You know, you would think that someone who acts as the elected representative of approximately 20% of Jefferson County's population, and who has the responsibility for drafting and passing legislation, would have a better idea about the way in which laws in that person's home town work. Especially when those laws are more or less uniform throughout the entire state, since they deal with zoning issues.
Further, one would think that you (if you are such a person) should--rather than intimating that somehow these laws are unintelligble, or even that they are the result of some sort of nefarious scheme to lower property values, and then going on to declare huffily that you were learning some unpleasant things about your hometown--be ashamed for your total lack of understanding and basic reasoning skills.
Mark Twain once quipped that it's better to hold your tongue and people think you a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. There is at least one local politico who might consider that as very sage advice, and before spouting off about a legal matter, this person might want to take a moment or two to read the law (again, being a legislator would seem to make this rather simple, although I might be assuming too much).
Further, it might be good (if you are such a person) that before you start testily mouthing-off that the neighborhood president will be made aware of what's going on, to know enough about the neighborhood to recognize that the gentleman seated directly in front of you IS the neighborhood president.
Ignorance is not pretty, and deliberate ignorance is downright ugly.
Frankly, I couldn't care less who you are, or who you think you are--just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's illegal; and if you don't know the law, it's not your fellow citizens' fault, it's your own. Unlike some municipalities who might charge you fifty bucks a copy, the whole zoning ordinance is online (although, in fairness, it IS a big .pdf file)--so you don't have to pay a penny for it.
Finally, I do not appreciate being lectured to by an empty-pate.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at July 22, 2005 09:40 AM