Posted on 02/09/2008 5:54:38 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Many U.S. citizens see our military and feel secure, some of them might even feel inspired. It only stands to reason that there are others out there that might feel afraid and threatened. However, they are usually the ones that are fighting our military.
The worst part about this whole episode is the mayor has to hide behind a spokesman. He apparently lacks the courage to come out and address the issue himself. He can’t be that busy.
I mean, we’re talking about Toledo!
mayor.toledo@toledo.oh.gov, michael.ashford@toledo.oh.gov, joe.mcnamara@toledo.oh.gov, phillip.copeland@toledo.oh.gov, frank.szollosi@toledo.oh.gov, mark.sobczak@toledo.oh.gov, george.sarantou@toledo.oh.gov, wilma.brown@toledo.oh.gov, rob.ludeman@toledo.oh.gov, mike.craig@toledo.oh.gov, ellen.grachek@toledo.oh.gov, betty.shultz@toledo.oh.gov, twozniak@co.lucas.oh.us
email them all. Total nitwits just like those in Berkeley.
Sadly it needs to be an urban fact.
I guess you are one of the few that believe SNOPES does not have it’s own liberal bias. True; it does. I have emailed them regarding their “findings” on a number of issues. They never respond.
Don’t believe me? Just google SNOPES LIBERAL BIAS
Plenty of ammo out there on them.
Yes, I know. But it’s nice to think that the Marine thought that on the inside, but on the outside had to say some bull crap pablum to the medium.
I wonder what Drew Carey has to say about this...
“So after a brief stop at a friendly base in Perrysburg Township, the Marines by early evening were back on their way home to Grand Rapids.”
They are always welcome back in GR.
Toledo can %@#!%& themselves, but Im sure they are good at that already.
As bizarre as it sounds, to some extent, I have to agree with the mayor here.
Here’s the problem: civilians.
The military is focused, professional, ordered, sensible, and efficient. Civilians are chaotic, confused, excitable, mentally ill, and unpredictable. The military is not the problem, or even potential problem, here.
In my city, a fairly isolated and abandoned small wooden building was supposed to be used for training purposes by our fire department. They were going to safely set it on fire, then practice putting it out. Simple.
Not so. To begin with, the city got a deluge of complaints. From those who wished to preserve the shack, those who were afraid of fire or that it would spread, those who were afraid of smoke, those concerned with the wasting of water, those who didn’t want the street obstructed, and, of course, the purely kooks.
Then, when they set the fire, the local 911 phone line was overwhelmed with idiots calling to report a fire surrounded by firemen. And since they couldn’t get through on 911, they started calling other city government offices, and even the County fire department.
The police also had to turn out in force because of the idiot onlookers who wanted to watch the fire. The final cost to the city approached $75,000, to half burn down a shack. Needless to say, that was the last time the fire department had a training exercise in city limits.
The background story to this amazing inanity was told by the mayor himself, for several years afterwards. His audience usually found it to be very funny. In retrospect, it was.
Now, while this does not completely exonerate the mayor of Toledo for his actions, in that he probably had ulterior political motives, he still might have ended up making the right decision, if for the wrong reasons.
Personally, if I was going to direct a military urban warfare training exercise, I would want it as far as possible away from civilians, to protect my personnel from unpredictable civilian idiots who might do heaven knows what.
No, there is a difference here. IMHO, this is not about a recruiting office, this is urban warfare on out downtown streets. Not appropriate.
Build a mock up somewhere in the sticks and practice there. Allowing the troops to be seen by the American sheeple drilling in our streets throws up a whole lotta red flags for me. If the sheeple get used to seeing it, and someone one day uses the troops for law enforcement, then there will be a whole lot of folks passive on the idea.
No, find another way to train in urban warfare. Does not belong in our cities...
You know, there are probably times on the mean streets of Baghdad and Fallujah, when our fighting men are afraid. But they rise above that fear, and that’s called courage.They do their job and put life and limb on the line so people like the cowardly mayor of Toledo can hide behind a spokesman.
Well, scrolling down it looks like I am alone on this issue...
(donning flame retardant apparel...)
Carleton “Carty” S. Finkbeiner (born May 30, 1939) is an American Democratic politician who is the current mayor of Toledo, Ohio.
Controversy
Known as much for his temper as his work ethic, many allegations surfaced throughout Finkbeiner’s two terms, and more continue to surface in his third.
Toledo restaurateur John Skiadas filed a law-suit alleging that Finkbeiner physically and verbally assaulted him at the Erie Street Market in 2000. The lawsuit was dismissed by Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Charles Wittenberg in 2004.[1][2]
Finkbeiner was the focus of a segment on the Daily Show poking fun at statements he made suggesting that Toledo could be the next Hollywood. During the interview, Carty expressed his ideas while the camera fixated on Toledo’s most rundown neighborhoods, contrasting them with the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. The segment aired during the 1997-98 season.
On July 1, 1998, Carty was fined $400 and court costs after pleading guilty to ethics charges when he was Mayor, realized a $10,000 profit from Owens Corning’s purchase of his condo, and his failure to publicly report the gain.[citation needed]
He plagiarized a single line in his KICK-OFF speech in 1998.[3]
Finkbeiner suggested relieving the problem of noise complaints from neighbors of Toledo Express Airport by selling homes nearby at low cost to deaf people.[4]
Several times throughout his administration, controversies such as these brought national attention to Toledo.
In early 2006, political adversaries scoffed over the Mayor spending $9,996 of city money to complete the installation of shower facilities in the City Government building. They attempted to label the project a “controversy” because the shower quote was originally $10,006, six dollars over a threshold that requires approval from City Council. The contractor was able to shave $10 from the project, something a vocal minority felt was unethical. [5]
In 2004, Finkbeiner experienced health problems and underwent bypass surgery.[6]
In May 2006, he called Toledo’s African-American Fire Chief Michael Bell “King Kong” at a staff meeting. Finkbeiner later clarified his remarks as relating to the Chiefs physical stature, and Chief Bell has acknowledged in public that he took no offense to the remarks.[7]
In June 2006, Jack Smith resigned from his brief tenure as Chief of Police after what he described as a near-physical confrontation with the mayor after they exchanged words.[8]
In January 2007, Finkbeiner claimed that both he and wife Amy were treated unprofessionally by Ottawa County sheriff’s deputies when they tried to visit Amy’s son, an inmate, on separate occasions. Amy Finkbeiner claimed she was not allowed to use a ladies’ room at the jail, while Finkbeiner said he was denied a chance to visit after visiting hours had concluded. Sheriff Bob Bratton said the deputies were only doing their jobs. [9]
Later that month, Finkbeiner and his press secretary were sued by radio station WSPD, claiming that First Amendment provisions regarding freedom of the press were violated when the press secretary forcibly kept a station employee out of a public press conference. Finkbeiner’s objection to the employee is that he produces opinions and editorials, and is not in fact a reporter on behalf of WSPD. On January 31, a federal judge granted the station a permanent injunction requiring Finkbeiner and his staff to admit station personnel.[10]
He has also suggested a cafe be built on the Martin Luther King bridge so city employees could eat there while the bridge was undergoing construction. [11]
In August 2007, Finkbeiner was confronted on two occasions by reporters because he parked in a handicapped spot and left his dog in the car during a hot spell. Finkbeiner was ticketed and fined, but denied mistreating the animal.[12]
Sure, lets spend a few million building a training facility, or pay to fly thousands of Marine reservists to Camp Pendleton to train there. We sure as heck wouldn’t want US Marines to scare a couple of illegal immigrants that have cell phones and the mayor’s direct number would we?
We sure as heck wouldn’t want US Marines to scare a couple of illegal immigrants that have cell phones and the mayor’s direct number would we?
Come up with a more sensible grievance and I'll continue to discuss this with you...
Wonder if they are getting any Federal monies? Hmmmm ... I hope Sen. DeMint is watching.
Perpetuating urban legends is a characteristic of liberals.
First Berkeley, now Toledo...is this country going friggin’ mad?
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