This Morning I Voted NO On Three Convoluted Fort Worth Propositions While Voting For Quanah Parker & Sam Houston

 I voted this morning and after I was done the nice poll working lady slapped the I Voted sticker on me you see here.

Every time I do the early voting I managed to forget how to work the dial that enters the numbers of the code you are given for your ballot.

One would think I would remember how to operate this voting video game, but I don't.

The nice poll working lady told me a lot of old folks have trouble with the voting video game.

I don't remember what race he was running in, but I voted for someone I did not think I would ever vote for.

Quanah Parker.

I also voted for Sam Houston, which is another Texan I never thought I would get to vote for.

And who could resist voting for someone with a cool name like Leticia Van de Putte?

The controversial Three Propositions related to the building of a new multipurpose arena in Fort Worth were odd, with the oddness being that the proposition contained verbiage I'd not seen in any of the propaganda that has been urging voters to vote for these propositions.

The actual wording on the ballot makes it sounds as if voting for these Three Propositions is an actual vote authoring the building of the arena.

I found a sample ballot, online, which for some odd reason had the words "Sample Ballot", graffitied across it.

I screencapped the ballot and cropped out the Proposition No. 2 part.

Proposition No. 2 in its entirety says...

"Authorizing the City of Fort Worth, Texas to provide for the planning, acquisition, establishment, development, construction and renovation of a multipurpose arena at the intersection of Harley Avenue and Gandy Street and other adjacent support facilities as a venue project, and to impose a livestock facility use tax on each stall or pen used or occupied by livestock during an event held on one or more consecutive days in which the venue project is used,not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00) in the aggregate per stall or pen rental for any event, for the purpose of financing the venue project."

To me this sounds as if one votes NO one is voting to not authorize the City of Fort Worth to build this arena. Why has this not been made clear in any of the advertising about these Three Propositions?

Did the Forward Fort Worth Partnership PAC figure if they let voters know that voting no meant NO to the arena that the voters would have a greater tendency to vote NO? But that if the propaganda verbiage simplified it, that the voters would have a greater tendency to vote yes?

For Proposition #2 the Forward Fort Worth Partnership PAC's propaganda describes that proposition as simply "A user fee (tax) on livestock stalls and pens of $1 to $2 per day, not to exceed $20 per event."

How come on the actual ballot there is no mention of the $1 to $2 per day user fee? While the Forward Fort Worth Partnership PAC's propaganda makes voters think that is what they are voting for?

Very, very perplexing.

Does the concept of "voter fraud" extend to this type thing?

Plutocrats Against Democracy Also Known As The Fort Worth Way

A time or two or three I have been asked why I say things like "you living in democratic parts of America" or "if Fort Worth was a functioning democracy", stuff like that.

This is a difficult question to answer, due to the fact that if the person asking has to ask, how are they going to understand my explanation?

To understand one has to understand the concept of a Plutocratic Oligarchy running a town, as opposed to democratic majority rule by the actual citizens of a town.

Someone named Anonymous made a comment on a blogging from a week or so ago, which addresses the Plutocratic Oligarchy issue...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "An Anonymous Comment Regarding Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price's Empathy For The Plight Of The Poor": 

Plutocrats Against Democracy

______________________________________________

Read Paul Krugman's Plutocrats Against Democracy opinion piece from the New York Times and see if anything strikes a Fort Worth chord.

You see, in an area subscribing to the democratic method of running a local government you would not have a local congresswoman's son appointed to a job for which he is not qualified. That is known as nepotism. Nepotism is frowned upon, usually, in a democracy.

In a plutocratic oligarchy public works projects are usually not voted on by the public. The oligarchy makes the decision, with little pubic input. The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is an example of that. So is the current plan to build a multipurpose arena in the Fort Worth Stock Show zone.

The decision to build this arena was made behind doors closed to the public. However, the plutocrats are tossing the people a bone by allowing them to vote on whether or not to charge a $1 or $2 user fee livestock stalls in the new arena......

Spencer Jack In Uniform Getting Schooled

A couple minutes ago incoming email included one from my Favorite Nephew Jason, aka FNJ.

The subject line in the email was blank. The only thing in the body of the email was a link to a website.

http://icrsweb.org/

The link looked like a spam type thing to me, but I Googled the URL and quickly realized it was a legit link because it went to Spencer Jack's school's website.

I clicked the link and soon saw the photo you see above. That would be Spencer Jack, in uniform, on the left.

Spencer Jack's school's name is Immaculate Conception Regional School. It is a Catholic school.

I have not had it explained to me how or why it came to be that Spencer Jack is attending a Catholic private school.

Spencer Jack's dad and his dad's mom, that being Spencer Jack's grandma, have long been associated with the Burlington Lutheran Church. It was in that church that Spencer Jack's mom and dad got married, way back in April of 2006.

I remember that wedding day as if it were yesterday. But, it was over 8 years ago. It was a traumatic event for me. Not due to anything to do with the wedding, the trauma came from a relative annoyance of epic, peculiar proportions, whose addled behavior wore on my last nerve. In the intervening years I have seen that relative annoyance only once, not by choice, and for very short duration....

A Phoenix Hoodoo Has Risen On The Tandy Hills Along With A Completed New Trail

Is that not an odd looking new Hoodoo? It is sort of like a sculpture of a bird.

I was on the Tandy Hills this past Thursday prior to going to Town Talk. At that point in time the Hoodoo at Hoodoo Central was rubble on the ground.

Phoenix has risen from those Thursday ashes.

The new trail I saw getting blazed on Thursday is now completed. I arrived at the point where the new trail terminates at the north end of the View Street trail just as the trail blazers finished their blazing.

One of the trail blazers asked what I thought of the new trail. I told him I liked it. I then asked if they'd be continuing making more trails. One guy said no, they are done, while another guy said they may be back, that it depended on the timing.

I had no idea what he meant by the timing remark and I did not ask for elaboration.

What I do know is it would be a real good thing to have all the Tandy trails widened to the width of the new trail.

Today I sat for a spell on one of the wooden benches in the Tandy Hills Amphitheater and it occurred to me that it would be a real good thing to have similar benches installed throughout the Natural Area, like at the crest of hills.

Benches would give elderly geezers, such as myself, a place to plant ourselves whilst we recover from over aerobicizing.

Today I thought to myself the next time I visit the Tandy Hills I need to bring my chainsaw with me.

I'd not hiked the Tandy Highway since the BIG windstorm several Thursdays ago. I did so today and found myself having to navigate over several knocked down trees.

A knocked down tree has been blocking passage on the trail which leads from Tandy Falls to the View Street trail for over a year.

Since I was at Town Talk on Thursday, I decided I did not need a Saturday Town Talk Treasure Hunt. Saturday's at Town Talk can be a bit chaotic and hectic. Lately I have been enjoying peace and quiet and avoiding, as best as I can, anything chaotic or hectic.

Mayor Betsy Price In My Mailbox Again Telling Me It's Fort Worth It!

I found my favorite Fort Worth mayor, Betsy Price, in my mailbox, again, this morning, once again urging voters to vote for Props 1, 2 & 3 in the Fort Worth Multipurpose Arena Election, because "It's Fort Worth It!"

I have yet to hear any sort of explanation as to how having voters vote on these Three Propositions is necessary to bring about the building of an arena which private interests decided to build without public voter input of the sort where voters are asked to vote yes or no on something like the building of an arena, stadium, ballpark, bridge, school or other public works type deals built in the public's interest.

This morning's mailer is the third that has landed in my mailbox asking voters to vote for a user fee of $1 to $2 for livestock stalls.

You reading this in the democratic part of America, have you ever voted for something as goofy as user fees of $1 to $2 for livestock stalls? The livestock stall fee is the Proposition 2 part of the Three Propositions. You can real the almost as goofy details of Propositions 1 and 3 in the above scan of this latest political ad.

Speaking of this being a political ad, when I saw another mailer in my mailbox this morning it caused me to wonder who is paying for these mailings. A couple days ago I found myself wondering who paid for yard signs touting the Three Propositions.

I looked all over the mailer with a magnifying glass and eventually found some small print which said "Political Ad Paid For By Forward Fort Worth Partnership PAC, P.O. Box 28, Fort Worth, Texas 76102".

So, who funds this Forward Fort Worth Partnership PAC?

On the flip side of the mailer we are told "Private Donations Will Pay Half The Cost".

I suspect those private donators are also known as Forward Fort Worth Partnership PAC.

If I remember right this arena is projected to cost around $400 million. With the private donators who initiated this project on the hook for half that amount, how in the world was it determined that the other half of that amount could be covered by a user fee on livestock stalls, a user fee on event tickets and a user fee on parking?

Is this all going to turn into yet one more embarrassing Fort Worth boondoggle?

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price's Studs With A Fort Worth Councilman Who Can't Keep His Pants On

This morning in the email inbox I found a blog comment from someone named Anonymous, pointing me to what Anonymous characterized as "bizarre pics".

The comment from Anonymous....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Voting On User Fees Of $1 To $2 For Fort Worth Livestock Stalls Is Ridiculous": 

Here are some bizarre pics that you might be able to use or not.

The first is titled Mayor Price and her Studs. I recognize of the studs as a guy who cheated on his wife and then dumped her ages ago.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortworthsistercities/8188406586/in/photostream/

Here is Fort Worth city council member Dennis Shingleton wearing a US Navy enlisted uniform like it's a costume. He should know better since he was a Navy officer apparently. No respect I suppose.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortworthsistercities/8170448382/

Well, I can see why Anonymous characterized these pics as being bizarre. Amusing and bizarre. Below is the photo of the Fort Worth city council member.

It appears  these shenanigans took place at some sort of Sister Cities event. Prior to seeing these photos I knew that Fort Worth's mayor had secret service type security to protect her, but I did not know that Mayor Price also had a group of studs.

Are Sister Cities events known to be wild party type affairs where  politicians drop trou for the amusement of the party goers?

Voting On User Fees Of $1 To $2 For Fort Worth Livestock Stalls Is Ridiculous

I saw this sign today at the location on View Street where I parked prior to doing some Tandy Hills hill hiking.

Has the Fort Worth Star-Telegram taken an editorial position on this serious issue of voting on Three Propositions related to the new Fort Worth Multipurpose Arena?

As in suggesting voters vote YES to these three ballot items. Three ballot items which are each basically the same thing, as in voting on user fees, such as whether or not to charge a $1 to $2 user fee on livestock stalls.

You reading this in parts of America that have real things to vote for on your ballots, trust me, I am not making this up. Voters are  being asked to vote on Three Propositions regarding fees related to livestock stalls, parking and event tickets.

And somehow, though I've never seen an explanation as to how, voting on these Three Propositions has something to do with the building of a new arena.

Now, who or what is paying for these large yard signs telling people to vote for Props 1, 2 & 3?

I think I've opined previously that I don't understand why Fort Worth voters are not feeling a bit offput at the absurdity of having these Three Propositions on a ballot. Why have Fort Worth's voters not been given the opportunity to vote yes or no on the building of this arena?

I have lived in democratic areas of America where voters get to vote on things like new stadiums, arenas, ballparks. What a concept.

Til now I have never lived in a pseudo-democratic area of America where voters are asked to vote yes or no on user fees for livestock stalls.

Am I alone in thinking having these Three Propositions on a ballot is, well, sort of embarrassing?

I think I will go early vote now. Any guesses as to how I'll be voting on the Three Propositions?

Hiking Brand New Trails On The Tandy Hills Before Treasure Hunting At Town Talk

This morning I read on Facebook that new trails were being blazed on the Tandy Hills.

I was on the Tandy Hills on Sunday and saw no sign of new trails being blazed.

Today I was back on the Tandy Hills, accessing the hills from View Street, not from my usual access point atop the summit of Mount Tandy.

Walking towards the hills I soon came upon three Fort Worth parks department trucks.

Trail blazers I wondered?

Shortly thereafter I came upon obvious new trail, heading west from the View Street trail. That is a serpentine section of the new trail you see in the picture.

Heading north on the new trail I eventually came upon the trail blazers. My first contact was with a trail blazing woman who had lost her gloves. She requested my help in finding them and then quickly proceeded to scold me for incorrectly holding my walking stick.

A short while after the walking stick lecture we found the missing gloves and the rest of the trail blazing crew.

I'd never seen a trail blazing machine until today. That would be what you see below.

The trail blazing machine is sort of like a mini-bulldozer.

Methinks this new trail blazing is a real good thing and will greatly improve the Tandy Hills hiking experience, replacing some of the eroded trails with trails designed not to erode.

After I had had myself sufficient hill hiking I was off to Town Talk for a rare Thursday bout of Treasure Hunting.

Today I got 10 pounds of Italian sausage, two cases of vanilla Siggi yogurt, three pounds of fresh okra, two pounds of ground turkey, extra sharp white cheddar cheese, chicken, smoked sausage, Fuji apples from Wenatchee, tortillas, chicken tamales and soy milk.

Why Is Gas Now Cheaper In Washington Than Texas?

About an hour ago I got myself some gas at Sam's Club. That gas was pumped at $2.75 per gallon of regular unleaded.

Usually when I get gas I call my mom, but today I was in a hurry and it was not a convenient call time. That and I'd just talked to my mom a couple days ago.

When I got back to my abode eventually I woke up my computer and saw email with a couple Facebook messages. Why does Facebook send me these type emails telling me someone has mentioned me on Facebook? I suppose I could find a way to make it stop if I wanted to spend the time doing so.

So, I went to Facebook and eventually saw that which you see here, Miss Chris Sampson bragging about filling her tank for $44 at a measly $2.49 a gallon for regular unleaded.

Miss Sampson lives in Washington, the Seattle suburb of Kent to be specific.

The last time I was in Washington gas was nearing 5 bucks a gallon. At that point in time gas in Texas was well under $4.

So, why is gas now cheaper in Washington than it is in Texas?

I suppose it has something to do with all those new oil wells being drilled in Washington, producing oodles of oil.

No, that's wrong. Not a drop of oil has ever come out of the ground in Washington. It is Texas that is currently pumping oodles of oil, creating an oil boom in West Texas and other Texas locales.

Oil from Alaska used to arrive for refining in Washington. I know new oil is incoming from North Dakota and the refineries in my old home zone of the Skagit Valley have amped up their producing ability, which is one of the reasons why the economy of the Skagit zone is booming.

I don't see how that incoming North Dakota oil would be making Washington gas cheaper than Texas gas. That sure was not the case when Alaskan oil was incoming.

The volatile gas price is perplexing....

Is Fort Worth Really An Anonymous Boom Town?

Yesterday, after I blogged about yesterday's Tarrant Regional Water District Board meeting, specifically mentioning what I thought to be rather dubious remarks by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Executive Director, J.D. Granger, I got a blog comment from someone calling him or herself Anonymous, which really gave me pause to wonder.

Do I have that "pause to wonder" cliche correct?

Or should it be "pause to think?"

I really am not all that big a fan of pausing to think. Pausing to wonder? Yes, I do like to do that.

Anyway, the comment from Anonymous caused me to  wonder if, unbeknownst to me, Fort Worth is actually a Boom Town....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "At Today's TRWD Board Meeting We Learn Fort Worth Is The Envy Of Other Cities": 

Look at Fort Worth's growth over the last 12 years. Now look at where NCTCOG projects DFW's greatest growth to occur over the next 10 years.....Fort Worth (west and northwest to be more exact). The City of Fort Worth continues to grow and it has indeed been the envy of other City's regarding the rate of growth and the quality of developments that are being built and that are being planned. There are over 10,000 acres of land being planned for development in Fort Worth. A breath of new life continues to be breathed into our Downtown and inner city areas (Sundance plaza, Near South, Linwood, West 7th, Six Points, etc) Further, we continue to diversify our economy and draw good paying jobs to the area. Alliance area is booming, the Chisholm Parkway has opened vast areas for growth (and good growth at that!)

Why are you so down on Fort Worth? Per capita, our permitting numbers are unparalleled. Only Houston beats our single family starts, but that is a pure numbers to numbers comparison. 

Despite the opinion of Anonymous, I am not down on Fort Worth. I am down on hyping that which is not hypeworthy. I do not think it well serves the locals to pretend that Fort Worth is a paragon of any sort, when it is not.

You want to talk to me about all this "good growth"? With some of that "good growth" being a lot of single family housing starts?

Well, you are not going to talk to me about that without talking to me about the Homeless People City on Lancaster. How many years has it been now since Fort Worth sent a task force to progressive cities out west to learn how they successfully managed their Homeless People Problem?

How about the fact that Fort Worth is so ill-served by something as simple as sidewalks? I cringe every time I see a mom struggling to push a stroller on a dirt path beside an un-sidewalked Fort Worth street.

You want to talk to me about Fort Worth Growth? How about growing up to being a city which has modern facilities, such as restrooms and running water, in your public parks? Amenities which long ago became the norm in more developed, modern parts of America.

Regarding this comment from Anonymous, if I am understanding correctly, Fort Worth is the envy of the civilized world due to its unparalleled permitting numbers? With only Houston having more single family housing starts? And due to the quality of its developments? And due to over 10,000 acres of land being developed? And due to having vast areas for growth?

Where to start?

Does the phrase "URBAN SPRAWL" mean anything to anyone associated with thinking opening vast areas for growth is a really really good thing? Without proper planning? Infrastructure development? And, God forbid we think about public transit.

Quality of development? Really? Quality? Sundance Square Plaza is remarkable only due to the fact that after decades of calling its downtown zone Sundance Square, downtown Fort Worth finally has a square, where parking lots existed, previous to the square.

Most big cities in America do not have parking lots at the core of their downtown because that real estate is too valuable to use to park cars.

Downtown Fort Worth may be the most lifeless big city downtown in America. It certainly is the only downtown of a large American city with not one department store. Not one grocery store. And which is a ghost town on the busiest shopping day of the year, that being the day after Thanksgiving.

Are there any other American towns of Fort Worth's size without a direct public transit connection to its airport?

West 7th? You want to bring that up as an example of being an envy generator? West 7th is remarkable only when one compares it to how bad it was before the Montgomery Plaza renovation sparked a boom in that zone. But, was that boom well designed, well planned?

NO!

The drive through the West 7th zone is through a congested canyon. No setbacks, no wide sidewalks, limited parking. And it ain't pretty when a flood comes to town.

The idea is boggling, to me, that anyone local takes pride in the fact that the urban blight which surrounds downtown Fort Worth is now, after how long, finally being dealt with, albeit, to my eyes, incompetently, as in put on your Big City Pants, Fort Worth, and vote to tax yourselves to fund the public works projects which this town so direly needs, but which are being dealt with like a poor beggar looking for handouts.

Ma Granger, please give us some pork, we needs us some pork. We can't feed ourselves, Ma Granger. If we give your boy, J.D., a job, will you get us some pork, Ma Granger?

The envy of other cities in America? No. The above sentence is more accurate as to how other towns in America view the Fort Worth Way of growing....