Palouse Life

Tea Party

Arthur — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:23:43 +0000

The Tea Party movement is not perfect, not coherent, not coalescing around a personality and not yet coopted by the Republican party. That is precisely its appeal. The parties, both of them, have failed us. Democrats progressively smother us under a socialist pillow. Republicans, the Neo-Cons that have highjacked the party, are willing accomplices as long as their goals are furthered. We need a third way, a rejection of the unholy union of business and government and of the wholesale theft from those who can so those who can’t or won’t are placated. Both parties decimate the middle class with socialism for big business and socialism for the understrata of society, a group which is getting larger and larger due to changing definitions. We must reject all socialism, no matter how warm and fuzzy. The Tea Party lets Middle America, the forgotten majority, to speak up.

Mediocrity Chosen

Arthur — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:23:02 +0000

By choosing the incumbents, the good people of Rosalia made a choice for continued mediocrity, a conscious decision for more of the same leadership that brings nothing but stagnation. Rosalia could grow and prosper under the right direction, but its citizens want none of that.

I respect the will of the people. A free people have the right to the government of their choice, no matter how illogical that choice.

The present administration demands pats on the back for all its great achievements, despite the fact that its achievements are things any city government does as a matter of course. Real achivements would include bringing manufacturing to the area that woud provide good paying jobs for the citizens. This is apparently something out of reach, something unreasonable. The people apparently want a small, decaying town rather than one that is actually sustainable into the future.

Rosalia City Council

Arthur — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:39:58 +0000

I feel very strongly that Rosalia needs a significant leadership change and am campaigning for City Council. The town suffers under the heavy hand of Ken Jacobs and a City Council all too willing to agree with his every whim. He may not be a bad person. Those on Council may not be bad people. Some of them seem quite pleasant. That isn’t the issue. What’s good for the people of Rosalia is the issue. I’ve never accused any of them of criminal acts. I just think they are guilty of poor leadership.

We recently saw a slightly investigative newpaper article about Rosalia. The article in the Whitman County Gazette about the apparently missing check had valid points but did not lead the reader to assume there were accusations of theft. That was never insinuated by anyone in the article. The only thing one may have wondered about is whether the check existed at all. Jenna’s letter was interesting because she was all over the theft angle when no one suggested theft. The only reason people are so suspicious is the very definite appearance of the promotor receiving special treatment at the expense of everyone else.

My values include:

Limiting taxes
Strict adherence to State and Federal law
Respect for the United States Constitution
Encouraging long-term business growth
Opposing useless and unenforceable laws
Serving the interests of all

Kenny Needs a New Pacifier

Arthur — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 22:08:17 +0000

Ken Jacobs, Rosalia’s Mayor, cried so much in his June newsletter that I’m sure he broke his pacifier. People are being mean to him. They’re bullies, real toughies, and just plain bad people crazy enough to expect him to follow the rules and act more like a mayor than a little king. These poor souls think they live in the United States, not the sovereign Kingdom of Jacobs.

He needs his pacifier and it’s not something you can just get off the shelf. Pacifiers are designed for the demands of whimpering children, not Ken’s industrial strength wailing. We’ll need to get our engineering firm on the problem. They’ll do some expensive studies and eventually arrive at some even more expensive recommendations. The new pacifier may be overkill, but Ken’s worth it and what would the other Mayors think if he didn’t have the finest pacifier? They may think their towns are better or something like that. Let’s look into grants too because this thing is sure to be pricey. The Department of Little Tyrants will give us $6,000 but we’ll have to cover the maintenance for the next 15 years. His pacifier will need yearly rebuilds, expensive parts when we can least afford them and, most importantly, regular sanitation so it doesn’t get an E.Coli contamination. We better place an order soon because inflation never sleeps. It’ll cost $96,328 if we wait a year. A levy may be the answer if we can fool the majority. Of course, if Ken makes us mad we may take the money for his pacifier and use it to fix his toothbrush instead. Hopefully it won’t come to that. We can always raise sewer rates 400% to cover any shortfall but we may still need to raise taxes outright. An air or sunlight tax would rake in tons of cash. That’s the creative thinking our Council excels at. Our maintenance staff can take care of his pacifier but we’ll have to give them a big raise first. That’s what Ken would do. We’ll give the office staff big raises while were at it because they may have to handle the paperwork. Ken would do that too. That’s being fiscally responsible in Rosalia. If you don’t like it you can move.

Rosalia needs new leadership

Arthur — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:40:05 +0000

It’s time for a change in Rosalia. This is a recent letter to the editor.

Rosalia’s Mayor, Ken Jacobs, must have an editor for his taxpayer funded personal newsletter, Town Hall News. It includes an odd sprinkling of big words now. Big words can be used to add clarity or they may be used by someone attempting to appear smarter than he really is. Which do you think it is? If he’s become fond of big words I’d like to suggest one. Nepotism. I even have a suggestion for its use. Hiring your daughter-in-law is a fine example of nepotism. You may be able to suggest other words that would really spruce up Town Hall News. How about foist? It could be used like this. An arrogant Mayor foists an unpopular motorcycle rally on an unwilling citizenry.

Many of your fellow citizens are alarmed with the goings on in Town Hall. They’re attending Council meetings, looking over public records and working with relevant agencies. Things are not okay in Rosalia, regardless of the rosy picture the Mayor continually paints. It’s not a matter of people stirring up trouble where none is to be found. The Mayor and Council have behaved as if they are not accountable to the citizens and people are unwilling to stand for it any longer.

Mayor Jacobs says Rosalia is a business. These days most businesses have to innovate and constantly improve goods and services while reducing costs. I don’t see him doing that. Oil companies seem to increase prices and gouge consumers. Maybe he means Rosalia is that kind of business.

Three City Council positions are up for election. It will soon be time for a change in City Hall.

Replace Incumbents in Rosalia, WA Council Races

Arthur — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:34:16 +0000

This is the text of a recent letter to the Editor:

Rosalia’s Mayor, Ken Jacobs, whined piteously in his latest newsletter. Some audacious residents video the council meetings. Can you imagine that? They probably just want a reference other than the heavily edited minutes posted on the town web site, that is, if they are ever posted at all. Citizens have a right to open records and open meetings. Washington has some of the strictest laws in the country regarding these rights and availing oneself of his or her Constitutional rights is completely legitimate. Denying citizens their rights or complaining when they exercise them is not legitimate.

Some residents attending the meetings were indeed part of previous city government. You probably know these folks. Having spoken with them, I can say they seem rather intelligent, thoughtful and sincerely dedicated to helping Rosalia achieve its considerable potential. They’re good Americans with sound ideas and certainly didn’t bring the town to “ruination,” as our Mayor laughably claims. Glenn Edgemon is a fine person undeserving of the Mayors attacks.

Mayor Jacobs realizes three council seats are up for election and there is a very real possibility three of his bobble heads may be replaced by people unlikely to agree with his every word. I bet it’s a scary thought.
He trots out his tired slogans once again: Rosalia is a great place to live. We have a vibrant business community. Rosalia truly could be a great place to live, but isn’t living up to its potential under Jacob’s watch. Jacobs has created such a nourishing environment for business that many of them have been closed for years. It seems that the business community was more vibrant in the past. I’d like to see that turned around and so do many others. It would be great to have many businesses busy enough to hire residents wanting to work close to home. It would be great if people made a profit by serving the needs of the community and paid taxes to improve the local infrastructure.

As he likes to say, Rosalia is a business and costs go up. True to a point, but the reality is that businesses usually fail if their only strategy is raising prices. Businesses thrive through innovation and providing greater value, but that doesn’t seem to be his way. All our Mayor can come up with it scrambling for grants which create long term obligations for the town and raising taxes for the few people living here. His economic development plan, if it exists at all, is not too robust.

Rosalia needs to replace the incumbents in the three Council positions up for election with citizens dedicated to serving the interests of all residents, not a select few, and who will work diligently within the framework of Washington State law to ensure the rights of all are respected and public participation is encouraged.

Rosalia, WA Motorcycle Rally Public Meeting

Arthur — Fri, 18 May 2007 22:40:48 +0000

The long promised meeting was an excercise in futility. The five year contract was a done deal. There was nothing left to do but make excuses for the problems of the past rallys, blame the locals wherever possible, and when a citizen’s comments hit too close to home, simply ignoring what was said and moving on with hopes that the next comment would come from someone somehow so vapid as to not have a negative opinion on last year’s siege.

That our town officials are completely unwilling to act in the interests of their constituents is readily apparent. Their pathetic contract is hopelessly one-sided in favor of the promoter. The town assumes so much liability and even has to pay security, such as it is, out of the feeble cash the promoter forks over for the pleasure of having the town at his disposal for almost four days.

He’s right, you know

Arthur — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:21:03 +0000

While we may consider that going into Iraq was a mistake, the fact is that we are there and this is not a fight we can afford to lose. Our President is right, this is a front on the War on Terror and it’s not a war like any we’ve fought. It’s not one we can limit with time-lines. The fight is real, the enemies want to destroy not just us, but Western Civilization in its entirety to establish an Islamic theocracy of the most repressive kind. We are not even human to them. They afford us no consideration, no respect, and will give us no quarter. They will only stop when we destroy them or they succeed, through our lack of resolve and commitment to reality, to destroy us.

Winds of Change in Rosalia, WA

Arthur — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:06:17 +0000

The Ken Jacobs mayoral regime is under pressure from a citizenry disgusted with his obstinate efforts to pursue a program looking more like a feudal lordship than responsible governance of a modern city.

His Town Hall News, purportedly providing valuable news about city affairs, really functions simply as his soapbox for self aggrandizement, weak justification, and attacks on anyone and everyone who dares disagree with him. My recent letter to the editor, published in the Whitman County Gazette, offers some gentle criticism of the mayor but mainly recommends the benefits of a different direction, the path of increasing the tax base through responsible growth.

Intro

Arthur — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:30:27 +0000

Moving to rural WA nearly three years ago constituted major lifestyle changes, most good — dropping fast food because driving 45 minutes for it meant it was no longer fast, some bad — high taxes and a wierd political environment. It’s sometimes staggeringly beautiful landscape, as when sun, rain and Jacob’s Ladder combine over textured Palouse hills or when one catches the frequent sight of raptors hunting overhead, tends to overcome most of the annoying aspects of living in a town of 600 or so souls.