Shall We Gather at the River?
Lacking the will to shoulder the responsibility for implementing an interim stormwater management program, and the unwelcome but necessary impact fees to fund it, New Albany's City Council punted Thursday night, but not before bemusing the crowd with a semantic debate that reveals just how diminished is the awareness of certain elements.
In a fit of pique that infected both sides of the table, with two abstentions and a remarkably petulant "nay" from Gang of Four veteran and Strom Thurmond wannabe Larry Kochert, council decided that no, we shall not gather at the river. Instead, we shall again run from responsibility and blame the big, bad Feds when they impose daily fines of $25,000.
Volunteer Hoosier is working on developing an online calculator so readers can plug in the budget line amount for their favorite city service to discover why the Gang of Four wants to eliminate that service. I don't know about you, but having 911 dispatchers get that ambulance to me on time is MY favorite city service!
For those of you who do not read books, here's a primer.
SHALL is directive. WILL is predictive. MAY is permissive. - VH Glossary of Legal Terms
shall (shal) v. aux. pt. should [ME schal, pl. schullensceal, inf. sceolan, akin to Ger sollen < IE base (s)kel-, to be indebted > inf. Lith skeliu, to owe] 1. Used in a first person to indicate simple future time [I shall probably go tomorrow] : cf. WILL (sense 1) 2. Used in the second or third person, esp. in formal speech or writing, to express determination, compulsion, obligation, or necessity [You shall listen] 3. Used in a statement of laws or regulations [The fine shall not exceed $200] 4. Used in questions about what to do [shall I invite them] 5. Used in conditional subordinate clauses [If any man shall hear, let him remember] USAGE - see usage note at WILL - Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, the Official Dictionary of the Associated Press
Council's attorney pointed out the reality-based truth (granted, a foreign concept to the opponents of responsibility) that will and shall are interchangeable in common speech, although shall is the preferred usage in legal documents, still.
Somehow, Li'l Stevie's fan-girls define shall as some exotic weasel word. Hey girls! Maybe next time, instead of muttering "bullshit" (I kid you not) all night, you could pick up a dictionary. Some experts!
In other news, the bipartisan attempt to knee-cap $75 million in outside investment in fair, affordable housing that (wonder of wonders) meets code and complies with zoning regulations continues apace. As Cruella de Val looked on, her agents on the council came very close to torpedoing up to $600,000 in federal grants, provoking a rare flash of anger from Redevelopment Director John Rosenbarger when he was accused of lying.
One surprise was the appearance of a contingent of student journalists, on hand to cover this government meeting. They were treated to random outbursts of anger from almost every point of the council compass, and the behavior of the citizenry was only slightly more savory. Even your humble correspondent succumbed to the spirit of anarchy, but the response my "crudeness" provoked gives me a few suggestions for investigators chasing leads on the recent spate of criminal harassment toward progressive elements.
Kristallnacht any day now. We invite responsible comment.
In a fit of pique that infected both sides of the table, with two abstentions and a remarkably petulant "nay" from Gang of Four veteran and Strom Thurmond wannabe Larry Kochert, council decided that no, we shall not gather at the river. Instead, we shall again run from responsibility and blame the big, bad Feds when they impose daily fines of $25,000.
Volunteer Hoosier is working on developing an online calculator so readers can plug in the budget line amount for their favorite city service to discover why the Gang of Four wants to eliminate that service. I don't know about you, but having 911 dispatchers get that ambulance to me on time is MY favorite city service!
For those of you who do not read books, here's a primer.
SHALL is directive. WILL is predictive. MAY is permissive. - VH Glossary of Legal Terms
shall (shal) v. aux. pt. should [ME schal, pl. schullen
Council's attorney pointed out the reality-based truth (granted, a foreign concept to the opponents of responsibility) that will and shall are interchangeable in common speech, although shall is the preferred usage in legal documents, still.
Somehow, Li'l Stevie's fan-girls define shall as some exotic weasel word. Hey girls! Maybe next time, instead of muttering "bullshit" (I kid you not) all night, you could pick up a dictionary. Some experts!
In other news, the bipartisan attempt to knee-cap $75 million in outside investment in fair, affordable housing that (wonder of wonders) meets code and complies with zoning regulations continues apace. As Cruella de Val looked on, her agents on the council came very close to torpedoing up to $600,000 in federal grants, provoking a rare flash of anger from Redevelopment Director John Rosenbarger when he was accused of lying.
One surprise was the appearance of a contingent of student journalists, on hand to cover this government meeting. They were treated to random outbursts of anger from almost every point of the council compass, and the behavior of the citizenry was only slightly more savory. Even your humble correspondent succumbed to the spirit of anarchy, but the response my "crudeness" provoked gives me a few suggestions for investigators chasing leads on the recent spate of criminal harassment toward progressive elements.
Kristallnacht any day now. We invite responsible comment.
posted by All4Word at 11:39 PM
2 Comments:
It's because he was saving his ritual abstention for a later.
I feel better now about not attending. Coming down from amphetamines makes you really prickly and hot-tempered, and I was afraid I'd lose it the first time I heard Li'l Stevie mangle the language.
Just kidding!! (About the amphetamines, not about UC Priceless).
Yup. And it was accompanied by some nasty remarks toward his fellow council members, too. He as much as said he was voting against the storm water management plan in retaliation for the council's refusal to use tax money to restore the user-fee money to the city-owned utility.
It was an ugly meeting, and the only ones who could have left happy are those whose twice-monthly goal is to see to it the city remains mired in the muck.
I believe the people of New Albany are too smart not to figure out who the corrupt ones are, who the demagogues are, and who the sincere ones are.
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