Lexus vs big bad wolf DISS
This is what Jackson has come to. The last and the best of the Old West are long gone.
When Bill Addeo parked his legal wolf kill on Town Square, the act met with indignation in the newspaper. Letters to the editor poured in from far away, blue state addresses exclaiming what a monster Addeo is and how barbaric and unfeeling it is to shoot one of God’s creatures with anything but a Nikon.
Finally, Addeo and his hunting guide felt compelled to defend their actions with apologetic letters of their own to the editor. Addeo said he was urged by Game and Fish to cover his wolf carcass. He said other hunters were advised to hide their legal elk kills.
Worrying that it might look too savage, too unsophisticated, too “Western” to display one’s harvest should not be on the list of anyone’s concerns in the great state of Wyoming, much less an agency created for the purpose of managing wildlife.
Direct flights and four-star accommodations have removed the hardships to get here and make it here – the glue that once held the community together and gave it its unique character. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the valley is changing. In the name of diversity, in the name of culture, in the interest of progress and civilization we are becoming exactly the kind of city that once offered an alternative to a “paved street” way of life.
The danger is not that we will become “Anytown, USA,” It’s that we will become Encino, Calif.
Case in point: Jackson city officials OK’d the closure of Town Square streets so luxury car maker Lexus can shoot a TV commercial downtown next week.
“Basically, the Town of Jackson is being used to sell Lexuses,” Jim Stanford said at a meeting of the city leaders who forge a new, lily-white path for its citizens.
Jackson is being used, alright, and when foreigners are done shaping and molding it just that way they want, into a city that reminds them of the cesspool they escaped, the vultures will be on to the next quaint mountain town or seaside villa that offers a breath of fresh air.
Gone from the Square are rowdy joints like The Rancher, where a couple of cowboys could throw back a few Coors Lights and get their snoots bent out of shape. Now it’s the Town Square Tavern serving turkey cran wraps and pasta primavera daily. Real estate offices and art galleries vie for walk-up business catering to an affluent clientele capable of making an impulse buy of a $200,000 painting or a $5 million property.
Another law, another life saved, another freedom removed DISS
The ordinance-crazed Town Council is at it again. To protect all of us from ourselves they have virtually outlawed driving. By mid-December, motorists will no longer be able to talk and drive, and that goes for bikers too.
This is more of the same reasoning that causes municipal codebooks to balloon and ordinance readings to dominate two-thirds of every government meeting. Add more laws, electeds say, until all our citizens are out of harm’s way.
There is no end to chasing down the number of things idiots can think of that might mangle themselves or others. It’s a bottomless pit.
No one is arguing the fact that driving while distracted is dangerous. So is driving. So is walking while distracted. Hands-free conversations are just as distracting, according to most research. That means we also need to include conversations held between driver and passengers in the car. Are the “safe” police going to make sure we don’t talk at all in our cars?
On top of the distracted driving ordinance, the Council is piling it on even further with an “inattentive” driving law. How on God’s green earth is any cop going to be able to ascertain whether you were driving without full attention? It’s the silliest, most unprovable notion to ever hit the bloated law books. What’s next, no more driving sad, mad, glad?
It’s an excuse for law enforcement to pull anyone over under the guise, “It looked to me like you were day-dreaming.” Heaven forbid a motorist try to sing along to the radio.
We already have laws on the books. Use those. Enforce those. What’s wrong with the catchall “reckless driving?”
Giving Tuesday PROP
The new Black Friday is now Thanksgiving Day. Cyber Monday is pretty much every day. What about a day for goods and services that derive from or benefit a nonprofit?
Giving Tuesday is a nationwide notion gaining traction across the country and now finding a home here, maybe, with JH Wildlife Film Festival and the JH Land Trust on board so far. Charitable organizations are urged to participate.
It’s not anti-consumerism. It’s just smart shopping.
