Vision

It's now trendy in the political world - because of President Obama's great success with it at the polls - to lead your constituents by having a "vision" of what (blank) should be; where (blank) is any or all of the following: your city, county, state, region, country, continent, world, earth, universe, and etc. You get the idea. The only other requirement for this "vision" is that it should represent "change."

Change is good. Isn't it? Before I go off on that tangent, let me make my point.

Mayor for Life Martin Chavez . . . what? He's not? Give me a break! He's now in the latest race for Mayor of Q and has already circumvented well advised legislation to limit mayoral terms to 2 consecutive. I have already swallowed 12 years of him and I have only lived in Q since 1995. Anyway, Mayor of Q for Life Marty has the vision thing down pat.

First, you can't fault him for having "vision." Even if his vision of Q is much different from anything you would want or need. Take dogs for instance. Who can object to dogs? Make dogs a part of your "vision" and people can't help but vote for you no matter how kinky your other politics might be. And then there's streetcars. He can't get enough of them. As a railfan, I think we never should have stopped having streetcars. But as a taxpayer, when I read what Houston, TX, has just forked over (puked up, as in hairball) for them, I know Q doesn't need them. The list goes on, including solar panels and cactus gardens on rooftops. Bicycle boxes? Take a look at the towers on I-40 near Old Town! Bicycle boulevards! Dogshit parks.

We don't need his infamous red light cameras, and his administration's incessant discouragement of motor vehicle use. Use the bus, use the bike, walk, take the train. Well bite me, but I don't feel like becoming one of Q's self-righteous road hogs who can't figure out what direction traffic is going, never saw a stop sign or red light they didn't pass, and haven't learned yet what happens when a 2-ton vehicle hits a 300-pound bicycle and rider. Ouch! That's gonna hurt whether it's the vehicle driver's fault or not.

Where was I? Vision! Used to be something New Mexicans got from a weed. Anyway, what happened to government of the people? Or are we now too slow and stupid (after all, we voted for them) to decide for ourselves? We gotta have politicians, most of whom are liars (rhymes with lawyers), to decide for us? Not for this writer!

Where's the Tylenol? Oh, wait, it might be illegal soon. Where's the Oxycontin?