IS IT UN-AMERICAN TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT?
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Jake Rufer Mason County Progressive
Date: 23 September 2011
To: Rob Drexler
MCAR Quality of Life Committee Chairman
John L. Scott – Belfair
Realtor/Broker/Co-Owner
From: Jake Rufer
Subject: UN-AMERICANISM
Mr. Drexler,
I support your participation in local politics both on the political and legal front. You are welcome to attack Jack Miles in any ethical manner possible. But -- there is a big "HOWEVER" in all of this.
In your letter of September 20th to Jack Miles, you strongly advocate that “any business who would like to locate (or expand) here be allowed to go through the permitting process that has painstakingly been put in place by local officials, governments, and residents..."
and
"We believe that it is simply un-American to be any other way.”
I pose two "HOWEVERS":
First, across this nation, most rules as to the permitting process and the laws underpinning those processes exist as a result of powerful interests that support them. There comes a time when those without a hand on the throttle rise to object to the railroad effect of the processes of which you write.
Second, I shudder at your careless use of the term, "un-American". I recall the days when the U.S. House of Representatives had amongst its plethora of committees, a committee named the House Un-American activities Committee (HUAC). That committee literally peered beneath carpets to find political opponents that it labeled "UN-AMERICAN".So -- regardless of your opinion of Jack Miles, you should be careful of slipping around in the slime which is truly UN-AMERICAN.
The Senate had a committee on Government Operations. This was the bailiwick of Senator Joe McCarthy who conducted witch hunts for communists. In the process he destroyed many people, but never independently found a communist in our government.
In our own State of Washington, we had the Canwell Committee. Al Canwell and others roamed the state on a quest to weed out those of us who were, as you use the term--UN-AMERICAN.
Jake Rufer
Shelton, WA
SHELTON BLOG NOTE:
Link to previous related post "JACK MILES AND REALTORS CONT'D":
http://masoncountyprogressive.blogspot.com/2011/09/jack-miles-and-realtors-contd.html
Link to Jack Miles Re-Election Campaign website:
www.WeBackJackMiles.com
MORE on this quote from Rob Drexler's letter to Jack Miles:
ReplyDelete"We are FOR the ability of any business who would like to locate (or expand) here to be allowed to go through the permitting process that has painstakingly been put in place by local officials, governments, and residents, and to have some level of assurance that they will be treated fairly. We believe that it is simply un-American to be any other way. "
Well, it is pretty clear that one of the components of Mr Drexler's list of American characteristics was missing during the ADAGE assault. I'm referring to the part about the "residents" being part of the process. I seem to recall 3,200 citizen names on a petition that was completely ignored by the local officials who so thoroughly followed the (whose?) rules of the permitting process.
And exactly whose process was it anyway? Who set it all up? Who had input into its composition? I can make some pretty good guesses Mr. Real Estate Agent of America, and none of them were the folks living in downtown Shelton, unless Simpson's owners have moved lately.
The process that you imply as the "American" way is now a corrupt plutocracy that is dedicated to profit at any cost. Profit at any cost is not my idea of America.
Your America, Rob, is not my America.
SUBMITTED BY Tom Davis
ReplyDeleteI also cringe when I hear the word “un-American” being bandied about so carelessly in order to make a point. Sadly, it is not unusual for people who question the patriotism of others not to have served our country in a military capacity themselves. That is not to say Mr. Drexler falls into that category, but by virtue of so thoughtless a remark he aligns with those who do.
Except for the fact that I have known some exceptional people who made their living selling real estate, it would be easy to broad-brush the entire industry as comprised of people reluctant to step up to the community plate unless it held their dinner.
Originally, I questioned the political wisdom of refusing Mr. Drexler’s invitation to seek endorsement from the Mason County Board of Realtors, but it appears Mr. Miles was justified in doing so.