Googling led me to the Wikipedia article about the Kingdome which then led me to the Wikipedia article about elections which took place in King County, known as "Forward Thrust".
Seattle's Kingdome debacle was the biggest boondoggle I ever witnessed til I moved to the Boondoggle Capital of the World, Fort Worth, Texas. The Kingdome was one of the Forward Thrust propositions.
When I read the Wikipedia Forward Thrust article it brought to mind the bizarre Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price quote I read yesterday in the Star-Telegram, where Mayor Price informed us that the Trinity River Vision is extremely popular with most of the citizens.
I then asked if Mayor Price based this extremely popular comment on the overwhelming approval given by voters for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. And then remembered there has been no public vote on this public works project which has abused the legitimate concept of using eminent domain to take private property for the common good, leading to at least one business going under, that I know of, in the path of the un-funded, un-needed Trinity River diversion channel, which I learned yesterday will not begun to be dug for years, even if funding is found.
So, how come it is that a place like King County puts multiple propositions on a ballot, as in, in the 1968 Forward Thrust election seven of the twelve propositions passed, followed by another election in 1970 where four of the failed measures failed once again.
Now, why is it that citizens in a democratic part of America, like King County, are allowed to vote on multiple propositions, while voters in my current location on the planet are not allowed this democratic privilege?
There is an ironic comparison between one of the King County propositions and the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. The Forward Thrust Rapid Transit measure failed both in 1968 and 1970. The Rapid Transit measure failed even though Washington Senator Warren Magnuson had secured an almost $900 million federal funding earmark, with getting that money predicated on the King County voters voting to fund $440 million.
So, in Washington you had federal money already secured, with the public allowed to vote on the project, and voting no, while in Texas you have a project no one has been allowed to vote on, which has abused eminent domain, with over half the project's projected funding coming from federal dollars which have not been allocated.
And people wonder why I think the Trinity River Vision is a Boondoggle.
In Fort Worth's "Cultural District" there sits an old building. I think the name for it is Will Rogers Coliseum. The first time I was in this building it reminded my of my first school, Roosevelt Elementary, built soon after Teddy Roosevelt ceased being president early in the last century.
There is talk of replacing the decrepit Will Rogers Coliseum, which is where the rodeos take place during Fort Worth's Stock Show. But nothing seems to come of the talk. How come there is no noise made about possibly having Fort Worth's voters vote on a proposal to replace this aging structure? How come such votes do not take place here?
Does the Good Ol' Boy & Girl network that runs Fort Worth operate with no knowledge of how things are done in more progressive parts of the planet? The Trinity River Vision really is not that big of a project, compared with public work projects under way in other locations in America. How come the Good Ol' Boy & Girl network that runs Fort Worth does not understand that you don't start up something like the Trinity River Vision without having the funding mechanism in place?
I think it is fairly safe to predict that if those three "signature" bridges do get built they will be crossing dry land for a long, long time, with no flood diversion channel built under them.
Is it too late to put the TRV Boondoggle to a public vote? Or is it just known that the locals will not vote to tax themselves to build a Boondoggle of this sort?
But, remember the party line is that this project is extremely popular. And provides much needed flood protection. And economic development. If that is true, would not the voters be fools not to vote to fund this bizarre project to get it built as quickly as possible so the citizens can start enjoying this thing that is very popular with them.....
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