The twin threats of citizen activism and academic freedom

What do you call it when a group of citizens identifies a local problem, selects a possible solution for addressing the problem, creates a program for implementing the solution, and takes that program public for all to see? If you answered "grassroots activism," the Minnesota anti-PRT propagandist begs to differ:

Ithaca's PRT Promoters Know Better Than You

...I am in favor of full and meaningful citizen participation in decisions that effect the neighborhoods they live in...

Meaningful citizen participation requires that citizens be given the power to make decisions based on the best available information.

The PRT promoters of Ithaca seem to have another idea... [ellipsis in original] no meaningful citizen participation. Source

Apparently, if a person from Ithaca supports PRT, in the eyes of Kiln Ovendoor they are no longer a citizen.

Nope, he calls them "‘green’ tyrants" who are going to "force [PRT] on Ithaca." On what does he base this allegation? This passage from a blog:

THE GOVERNMENT: Top down approach. This is how any really major change has ever happened in the world of environmentalism. Without governmental guidance or support very little will get done in a short period of time.

Let's look at the "blog" where this passage originated. Kenwood calls it Green Cities blog, but closer inspection reveals there is more to the story: it's part of a class at Cornell. The description at the top of the page reads:

"This highly participatory course will engage students in the possibilities and challenges of re-creating our cities as sustainable communities that enhance rather than deplete our planet and that provide a high quality of life for all their residents."

There are even links to a syllabus and class Powerpoints. It met twice a week in Snee Hall.

The class is about "green urbanism," and the passage about "The Government" is from a section where the writer discusses ten ways to achieve progress on a broad range of issues -- not only PRT. Heaven forbid there should be any government leadership on the environment (does Labridor think Al Gore is a wacko?).

Children are our future, but I guess exploring, thinking college students (and the Academic Freedom that encourages them) are a lurking threat -- at least to the Propagandist.



gPRT
Mitt Romney saw his father march with Ken Avidor

Kids, and other undesirables

Here's a bizarre linkage from the mind of the Minnesota anti-PRT propagandist: get a load of his opinion of teenagers:

PRT allows anyone to climb aboard, drunks, prostitutes, teenagers, drug dealers and do what they want in the privacy of the PRT vehicle... leaving behind vomit, used needles, condoms, grafitti, odors.... hard to police thousands of vehicles whizzing around on monorails. [ellipses in original] Source

"Hey you kids! Get offa my transit!" Old fart. His strange hate goes on.



gPRT
Ken Avidor is a failed concept

Reductio * absurdum

Local Man Denounces Pedestrian Footbridges

A self-styled walking and biking advocate spoke out today against construction of Bike/Pedestrian Bridges anywhere in the Universe.

The man, a Minneapolis resident who said he didn't like it when media failed to publish his name, said he preferred crosswalks.

"These overpasses are pie in the sky, whereas crosswalks are proven," he said. "Overpass proponents try to make them sound like a good thing by calling them footbridges!!! But really they are just bashing crosswalks!!! Overpasses are nothing more than gadget-crossings, people want their feet firmly on the ground with everyone else--if only because it's symbolically egalitarian!!! If lifeforms want to cross the street safely, we should wave in a friendly manner and ask motorists to yield!!! They are, after all, our friends, neighbors and fellow-citizens!!!"

"Building overpasses would be a mistake," he continued. "Rain and snow will drip off them onto people below, and people walking across will be able to see into bedroom windows!!! It's nothing more than a stalking horse for the pro-drip, cheap-thrills industry!!!"

Asked if he was aware that people have curtains on their windows, he fumed that footbridges are safety nightmares. "Drunks will throw up on them, and young people will use them as places to drink, or have sex!!! And are we going to call out the hook-and-ladder every time someone gets stuck up there?"

He also raised an aesthetic and environmental concern. "Just ask people if they want the trees on their street cut down for overpasses!!!"

The man said he would soon be releasing a definitive 'overpass report,' including illustrations showing what a footbridge would look like with the head of Sen. Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater) Photoshopped onto it.


gPRT
Like a bridge over troubled Ken Avidor