Statler’s Rogue Valley Views

I give thanks and praise to those who have granted and those who have protected the freedom I have to post here what I want without anticipation of oppression.

Our form of government is only a bit over 200 years old. It is to be expected that occasionally, and for a while, the oppressor takes the government over and makes the world a worse place to live. During those times of crisis we have the opportunity to educate and encourage the population in ways to effectively participate in social processes to make changes in the governmental structure. Our basic governemental structure allows this to happen, and that structure is what I believe is has been granted and protected even during times of unfortunate wars, battles and police actions.

So, thank you friends, relatives, lovers and fellow Earth passengers who have helped protect my freedom to write this.

Yes, I know there are a (very) few types of things I won’t say or link to on these pages, things that would get me thrown into jail or worse, but all in all those things are oppressive in themselves by my own moral standards anyway.

Think Pray Teach Peace

John

Last night the Medford City Council showed great courage in rejecting the WalMart Super Center plans that had been approved by the Site Plan and Architectural Commission. The cause for rejection was based on incompatibility with adjacent and surrounding buildings.

The Mail Tribune has a write up of the evening’s proceedings.

This was a surprise to me. I fully expected a split decision favor of Wal Mart. But then, we worked really hard during the previous appeal hearings to show that it truly was incompatible with the surroundings. I guess we stimulated the council members’ emotions enough that they looked for what compatible and what was not.

They had a team of attorney’s and we had a team of community members. We had a great team!

John

I had the best of intentions of posting daily, or at least frequently. It is not as easy as it sounds.

I set my web browser up to show the “new post” entry page when I checked my regular web sites. The idea was that if I saw the entry page everyday I would be more likely to post everyday. It hasn’t really turned out like that.

There have been two main blocks (read as excuses) to my writing to this blog. First, I wonder what subjects to write about and second, I worry that I’ll say something really stupid.

Both of these excuses are really silly. The first excuse is silly because my head is full of words strung out as stories, in fact I have a hard time getting a little peace and quiet up there. The second block is silly because of course I’ll say something stupid. Every time in the past that I have practiced new skills (like writing for 10 minutes every day) I get goofy results.

So, maybe I’ll lighten up on myself and just start writing here as often as I can manage it.

John

About an hour ago I returned from an appeal hearing with the Medford City Council (southern Oregon) regarding Wal Mart’s application to place a super center at an entrance to the city.

I appreciated that I live in a country, state, and city where public input into the planning process is “allowed.” I fall a little short of saying “encouraged” because some city officials and employees still need
to learn how to honor and listen to their consituents and true employers.

All in all, though, after many years of attending hearings in Medford, I would say that the officialdom is doing much better.

John