Q.E.D.

It's time to hug your local politician. Why? Because they have proven a principle upon which this country was founded: that government cannot be trusted. 

For those with a recent public education, shortly after ratifying the US Constitution they immediately added the bill of rights, securing the enumerated rights of the people of the United States. And...to protect them from a government, gone rogue, that would take those rights away. 

And here we are. 

Now many, with possible connections to a certain surveillance company, who loudly proclaim that no one in America should expect any privacy in public spaces and that should a government wish to surveil anyone...everyone...by any means available, that is just fine. SCOTUS precedence on the one hand suggests that is true, but on the other hand, SCOTUS has recognized the impact of digital technology by placing restrictions on digital tracking. Clearly the current technology is not mere observation. And this is how our current crop of government overlords have proven our founding fathers' wisdom. 

The founding fathers entertained the notion that the "bad guys" would not be restricted to the general population and that in fact they might worm their way into positions of power inside the government. And so they have. Recent reports indicate quite a few bad actors using this vunderbar "surveillance" technology for what to every observer is nothing but stalking. Well, to be fair, there are the occasional pervs who want to watch kids in bathing suits, but that's surely on the up-and-up. What the stalkers have proven is that the American public needs protection. From the government in the USA. At every level, including right here in daVille. 

So, in this 250th anniversary year, if you bump into the Mayor or a member of Council, thank them. Thank them for proving that those wise leaders in our past were absolutely right.

Cleanup After Yourself

We shouldn't have to tell you.

Student Driver

Fob Off

'Shroom On Over

By The Fourth Of July?

There is a sad state of affairs in daVille when it comes to flags, as of the five flying only two are in fine fettle. That would be the one at Ace Hardware and the U.S. Post Office. The others are in some state of fray.

Farmhouse Disgrace

Relatively New Flag

Beyond Sad

The farmhouse flag is far from the worst, but it is most prominent. And they dropped the POW-MIA flag. You gotta wonder if that is too patriotic for leadership that wants to align with resist. And is this really how city hall wants to present Dunwoody to the daily flood of interlopers driving thru? Or are they just about signs?

Where Were You?

Inquiring minds want to know. Where were you when the surveillance state was first being introduced into Dunwoody? Did you not live here then? Could you not see this coming? Was the Ring Doorbell camera fuster cluck not adequate foreshadowing? You know, when they started their collaboration with government agencies and then drew back, putting barriers in place? Did you not know that given the chance, and the technology, that government will make unlimited use of surveillance technology? Have you never heard of a Stingray? You have now.

How is it that you are suddenly so knowledgeable? Or are you? Really? Maybe you're just following a herd, led by gawd knows who or what. The fact is, none of what the complainers are venting about online and at city hall has changed. Notta. These cameras have never been blind to anything but license plates and you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that is, or ever was, the case. 

So, what are you really bitching about and why are you just now doing it?

Sarah, Sarah. Do Better.

For Supreme Court

Maybe someone who wants your vote for Supreme Court should know the local ordinance. Isn't knowledge of the law a good thing for a judge? Even at the State Supreme Court?

Does this get your vote?

Gandering At The Geese

Flock has the city's politicos and bureaucratic money sponges in a snit. And it is delicious. 

The stated reason they're all up in arms is that Flock may, or may not, leverage the Flock system to Flock's benefit and they may have, or may not have, updated their agreements. Happens all the time to you doesn't it? 

Mother Mayor has been in attack mode, moaning that we (the city's money sponges and politicos) need control of our data. WTF? Just throw that out there and expect it to magically become fact? Your data? Yours? Really? What, are they your license plates? No. No they are not. Do you pay for these plates? No. No you don't. Do you sell (rent) these to citizens? Again. No. Are the Flock LPRs restricted to residents of Dunwoody, as in, your constituency? No. Not at all. Not even part of anyone's original intentions. Plus, Flock can track your constituents in other jurisdictions if they are Flock customers. And finally, is Flock providing you the service you asked for, contracted for, and are paying for? Yes. Yes they are. 

So what is really your problem? After all you are getting what you're paying for: Law Enforcement as a Service. This provides political cover for the fact that you have no intention of deploying police officers in our community to keep our streets safe. "Let Flock do that. We rent technology to handle that." Truly a farce multiplier. 

Are you pissed that Flock are leveraging their system, a vast majority of which is not on poles in your right of way, to their benefit, potentially to their financial benefit, but also to the benefit of additional law enforcement missions? Are you that firmly against law enforcement? Are you picking and choosing? Do you have the integrity, the courage, to say out loud that you are against immigration enforcement and intend to do whatever you can to impeded federal law enforcement? Are you so dogmatically tied to a political party, a political movement, that impeding the FBI's ability to apprehend criminals on their Most Wanted List is acceptable collateral damage?

Or is it money? Do you resent that Flock may be monetizing their system beyond your little contract? That might be somewhat consistent with your statement that this is your data, however illogical, and indefensible, that might be. Do you want the feds to come, genuflect at your feet, and beg (AKA pay) you for access to Flock's data? Is that even reasonable? Only in your bubble. 

The humorous bit cannot be ignored, if you are indeed pissed because they've updated some of the T's & C's. Haven't we recently been subjected to Mother Mayor's campaign supporting increased taxes based on the premise that "things have changed since the city was founded"? Now you have the chutzpah to act offended that what is essentially a software/service company has updated their agreement, all the while changing nothing that negatively impacts the service they provided, that you wanted, and that you agreed to pay for. It really sucks when someone treats you like you've been treating us, doesn't it?

Blinded By The Night

What is it with Dunwoody [City Hall] and lights? First it was advocacy against light pollution. A noble effort, so we knew that wouldn't last long. Then came the LEDs. At the city's behest Ga Power replaced traditional sodium vapor lights, which are long lived and reliable, with LED lights that go into a flashing mode, screaming "replace me now" after a few years. The LEDs are not cheaper since replacement of perfectly good equipment allows Ga Power to recover the value of working street lights. What's better is that all this was known beforehand. Then came the village parkway. Those lights have always been flaky, randomly going on and off. The only time these lights operate correctly is during the day. Oh, and they were selected by the city. 

Now we have odd pairings of a pole light and an overhead light at intersections. Some work, some don't. 

Hardly Ever Works

This is looking south on CD at the Knoll and the city-mandated overhead street light is further up CD on the same side. The illumination on CD itself is from pre-existing street lights on the west side of CD. This has always been a well lit area, not like, say, the east side of Roberts between Wintercreek and Austin where there are no lights on either side of Roberts, and arguably there should not be.

Some have conjectured that this light doesn't operate because the pre-existing lights, combined with the paired sister light, is so bright that the pole light is overwhelmed, confused, unable to distinguish night from day. Seems like someone well versed in this technology would have known this could happen. So, what out of touch bureaucrat issued the dictate to install this waste of money at this already well lit intersection? What was their motivation? Have they ever actually seen this intersection? Day or night? 

Victory Lap

One of the folks who circulated an online petition against the monstrous apartment complex proposed for the Life South property, a proposal endorsed by city bureaucrats, has done a victory lap. 

Just what was the victory?

To hear them tell it, that would be the rejection of the oft-modified proposal. That's it.

No strategic changes by folks who should care, and DHA should, but probably isn't amongst them. Nothing that takes note of the "ask for the stars to get the moon" approach often adopted by these developers. Nothing to address the fact that the city's Confederacy of Dunces who promoted and recommended approval of this fuster cluck had no elected official representing the electorate. 

Maybe these committees, or whatever the hell they are, should have at least one citizen representative from each district in the city. None of these citizens should serve in any other capacity in the city or the city adjacents: the large number of authorities, councils, committees... whatever they've thrown up as a "we didn't do it, they did" CYA. It should have at least one elected official from council or a first term mayor. In other words someone accountable at the ballot box. Otherwise we'll continue with what we have, a sham rubber-stamping whatever it is these unelected bureaucrats want, and they want what outsiders have told them to want. And maybe it is time for a Citizens Oversight Group to ride herd on this goat rodeo. 

Until meaningful, enforceable changes are made, there has been no victory.

Wonder What's Next

You may have noticed something missing in daVille. That's right, that big, majestic tree in front of Dentistry With A Difference has been cut down. 

Why?

Well, someone with the city went on social media explaining it was coming down because it was: a) afflicted with mistletoe; and b) had been determined to be rotted. We were also informed that mistletoe is a parasite, and when someone from this city declares something else a parasite, well, you gotta laugh. Is this the pot calling the kettle black or what?

Let's look at some of that rot.

There it is with some limbs amputated, and zooming in on the nubs we see this.

See any rot? Didn't think so. Mayhap the rot was at the trunk, which would seriously increase the odds of a tragic collapse. But is it?

Does that look rotted? Hollowed out to the very core? Were we lied to? Will we ever find out the real reason this tree had to come down? Do you really have to ask?

We know what's next: the similar landmark tree in from of Novo Cucina. It's gotta go. We will be told that it has mistletoe, which it does, and has for decades. We will not be told that this can be dealt with.

The city wants these trees down and they don't want you to know why. Wonder if any of the candidates know.

Is It Part Of The Plan?

The AJC, well Torpy, dropped a nugget in a recent piece on burglary in Atlanta and the drop in rates. Being an actual journalist he checked in with some law enforcement experts with one offering a possible explanation for the drop in burglary rates. 

So, what would you do if you wanted to build a honeypot for these pivoted, lazy burglars? Well, you might entice a bunch of developers to build massive apartment complexes, with equally massive parking decks. Then the "bad guys" have a bumper crop of cars, all packed in at one place, for their smash and grabs. 

Was this part of city hall's plan all along?

Always Late To The Party

Do you ever feel like Dunwoody is run by folks who can never catch a trend in time? Like they don't do what the cool kids are doing until they've built up enough envy and jealousy, and by then the cool kids have moved on? It's not just interstate lanes in your front yard or Dunwoody Dildos at the outskirts of town, it now is apartments.

That's right, apartments. Seems the boom is over, which is a kind way of saying "developers can no longer get filthy rich building apartments." That's not to say these gulag-like atrocities are not still being built, but if developers cannot get some kind of lucrative sweetheart deal, well, then, they just cannot engorge their purses. Rental demand is being depressed because the fact is these apartments really are not "affordable" unless it involves subsidies, which are getting scarce, so developers profit the most building luxury apartments. Does anyone think that the developer's and Dunwoody bureaucrats' damp dreams about that high rise on Ashford Dunwoody was going to have apartments that meet the average person's idea of affordable?

So, you have to wonder... What was the motivation for all those bureaucrats to unanimously recommend this high rise apartment complex? Do we need to follow the money, or can we just ask? Are they just trying to play 'keep up with the Joneses?" And then they get a public spanking by a unanimous vote from council rejecting their plan. After all, they only had to convince four folks to go along with the plan. Maybe they should have had an ice cream social, as the rumor mill suggests a vote might be had for a pint of Ben & Jerry's. 

At this point, who, outside of these bureaucrats themselves, can justify what is going on at city hall? As some have pointed out, we have elections coming up and it might be a good time to ask some questions. 

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.

Targeting Target

As predicted (by lots of folks) now that Wally Whirled has left town the local Target is suffering the Dunwoody Shrinkage Effect. Seems some budding entrepreneurs tried to walk out with over $2400 in cosmetics. After many lies, including their ages, assumably in an effort to be treated as juvies, the perps copped to the theft. The justification: the perp wanted to start a business but didn't have the "capital" for inventory. Well, one could suppose that fencing stolen goods is indeed a business. Since they seem to be "operating" in Dunwoody, the next question is: are they paying their occupational tax? 

Maybe the Lords and Ladies should be less fervent in their drive to high density and pay a little more attention to driving down crime. 

Let The Show Begin

Tonight's City Hall Goat Rodeo should be more entertaining than most as there will be discussions of needs and greeds as well as where does the money come from? Just under $100K (wanna bet that is a magic number?) for facade lighting at the Beige Palace. Really? And, as one person with a brain who's been around a while has pointed out, this is the kind of happy horseshit that wouldn't be allowed on any building but a government building. That's because our Lords and Ladies of the Order of the Sleepless Nights are not subject to the same laws they gleefully impose on others. Aren't we blessed to be in their presence?

Great Awakening

Those running city hall have been feeling their oats, for quite some time, but are they one toke over the line? They seem to have aroused some sleeping giants. At a recent DHA meeting a mega-apartment complex to be built at the Life South site, and rest assured it will be built, was discussed. There were some heavy hitters in opposition, particularly to this project, but seemingly to whatever the hell is going on at city hall that resulted in a favorable view in the first place. By heavy hitters, we mean one of the two big guys: Dan Weber, who as a state senator pushed the whole "let's have a city" party through the legislature. Is this what seller's remorse looks like? 

The more important question is whether or not the DHA has had a rude awakening. Is it possible that they are spurred to action, that they will re-acquire the moxie to stand up and fight for the community? The mojo they lost when the city referendum passed. Apparently this odious issue has been a wakeup call to a number of founding councilmen and now even one of the two state-level advocates. 

And is it really odious? Absolutely. The initial stench is from the unadulterated bullshit of "55+ community" with one unabashed proponent of the project claiming that because it was said that it would be restricted exclusively to residents 55+, well then that's that. Well, what that really is, is bullshit. Some lip flapping at city hall means nothing in the face of federal law. Even today. And everyone knows it, including the proponents who pivot quickly to an affordable housing rant, with no shame at supporting this with a "end justifies the means" argument. Nothing matters but what they want. 

And as all things social media do, it devolved into ageist and racist rhetoric on the part of the project advocates. Did you know that the folks in Deerfield East are the recipients of generational wealth? Or that Dunwoody is just a bunch of old white people. Oh, and before you ponder that, it was meant as a "bad thing." And if there are folks in Winterhall who think they got where they are in life through hard work, prudence and good choices, well, park your privilege, preferably at the base of one of those Dunwoody Dildos. 

Let's bottom line it. What Dunwoody needs to do is support creation of high paying jobs so people can afford to live here, instead of driving our community towards Section 8 housing. 

Dropping Like Flies

After a recent $40M judgment against a DeKalb Hotel on allegations of supporting human trafficking (AKA prostitution) another hotel has settled a strikingly similar case to the tune of $6M. Quite a savings. This does call to mind the Dunwoody PD's falsified police reports justified on the basis of protecting local hoteliers whose properties may, or may not, be hotspots for human trafficking. Is this aiding and abetting? Are these kinds of judgments and settlements headed to Dunwoody? Does anyone wonder if a jury might find the city liable should a case present itself? Are any of those wonderers at city hall? Is it at all possible for the police department to ever do the right thing, and do that thing the right way?

No Will?

A certain founding councilman is at it again, this time proclaiming that what is sorely lacking at city hall is the will to act, to re-imagine and re-create Dunwoody as a sustainable center of innovation. As he has been, he is absolutely correct, but there is much more missing at city hall than mere willpower. 

Dunwoody has no vision because they have no visionaries. The founding councilman points out that we do not, we should not, invite outside consultants to create a vision for us. Correct again. But if not these outsiders, then who? None of the unelected bureaucrats have any vision that is not handed to them by these consultants, or by folks waving grant money under their noses, or developers who have them on speed dial. Either way, vision is that of outsiders. The elected cheerleaders are no better as the only vision they have is what the unelected serve up. 

The other thing in desperately short supply at city hall is creativity and original thinking. This has been the case since day one. Whether a motto, logos or an artist's IPR, city hall has been a den of plagiarists and thieves. The irony of the original motto/logo being on a recycle bin should be of no surprise to anyone.

Plano Texas...Meet Walmart.

Without creativity, without originality, without thinking, there will be no innovation, no matter how strong the will. This city is a bunch of children trying to spell "G-O-D" with all the wrong blocks.

What's Wrong With Us?

As in, what's wrong with us, with us being us? There must be something. We hear it all the time. Coming from city hall and all those folks who run this city. The city we voted into existence.

We're a suburban community, a bit upscale but not posh, always have been, always liked it. Still do. This was never a community of "starter homes" and even the smaller houses have always been priced at a premium. And what's wrong with that? EXACTLY what is wrong with that? Is there something wrong with those McMansions being built across from the Fire Station on Roberts? You know, the ones starting at $1.6M. Who's going to buy those? Well, that would be the same kind of folks who bought their Redfield four-four-and-a-door thirty years ago: people buying their step-up home, perhaps their forever home, and very often transplants with a good relo package. Not some mid-20's kid who's just starting out and who, if you follow the science, sports a frontal cortex that is not fully formed. So, in a normal mind, what's wrong with being an upscale community?

We've also never been fans of density. Why? Because density brings crime because density brings people. More and more people. And there is not a peer-reviewed study, even one funded by developers, that shows  that increasing density decreases the per capita rate of crime. Therefore: more people; more crime. This ain't even maths, this is arithmetic. Real. Simple. Arithmetic. So exactly how is it wrong for Dunwoody to not want more crime, to not invite more crime into our community?

Let's talk apartments. Dunwoody has always been against apartments. And by Dunwoody, we mean the community of folks who built this place and who in a moment clouded by enthusiasm, voted this city into existence. They have a very good reason for not liking apartments: schools. Certainly this is DeKalb and touting the school system as a whole is a precarious position to take, but there is no doubt whatsoever that folks pay a premium to get their kids into Vanderlyn, above and beyond the Dunwoody premium. It's a tight community (within a community) and apartments bring (more) overcrowding and transients. Not community stalwarts. Dunwoodians like their schools and they want them to be better, not worse. What's wrong with that?

Our "development" has always been organic, especially around the Village, Orchard Park and Georgetown. Dunwoodians like it like that, in no small part because they don't like things forced upon them. Someone wants to chase their life-long dream of running a restaurant? Fine. If it's any good, if it suits the community then they will do well, even thrive. If not, well...next. Mellow Mushroom has done well for quite some time, as has Village Burger. NFA is winning awards. Vintage has been a few places: Pavillion II; Corner Bar; MudCatz. Steak & Grace is the third steakhouse in that location. You do what you do, you do it well, you respect the community, and you will thrive, and...you're welcome. This is the essence of organic development. Dunwoodians like that. They really, really like when someone from the community, or coming to the community, tries to understand and serve the community, yet somehow that is seen as wrong.

Yeah, we like our streets paved, but more than that we like safe streets, and back in the day we had them. The referendum sales job would give anyone the impression that DeKalb North Precinct officers flocked to Buford Highway, but the fact is, if you reported speeding or other traffic violations in your neighborhood, DeKalb PD would send out a patrol and put a stop to it. We expected more of that and the definition of disappointment is "unmet expectations." We're disappointed. But it is hard to fathom how we're wrong, wrong to want speeders and red-light runners off our streets. 

We were told about "local control," because we really, really don't like outsiders telling us what to do with our lives, with our community. And we really didn't like Decatur telling us what to do or how they, as outsiders, seemed to be ruining our community. So we were told things would certainly be better when our elected officials were nearby neighbors, as certainly they would not screw over another neighbor, someone you might see about town, at church, or shopping. What they didn't tell us was that would be because they really cannot do anything, good or bad, and they neglected to tell us that unelected bureaucrats would be running this place, and they are so far removed from the ballot box that vox populi is on full mute. By action, since the very beginning, we're being told there is no local control, and in fact, we were wrong to want it, and to expect it. 

These bureaucrats have no interest in listening to us or in understanding us. Instead they understand and listen to those who best advance the bureaucrats' interests, and they are more than willing to sell Dunwoody out from under us. That's why we get a unanimous vote in support of a developer's damp dream of making a fortune building hundreds of (unwanted) apartments on Ashford Dunwoody. In further support, they'll tout the "over 55" nature of the development, suggesting no impact on schools, knowing full well this is neither rigorous nor enforced. Not by Dunwoody bureaucrats anyway. They will do their obligatory "soliciting public input" sessions but any public pushback will be ignored and all comments will be cherry picked in support of what they were going to do all along. They don't care what we want or what we like, and they don't even care to find out. They cater to outside interests, be it developers, or grant funders, doing what these entities want regardless of what the community wants or even needs. And they are so profoundly, completely banal. We have a logo that looks like someone spent all of five minutes cruising Google Images and settled on something more commonly associated with places on a river. Not Dunwoody. Some son of a son of a bible salesman sold them on "place making" so they join in the Sign Wars and we end up with Dunwoody Dildoes scattered around the city outskirts. Here's a clue for the mental munchkins at city hall: we ARE a place and we always have been. Then we simply must pave interstate lanes all across our residential areas. Why? Because everyone else is doing it. So the rule in this city is: we cannot be ourselves, we must be like everyone else, because being ourselves, well that's just plain wrong. 

And why is Dunwoody, our Dunwoody, the one of our making, so reviled at city hall? Why do they cater to outsiders rather than us? It is as if they are trying to destroy us, destroy our community. Think of it this way: if they were really trying to destroy Dunwoody, what would they do differently?  And, if you could vote all over again, would you vote differently?

Kudzu. It's The Answer.

Folks have been looking for some good use for kudzu since its invasion in 1876 and no one has come up with anything. Until now. Thanks to the brain trust at Dunwoody City Hall, we now have a wonderful, humanity saving use for kudzu. You see the city installed some of the most gawd-awful, butt-ugly "signs" around the outskirts of town. It's more than an eyesore, it's a challenge. And that challenge has been met. A small group of "resisters" have decided to plant kudzu around these monstrosities and train it to grow up and all over these odious phalli-a kudzu kondom. Some say that English Ivy is more appropriate for Dunwoody, citing its hardiness. The band of merrymakers see this as trying to put lipstick on a pig, and will start with kudzu as it is a southern tradition. And, did you ever think you'd be glad to see kudzu?