Imagine it’s one of Christina’s town meetings, redolent of popular meetings on the hill in ancient Athens. It’s government in action. We vote on municipal decisions, talk to friends, go shopping and feel involved in public affairs.
Yes, very democratic. Power wielded by the people. So should we give the town elders a bit more help by voting on the detailed implementation of decisions too? It might include a retrospective veto on a plan if we don’t like how it’s being carried out.
It is of course a recipe for administrative chaos. If an approved town plan can be un-approved, can it be re-approved too? Why not?
So, back in Westminster, could the barmy bremainers please wind their necks in and see how ridiculous they are. This town ain’t big enough for the both of us. It was high noon on 23rd June 2016 – and y’all lost. So do one.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Janus: After the High Court’s decision support for Brexit has only been galvanised. The 80 MPs who’ve been kicking up a fuss, other than being regular perpetrators of crimes against taste, are stuck in an echo chamber and seem to not understand just how hypocritical they are. They saw no need to give British voters a say on the Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice or Lisbon but demand that a proposed settlement be voted upon even after a clear majority voted to leave. What happens if it’s rejected? There’s no way that they’re going to convince all 27 countries and their sub-regions to give the UK more time to negotiate a new settlement. Nor will the EU, smarting from the UK’s vote to leave despite a, from its perspective, tedious re-negotiation and insulting rejected be overly inclined to cede more ground to the UK.
You have it a bit wrong there J. Local issues presented for approval or denial according to vote are specific, time and finance limited with full plans and timetables. There is no coming back for another bite at the cherry or rescinding it later. All are in the public domain for months if not years before voting. So all citizenry have the chance to study the project and attend public meetings if they choose to do so.
This year, four initiatives were approved.
Uprgrading the Whatcom Co school bus fleet.
Extending greenways throughout the county, ie right of public access to maintained paths from Mt Baker to the sea.
Extending public transport in Bellingham.
A new public library in Point Roberts the bit of America that is cut off by Canada. They do not have a library.
All will be funded by precepts on the property taxes approved by at least 60% of taxpayers. Their choice to pay more.
Very little more will actually be paid because other past initiatives will have come to the end of their term, rather than rates go down, people would rather see the money put to further good usage.
You seem to hold such direct accountability in scorn and derision. May I suggest that if other places took a leaf out of our local book, life would be a lot more pleasant all round! This area does not waste money, corruption does not seem to rear it’s ugly head too much. Contracts tend to come in under budget and in 13 years here I have never spotted any case that was dubious. Some of the initiatives are too touch feely for us personally and a surprising quantity are voted down, this year was a bit of an exception.
Don’t knock it! It works, and why shouldn’t citizens have the say on the frills? Necessities are already budgeted.
No, CO, you misread me. I was not accusing the real townsfolk of abuse of power; I was asking you to imagine the chaos if such abuse were allowed! That is what the bremainers want apparently.
Then not a good comparison. The initiatives here are irrevocable if passed and everyone, but everyone understands that.
Trouble is the UK has no real history of binding plebiscites, MPs have been voted in, who then make choices for everyone else historically. Now we are changing the rules without adequate preparation for new rules. Of course dodgy Dave didn’t anticipate this result so the ground rules were never delineated in the first place!
Whole of Westminster never could run a whelk stall. Pack of blinkered useless pratts, could have sorted it out better in triplicate on the back of a postage stamp!!
If the UK want’s to use plebiscites in future, then the ground rules for their use should be published and circulated to all the electorate with clear guidelines as to what is and what is not going to happen and how they will be implemented.
Hear hear. (I was just flying a kite by way of exposing the bremainers’idiocy.)
Highly curious that would never happen here over an initiative BUT would happen at a general election!!!
Most of these riots are caused by what is seen as unfairness that Clinton had half a million more votes than Trump at the electorate level nation wide but the system of electoral colleges and equality of the States ensured a thumping great majority for Trump! They really don’t like it up ’em! But, at least the system is clear and has been in place for a long time to ensure equality between the rural underpopulated and the urban densely populated states. Thus all interests are adequately represented.
What I find excessively curious is that I can understand wogs and illegal spics being very very nervous about putative deportation, quite understandably. But why the blacks? Their ancestors have been here for hundreds of years, born and bred American citizens for generations, nobody is going to throw them out anywhere so why the rioting? I regret to say that low class blacks bring their own troubles upon themselves, they riot just to loot most of the time. You would think by now they might of realised that gangsta culture is really somewhat unproductive and that the route to success in the USA is an education, acquiring skills and working hard. Not drugs, alcohol, prostitution and rap. Blacks who play the whites at their own game tend to do very well indeed, there are so few of them!
All I know is that when a majority votes to build a public library it is simply wrong to have illiterates who didn’t want the library in the first place demand a second vote ostensibly because they weren’t given a choice on what colour to paint it.
Remember there is nothing liberal, democratic nor elitist about the soi-disant liberal democratic elite. They should be dragged off the taxpayers’ teats, reminded that their time is over and sent away to get a bath and a proper, wealth-creating job in commerce or industry.
OZ
G’morgen, OZ, the Billaries are blaming the FBI for their defeat, true to form. The UK chapter can’t put their finger on anything specific to explain their demise though.
Bom dia, Janus and a lovely, cloudless morning it is outside The Cave. It was already 20 degrees when I took Sylvie for her morning constitutional earlier.
Look, Hillary is a typical leftie with a sense of entitlement the size of a planet and thus will instinctively blame anyone but herself and her cohorts for her demise. The fifth column in the UK can only complain about Auntie Beeb broadcasting yesterday Andrew Marr’s interview with Marine le Pen. Freedom of speech is an absolute right, you see, but only if you are of the liberal democratic mentality and democracy is just dandy as long as their ‘correct’ predestined outcome is rubber-stamped by the electorate.
Ironic thought for today. The lefties call anyone politically to the right of Mao and less dangerously naive than Lily Allen a fascist and a Nazi, forgetting that the latter name is short for National Socialist Party.
But I am preaching to the converted. Got to go now – the cat is demanding breakfast and the NSW will need a cup of tea any minute.
OZ