What's the best form of government? Winston Churchill reportedly arrived at the answer from the opposite end of the spectrum. "Democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." That settles the question. Or does it?
In The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik reviews Jedediah Purdy's book, "Two Cheers for Politics: Why Democracy Is Flawed, Frightening-and Our Best Hope."
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Where Am I Wednesday?
Fifty points to the first person to identify where this photo was taken.
Answer is after the jump.
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The City of Richardson's zoning ordinances allow for special use permits for smoking establishments after ensuring "safeguards as are necessary to protect adjoining property, as well as the public health, safety, morals and general welfare." A Richardson restaurant owner applied for a special use permit. His application was considered by the City Plan Commission, where it was approved 5-2 and will be considered next by the City Council. I want to examine those two negative votes more closely.
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| From 2022 07 03 Amsterdam |
Today's photo-of-the-day shows the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Amsterdam. But the real focus is on the bicycles. Amsterdam is a city of bikes. And canals, of course, but it was the bikes that surprised us. They are everywhere. They are used not just for exercising, but for commuting to work and school and shopping and dining. Central city pedestrians (like us) learn quickly to look left and right first for bicycles, then for street cars, finally for the real cars. What looks chaotic at first quickly settles into a natural rhythm. Amsterdam turned out to be our favorite city.
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| From 2022 07 03 Amsterdam |
Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Sea Palace Chinese Restaurant. Where is it? The water the restaurant is floating on is a clue. A bigger clue is the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in the background. Surprisingly, it's in Amsterdam, Netherlands.European tours are sometimes described as ABC tours — "Another Bloody Church". We got some of that. We also got the variant ABC Tour — "Another Bloody Castle". Prepare yourself. Our next photo-of-the-day selections will be up the Rhine River from the sea to the Main River and then down the Danube River. First stop, Amsterdam.
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From Dance Dance Dance, by Haruki Murakami:
"The hotel should never have been built where it was. That was the first mistake, and everything got worse from there. Like a button on a shirt buttoned wrong, every attempt to correct things led to yet another fine—not to say elegant—mess." |
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Book Review: Dance Dance Dance: 1988 novel with Haruki Murakami's signature touch of magical realism. This sequel to "A Wild Sheep Chase" is even better. A Japanese writer goes through an early midlife crisis as people around him disappear. What's real? What's imagination? B+
After the jump, my full review.
The City of Richardson is likely to adopt short-term rental (STR) regulations. Richardson is not the first city to try this. It won't be the last. There is a legal thicket surrounding cities' attempts to adopt STR ordinances. Several key cases are still working their way through the courts and haven't yet reached a final judgment. Courts have looked more favorably on reasonable regulation than outright bans. So, rather than risk having more aggressive regulation tested in court, Richardson's regulations are geared to trying to control the nuisances (noise, parking, trash) that STRs bring to neighborhoods.
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| Rotten Tomatoes |
Source: Movie Photo, Everett Collection.
The Richardson City Council reviewed a possible ordinance regulating short-term rentals (STRs). This is in response to a public outcry over an out-of-control explosion in the number of short-term rentals in the City of Richardson, accompanied by an enormous number of nuisance violations (noise, parking, trash). (The police chief was on hand to define "out of control" and "enormous": he said that the police receive "a handful" of complaints each year.) But the public wants short-term rentals banned, so the City Council has to do *something*. So they shall.
Back in June, a wild night at the Richardson City Council meeting saw the Council reverse themselves on a key rezoning vote. After voting 4-3 in May to approve a rezoning request for an outdoor venue for dining/hookah/music on Abrams Road in Richardson, in June Council Member Joe Corcoran reversed himself and voted against the actual ordinance that was drawn up to make the May vote official. The property owner, knocked back on his heels by this reversal, went back to his corner and licked his wounds. Now he's back with a request for approval of a similar application for the same property.
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| From 2020 02 04 Bahamas |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from February, 2020. It shows Grand Bahama Island, five months after Hurricane Dorian devastated the island. According to ReliefWeb, "Dorian hit The Bahamas on September 1, 2019 as a Category 5 hurricane, causing flooding and mass destruction on the northwest islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama...Hurricane Dorian was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record -- and the strongest hurricane to have ever hit The Bahamas." We visited Grand Bahama five months after the hurricane. The port was back in business, receiving supplies of food and building materials for reconstruction. Bahamians are resilient. Don't hesitate to visit.
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| From 2020 02 04 Bahamas |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from February, 2020. It shows a nature conservancy in Grand Bahama, five months after Hurricane Dorian devastated the island. According to ReliefWeb, "Dorian hit The Bahamas on September 1, 2019 as a Category 5 hurricane, causing flooding and mass destruction on the northwest islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama...Hurricane Dorian was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record -- and the strongest hurricane to have ever hit The Bahamas." We visited Grand Bahama five months after the hurricane. The hurricane stripped almost all the leaves from the trees in the nature conservancy, but life was slowing coming back. Like nature, Bahamians are resilient. Don't hesitate to visit.
Bonus photo after the jump.
This week, I had a few things to say about the City of Richardson's process of appointing people to boards and commissions. City Council member Joe Corcoran graciously took the time to reply.
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| Rotten Tomatoes |
Where Am I Wednesday?
Fifty points to the first person to identify where this photo was taken.
Answer is after the jump.
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The Richardson City Council is holding a come-and-go event for persons interested in serving on a City board or commission. Go. Apply. I can't say you'll be accepted but I've never seen even this small attempt at outreach by the City before.
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| From 2020 02 04 Bahamas |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from a children's day-care facility in Nassau, Bahamas. I'm a sucker for murals and this is a nice one. It appears to have been commissioned by the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas for a series called "Beach Murals." The City of Richardson ought to do more along this line. The City's "Traffic Signal Box Art Contest" is a good start. More like this, please.
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| From 2020 02 04 Bahamas |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Western Esplande Beach in Nassau, Bahamas. In the background, you can see cruise ships docked side by side, filled with tourists like us. It was the occasion of one last cruise before COVID, although we didn't know it at the time. In Nassau, COVID was a far off news story. In a few short weeks, it would be the major news story all across the world. It would also shut the door on vacation travel for us for two years. But for now, in the Bahamas, it was the good times.
From On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by Timothy Snyder:
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Since the American colonies declared their independence from a British monarchy that the Founders deemed “tyrannical,” European history has seen three major democratic moments: after the First World War in 1918, after the Second World War in 1945, and after the end of communism in 1989. Many of the democracies founded at these junctures failed, in circumstances that in some important respects resemble our own."
Book Review: On Tyranny: Short book drawing parallels between modern America and Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin. Timothy Snyder lays out 20 simple ways each of us can fight the creep of fascism here in America. It's a how-to, a timely call to action.
After the jump, my full review.
Source: Aurecon.
Cities everywhere are trying to reduce their impact on global warming. The goals set are all variants of "Net Zero Carbon." Many of the actions needed to achieve that are outside the control of city government. They require advances in car battery technology, electric power generation (solar and wind), construction materials (steel and concrete). The City of Richardson should promote all such advances and take advantage when possible, but I'd like to see it adopt an idea that is not dependent on technological advances. It can be done today. It's under the control of the City. It offers benefits beyond its impact on global warming. It's a road diet for Richardson.
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| Rotten Tomatoes |
Here's how the City of Richardson's weekly PR email "Week in Review" put it:
The budget also includes a $0.05421 tax rate reduction, rolling the City’s tax rate back to levels last seen in 2006.Source: City of Richardson.
That's a "tax rate reduction", right? The City says so, right there. Not so fast.
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| Rotten Tomatoes |
It looks like the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is going to kick the can down the road, deciding to wait until next term to rewrite the Texas social studies curriculum (what we know as the TEKS). Why? It appears that the SBOE caved to pressure from right-wing Republican lawmakers who objected to the standards coming out of the curriculum committee. When the SBOE decided to delay, Republican lawmakers celebrated on Twitter, "The board voted to scrap the wokeified proposed changes to the TEKS." The likely explanation for delay is that right-wing Republicans hope that they can increase their majority on the SBOE next term and get proposals more in line with their politics.
After the jump, more random thoughts.
