Surprising Stuff

Kupsik stands up.
Alan Kupsik, mayor of Lake Geneva, makes his first appointments to the Planning Commission. Sarah Hill, bright and tough (if not overly outspoken) and former Alderperson, was his first choice. It went downhill from there. Who’s Ted Horne? Pancho DaVilla’s son-in-law, but maybe the fruit fell far from that tree (remember the guys with the small hot dogs?). Ted’s been in “complex offshore application development sales” according to the resume he submitted to get the nod of Mayor Kupsik. What kind of offshore stuff has he been doing? Working with the Santa Claus guy opposing all piers along Baker Park (except his own)? Or is the current city leadership preparing to go offshore and replace themselves with a vaguely English-speaking call center? Unknown.

Ted is in and here to stay. Why, is anybody’s guess? Robert Bormes is the last appointment. Bormes indicated that he hasn’t really been back to the U.S. much since running hotels all over the world. He came back in 2014 and here he is. His resume indicates that he’s a ‘business strategist,’ which should help the current planning commission staff to no end. All three have college educations of one sort of another, which must be a good thing. Nobody knows Bob or Ted very well, at least not in GSR polling results. The jury’s out on these two planning commissioners, just like it is on this new mayor who seems to think “everyone who voted the parking structure down is a horses butt.”

Oh yeah, Mr. Kupsik, what now?
The seat Mr. Kupsik vacated to take over as Mayor of Lake Geneva has to be filled. There were two candidates for the alderperson position. That guy named Ted Horne (Mr. Offshore) and Penny Roehrer. Penny served on the council eight years ago and she was ‘dynamite’ as anyone who saw her in action during her council years will testify. Who got the job? Horne of course. Penny got nothing. Nada. Not a word. The third evident conehead was unanimously confirmed, joining “nothing” Kordus and “headless” Hedland.

The words of Terry O’Neill-Former Alderperson and activist.
Merchants sell their wares; laborers sell their labor; teachers sell their knowledge; preachers sell their faith; politicians sell their views; doctors sell their healing; artists sell their talents and workers sell their skills. That’s how the American system is supposed to work with everyone selling something (products, time, labor, skills, and ideas), in exchange for other things that they need to buy. It’s a simple but complex system of barter with money as the medium of exchange. Money is power, authority and freedom within a capitalistic system, and there is a problem with the current system and it is how that medium of exchange (money) is manipulated, accumulated and distributed within it.

That is the symptom, not the problem itself. The capitalistic system and our representative form of government are the best systems so far devised by man, but they are but two legs of a three-legged stool that cannot stand without the third leg. The third leg is made up of the moral values, principles of concern, compassion and empathy for others that enables this system to be fair, benefit everyone and unite our society as a nation.

This third leg has deteriorated. Corporations and government officials are focused on profit and winning without moral values and principles guiding them. The American people are victims, caught in a struggle between big business and big government, where those in charge pit one group against another for their own personal benefit. Citizens can’t change other people but they can change themselves. The solution to not being pitted against one another is for all citizens to see their neighbors as themselves. American society must embrace sociological (group) compassion and empathy for all, and this must begin with the individuals making up this society. This kind of empathetic phenomena occurs almost automatically after a major disaster when everyone feels an emotional bond and compassion for others around them, whether they were directly affected by the disaster or not. It is this kind of compassion and understanding the American culture must recover, review and then apply to everyday life. It can all begin with you.

Good Surprising Stuff

Luis, Laura & Jennifer have opened this terrific replacement in the former Louis Pizza…and they are doing a bang-up job. Luis Pizza. Like Louis’, but better!