They Do Not Mean Anything, But We Have A Lot Of Them

I am collecting political platitudes and slogans.  The type I am really interested in are those that at first sound good but are revealed as vacuous when closely examined. For example, Change You Can Believe In. I have no idea what this means. Is there a change that I cannot believe in?

The best slogans and platitudes reflect those ideas that no politician would dare oppose, e.g.,  Protect Social Security. Sayings about getting more jobs for one’s constituents are always welcome. Anything to do with government run schools is a treasure.

If you find a example that you think is interesting, send your submissions to politicalslogans@gmail.com. I will sort them into categories according to subject. Let me know if you want credit for your entries. The deadline for submissions is Halloween Day, 2009. I will post the results on Election Day, 2009.

This is an important project; I am counting on you, so remember We need to Just Say No, Put Aside Partisan Politics, Stand United for a Stronger America, and Fight Crime and the War on Drugs to get Good Paying Jobs and Affordable Housing. If they can say it, you can send it.

She Did

I have received a reply from Mrs. Behlok. She thanked me for viewing her website and restated her promise of open government. I suggested that it would go a long way toward open government if we put the check book registers of the Town of Henrietta and the Rush-Henrietta School District on line.

I expressed disappointment that she wanted effect her goals by using state and federal moneys. I told her that the money we get from higher government levels is not free but comes from taxpayers. I pointed out that the electric company sent its customers a notice that the state is requiring the utility to collect a new tax. The utility does not profit from this. “Where,” I asked, “does it end?”

At least I got a response. It is a start on a long road that ends at the cliff.

Julie B., Talk to Me

This morning’s e-mail brought an invitation to a political fund raising picnic. A former coworker’s wife is running for town council, and this picnic is one of two events that will help finance her campaign. The invitation urged me to buy a $30 ticket even if I was not interested in the political aspect of the event. My congressman would be the featured speaker.

The other event is a $30-a-ticket “High Tea with Julie”. I am a coffee drinker.

Putting out 30 bucks to hear the guy for whom I did not vote is not going to happen. It is a lot cheaper to simply stand near and absorb the wisdom while trying to dodge the political ejecta. I am not certain that the event is going to generate enough heat to produce lava. If it did I still ain’t spending 30 bucks. It is always a lot cheaper and safer to stay home.

I did, however, go to Mrs. Behlok’s web site. Her c.v. gives me the impression that she is a woman of drive and intelligence. She has a BA and a MA in art. The college degrees prove she has drive to slog through the nonsense that she had to pay for. This along with frequent breathing make her qualified to send out e-mail invitations. It is the breathing that makes her qualified to run for office.

Her web site also reveals that she is a great supporter of the current Disappointment-in-Chief. There are also on the web site a photo of her with the person who claims to represent me in Washington, D.C. There is a photo of her with Congressman Conyers. Conyers recently told the press that he does not read the 1,000 page bills before he votes on them because they are so complex that it would require two days and two lawyers to understand it. Since it is necessary to do things in a hurry, it is much better just to vote for it. This leaves much more time for the really important job of whatever else it is he does.

I am sure the Town of Henrietta will not have any 1000 page bill to vote on.

There is also on her site a photo of her being concerned about what some unidentified but obviously older man was saying. The senior vote is important. The town has a building devoted exclusively to seniors. Do politicians know how to pander? There is a photo showing her looking off into the distance. I think this last photo is supposed to tell us that she is a visionary.

I looked at her “Goals for the Town of Henrietta”. Then I went to work.

Those who have read my previous post know it is my style to ask candidates questions that they don’t expect anyone to ask. The candidates are caught by surprise because the candidates think no one can get past the slogans and platitudes. Most of the time the candidates are right. Most of the time the candidates can’t get beyond the slogans and platitudes. Candidates seldom provide details about how they are going to accomplish what they say because few people want to know. This relieves the candidates of the great burden of thinking.

The hypocorism I don’t have is Few.

Some of her goals were innocuous: putting town board meetings live on line, on line registration for town recreation events, and lifting the ban on concerts in the park so some can there enjoy bands. Other of her goals were silly, e.g., putting on bridges signs saying “Welcome to Henrietta, Home of the Hornets.” I have lived in Henrietta 25 years, and I don’t know what are the Hornets. Neither does my wife.  My daughter tried to find information but could not get anything. Besides, “Home of the Hornets” sounds like a warning to bring your own bug spray. This is supposed to instill pride in our government schools. I told her that I don’t use the government schools. Maybe that photo of her looking off into the distance means that she too is trying to find the Hornets.

It is the more serious proposals, the ones that will require real money to implement, that I questioned. (I did ask who would pay for the signs, but I did not mention the bug spray. I believe in individual responsibility.) She states that she wants to stop the “excessive power outages” by getting state and federal money to upgrade the power grid. I asked her to define excessive. I also asked why taxpayer money would be spent making improvements on private property.

There is a proposal to subsidize child day care for the workers of the school district. She says that the District’s turnover rate is high because of child care costs. No information was given about financing this subvention.

Some of her other goals are a recycling program to raise funds to finance one of her other goals, (The county already has a mandatory recycling program. I asked if it was making a profit and if there would be enough bottles once the state legislature passes the new bottle deposit bill. I also asked if there was a market for the scrap bottles.) a coupon for a “free water heater cover”, bicycle trails to promote physical fitness and a green something or other, a technical oriented high school, new landscaping and fancier light poles around the town hall, and community gardens so indigent people can have more food. I asked, “How are you going to pay for all of this?”

There is a vague proposal (all of her proposals are vague) to attract young families to Henrietta. How she is going to do this and retain them is unstated. Why young families? What happens when they are not so young?

There is also the usual blah blah about more manufacturing and high tech. jobs. No details.

Perhaps the strangest proposal was the one she says was broached by our Attorney-General. He wants to consolidate the town’s and school district’s equipment. I asked Mrs. Belhok if we were in violation of some law. This looks to be a major turf war, so nothing will come of this. I think it is the AG is setting himself up for a run for Governor. Our current Governor is not likely to be reelected.

I asked her what her analysis of the public safety budget shows as underfunded. She quotes a statement by our Fire Marshal that the Fire Department needs $250,000 more. She did not give his reason for saying that. The voters recently rejected the proposed new fire station building. I asked if there was any problem because of this.

I’d find it easier to believe the Fire Marshal if he said that the Department was giving back $250,000. I also find it easier to believe in the Tooth Fairy. Maybe that is where we will get the money for her goals. Or maybe she can put the touch on the Hornets.

A Visitor

The other day a nice man came to the house.  The dog also thought the man was nice but only if mauled and eaten.  Once I had sequestered the dog, the man explained why he came to the dullest spot in town.  He wanted to speak to the registered Republican to get the registered Republican to sign a petition to place on the ballot the name of a person seeking the office of county legislator.  The registered Republican was not I but the person not then at home.  The nice man left a flier that named Jackie Mendez as the person seeking not so high office.

The flier is one folded page, glossy paper, and full color.  It even has a press apply label on the back giving the new web site address of Ms.  Mendez.  I read the flier.  The flier lists Ms. Mendez’s agenda.  The flier also has three pictures of Ms. Mendez: one on the front with the flag; one inside with the nice man, her husband; and one on the back showing her sitting with our current county executive before an open binder full of papers.  In the background of this photograph are flag tassels and things in frames.

It is the agenda that interested me.  Normally I don’t pay a lot of attention to political statements.  This is because I think that the major flaw with most elections is that someone gets elected.  It always seems to be the wrong person.  It does not matter if I vote for them; they are still the wrong person.

In the last election, when our current president and his whack job of a side kick were running against what’s-his-name and Who?, I just could not decide who was the wrong person for whom not to vote.  I had the same problem when I looked at the candidates for the person who does not represent me in Washington, D.C.  The incumbent first voted against the zillion dollar stupid Ivy League educated banker bailout.  Then when the bill failed, lots of goodies were added to get it passed.  The soon to be ex incumbent voted for it.  This meant that I was going to have to look at the challenger.  The challenger’s sole qualification was that he was a retired Navy Captain.  This made the choice easy: I didn’t vote for either candidate.

Sometimes it is easy to decide for whom not to vote.  A couple of school board elections ago, a candidate mailed to our house a post card.  The text of the card had several grammatical errors.  I knew immediately for whom not to vote: her opponent.  When a candidate for the school board sends you illiterate campaign literature, you owe it to the cause of government run education to elect that person to an oversight position.  How can you go wrong?  I voted for her.

Since the election is coming in November no matter what I do, I have to make a decision on how to vote.  So I wrote to Ms. Mendez. Ms. Mendez’s site has a convenient “contact Jackie” feature.  I used it.  I wrote her a letter asking for details of how she is going to accomplish all that she lists as her agenda.

I have not yet received a reply.  This does not disturb me.  The details of a plan require careful formulation.  This is why they are seldom listed in campaign literature.  Another reason they are not listed is that no one is really interested, unless you are a nut like me.

Being undaunted by the lack of a quick response, I wrote her another letter.  This letter is about a major county and city partnership in a downtown arts center and bus station, the Renaissance Center.  It is a kind of diesel and Shakespeare amalgamation.   Try to think of Hamlet on the Park and Ride.  There are reasons why you can’t get this sort of thing in the privater sector.  Good ones, too.  I wanted to know her opinion on the project.  The county executive and the city mayor are battling each other over this project, so it is important to know how one’s representative stands on the matter.

It has just been reported by the news that the Renaissance Center has missed an important deadline to get the much needed federal funds.  This does not mean that the project is dead, it only means that the project is postponed.  There will be lots of blame to pin on political enemies, but rest assured that the project will be resurrected.  With the Obama administration looking for “shovel ready” pyramids to build, the likelihood of permanently loosing the federal money is nil.  The taxpayers can’t ever be that lucky.

I am still waiting for a reply.  The wait gives me a chance to practice my patience.  Maybe the nice man will come back.  The dog hopes so.