Scottsdale Activist #73

You may have heard about the school in Seattle that used Legos to teach students that private ownership of property is evil and collective ownership is good. Denigrating a "class-based, capitalist society" as "unjust and oppressive," the teachers wrote: "Our intention was to promote a contrasting set of values: collectivity, collaboration, resource-sharing, and full democratic participation."

Coincidentally, in response to a recent article of mine that made the case that corporate fraud pales in comparison to government fraud, a Seattle teacher retorted that corporate fraud has a greater impact on society and the economy, because "96 percent of GDP is controlled by corporations and only four percent is controlled and spent by the government."

The economic ignorance in Seattle is astonishing. Maybe Starbucks is putting something in its coffee that addles the brain. Unfortunately, the addling is not restricted to Seattle or to faux intellectuals in faux Bohemian cafes.

Judging by responses from well-off Phoenix suburbanites to my newspaper articles over the years, by my experience in guest lecturing at Arizona State University, by my even more depressing experience in attending conferences at the ASU school of education, by my experience in heading a large political-action group in metro New York City, by the hate mail received from teachers union bigwigs and rank-and-file teachers, by the economic misinformation and disinformation disseminated by the mainstream media, and by the fact that all of the announced candidates for U.S. president are statists but are not characterized as such by popular pundits on the left and right judging by these and other experiences and clues, the Seattle teachers are not on the fringes of American thinking.

A thinking person doesn’t have to read Das Kapital to understand the foolishness of Marxian egalitarianism and collective ownership. He can simply look at photos of the bread lines in the former Soviet Union, where the average citizen spent two hours a day waiting in line to buy necessities but where Communist Party bigwigs had their own stores. Or he can look at photos of dreary Soviet apartment complexes, where the communal hallways and toilets were disgusting because no one owned them.

But if photos aren’t enough, a thinking person can read about the gulags, the forced labor, the banning of all entrepreneurial activity, the starvation, and the use of walls, barbed wire, armed guards, and snarling dogs to keep people from escaping to countries with property rights. Or he can stand at the Arizona-Mexico border and watch millions of Mexicans escaping a country without property rights to a country with them. Better yet, he can look at the Index of Economic Freedom, which shows that countries without economic freedom and property rights are dirt-poor and authoritarian.

A thinking person would know from history that the more collectivist a society, the more authoritarian the government. It sounds counterintuitive and that’s the problem but collectivism and egalitarianism depend on coercion while capitalism and individualism depend on cooperation.

A thinking teacher would go to the Internet and in two minutes discover that the government doesn’t consume four percent of GDP. In fact, spending by all levels of government as a percent of GDP is almost eight times higher than the four percent claimed by the Seattle teacher. And if the better measure of national income is used as a base instead of GDP, 45 percent of economic output is now consumed by the government, versus 12 percent prior to 1930.

But to stick with GDP for a moment, federal spending alone will rise from the current high teens to nearly 40 percent of GDP by 2075, if something isn’t done about rising entitlement spending, especially for Medicare. And if state and local spending is added to this projection, well over half of economic output will be consumed by the government by 2075. That’s a fancy way of saying that our kids and grandkids will spend most of their working lives working for the government instead of themselves.

The Seattle teacher probably professes to care for kids, but apparently not enough to warn them about the life of serfdom they face. Unfortunately, teachers who don’t know the facts can’t teach the facts.

Perhaps the teacher is bitter because he believes the popular myth that teachers are underpaid and not getting their share of the wealth produced by capitalism. The fact is, education students have average SAT scores about 200 points lower than civil engineering students, but in many states, K-12 teachers earn about the same as civil engineers, when earnings are adjusted for days worked and employee benefits. I know these facts because my son, a high school sophomore, is interested in civil engineering as a career. With my help, he knows the entrance requirements of engineering schools versus other majors. If he wanted to major in education, he could coast for the remainder of high school and stop taking honors and advanced placement courses in science and math.

In defense of the teacher, why would a teacher or anyone else know the facts about government spending when newspapers and other media across the land hide the facts? On that point, it’s a safe bet that your local newspaper doesn’t regularly publish charts showing the per-household cost of local, state and federal governments, or comparing increases in government spending to increases in inflation and population. The major newspaper that publishes my column doesn’t do that, either, but it used to publish a scorecard of the performance of state legislators, giving good scores to big spenders and bad scores to fiscal conservatives.

Then newspapers have the audacity to claim that they don’t have a big-government bias.

As long as teachers, editors and other members of the establishment believe that collectivism and egalitarianism are superior to capitalism and individualism, government’s share of GDP will keep increasing until we find ourselves living in a utopian Legoland, where the Legos will be built by the capitalistic Chinese, who appreciate property rights because they’ve experienced the tragedy of state ownership.

I wanted to share an article my son Eddie sent me from Iraq. I was not going to send it out through the usual means; I'm looking to have this published somehow. I just felt after reading it again this morning that I wanted people to begin reading it and begin/continue to pray for our brave men and women in uniform.

I'm not sure how many letters or articles you've ever read from the genre of "News from the Front," but this is one of the best I've ever read, including all of America's wars. As I was reading this, I forgot that it was my son who had written it. My emotions range from great pride to great sorrow, knowing that my little boy (22 years old) has become this man.

He is my hero. Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needs them now more than ever.

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.

I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.

There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not and to think, I volunteered for this...

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.

I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehan’s, and the Al Franken’s, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.

People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.

Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam. In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.

Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the internet...and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job.

It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of President Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that he was right.

America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a service member, its life as usual...the war doesn't affect you.

But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece together what's left of them after their service...where will the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehan’s be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.

We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause.

Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't.

Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight!

~Shout and Spout ~

shoutandspout@scottsdaleactivist.com

~ Why should the mayor worry about anything? She wears rose-colored glasses that were purchased for her by her husband, and are polished daily by Jan Dolan, Deb Robberson, Neil Shearer, Jay Osborn, Judy Register, Mary O'Connor, or any one of the many "know nothing" flunkies she surrounds herself with to protect her from the stark and naked (Opps, can't use that word) reality of how she and her cronies are damaging Scottsdale.

~ Derouin, Nesvig, Drake and Lane? OMG!! Where are my ballots so I can vote for them now to clean up the Manross Mess and fire Dolan and company!!!

~ If Teri Traaen's true feeling could be heard, we'd bet they would be: "I did as I was ordered". But to shut her up, they gave her enough to get her through to retirement. This entire episode was a skanky and underhanded Dolan/Manross/Robberson trick to save Dolan's candy (butt) from being fired.

~ Interesting. Let's take a look at this. The mayor doesn't want the "Salty Senorita" checking partiers ID's at the door as required by Arizona State Laws. Just how is that protecting the citizens of Scottsdale or where the patrons drive after downing a few ounces or probably more lubrious libations. Is she personally responsible for anything that happens to underage drinkers being that she made that stupid statement publicly, or has she single-handedly put the city in the position of being totally liable?

~Thank the Lord Almighty for the "Winds of Change", wouldn't the sea’s change from Miss Mary, Mc"Osterman" and possibly Ecton to a breath of "Drinkwater" fresh air. Geeze Louise, it might even mean a level playing field across and top to bottom for the citizens of this city to actually believe once again in city governance rather than an imperial developer run local government. So where do we sign up for a shot at this opportunity before we pack our bags, pull up stakes and leave the current mess behind us?

~ Watching the brake lights on the 101 where the cameras are is reminiscent of Christmas: a lot of blinking red lights while the money rolls in for Dolan to spend as she wishes. What a system!!

~ Bring on the "Lingerie Bowl"!! What a great idea that fits right in with our "Hip and shakin' Downtown" during Super Bowl Week. Why is Manross such a Prude? She asked for a "Hip Downtown" and now that she has it, she doesn't like the "spice" it brings to town; Too (darned) bad!! I think we should have a "Lingerie Bowl" every year; maybe even every spring and fall to celebrate the weather!

~You know that the housing market is hurting when you see a bunch of FOR LEASE signs in your neighborhood because the resident can’t sell their home at a decent price – they are forced to lease it to keep it. We have four homes for lease and only one for sale in my neighborhood. People want OUT of Scottsdale but they are competing with the tons of empty condos and the high-end lease market now. It’s just not fair to the residents. This is what screws up our neighborhoods and causes them to go downhill. Is this all part of Dolan’s plan???? To destroy our neighborhoods so that they become slums and can be bought up cheaply by height and density hungry developers - like those who are planning to abscond with the Minnezona area? Just what I thought……….

~Is it really true that Jim Derouin might run for mayor in the next election? He is one of the most upstanding, intelligent, and well-spoken citizens I know! He would certainly be able to dump the 7 PR people on staff that Queen Mary carries around with her like finger puppets. What an excellent choice he’d be for Mayor!!!! Positive change here we come – he has the votes of our entire family!!

~ it's been fun watching the city trying to drain certain ponds on the old Villa Monterey golf course only to see it rain and fill them back up again. Can't you guys find the input to those ponds and seal them off so they won't refill on you?

~The interim Chief Planner for our glorious city is clueless. I heard that in a recent discussion regarding a well know project, that she didn’t know the actual name nor any details about it and worse, why the City approved it to begin with. I know there is a learning curve, but again we must look to Dolan and her lack of leadership to see just where this new move of assigning the inept to an important position is going to take us. Connie Padian is sadly and most probably unknowingly just another Dolan mouthpiece and patsy at best; just another notch on Dolan's gun belt. Randy Grant was tired of being Dolan’s patsy and fall guy!

~I had to laugh out loud when Manross said (in her Address) that Transportation was her #1 focus in the upcoming year. Wasn’t that her #1 focus for the past two years, and in the 4 years prior to that? She is SO not a leader. We are SO screwed up one side and down the other until we clean house in city hall.

~ We just found the new Dog Park near Hayden and McDonald. Great place! Thanks!

~ I would definitely vote for all of the people mentioned as possibilities in the "Winds of Change" article you ran last week. Is there a chance Derouin would run? That man has more class and intelligence in only half of his brain when he's sleeping than Manross and Dolan have total when wide awake and scheming about how to fleece us again!

~As our City grows in leaps and bounds and with the sudden influx of spring training baseball junkies to our area, it seems that people are just downright rude anymore. They bring to our beautiful city all of their bad manners like littering our streets, speeding in our residential areas, and cutting off the elderly in crosswalks because they just don’t want to wait. As a long time resident, I feel like this place is out of control. ….. just like and because of our Mayor and Jan Dolan!

~ OMG!!! Nan is going to run! Our prayers have been answered!! A team of Nesvig and Derouin as well as the others is unbeatable as far as we're concerned. Let's do it!

~Can you just tell that it’s another upcoming election year???? Manross’ profession that she does not want light rail in downtown Scottsdale is an utter JOKE! Campaign rhetoric for sure! All she has to do it say she approves Modern Street cars, the "other option", and we are in the SAME BOAT! Tracks, trains, the whole ball of wax! Someone should tell Manross that it’s time for her to cash in her chips and find a nice quiet place to retire where no one knows her. Take Ecton with her! She is such a bald-faced liar…

~I saw a young child waiting for a school bus the other days – he was standing on a rather isolated street corner well hidden from view – an easy abduction target. He looked to be about 7 years old. What is the Scottsdale school system thinking, not placing that bus stop in a conspicuous place; and what about his parents? Don’t they recognize that danger? Scottsdale isn’t that safe a city anymore.

~ Gee, the city still hasn't put cross walk lines across from the park north of Camelback on Granite Reef where they put that stupid and totally unnecessary "neighborhood island". Have they had second thoughts? Geez, I certainly hope so for the safety of the children.

~I see nothing wrong with Littlefield calling our esteemed Mayor on the carpet when necessary. Manross’ problem is that she isn’t scripted to respond to his "in your face" discussion points and feels disadvantaged by that! Ya, it really does make her look like the fool that she is! Good for Littlefield.

~I think that someone should start an organization that interacts with the City to harness local talent for our renovation projects. Maybe we’d finally get back some of the City character! I might be in favor of projects if New York, Chicago, and California people weren’t designing and building them to look like their polluted, overbuilt, and congested poor excuses for "cities".

Every American should check out all of these websites to learn more about what the American population is about to have to deal with.

I don't normally allow anything but Scottsdale information in the Scottsdale Activist but after receiving many emails about this and viewing it, I think that it's imperative that every adult at least look at what's offered here if for nothing more than their own education and to have everyone stop and think about the future of our country. Click on the link below,

If you don't have Adobe Flash, install it from the bottom of the page that comes up after you click on the link above. You should be able to view all available links within the main page.

The website below is of great interest as seen from a Lebanese point of view:

If you have any problems, check your firewall and other safety features which could block access to the city site.

The Scottsdale Citizens Transportation Study Committee invites you to view their website for more questions and answers at www.norailforscottsdale.com .

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Simply click on the links below to get all the information you'll ever need concerning Light Rail.

If you have any questions about light rail, send them to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we'll get the answers to you as soon as we can.

These modern-day robocops make ticketing easier and can be huge moneymakers for local governments. But critics question their accuracy and fret over privacy issues.

The Scottsdale Activist is very pleased to announce an effort on the behalf of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale to promote open, honest and accountable city government. The Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) has been created to take legal action to hold the City accountable when its actions are contrary to state law, the City Charter, City ordinances or the public interest.

The most necessary ingredient to make the SLDF work will be confidential contributions from concerned Scottsdale citizens who are willing to help their community. By contributing, we can change the way City Hall does business and insure that our tax dollars will be spent wisely.

Contributions shall be kept confidential as permissible by law and can be made in any Washington Mutual Bank to account number 3114165786 for the Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund. Branch locations are listed below. Contributions are not tax deductible.

The SLDF has retained the law firm of Miller LaSota & Peters, PLC, in connection with the patently illegal action taken by the Mayor and Council appointing the most recent Scottsdale City Attorney, while ignoring the residency requirement of the Scottsdale City Charter even though the new City Attorney’s contract (according to Scottsdale Republic reporter Laurie Roberts) requires that she reside in Scottsdale. The City Council action was based on a legal opinion which was reportedly rendered during a closed door Executive Session of the City Council by a subordinate to the then acting City Attorney, who was subsequently appointed to the City Attorney position by a vote during a public City Council meeting. The opinion has been requested as a public document under state law, but the City has not yet provided it. The SLDF will take other appropriate legal actions based on the conduct of the Mayor and Council.

Washington Mutual Bank Locations at which contributions to the SLDF can be made are:

72^nd & Shea                    7337 E. Shea Blvd #120                480-609-8524
Hayden & Chaparral     7908 E. Chaparral # C-113            480-949-0069
Horizon                            14854 N Frank Lloyd Wright         480-614-6660
Scottsdale Ranch          10155 E. Via Linda Blvd #131       480-767-2060
Kierland Village              6501 E. Greenway Pkwy #133     480-315-2905