Lions, Tigers and Bears

Actually, the title of this writing should read, “Schools, Roads and Pools”, in light of the multi-million dollar bond issues passed by the Anchorage voters. Now that the voting booths have closed, some $103-million, for what? I voted “NO” for all of the bond issues. Accept the Taxi deregulation. I will get to that. Now we are all allowed to exercise our right to vote right, or left. So if the majority chose to appropriate a bigger tax burden upon themselves to once again fix things, so be it. I think this city is at Phase X of the fix-it-up thing. One also has the right under the 1st Amendment to opinionate. When the bond issues surface, it is always for the same damn thing. Roads, leaking roofs and more fire engines. How come we cannot construct roofs without leaks? How come we cannot construct pools without leaks? Talk about engineers left behind, Alaska has found them and they seem to be leaving technology advancements behind. Must be athletes that graduated with a degree but no degree of credibility. The road system in and around Anchorage is pure unadulterated “crap”. But it always has been and always will be unless we change our stupid ways and means. So I can see it now, as the road construction companies will once again become the beneficiaries of the bond money giveaway. See, no other cities in the nation have roads that crumble apart like we see and put up with here in Anchorage. Why? Because other cities get it right, maybe not the first time, but soon after as bond waste isn’t allowed. Best way to get booted out of a good old American town is to be a shabby road contractor. Good thing hangings are a thing of the past! So why don’t we ever get it right? On the Seward Highway, there is a Federally funded “Test Section”. It is a section of road made of concrete. It outlasts anything that has been laid down and subject to frost heaving and thumping traffic. Many other cities with “good” roads - some that have climates very similar to Anchorage - have opted to fill the lanes with concrete. It costs a whole lot more, but it lasts ten-times as long as asphalt. But that is where the problem exists. It would put the road contractors out of business! So I guess crappy roads and crappy re-work does provide jobs, bond after bond after bond. Seasonal jobs at that wherein most of the workers take off for the winter. Yes indeed, take the money and run for cover. So the passing of the bond issues is evident of the population base. Sure moms and dads want the best for the roads that take their kids to school. To those places of daily worship that are modern and safe, bond after bond. But it will be more of the same a few years from now. If this city were smart, it would support a contest to let the kids design a school instead of some architectural firm that can’t yet get it right. And it seems this city has more fire-fighting equipment then many “Big” cities. Of course, this city buys and maintains all this special equipment for industrial fires, except no industry to use it on. Thinking ahead I guess. I truly think the city needs a fireboat. Why not, just another bond issue? The voters can be fooled again. In fact, maybe a fireboat is truly a necessity now that Don Young’s wood chip export fiasco is nothing but a heap of rotting wood chips nobody wants to buy for export! And how is this city going to protect the passengers aboard the U.S.S. Don Young when it starts transporting politicians from Pt. Mac to Anchorage? And that is where the problem of “The Bond” exists, as there is this “bond” that tricks us into believing we need to spend more crap on crap. It is definitely a crappy affair with my money being wasted. And bringing outsiders inside to tell us what is best is “Turncoat”! Why? Because that is what this state did when oil came along, and we got screwed big time for a long time by now. As far as the Taxi deregulation bond failing, that was trickery, as the outsiders invaded our domain. It is a rip-off, but with only 20% voter turnout, the weather was not a factor. In fact, Best Buy had more shoppers then did my precinct turnout. Maybe the bond shootout should have included free taxi service to the voting halls, then people may have voted the truth of the matter. Money was used to provide a false impression of what deregulation would do for the taxi industry. Somebody paid for that advertising entertainment, like hiring a lobbyist. Lets face the facts on that. It was most likely the owners that want to continue rolling in the dough. So what if deregulation failed in other places. Roads haven’t failed in other places but that didn’t stop the Anchorage voters from saying “yeh” to more taxation did it? I use the taxi system. When you get the goods on how this is but a segregated industry, you would have voted differently. Deregulation would have been good for the business climate all around, testament that Anchorageites were willing to try something different for a change. Stagnation wins out again and that has a boil-over effect as it stagnates our future. But it is no different then the paving businesses. It is a money tree for a few and a total inconvenience for the rest. We struggle every summer working around idiot road projects. Then it snows and the road paint washes away so does a good portion of the crappy asphalt. Do you have any idea how much pollution that crappy black stuff contributes when it breaks down and gets wind blown or water born? There is a law, but there is nobody to blame! Really, when the city was monitoring what was in the melt-off and dust, besides dog feces, it was determined that a major constituent was asphalt. Tar balls I am talking about. And laws do exist but it is based on quantity discharged. We are all guilty when we get in our vehicles and race around town. So not only does shabby road construction cost money, it is a cost upon the environment. In California, asphalt is tested before it is laid and must adhere to strict guidelines for “sticking” together. It costs more, but it is designed to last a long time. Do you think the road engineers ever test the crap that is laid in and around this town? NO way, as it would all be rejected and the project would get delayed and that may delay completion bonuses! Last year when the Wild Man was laying the black along the Abbott extension, crap balls could be tracked for miles around! That outfit should have been fined for illegal discharges. But NO, as we have to handle the paving contractors with kid gloves or they might go away. Good riddance is my sentiment. And I feel sorry for Kiki, but it is also time for her to hang it up. We need new blood and a younger breed to try and right our wrongs and get things straight. Take this for instance, do you really think the CBC - Corrupt Bastard Club - mentality is gone forever? Look at what is happening this day down in Juneau. Waste, more waste and waste on top of waste. In fact, if this state was even a little smart we would keep “our” share of the oil in the ground for now, it is going to go up! We have enough in the reserve to run government and hold off for that rainy day. Maybe the young kids will someday look back and chuckle, over what the hell happened to all the money. They may vote a bond to hire an outside explorer to find out where it is hiding out, as we will probably still have nothing to show for low voter turnout. I guess it accommodates the 5th Amendment Right! “No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”. And that is not what voting is all about, as to not vote is like hiding. Shame on freedom! Damn, a tar ball just hit my windshield. Or was it a dog turd? Wow, a day after the bonds received the stamp of approval and the paving trucks are rolling off the lot, as the money tree lives on. Screwed again we are!

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