Christmas Story

I am going to post this a day early, as I will be traveling this weekend, and Saturday is the big OSU / Michigan game. Since I will be immersed in the insanity that is Columbus while this event is going on in Ann Arbor, I felt it best to get it out of the way ahead of time. My travels will continue into the next week, as I journey to fair Kansas City; but my ability to produce my particular brand of lunacy will not diminish. (no matter how much you wish it would)  

Well Halloween is over and we are fast approaching Thanksgiving, which means that the Christmas season is once again upon us with a vengeance. The stores have put aside all of the candy, relegated any turkey-related displays to secondary positions, and begun to throw all of us (willing or not) into a Christmas shopping frenzy. All now are beginning to look forward to the arrival of that white-haired, fat guy, with a beard (but enough about me). 

This is a time when families gather together, trees are decorated, and aggressive shopping becomes a Olympic level sport. It is also quite frankly, the time of year when I most question the intelligence of my fellow man. You think I'm kidding? Then answer these questions for me: 

 - When did people start waiting in line all night in front of a store like they it was an Stephen Spielberg movie premier? Do we really need to shop at 5AM in order to save a couple of bucks and buck up the sales of bloated retailers, or would it make more sense to at least wait until the sun comes up before doing our part in the massive consumerism that is the US economy? Has anyone bothered to think of those poor schmuck store employees who have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to face the thundering herd waiting on their doorstep?  

- What part of the Christmas spirit is it to fight with your fellow man over the over-hyped gift that your kid just has to have or the adult toy that you can't live without? People are fighting over the latest game system or a $200 laptop that probably won't do much of anything anyway! Forget the religious implications here folks, if Santa sees this you are definitely in line for a rock in your stocking.  

- When did we become so stupid (or is this merely the assumption of the advertising companies and retailers) that diamonds, big screen HD TV's, and expensive automobiles are the only Christmas presents that will make us happy? I watched "Charlie Brown Christmas", and I know and accept that Christmas has gone commercial. I just missed the part where it became "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". 

- What part of the Christmas spirit is it to run up all of your credit cards buying expensive, over-hyped presents for everyone in your family, to the point that it will be next Christmas before you get them paid off again?

- What happened to the toy commercials (or have I just not been watching the right channels)? The Christmas hype used to always be about the kids. Now all of the commercials are about adult toys. Is this about the spirit of giving or just who has the most disposable income? (We know the answer to this of course, but I had to ask the question anyway.)  

- Will they be playing "Miracle on 34th Street" over and over again this year, with the black and white version preceding the colorized one? Is this some new, diabolic plot being perpetrated on us by evil corporations, or have this just finally worn out the copy of "A Christmas Story" that we have being bombarded with for the last couple of years? (On the other hand, could this be an even more devious plot than I have reckoned, and just the warm up; with "A Christmas Story" yet to follow?) 

- Why do we feel the need to overindulge at Christmas parties, as if we had taken a vow of abstinence since the 4th of July? 

My personal advice would be to take a pass on all of them. If the cops don't get you for a DUI (which can tend to spoil the whole family's holiday), the odds are that you will do something either personally or professionally humiliating in a very public place. The ensuing period of guilt and retribution can also make for less than a jolly holiday season. If you feel the need to over-serve yourself on adult beverages, do so at home while watching "Miracle on 34th Street". If you nod off and miss some part, don't worry, it will be on again. 

Listen folks, I may not be the Spirit of Christmas (though I am getting close enough in size and appearance to qualify for the Spirit of Christmas Present role in the upcoming holiday spectacular); but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that somehow we missed a turn from society's GPS system. I know that this is really just a pagan Holiday (Mithras) adopted by Christians way, way back to reconcile the unknown date for the birth of Jesus Christ with an already existing celebration. I also recognize the significance of the day in terms of religious belief, as well as the pagan desire to celebrate a mid-winter festival. In either Christian or pagan incarnations, this holiday was supposed to be about fellowship and good cheer. Let's not try to loose sight of that as we try to celebrate this special time of year. So lighten up everyone, and in the words of Tiny Tim (no relation), "God bless us, every one."

That's Not Right #2: Santa Gone Wrong (Update)

For those of you concerned enough to ask, I am still waiting for my 2nd interview for the Santa position that I was trying to get at Victoria's Secret. Actually, I am still waiting for my 1st interview. I have not given up hope however, and will be making the trip down to Columbus this weekend in the hope of pleading my case personally. 

Now this trip to our state capital (and the corporate headquarters of Victoria's secret) has no direct tie to my employment effort, nor does it have anything to do with the football game this weekend surprisingly enough; but the opportunity presented seems too good a one to pass up. With luck, the interview that I hope to get will in some way make up for the resume that I sent out (next time I will know better than to tell the truth).

There have been some who, having scrutinized my motives in seeking such a position, have come to the conclusion that I should get my old "Aqualung" suit out of mothballs (and I actually used to have one of these from a band that I played with in the 70's).  

Let me assure you however, that I am merely looking for a source of additional income to subsidize the increased tax burden that the recent Toledo and Lucas County levy votes have placed me under, and maybe buy some extra gifts for the grand kids. (Besides, the green trench-coat and helmet liner of that Aqualung suit are looking pretty bad and no longer fit me.)
 
Anyway, I am hoping to hear something on this soon, as not trimming the beard is beginning to get kind of annoying. Neither am I entirely comfortable with the waves that I get from small children at the grocery store.

I will keep you posted (literally and figuratively)...

Super Terrorist

I found myself flying out of my bed in the wee hours of the morning in my quest for sleep last night. (No, it was not simply my guilty conscience, though you would think that would be cause enough.) The cause of my rude awakening was a nightmare of almost Biblical proportions. Somehow, my subconscious had managed to put 2 and 2 together and come up with a result that was truly frightening. Since I have no scruples where the comfort of others is concerned, let me share this horrific thought with you.

What if you took a socially-progressive liberal, added a healthy does of a rabid environmentalist, and topped the whole thing off with a dash of religious fundamentalism? What would you end up with?

A Super-Terrorist!

Can you imagine what a world with this type of fanatic would look like and the contradictions that would ensue:

1. Hybrid, or at least fuel efficient, car bombs.
   
2. Environmental groups who kill anyone and everyone just to reduce the damage that human beings are doing (in their opinion) "killing the planet".
3. Global warming death squads that attack oil company headquarters, drilling platforms, coal mines, and refineries.
4. The death penalty by beheading for anyone using more than their allotted carbon footprint.
   
5. Solar and wind-powered bomb factories.
   
6. IED's that would no long target military vehicles, but instead blow up SUV's.
   
7. Cities which are riddled with plague as PETA and other nature groups prevent us from killing disease-ridden rats and mosquitoes.
   
8. Suicide bombers who, riddled with guilt over the violence being perpetrated in society, kill not only themselves and their opposition groups, but often die attacking their own group as well.
   
9. Sectarian violence with gangs killing each other using bio-degradable bullets.
   
10. Universal health care for all of those injured in the above described sectarian violence.
    
11. Government mandated weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, with strict diet controls for violators.
    
12. Every child born to be given $5,000.00, with additional matching government funds provided as the child grows. These funds to be used to cover the child's cost of weapons and ammunition.
    
13. Designer scarves for those who need anonymity for their terrorist activities, but are more committed to the money that they are raking in than to the cause that they are fighting for.
    
14. Life in prison without parole for killing a tree, a porpoise, or a whale; but not for killing a person.

If any or all this scares the living bejeezus out of you, you can begin to understand why my night's rest might have been interrupted. Society has become socially conscious, infinitely fragmented, and increasingly intolerant all at the same time. It sometimes appears that it is only a matter of time before this equation adds up to some form of disaster. While I have faith that we will come out on the other side of this apparent insanity, I clearly understand that faith is "believing in something when common sense tells you not to".

There are few times in my life when I am grateful in life for the age that I have reached. The above listed prediction in my rather flawed crystal ball makes me glad that I will probably be taking a dirt nap before they actually occur. For those of you younger than me (and feeling pretty smug about it right up until now, weren't you): Be afraid, be very afraid.

That's Not Right #3 - Candidates

There is a TV commercial currently making the rounds that is put on by the folks at Dividedwefall.org. It's supposed to tug at our heartstrings by using children to tell us what kind of candidates that they would vote for if they were only old enough to vote.  

First of all let me say that once again, a liberal organization is shamelessly using children to promote their agenda, a practice which is truly beginning to sicken me. (though I am not looking for government health care to treat this illness)  

Second, there is little doubt that these are well-coached child actors who would normally not know the first thing about the issues that they are speaking about or be able to voice their opinions so coherently if they were not working off of a script written by someone with an agenda.  

Third, since these are in fact children, with very little exposure to the realities of life, why in heaven's name would I use their opinion (even if I agreed with it) to guide my voting preferences?  

OK, three strikes, you're out! I am really getting tired of any group, liberal or conservative, hiding behind children in order to get their message heard. If you believe in the message, stand behind it yourself and be proud. Don't take a cowards approach of using children as a shield. I am equally tired of the story that the job of elected officials or of the government is to take care of the citizens. 

While it has been a while since I have taken a civics class (hell, they probably don't even call them that any more), it seems to me that I remember that elected officials are sent to represent constituents, and that only. I don't care whether the cause is fixing health care or saving an endangered toad, the government exceeds its authority when it attempts such things. The Constitution defines not only the responsibilities of government, but the limits of it. If the citizens do not like those limits, they have the right and responsibility to change that document; and they have a mechanism (Amending) with which to do so. 

When are we going to recognize that it is not the government's job to supplant the care given by family, friends, or the simple generosity of perfect strangers in caring for each other? 

When are we going to recognize that it has always been the spirit of self reliance and stubborn pride in our own accomplishments that has made this country great?

So for all of you organizations out there trying to influence, cajole, persuade, or threaten me; for all of you groups that have a social agenda to push on me; for all of you who wish to tug on my heartstrings in order to change this country's government into something antithetical to the design of its Founding Fathers; let me tell you that you need not bother. I am after all a conservative, and one with a very libertarian point of view. It should therefore be readily apparent to you that I have no heart.

Gun Control - A Retraction

I wrote a posting back in June on the subject of Gun Control: http://justblowingsmoke.blogspot.com/2007/06/right-to-bear-arms.html I must say that since then, I have done some additional research and a lot of soul searching on the subject, and have come to the conclusion that I was wrong. (Yes, you are actually admitting me hear that I was wrong on something. Write down this date, because it doesn't happen often.) I would therefore like to retract my earlier position.

Don't get me wrong here, this is not to say that I am going out tomorrow to buy some land in Montana, purchase a bunch of automatic weapons, and start to gather a cult following whose uniform involves a lot of camouflage. (Nothing against Montana, but it's just too damn cold and empty out there. Besides, camouflage doesn't go well with my eyes.) Nor is it to say that I am still not concerned with a lot of the guns that are out there. I just don't think that the government has any business interfering with a Constitutionally guaranteed right.

This recent epiphany is not even so much about guns as it is my growing detestation for the insidious, incremental encroachment of the government on the federal, state and local levels on the freedoms that I was guaranteed when the states signed the Constitution. I, like far too many people in this country recently, had been fooled into believing that I could gain some measure of safety from the horrors of life around me if I was only willing to give up a small portion of the personal freedom that the Constitution granted me. Well Benjamin Franklin put it best when he said:

"Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

On the other side of the question, this does not mean that some level of monitoring or licensing is not required. You have to reach a certain age, take certain training, and pass a test in order to get a license to drive. (The truth of the matter is that we require far more from a person to allow them to drive than we do to allow them to vote. Try and figure out that one.) Similar monitoring could be applied where guns are concerned. I would not care to see weapons in the hands of convicted criminals or mentally unstable individuals. Likewise I would prefer not to see machine guns, grenade launchers, or hand-held surface to air missiles in the hands of anyone outside of the military. Some responsibility, balance, and order needs to be discovered and maintained; but that can and should be done with the least government involvement possible.

Few realize that as recently as September of 2005, we saw local law enforcement officers and military personnel confiscating legally purchased and owned firearms from people trying to defend their homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The government imposed its will in strict violation of the 2nd Amendment with no warning, little fanfare, and no outrage from either the national media or the rest of us. If such a gross encroachment on our freedoms can happen once, it can happen again. 

As for me, I still have no intention of ever owning a gun. I don't think that there is anything wrong with them, but I have no desire to be a gun owner. That decision is a free choice that I make, and should time and situation change, it is a decision that I would like to be able to reconsider at any future date. That being said, I am still considering a membership in the NRA for no other reason than to help insure that the 2nd Amendment is protected. I find these days that while I am still afraid of the violence that might be done to me with a gun, I am even more terrified of the "nanny state's" desire to protect me from anything that they feel might be a danger to me, and their confiscation of my liberties in the process.

COSI - Titannic of Toledo

Before the ink is even dry on the tally sheets for the November 6th levy votes, we see that our local elected representatives are choosing to ignore the will of the electorate. A letter was delivered yesterday to the board of COSI, signed by Mayor Finkbeiner, and Commissioners Gerken, Konop, and Skeldon-Wozniak. It urged the board of COSI to keep the doors open while alternate means of financing were being looked at, and with the promised support of those who signed to help achieve that alternate financing for COSI. 

It therefore appears that our elected officials feel the voice of the people, as expressed through the levy vote, is wrong. (People by the way whose current positions are owed to the dubious wisdom of those very same voters.) It is apparent now that to these particular government officials, voters are only to be trusted when they vote to give the government more power and money, and that they should otherwise be ignored. 

It also appears that COSI is the issue that will not die. The voters have spoken twice now to deny COSI access to taxpayer dollars that they never really had a right to in the first place. COSI is a private, non-profit organization whose only access to request levy money was granted by a change in the laws by the state legislature. COSI is an operation who by its own admission, was begun with a failed business plan. That plan included a promise that no further tax dollars would ever be requested or required. We now hear that this promise was either an error (see failed business plan) or a lie. In its current incarnation, COSI functions on $1.00 per year rent and what appears to be utility bills that are being deferred ad-infinitum (forever, for those of you who were never forced to sit through Latin classes). Even with these generous (taxpayer funded) operating costs, additional revenues from private donor contribution, memberships, daily ticket sales, food, and trinkets sold on premises; this science museum is unable to be self-supporting. 

There is not enough money to replace or refresh exhibits on a regular basis or to keep the existing ones in good repair. There appears to be a law of diminishing returns to even meet the salary demands of the limited staff required to operate the facility. To the mayor and county commissioners I therefore say this: The ship is going down, and has been for some time. You may put a brave face on this and gamely play on with the orchestra, but please allow the rest of us to enter the lifeboats. 

Do not pour good money over the bad you have already wasted in an effort to keep this Titanic afloat. She may have been a lovely ship at one time, but will sail no longer. Allow her to slip beneath the waves with dignity. While you are at it, please respect the wishes of the people whose confidence you asked for when you ran for election. 

If we were considered smart enough to have our votes count in electing you, we are smart enough to decide what we will support now. Worry about the rest of the fleet (the Erie Market, the Docks, the Arena), which will also sink without your continued attention. In some cases they already are - aka the Erie St Market. We will be watching, and we will remember.

Election - The Aftermath

I wrote this post last night, but only this morning had the courage to post it. Please forgive the apparent time inconsistencies.  

I woke up this morning feeling absolutely terrible. At first I thought that it was simply a general feeling of listlessness and disgust for the choices of my fellow Toledo and Lucas County voters. Then I realized that it was the result of a "Three Dog-Rocket Night". For those of you who do not enjoy savoring a fine cigar, this is a term deriving from the Eskimo's 3-Dog night, a situation when it gets so cold that they sleep surrounded by 3 dogs to maintain their body heat. In the cigar version of this occurrence,(and I know you know what I mean out there Luke), it is when one who appreciates cigars makes the mistaken judgement that it would be OK to smoke 3 cigars while listening to election coverage (or for any other reason for that matter). 

The result, no matter how many times you brush your teeth or gargle, is that you wake up with a taste in your mouth reminiscent of 3 dead dogs. Knowing that my guilt over my own stupidity, and the bad mood that I was in as a consequence of my own misjudgement was affecting my thinking; I decided to wait to say anything regarding Tuesday's election. 

As the day turned into evening, my mood (and the taste in my mouth) improved however. I began to collect my thoughts, get over my disappointments, and at last began to write. It was only then that I realized that like my choice in the quantity of cigars that I smoke, I may have this whole thing wrong (something that I often do). Perhaps the majority of the minority who actually voted knew something that I didn't, voted their well-informed conscience, and put us on the path to a brighter future.

That's it! The well educated, unbiased, and independent voters of Toledo and Lucas County realize that we are on the brink of an economic recovery of heroic proportions. Wages, property values, and the quality of life here are about to soar on an unparalleled scale. Money will be flowing like water from the waste treatment plant that the mayor spoke from today. The additional money that will be removed from our pockets from the 3 levies that passed will be insignificant compared with all of the money that will be coming our way. 

The Board of Education has been on the right path all along, and we need only to give them the time to allow those practices produce the results in our schools that they were designed to do. Wow, we need to call the president and the press and make this joyous news public. 

We have no right to keep such information from the American people. The market will soar, the dollar will improve, and our trade imbalance will disappear. My god, what relief to find that everything is going to be alright after all. Wait a minute, this can't be right. 

Sorry, feelings of euphoria momentarily overcame me. It must be the alcohol from the mouthwash. Please take all of the preceding as irony, or for those of you who never seem to understand irony ... never mind.

Love

I was so disheartened by yesterday's election that I decided to pass on the pleasure and pain of a post-election posting (at least that's my story so far). I decided instead to take on a totally unrelated subject. While part of this had to do with my despondency over the fact that I was unable to change the direction of the misguided choices that my fellow voters made. The rest was just was just my typically perverse nature, and desire to change the subject for no other reason than that I can. I therefore present the following completely unrelated, but equally mystifying topic for your edification: 

One of the few things that I have given up trying to understand about Life is Love. (There are a lot of other ones, but if I told you all of them now, what would I post about in the future?) This is not to say that I am unacquainted with the subject. I have what I hope are loving relationships with my family, my children, and my grandchildren. I even think that I have been lucky enough to have "been in love" a couple of times in my life. 

Even when I was in the midst of a situation where I thought that I was in love however, I have to say that I found myself completely confused most of the time. In this, I do not feel that I have been alone. As I am a voracious reader, I often seek the wisdom of those of a literary point of view on such weighty subjects. 

Many of the best writers in history have attempted to say something on the subject and have done well, but invariably I find myself going back to a science-fiction book called "When Harley Was One" by David Gerrold (most fans of SF know him as the man who wrote the Star Trek episode 'The Trouble With Tribbles'). To paraphrase, he described it as a process with three stages:  

1. The physical attraction between two people 

2. The bond that grows, emotionally and sexually as they learn more about each other 

3. The true loving relationship I also remember another line from the novel (which I have just discovered to my chagrin in writing this, that I have misplaced in process of my recent relocation), where the author talked about love being about "placing another person's welfare above your own".  

On the other hand, Robert Frost used an equally apt, but somewhat selfish description, calling it: "...an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired". Now before we pull out the box of tissues, make a hot cup of tea, and curl up in a blanket; let me also point out that this emotional state has contributed more to silly, ridiculous, and socially suicidal behavior than anything else in the course of human history. 

Here I can speak with some knowledge and experience. In the course of my life, I like many, have probably committed some incredibly idiotic, horribly embarrassing, and potentially fatal acts in the name of this emotion (and I've led a pretty sheltered life). No "Candid Camera" reel or "America's Funniest Home Video" episode could hope to capture the range of demented behavior that I and my fellow man daily commit in order to win the hearts of the ones they love, so I will certainly not try. 

I could probably cite a few of the numerous specific examples from my own past as proof, but I'm not sure if the statute of limitations has run out on all of them, and therefore feel that it might be better if I don't. I will simply say that if this is what Evolution has determined that the male of the species should go through in order to cement the bond required for the mating and reproductive process, we may be on our way out.  

As for what women do and have done, being neither a woman nor the gay friend of one, such information has never been shared with me. The limited information that I have gleaned on this particular subject from overheard conversations however, is terrifying to me on an almost Biblical scale.  

My only conclusion is that maybe in the end, we aren't supposed to be able to figure such things out. Maybe love is a mystery that we are supposed to embrace, rather than solve. Maybe the terror and confusion are an essential part of the joy and excitement that we experience when in love. On the other hand, one has to wonder if there is some lemming DNA hiding in our genetic background and love is simply the cliff that we line up to leap from. (Could this be where the term lover's leap actually came from, maybe?) 

Voting

Well I was out there bright and early this morning to place my vote at the proper polling place. Of course I had to cast a provisional ballot because having been here slightly over a year, the Board of Elections in Lucas County has not properly entered my name on the voting roll yet; but then again, they have had only a year to work with. Voting right as the polls opened, I managed to do so without running into any of the candidates. 

No offense to anyone running for office out there, but you have to realize that by now we are sick of the sound of your voice and of seeing your face. The only thing that might prevent us from voting in fact, would be having to run a gauntlet of candidates in order to do so. I know that all candidates want that last bit of name recognition, but this should be weighed carefully, lest you remind us that you were the one that we wanted to be sure not to vote for. 

I was not alone at getting in to place my vote early (possibly for the same reason). It was gratifying to see that a few of my fellow citizens were braving the dark, the cold, and the snow flurries in order to perform duty as citizens. Looking at the entire process however, I find that I am constantly amazed at the way that we treat this most sacred of America responsibilities. The voting machines themselves looked like reworked projector stands from the grade school that I went to in the 60's. Record keeping is done with pads of paper large enough to be books of spells at Hogwarts Wizard School (Harry Potter, for those of you living in a cave in recent history), a system whose technology was obviously created at the same time of the projector stands. 

The only part of the process that deserves any approbation at all are the poll workers. Their good humor and willingness to do whatever is necessary to make sure that anyone who shows up to vote gets a chance to do so is the one bright spot in the process. Knowing that they do this for a wage not much better than that of a person working a drive through window at a fast food joint makes their efforts and sacrifices even more meaningful.  

With all of the money that we get asked to invest in everything from failed museums to empty buses, maybe what we really need to be investing in is the trappings and technology of the process itself. If voting is a right and a sacred duty, perhaps we need to begin to treat the performance of that duty as if it were being done in a church and not an outhouse. 

When The Levy Breaks

We are facing votes Tuesday on levies for four different organizations, COSI, The Library, MetroParks, and TARTA. There have been postings on a number of sites (Thurber's Thoughts, Glass City Jungle, Wannabe Mayor, Hooda Thunkit's Therapy Blog, and Major Nitpickers) on each of these requests. I would simply like to make an attempt to summarize here.  

Each of these organizations has laid claim to their "rightful share" of the money that we work hard to earn every day. Each has a noble purpose, and each has an assumption that they deserve this money for the good of the community. None however, have been able to describe an effective business plan for operating in a city of declining population, jobs, and property values. 

COSI admits to a "failed" business plan from the start, which begs the question as to whether they are liars or just simply stupid. From this flawed beginning, having promised us that they would never again ask for money, and with the appearance of no real business plan to move forward; they come cap in hand like Oliver Twist, saying "Please sir, I want some more". My response, "Not today Ollie". You tell me that if you do not get this levy, you will be forced to go ... it was nice knowing you.  

Metroparks is looking for money to take care of the land that they purchased with a different levy. Now that they have the land they don't appear to have the funding to improve it, take care of it, nor to run many of the programs on it. You receive funding from a number of sources in the form of grants and gifts, but apparently that does not meet the needs of your budget. Perhaps money could be raised by selling some of the land or cutting back on some of the programs? But wait - property values are going down and selling real estate in Toledo is a losing proposition, so that won't work. And it appears to be impossible to consider doing 'less as more' for anything run on taxpayer dollars.Perhaps in a time when Toledo is shrinking in so many ways, you should realize that your budget does not need to grow. If you continue to add to our tax burden, there is likely to be plenty of green space (translate as empty land) in Toledo to choose from for future growth. 

The Library is looking for money to maintain their current programs at their current levels, none of which seems to involve books. Those expansions have to do with replacing, improving, and expanding its computer area and Internet access; and of course, adding to their DVD selections. Maybe these are the functions of the library of the future, but they do not need to be taxpayer sponsored. Libraries, by definition, are places of books. If they would like to expand in order to compete with Blockbuster video or an Internet Cafe, I suggest that they look at a mulch-tiered form of library cards, with a fee for DVD rental and Internet access, before asking everyone to finance these 'out of the box' business endeavors.  

TARTA, where do we even begin with you? You appear to run a service that few, if any take advantage of in the metropolitan area. Mayors of outlying cities are already crying over the monopoly you hold, the lack of service you provide, and the dollars that you drain. You have no real idea how many people use your service, and ask us for money to provide more. You must think that our heads are emptier than your buses. The only increase in ridership that you can show is with seniors, and you use that to frighten and intimidate us for money. (In case you hadn't heard, they call that extortion.) Go back and count your riders, give us an honest demographic of them, and present us with an effective plan to serve them before you ask for our generosity. 

It's time at last, for organizations asking for money from levies to be up front and honest with the taxpayers. Combine all of your levies and give us an honest look at the money that you would like from us to fund your endeavors. Face the financial reality of the community that you serve when presenting your requests. Do not attempt to confuse us about what these levies will cost us, whether they are new taxes, or whether they are increases. Present us with facts that justify your requests for money. Show us logical business plans to prove to us that our trust in you, once granted, will not be wasted. For many years, organizations like this have poked a stick in the cage of taxpayers. 

Perhaps it's time that you realize that you have finally made us mad enough to get off of our butts and do something about it. You had better pay attention to the reality of the present before we get to the bars and take a big bite out of you.