Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Pot. News LetterWatch

Haven't done this for about a week, but asinine comments (and editing) seems to be the watchword for Prince William's homegrown fishwrapper. Aside from the front-page puff pieces about our own RINO, Sean Connaughton, we've had a week of really horrendous commentary:
There was the letter from Valerie Kreidler of Manassas on 28 May, commenting on a story about a "Pacifier." The headline? "Pacif[ ]er Sounds Risky." Nice editing!
Then there was the letter on the same day from Jennifer Randolph, trashing Delegate Michele McQuigg as someone on the "far right." Of course, isn't anyone who uses the phrase "far right" clearly someone of the "far left." Randolph needs to pick her targets better, too. She was trashing a letter written by Jonathan Pick, who has written to endorse Sean Connaughton and fag marriage (and trashed Bob Marshall in the same letter). Yeah, there's a right wingnut for you!
On Monday, 30 May, Kurt Doehnert raised his head again, advocating --- you guessed it! --- higher taxes. Doehnert was one of the most frequent and vocal supporters of the efforts to impose a meals tax on County residents, and now he decries Pot. News columnist Jim Simpson for complaining about higher taxes.
Just once, I'd like to find out what people like Doehnert believe government should not spend money on. These people never know of government spending they don't like (well, 'cept for the military). They just want more. That's why voters don't (and shouldn't) take them seriously.
Just a day earlier, on Sunday, 29 May, the other Dale City Tax Twin, Kevin Raymond, likewise trashed those who believe the government is sapping too much from the public. Poor Kevin! He's still embittered about the meals tax (1993 and 1995), even though it's been demonstrated to have been unnecessary. Kevin complains that "If passed, the county would have raised almost $500 million in new revenue by now...."
Uhhhh, has Kevin missed the fact that the County has raised much more than that in higher property taxes, which is what should pay for local government schools?
Kevin says those of us who opposed the tax "did an enormous disservice to county citizens." What does an enormous disservice to County citizens is tax advocates like the Dale City Tax Twins who vocally advocated higher taxes (supposedly for the schools), but remained silent while tax revenues increased and the money was spent elsewhere.
There were two bright spots in the Sunday Pot. News, though. Brenda Seefeldt contributed one of her irregular letters, talking about sex ed. And Gordon Bradburn wrote a wonderful letter trashing Chairman Sean. Recommended reading, whether Republican or Democrat.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. You really are a sad and pathetic man aren't you? Many people have feelings that are just as strong as yours and yet they take the time to politley respond to items they may agree with you on. You however sir feel the need to be a self-agrandizing ass that chooses to attack someones character as opposed to participating in a lively discussion on the issues.

Democracy and freedom are built upon open discussion amongst people who respect one another. An ideological close minded system is developed by people that chose not to respect others and their opinions, but rather feel the need to attack those who differ with them simply to make themselves feel better.

You sir are the latter. Your inability to have an open discourse with people that do not share your opinion is the exact reason why you and all of your fellow kool aide drinkers will never come into any position of signifigance within Prince William.

And FYI- The two people in your group that have (Mr Stuart and Mr Stirrup) both BARELY won their seats, ran to Sean Connaughton to carry them across the finish line, and were beat by Mr. Connaughton by almost 20% in the 2003 elections. You sir are a dying breed.

So get off your soapbox. Stop putting others down. Stop spreading propaganda. Get a life.

James Young said...

To answer your question, perhaps.

But not so sad and pathetic as to attack someone anonymously.

Anonymous said...

Wow - I found my name in James Young's blog! Of course it was misrepresented and slandered by him. My May 30, 2005 letter to the editor merely pointed out the verifiable fact that we Northern Virginians spend a good chunk of change on paying the traffic "congestion tax" - paying for things ranging from more gas to more maintenance to more accidents to higher insurance to the costs of mental stress and physical strain - all resulting from our inadequate transportation systems. And I merely wondered why anti-tax advocate Simpson doesn't speak out against the "congestion tax." No where did I advocate higher taxes.

A complete text of that letter is reprinted below, so you can see how Mr. Young has distorted it and mischaracterized me. By the way James, one thing I'd like the Fed Gov't to NOT spend money on is all the pork that the Republican controlled House, Senate, and administration are doing at record levels.

The letter.......

Is cutting taxes penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to transportation?
According to a study reported in the Potomac News on Oct. 8, 2004, the average driver in the Northern Virginia region pays $2,100 per year for all the many costs attributable to traffic congestion. Paying for things ranging from more gas to more maintenance to more accidents. It did not include the costs of mental stress and physical strain. If you question the study’s reliability, then say it’s less than half that at $1,000. And if you’re less than an average driver, try half again at $500 per year. That’s still a pretty hefty traffic congestion “tax” we’re paying. It’s mostly going only for costs of symptoms of the problem, not for investing in improvements or maintenance which are paid by the scarce real taxes. Do you believe that the many, many, many million real tax dollar Springfield Interchange and Woodrow Wilson Bridge projects, though viable, will put even a scratch in our congestion tax rate?

Our state representatives did little to address our transportation woes in this year’s budget, thereby in effect they passed an increase to the traffic congestion tax. Locally, hundreds and hundreds of new homes keep coming to the County. Traffic lights keep popping up all over. All contribute to increasing traffic congestion taxes. Our County bond referendum projects can nary keep up. The proposed HOT lanes will let you to pay a T for toll, which will then in effect allegedly offset your congestion tax.

Perhaps the biggest cost of all the traffic taxes, now and for the future, are the “code red” days when exhaust from all that congestion makes it unhealthy to be outside.

Yet it seems so many people are content to pay the traffic congestion tax. Except all those HOV violators cheating for a “tax break.” The anti-tax alliances in the region aren’t fighting to get it reduced from what I see. Columnist James Simpson, fixated on cutting taxes, doesn’t speak to it. A majority of voters failed a ½-cent transportation tax referendum in 2002, though due in large part to its flawed project investment plan. Many drivers continue to not use mass transit (though most systems are already operating near capacity), continue to drive unsafely be it rubber-necking, road-raging, phoning, or not using a turn signal. All contributing to higher traffic congestion costs.

Our politicians would categorize this as a user fee, or a market place cost, certainly not a tax. Call it what you may, what we pay is the result of government/politicians not providing adequate transportation systems, and more importantly, from their abysmal land use planning.

There is no end in sight for rising traffic congestion taxes in Northern Virginia, a region with the third-worst traffic in the nation. And you can see it getting worse almost by the day it seems, and not just at the gas pumps. According to a recent Simpson column, we work until April 17 just to pay our real taxes. I wonder how much longer it is to pay the traffic congestion tax (and tolls)?