Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Are you a DIMBY?
Back in the day of real environmental activism, the acronym ‘NIMBY - Not In My Back Yard’ (or put that damned thing somewhere else) - was coined. A ‘NIMBY’ approach quietly (and rightfully) faded from the scene many years ago.
But recently, one of our local newspapers revived that unfortunate label to describe the Bastrop County citizens groups that are opposing the Central Texas Airport/Eco-Merge fiasco down on the banks of the Colorado River.
So, in honor of the ‘Resurrection of NIMBY,’ we now introduce ‘DIMBY - Develop In My Back Yard’ - to identify the politicians, groups, and individuals who want to destroy our county with dangerous and noxious developments that they think will turn into a pot of gold.
Here’s how to recognize the DIMBIES who walk among us. Let’s go pin the tail on the DIMBY!
A DIMBY does not really know what ‘environment’ means.
A DIMBY will believe anything a developer says, regardless of common sense.
In other words, a DIMBY is devoid of common sense.
A DIMBY believes that there is ‘acceptable traffic and acceptable noise’ as long as it brings in $$.
Note that a DIMBY probably wears a hearing-aid and doesn’t drive.
A DIMBY believes in giving tax breaks to corporations in hopes that increased tax revenue will support school districts.
In other words, a DIMBY believes in Santa Claus.
A DIMBY thinks that jet aircraft can fly through flocks of water fowl without damage (like Bastrop County’s Director of Planning & Development does).
A DIMBY believes that when an airport moves in, the surrounding residential properties increase in value (like the Bastrop County Commissioners do).
A DIMBY probably doesn’t live near the Central Texas Airport (like the County officials who cooked up this deal), but thinks it’s ‘all good’ for those of us that are in the line of fire.
A DIMBY believes that the County has ‘no authority’ to protect us but somehow can manage to find the ‘authority’ to sell us down the river in a heartbeat.
Sound familiar? Just how many DIMBIES do you know?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Truisms and Foolisms
Abe Lincoln once famously quipped, ‘You can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.’ He was right of course, but neglected to include “I can fool myself any old time.”
That’s the kind of odd behavior that the opponents of the Central Texas Airport are fooling themselves with when they continuously berate the Commissioners Court with the same old information which the Court has been hearing and ignoring for months.
Nobody likes re-runs. We usually turn them off.
It’s time to stop appealing to these elected ‘Agents’ of Carpenter & Associates, and present them with a credible legal threat to this ill-conceived project. Or we can just go home, wait for the first inaugural 737 flight and watch Jim Carpenter descend from the doorway framed with a ‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’ banner.
Face it. The Commissioners will NEVER call a public hearing because it’s NOT in their interest to do so.
It IS in their interest to keep us blathering uselessly in our allotted three-minute theatre time every two weeks.
It IS in their interest to avoid legal action that WILL make news.
It is in OUR interest to have competent legal counsel question them and de-bunk their position in public.
So, what’s it gonna be?
Reality?
Or SOS?
