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An impassioned plea.
An Open Letter to Barack Obama: For the good of Chicago, don't go to Copenhagen.
gapersblock.com - 8 weeks ago - 602 views
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This did a great job of really summing up all the fears I have about us getting the Olympics. I wonder what will happen to the housing market if we win and everyone gets ready to leave.
Not that everybody in the universe doesn't already know my position, but I agree with Nelson. Bob did a great job of going point by point and laying out why bringing the Olympics to Chicago does nothing to serve the people. This would be a 180 degree turnaround from Obama's days as a community organizer. This is the type of things community organizers fight.
I look at the Olympic debate as simply coming down to "nerds vs. jocks." The Jocks want to have a big flashy event and spend everyone else's money to put it on. The nerds have questions about this.
The problem is that when you ask the jocks why they want to have the Olympics here, the answers are always appeals to emotion, involving words like "world stage," "prestige," and "attention."
Nerd: "Having the Olympics here will bankrupt a city that can't afford to improve its failing transit system."
Jock: "Yeah....but it'd be totally awesome!"
Seriously, that's what it comes down to for folks who aren't directly profiting from real estate deals. "It'd be totally awesome."
Are Chicagoans so bored and insecure that they'll "put out" to bring the games here?
That's actually one of the most cogent metaphors for this debacle that I've read. Well done Adelle.
Awesome. I do try.
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Ha, good call on the jocks vs. nerds thing. Ironic that normally the nerds are the ones eager to put out, but in this case it's the jocks who want to give it up.
Community organizers also fight slumlords but Obama was close friends with one. So, if you think about it--this is really just par for the course for "community organizer" Obama.
Great piece. This was well-said:
This was also well-said:
This next part is where I disagree, however:
I am guessing you disagree because there was plenty of unrest about the parks and parking. And that Chicagoans care about what happens outside of the North Side.
Chicago needs Olympic caliber sustained economic stimulus.
Planning for the 2016 Olympic Games has forced people to think about what should be the Windy City's future. The range of opinion varies from those adamantly opposed to those blindly allegiant.
Giving the matter a fair hearing requires skills & talents possessed the few.
Before reaching a conclusion, may I invite you to approach the proposition as a financial analyst, economist, sociologist or urban planner. Ask questions. Demand answers. Learn from credible sources. Then present your own opinion based upon the preponderance.
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