Pay Your Own Way

Atlanta is in a bit of a bind with their policies directing funds to minority businesses as the current federal administration sees that as discrimination. The AJC is on top of the issue and has dropped a few nuggets.

Wow. They are facing some serious belt-tightening if they cannot feed at the federal trough. But, as the AJC reports, this affects more than just Atlanta, and some folks have banded together for some lawfare, seeking strength in numbers

And that one little phrase tells an enormous truth about what is wrong in America, particularly urban America: "their federal funds." That sense of entitlement is so pervasive, so much a part of every fiber of their existence that they are casual about it. "Of course it's OUR federal funds. Whose did you think it was?" Apparently some silly blokes thought it was federal funds, which makes it more about everyone and not just the urbanities. 

You have to wonder if the bureaucrats at our beige palace aspire to the staking a claim on federal funds, no matter what the cost to the community. 

City To Sue Neighbors

Well, not unless they are forced to. And just what would be the forcing function? Well, it seems our off-tune bureaucrats have advanced from "place making" to "brand management" and the brand they think they have created and will manage is "Dunwoody." That's right, they think they created the Dunwoody brand, and if that brand represents destruction of traditional Dunwoody to tap into urbanity and the money they think comes with it, then, yeah, they created that brand.

What does this have to do with suing folks?

Glad you asked. Turns out that Dunwoody was a "place" before these bureaucrats "made place" but their taking credit for the pre-existing aura of Dunwoody should come as no surprise. Hypocritical, yes. Surprising, no. Now that they've literally staked out their territory with those Dunwoody Dildos, they're on a rampage to obliterate any use of "Dunwoody" (what they call their brand) by any outsiders. If you've bounced around north Brookhaven, cruised down Peachtree Dunwoody, or taken the scenic drive on Roberts between Dunwoody Place and Roswell Road, you've seen dozens of subdivisions, condos and apartments proclaiming themselves Dunwoody This and Dunwoody That. It isn't clear if city hall is bothered by road names or if that will be addressed in another phase of the campaign. 

But city hall is going to put a stop to all that brand misappropriation and dilution. If they learned anything from that litigious sign painter it is that you use the courts to protect your brand or you lose it. Apparently everything will not be OK without some serious legal bills, but it is rumored that someone at city hall pointed out that the PD has been lying low of late and there is quite an excess of funds in the legal war chest. So, lawfare it is. That said, they do hope to economize by threatening lawsuits and only pursuing a few in the hopes most will be intimidated into capitulation. Sound like anyone you know? One way or the other, if "Dunwoody" is in the name, it damn well better be in Dunwoody.

Herein Lies The Difference

Ever wonder why candies look so much different in Europe? It is almost as if there are completely different formulations in the U.S. As it turns out, the formulations are different. And it isn't just candies, which frankly you can not only live without, but some folks would benefit greatly from abstinence. It is also all manner of products that we put in, and on their bodies. A key difference between the U.S. and, well, pretty much every western democracy, was exposed in a discussion about nail polish. Yep. Nail polish. 

While the EU makes manufacturers (yes, food is often a manufactured product) demonstrate the safety of their products, the "United States is more reactionary and may issue bans only after a product has been roundly proved to harm health." You should ponder exactly how this might be proved, since the laboratory is public and you are the guinea pig. Thalidomide anyone?

Surprise! SURPRISE!

Seems like a bunch of founders [successfully] came out in opposition to the phallic 55+ apartments the city bureaucrats planned for the Life South site. This has led some of these founders to do their very best Gomer impersonation expressing surprise at how all these city bureaucrats could be so out of touch with the folks who actually live in Dunwoody, many of whom voted for the city that cuts their paychecks. 

Really Gomers? Surprise? These are the same folks who [should have?] wrote the city charter that included an impenetrable firewall between our elected officials and the bureaucrats who are then free to treat this city like its very own playground. Yet now the Gomers are surprised that this is exactly what happened. Surely these statesmen at least read the charter, and mayhap understood it. If they were trying to make a mockery of democracy what would they have done differently?

Let's just say that their surprise and shock seems a bit disingenuous.

Word Smatter

He's back at it again. Who? That founding councilman who keeps observing how we've been deceived by city hall. Now that the bureaucrats at city hall are busy crafting a vision statement to their liking, he's pointing out the obvious: they're undermining everything this city was supposed to stand for. 

Now you might defend these bureaucrats by suggesting they're not word-smiths. Maybe. Maybe not. As the founder points out the original vision statements, the ones founded by the promoters of city hood, were proscriptive, somewhat restrictive and easily used to hold city hall accountable. Bureaucrats are having none of that. So they are crafting vision statements that are vague, easily [mis]interpreted to suit their needs, and the needs of the developers and other outsiders they serve. As the founder points out, they are boiling frogs, and it will work, as this mayor and council will dutifully sign off on whatever these bureaucrats shove under their noses. 

You voted for a city and you may have thought it was your city. It isn't. It belongs to unelected bureaucrats  and developers.

Silly Season Is Upon Us

It's that time again, time to pick the clowns in the circus. Yeppers. Elections are nigh upon us.

So let's have some fun.

Here is a good way to do just that: ask the question that will put them on the spot. First, a little context. Everybody knows that there is no, nada, zero traffic enforcement inside Dunwoody. Yes, 285 gets patrolled either because superspeeders are lucrative or there is a chance for an asset seizure, but in our neighborhoods? No way. Now this is the context you should use when posing a question to these posers. 

It goes a little like this: "As you know we have a problem with speeders in our neighborhood and what I want to know is can you tell the police chief to run a patrol to put a stop to this?" It is very, very important that you emphasize the word "can" because that means there is only one correct answer: No! Now if you want to have real fun, before you let them answer, say something along the lines of "this is a yes/no question, and anything other than "yes" means no, and anything other than just plain "no" is political obfuscation." 

Let the fun begin!

Just So You Know

If you've watched TV lately, the broadcast variety, you are probably over forty, and if you are you may well "own" a home, or at least be committed to a mortgage. Goodonya. It also puts you squarely in the crosshairs of those ads screaming about "what the FBI calls house stealing," which is a fraudulent activity based on filing a "quit claim" deed including falsified signatures and a bogus notary stamp which then allows the fraudster to take out loans on "your" property. 

So what are these adverts selling? First, they'll tell you if this has already happened to you. Then they'll notify you if it does. Finally they are selling what amounts to an insurance policy should the problem escalate. Now you can, at least in DeKalb, go on line and check on current filings against your property. Anytime you want, but you gotta want. Even better, DeKalb lets you sign up for notifications should any new filing be posted against your property. 

Will this prevent fraudulent filings? No. No it will not. But you will know about it as soon as possible and you can take action sooner rather than later.