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    Home » Why is denialism now all the rage? Have our proud memories gone to dust?
    James Bishop, Jr.

    Why is denialism now all the rage?
    Have our proud memories gone to dust?

    October 14, 2018No Comments4 Mins Read
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    By James Bishop, Jr.
    (October 14, 2018)

    photo_bishopHarken to the words of Walt Whitman:

    “After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on…what remains? Nature remains.”

    Elections are near and sadly more and more leaders seem to believe that nature exists to be transformed and monetized and must be controlled; no matter if that means disenchanting meadows and wetlands, bulldozing streams thereby turning open spaces into commodities thus robbing nature of her independence. Why is denialism now all the rage?   Have our proud memories gone to dust?

    Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. By the end of that year, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. “It was a gamble,” Sen. Gaylord Nelson recalled, “but it worked”.

    Welcome to the fork in the road of our nation’s environment: will progress survive or be destroyed by dark forces such as oil coal executives in charge of environmental agencies?  What to do when people, young and old are addicted to screens instead of listening to bird song, wind-rustling leaves or enjoying the simplicity of clean, renewable energy as the Dutch and the Germans and the Danes are doing.

    Somehow, the cause of land and water conservation has become a “left-wing” issue. How short are the memories of the works of Republicans Teddy Roosevelt, Dick Nixon, and numerous other moderate Republicans who wrapped land and water protections into legal superstructure such as clean air, clean water, and wildlife protection–that is under attack today by politicians. They are ignoring the fact that global human enterprise is on a collision course with the physical and biological limits of the earth. Doubters might check the status of the Verde River, now in a non-sustainable state. The Verde receives less while being tapped more and more and headed for the same fate as the Gila unless more and more politicians recognize that nature does not distinguish between Republicans and Democrats.

    Rarely does the question loom? Do people really give a damn about saving nature? Well even though folks of all sorts find paddling the Verde or hiking through Red Rock State Park therapeutic, relaxing and even spiritual, studies reveal that fewer and fewer young people head into the outdoors, into nature and when they do, they are texting. One study found that “the American childhood has rapidly moved indoors, leading to epidemic levels of childhood obesity and inactivity.” This trend caused writer Richard Louv to create the term “nature deficit disorder”.

    Welcome to the fork in the road. To be sure, humans have always altered nature but  isn’t it one of life’s stinging paradoxes that humans often change the very world on which they depend? Remember the days of orange groves in the Salt River Valley stretching out as far as the eye could see!  Today is different. Denialism is the rage. As water rises, leaders play golf and ignored reality. Will citizens awake? And what if what if they don’t? For starters, why do so few Sedonans recycle? The value of what is landfilled goes into millions of dollars a year.

    “Facts do not cease to exist if they are ignored,” wrote Aldous Huxley. Huge population increases will inevitably put more pressure on our wild-lands. Even now, our congressmen talk of Forest Service land as a resource for the private sector creating jobs. To be sure, concerns about the human-induced transformation of nature have been long-standing. However, such worries are taking on a new sense of urgency even though most politicians are looking the other way on what patriotic people –both Republicans and Democrats- have created down through the years but now they watch from the sidelines. Teddy Roosevelt would say that wolves are in the chicken house.

    Men argue, nature acts.
    –Voltaire, 176

    By James Bishop and Karen Walker

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    Paid Political Ad Paid For by Samaire for Mayor
    Paid Political Ad for Samaire Armstrong
    Paid Political Announcement by Samaire For Mayor

     THE MOMENT IS UPON US

    Dear Sedona,

    The moment is upon us. The time for a united effort to shift the focus back to our community is now.

    The ability to thrive in our community, our environment, our workforce, and the tourist industry, is entirely possible because we have all the resources needed for success.

    Still, we need a council that isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions, that makes decisions based on data and facts, and through discussion, rather than moving and voting in group unison as they so regularly do.

    This is my home. I have been a part of the Sedona community for 28 years. I witnessed the road debacle, the lack of planning, the city circumventing the local businesses ability to thrive, while making choices to expand the local government and be in direct competition with private industry.

    I am a unique candidate because unlike the incumbents, I don’t believe the government should expand in size, nor in operations, nor would I attempt to micromanage every aspect of our community.

    City government should stay in its lane and allow the competitive market of local private industry to prosper. And it should defend our community from corporate takeover and infiltration of our town.

    I do not agree that we should sign onto International Building Codes and regulations by signing Sedona up to the ICC. It is imperative that we remain a sweet, rural community.

    Where are the arts? Where is this organic thriving element that we allege to be animated by. Where is our culture? Where is our community?

    The discord between the decision making process and the desires of the community have never been more clear. It has been nearly a decade in the making.

    It is time for a new era of energy to take charge. An energy that is reflective in the ability to succeed rather than be trapped in out of date consciousness.

    It has been a great honor meeting with each of you. I hear your concerns over the insane and out of control spending and I echo them. A budget of $105,000,000 in a town of 9700 residents is completely unacceptable. A parking structure (that looks like a shoe box) originally slated to cost 11 million, now projected to cost 18 million, is incomprehensible. Especially, considering there is no intention of charging for parking.

    For those who are concerned that I lack the political experience within our established system- that is precisely what Sedona needs… Not another politician, but instead a person who understands people, who listens to the voices within the community, and who will act in service on their behalf with accountability, for the highest good of Sedona. What I am not, will prove to be an asset as I navigate the entrenched bureaucracy with a fresh perspective. Business as usual, is over.

    Creative solutions require new energy.

    Every decision that is made by our local government, must contemplate Sedona first.

    • Does this decision benefit the residents?
    • Does this decision benefit the local businesses?
    • Does this decision actually help the environment?
    • Will this decision sustain benefit in the future, or will it bring more problems?

    What we have now is a city government that expands to 165 employees for 9700 residents. Palm Desert has 53,000 residents and 119 city employees. Majority of our city department heads are not even in town. I find this problematic.

    Efforts towards championing in and courting new solutions for our medical needs are imperative. We are losing our doctors. We must encourage competition with other facilities rather than be held hostage by NAH, who clearly have their own set of dysfunctions.

    We must remember that so many move to Sedona for its beauty, hiking, and small town charm. Bigger, faster, and more concrete does not, in broad strokes, fit the ethos of Sedona.

    The old world must remain strong here in balance, as that is what visitors want to experience. Too many have noted that Sedona has lost its edge and charm.

    As Mayor I will preserve the rural charm of our community, and push back against the urbanization that is planned for Sedona.

    As mayor I will make it a priority to create opportunities to support our youth.  After school healthy, enriching programs should be created for our kids, and available to the Sedona workforce regardless of residency and regardless of school they belong to.

    As Mayor, I will create an agenda to deliberately embody the consciousness of our collective needs here, allowing private industry to meet the needs of our community rather than bigger government.

    I hope to have your vote on Aug 2nd. I am excited and have the energy to take on this leadership role with new eyes, community perspective, and the thoughtful consciousness that reflects all ages of the human spectrum.

    Thank you deeply for your consideration.

    Sincerely,

    Samaire Armstrong

    Sedona elections
    Armstrong vs. Jablow: The Main Event
    Ready to Rumble

    By Tommy Acosta
    In the Blue Corner stands Scott Jablow and in the Red Corner of the ring stands Samaire Armstrong, ready to rumble to the bitter end in their fight to become the next Sedona mayor. Jablow weighs in with 1,137 primary election votes (36.13%) under his belt, having wielded his advantage as sitting Sedona City Council vice-mayor to his favor. He brings his years of serving in that capacity into the fray and waged a solid fight in his campaign to make it to the run-off. Armstrong, however withstood a blistering smear campaign from the other opposing candidates and their supporters to make it to the final bout with 967 votes under her belt (30.73%), an amazing feat for a political newcomer. Unfortunately, for the other two candidates, Kurt Gehlbach and sitting mayor Sandy Moriarty, neither put up enough of a fight to make it to the championship bout. Read more→
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