy this next round for almost anyone in the nation with the most freedom because we won't feel like freely trusting the candidates. In local primary elections and in the final elections to Congress it will be evident that both Democrats and Republicans need to be held accountable. This latest group called Congress surely didn't figure out financial oversight because they rushed through what must truly have been an unnecessary bailout package.
If the bailout was necessary, then - most, if not all, of us would believe - AIG wouldn't be giving out bonuses. If it really WAS necessary, then the congressional representatives and those in two presidential administrations surely WOULD HAVE KNOWN about the stipulations in the AIG executives' contracts and made legally binding stipulations in the bailout legislation which would have prevented the executives from receiving bonuses if the company received taxpayer money.
Since we are looking at a flawed system which needs a fix, I'm thinking the only way to vote next time around is to vote ANTI-TWO-PARTY-SYSTEM. State laws will prevent independent candidates from receiving an "instant pass" onto a ballot. This seems wrong, considering the "instant pass" system of giving taxpayer money to companies who cry out "we're hurting and going down...and if we don't get a bailout, the economy will FAIL miserably", or the TIFs which come to an area where jobs do not follow as promised by the companies who benefit from the tax-free years. No --- we'll have to change some state and local laws in order to get independent candidates onto the ballots for the primaries, then the elections to Congress. That, in this two-party system is not likely. But it's necessary to stem the pending collapse of our national integrity.
I would maintain that as a person who has a view that there has to be balance to "profit taking" - I am someone who doesn't believe in free passes for the rich or the poor --- we need to be electing people who are neither too liberal or too conservative, but with a clear moral compass that both left-leaners and right-leaners can see has a true Christian background which can be shown to be even-handed in giving liberties and justice for all. I believe that this kind of candidate will have their Christian principals in hand, and be unwilling to give up the liberties which are in jeopardy by the workings of "the liberal left" who are willing to claim "even handedness" but are showing propensity to be unwilling to allow continued freedom/liberty of Christians with a true moral compass. This candidate would also be unwilling to bow to "the conservative right wing" who believe that it is okay to eliminate all oversight and protections so that we can just hand over our money to big business or eliminate healthcare because they see the world as "survival of the fittest" instead of "helping out your neighbor as you would have them help you in times of need".
I would like to see hundreds of independent candidates elected - en masse - to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives over the next four election cycles, to see if we can show that most of us are "common goal, middle of the road" citizens, and not simply partisan citizens bowing to those who found a powerful platform for their own agenda, as opposed to the "agenda" set out by our forefathers --- which was set up so Congress would fairly represent the people.
Maybe it's not just me.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Brutal Days Ahead Could Awaken New Jobless
Last November, residents in St. Louis County overwhelmingly ignored pleas from government officials, private entities, local clergy leaders, as well as those in the media who reported facts regarding the statistics handed over by the region's mass transit system, Metro, and cast their votes against a measure which would have funded buses and lightrail through the next fiscal year and beyond.
The derailing of this ballot issue, Proposition M, came at a key time when the overall economy was in worse shape than the federal government had claimed for months.
It's five months later and the economic picture in St. Louis is believed to be mediocre, with vast portions of DIM and few areas of "light and breezy". The national economic picture is "iffy" at best. As you've no doubt heard before, "It's brutal out there!"
But we all face reality together --- St. Louis really should not be about the pseudo-rich vs the quite-poor, the county versus the city, the automobile owner versus the person without even one car. Proposition-M failed when it least made sense to stop helping the lifeblood coarsing through our region. Now with large cuts casting large shadows of doubt, the pseudo-rich are finding out how close to the quite-poor they can become in a very short time.
But, what do I mean by this? Residents of St. Louis County who have lost their jobs over the past four months will be among those who suddenly have a new perspective on the impact the "loss" of "Proposition M" truly means to the regional economy. One part of this is going to remain obvious: it came with a portion of "Highway 40/I-64" closed. This still hampers travelers who go from Ballwin or Wildwood or Chesterfield or St. Albans to downtown St. Louis. And it is also true that some commuters have found Metro bus service more convenient than driving through and around the closed highway. But there remains more to this picture that is just starting to come into focus.
Many of those recently "laid off indefinitely" are among the voters in the county who failed to heed warnings about the deep cuts in service to MetroLink and Metro Bus service which would occur if the referendum did not pass. SOOOOOOOOOOO ---- there goes the drive from Manchester and 109 over to the Shrewsbury MetroLink station and that subsequent ride to Busch Stadium with the spouse and kids to save 20 bucks. Along with that ride, maybe 40 times per year because someone already spent their money at Christmas on "season tickets" to see the Cards, here is another missed opportunity: savings on the same trip in the early morning hours from a rapid transit stop outside the "270 loop" to the MetroLink station downtown and subsequent short ride around downtown on another bus close to the new employer. This ride would replace the short drive to a business in, for example, Maryland Heights, to their $95K job. Yes, in tough economic times, when dad's lost his job, now it's mom going back to work at a more menial job just to keep food on the table. And these bus cuts are going to hurt the bottom line. There will be no rapid bus stop, no bus to downtown --- but let's just say she got a ride to Union Station because her driving friend works there. Well, that's nice --- until she finds that once she is east of 14th street she'd better have good walking shoes because she's not getting a bus east of 14th Street to the corner of Washington and 8th Street. She can take MetroLink to the Convention Center station, but mom doesn't want to pay the new higher fare for the monthly bus pass. It sounds like she'll be in much better shape, but her feet will hurt at the day's end.
These telltale signs were ignored by the pseudo-rich. But, suddenly, without these "possible routes" --- they exist now but are gone after March 30th --- here comes the fun for those county voters who are now jobless.
"Where can I go to find work and not have to drive 35 minutes into downtown?"
I'm sure there is someone thinking that. After all, this is the Show-Me attitude, right?
You know this thought on economics: "Show me how to save money and I'll do it!"
Do these people outside the I-270 loop who are suddenly wishing they could take a bus to downtown St. Louis from their West County homes want a "take back" vote? Can they NOW see the error of their ways?
I'm rather betting that it is THESE TYPES of county residents who are to feel the pinch as much as ANY city dwellers who face losing their bus ride and job in west county. Possibly moreso because the city dwellers who seek work will still have options of using the transit system within the I-270 loop. And there are jobs to be had within the 270 loop, and likely more on the way as soon as some of those who look at statistics realize where those who want to work are situated... And, um, "Joe Countyvoter", the answer to your question "And where would THAT be, joker?" is simple: near a bus stop. And, with the price of a gallon of gasoline again EXPECTED to rise over $2.00/gallon by July, many of these former "no" voters will be looking "as far away as downtown St. Louis."
I, for one, am glad I never moved to far-out west county from my inside-the-loop dwellings. But, after a ten-year stay in the city of St. Louis, last year I moved just far enough into St. Louis County (you can be assured I voted IN FAVOR of Proposition M) that I have a mere four block walk to a bus depot. See, I know the value of being near a route. My favorite routes are actually being eliminated, but I still have three nearby so I can get to work on a snowy day next December.
One thing is for certain --- the economy of St. Louis COUNTY will lag behind other similar-sized counties across the country as a result of the service cuts to the buses and lightrail system. The economy in the county cannot improve rapidly without such service. The deep cuts will take effect, and EVERYONE who uses the system will soon find out the difficulties that those short-sighted county voters have thrust upon our metropolitan area.
And EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT USE THE TRANSIT SYSTEM will find additional traffic delays mounting quickly because MORE CARS AND TRUCKS WILL BE ON THE ROAD at the same time each morning. Oh yeah...the highway shut down continues until fall, too.
AND FINALLY:
There's not one SHRED of doubt in my mind: It will SUCK for tens of thousands of commuters come April 1st: it won't be a FUNNY April Fools' Day on the roads or on the transit system in St. Louis.
Q: Is there anyone who will be in disagreement with that statement come August 1st?
A: No!!!
Eventually, I think others will see that I've been correct all along, and the fools who voted no on Proposition M - by November 2009 - will know how foolish they were by being spendthrifts at their polling places in November 2008.
The derailing of this ballot issue, Proposition M, came at a key time when the overall economy was in worse shape than the federal government had claimed for months.
It's five months later and the economic picture in St. Louis is believed to be mediocre, with vast portions of DIM and few areas of "light and breezy". The national economic picture is "iffy" at best. As you've no doubt heard before, "It's brutal out there!"
But we all face reality together --- St. Louis really should not be about the pseudo-rich vs the quite-poor, the county versus the city, the automobile owner versus the person without even one car. Proposition-M failed when it least made sense to stop helping the lifeblood coarsing through our region. Now with large cuts casting large shadows of doubt, the pseudo-rich are finding out how close to the quite-poor they can become in a very short time.
But, what do I mean by this? Residents of St. Louis County who have lost their jobs over the past four months will be among those who suddenly have a new perspective on the impact the "loss" of "Proposition M" truly means to the regional economy. One part of this is going to remain obvious: it came with a portion of "Highway 40/I-64" closed. This still hampers travelers who go from Ballwin or Wildwood or Chesterfield or St. Albans to downtown St. Louis. And it is also true that some commuters have found Metro bus service more convenient than driving through and around the closed highway. But there remains more to this picture that is just starting to come into focus.
Many of those recently "laid off indefinitely" are among the voters in the county who failed to heed warnings about the deep cuts in service to MetroLink and Metro Bus service which would occur if the referendum did not pass. SOOOOOOOOOOO ---- there goes the drive from Manchester and 109 over to the Shrewsbury MetroLink station and that subsequent ride to Busch Stadium with the spouse and kids to save 20 bucks. Along with that ride, maybe 40 times per year because someone already spent their money at Christmas on "season tickets" to see the Cards, here is another missed opportunity: savings on the same trip in the early morning hours from a rapid transit stop outside the "270 loop" to the MetroLink station downtown and subsequent short ride around downtown on another bus close to the new employer. This ride would replace the short drive to a business in, for example, Maryland Heights, to their $95K job. Yes, in tough economic times, when dad's lost his job, now it's mom going back to work at a more menial job just to keep food on the table. And these bus cuts are going to hurt the bottom line. There will be no rapid bus stop, no bus to downtown --- but let's just say she got a ride to Union Station because her driving friend works there. Well, that's nice --- until she finds that once she is east of 14th street she'd better have good walking shoes because she's not getting a bus east of 14th Street to the corner of Washington and 8th Street. She can take MetroLink to the Convention Center station, but mom doesn't want to pay the new higher fare for the monthly bus pass. It sounds like she'll be in much better shape, but her feet will hurt at the day's end.
These telltale signs were ignored by the pseudo-rich. But, suddenly, without these "possible routes" --- they exist now but are gone after March 30th --- here comes the fun for those county voters who are now jobless.
"Where can I go to find work and not have to drive 35 minutes into downtown?"
I'm sure there is someone thinking that. After all, this is the Show-Me attitude, right?
You know this thought on economics: "Show me how to save money and I'll do it!"
Do these people outside the I-270 loop who are suddenly wishing they could take a bus to downtown St. Louis from their West County homes want a "take back" vote? Can they NOW see the error of their ways?
I'm rather betting that it is THESE TYPES of county residents who are to feel the pinch as much as ANY city dwellers who face losing their bus ride and job in west county. Possibly moreso because the city dwellers who seek work will still have options of using the transit system within the I-270 loop. And there are jobs to be had within the 270 loop, and likely more on the way as soon as some of those who look at statistics realize where those who want to work are situated... And, um, "Joe Countyvoter", the answer to your question "And where would THAT be, joker?" is simple: near a bus stop. And, with the price of a gallon of gasoline again EXPECTED to rise over $2.00/gallon by July, many of these former "no" voters will be looking "as far away as downtown St. Louis."
I, for one, am glad I never moved to far-out west county from my inside-the-loop dwellings. But, after a ten-year stay in the city of St. Louis, last year I moved just far enough into St. Louis County (you can be assured I voted IN FAVOR of Proposition M) that I have a mere four block walk to a bus depot. See, I know the value of being near a route. My favorite routes are actually being eliminated, but I still have three nearby so I can get to work on a snowy day next December.
One thing is for certain --- the economy of St. Louis COUNTY will lag behind other similar-sized counties across the country as a result of the service cuts to the buses and lightrail system. The economy in the county cannot improve rapidly without such service. The deep cuts will take effect, and EVERYONE who uses the system will soon find out the difficulties that those short-sighted county voters have thrust upon our metropolitan area.
And EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT USE THE TRANSIT SYSTEM will find additional traffic delays mounting quickly because MORE CARS AND TRUCKS WILL BE ON THE ROAD at the same time each morning. Oh yeah...the highway shut down continues until fall, too.
AND FINALLY:
There's not one SHRED of doubt in my mind: It will SUCK for tens of thousands of commuters come April 1st: it won't be a FUNNY April Fools' Day on the roads or on the transit system in St. Louis.
Q: Is there anyone who will be in disagreement with that statement come August 1st?
A: No!!!
Eventually, I think others will see that I've been correct all along, and the fools who voted no on Proposition M - by November 2009 - will know how foolish they were by being spendthrifts at their polling places in November 2008.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Henry Williams - Professional...Liar
Anyone who grew up in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s in North St. Louis County could tell you the truth about school rivalries and the commitment by teachers, school boards, and school superintendents. If you went to public or parochial schools, you knew what you were up against when you had friends at a rival school.
If, for example, you grew up in the Normandy School District, attending Normandy High School, and had friends in the Ferguson-Florissant District (McCluer, McCluer North and eventually even Berkeley - I guess - was absorbed in there as well), you had a definitive rivalry, as you would even within the Hazelwood District (East, Central, West- and all the different junior highs), or over in Riverview Gardens where it was slightly less complicated, as well as Jennings or Ritenour, even Pattonville. Back then, you could belong to a parochial school, Catholic or Lutheran, and have a friendly rivalry in sports and academics. That went on to the high schools of the day, too - with Rosary and Aquinas and Mercy all being separate high schools before consolidation of the Catholic high schools. It was a good old set of rivalries which maintained a healthy respect for each other whether you were talking sports, music, or academics. North St. Louis County --- we called it North County or sometimes Norco (there was a highly charged soccer and athletic group known as the Norco League) --- was almost always separate from the city's Public High League in sports and academics. We who grew up in North County did have friends in the city, maybe even went to some sporting events at city high schools now and then, but the rivalry didn't seem to exist in the same manner as between PHL schools or "Suburban North" schools. But more to the point is that there was a time when the city and county schools were quite separate, as if the border was adhered to strictly.
Then the desegregation case came.
In effect, it was a victory for ending some of the racial divides which had long been held, in part because of the borderlines, not only of city and county, but district to district.
Before it appears that I'm going to focus on race --- it's clearly not the focus of this blog. The focus is on the Riverview Gardens School District, and specifically Dr. Henry Williams, the deposed superintendent who was found guilty --- CONVICTED --- of stealing money from this once-great North County school district. I can say that because I grew up there, lived there for 30 years, and although the past 5 years were a blur I have at least kept somewhat informed about the occasional inner-workings of the RGSD. Long after I was gone, I had a classmate on the board of education, former teachers who are still employed there, friends who went back to teach there, others who sent their children there - quoting one - "before it got too bad and we decided to move."
There are some obvious black-white issues here, but not because Dr. Williams happens to be of African-American heritage and previous superintendents were caucasians. No, the black-and-white issues facing Riverview Gardens are because of some key distinctions. These distinctions would also include the facts: after desegregation began, Riverview Gardens saw an influx of city residents and near-city residents even though RGSD was not forced to partake in busing --- it had a diverse enough population. It had growth throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and another local superintendent, Dr. Chris Wright - now the superintendent of the Hazelwood District - was brought in to continue what had been a long legacy of old guard ways and discipline. Things were changing in society, had changed in the residential makeup and business makeup throughout the RGSD, and Dr. Wright would do little about the slow decline. Dr. Wright is a white female, just to note for those who think I am going to totally ignore race and gender just because I am not focusing upon those things. Dr. Wright moved on - flew the coop. But also among the problems was that "white flight" truly happened again. Once upon a time in St. Louis "white flight" happened in the city. Where I grew up, there were very few African-American families - my neighbors were Caucasians until 1976 when a black family moved into our area. My siblings and I played with them even though their house was three blocks away. My mom and their mom were engaged in a friendly relationship, and if I were to ask my mom if she was the only mom in our elementary school to have a friendship with that woman...well...I would hesitate to ask because I would be ashamed to hear the outcome may be the answer "yes". Unfortunately for this very nice family and our community, they were treated poorly by their immediate neighbors and the family soon found out that discrimination was alive eight years after the Civil Rights Movement impacted the United States. These are the kinds of things I saw and experienced from a "white male who had black friends" standpoint as a youth. And it is why I have a perspective that is broader than being just some white male or black male who lived his life only in the 1980s. I have a bigger picture than someone who didn't live in the Riverview Gardens School District or my own piece of that district back in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. My 21st Century perspective is slightly skewed, since I moved away at the end of the 20th Century - into the city of St. Louis - but I will maintain that I could see what was happening. One of my co-workers of many years STILL lives in the district. We have discussed the school district and area often and openly. And I will reveal that this person and I both have been --- news reporters and editors for a living. So, we can ask probing questions of people and get answers that some won't bother to ask because they're not reporters. After the discussions we have had, I have come to a realization that there is one axis point --- Dr. Williams brought some of the greatest problems to the district by misusing his power and not acting upon what was obvious in a manner consistent with a professional educator.
Let me do it this way --- it's much more inflammatory:
Dr. Henry Williams IS A CROOK.
That having been stated, Dr. Henry Williams' crookedness came from a personal weakness. He loves to gamble. He took risks - still takes them. Having come with a few good credentials to the RGSD, Dr. Williams was expected to help the student population come to grips with the changing colors of the residency. I say this in an oxymoronic way: skin colors, hair colors - even age - played a part in the way the academics started falling short of the levels it had long held. ACT scores, other testing methods were showing declines. This was due to the sheer numbers of children who started attending Riverview Gardens schools several years after they had begun their academic careers in the city schools - the city schools which had already been failing. But it was a combination of so many things which led to Dr. Williams having a level of frustration - perhaps while not trying to give him an excuse, he was somewhat driven to push his mind away from the problems he faced each day - in his JOB!!!
See - told you there was really NO excuse. It was his JOB to deal with the situation with regard to stemming the decline of higher-level academics. It was his JOB to figure out, with help of his support staff (including the girlfriend he nepotismly - if that's a word...well, it is now - hired), how to bring the learning back up to where it must be as mandated by state regulations.
Henry Williams response was to frequently go to gamble his earnings away. Williams' girlfriend must have realized there was a problem - but she apparently didn't do much to stop him. And they were already under scrutiny as their relationship was out in the media. But if someone is dealing with a gambling problem --- and we now know it was a problem addiction which Henry Williams could not simply stop --- there should have been a few signs BEFORE he took money from the district. We're not talking the office surplus - call it "the kitty" or "mad money" or whatever --- it was reported as Williams taking hundreds of thousands of dollars which he apparently funneled into his retirement account --- I'd say "allegedly" but he was CONVICTED so that deems it apparent and not alleged --- and overcharged the district on the business trips he took during his tenure at the helm of Riverview Gardens School District.
Let me go to THE CONVICTIONS: two counts of felony theft; three counts of tax fraud. He was initially sentenced to spend ten years in jail, but the judge suspended that sentence and gave Williams 30 days in jail and was ordered to pay restitution of $102,724.87 to the Riverview Gardens School District.
Online sources show his gambling habit began before he started as RGSD superintendent. The superintendent of schools with a gambling habit went frequently to Ameristar Casino and Harrah's at Maryland Heights, and probably others - well over 900 times during his tenure at the Riverview Gardens School District. I'm fairly sure that if we confronted Williams he would deny or "no comment" us to death, just before shoving us out of the way. Do a web search for the video of Dr. Williams knocking the microphone of a TV reporter out of his hands. Dr. Williams cannot even hold his temper ON CAMERA.
Frankly, Henry, my parents still pay tax money to the district, but the district cannot afford much because you not only didn't do the job you were supposed to do, but you lied about paying attention to detail. Well, except the detail of funneling the money to your insurance fund --- you were pretty detailed there. And yet you couldn't hide that from the investigators who eventually caught up with you.
Now --- having read more than a dozen online versions of what has happened in the past ten days --- I can easily state correctly that Henry Williams tried to short the payback money.
I say tried because the prosecutor was about to have him sent back to the judge so the judge could have him put into jail for the ten years he was originally to receive until the nice person with the gavel took pity on Williams and sentenced him to shock time, probation and restitution...but...the rest of the money showed up a few days later. That doesn't mean Henry Williams is off the hook. But his attorney made a claim to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the amount of restitution was overstated. Overstated?
Judge Maura McShane may still hear more about this case. If so, will she send the 67-year-old Williams to jail where he'll spend ten years, or will she seize his monetary assets? Or both?
Let's hope Henry Williams doesn't gamble any more. If he tried, I believe that as a convicted felon he would automatically be jailed. Either way, that may STOP altogether the restitution.
Frankly, Dr. Henry Williams --- I believe --- will more likely not pay the restitution so that he GETS SENT TO PRISON. Let's face it --- unless the judge seizes his assets and has them sold in lieu of restitution --- Henry Williams won't care if he lies about where his monetary assets are held --- so he won't care if he EVER pays any more to the district. He's a loser. A sorry liar.
I only hope that whatever happens, the Riverview Gardens students can improve their scores, their learning, and their overall situation despite the legacy the professional LIAR Dr. Henry Williams has left them.
Please --- don't be liars, kids. Tell the truth!
If, for example, you grew up in the Normandy School District, attending Normandy High School, and had friends in the Ferguson-Florissant District (McCluer, McCluer North and eventually even Berkeley - I guess - was absorbed in there as well), you had a definitive rivalry, as you would even within the Hazelwood District (East, Central, West- and all the different junior highs), or over in Riverview Gardens where it was slightly less complicated, as well as Jennings or Ritenour, even Pattonville. Back then, you could belong to a parochial school, Catholic or Lutheran, and have a friendly rivalry in sports and academics. That went on to the high schools of the day, too - with Rosary and Aquinas and Mercy all being separate high schools before consolidation of the Catholic high schools. It was a good old set of rivalries which maintained a healthy respect for each other whether you were talking sports, music, or academics. North St. Louis County --- we called it North County or sometimes Norco (there was a highly charged soccer and athletic group known as the Norco League) --- was almost always separate from the city's Public High League in sports and academics. We who grew up in North County did have friends in the city, maybe even went to some sporting events at city high schools now and then, but the rivalry didn't seem to exist in the same manner as between PHL schools or "Suburban North" schools. But more to the point is that there was a time when the city and county schools were quite separate, as if the border was adhered to strictly.
Then the desegregation case came.
In effect, it was a victory for ending some of the racial divides which had long been held, in part because of the borderlines, not only of city and county, but district to district.
Before it appears that I'm going to focus on race --- it's clearly not the focus of this blog. The focus is on the Riverview Gardens School District, and specifically Dr. Henry Williams, the deposed superintendent who was found guilty --- CONVICTED --- of stealing money from this once-great North County school district. I can say that because I grew up there, lived there for 30 years, and although the past 5 years were a blur I have at least kept somewhat informed about the occasional inner-workings of the RGSD. Long after I was gone, I had a classmate on the board of education, former teachers who are still employed there, friends who went back to teach there, others who sent their children there - quoting one - "before it got too bad and we decided to move."
There are some obvious black-white issues here, but not because Dr. Williams happens to be of African-American heritage and previous superintendents were caucasians. No, the black-and-white issues facing Riverview Gardens are because of some key distinctions. These distinctions would also include the facts: after desegregation began, Riverview Gardens saw an influx of city residents and near-city residents even though RGSD was not forced to partake in busing --- it had a diverse enough population. It had growth throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and another local superintendent, Dr. Chris Wright - now the superintendent of the Hazelwood District - was brought in to continue what had been a long legacy of old guard ways and discipline. Things were changing in society, had changed in the residential makeup and business makeup throughout the RGSD, and Dr. Wright would do little about the slow decline. Dr. Wright is a white female, just to note for those who think I am going to totally ignore race and gender just because I am not focusing upon those things. Dr. Wright moved on - flew the coop. But also among the problems was that "white flight" truly happened again. Once upon a time in St. Louis "white flight" happened in the city. Where I grew up, there were very few African-American families - my neighbors were Caucasians until 1976 when a black family moved into our area. My siblings and I played with them even though their house was three blocks away. My mom and their mom were engaged in a friendly relationship, and if I were to ask my mom if she was the only mom in our elementary school to have a friendship with that woman...well...I would hesitate to ask because I would be ashamed to hear the outcome may be the answer "yes". Unfortunately for this very nice family and our community, they were treated poorly by their immediate neighbors and the family soon found out that discrimination was alive eight years after the Civil Rights Movement impacted the United States. These are the kinds of things I saw and experienced from a "white male who had black friends" standpoint as a youth. And it is why I have a perspective that is broader than being just some white male or black male who lived his life only in the 1980s. I have a bigger picture than someone who didn't live in the Riverview Gardens School District or my own piece of that district back in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s. My 21st Century perspective is slightly skewed, since I moved away at the end of the 20th Century - into the city of St. Louis - but I will maintain that I could see what was happening. One of my co-workers of many years STILL lives in the district. We have discussed the school district and area often and openly. And I will reveal that this person and I both have been --- news reporters and editors for a living. So, we can ask probing questions of people and get answers that some won't bother to ask because they're not reporters. After the discussions we have had, I have come to a realization that there is one axis point --- Dr. Williams brought some of the greatest problems to the district by misusing his power and not acting upon what was obvious in a manner consistent with a professional educator.
Let me do it this way --- it's much more inflammatory:
Dr. Henry Williams IS A CROOK.
That having been stated, Dr. Henry Williams' crookedness came from a personal weakness. He loves to gamble. He took risks - still takes them. Having come with a few good credentials to the RGSD, Dr. Williams was expected to help the student population come to grips with the changing colors of the residency. I say this in an oxymoronic way: skin colors, hair colors - even age - played a part in the way the academics started falling short of the levels it had long held. ACT scores, other testing methods were showing declines. This was due to the sheer numbers of children who started attending Riverview Gardens schools several years after they had begun their academic careers in the city schools - the city schools which had already been failing. But it was a combination of so many things which led to Dr. Williams having a level of frustration - perhaps while not trying to give him an excuse, he was somewhat driven to push his mind away from the problems he faced each day - in his JOB!!!
See - told you there was really NO excuse. It was his JOB to deal with the situation with regard to stemming the decline of higher-level academics. It was his JOB to figure out, with help of his support staff (including the girlfriend he nepotismly - if that's a word...well, it is now - hired), how to bring the learning back up to where it must be as mandated by state regulations.
Henry Williams response was to frequently go to gamble his earnings away. Williams' girlfriend must have realized there was a problem - but she apparently didn't do much to stop him. And they were already under scrutiny as their relationship was out in the media. But if someone is dealing with a gambling problem --- and we now know it was a problem addiction which Henry Williams could not simply stop --- there should have been a few signs BEFORE he took money from the district. We're not talking the office surplus - call it "the kitty" or "mad money" or whatever --- it was reported as Williams taking hundreds of thousands of dollars which he apparently funneled into his retirement account --- I'd say "allegedly" but he was CONVICTED so that deems it apparent and not alleged --- and overcharged the district on the business trips he took during his tenure at the helm of Riverview Gardens School District.
Let me go to THE CONVICTIONS: two counts of felony theft; three counts of tax fraud. He was initially sentenced to spend ten years in jail, but the judge suspended that sentence and gave Williams 30 days in jail and was ordered to pay restitution of $102,724.87 to the Riverview Gardens School District.
Online sources show his gambling habit began before he started as RGSD superintendent. The superintendent of schools with a gambling habit went frequently to Ameristar Casino and Harrah's at Maryland Heights, and probably others - well over 900 times during his tenure at the Riverview Gardens School District. I'm fairly sure that if we confronted Williams he would deny or "no comment" us to death, just before shoving us out of the way. Do a web search for the video of Dr. Williams knocking the microphone of a TV reporter out of his hands. Dr. Williams cannot even hold his temper ON CAMERA.
Frankly, Henry, my parents still pay tax money to the district, but the district cannot afford much because you not only didn't do the job you were supposed to do, but you lied about paying attention to detail. Well, except the detail of funneling the money to your insurance fund --- you were pretty detailed there. And yet you couldn't hide that from the investigators who eventually caught up with you.
What is sad is this public statement Williams made in 2007:
"I am deeply saddened and utterly dismayed by my recent mistreatment by the Riverview Gardens School Board and the reverberations that their actions have had on government officials and the local media," he said. "Without question, this is certainly not the first time that sensational allegations have been levied against an individual, only later to be proven false when scrutinized and sanitized by the light of truth."
WOW --- what a line of complete and utter crap. Perhaps that's being kind. I may have sanitized the light of truth a bit, Henry.
Now --- having read more than a dozen online versions of what has happened in the past ten days --- I can easily state correctly that Henry Williams tried to short the payback money.
I say tried because the prosecutor was about to have him sent back to the judge so the judge could have him put into jail for the ten years he was originally to receive until the nice person with the gavel took pity on Williams and sentenced him to shock time, probation and restitution...but...the rest of the money showed up a few days later. That doesn't mean Henry Williams is off the hook. But his attorney made a claim to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the amount of restitution was overstated. Overstated?
Is it an overstatement to say that Henry Williams is only looking out for himself?
My assertion is NOT an overstatement.
I DARE HENRY WILLIAMS TO FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST ME. I ABSOLUTELY DARE HIM. I am not slandering this man --- I am merely stating facts, including the fact that he is only looking out for himself. Poor attorney - the attorney is charged with trying to make a client sound not guilty - who has to work for Dr. Henry Williams --- must be an enthralling moment to pick up the check from Williams...as long as it cashes.
Judge Maura McShane may still hear more about this case. If so, will she send the 67-year-old Williams to jail where he'll spend ten years, or will she seize his monetary assets? Or both?
Let's hope Henry Williams doesn't gamble any more. If he tried, I believe that as a convicted felon he would automatically be jailed. Either way, that may STOP altogether the restitution.
Frankly, Dr. Henry Williams --- I believe --- will more likely not pay the restitution so that he GETS SENT TO PRISON. Let's face it --- unless the judge seizes his assets and has them sold in lieu of restitution --- Henry Williams won't care if he lies about where his monetary assets are held --- so he won't care if he EVER pays any more to the district. He's a loser. A sorry liar.
I only hope that whatever happens, the Riverview Gardens students can improve their scores, their learning, and their overall situation despite the legacy the professional LIAR Dr. Henry Williams has left them.
Please --- don't be liars, kids. Tell the truth!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sudafed
I wrote Missouri Representative Jeff Roorda yesterday. He is apparently considering the introduction of legislation to further restrict the ability of residents to purchase the over-the-counter pharmaceutical known as pseudoephedrine - most would recognize the name Sudafed - by making it a prescription-only medicine in Missouri. His reason is that some people feel the current laws restricting the sales of pseudoephedrine are not stringent enough to dissuade those who use the ingredients in the drug to make methamphetamine.
I argue that a law which would force me and other citizens in Missouri to go to the medical doctors offices and seek a prescription for pseudoephedrine would only cost more money, not stop the trade of methamphetamine in Missouri.
Like so many other Missourians, especially in a depression like this one, I cannot afford to go to a doctor. I cannot afford the time off my job to go to the doctor and beg for the doctor to prescribe that which I can already purchase and find relief. The doctor visit, dear representatives, will only occur IF YOU PAY FOR IT. I cannot pay for an appointment at the doctor. The pseudoephedrine costs me more than enough, thank you very much. There is no reason to take away my rights as a citizen to legally purchase this medicine over-the-counter as I have done for more than 20 years. That would be violating my trust in the system - a healthcare system which is already more than flawed. This would add a layer of expense and intrusive behavior on the part of legislators and result in nothing better for the communities of Missouri.
I applaud the efforts to crack down on the use of methamphetamine. Missouri is the meth capitol, and law enforcement task forces have been used to spearhead an effort against the proliferation of this illegal drug and the manufacture of meth. But that does not equate the same as restricting the over-the-counter purchase ability. Were it as simple as restricting the ability to purchase the drug in Missouri to the extreme Rep. Roorda is proposing, then the meth activity would completely cease. It is not going to happen with the stroke of a pen at the governor's office, I argue, as the state does not have closed borders, closed interstates, closed highways, closed roads, and is not closed to the rest of the nation. Therefore, the proliferation of meth will continue in the state of Missouri for one main reason: Missouri is in the center of the country, located exactly where those who both manufacture and distribute such drugs will STILL BE LOCATED after such a measure would be put into law. The means to get the pseudoephedrine are too complex to stop it with additional local restrictions. The substances used to manufacture meth would continue to pour over the Missouri borders regardless of a newer, tougher measure.
Why? Because law enforcement does not do enough law enforcement. This is where the legislation should be focused. Get the proper money to the law enforcement agencies to combat the meth problem.
Rep. Roorda may argue that I am incorrect --- I would expect that from a man who was in law enforcement. However, statistics would also bear the fact that if we are in such a state where the proliferation of the manufacturing of meth has continued for more than a decade, then it will lessen only incrementally to the ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING LAWS. The existing laws, Rep. Roorda argues, are not strong enough. Ahem, Mr. Roorda. I cannot see how you or any law official can tell me that it is not strong enough and make the citizens of the state believe you if nobody is going to enforce the law. Enforce it first...deal a blow to those who move from point A to point B and blow up houses, make their drugs, stash their drugs, sell their drugs, and make money off their drug distribution. As a law enforcer, you were charged with making sure the public safety is upheld by striking out against the criminal element. It is not being upheld.
Again --- I represent the non-criminal element. I represent the citizenry who use over-the-counter pseudoephedrine in a law-biding manner, place my name upon the sheet stating that I am purchasing the medicine for personal use, and have consistently bought this product with only true intentions of using it to breathe easier. Were the newer versions of Sudafed --- the P-E versions --- working for me, I'd purchase that and not worry about your legislation as much. But to introduce a law which has a direct bearing on the health of our citizens means to see both sides of the picture. BOTH SIDES INCLUDES THE LAW-BIDING CITIZENS who already do their part by purchasing the products for their own use.
Law-biding citizens who use pseudoephedrine would already be aware of the meth problem and would turn in those who attempt to thwart the proper process. I know I would turn in a stranger who came up to me and asked me to buy Sudafed for them. If the problem is that you don't believe everyone else is doing the same --- turning in the offenders --- take your plea to the media, not to the legislative floor.
We need a war on meth at the street level - now - and NOT in the state capitol.
I argue that a law which would force me and other citizens in Missouri to go to the medical doctors offices and seek a prescription for pseudoephedrine would only cost more money, not stop the trade of methamphetamine in Missouri.
Like so many other Missourians, especially in a depression like this one, I cannot afford to go to a doctor. I cannot afford the time off my job to go to the doctor and beg for the doctor to prescribe that which I can already purchase and find relief. The doctor visit, dear representatives, will only occur IF YOU PAY FOR IT. I cannot pay for an appointment at the doctor. The pseudoephedrine costs me more than enough, thank you very much. There is no reason to take away my rights as a citizen to legally purchase this medicine over-the-counter as I have done for more than 20 years. That would be violating my trust in the system - a healthcare system which is already more than flawed. This would add a layer of expense and intrusive behavior on the part of legislators and result in nothing better for the communities of Missouri.
I applaud the efforts to crack down on the use of methamphetamine. Missouri is the meth capitol, and law enforcement task forces have been used to spearhead an effort against the proliferation of this illegal drug and the manufacture of meth. But that does not equate the same as restricting the over-the-counter purchase ability. Were it as simple as restricting the ability to purchase the drug in Missouri to the extreme Rep. Roorda is proposing, then the meth activity would completely cease. It is not going to happen with the stroke of a pen at the governor's office, I argue, as the state does not have closed borders, closed interstates, closed highways, closed roads, and is not closed to the rest of the nation. Therefore, the proliferation of meth will continue in the state of Missouri for one main reason: Missouri is in the center of the country, located exactly where those who both manufacture and distribute such drugs will STILL BE LOCATED after such a measure would be put into law. The means to get the pseudoephedrine are too complex to stop it with additional local restrictions. The substances used to manufacture meth would continue to pour over the Missouri borders regardless of a newer, tougher measure.
Why? Because law enforcement does not do enough law enforcement. This is where the legislation should be focused. Get the proper money to the law enforcement agencies to combat the meth problem.
Rep. Roorda may argue that I am incorrect --- I would expect that from a man who was in law enforcement. However, statistics would also bear the fact that if we are in such a state where the proliferation of the manufacturing of meth has continued for more than a decade, then it will lessen only incrementally to the ENFORCEMENT OF EXISTING LAWS. The existing laws, Rep. Roorda argues, are not strong enough. Ahem, Mr. Roorda. I cannot see how you or any law official can tell me that it is not strong enough and make the citizens of the state believe you if nobody is going to enforce the law. Enforce it first...deal a blow to those who move from point A to point B and blow up houses, make their drugs, stash their drugs, sell their drugs, and make money off their drug distribution. As a law enforcer, you were charged with making sure the public safety is upheld by striking out against the criminal element. It is not being upheld.
Again --- I represent the non-criminal element. I represent the citizenry who use over-the-counter pseudoephedrine in a law-biding manner, place my name upon the sheet stating that I am purchasing the medicine for personal use, and have consistently bought this product with only true intentions of using it to breathe easier. Were the newer versions of Sudafed --- the P-E versions --- working for me, I'd purchase that and not worry about your legislation as much. But to introduce a law which has a direct bearing on the health of our citizens means to see both sides of the picture. BOTH SIDES INCLUDES THE LAW-BIDING CITIZENS who already do their part by purchasing the products for their own use.
Law-biding citizens who use pseudoephedrine would already be aware of the meth problem and would turn in those who attempt to thwart the proper process. I know I would turn in a stranger who came up to me and asked me to buy Sudafed for them. If the problem is that you don't believe everyone else is doing the same --- turning in the offenders --- take your plea to the media, not to the legislative floor.
We need a war on meth at the street level - now - and NOT in the state capitol.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)