An open letter to the newly elected city government of New Haven IN

With the results of the recent city election, New Haven will be represented entirely by Republicans. This provides an opportunity to demonstrate that Republican principles can adequately provide for citizen services at a low cost to taxpayers.

As a fellow Republican, I would like to repeat some of those principles and add some strategies that will benefit our community.

First, I would ask that all of the elected representatives be sure that the only personal gain would be from a stipend. Do not participate in any other perks that will add to the taxpayer obligation, such as, health insurance, retirement plan, or personal expenses. Elected office should always been viewed as a sacrifice on the officeholder, not as a financial gain.

Develop – with community input – an aggressive business attraction plan. With the transportation infrastructure soon to be all in place, it is time to sell it to potential businesses. Updating a new comprehensive long term growth and zoning plan will give reassurance to businesses and community members that development is being done responsibly with future generations in mind. There has been much discussion regarding the use of various tax incentives as a tool to attract and retain businesses. I believe that an active public discussion needs to examine the responsible use of them, including an evaluation of their effectiveness. With all of the discussion regarding the permit process for businesses that is taking place in a nearby community, our processes should be re-examined for possible streamlining also.

There needs to be a comprehensive community input on future infrastructural efforts. Where should the priorities of local government be placed? I suggest that public safety be first. Where are the needs for improvement or change in public safety and what could be the associated costs? Because of the highway system that navigates through the city, perhaps adequate pedestrian tunnels or bridges would effectively better tie the city together. Encourage private development of the end of the Greenway trail with the downtown region.

Finally, I would suggest making city government even more open to the public. Rather than encouraging the public to sit in on meetings, bring the meetings and information to the public. Could public broadcast be beneficial? Publishing all of the various budgets and monthly updates would be informative. The use of technology to better deliver city services should always be an evolving process.

As a Republican, I look at the results of this past election as more than just a clean sweep. It is a rare opportunity that government can effectively meet the needs of the community that is low cost and less intrusive. I challenge all of the winners of last month’s city election to demonstrate not only to New Haven, but also to the nation that Republican principles can provide for a thriving community.

Where has the language all gone?

This has been a topic I’ve thought writing about for some time. Today’s culture is losing the sense of expressing itself in complete, accurate, thorough, written communication.

I am guilty of participating in most of today’s social media. I do too much Facebook time, according to my brother. I dabble a little with Twitter and play the Foursquare game. I have read there are many other sites out there, but I think I would go into technology overload.

What I have been noticing has been the overuse of communication shortcuts – the use of numbers or symbols as replacements for words or parts of words. Even more fascinating to me has been the lack of spelling accuracy and incorrect grammar, especially when many programs offer spell check/grammar check before sending a message.

Of course, there used to be the use of shorthand, the use of symbols to replace words as a method of recording conversations.

When I taught a class at IPFW, I gave the students one essay question on each test that gave them the opportunity to express their opinion and justify why. I did not grade according to their opinion, but, rather, their ability to express their opinion in complete sentences.

I guess the quality of the English language is slowly deteriorating. First goes the spoken language – the word “ask” no longer exists, it has instead become “axed.” Next, we lose the written language. Oh well, before long everybody will be speaking Chinese, so I guess it really doesn’t matter.

Green Hornet - crimefighter?

This is probably going to be one of my oddest posts for this blog.

I went to see the new movie “The Green Hornet.” Obviously, what drew me to this movie was the fact that I grew up watching the original 1960’s television series. I spent most of the movie comparing the movie to the TV version.

The TV series only lasted one season and can be associated with the “Batman” series as they were made to overlap – production resources and scripts. GH was made to be somewhat futuristic with a dependence on electronic gadgets. The most important aspect of the show was the level of crime-fighting intelligence and understanding of the criminal mind. He and his sidekick Kato worked well together.

What I saw in the movie was the “hero” Britt Reid as selfish, dimwitted, dependant, lush, inability to judge others’ character…and on and on. In other words, this hero really had very few redeeming values.

Finally, the hero tries to do what is right and even manages to succeed. One incident was even copied from the TV series.

What makes this movie so disappointing – along with some of the Superman and Batman movies – is that the heroes are made out to have significant personality flaws. The heroes of old could be depended to not only catch the criminal, but also make the right moral decisions.

Young people look at these movies and see no sense of right and wrong, only gray areas of poor choices. I believe that one reason young people today make bad choices is the lack of superheroes with bedrock right morals and cutting edge crime fighting capabilities.

Yeah, this movie was a waste of movie.