The Blozeman Daily Debacle - Opinions on Bozeman Montana that make the local self indulgent pansies mad

The Blozeman Daily Debacle

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Since the Bozeman mayor and his cronies are really just extending a high-school popularity contest, we thought we'd help him along and buy him a crappy old Camaro. What better to symbolize the glory years of old Bozeman High School. For a few extra bucks we'll throw in some bondo and an old letterman's jacket. Al Bundy wasn't such a loser for reliving his high school glory years and obviously the mayor doesn't think so either (too bad he didn't stay there).

Downtown Bozeman - June
Could somebody please tell me why the Bozeman city council of cronies and the downtown association of cronyism is tearing up main street? Is it to replace the sidewalks? Is it to put up new street lights? I can't imagine that anyone thinks this is an improvement. Especially since the sidewalks look terrible. Was this a high school project? Because if it wasn't then somebody needs to be fired for doing a piss-poor job.

Hmmm. Let me guess. The construction company (let's call them 'wannabe construction') seemed to have an inside track into getting the contract. It's not the best construction company in town but they just so happen to get the contract because they were there are the right time (when no one was looking, except for all the downtown association of cronies).

Look, if you gonna waste taxpayer money on creating a haven for tourists then spend the money to create a downtown that actually attracts people. What's been created on main street is pathetically amateurish and proves again that the city council members are more interested in personal gains (popularity contests that they didn't leave in high-school) than serving the body public.
Make Up Your Mind!

If you are are republican or a democrat then you are a Capitalist (it's called being an 'American' and believing in the 'American Way').

For the rest of you...

If you believe in market controls and limiting the economic freedom of America's companies, then you should be calling yourself a socialist

March - City Council Votes for a Moratorium On Bigbox Stores
Oh my. This is pathetic. The city council (let's call them the council of cronies and anti-capitalists) has voted to put off a decision on allowing larger warehouse stores to build in Bozeman.

What's really pathetic about this is the fact that we won't know any more about bigbox stores in six months than we already know now. This is just another really silly attempt to manipulate the situation by stalling the decision (nothing like a good old fashioned bureaucratic maneuver).

Are these stores really so bad that a whole gaggle of cronies is willing to put aside free market principles to embrace socialist tactics? Didn't we just come through a historical period that proved economic controls and regulated economies don't work? The fall of Communism proved beyond any doubt that free-markets bring prosperity and controlled markets fail completely.

And to say that big box stores will be a blight on the Bozeman landscape is laughable. What do you call that huge open pit on the West side of town? Oh sure, that's pretty. And what do you call those abandoned buildings on the East side of town? Oh sure, those dumpy shitboxes add flavor to Bozeman (just like the big poisonous pit does for Butte [now there's another economic success story!]).

Bozeman, you're not a quiet little hamlet in the hills anymore. You're a grown-up city that's growing by the thousands. It's time to realize that the city needs to grow to encompass this growth. Hiding from it is not an answer. The roads need to be expanded, houses need to be built, and jobs need to be created for people to feed their children. If you want to live in a town that doesn't face this situation, then you need to move to Mayberry.

Stop Being a Small-town Luddite!
Big box stores such as Target and Wal-mart are not "evil-empires" to be feared. Target donates millions of dollars to charities across the country and Wal-mart employs both elderly and handicapped folks (can't say the same thing about some of the locally owned stores [especially that gouge-happy lumber yard]).

Feb 27 - The Mayor and his Buddies
The mayor proves once again that you have to be an insider in order to escape the city coucil's war against capitalism. If you are the mayor's buddy, you don't have to worry about economic impact statements. But heaven forbid if you are a large employer who wants to bring in lower prices and dozens more jobs.

Let's face it. The mayor really likes being a friend to people like Chris Nelson. It's sexy to run around and say you are friends with the cities most successful businessmen. It shows that he's connected. He's the big man on campus. Wow, isn't it great to be back in high school again?

High school, that's where you try to be part of the 'in-crowd' while making fun of the new kids. Yep, those new kids are different and don't fit in. Makes it kind of fun to pick on somebody you're not familiar with. Oooh. And that makes you the big man of the group when you pick on somebody new.

Please, let's stop the charade in this town that there is anything fair about how the city council approaches business expansion. If you are an insider then your business will be protected like the steel industry in China. But if you are a new business then you are the kid who doesn't fit in and you get picked on by the guy who wants to be the big man on campus. Amazing the courage somebody suddenly has when they stand up to to the new kid (can we say 'ego-trip' boys and girls?).
Isn't Anybody Paying Attention?
Globalization and the modernization of economies around the world is one of the reasons America has done so well over the last 15 years. And why in the world are the people of Bozeman fighting this expansion in their own town? Did they forget to cover one of the greatest economic expansions in history in the Bozeman paper?

Oh. I forgot! You backwoods folks are just so much smarter than the rest of the world!

That's right. Socialism is set to make a big comeback. Those complete and utter failures in controlled economies was just a minor glitch. I'm sure you folks in Bozeman will figure out how to get around those minor oversights by Marx and Engles (like not accounting for the human quest for freedom and prosperity).

City's Demand for a $25 Million 'Economic Impact Fee' from Wal-Mart
In the rest of the country this would be considered blackmail. Demanding this much money from a company that provides jobs is outrageous. But I guess the city council is comfortable acting more like the Mafia than an elected governmental body. Let's call this what it really is, racketeering by a bunch of big city wannabes.

Here's what's going to happen in Bozeman. The K-Mart will be closed and will leave a disgusting empty eyesore on the North side of town. Then the Wal-Mart will move outside of the city and will leave another disgusting huge empty eyesore. By this point Bozeman will be looking better and better. Shouldn't they just open a huge poisonous pit so Bozeman can look just like Butte? Or is that what the city is planning to use downtown for once they've chased off all the larger retailers?

To make such vapid demands against a company that brings money into the community is outrageous. To make these demands at a time when Bozeman's largest employers are laying off can only be described as utter stupidity. Why don't we just leave these type of economic control mechanisms to the people who proved that they don't work (try Lenin and Castro for starters).
The Truth About Keeping Money Local
Home Depot is an American company and there are people in Bozeman who own stock in Home Depot. That means, if Home Depot makes money then people in Bozeman make money. Even better is the money goes directly into their hands instead of the hands of some old crony businessman who was too scared to invest and expand his business to compete with Home Depot in the first place.

Feb 12 - Park Appraisers
The Bozeman population keeps up its record of 'not invented here,' 'It ain't no good attitude.' Two backwoods appraisers criticize another appraiser because he overvalued some land? No, these appraisers are jealous and don't believe that someone from outside the county should be used for any work within the county (kind of like Arkansas where they like to keep 'it' within the family).

Heaven forbid that some from outside Bozeman might have ideas that would prove helpful for the city. Bozemanites will never see them because they are too busy squabbling over zoning issues.

Blozeman in General In essence you have a town separated along economic grounds. One side believes in some expansion for the good of economic growth (to create jobs so people can feed their kids) and another believes in fighting tooth and nail to keep a town that resembles their memories from childhood (so they can coddle their insecurities by fondling a past only they remember).

As in all places growth will come whether the town folks of Bozeman like it or not. So far the town has not chosen to harness the growth they are confronting. At the very least, they could attempt to find a happy medium between the expansion and their environment. But instead they choose to squabble like children fussing over a piece of candy (of which will be dropped on the floor and covered with shag fibers and cat hair).

Downtown Bozeman - June Could somebody please tell me why the Bozeman city council of cronies and the downtown association of cronyism is tearing up main street? Is it to replace the sidewalks? Is it to put up new street lights? I can't imagine that anyone thinks this is an improvement. Especially since the sidewalks look terrible. Was this a high school project? Because if it wasn't then somebody needs to be fired for doing a piss-poor job. Hmmm. Let me guess. The construction company (let's call them 'wannabe construction') seemed to have an inside track into getting the contract. It's not the best construction company in town but they just so happen to get the contract because they were there are the right time (when no one was looking, except for all the downtown association of cronies). Look, if you gonna waste taxpayer money on creating a haven for tourists then spend the money to create a downtown that actually attracts people. What's been created on main street is pathetically amateurish and proves again that the city council members are more interested in personal gains (popularity contests that they didn't leave in high-school) than serving the body public.	Make Up Your Mind! If you are are republican* or a democrat then you are a Capitalist (it's called being an 'American' and believing in the 'American Way').* For the rest of you... If you believe in market controls and limiting the economic freedom of America's companies, then you should be calling yourself a socialist
March - City Council Votes for a Moratorium On Bigbox Stores Oh my. This is pathetic. The city council (let's call them the council of cronies and anti-capitalists) has voted to put off a decision on allowing larger warehouse stores to build in Bozeman. What's really pathetic about this is the fact that we won't know any more about bigbox stores in six months than we already know now. This is just another really silly attempt to manipulate the situation by stalling the decision (nothing like a good old fashioned bureaucratic maneuver). Are these stores really so bad that a whole gaggle of cronies is willing to put aside free market principles to embrace socialist tactics? Didn't we just come through a historical period that proved economic controls and regulated economies don't work? The fall of Communism proved beyond any doubt that free-markets bring prosperity and controlled markets fail completely. And to say that big box stores will be a blight on the Bozeman landscape is laughable. What do you call that huge open pit on the West side of town? Oh sure, that's pretty. And what do you call those abandoned buildings on the East side of town? Oh sure, those dumpy shitboxes add flavor to Bozeman (just like the big poisonous pit does for Butte [now there's another economic success story!]). Bozeman, you're not a quiet little hamlet in the hills anymore. You're a grown-up city that's growing by the thousands. It's time to realize that the city needs to grow to encompass this growth. Hiding from it is not an answer. The roads need to be expanded, houses need to be built, and jobs need to be created for people to feed their children. If you want to live in a town that doesn't face this situation, then you need to move to Mayberry.	Stop Being a Small-town Luddite! Big box stores such as Target and Wal-mart are not "evil-empires" to be feared. Target donates millions of dollars to charities across the country and Wal-mart employs both elderly and handicapped folks (can't say the same thing about some of the locally owned stores [especially that gouge-happy lumber yard]).
Feb 27 - The Mayor and his Buddies The mayor proves once again that you have to be an insider in order to escape the city coucil's war against capitalism. If you are the mayor's buddy, you don't have to worry about economic impact statements. But heaven forbid if you are a large employer who wants to bring in lower prices and dozens more jobs. Let's face it. The mayor really likes being a friend to people like Chris Nelson. It's sexy to run around and say you are friends with the cities most successful businessmen. It shows that he's connected. He's the big man on campus. Wow, isn't it great to be back in high school again? High school, that's where you try to be part of the 'in-crowd' while making fun of the new kids. Yep, those new kids are different and don't fit in. Makes it kind of fun to pick on somebody you're not familiar with. Oooh. And that makes you the big man of the group when you pick on somebody new. Please, let's stop the charade in this town that there is anything fair about how the city council approaches business expansion. If you are an insider then your business will be protected like the steel industry in China. But if you are a new business then you are the kid who doesn't fit in and you get picked on by the guy who wants to be the big man on campus. Amazing the courage somebody suddenly has when they stand up to to the new kid (can we say 'ego-trip' boys and girls?).	Isn't Anybody Paying Attention? Globalization and the modernization of economies around the world is one of the reasons America has done so well over the last 15 years. And why in the world are the people of Bozeman fighting this expansion in their own town? Did they forget to cover one of the greatest economic expansions in history in the Bozeman paper? Oh. I forgot! You backwoods folks are just so much smarter than the rest of the world! That's right. Socialism is set to make a big comeback. Those complete and utter failures in controlled economies was just a minor glitch. I'm sure you folks in Bozeman will figure out how to get around those minor oversights by Marx and Engles (like not accounting for the human quest for freedom and prosperity).
City's Demand for a $25 Million 'Economic Impact Fee' from Wal-Mart In the rest of the country this would be considered blackmail. Demanding this much money from a company that provides jobs is outrageous. But I guess the city council is comfortable acting more like the Mafia than an elected governmental body. Let's call this what it really is, racketeering by a bunch of big city wannabes. Here's what's going to happen in Bozeman. The K-Mart will be closed and will leave a disgusting empty eyesore on the North side of town. Then the Wal-Mart will move outside of the city and will leave another disgusting huge empty eyesore. By this point Bozeman will be looking better and better. Shouldn't they just open a huge poisonous pit so Bozeman can look just like Butte? Or is that what the city is planning to use downtown for once they've chased off all the larger retailers? To make such vapid demands against a company that brings money into the community is outrageous. To make these demands at a time when Bozeman's largest employers are laying off can only be described as utter stupidity. Why don't we just leave these type of economic control mechanisms to the people who proved that they don't work (try Lenin and Castro for starters).	The Truth About Keeping Money Local Home Depot is an American company and there are people in Bozeman who own stock in Home Depot. That means, if Home Depot makes money then people in Bozeman make money. Even better is the money goes directly into their hands *instead of the hands of some old crony businessman who was too scared to invest and expand his business to compete with Home Depot in the first place.*
Feb 12 - Park Appraisers The Bozeman population keeps up its record of 'not invented here,' 'It ain't no good attitude.' Two backwoods appraisers criticize another appraiser because he overvalued some land? No, these appraisers are jealous and don't believe that someone from outside the county should be used for any work within the county (kind of like Arkansas where they like to keep 'it' within the family). Heaven forbid that some from outside Bozeman might have ideas that would prove helpful for the city. Bozemanites will never see them because they are too busy squabbling over zoning issues.
Blozeman in General In essence you have a town separated along economic grounds. One side believes in some expansion for the good of economic growth (to create jobs so people can feed their kids) and another believes in fighting tooth and nail to keep a town that resembles their memories from childhood (so they can coddle their insecurities by fondling a past only they remember). As in all places growth will come whether the town folks of Bozeman like it or not. So far the town has not chosen to harness the growth they are confronting. At the very least, they could attempt to find a happy medium between the expansion and their environment. But instead they choose to squabble like children fussing over a piece of candy (of which will be dropped on the floor and covered with shag fibers and cat hair).