government policy – Page 45 – Rural Tompkins County

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Environmental Merchandising” Road signs

Environmental Merchandising serves a need – the need to sell products. Most people are happy just to have the stigma removed [or at least the appearance of it] and will buy without looking too hard for the unvarnished truth. A Ramen Noodle cup with “35% Less Sodium!” still has more salt than the Dead Sea – and slowing down the destabilizing increase means less than little in our runaway environmental system.

How good is our corporate environmental stewardship these days? In a word: Pathetic, Minimal, or in a word I prefer: Disastrous.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Reasonable Rhymes XII” Road signs

Wouldn’t it be nice to have some reinforcing “Burma Shave” style road signs back on our highways? Like the “eatery” exit signs — food for thought.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “I’d like a second opinion” Bumper sticker

“You have to remove my heart to save my life? I’d like a second opinion.”

Not only are today’s social policies radical; they’re radically irrational – and it would be smart to get a second opinion from some trusted sources:

Abraham Lincoln:

“Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.”

Frederick Douglass:

“Right is of no sex, Truth is of no color”

I think I’ll go with them.

What about the “Greater Good”?

“How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” — Abraham Lincoln

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Rise of the Evil Ones” – “Secrets”

“Secrets” “Rise of the Evil Ones” – “Secrets”

Secrets. Government is run by secrets. We could speculate; but maybe that’s what we’re supposed to do. Making up answers is a cloud that best hides secrets.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “BIGOTRY – written in letters too big to see” Bumper sticker

“All “BIGOTRY – written in letters too big to see” Bumper sticker

It’s not a foreign language — so stop relying on the subtitles to learn what’s going on.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “What’s cool about natural disasters?” Bumper sticker

“It depends on how you see the world.” There used to be a morality question: “If you could press a button; and kill a million people on the other side of the world; and get a million dollars – would you do it?”

This simple “yes/no” scenario would be met today with equivocation: “It’s only about 1/8000^th of the world’s population – 0.013%.” or “There are too many people anyway” or [maybe even more dismissive] “A million dollars isn’t worth that much today.”

It seems that the only objection to making a deal with the Devil: is not getting the best deal possible.

If in the setting of Science; People don’t have much importance – why are we letting Science decide our future?

Science and politics are what people do; Art is what people are — maybe we should remember that.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Rise of the Evil Ones” – “Patching Policies”

Since government policies are created for the benefit of government; and not the people – the resulting deaths and other non-functional defects merely require a patch to keep the policy machinery rolling.

Enacting an expensive policy is argued on the basis of the welfare of the people; while a policy designed for the welfare of the people is rejected on the basis of its expense.

And our government’s need for secrecy cites your right to privacy much more forcefully than it defends your right to live.

If you want to change that “you don’t know politics” smile politicians keep in stock – just suggest/demand that their policies be radically changed – or entirely done away with!

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Tompkins County’s Rural Policy” Bumper sticker

“Tompkins County’s Rural Policy: Constructive Eviction.” Under the cover of “We” and “Us” – with a Greater Good “lens” – Tompkins County has unleashed a series of policies to destroy the troublesome rural community.

The Town of Lansing was broken up and divided into Town and Village by the rural community’s refusal to accede to collegiate control — but a world-class Ivy League corporation cannot be gainsaid: and through urban sprawl, voting loopholes, and unilateral planning decisions; Lansing Town government was taken over and made to conform.

Lansing’s rural community is entirely unrepresented in this government, with no services except their own volunteer fire department – and the County has cut back rural law enforcement to one deputy for two towns.

High tax assessments are forcing the original rural residents out; and the community’s character has changed from “blue collar” families to a “drug dollar” Ag Ghetto.

In rural Lansing’s future; all that will be left are factory farms, foreign workers, felons . . . and fools.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Be the change [small change]” Bumper sticker

“The Change” is projected big on a paper-thin world of self-promotion; but if we walk through that projection into a world of reality – what do we see? Nothing.

There is no rising tide of anything good. There is no atmosphere that is positive and loving: It’s an atmosphere of hate and recrimination – and a repressive feeling of fear and apprehension.

“I’m not bad people; it’s people that made me bad.” “I don’t need to work; I just haven’t been paid what I’m owed.”

Once we’re done blaming others; there is no meaningful action — and once we’ve taken everything; and there is nothing left to take . . . it’s time to turn the page on this Society. That will be “the change.”

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Social Policy in 2022” Bumper sticker

“Social Policy in 2022: Bigotry and piggery – joined at the hip.” Our social policies are not selfless actions; but filled to overflowing with a sense of self and self-interest.

Keeping in mind that our leaders are not “movers and shakers,” but users and takers; gives a clearer perception of the “why” in back of policy making. Our social policies are designed to “line the pockets” of those who carry them out, and those who are the beneficiaries – and bigotry is the oil that it all slides on. It’s an elitist “black box” that conceals the construction, the actions, and even the results of the process — there is no public oversight: we have to take them at their word.

It’s this same commitment to self-interest that has led to the current batch of distancing descriptors. For example: “Lens” has replaced “viewpoint” in elitist lexicon – a viewpoint is inextricably attached to a person; while a lens implies an outside and less personal view. It’s the “lens” that is responsible – not the person who uses that view. Tricky.