December 25, 2004 Christmas Morning
It is very cold outside and very
white; a foot of snow on the ground and
eight below zero on the thermometer.
I had a dream just before waking
up this morning; I think it did wake me up.
I dreamed that a friend of mine
could not write “United States of America” anymore.
She could write “United States
of...” but could not complete the writing of what she grew up believing
in. When she wanted to write “America” in that popular phrase she could
not.
That woke me up.
I look back on this year and
I cannot list very many things that our government at the local and national
levels did right for these United States.
Let’s take this for example
this recent development from our local level:
“An industrial park will be developed on the northeast edge of the Marion city limits where the Blank operation was once located, according to the Blank (CCEDC).
The Blank Cabinet for Economic Development has agreed to finance the purchase of the property for five years at two percent interest through the Blank (KEDFA).
The CCEDC paid $2,000 for an option last June to purchase the former chicken farm from its current owners PERSONS. The PEOPLE bought the property from BLANK after the controversial BLANK went out of business there early last year. The PEOPLE purchased the land and 16 broiler houses in March for $155,000 from BLANK. They have sold all of the chicken barns which will be taken down and removed from the property.
The land, which lies next to the BLANK Subdivision, includes 105 acres and has utilities in place, which makes it attractive for industrial development, said THE, chairman of the CCEDC.
"We need more property to have places for industry to locate," added THE CHAIRMAN. "This property is in a great location and it already has sewer, gas and water which is a big, big plus."
The county's other industrial park on the south side of town is virtually full with light industry including BLANK, BLANK, BLANK, BLANK and the BLANK-Tech Center. There are 14 acres of vacant land at the current industrial park, but only a small portion of that is suitable for development.
While CCEDC may have some prospects who would be interested in the property on the northeast side of town, for now it's just an investment in the future, Hardin explained.
"There are risks involved in everything, but there is a greater risk if we don't try to create jobs for our citizens," he said.
The economic development group hopes to close the deal in January. For now, it has a contract to buy the property for $272,500. The balance of the $400,000 KEDFA loan will be used for development of the site, if needed.
A residential type house or office building on the former chicken farm is suitable for rental and will not be removed from the site, the CCEDC said in a news release issued early this week.
The CCEDC board of directors has also approved negotiations for an option on another 80 acres owned by BLANK. Located near BLANK residence on BLANK Street, the property lies below BLANK and is also suitable for development as an industrial park, the CCEDC said in its news release.
There has been some discussions in the past about the CCEDC constructing a spec building in Marion, but no details of that plan were released as part of the land purchase.
The CCEDC also acknowledged
this week the confirmation of nearly $500,000 in grant funds approved by
the BLANK. BLANK was in Marion last winter to announce the county's qualification
for the grant, which will be used to improve technology at the BLANK Center.”
According to this someone is going to profit quite a bit from the money raised by the people of Kentucky with no guarantee that this sale will benefit anyone in Kentucky but the seller.
**
Or at the National level.
"Americans were told by President Bush and his administration that the U.S. was going to war with Iraq because of the imminent threat of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism. Yet to date, no such weapons or ties have been revealed. Did the U.S. launch a war of necessity in Iraq, or a war of choice?"
**
There is a very high price to
this war and those costs are going up every minute:
“The US is losing "the war of
ideas" in the Islamic world, a Pentagon advisory panel has warned.”
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=206
“President Bush heads into
his second term amid deep and growing public skepticism about the Iraq
war, with a solid majority saying for the first time that the war was a
mistake and most people believing that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
should lose his job, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
While a slight majority believe
the Iraq war contributed to the long-term security of the United States,
70 percent of Americans think these gains have come at an "unacceptable"
cost in military casualties. This led 56 percent to conclude that, given
the cost, the conflict there was "not worth fighting" -- an eight-point
increase from when the same question was asked this summer, and the first
time a decisive majority of people have reached this conclusion.”
**
"Top donors to the McConnell
Center for Political Leadership include some of the biggest corporations
in Kentucky as well as major defense, tobacco and food companies across
the country."
http://courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/12/14ky/A1-foundation1214-8123.html
**
December 25, 2004 Christmas
Morning
It is very cold outside and
very white; a foot of snow on the ground and eight below zero on the thermometer.
I had a dream just before waking
up this morning; I think it did wake me up.
I dreamed that a friend of mine
could not write “United States of America” anymore.
She could write “United States
of...” but could not complete the writing of what she grew up believing
in. When she wanted to write “America” in that popular phrase she could
not.
That woke me up.
Words & Graphics by Tomas