What's Happening? Lots.

Here's what's been on my mind.

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Jaime Abeytia did a good job summing up his feelings on "Occupy El Paso" HERE.  Jaime is a seasoned political operator and observer - he knows what works, what could work and what doesn't work at all. 

I can't say much about the people involved in El Paso's "occupy" movement because I'm not there.  I think Jaime provided a really nice overview of the situation from the point of view of a democrat who isn't left of Che. 

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Speaking of Jaime... A week or two ago he had a good piece on how to win a democratic primary in El Paso.  I trust him with that advice because he's been there. 

I would like to give my two cents on how to win a general election in El Paso.

1. Be a democrat.

2. Do not kill anyone... scratch that - do not kill anyone who is well liked. 

Do that and you should win a general election in El Paso without fail.

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The folks "occupying" the park got thrown a bone on Tuesday when city council made for some special exceptions to the rules so they could stay there overnight.  You can read the story HERE.

Nobody was embarrassed by homeless people flat out asking council to approve the overnight occupation for the park.  They aren't a part of the protest and the rules were originally put in place to keep the homeless from camping in the park.  Now the homeless are camping in the park. 

By allowing this special treatment for these special people, the city has put themselves in a very precarious position atop the skyscraper of fairness.  Bums can now apply for permits to occupy the park pretty much year round and a have a solid legal leg to stand on if they are denied the exact same accommodations as the "occupiers" were. 

I'm telling you, some asshole hobo out there will tie this around the moronic city council's neck and let them hang themselves with it.  The park could turn into a completely legal hobo camp for the next 100 years because city council is collectively dense.  

I hope to God the City's legal department alerted council as to what exactly they were getting into here.  I'm just an idiot with a degree from JUUTEP, and I figured out the end game a week ago.  Just think what truly smart people can come up with to manipulate the process.

Voting "no" were Niland, Robinson and Ortega.  Niland and Robinson are very practical people who are smart enough to know what's going on, so I'm not surprised by their intelligent vote.  Ortega on the other hand kind of surprised me.  He has always struck me as a guy to let people push things until somebody has to step in.  He's not a preemptive kind of guy.  I'm dying to know why he voted the way he did.

I think the overall reaction to the "occupiers" by local politicos is quite interesting.  They all seem to be like little boys huddled around an insect they can't identify.  They don't know whether it's a dangerous bug or a friendly bug, but they aren't going to attack it until they figure that out.  Maybe it's a bug that fights other bugs they don't like, so it's a good idea to make friends with it.  Maybe my bug metaphor has gone on way too long?  It has.

You've got the Sheriff feeding them, the Congressman feeding them and the rest of the politicos loosely rallying near them.  Nobody has figured out that if there is even 100 folks out there, that statistically speaking maybe only four or five of them have ever voted at all given that it's El Paso and nobody votes - especially young people.

I think the Sheriff is feeding them for two reasons:

1. He's got the money in a campaign fund to so, so he might as well gets some votes out of the deal.

2. If the shit hits the fan later and they won't leave, he's already got a positive foot in the door with them to help steer the movement back on track and out of trouble. 

Wiles is a very smart guy - don't underestimate his planning.

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The irony of the article HERE is almost unbearable.  You can almost feel the lessons being learned by the "occupiers."

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When Paul Foster offered to redesign the San Jacinto at his cost to ensure that it fit with all of the updating and reconstruction of the buildings he owns, it problem came with some restrictions.  His generous offer was a part of a plan to improve the entire area for EVERYONE, but on his terms.  After all, it's HIS money.

Leave it to El Pasoans to wipe their ass with a $250,000 gift. 

The idiots on city council decided to break the deal and go search out alternative designs for the park even though Foster had done all he could to include everyone in the process.  Now city council has picked a God awful piece of crap design and still think Paul Foster is going to pony up the cash!?!!?!  That money is long gone.  Paul Foster isn't going to give away that money after the city backed out of their deal.  If he does, he's not the man I think he is.

All of this is moot since city council has set the precedent to have that park occupied by homeless people for eternity.

You can't do anything nice for anyone in El Paso because you'll get shit on for your efforts.

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The Mayor's court proceedings on the recall are seeming to get weirder and weirder.  He really doesn't know when to let one battle front go and re-double his efforts on the remaining fronts. 

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Going back to the city council and the Foster thing for a moment.

As this PDNG thing goes... How can any group like the PDNG actually trust the council to do what they say they are going to do?  They have reneged on the deal made with Foster, which has been the first and only effort at "revitalizing downtown."  What might they do going forward with this arena debacle? 

The problem lies in city council's inability to listen to their legal experts.  If they enter into a bunch of agreements with the PDNG, and later decide they want to do things differently (which happens all the time with them it seems), they put the taxpayers on the hook for a very expensive legal battle. 

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That's all for now.

Comments

[Texaswoman]

What you missed the purchase of cameras to monitor El Paso terrorist activities.

As to contracts the city enters into all one can ask is has your head been buried in the sand. The City cancels contracts all of time. It's not an unusual occurrence.

[karma]

I think DavidK's point is that if PDNG/Horrow come up with something, get it vetted through PDNG and the City, then some crybaby citizen/group comes up and says they weren't invited to the party. The council has a reputation for then making the groups go back, listen to the crybaby citizen/group and then adopt the crybaby citizen/group plan and throw out everything the group did. It's happened over and over again in this city. The message to the private sector (including PDNG) is go ahead, spend your money, show us pretty pictures and we will then decide to go with the crybaby citizen/group just because - and thanks for playing!

[ROFLMAO]

David, did you notice Jaime removed the rebuttal by the young democrat's leader to the black democrat's leader. You commented on how Reyes hasnt done anything and you referenced one of your articles in NPT. In the comment section there was the leader of the young democrats calling the commenter from the black democrats a racist while admitting they didnt allow anyone over 40 to join because they might maipulate the system. Jaime removed it from his blog. ROFLMAO ! Because of this I feel he shows his "true colors" and is definitely pro-Reyes.