http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/5576044.htm
ay carumba! fuck i am so glad i don't live in "progressive" california. somebody needs to do something about these crazy hippies.
Posted on Mon, Apr. 07, 2003
Looking down on frowns
DISGUSTED EXPRESSIONS ARE OUT TOO IF P.A. COUNCIL PASSES CONDUCT PROPOSAL
By Nicole C. Wong
Mercury News
Palo Alto may need to call in the Demeanor Police.
The city council is wrestling with a code of conduct that urges elected officials not to roll their eyes. Or shake their heads. Or frown.
Experts say the council's plan to discourage non-verbal forms of ``disagreement or disgust'' is odd, unenforceable and almost an infringement on free speech.
``It's just bizarre,'' says University of Kansas Professor Burdett Loomis, who specializes in political civility. ``You'd be thinking all the time, `What expression do I have on my face?' ''
He adds: ``When is someone frowning? Maybe that's their ordinary look.''
Palo Alto is the last city in Santa Clara County without a handbook on city council do's and don'ts, according to Mayor Dena Mossar.
The council began drafting one almost a year ago. Council members shuddered after seeing an elected official in neighboring Mountain View convicted of violating a rule on interacting with city staff.
But it quickly became clear that Palo Alto council members had bigger problems dealing with each other. Their bickering stole the spotlight at meetings, and it became obvious they just couldn't get along.
So now they're engineering the appearance of courtesy and cooperation.
Experts acknowledge that civility plays an important role in politics. It allows decision-makers to ``disagree without being so disagreeable,'' Loomis says.
But politicians usually don't push politeness rules so far.
Council member Judy Kleinberg, who led the committee that drafted the guidelines, says council members should show each other more respect by following ``the rules we learned in kindergarten.''
That, she says, means no ``tsking'' or exclaiming, ``Oh my gosh!''
``I don't want to muzzle my colleagues,'' she says. But they should try to act like adults.
``I don't think the people sitting around the Cabinet with the president roll their eyes,'' she says.
At a meeting last month, council members spent almost five hours picking at the eight pages of proposed protocols, which contain 44 points ranging from being familiar with issues on the agenda to addressing each other by their formal titles.
They'll take another look at the how-to-behave guide May 5.
Council member Jim Burch wishes they would just get it over with.
``It's a waste of time,'' Burch says. ``We've got more important things to do.''
Some spectators agree.
Joseph M. Hardegree, a 38-year-old information technology manager who grew up in Palo Alto, says the council's situation would be ``kind of hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.''
``What a waste of taxpayer money,'' says Hardegree, now a resident of San Francisco. ``We have our problems in San Francisco, but gosh.''
Hardegree cites the examination of facial expressions and body language as a prime example of the ``Palo Alto mindset,'' which focuses on ``unbelievable minutia.''
But council member Nancy Lytle, who was at the center of the past year's controversies, says this is no laughing matter. As someone who frequently gestures and exhibits emotions, Lytle worries about being stripped of her power to persuade.
So she wrote a memo calling for the clause regulating body language to instead ask for ``respectful silence and decorum, paying and showing signs of attention while colleagues, staff or the public have the floor.''
But her latest idea hasn't caught Kleinberg's attention.
``I didn't look at them,'' Kleinberg says of the suggestions in Lytle's memo. ``I had other things to do.''
Experts say Palo Alto's effort to ensure ``decorum in discussions and debate'' is over the top. Local governing bodies aiming to increase civility usually stick to censoring content, rather than conduct.
``You can say: `No personal attacks,' `No profanity,' '' Loomis says. ``But to try to govern body language and facial expressions -- which may or may not be voluntary . . . somewhere, common sense just has to take over.''
And at some point, the law kicks in.
Freedom of speech allows everyone to grimace or roll their eyes, said Terry Francke, general counsel for the non-profit California First Amendment Coalition. While Palo Alto's proposed protocol seems to stifle that Constitutional right, it doesn't say a word about enforcement.
``I would love to be in the audience the first time this goes into effect to see who is expected to be the demeanor police,'' Francke said. ``What happens if a council member is caught grinning too much? Are they going to be asked to put on a mask?''
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holy facism batman!
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starvingeyes
- Posts: 2009
- Joined: 5/8/2002, 3:44 pm
- Location: california's not very far
what a fucking waste, i swear to god, these fucking morons should all be removed from office, and never allowed to be in politics ever again.
Whenever death may surprise us,
let it be welcome
if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear
and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.
Nobody's gonna miss me, no tears will fall, no ones gonna weap, when i hit that road.
my boots are broken my brain is sore, fer keepin' up with thier little world, i got a heavy load.
gonna leave 'em all just like before, i'm big city bound, your always 17 in your hometown
let it be welcome
if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear
and another hand reaches out to take up our arms.
Nobody's gonna miss me, no tears will fall, no ones gonna weap, when i hit that road.
my boots are broken my brain is sore, fer keepin' up with thier little world, i got a heavy load.
gonna leave 'em all just like before, i'm big city bound, your always 17 in your hometown
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starvingeyes
- Posts: 2009
- Joined: 5/8/2002, 3:44 pm
- Location: california's not very far
that's the fucking dumbest let alone least enforcable law i've ever head off, that is utterly against everything i stand for, it's "!984" crap, although why do you keep refering to hippies? this would be the anti-thesis of all hippies i believe.
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
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happening fish
- Posts: 17934
- Joined: 3/17/2002, 11:22 am
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starvingeyes
- Posts: 2009
- Joined: 5/8/2002, 3:44 pm
- Location: california's not very far
because they're these crazy uber-liberal california politicians that think that kind of shit is some sort of progressive cause. like eliminating non-verbal disrespect and making the world more handicap accessible is a nice thought, but by force?
they are the kind of big government liberal types that conservatives fear and hate with a passion. these guys are the polar opposite of the war hawks. they are like rush limbaugh but leftward.
they are the kind of big government liberal types that conservatives fear and hate with a passion. these guys are the polar opposite of the war hawks. they are like rush limbaugh but leftward.
i believe facism isn't liberalism
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
"Hippy" is just a nicer word for "Commie". They think they have to do every little thing to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy. They are the kind of people that eliminated Dodge Ball from schools. They are the kind of people that think everyone should pay for health care for people who don't know how to take care of themselves. They are the kind of people that label the NRA as a killing association when in reality it is an awareness group.
<img src="http://www.clumsymonkey.net/phpBB2/download.php?id=4500">
#define QUESTION (bb || !bb) --william shakespeare
#define QUESTION (bb || !bb) --william shakespeare
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starvingeyes
- Posts: 2009
- Joined: 5/8/2002, 3:44 pm
- Location: california's not very far
it's just my oppion but i always considered hippies to be about: Love, Peace, FREE EXPRESSION, Sharing, and...........Drugs, hippies are neither Liberal, communist or facist, they were free souls i believe
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
hmmm maybe but comparing facist/liberals to hippies seems like a bad comparison, hippies protested war not protested for restriction on expression.......wow just read that and tell me it's not a bad comparison
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
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Sufjan Stevens
- Posts: 6738
- Joined: 3/17/2002, 12:25 pm
- Location: Detroit, MI
i'd prefer government assholes or Facists
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911
"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good
I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.
"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month