MaxRedline

The City That Jerks

 
It's what Portland and Metro are all about.  The "planners" doubtless had good intentions, but as we all know, the road to Hell is paved with those.  And judging by the results, Hell is exactly what the "planners" have produced.

The idea was to curb urban sprawl by imposing artificial land-use boundaries, forcing increased density in the metropolitan area.  By refusing to add infrastructure (or to even maintain existing infrastructure) geared toward cars and freight, "planners" hoped to force people to walk, ride bicycles, or to take mass transit.  To further the idea, they diverted billions of dollars into rail, the "Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade", and other options designed to increase roadway congestion.  The vision, originally put forth by pedophile Neil Goldschmidt, has been carried out by his acolytes, who were willing to overlook little things like raping a teenager in favor of Neil's "grand vision for the future".

So how has that visioning thing worked out?

It made property values skyrocket, pricing people out of homes in the Metro area.  Clark county in Washington and other areas not under the domination of Metro "planners" found that suddenly, a lot of folks were moving there.  And they aren't riding rail transit.

Even with subsidies, the condo towers in South Waterfront are empty - though served by both light rail and streetcar.  In short, the exact opposite of what the highly-paid "planners" planned is what actually occurred.

There is not one example of success to be found in any of the "planned" developments.  Downtown Portland, which "planners" insisted should have rail transport, is populated by addicts, bums, and teenage "spangers".  Empty storefront after empty storefront.  Nobody goes there any more, unless they absolutely have to.

At some point, one can hope, voters in the region will recognize that the David Bragdons, the Sham Adams, the Randy Leonards, and the other so-called "leaders" need to be removed and replaced with people who understand the value of a dollar - and who recognize that billions of dollars have been wasted on the salaries and benefits of "planners" and their failed results.

The Latest In Portland Follies

The clowns at City Hall have decided to "Save The Planet" by unanimously adopting a "plan" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.  Mayor Sham Adams, speaking for the clowns in general, noted:

Mayor Sam Adams promised the plan will help the economy by spurring green jobs, keeping Portland in the forefront so it can produce services and products that can be marketed globally.

“We have shown the rest of the world that we can be green and economically successful at the same time,” Adams said.

It's odd that the "leaders" are so uniquely ill-equipped to perceive reality.  Portland and Oregon lead the way in unemployment, high taxation, and anti-business climate - yet somehow, in the little pervert's head, this gets twisted into "success".

And among the "plan's" goals: •Assure new homes and buildings have “zero net greenhouse gas emissions.”

Last year, they were all about "affordable housing".  Now, not so much.  The wind must have changed direction.

Moral Morons

Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski shared his sense of spirituality with a reporterette from NPR during the course of a fly-fishing trip.  The article's just a brief puff-piece; the real meat comes in the third comment, posted by Fred Leonhardt.

And according to the kids over at Willamette Week, the going just got a lot tougher for Portland's pervy "mayor", Sam Adams:  the new recall effort is gaining momentum.  Not only is former state Senator Avel Gordly heading it up, not only have prominent business owners Tim Boyle (Columbia Sportswear) and Ron Tonkin (All for the love of cars) signed up as contributors and then some, but a couple more prominent folks have stepped up: Andrew Miller, the CEO of Portland-based Stimson Lumber and Peter Stott, the former CEO of Crown Pacific Partners and now the CEO of the Portland real estate firm SKB.

So, will Sam resign before the fecal material hits the turbine?  Unlikely.  Judgement has never been his strong suit.

Better yet: once Sam's removed from office, Tonkin has suggested that he'll run to replace him.  Of course, he'd never win.  Portlanders have shown time and again that they prefer incompetence in city management.

Recall 2

As mentioned previously, a couple of heavy hitters in the Portland business community have stepped up in support of a new effort to force a recall of Portland's pervy "mayor", and it's gaining traction with the news that former state senator Avel Gordly will join the campaign as a top player.  She's agreed to sign on as chief petitioner and spokesperson for the new recall effort.  This one has legs, and it's getting really interesting.  Anybody want to step up and buy some "Depends undergarments" for the "mayor"?

Some People Call Him The Space Cowboy, Yeah

Some call him the Gangster of Love.  Some people call him Commissioner.  Some call him none of the above.

Portland City "Council" member Randy "the Fireman" is going nuts again.  Now he wants armed guards "protecting" the water reservoirs, but he doesn't want the Portland cops to do it.  So he's trying some Chicago-style politicking to get his way.

It appears that he's been caught on tape in the process of conducting city business, although the name has been changed to protect the idiot.

Cool! A New Tax!

Demonstrating how completely out-of-touch Metro (the only regional government in the USA, with good reason) is, COO Michael Jordan floated the idea of a new regional tax, which is needed - according to the twisted "logic" that pervades the organization - to facilitate targeted investments.

Every time some governmental agency wants to grab more of your money, they refer to it as "an investment".  History, however, demonstrates quite clearly that they're simply stealing from you and dumping your cash down their favorite rat-hole.  They really can't differentiate between bona-fide investment and outright theft.

They know better than you, after all.

When you voted down doubling the size of the Metro-run Oregon Convention Center, did they abide by your wishes?  Heck no.  All it would take, according to their many "planners", would be doubling the size of the thing.  Conventions would then flock to Portland.

So, even though you said "no", Metro said "you're idiots".  And they found a way to double the size of the thing anyhow.  After all, they knew better than you.

Oddly enough, it's still a huge money-loser.  What it needs, obviously, is a big, shiny new "Convention Center Hotel".  Of course, in the face of massive opposition, Metro has shelved the project.  At least until they can find a way to steal more of your cash in order to "facilitate targeted investments".

Recall Redeux

Portland "mayor" Sham Adams may not get to serve out his term in office after all, as Round Two of efforts to recall him are underway - with support this time from some heavy hitters in the business community.  As noted previously, Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle is behind the effort, and now auto magnate Ron Tonkin is confirming that he's on board.  With this kind of clout and money behind the recall petition drive, Sham's job may be in real peril.

Keepin' It Weird

Oregon enacted a smoking ban this past January, and state officials seem surprised to find that revenues are falling - not only from tobacco taxes, but from the video poker games they run, as well.  Gawlee Gee, who'd have thunk it?  The state, of course, has come to rely on gambling revenues, and while some of the drop can be traced to the effects of the recession, most sane people understand where the main part of the plunge actually came from: the nanny-state legislators.  The vast majority of video-game lottery players tend to park in front of a machine, smoke, and feed money in.  Ban smoking, and you've banned "playing".  Clearly, Oregon's foray into social engineering has come back to bite the state.

And then there's that especially weird little place known as Portland.  They've "planned" all the high-density housing, with streetcars and light rail and aerial trams.  Portland, with its emphasis on bicycles and walking and public transit, is supposedly really "liveable" - whatever that means.  Most folks define "liveability" as being able to secure a decent job, so that you can pay for things like food, housing, clothing, toilet paper, and so on.  In Portland, however, it means being able to walk or ride a bicycle from your condo to the local sushi shop.  The idea of actually earning enough money to pay for the condo or the sushi has been completely dismissed.

Sham Adams, the so-called "mayor", lays the results of his grand plans to poor marketing strategy.  He's wrong.  All the marketing he can pay for with the whopping five cents he may have in his pocket isn't going to alter the fundamental fact: everything the little liar has been peddling for the past 15 years is antithical to the creation of good jobs.  He has yet to realize that government never creates jobs - government creates stagnation and poverty.

It's nice to see somebody like Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear, stepping up to put money and clout into the new effort to recall Sham Adams from office.  This recall looks deadly serious, and poor ol' Sham must be wetting his carseat every night.

Then, of course, there's the latest scam that Sham and his friend-with-benefits, Portland City Council member Randy tried to slip in:  Yep.  "Major-League Soccer".

    Randy's been the frontman on this idiocy, and now he's getting all blustery again.  Portlanders still owe around $21 million on the last "renovation" of Civic Stadium (now PGE Park) eight years ago, but Randy figures we should be willing to pony up another $35 million for yet another renovation to convert the place into a soccer-only venue - per the demands of one Merritt Paulson (look up daddy Hank as one of the authors of the national economic meltdown, part owner of Portland Timbers, etc.).

Merritt hasn't been too happy with the presents he's received thus far.  He owns the Portland Beavers baseball team, and he wants somebody to build a new stadium for them so that he can move them out of PGE Park.  Nobody's been willing to put up, so he's upped the ante: somebody better build the Beavs a new park, or Portland won't get "Major League Soccer".  That really makes Randy mad.  On the other hand, what doesn't?
 

Amanda

This idiot should never have been elected to Portland City Council (especially not on taxpayer money), but if there is one thing that Portland residents are famous for, it's "Keepin' It Weird".  Drive around a parking lot, crashing into cars with your pants down, no problem.  Happy to see you, Mr. Mayor.

Apparently, there is no limit to the numbers of nutjobs that Portlanders seem happy to elect - the latest being Fritz.  Shouldn't the name have been a clue?

Portland City Council will wade into the nationwide immigration debate next week when Commissioners Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz introduce a resolution calling on council colleagues to support the federal DREAM Act. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act would allow undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children an avenue for seeking U.S. citizenship. Opponents of the legislation, first introduced in 2001, call it amnesty for lawbreakers (see “Illegal Scholar,” WW, Nov. 15, 2006). Says Fritz, “It’s important for the city to show support for it.”

Let's start by trying to get past the language barrier:  they aren't "undocumented immigrants", okay?   They are illegal aliens.  Words, despite the best efforts of politicians and "educators", have meaning.  Some of us are still capable of understanding that.

Stacey Slithers Toward Metro

The former head of 1000 Fiends of Oregon, Bob Stacey, has officially decided to slither toward the office of Metro President.  Supporters include the usual cast of Oregon liberals: former governor Baba Wahberts, former state rep Greg Macpherson, and former U.S. Senator wannabe, Steve Novick.  In his capacity as former head of 1000 Fiends, Bob evidently doesn't believe that he's been able to inflict quite enough damage, and so he hopes to take charge of the nation's only regional government (there's good reason why, after over 30 years, Metro remains the nation's only regional government - most people in the USA recognize an albatross when they see one).

BlueOregon contributor Leslie Carlson spoke first, telling why she believes Stacey is the best choice for Metro’s future:

It seemed like every leader was afraid to speak the truth about the Columbia River Crossing. Nobody wanted to stand up and say, We don’t just need to solve congestion; we need to solve gloal warming. We need to solve kids with asthma; we need a solution to congestion that includes solutions to all those other problems, not just building our way out of congestion. Bob was one of the first civic leaders, and now the first candidate, to actually say that.

Which simply demonstrates how stupid Bob and his supporters really are.  Cool.  Ol' Bob's going to "solve global warming" by insisting on light rail and bicycle paths across the Columbia River.  By doing so, he'll also "solve kids with asthma" (how, exactly, do you "solve" a kid?).

Bob also wants commercial developments [that] are local, mixed-use and allow people easy walking access to shops and other amenities, blah blah blah.  In other words, like current Metro Council member Rex Burpholder, Bob wants to "solve global warming" by ensuring that any vehicles on the roads spend much of their time idling at a near-standstill; preferring to line the pockets of developers who will create rabbit warrens atop street-level storefronts, which assures that people can walk to the empty shops and other nonexistent amenities.

Why would the shops be empty?  Well that would be in part due to the fact that trucks can't make deliveries because they're stuck in traffic.  They're idling there because people like these clowns see no value in promoting additional roadway infrastructure - or even keeping what little we have in good repair.  Idling vehicles are a good thing, because, after all, the vehicles only pump out carbon dioxide if they're allowed to move.

If the choices are between Rex, Bob, and a turnip - vote for the turnip.  It's the "greenest" choice.