Prime Minister Tony Blair's address to a joint session of Congress 7/17/03

"Can we be sure that terrorism and WMD will join together? If we are wrong, we will have destroyed a threat that, at its least is responsible for inhuman carnage and suffering. That is something I am confident history will forgive. But if our critics are wrong and we do not act, then we will have hesitated in face of this menace, when we should have given leadership. That is something history will not forgive."

"We are fighting for the inalienable right of humankind -- black or white; Christian or not; left, right or merely indifferent -- to be free -- free to raise a family in love and hope; free to earn a living and be rewarded by your own efforts; free not to bend your knee to any man in fear; free to be you, so long as being you does not impair the freedom of others. That's what we're fighting for, and it's a battle worth fighting. And I know it's hard on America. And in some small corner of this vast country, out in Nevada or Idaho or these places I've never been to but always wanted to go -- (laughter) -- I know out there, there's a guy getting on with his life, perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, the political leaders of this country, "Why me, and why us, and why America?" And the only answer is because destiny put you in this place in history in this moment in time, and the task is yours to do. And our job -- my nation, that watched you grow, that you fought alongside and now fights alongside you, that takes enormous pride in our alliance and great affection in our common bond -- our job is to be there with you. You're not going to be alone. We will be with you in this fight for liberty. We will be with you in this fight for liberty. And if our spirit is right and our courage firm, the world will be with us."

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

Simple answer: Town Board decides what it wants to do. Assigns Water Protection Committee members who will do what it wants. Committee does. Will report back to Town Board what Town Board wants to hear. Town Board will enact law saying committee told them too. Done deal. No Aquifer Protection because that would interfere with Knapp's plans. No strengthening of the law for the same reason. Possible weakening of the law for the same reason. Lawsuits will be the only recourse for the citizens to protect themselves. Taxpayers pay for Knapps transgressions. Taxpayers pay to protect themselves. Knapp pays nothing.

The Town Board is controlled by Peter Knapp, does whatever he says to do. Even though Pitman is technically the supervisor she only got that job because Knapp allowed it. She wants it again and will only get it if she continues to do what Knapp wants. The rest of the board was appointed by Knapp through the same process. Any independence they had was lost when Currie and Fox resigned.

Caucus is next month. What are you going to do to put an end to this?

Oh... nothing? Thought so... Guess you like to read my rants. Guess you like the whole world to read about this? No problem for me, kinda fun for me. Pity for Preble though. Laughing stock of the world though. Still going to do nothing? Thought so. Not your problem... Thought so... To busy with other things... Thought so...

Yeah... Thought so.

TOWN BOARD MEETING REPORT 7/14/03

Sometimes I think I'm the only one to get the joke. Perhaps it's just because I see these things from a different standpoint or perhaps it's… Oh who knows why, but there came a point at last night's meeting where I would have spit out my coffee if I were drinking some at the time. I did my best to choke back a laugh and I think it worked but it sure was funny. So, what happened you ask? Well, I'll tell you. And by the way I just love it when I'm proven right, not that I don't believe I'm right almost all the time but I just love it when people realize I am and it annoys them. I guess annoying is what the town board would think whenever they think of me but I digress… again… Ok ok here's what happened. Tom Fox resigned from the town board and the Water Protection committee right. You remember that from a few months ago. Betty Pitman, supervisor had to appoint a replacement for the Water Protection committee post. Now Betty could have picked someone from any of the 1,500 residents of Preble, heck she could have picked ME and wouldn't that have been a hoot. She didn't. She looked all over, high and low and when she looked into the barrel she saw Peter sitting on the bottom and picked him for the WTP. Yep, that's right… She picked Peter Knapp for the Water Protection Committee! If you wanted proof that the WPC was a joke you have it now. Peter Knapp was the supervisor/code enforcement officer when he told Song Mountain to put in that illegal well AND when he told Flying J to ignore the buffer zone law. It was Peter's brother who got ALL the Farmland Protection money after engineering the illegal rezone of his brother land. AND who can forget that it was Peter who signed the permit for his brothers Cell Tower. Now Peter will be on the committee that will oversee new changes to our laws that will protect our water etc. PAULEZZE you just gotta see the humor in this. Did Betty think for a split second that this joke would go unnoticed? She's not that big a fool, she must have been under pressure to do it. After all it was Betty who was most hurt when that Cell Tower went in so why would she appoint Knapp for this? The "Who's Got What On Who In Preble" book must be bigger than the Encyclopedia!

But Wait, there's more…

Dean Smith also resigned as chair of the Planning Board and HE was also on the WPC. Will he also resign from the WPC and if he does who will Betty appoint to fill his position? I don't have a clue but I doubt it will be as funny as Peter Knapp on the Water Protection Committee… I gotta admit that for me this Town Board is a gift that keeps on giving. I just gotta write a book about this, it'll make a million… But who would believe it?

In other news…

WELCOME TO PREBLE! Barden Homes came to the meeting and told us they wanted to move their Homer operation to Preble on a 25 acre hunk of land just North of Saulsbury. This is GREAT news! This is the type of company Preble should be looking for. They run a clean operation, 25 years in Homer with no complaints. They employ about 100 people, maybe more will be hired once they get under way. They plan to break ground this fall and move in next June.

http://www.bardenhomes.com
http://www.saulsburyfire.com
(Yeah, I know the links don't click, I was in a hurry, just copy the links and paste them into your browser.)

Attention Seniors

Cortland Transit runs a bus service in Cortland County. They want to get input about running a bus from Preble to the senior home in Scott on Friday's. If you are interested there is a survey at the post office you can fill out or you could call them at 607-758-3383. They also offer Dial-A-Ride service county wide which means that you can have them come to your house and take you anywhere in the county for $4. Quite a deal. For details call the above number or check their website at:

http://zeua.odyssey.net/subscribers/corttrans/

Or email at: corttrans@odyssey.net

The representative from Cortland Transit left some flyers and other stuff that is available at the town hall or post office.

ONE LAST JOKE
During the discussion about Barden Homes Don Armstrong said his office worked for Barden on occasion and he would have a conflict of interest and couldn't represent the town in this matter. The joke? This is the first time in the many times in the past when Armstrong had a conflict of interest and he offered to step aside. I'll be going into that sometime in the future but for now the joke may only be funny to me, but then again I often find hypocrisy funny.