Aired on PBS Thursday night. If you missed it, you missed the ACOE representative making a complete DUFUS of himself. Anybody catch this? Phrases where tossed around by the panel, like "forward thinking," "accommodating change," and "planning for the future sea level rise," but the counterpoint was, "we just don't have the money... we just don't." 1 dollar of investment pays off fourfold in returns when talking about shoreline stabilization. If somebody told me that if I put one dollar down, I'd get four back, I'd lay down every cent I have.
These 'leaders' of ours, whatever their title may be, are the problem. From local to federal it's a complete clustermess broken down anachronistic slew of endemic corrupt activity. Totally agree w ya. The pric****ks who run for elected office in our nation are the ones who were despised from middle school forward for being, well, who they are. Grubby, back-stabbing, ladder-climbing, materialistic, screw-the-environment little shiiiiteheads that no one would associate with. And yet here they are! Emerged! As 'leaders'..... EX: wtf is Anthony Weiner even doing drawing oxygen away from decent humans. And, Elliot Spitzer. And, Mark Sanford. The list is long. The taxpayer abuse is endless. Endless and non-partisan. The system is...broke down. And thus we end up with the human efflux posing as 'leaders' that the system tells us how the American Way of Life is gonna be. Man oh man, I'm glad that I lived in this nation when it was great Cause we are sliding on a long, slippery slope towards a trench. And thank the lawd for surfing; cause I don't think about this crapola that my country is going through when I'm in the water.
Perhaps we could start a PAC amongst ourselves. Most everyone on here agrees (at least to some degree) on a lot of topics. Use the system to make some changes. What has been said above exemplifies not only my sentiment, but that of many others I deal with on a daily basis (and read about on this forum). What the tavern was to the Founding Fathers is what the internet can be for us seeking change. I am dead serious. The under 40 demographic (there are those over that age that can definitely contribute, especially with their wisdom) needs to take this country back. A lot of these heads that have been in power forever have created/part of a structure that is on (in the words of Raleigh) refeed. I can type more, but I need to help my next client.
I think the best approach is to distill these issues down to the community level. If communities either refuse or demand things be done a certain way, it can be a powerful thing. Consider the issue of beach access, for example. The DEP sets the legislation for the state, but if local communities commit to a cause and stand strong, they can, and have, denied people their legal right to access public beaches. Beach replenishment is a similar issue, where communities have said, "not here," and gotten their way. Local control.
Thomas Jefferson would be proud. I will say that the offer is on the table. A surfer PAC would attract a lot of young folks to say the least. I suppose many would say "join the Surfrider Foundation". Perhaps this would be the political arm of it, despite the disgustingness that comes with the political arena. This could be a rendition of the militant wing of the Salvation Army (minus the world domination and association to Dr. Evil).
