Comments by djdiablo
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Posted on October 23 at 10:56 a.m.
I completely agree with the above assessment, it is unbelievable that the jumble that was the depot is still there and I think that the phrase “eyesore” is an understatement. Can you imagine if this mess was anywhere else in town? It would have been taken care of a long, long time ago and surely at the owner’s expense. Where is the railroad’s responsibility here and why are they not being held accountable? The railroad used Emporia for over one hundred years, most of the time with perks and tax advantages not equaled before or since, then when they were done here they pulled up stakes and moved the vast majority of their employees elsewhere, leaving behind what is basically an unsightly ruin. It is nothing more than a trash dump and the fact that it remains, after the better part of a decade, is nothing short of astonishing. Odd that the city can force property owners to mow their grass or pay an exorbitant fee to have it done for them, but the owners of this particular lot seem to get a free pass by leaving this disgusting heap of rubble for all the world to see.
Posted on September 20 at 2:59 p.m.
I cannot imagine a WORSE time for Emporia to penalize ANY business or to cut into anyone's profit, considering the state of the local economy and the number of already empty buildings downtown.
And about that "greedy lot," I hate to rain on anyones parade but business is ABOUT PROFIT...that's why we have all the nice things like hospitals and fire stations brought to you by the PROFITS to the community provided in no small part by businesses. Welcome to America. We are a capitalist nation. If you want socialism or communism there are already places that provide that. However, it does seem that businesses don't do quite as well there as here and the standard of living is often much lower...but then they do let disinterested parties foster their personal beliefs off as public policy.
Ah, well.
By the way, the Gazette poll's final number show that of 1,367 participants, 47% are against the smoking ban.
Posted on September 18 at 3:18 p.m.
Discussion is a good thing. I think the significant item of note here is that the reaction that we’re seeing AGAINST the proposed ordinance has really very little to do with smoking in an of itself, it’s just the fact people are sick of being told what to do by nameless, faceless bureaucrats. I’ve talked to a great many non-smokers who feel like this is just the sort of intervention into our everyday lives that we have to finally take a stand against.
A friend of mine, a devout libertarian, has a plaque on his desk that says something to the effect of “as an American I have the right to be left alone.”
It seems now that there is a seemingly constant tide eroding away that right and many others as well. Likely enough, this issue is as good a place to start as any.
Posted on July 27 at 12:31 p.m.
Death by a thousand cuts.
Restricting one activity makes it easier to restrict another. Passing a law for the "Public Good" makes it that much easier to pass another, and another, and another until, as in this case, the "Public Good" is in the eye of the beholder.
As an American, I've always believed that part of the original deal was that I could tell the government and other moral crusaders to "LEAVE ME ALONE."
But they chip away and chip away, all under the guise that they know better what is good for you than you know yourself. California has now, officially, banned the use of trans-fats in restaurant foods. What is next, soda pop, coffee, cocoa, sugar, all tobacco, wine or other alcoholic drinks, ethnic foods that don't meet the government's criteria for "being safe"?
This is indeed one of the proverbial “hot-button” issues today, but I must again remind everyone involved in this discussion that buying, selling, and smoking cigarettes is a LEGAL activity.
If you’re looking for a cause to adopt, try decrying the hypocrisy of a government that preaches abstinence from the evils of smoking the vile weed while simultaneously providing cash subsidies to those who grow it, meanwhile raking in bazillions of $ taxing the product they want you to believe they so honestly disparage…hopefully they will not inundate us with their crocodile tears…but that’s another article altogether.
Big Brother is alive an well, every where, but he and Big Sister are only now raising their ugly heads in Emporia. Right here in River City.
That's Trouble with a "T"....
Posted on April 24 at 10:44 a.m.
I expected a bit of a “fire-storm” (pun fully intended) about my views on smoking bans. I do want to make clear that, in general, I'm not talking about open smoking in restaurants. I don’t want to see people lighting up at McDonalds or anywhere that is otherwise “kid friendly.” But the fact is that taverns, pubs and taverns really shouldn’t have kids present in the first place.
I'm sorry to say that there does seem to be a bit of a “power trip” attitude among some folks who vaguely mind anyone else having a good time. We see this when certain businesses volunteer to segregate smokers but some advocacy groups feel that doesn’t go far enough. It is almost as if they want to punish people who are of a different mind.
I will also admit that I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but being called an “idoit” is a real first for me…
SCD
Posted on October 4 at 3:48 p.m.
Yes students come and go, but the college has been here a L-O-T
longer than 95% of Emporia's businesses. If Emporia is an attractive enough community some of those students will stay behind.
Some of you who are old enough will remember the kids that came from back East to C of E and who initially hated it out here "in the sticks"...yet a surprising number of them became long time residents.
To some of us ESU is the proverbial "bird in the hand..." and make no mistake, a college or a university is indeed a business.
Also I get nervous when I think of the enticements offered to new business in the way of tax breaks etc. only to have them pull a Modine on us.
Does anyone out there remember Modine...?
Posted on September 26 at 11:06 a.m.
This is a very nice article. Thanks, I enjoyed the prose!
S. C. DIXON
Posted on November 23 at 10:34 a.m.
Will Tyson now expect the community to hire teachers and other professionals who speak Somali? Maybe we can build another new school? Too bad Tyson is so used to the community footing the bill to keep their employees happy...if they had a civic conscience their hiring policies might be a little more community responsible.
Posted on November 14 at 2:28 p.m.
I've tried the dawgs, very good! Glad to see this as another eating option in Emporia...the problem that we have is knowing where the stand will be on any given day...
On Hot Dog!
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Posted on November 29 at 2:59 p.m.
Yes, this is too bad. I'm afraid it is part of a permissive society and no one wants to stand up and stop it. Look at the "laws" in Emporia that are ignored day in/day out: littering, speeding, running red lights, make "J" turns, loud music blaring from cars, etc. When people are allowed to break the law routinely, on a dally basis, with no consequences it is not hard to understand, regardless of how sad it is. In some schools now certain students are allowed to select which rules they choose to follow. Teachers, like many parents, are cowed. The "it's all about me" attitude is likely to be with us for a very long time, until we as a society stand up and say that "enough is enough" and insist on a change in the way we raise our children and enforce our laws.
On Stealing is stealing