Putting this sort of venture out in the middle of nowhere is destined to fail as a commercial endeavor. If artists are going to try to have a space to work as well as a retail component, this needs to be in a more commercial area.

Now we have Mike Tabor likening lack of action on the indefinite military detention provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act to silence by liberals (I’ll take Gilbert’s word for it that Tabor used that descriptor) that allowed the Holocaust to occur. The action Tabor would like the council to take is passage of a resolution opposing the provision.

http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/one-thing-maine-virginia-and-arizona-have-common-opposition-ndaa More information here

The effect of a Takoma Park resolution would be to place the city on a list of other municipalities which have passed the same or similar statements of opposition. Presumably that list, along with other materials, will then be presented to members of Congress.

Like Gilbert, my beef isn’t with the position taken. It’s with time being spent at council meetings on issues of national or international import, which we all know there is no shortage of.

As councilmember Tim Male has said, Takoma Park’s support of resolutions such as this one are predictable. Like him, I cannot believe that adding our city to the usual list of suspects will do much to change the opinions of the proponents of whatever objectionable provision we are weighing in on.

Would it not be better to push for a resolution from the Maryland legislature or see if our state attorney general has joined his fellow attorneys general in opposing the NDAA language? What about Gov. Martin O’Malley? I have to believe people at these levels of government have a bit more influence than Takoma Park. And why this issue and not others? Where are we on the DREAM Act? Why are we not calling on the White House to ensure the safety of the Chinese dissident whose well-being is now in danger?

The activists like to point to the city charter to support their view that we can take stands on issues of national importance. Yes, and the city code prohibits portable basketball hoops on our streets. But there’s a difference between high-faluting rhetoric and the reality of governing. The folks pushing the city to take action on these types of resolutions argue that the whole process doesn’t take much time because the resolutions are already written for the council and the councilmembers can take as much or as little time as they want discussing the matters. Well, not quite. They still have to listen to a parade of witnesses repeat each others’ points at the podium. Then they have to actually discuss the matter, or (usually) state with great eloquence their unvarnished support for said resolution.

But the councilmembers, who are technically part-time and paid commensurately, do not have unlimited time to deal with every issue of national importance brought to them. Right now they are in the middle of reviewing the city’s budget for FY 2013 and I, for one, would prefer they focus their energies on that.

I wonder if any of the people who spoke in favor of the NDAA resolution have looked at the proposed FY 2013 budget or submitted any comments on it? More to the point, do they really care how their tax dollars are spent locally? If they’re like most city residents, they haven’t read it or commented on it. No doubt they do care how their tax dollars are spent, but they’re simply too busy on these other, larger issues to take much note of what’s happening locally. And hey, that’s what makes Takoma Park so special — we care about these great liberal causes, and by passing resolutions on all manner of issues, we attract other like-minded folks to live here, enabling us to pass more resolutions like this one. And then we can all engage in a group hug and congratulate ourselves for our courage.

I commend the activists for their passion. But I honestly believe their cause would be better served by writing individual letters expressing their views — and getting others to do the same — to their elected members of Congress and other officials (Jamie Raskin comes to mind) who have more influence and more direct involvement in the matter at hand. Adding Takoma Park’s name to a sheet of paper will not make much, if any, difference.

I also hope the council members who have already expressed support for this resolution will seek out the views of some of their constituents instead of reflexively agreeing with whoever is speaking at the podium. They may find that the people who elected them have a different take on the matter. And then, I hope they will get back to the people’s business of passing a sensible budget and overseeing the work of city staff. That is, after all, what they’re really getting paid to do.

I was a part of a small 3 parking spot natural foods grocery store that grossed close to $2 million in sales right before we moved from 301 Sligo Ave. to our present location in Feb. 1998. People want to support a business that is cooperative and kind and humane to all.

Unfortunately we are no longer that business. It is our worker members that are suffering for no good reason except for the process in which we now “govern” our business. Something has gone terribly wrong. Its not that TPSS has not paid back big loans that got us to the junction, its just that we have strayed from our roots, the foundation that got us to the junction and to our Grubb Rd. location.

I was glad to have my children grow up while I worked for our coop.I am proud to know that some of our founders and still member shoppers put their property “up” for collateral for all of us to have the wonderful business we have today. I was thrilled to have my children work in such a strong coop business. What is more wonderful than a business that deals with what every body needs: FOOD. I would go so far as to say that TPSS could have gone up for the Peace Prize because of the founding credence of all shall be treated equally with care, dignity and respect.

I no longer would want my children or anyone else”s child to work at TPSS. We now have the “every one is equal, but some of us are more equal than others” mentality. What is accepted by our management as good business would make your skin crawl with toxic shame! The majority of our members probably think that because we have a a management system in place, we would have union system in place. We do not

In 2011 we had a Board sanctioned Staff Rep. Com. that would act as a buffer between “us” and “them” (management) and give workers a forum for being “heard” but about nine months later the committee was disbanded as being too costly.Our Board could have asked for a final report…WELL…..I digress.

At the May 6th TPSS membership meeting I will be bringing up facts of how our business operates and how shamefully we now treat our member workers. I would never want to expand a business such as TPSS with the way our store is now “managed”. I have been asked if I am afraid of losing my job. Of course I am! I love being able to help people with their most basic need in a most spiritual manner. That is what a common ground I had with the beginning TPSS coop and want to perpetuate. It didn’t matter what job title I’ve had (I have done amazing things for us !) I just knew how fantastic and important TPSS was and still can be.

Always yours in cooperation!

— Alice Richardson

P.S. I thank the Elriches, Chalofskys, Gina Gaspin, Jayne Silve rand Elias Vlanton, Andy A. and nameless others for founding such a fantastic food store that is a cooperative. I will do my best to keep TPSS the most outstanding business it was created for! My kids I am proud to have raised cooperatively you may know! They are Roy and Alia. PEACE

Thanks for pointing out the typos.

If you have a beef, take it up with Your Gilbert, not our staff members. We make life miserable enough for them as it is.

- Gilbert

You say the staff “asked around.” Um, no, they didn’t. That was the problem, Bill. They didn’t ask around. They only asked SAIC for a proposal, because MoCo had used SAIC and Daryl thought they could piggyback on that contract.

“ouncilmember Tim Male” — ouch. “Councilmember” is what you’re looking for.

“pointing out it’s” (should be “its”– “it’s” means “it is.” It’s a contraction — look it up if you don’t understand — while “its” is a possessive. Try to get this right in the future, please, children may (though I doubt it) be reading this. Of course, if I catch my own kids reading your column, I’ll take away their computer privileges. I mean, I want them to learn English proper.

Committe — another “e” needed. Does anyone read this before you post it, Bill?

“manpower imitations” — are you implying that Daryl is trying to be a man? Please, spare us such attacks!

“council needs to do more homework.” Normally, you should capitalize the first word at the beginning of a sentence. Perhaps you need to do your homework.

Bill, you really need to write these BEFORE you drain a fifth of Scotch.