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Just a reminder. Tomorrow, Monday, Oct. 1, 2008 is the City Council meeting. We need to show them our strength in NUMBERS! Attend, and participate. If you can't attend, you can get the audio cd's (no charge) from City Hall and listen to every word. The Council participants need to be told to SPEAK into the microphones and identify themselves before speaking so we know who they are. Another thing, Mayor Grimes used to alert speakers at the podium that they have a 3 minute time limit. He doesn't do that any more which allows many people to simply ramble on and on and repeat themselves for 15 minutes...or more. The last meeting I attended lasted almost two and a half HOURS. That's about one and a half hours too long. This needn't be. I know it's very early but I'm taking a tip from the presidential candidates and stepping up to the plate for next year's election. Along with any others who care to do the same I think we need to teach these old guard incumbents the difference between RUNNING for office and STANDING for re-election. The more of us there are, the better our chances of taking back control of our city. Jim Richards Term limits establishes a Citizen Legislature.
The nation's Founders strongly believed in rotation in office. They left term limits out of the Constitution because they did not foresee that politics would become a career for so many people. Short term limits would remedy that mistake. Nothing is more important today than reversing the pernicious rise of a professional political class. Councilmembers Hand, Grimes, Vernon and Smith disagree with the above. They found a HOME. That's why some of our nation's best and brightest people are shunning politics. We must not continue to allow that to happen. Jim Richards RE: COUNCIL MEETING DISASTER! OK, I’m a bit (but just a tad) more calmed down now so I can give more details about Monday night’s City Council meeting. WOW! What a pre-conceived set up against Stan Beckham. It was very well timed and orchestrated. They finally came out of the closet! Vernon, Hand, Smith and Grimes vs Beckham. I think if Beckham had advanced a notice to double their salaries and advance them to Sainthood…they would have voted against him. His Item #17 was timed WELL into the Time Zone so it was presented so late that most of the citizen audience had left. Frankly, but butt was so sore from sitting on those hard, metal chairs that I was tempted to leave many times….but I stuck it out. For over 2 and a half HOURS. Beckham’s 3 issues for resolution were uniformly voted DOWN! At least it is now a matter of public record. Phil Smith cooed lengthily about how wonderful he was because people just kept electing him AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN for all of his 20+ years on the Council. He opined that it was a simple matter if people wanted a change…all they have to do is vote in someone else. Whew! He’s got to 2010 to face that, doesn’t he! And, Deborah Hand…(the one who admits to counting the ceiling tiles when a voting citizen gets up to speak….and who said that if she could change the law about allowing citizens to even stand up to speak, she would prohibit it) ) said….(DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT…GET THE FREE AUDIO RECORDING AT CITY HALL) …. She said: (and some “ANONYMOUS” blogger here thought that Beckham needed to take a lesson in Civics 101) “I THINK THAT TERM LIMITS ARE UNDEMOCRATIC.” No kidding! That’s what she said. Check it out for yourself. What planet does SHE live on who doesn’t even know that the President of The Jim Richards Tonight is not the night to stay home! And when you come to the City Council meeting don't sit on your hands. Participate! Coucilmember Beckham will introduce 3 Resolutions (see my previous Blog and thread about the fireworks) which will change City politics forever. A change for the better. Once introduced, the Council will have 2 choices to make. They can vote them into law immediately...or they can pass the buck to US by voting to put it on the November, 2008 ballot. That will effectively put it off for a year and a half and cost the taxpayers (US) a bundle of money. Which choice do YOU want them to make? Let them know! Let's pack that room tonight. Let's get back to our roots. It's called a Citizen Legislature! Jim Richards
The City Council meeting of Sept. 17th. promises to produce a lot of fireworks with Councilmember Stan Beckham’s 3 Resolution proposals. They are listed as Item #17 on the Agenda and are: #1. Councilmember term limits. #2. Commission Appoinments. #3. Hiring Policies. It is the latter that addresses nepotism and cronyism in City hiring positions. This will be heated, for sure. Everyone who can put aside an hour or so should attend and participate. Council meetings are every 1st. and 3rd. Monday of the month at 6pm at the Veterans Hall on F. Street. I’ll be there! Will you? Jim Richards Let's all show our respect today by flying the flag, keep your porch lights on, honk your horn, and drive with your headlights on! THAT will send OUR message back to Bin Laden. And do something today that matters most to you. Jim Richards
I urge all Tehachapi citizens to commemorate our sisters and brothers who lost their lives in that brutal, terrorist attack on 9/11. Please fly the American flag and drive with your headlights on all day to show your respect. Respectfully, Jim Richards
I was recently asked by a sitting Councilmember why, in my opinion, more people do not turn out to attend the Council meetings. We both came to different conclusions.
My conclusion was that it was bad timing. At 6pm on a Monday evening, many mom's are busy cooking dinner for their families and many working people who have to travel some distance are busy driving on the freeways at that hour just trying to get home. I further stated that more people who would like to attend would gladly do so if these meetings were held on a Saturday afternoon so these stated people would then have the time and opportunity to attend.
His conclusion was simply, public apathy.
If I am right, this should be brought to the attention of the Council, even though Hand says that would be inconvenient for HER.
If he is right, shame on all of us!
What say you?
Jim Richards
During the Wind Turbine tour we were required to leave our A/C buses several times to stand in a small tent and listen to various long winded "officials" make many speeches. At one stop, with all 100 of us standing shoulder to shoulder and with sweat dripping off our chins in the triple digit heat, one speaker held us "prisoners" for some 45 minutes while he ranted on. He seemed unfazed by the heat, because he was in love. With the sound of his own voice! However, after the luncheon, the best speaker of all was Congressman Kevin McCarthy, who said everything he wanted to say, in all of four minutes. His speech was greeted with a resounding (and grateful) applause. Here is a pic of the two of us. I am the handsome one on the left! Jim Richards
Maria Gonzales Lopez de Guadalupe, of East Los Angeles, went to the local psychic in hopes of contacting her dearly departed grandmother. The psychic's eyelids fluttered and she began moaning. Eventually, a voice came saying, "granddaughter are you there"? The granddaughter, wide-eyed responded, "grandmother, is that you?" "Yes, it's me." "It's really you, grandma?" The woman repeated. "Yes, it's really me, granddaughter." The woman paused, "grandma, I have just one question for you." "Anything, my child." "When did you learn to speak English?" Jim Richards
Here is a picture of 2 of the air conditioned busses that took us around on the tour (it was wretchedly HOT) and ended with a delightful luncheon. I don't know if this Wind Turbine will be able to be seen from anywhere as we had to take the "back road" to get there (I wasn't the driver). It seems to be in the middle of the desert somewhere although it is placed high up on a hill. However, it is on the property of the Portland Cement plant. Jim Richards Here is another pic I promised to add regarding the Wind Turbine Ceremony of my previous post. This is the bottom section of the tower and there will be two more of the same size added to top each other. They will need to be bolted together by human hands, at both outside and inside positions. Man, talk about a hazardous job! These workers will have to be hoisted and lowered into the inside to make sure the bolts are secured. Once that is done, the blades will be added at the top. I don't know when I've ever seen anything more impressive! I hope these people get a whole bunch of money for doing this 'cause I wouldn't/couldn't do it for ANY amount of money Jim Richards
This picture was taken on my recent invitation to the ground breaking ceremony of the new Wind Turbine facility in Mojave. It is being built by a Portland Cement Co. consortium for operation of their plant. At present, they pay So. Calif. Edison, ONE MILLION DOLLARS per month for their power usage. When this becomes operational it will cut their usage by up to 56%. So, not only will it cut their expense but it will also cut down that amount of drain on the power grid. This is only one of three blades. The height is expected to reach 500 feet. That's almost twice as high as the Statue of Liberty. It will be the world's highest and largest Wind Turbine. We, in our little corner of the globe, are the world's leader in this technology. This should send a clear message to Iran, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and other oil producing nations that their days may be numbered!
Jim Richards
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