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Get in the Game

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Dooraghero View Drop Down
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Joined: Oct 16 2009
Location: Middletown
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dooraghero Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Get in the Game
    Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 6:12am

Tough times in America were always like a ball team who finished a difficult season in last place.  The rules of the game remained a constant.  The Constitution was the rulebook.  Even though struggling through a losing season, sportsmanship kept us playing by the rules.  Winning with honor and dignity was the only option.  There was no thought of “stretching,” changing, or omitting the rules for the sake of victory.  Winning at all costs never entered the thought process.  Instead, perseverance became the measure of character and like the American Dream; there was always the hope for next season.  It sustained us.  It motivated us.   We had hope for a change.  But it had nothing to do with altering the distance between bases, granting a batter four strikes, or shortening the distance between the pitcher’s mound and home plate.   Our hope was cemented in the integrity of the game and the idea that if we just work harder and apply ourselves in the off-season, good things would happen with the fresh dawn of spring.

 

Will this be a new season of promise for America or will we remain locked in the winter of our discontent, isolated  like a lone blue and silver Bud Light can lying forlorn in the gutter.  Will we continue complaining about the past season, bemoaning management, the coaching, the moves made by the general manager?  The easiest and least productive thing to do is to merely complain.  Complaining locks us into a steady state of ineffectiveness.  We must endeavor as in the past to take the measures necessary to improve our game.  We must initiate actions now, both as individuals and as a team to actualize our hope for the next season of the American Dream.

 

Now is indeed the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country.  Many have already done so by involving themselves in the political process as candidates, protesting on street corners, letter-writing and phone calling.  Many have started attending city council meetings, school board meetings, and county government sessions.  But it takes a team with commitment to win a World Series.  All the players must be ready to take up the challenge, not just a few.

 

America,  will you sit idly alone in a musty locker room, head in your hands, bemoaning the last season while a few others have resolved to work harder and longer toward the hope of next season or will you get out there on the field, in the streets, on the telephone lines and in the politician’s offices?   The opportunity of spring is upon us.

Would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance,just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they'll never take our FREEDOM
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VietVet View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 7:29am
A couple of comments about your post Dooraghero. You mention getting in the game by getting involved with the city government and questioning their motives on how they're "running the ship". In Middletown, for the last 20 + years, a small faction of citizenry has been asking questions and criticizing the way the business of the town has been conducted. We have attended council meetings and have spoken in the citizens comments portion. We have written letters to the editor in the Journal. We have E-mailed our councilpeople on various subjects. We have attended public forums and asked questions. We have attended the few offerings when a councilperson has their "conversation with a councilman" sessions and we have tried to form several groups at various times to unite the citizens in a common theme to approach council in numbers to get our message across that we don't like the way the town is being run.

Result of all this activity: Zero- nadda- squelch- 0.........Can get council to listen to us in council meetings but they refuse to respond. Can't seem to receive any feedback in a letter to the editor from those that the letters are directed to....just average citizen input. Can't ask "point blank" questions to a councilman in a "coffee session" at Java Johnies (Marconi) as he immediately cancels all future sessions because he calls the "point blank" questions "gripe sessions". Can't ask some simple questions about job attraction at a 3rd Ward meeting at the Seniors Center without getting everything but a straightforward answer. And, we can't seem to offer any solution to get the citizens riled up enough to get off the couch to join us on a Sunday afternoon at the library (or at the old Montgomery Ward building years ago) for a chat about what is bothering them enough to do something about it. Yep... this town has alot of dissatisfied people living in it, but they just aren't mad enough to drive somewhere to talk about it nor are they angry enough to organize into a group that will cause the city leaders to feel intimidated. A sad, frustrating scenario that apparently has no answer. As long as we, the people, show apathy with a little anger stirred in. we are no threat to the city leaders and they see us as no threat. As soon as we find a way to organize and acquire numbers and an agenda, and take the agenda and pack the council meetings with supporters, they will recognize us as the threat that we want to portray. JMO   64 million dollar question.....how do we get people interested?
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spiderjohn View Drop Down
Prominent MUSA Citizen
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spiderjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 9:01am
People ARE both concerned and interested.
They simply haven't bought into the people behind and efforts attempted to date.
There must be ONE common issue to create overwhelming opinion for change, brought forward by a NEW FACE who has appeal to most facets of the community.
Then--the tables get turned as the large citizen majority rules.
The remaining "dark siders" are over-run and moved deeper into the backround.
 
It is simply going to have to be headed by someone different from here also.
Right ot wrong, the MUSA regulars are somewhat viewed as the sos opposition to the sos elected/employed city leaders.
No need for the same faces to ask the same ?s at the up-coming forums.
Let's hope that new faces come forward to ask or submit futuristic constructive ?s and concepts that can be embraced by a large majority.
 
Keep picking off the old guard one by one in the up-coming elections.
Forget recalls--not enough support.
Vote NO on tax/spending issues.
Though I will support the school issue as necessary for the students.
 
It is OUR city
The bureaucrats are in place to inact the will of the public.
And it is long past time for the public to uniote and clearly state a chosen path.
 
This ain't no ball game.
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VietVet View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 10:48am
spider- for years, we have discussed the apathy in this town. We talked about it on the old Middletown Journal blog and we've discussed it in detail here. Now, all of a sudden, you say that people actually are concerned and interested. Oh really? When did the apathy change? When did people start organizing for a common cause? I'm not aware of any grassroots movement in town that would provide resistance to city hall. How would we know whether they have "bought into the people behind the efforts attempted to date" if they haven't gotten up off the couch to see what they were shoveling? There has been no interest from a majority of people in this town or Mr. Kidd would have seen it a few years back at his meeting he had and we would have seen it at the library meetings.

One common issue to create overwhelming opinion for change? If the Section 8 fiasco didn't fire people up what would? If the lack of jobs didn't fire people up, what would? How about the overall destruction of the town and the feel of desolation and an apocalyptic environment as we slowly become a ghost town in which to live? Not enough to get people mad yet, perhaps?

If you are suggesting that we can't use the regulars and the native Middletonians, how long will we wait for the "outsider with appeal" to appear? Too much time has already been wasted while we watch the town collapse. It will never change unless someone does something soon with some mass appeal that will fire up the people, or this city will never turn itself around. Who will be the messiah?

Ya think we can get rid of the old guard fast enough? Do you honestly think that there is not enough support for recalls? This would surprise me if there wasn't.

Unite? Great! How? We can't even get the small contingent of people on this site to meet to discuss issues. There have been several attempts to meet and the suggestion dies every time. If like minds won't meet, how can we expect the masses to get together?
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acclaro View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 11:04am
sj, I will be out of town when the two council members will beholding their sessions with their constituents. Why not ask the following:
 
1. Do you support putting back on the city ordinance, the requirement infrastructure funds are used just for streets and roads?
 
2. Are you aware Mr. Lambaugh, Ms. Smith- Jones, that inder Ohio law, taxes collected for tag renewal and such is allotted back to cities and municipalities for the sole purpose of fixing streets and bridges, and other infrastructure, yet, it appears those funds are diverted?
 
3. What is your position on the new city slogan, and do you agree or disagree Bright Past is improper English?
 
4. Why were funds supposed to be dedicated solely for public safety used for other purposes after the last election which was the basis for the .25% increase?
 
5. What plans are there going forward, to curtail the cots of living adjustments, the excessive benefits employees in the city of Middletown enjoy, truly considered cadillac plan in substance, when the rest of the population of tax paying residents are suffering?
 
There are about 6 more I can frame easily, and these are hardly confrontational. 
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Marianne View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Marianne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 12:37pm
Originally posted by acclaro acclaro wrote:

3. What is your position on the new city slogan, and do you agree or disagree Bright Past is improper English?



You're kidding, right? You really don't expect to waste council members' time on a supposed grammar question, do you?

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spiderjohn View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spiderjohn Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 12:42pm

Vet--despite your hard work and efforts, Mr.Kidd's hard work and efforts, and everyone else who has participated and blogged, there has been no result that has had stay power or enegized the public.

The public doesn't want to hear any more  from any of us  than they want to hear Mayor Mulligan, Ms.Gilleland, Mr.Kohler et al.
 
It will have to be THE ISSUE that first unites and inspires the public.
Then hopefully a new uniting leader will emerge.
We can only support candidates and issues through the elective process.
If you can put together something else that works, then go for it.
 
acclaro--I hope to attend each forum, and see no real issues with your ?s.
I would expect a few of them to be asked, and am not opposed to asking a couple of them myself.
HOWEVER--you could easily submit them in advance to the appropriate(or all) Councilmembers, so that they would be prepared to answer such ?s or bring these topics forward on their own.
 
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wasteful View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote wasteful Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 12:43pm
Maybe a better question for the slogan/logo is:  Is this the best we can do?  Put it up on the web or paper and let the people vote on whether they like it or not.
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acclaro View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 08 2010 at 1:16pm
[/QUOTE]

You're kidding, right? You really don't expect to waste council members' time on a supposed grammar question, do you?

Marianne, you are kidding, right? I mean, do you think:
 
1) Any council member is actually busy, and if so, doing what?
 
2) Anyone woud actually have the correct answer?
 
I told you before, its our secret.
 
Wink
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Mike_Presta View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike_Presta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 09 2010 at 7:50am
Was that Bud Light can in the gutter FULL???
If so, what is the address???
“Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012
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Marianne View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Marianne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 09 2010 at 9:57am
Originally posted by acclaro acclaro wrote:

You're kidding, right? You really don't expect to waste council members' time on a supposed grammar question, do you? Marianne, you are kidding, right? I mean, do you think:
 

1) Any council member is actually busy, and if so, doing what?

 

2) Anyone woud actually have the correct answer?

 
[/QUOTE]

Yes, this is exactly the attitude you should have when asking City Council members questions during a forum. I don't get it. (Then again, I don't get your convoluted logic regarding grammar, so I shouldn't be surprised.)   On the one hand, you want sj to ask questions of the council members at the forum, but on the other hand, you offer a blanket disparaging remark about them?

Where's the post that asks, "Why won't any council members or any city government leaders answer our questions here?" That should be coming up again soon.   

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acclaro View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Mar 09 2010 at 11:26am
Marianne, convoluted logic associated with something so simple as a Bright Past? Please. I'm sorry, I don't have time to do a graduate level class on rhetorical arguments and sentence structure. One owuld hardly consider the phrase Bright Past to be simple in terms of analysis on the premise of fundamental writing.
 
Personally, I could care less about council meetings, about council, about city hall, as I fully intend to sell my property and leave which has been my intent for years. The city is not making progress and won't. If you'd like to debate a substantive issue, by all means post, and I'll happily oblige a response.
 
Finally, the questions posed were quite simple to answer and ones any effective council leader should have given consideration without the need to bring them up on a consistent basis. But who cares at this juncture, Middletown will be your problem, not mine. Council is still in deep analysis on where the dog water fountain should go at Sunset Park, while new ordinances are being orchestrated associated with mandates to have pets on a leash which runs in contradiction to the high jump pole for border collies a consultant is drafting plans.    
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