Well, we've come to the conclusion of the first phase. The city council voted 8 yes, 1 no (councilor Kelley) to approve ARE rezoning Petition.
It is time for me to reflect on the process. I'll probably need a few days to figure out what it really means, in the meantime I'm gone rant & rave... no hold bars... my wife told me I was swinging like a manic during the deliberation... my blood was boilling... not out of anger ... but out of frustration... frustration at the lack of vision exhibited by the union of labor, the city council & the developer (from now referred as U).

First rant... Labor (the first part of U).

Where I come from, Belgium, Labor Unions are like chocolate and beer, a proud tradition executed with precision, determination and love (I'm fantasizing a little here, maybe even alot...lol)... What a damn surprise to see Labor Unions aligned with Capital against neighbors and resident, fellow workers who sweat everyday to make ends meet. They might not be manual but they are labor, if you get my drift...

I thought Labor Unions were organized not only to negotiate better wages but also to protect their fellow workers from the greed and exploitation of Capital.... I thought Labor Unions were humanist organizations... Well I guess that's another culture shock... I've lived a few since I moved to the US... this one though was more unexpected then usual... The shear irrationality of the position just boggles the mind...

Where I come from, when Labor needs to fight it first needs the support of the citizenery, so if a strike is needed they can isolate the force that be and force them to negotiate. When the citizenery needs to fight, Labor, 90% of the time, is behind, supporting, even if they disagree or if it's gone cost them... Labor is the citizenery and vice versa. They are intrinsically linked, bound to one another for better or for worse... together they work to act as a check on the power that be... they fight to achieve a better tomorrow... I'm idealizing here... trying to make a point... Belgium is not heaven... lol

What I saw, over the course of the last month, is Labor unconditionally on the other side (a totally subjective view). Labor as an interest group, single-mindedly focused on "jobs". On the surface this seems to make sense, but you dig a little deeper and boom... All sense is lost. Sure jobs are important, but not any job, under any circumstances. You wanna take a long term view, you want jobs you can be proud of, jobs leading to more jobs, jobs that will protect not destroy the neighborhoods you live in. Jobs that build the foundations, not the dreams, of a better tomorrow... for all your fellow worker, blue and white... The Labor Movement is a political movement, an ideal... Family guy, Simpsons... it represents all of us...

So to see you on the other side... I will need to consider more carefully my support ... Labor Unions are just a lobbying interest groups, nothing more, nothing less, all ideal evaporated... I have to adapt to this new paradigm...

I just realize, as you might have too, that this might have been a little much... I apologize but as I said no hold bars... Senseless flow of consciousness...

Last night was tough. It sure was...

PS: Councilor Brian Murphy has resigned from the City Council to take a position as the new Deputy Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth... REALLY...! REALLY...!