On the agenda Tuesday is the last item under New Business--sending four of our commissioners to The League of Cities Conference being held in Hollywood this August. Party time! Great place to network, says the Vice Mayor. The League of Cities is a highly charged liberal political group.
Vice Mayor Maxwell, since 2010, has managed to politic up the ladder to become the 2nd Vice President in Palm Beach County's League of Cities. The League of Cities is a great place to spend/waste taxpayer money and it teaches its members on ways to keep constituents subdued and quiet even going so far as to join in on law suits against citizens. I will concede that it does compile some good data on cities.The National League of Cities located in Washington, D.C. (and Scott Maxwell was just in Washington for The League it was said) instructs members on how to integrate immigrants into the community. Come on now, Scott.
Its mission in this regard: Far from being strictly a national concern, immigration and integration policies have both social and economic implications for cities. While different communities are affected in different ways, all are charged with ensuring that all citizens are engaged and included in civic life. Through research and technical assistance capacities, the Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration (MAII) program is focused on promoting civic engagement and naturalization among immigrant communities in cities throughout the United States. Come on now, Scott.
The City spends ridiculous amounts of money for commissioners to attend these types of conferences. Following are the annual dues taxpayers pay towards The League so that commissioners can rub elbows with all the other politicians wanting to keep you in your place:
ICLEI-Lake Worth FL Annual Membership Dues for Population Under 50,000: $600
Palm Beach County League of Cities Annual membership $12,011
Florida League of Cities Annual Membership $3,397
At this convention will be the keynote speaker, John Avalon. He wrote a book entitled Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America. Below is a summary of the book.
What’s a Wingnut? It’s someone on the far-right wing or far-left wing of the political spectrum - the professional partisans and the unhinged activists, the hardcore haters and the paranoid conspiracy theorists. They’re the people who always try to divide us instead of unite us.Now do we really need to spend money for this? The League of Cities is a union on to itself that tells elected officials how to do it, when to do it, and who do do it to. And now they are telling us that if we, the public, take a political stand, we are all whackos. We all need to be good, little sheep while our commissioners walk in lockstep with The League and its philosophies.
Wingnuts look at the outbreak of extremism in the opening years of the Obama administration – from the unprecedented government spending that spurred the Tea-Party protests to the onset of Obama Derangement Syndrome.
John Avlon explains how hate-fueled rumors take hold (one section is called “How Obama Became Hitler, a Communist and the Antichrist”), looks at the ‘hunt for heretics’ that is taking place inside both parties and details the rise of hyper-partisan media. Avlon profiles preachers who are praying for the president’s death, goes inside the growing “Hatriot” movement and parallels the “Birthers” and the “9/11 Truthers.” The book compares current merchants of political paranoia with past fear-mongers and finds that divisive demagogues have sold this snake oil before. But the two parties’ increased polarization and the echo-chamber of the Internet are helping the fringe blur with the base, making the Wingnuts more powerful than ever before.
We are allowing paranoids, hysterics and hyper-partisans to hijack our politics – but it doesn’t have to be this way. Avlon asserts that centrists need to stand up to the extremes on both sides and declare their independence. The book ends on a hopeful note – the conclusion is “How to Take America Back from the Lunatic Fringe.”
17 comments:
Lake Worth City Commission is showing that they will increase their $7,000,000,- Defficit, with outrageous unnecessay spending.One proven useless Commission member has for many years been sent,at our expense, to those meetings,Those bums never came back with one useful project wich generates revenue, nor neighborhood self supporting methods(11) creating unity in a Town,which the Mayor of Jacksonville showed me, when Nadine by mistake took me along at equest of a District.She looked great, repesenting Lake Worth in a Tank top and hotpants.Returning from those useless meetings,they were more divisive and arrogant than ever and
never reported to the Citizenry, whose money they have been lodging, eating and drinking with,any
good results their meeting has
brought
The plan to send 4 such clowns to show how they spit at the Citizens'
Deficit,is immoral.4 instead of 1 useless character returning from drinking and eating binges, we must pay for???This should make the City look disgustingly irresponsible!
What improvement has the League of Cities brought our Town? Maxwell even went to Arizona,where there are many Dave's Last Resorts!
Came back without one useful suggestion or revneu generating project.Is he the one who wants shun responsibility for our Utility ,to harm Lake Worth Citizens,along with cohorts who know nothing about our Utility as they never bothered to study its' vital importance to the City, whose Commission seats they occupy?
As they promised during their phony campaigns?
To make L.W Citizens work for profits of big Electricity peddling Corporations'stockholders' profits,dividends?
May God punish them more than he already has,for attempting to take the bread of the mouths of our poor(90%)for Corporate profits.How much are they getting?
Don't we need to mend a lot of fences with municipal customers that are upset with us, as shown by either suing us or threatening to switch suppliers?
Now that we have are own RO Plant, don't we need political alliances to get the Use Permits and the Expansion permits?
Aren't there all sorts of economies of scale that can be achieved with our neighboring municipalities that would be of assistance to us at Budget time?
That you posted the definition of wingnut on your own blog is a delicious irony.
Glad to have made your day, anonymous. Just goes to show that we all look at ourselves differently. It all depends upon which side of the pendulum you are. And here I thought I was right in the middle of sanity. ;)
Internet Sales and Use Tax
The League of Cities will support legislation that simplifies Florida’s Sales and use tax
system and qualify the state for participation in the Sales and Use Tax Agreement, thereby making it easier for out-of-state businesses to
voluntarily collect and remit taxes to Florida.
You stated, "waste/spend taxpayers money". But you didn't even mention the Mulvehill's trip to Canada and Bonn, Germany spending thousands and not one thing is brought back to Lake Worth. But I guess this is OK in your book of dos and don'ts.
I've talked about these trips before. Ms. Mulvehill is the ONLY commissioner who has EVER given a report on ANY trip paid by the taxpayers. She has even given reports on trips that she paid for herself.
She will be giving a presentation sometime in July on her presentation in Germany. She already gave her presentation on Vancouver.
I am against all trips at this time especially when we are looking to possibly raise taxes.
Ask your commission whey they ALL voted for this trip and all the others.
So we got a report.
Did we get any value.
Why are we sending commissioners to large European and Canadian cities?
If this is an example of priorities, no wonder the commission can't show oversight on collecting our electric bills or cleaning up the slum landlords.
She gave a 12 minute presentation in Germany, which means she will be wasting about 33 seconds of our time.
Do they get extra money for these travels? On top of what they are already allocated? What is their salary now? and then on top travel money, what is the total? Then do they get more money for trips like this too? Sounds very wasteful. Vote out all these bums please! We deserve better, say no to mediocrity.
It would really be smart if Scott Maxwell led the charge in this and made a motion to end all commission travel--the "free lunch." But he LOVES this stuff and travels more than any other commissioner.
They don't make enough in salary but Maxwell believes that none of them should be making a dime--public servants to the complete description. I think they should be making double what we pay them for all the work that they do.
Lynn, you make no sense If they should be making double, and stay at home, why are you complaining about travel...If we paid them double, they could travel without even bringing it up at the commission meetings. If we compare miles and expenses between Maxwell, and Mulvehill, you will see Mulvehill has traveled more, and spent more.
The commission schedule over the past several years has made the elected office a fulltime job. On $14,500 a year, it is impossible for commissioners to give our issues the attention that they and all of us deserve. They should be able to have a livable and sustainable salary without worrying about it all. Perhaps that makes no sense to you but it does to me. I believe in a fair wage for services rendered.
The free lunch is an entirely different subject. These are all little perks given to the commission so that they can have a good time. Screw that.
I agree with you on the pay. But what you do not seem to understand is that if we paid them double they Would be able to travel without bring it to the commission, It would still be the taxpayers money...The commissioners have a three to four thousand dollar budget for travel and expenses and you think that if you double their salaries they would not travel it is all taxpayers money
Remember Waterman's trip to Orlando? By the way, where is your favorite gal pal now? Haven't seen her at Kilwan's or Brougs lately "
Is that the one where she drove to Orlando at 4am in her own car and drove back the very same day in her own car to make it back in time for a city commission meeting? That one?
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