Columbia, Maryland where I currently live is an amazing place. The city was master planned to leave open space and bicycle trails everywhere. I never have to get in my car around town, and everywhere I go I travel through beautiful forests and along lakes.
One of my favorite places is along the trail to the gym. There is a big cut in the forest for a power line. At night, the sky is lit up like the Fourth of July with fireflies.
Another great thing in my neighborhood is that I don’t have to put up with neurotic white folk who want to save the planet, because there are almost no other white people. People from other cultures don’t waste their lives worrying about things infinitely larger than themselves which they have no control over.
You found an oasis in the insane state of Maryland.
Thank you, Steven, for this information about Columbia, Maryland. As I recall from visits in 2003 [1] and 2004 [2], the city of Dubna, Russia was like that:
1. “The Need to Measure Low Energy, anti-Neutrinos (En<0.782 MeV) form the Sun”, presented at the IV INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE on NON-ACCELERATOR NEW PHYSICS, Laboratory of Nuclear Problems, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Juliot Curie 6, Dubna, Moscow Region, 141980 RUSSIA on June 23, 2003: http://web.umr.edu/~om/abstracts2004/anti-neutrinos.pdf
2. "The Sun Is A Magnetic Plasma Diffuser That Sorts Atoms By Mass", presented at the V INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NON-ACCELERATOR NEW PHYSICS in Dubna, Russia, 20-25 June 2005: http://web.umr.edu/~om/Overheads/Overheads.htm
Sorry, those links were replaced by http://www.omatumr.com/abstracts2004/anti-neutrinos.pdf and http://www.omatumr.com/Overheads/Overheads.htm
Except those nice people in Columbia MD cast their vote for progressive politicians who tax the rain and increase fees and levies on rural property owners in order to subsidize ever more spending on their urbanization agenda. There’s a reason the city is referred to as the Peoples Republic of Columbia,
As long as I have my bike trails, 24 hour gym, and foreigners to play pick up soccer with, I couldn’t care less what the rest of the city is doing.
Thanks for being honest.Just know that those not in the city wish you would fund your nirvana on your own dime.
Are you related to the Steven Goddard that lives in Colorado?
I don’t live in Colorado now.
Colorado’s loss.
Thanks, Steven, I thought you were only speaking sarcastically of planned communities in the USSR and USA.
Omanuel …. I think we have a clone of the real Goddard now running the blog. The Borg have assimilated the poor bugger 😉
Steven’s warped sense of humor is a tool of survival for those who live under tyranny, . . . obviously far, far away from Columbia, MD and Dubna, USSR.
That’s how the problems start. So long as people get what they want they don’t care what the political class is doing. It goes well for awhile and then it becomes time to leave and do it again somewhere else.
It’s all good til the taxes go up.
You can thank us city planning Democrats that planned the great city of Columbia and continue to vote for Democrats. Places where Republicans control the government end up being ugly sprawl. Enjoy what you would never contribute to creating.
Also, you speak of the non-whites as though they were not real participating Americans. Most of them have been here a long time, even born here, and are as much American as us white guys. They tend to be very educated and vote for Democrats. They are a great asset to the country. Try talking climate science with them, they would find you to be quite weird.
Can we thank you for Detroit too?
Do you recall the “Model Cities Program”?
The failure of the urban cores of American big cities is an American failure. Republican efforts haven’t been any more successful. It is a long standing legacy from that “peculiar” American instution. That said, lots of good things are happening in many of our big urban centers. Maybe Steve will get around to Baltimore some, just a couple miles up the road from where he is now. Sure, Baltimore has some serious blight, but if you saw the city 30 years ago, you would be amazed at the revitalization of many neighborhoods. Lots of people with good jobs and incomes think large cities offer a high quality of life. I am one. Great museums, great hospitals, regular public lectures at Space Telescope Center at Hopkins. All with a short commute. All things considered, Baltimore is a great city. You rural folk obsess over crime, I have lived here 30 years and never had a problem. Common sense is enough, a gun is pointless.
Detroit is a glaring failure where-as success stories can be found in most of the other urban centers. A clustered city is much more cost effective to revitalize than a sprawled city like Detroit. That is a market success more than a government success.
Typical liberal come back. When he cannot deny the evidence, he resorts to “everyone does it”.
I challenge you to demonstrate any city that was run into the ground by Republicans! And not all cities are rotten to the core. Some are actually thriving. And some of those are even run by democrats. But they are also pragmatists.
Don’t forget Philly. And which shining star of the democrats has the highest murder rate? They want it to look nice for your funeral procession I guess.
Actually, Columbia was largely planned out by one of my mother’s friends.
The bike trails of Fort Collins were due to climate skeptic Bill Gray’s wife
I fought for the Clean Air Act and worked as a wilderness ranger for the USFS
So you can take your bigoted stereotypes and place them where they already are.
You never answered the question about the “Model Cities Program”.
Like all liberals, you seek to forget your past, your failed past, and instead simplistically look forward and make the same series of stupid mistakes time and time again, like Detroit as evidenced in a half dozen other cities today.
I thought I answered it very well, you just didn’t like the answer.
I agree, Steven, government control could be either good or bad.
1. City planning of Columbia, MD and Dubna, Russia was positive.
2. Data tampering to block public knowledge of reality was negative.
Post-1945 standard models of a false reality reflect loss of public control of government.
You filibustered, as is your usual song and dance, but you did not answer …
“You can thank us city planning Democrats that planned the great city of Columbia”
Columbia was developed by a private developer. Dumbass.
The key to good city planning is good zoning and development regulations, and an enlightened developer. None of that is a strong suit for right wing libertarians.
And it was before democrats.
Yea, Detroit is such a beautiful place! You are exporting it to every city, right?
@matayaya – Fascinating to read your sanctimonious posts dripping with self righteousness. I am not American, but visit often since I travel world wide because of my job.
I’ve been to some crapholes in my time, but nothing -so far – beats Detroit with parts of it almost out of a Mad Max movie (except the movie didn’t have a Muezzin calling the faithfull to prayer as in Dearborn). My information is that Detroit was the pure product of the Democrats with an administration that would not look out of place in Lagos. And with far less competence and probably more corruption.
I note that you quickly try to deflect responsibility from the Democrats, but I’m afraid that does not fly. No can do. You know in your heart of hearts it is a Democrat controlled city through and through.
You should know that currently America is viewed as the laughing stock of the world, inept, with an inept bungling leader and obsessed with race (and LGBT nonsense) to the point of irrationality. I was amused that you immediately jumped to the defence of blacks in Columbia. And, of course, pulled out the implicit racist accusations.
Why? Don’t you think they can defend themselves. Isn’t that a bit racist? What’s the phrase……the soft bigotry of low expectations.
I also go to Bristol near Philly quite often. Philly is another Democrat masterpiece I assume? I remember taking a wrong turn there and a nice black guy pulled me over and said with his great accent, “Hey look man, you’re a white guy you don’t wanna be in this area”. Wonderful. Guess you are proud of the planning. Wow, a no go area just like in the Middle East.
I have not commented on Columbia because I have not been there though I wish I could see it. It sounds nice. I also wish I could meet you in person to see a stereotypical self righteousness liberal in the flesh as it were. (Though I warn you I’d probably burst out laughing.) I imagine a cool effete liberal hipster type guy that they only seem to produce in the US and in some areas of London and Berlin.
A rare breed indeed. A delicate flower. Alas though not a real player. Someone who would not be tolerated in the real world outside of the US. Most of the other 6.7 billion of us would simply swat you aside as we get on with operating in the real world without your laughable worldview. You are lucky you live in the US where much of the populace is more accepting of your nonsense. But it won’t last.
Interesting rant, actually I would enjoy meeting you as you suggest. I can be a great host and tour guide for the Balto-D.C. area. I am quite the civil gentleman in person as you probably are as well. Yesterday I was even thinking to offer as tour guide for Steve but things turned nasty as they usually do.
It is out of necessity to take an aggressive tone on Steve’s site. Civility in presenting discordant views is considered weakness. Civility goes right over their heads and one’s “weakness” becomes tasty red meat. Like that kid defending against Lebron James in the NBA finals right now, you got to take it to them or get run over. You call me a coward, but a coward to me is someone that will only chance trying to talk to people just like themselves. I find that boring and a waste of time learning nothing new.
I was trying to guess where you are from if not blood red state USA. Maybe Australia or England? I see you are a glass half empty sort of guy. If your habit is to see only failure around you that is all you will see. My experience of living in the mid-Atlantic region of the US for the past 30 years is of a richly diverse culture and environment. I thrive on being surrounded by people not like me. The region benefits greatly from the influx of people from around the world that bring a steady supply of energy and innovation to the culture and economy. People are so interesting. Urban problems are not far away but I’ve never feared crime here and never had a problem. Caution becomes second nature just like hiking a mountain trail. I don’t own a gun except my grandfathers rat pistol I inherited but never fired.
it really work out well for Detroit, I live in Meas Arizona, give me sprawl, the Phoenix are was rated 47 out of fifty cities for most congestion. Funny that sprawl you curse make a large city livable. Oh by the way last week I looked at taking public transportation to a meeting I was going to attend, Google said using public transportation would take 2 hours, funny is only took 30 minutes to drive it. 2 hours as opposite to 30 minutes, yet liberal nirvana is to spend four time as much time to do something as it should, will idiot I got news to you the greatest crime one human can do to another is steal time from them you can never recover lost time. you only have some much time once it gone it is gone. If you elect to piss away you life waiting for something to occur when if you did it another it would take one quarter that much time fine it your life but don’t force such as waste of human resource on me. As far as city planning goes, to the most part it keep the haves in and the have not out. Your to stupid to understand the”elites” don’t have to follow the rule book for us lesser beings.
“Ugly sprawl.” That’s where you have freedom to live where you want to, and can’t be controlled by the city/county government.
It differs from “sprawl,” where you are still in the city limits, and can be controlled by the city government. With sprawl, your house is only two stories high, and not attached to other houses.
Plus, this is the beauty that contracting taught me. I’m not invested in the companies or the locations where I work. I don’t take it personally because it isn’t where I’ve placed my identity. So, this is the path I’m going to take to separate myself from the horror of what is happening to America. I’ll do what I can to stop it, but I’m hoping to disassociate physically (and legally at some point). Possibly dual citizenship or something else. I’d like to incorporate overseas and work completely free lance.
AIR, Columbia started as a commercial venture whenI lived there in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It was being populated by professionals and overpaid government workers fleeing the results of government planning around the beltway and DC. The Maryland government was Republican and not nearly as corrupt as it is today. However, the governor, Spyro Agnew became Nixon’s VP and while I was attending U of Md had to resign to stand trial for fraud and corruption involving construction contracts. He actually served some time, I think.
If you want to see real government planning in action stand on any corner of DC after dark and see what happens next. Warning: it may cost you your life.
Lived in Glen Burnie from 77-80 and dont remember any crime problems except the open looting, while cops watched, during the great snowstorm of ’79. Parents didnt fear for their childrens safety. My barbershop was in Columbia and had some employees who lived there. Very nice place with strict controls over things as the color of your home. Worked in Dorsey, little place right off BW Parkway.
“I don’t have to put up with neurotic white folk who want to save the planet, because there are almost no other white people. People from other cultures don’t waste their lives worrying about things infinitely larger than themselves which they have no control over.”
These other cultures don’t suffer from the tie to US ‘pop’ culture and the news media outlets that have assumed this ‘suicidal’ course; they will be the ones that survive while the neurotics invested in the ‘western’ culture will continue to navel gaze and ‘devolve’ …
This is kind of a repeat of the Fall of the Roman Empire.
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Jim, regarding Detroit. First, Steve is probably referring to Asian Americans as much as African Americans. He will make a distinction when he discovers the east side of the D.C. beltway, but I better not go there. Second, you can’t put Detroit’s failure all on Democrats or African Americans. Detroit is the most sprawled big city, except for Atlanta, in the country. Detroit was designed by the car industry. Even in downtown, everyone has a big yard and single family house. You would be hard pressed to find any attached housing. Even the urban core is rather short and sprawled. Detroit is a city planners nightmare as far as providing roads, water, sewer, schools, police protection, street lights,etc.. Everything is strung out increasing the cost exponentially of providing services of any sort.
The car industry designed Detroit to encourage everyone to get in their cars to do every little thing. The roosters came home to roost. What Steve is enjoying in Columbia is the antithesis of professional city planning; by Democrats I might add.
It’s amazing how some folks only see things the way they want to see them, while thinking they are “open-minded”.
Maybe the continuing, mindless hypocrisy is why they are so humorous?
Large yards cause high crime. And it’s worse than we thought, not even Democrats can stop the large yard crime waves.
Gator, per capita, there is more crime in rural areas than urban.
Prove it.
matayaya says:
June 11, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Not according to the FBI:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-2
Hopefully the link comes through if not:
Rate per 100,000 inhabitants 410.3 Metro areas
Rate per 100,000 inhabitants 186.1 Rural areas
That’s just Violent Crime, but the ratio is similar for all statistical groupings. You. Are. Wrong.
matayaya says:
June 11, 2014 at 6:09 pm
“Gator, per capita, there is more crime in rural areas than urban.”
Typical lying leftist scumbag. Can’t win an argument on facts, so just make sh!t up.
Thank you for the link. I was waiting for him to link to some clown article on Huffpo.
Detroit hasn’t had a republican mayor since 1962. That is 52 years matayaya. Great job of city planning democrats!
I think I have found the Nick Stokes of urban renewal: matayaya
Apologist for the ‘central planners’.
I’ll bet he would support ‘busing’ (the busing of students to achieve so-called racial balance) even.
I’ll bet he/she/it supports Agenda 21 too, if not at least the ideas contained therein.
Another Big Government Democrat; like failed democrat mayor Jerome Cavanagh, the maoyor under whom Detroit saw its biggest decline.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Cavanagh
And Detroit showed such promise once upon a time (I even attended several Tiger baseball games in Tiger Stadium in the day; even saw the southpaw Mickey Lolich pitch once.)
Narration by Liberal Progressive Mayor Jerome Cavanaugh,
DETROIT: City on the Move (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUbsw28PCpA
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Big yards? I dunno, maybe now, since a yard today could include adjacent plots of rubble. But the homes in Detroit’s old neighborhoods are built really close together.
Who were those democrats? You know the politics of the developer or you just stereotyping?
List of mayors of Detroit, Michigan
from WIKI
Do you understand how badly mismanaged that city is?
One year later after the Governer appointed a manager:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/michigan-gov-snyder-pledges-to-sign-detroit-package-1401834307
So the state is going to bailout the bankrupt city.
Note:
So property owners came up with a solution and given the situation you can not blame them:
In other words the productive class in Detroit rebelled and flipped the miss-managing Mayors the finger. Now the state is stepping in and trying to fix the problem by pouring more wealth down the same rat hole.
“Socialism works only until you run out of other people’s money.” Detroit is a shining example of that truism.
gofer, James Rouse was the developer of Columbia. He also did the redevelopment of the water front in Baltimore 40 years ago that became a model for redevelopment of water fronts around the country and the world for that matter. Water fronts back then were industrial cesspools whose potential was unknown. Now they are the liveliest parts of many urban centers.
Baltimore also became the role model for how to build a base ball park. Build for fewer seats so you can hug the seats in a little and give everyone a closer in, better view. Many ball parks have copied that idea as well.
Rouse is recognized internationally as a visionary developer. Successful projects are the result of partnerships between the public and private sector. Donald Shaffer was the governor then and he and Rouse had a good relationship. And yes, to answer your question, Rouse was a Democrat.
Democrats used to be Democrats. Now they are largely Socialists and Communists.
This sums up our discussion better than anything we have said here. people-press.org/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-american-public/
JFK would be part of the Tea Party and the democrats would be crucifying him.
matayaya,
Yes there is more animosity because a divided country is much much easier to control.
Personally I think both parties stink to high heaven and wish I had someone to vote FOR who was genuinely concerned with the future of our country and not their own pocket or the pockets of their buddies.
(It is interesting to note only two of the top 10 are republicans….)
The 50 Richest Members of Congress (2011)
And this doesn’t even tell the real tale.
“..Members are permitted to report assets held solely by a spouse in a special category designated only as “over $1 million,” with no limit on the actual value of the asset — more than 140 items on Kerry’s disclosure this year fell into that category.”
These people have ZERO in common with the man on the street and much in common with each other. They only represent the interest and values of the very very wealthy.
2 things Gail – your top 10 list, lists 3 republicans, not 2.
And the source of their wealth (except Kerry who slept around for it) is http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/05/members-of-congress-are-exempt-from.html
This is also interesting 10 ‘Poorest’ Members of Congress Owe Big
(Second page has an alternate calculating method.)
Mata – Detroit is not a sprawled city. It is a typical northern city, no more no less. And no one except you seems to be blaming blacks for the problem., The rest of us are blaming Democrats. They ran it into the ground. They destroyed it. They had total control. Yes, you can blame them totally. Republicans have not been around that place for the past 50+ years.
The same with DC. Democrats. Marion Barry is an example of something good? IN what Bizarro world?
Democrats are not the cause of all the worlds ills. But where ever you find systemic government problems in the US, you will find unfettered democrat control.
Detroit is an American story, not a Democrat or Republican story. Detroit began its decline after the 60s riots and the exodus to the suburbs of many of those able to pick up and move. The reason for the riots is a complicated history that defies easy explanation or political blame.
The sprawled geography of Detroit today resist redevelopment the way a number of the urban, rust-belt cities have had relative good success at doing. Democrats may have held the elective positions in Detroit, but only because the Republicans had absconded to the suburbs after the riots, abandoning the city. Everyone failed Detroit, not just Democrats.
Spread the blame. That is your last excuse. Detroit is not an American story. it is a liberal democrat story. period. They ran it into the ground. They made it a ghost town. Republicans did not do that. regular taxpayers did not do that. Democrats. And their stupidity.
You are not going to convince anyone with your lies. The facts are there. Spinning them only works with low information people. And unfortunately for you, you have not found any.
“La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la … I can’t HHHEEAARRR YYYOOOUUU” says matayaya …
You do a good imitation.
Matayaya summarized:
I don’t have a clue what happened to Detroit. Other Democrat-run cities are less screwed up. Detroit failed because Republicans left and let Democrats run it.
Yea, a democrats yardstick of success – can we screw it up more? yes? Good, we are not done.
Well stated Mata! I guess the difference between Detroit and Philadelphia is the democrats are not finished with Philly.
Welcome, Steve. Maybe I’ll see you at the Wegmans some day.
Is Wegman’s really all that great? We are getting 2 later this year. A lot of hype about them coming to this market.
Steve, not sure which group you are saying I am bigoted against. If it is African American or Asian, I would wager that if they read the full context of anything I have said on the subject versus the full context of anything you have said on the subject, I would not be judged to be the bigoted one. Maybe you mean anglo? Can one be bigoted against oneself?
White guilt is bigotry against whites, and substantially a neuroticism condition.
Neurotic – Neuroticism – is a fundamental personality trait in the study of psychology characterized by anxiety, moodiness, worry, envy, and jealousy. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than the average to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, envy, guilt, and depressed mood. They respond more poorly to stressors, are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. They are often self-conscious and shy, and they may have trouble controlling urges and delaying gratification. Neuroticism is a risk factor for the “internalizing” mental disorders such as phobia, depression, panic disorder, and other anxiety disorders, all of which are traditionally called neuroses.
– – – – – – –
A democrat disease. Literally: “Dis-ease” (a not-at-ease disorder) .. get it?
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What a stupid response.
A reaction; must have hit home. Suggest a good liberal-recovery 12-step.
“Overcoming Liberalism: A 12-Step Program”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/940997/posts
yes, yours is. Jim’s was factual.
YES! Duh!
QED.
If you are a runner, Maryland has great running clubs!
Wherever you choose to live, Steven, thanks for a wicked, cut-through-the-crap, amazingly insightful blog. I wish you a life of joy, beauty, and continued inventiveness. Thanks ever so much
+1
An argument of which government party can best centrally plan a city…. laff.
I think this may be the first time I’ve heard anything nice about Columbia. I’ve lived in central MD since about 1964, and we generally advise visitors to settle in Virginia. Pennsylvania is catching on too. (To each his own, I suppose)
I may have to take matayaya’s posts and compile them as a series of answers to a series of questions on a webpage to be created later and titled:
“Idiocy on Parade; An American Liberal’s view of History and Historical Events“.
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Funny how Matayaya thinks people must be denied the freedom to make their own choices because they will make mistakes, but, somehow, once these flawed humans get jobs with government, they become infallible.
Denying Freedom is bad enough it is what inevitably comes after that I worry about.
The touchy/feely good hearted socialists who KGB agent Willi Muenzenberg called ‘Innocents’ or Useful Idiots always deny the bloody side of socialism.
Yet as early as 1928, George Bernard Shaw in “The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism” made it quite clear that the ordinary person would be treated as a slave. Shaw actually said:“Under Socialism, you would not be allowed to be poor. You would be forcibly fed, clothed, lodged, taught, and employed whether you liked it or not.“ But that is not the end of it. As with any recalcitrant slave, those who will not work are to be killed. “If it were discovered that you had not character and industry enough to be worth all this trouble, you might possibly be executed in a kindly manner…” Even today I have had hardened Socialists in Cambridge MA shout in my and my husband’s face: “When we take over we will kill people like you.”
From the book Willing Accomplices: How KGB Covert Influence Agents Created Political Correctness and Destroyed America by Kent Clizbe
It would be bad enough if this was Sociopath was just a one-off but he wasn’t. Socialism in its different flavors lead to 20th century DEMOCIDE: DEATH BY GOVERNMENT
Dr. R.J. Rummel tabulated the 169,202,000 Murdered by their own government, many under some flavor of “Socialism”
Gail, this juvenile Ayn Randian stuff keeps you from actually understanding the U.S. The two political parties we have today think exactly as their representative Founding Fathers did 235 years ago. We are having the same argument now as we had then, states rights vs federalism. There is nothing new under the sun.
BAAAP! Wrong. Indeed the early congress voted against expropriating money for sad sack victims from the general treasury. Neither party practices that.
You are history ignorant.
Gamecock, whether you are designing a watch or designing a town, a good design is better than no design. Your overwrought freedom mein is silly. There is a lot more freedom in a well designed town than a road of sprawl.
You equate a watch and a town? Really?
You are full of nonsense. No design is required for a town. A designed town is different, not better.
Well, in some of the liberal towns, they only allow you to go around in circles all the time. That is like a watch, right? 😉