Double-Speak // Politicians Say One Thing + Data Says Another

How many times has Mesa Mayor John Giles said "Things are great" ??
Is that just an over-blown and vague adjective to wishfully describe the current State-of-the-City or just plain Double-Speak?
 In "1984" Orwell introduced us to the words doublethink and newspeak. A word he didn't use - but which combines the two - is doublespeak. Doublespeak is saying one thing and meaning another, usually its opposite.

DOUBLESPEAK IS NEWSPEAK DOUBLETHINK. Got it?
There is a thriving industry in constructing words without explicit meaning but with particular connotations.
Challenges, anyone? Or how about Opportunities? Doublespeak is often used by politicians for the advancement of their agenda. The Doublespeak Award is an "ironic tribute to public speakers who have perpetuated language that is grossly deceptive, evasive, euphemistic, confusing, or self-centered." No awards for that here in Mesa, but certain people are in contention to get one.
Hence - following the logic in these endeavors if there is any sense to do that, education is necessary to recognize and combat against doublespeak-use effectively.

Your MesaZona blogger got a good giggle the other day in an email reply from the Mayor's Office when it was asked to supply statistics [specific names of companies and number of jobs and whether part-time and full-time, that were actually paying salaries to employees that were hired lastnyear not projections for job creation] . . . the answer:

"We use a third party proprietary database to obtain our numbers [name deleted by blogger] . . . You're welcome to contact them for information about their process. Thanks"

 

A Garden Wizard! Catherine The Herb Lady Will Appear @ MUG For A Class

Check out a post on this site "Much Ado Mulch" about a free class on Sat 20 Feb in the Mesa Urban Garden . . . attention all you Muggles and/or humble humans who want to Plant ... Grow ... Eat!
Catherine Crowley, aka The Herb Lady, is an expert in edible landscaping in the Desert Southwest.  She writes and lectures on how to 'get growing' at public and private events.
 "I remember my grandmother, well.  She grew things and cooked things - wonderful things in the kitchen.  I looked backward for gardening and cooking lore, and found a future more than 3 decades ago.  I always loved gardening but was not always successful at it.  "Trowel and Error" have been my teachers!  If I found a new-to-me herb, fruit or vegetable I wanted to try growing it and have been very successful, in part because of the wonderful Tuscany/Provence type climate the Phoenix desert offers".   
Here's a post on Twitter from The Herb Lady: @TheHerbLady
SUGAR CANE! I will have rootable segments for sale at Friday's Mesa Farmers Market. Message me if you want me... fb.me/3skGmyuj6 
 

You CAN have an edible garden - there's fertile deep dirt to start planting in right now in the community garden on First Avenue.
Go to >> mesaurbangarden.org

Yanis Varoufakis Capitalism will eat democracy — unless we speak up - De...

Definitely not what we usually hear from suit-and-tie money guys. Hunky Greek ex-Finance Minister talks tough about democracy - really tough. So get ready and listen . . . and that's only the start so take the time - 1:04:12 - to see and watch another extraordinary episode in how the world is turning. Seriously, dear readers, this is serious

Streamed live on Feb 8, 2016

On February 8 we will go Live from Berlin with an extraordinary episode of our political webshow TalkReal one day ahead of the launch of the new movement DiEM25 by Yanis Varoufakis

 

TAKE ACTION Express EMail Your Support for ArtSpace Mesa

If  you are available in-person this Thursday morning at 07:30 a.m.get up and go to First Street across from the Main Library to the Lower Council Chambers,
come and support
Mesa Artspace Lofts
HOME application!

Any time before that please take a moment to write an e-mail of support to YOUR Councilmember and the Mayor and City Manager



Just Do It!
 
Mayor John Giles - mayor@mesaaz.gov (ian.linssen@mesaaz.gov)

D1 - Councilmember Dave Richins - district1@mesaaz.gov (alicia.white@mesaaz.gov)
D2 - Councilmember Alex Finter - councilmember.finter@mesaaz.gov (randy.policar@mesaaz.gov)
D3 - Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh - district3@mesaaz.gov (jared.archambault@mesaaz.gov)
D4 - Councilmember Chris Glover - councilmember.glover@mesaaz.gov (andrew.calhoun@mesaaz.gov)
D5 - Councilmember David Luna - councilmember.luna@mesaaz.gov (marrisa.ramirez-ramos@mesaaz.gov)
D6 - Councilmember Kevin Thompson - councilmember.thompson@mesaaz.gov (matthew.clark@mesaaz.gov)

Big Corporations Get A Big Slice-of-the Pie Here in Mesa ... is That The News?

Or is this?
Cities looking to spur economic growth should reconsider those tax breaks and subsidies intended to lure out-of-state corporations, and invest in local entrepreneurs instead, a new report suggests
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/corporate-subsidies-states-should-invest-entrepreneurs

State Job Creation Strategies Often Off Base,” a report by Michael Mazerov and Michael Leachman with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, indicates that only 1 to 4 percent of total job creation each year stems from relocated out-of-state firms. About 87 percent of private-sector jobs created between 1995 and 2013 stemmed from in-state businesses, created by startups, entrepreneurs or the expansion of employment at existing companies.

Cities are hotbeds of entrepreneurship, but they’re still offering millions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks to lure large corporations even when those corporations create relatively few positions, for example Apple's new global command center here with about maybe 90 jobs.
“Policymakers should reject major income tax cuts and new corporate relocation subsidies, and reconsider those already enacted,” argue the report’s authors. “Public investments that help build a skilled workforce and improve the quality of life for local residents are better bets ― successful entrepreneurs report these factors are key to where they founded their companies.” 
The report cites a 2014 study of 150 founders of some of the United States’ fastest-growing companies, which found that only 5 percent of entrepreneurs cited low tax rates as a factor in deciding where to locate.
The majority chose to start their businesses based on where they lived at the time. When asked why they lived where they did, founders cited quality of life factors like access to recreation or cultural institutions. Most founders had lived in their cities for at least two years before starting their companies.

ASU // As You Like It [Or NOT] ??

Sorry folks, but your MesaZona blogger has an admitted aversion to "factory education" just like a distinct disagreement with "factory farming".
Furthermore, after living in some of the big urban centers here in America, I like small - like the "one-square mile" here I chose to live in two years ago.
Sure, whoever was here before did let bad things happen but we now know more about smart growth rather than fast growth. Contrary to the motto for one city agency, Mesa is not endless - no city is. There are limits.
Let's give BenU & Wilkes University @ Mesa Center for Higher Education a chance - later, mebbe for ASU.

Jeff Speck: The walkable city

How do we solve the problem of the suburbs? Urbanist Jeff Speck shows how we can free ourselves from dependence on the car -- which he calls "a gas-belching, time-wasting, life-threatening prosthetic device" -- by making our cities more walkable and more pleasant for more people.