They's Revenge!

They: The word they (with its counterparts them, their, and themselves) as a singular pronoun to refer to a person of unspecified sex has been used since at least the sixteenth century. In the late twentieth century, as the traditional use of he to refer to a person of either sex came under scrutiny on the grounds of sexism, this use of they has become more common. It is now generally accepted in contexts where it follows an indefinite pronoun such as anyone, no one, someone, or a person:: anyone can join if they are a resident; | each to their own. In other contexts, coming after singular nouns, the use of they is now common, although less widely accepted, esp. in formal contexts. Sentences such as | ask a friend if they could help are still criticized for being ungrammatical. Nevertheless, in view of the growing acceptance of they and its obvious practical advantages, they is used in this dictionary in many cases where he would have been used formerly. -Oxford American Dictionary
You see the dictionary cannot tell us who "they " are!
But I will.
I have a name!
You may refer to me as "they" when quoting me, but I would prefer Agnosticrat. Anything else would be redundant.
Some posting comments here have called me Aggie, or Ag and although I will respond to such nicknames it is not a choice I would make.
I would prefer Agster, or Agerator, Nostiholic, Nosti by itself has a respectful ring!
It does not matter who I pretend to be in the "real world". As long as I am here asking questions, I am relevant as agnosticrat and can be shunned, or accepted as such.
There are other bloggers in the area that have been handed the false title of "they".
Pol watcher I call him/her "Pol", for which I have not been reprimanded.
I for one do not care who Pol is, I have my suspicions, but in the interest of fair play have decided it does not matter. Pol is Pol, and has and will continue to be quoted as such. That should be enough for anyone that is not looking to diminish the work done on westmichiganpolitics.
Same goes for 3
Agitator3 whom I have dubbed "3" ( nobody calls him/her aggie!, Do they?)
according to his /her own statements, 3 may be a unit of many people, and until I see posts that conflict with previous statements I will not call him/her disingenuous. I applaud 3 for allowing some posting by Dan Fighter on his comments section, it is not easy sometimes to take in comments that are filled with such anger. More on that later.
It is far too easy to get wrapped up in who is who, and what their motive is.
What is possible here is far more than throwing your opinion around, and making people take notice. It is reading others words and accepting that there are other points of view that could hold just as true as the one you have posted. To read those opinions and take the points into consideration when making your own is called a discussion, and it works.
Some would say that the cloak of secrecy and made up names diminish the purpose of these blogs. I say poppycock to such an off hand statement. The people who push that idea are the shills for conformity that would shut down such an icon of free speech.
When the nation was not yet born, there was a newspaper publisher that took matters into his own hands when discussion was lacking as to solutions for an impasse with the king of England. He wrote letters to his own newspaper under made up names and he forced the future citizens of the United States care about what was happening in the world about them. He would even argue with himself on issues of the day such as taxes, and representation of the people. His name was Benjamin Franklin.
I bring up editors, and their past deeds not to propagate rumors that David T. The editor of the Hastings Banner, is alive and well on these blogs. It is to point out that if he is, we should be encouraged that he would see fit to give an unfettered opinion the likes you would not likely be able to read in the local newspaper (a business). Keep in mind that other newspapers, and television shows you read, or watch are also businesses. While I would not accuse the Banner of putting business before news, I would honestly say that it would have to be considered when publishing rumor, or innuendo. Something for good or bad these blogs can do quite nicely.
Honestly, I get the shivers when I consider that a badly written paragraph of mine would be read, and possibly, responded to by any official, or servant in our community. It is real thought from a real person, and if it is less so in your eyes because I have no other title to go by than agnosticrat, then you have already missed the point I was trying to make, and would feel more comfortable in your easy chair watching the nightly news.
I have been trying to figure out the point of this blog, and find it troublesome that I have not posted much in recent days. This will not stand.
While I see myself as political, I have never intended for that to be the mainstay of this blog. I am not well connected, and have no scoops to offer. I do have opinion, and intend to throw it at anyone who will listen. You should do the same. For now I intend to use this space to point out blogs of note in the area. Forums that I have for one reason or other overlooked.
Oh yeah!, and my opinion will always be on hand here.

Recently there has been much ado about Dan Fighters' complaints and concerns directed toward the present prosecutor. Point and counterpoint that seems to have evolved into a name calling match. Name calling in and of itself is not a great way to get your point across, and in general will win only the hearts of fellow disgruntled mudslingers. Although it seems there is a case to be made by Mr. Fighter for a lack of action on the part of J.N.P., it seems to have been swallowed up by the anger directed toward his ex-wife's supporters. If I were to advise Dan on a way to proceed it would be to stick to telling his story without being drawn into he said, she said comments. Facts are like a river, there is no way around them.
While recent letters to the editor in the Banner have called Mr. Fighters own record into question he needs only to reply to this by stating that he, "the father" has the custody of his children. As many already know, this does not "just happen" in the state of Michigan and lends his character some credibility.
I only know what I have read, and unless J.N.P. herself speaks to the issue, I will be forced to consider what "others" have said when pulling the "peoples lever".
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More bloggers in the area:
citizensentinel - "Live Free or Die"
I look forward to reading sentinels comments. A centrist, with conservative fiscal leanings.
PatTheTruth
who points out "There are an enormous number of people who are sick to death of the failure of the legislature and the special interests who own them." No posts as of yet on Pats blog but I am looking forward to something soon.
Bankerboy - Barry County Book Club
Serving up some good reads, and offering comment on other blogs.

Keep em' coming, the more voices, the louder the noise!
There are others that have been in and out of this blog that have no blogs of their own. I am disappointed by this as I believe the more voices the better.
peace!

I Don't Know What I've Been Told...

There seems to be whole lot of subjects I know nothing about, and one of them is the recent article in the Banner, about Whizwheels planned withdrawal from Hastings, and Barry County.
Although the article leads one to believe it was inevitable that they would go to Kent County, in search of a growing customer base, it also leaves the impression that the Wiswells could have been convinced to stay.
The two main reasons for leaving stated by Jack Wiswell in the article were the growing bike trail system in Grand Rapids (due to Fred Meijers' generosity), and the lack of buildings in this area of the size they needed.
Of course the goal of business is to make money, so nobody could fault a company for leaving to greener pastures. But with that goal in mind I have to wonder why there was room left open to consider staying here. As far as I know there are no means bye which the city, or county can compete with the bike trail and the customer base it will provide.
After that, the second reason appears to be of little consequence, doesn't it?
It appears as though someone dropped ball somewhere, and more information would shed some light on a possible communication problem by city officials. We can't afford to lose jobs in this community.
That being said, I wonder if there was an intentional lack of response by the city?
The statements by Mr. Wiswell lead me to believe they were fishing for handouts from the city, or county. Let me make this clear: I am not saying that is what was happening here , but one has to wonder if the city would be in any kind of position to make such promises.
Are the coffers of this municipality such that we could afford to extend bargains to growing companies with their own capitol?
Was there really room for an agreement between these two parties, that would have netted more jobs for the city , and county , without expense to taxpayers?
Anyone with more information, and answers to my misinformed questions, please set me straight.

"but it's my favorite finger!"-Ringo Starr

I once had a blackcat blow the tip of my finger to a numbness that lasted three weeks. Oh sure I probably should have had it looked at by a doctor, but I was not about to tell my parents of the accident that came about on that 4th of July weekend. You see I was already in trouble for smoking cigarettes at school the previous semester.
Although I talked myself into believing I was being valiant by not putting my parents through another episode of "what the hell did the boy do to himself this time?" the truth is it scared me. To not feel ones finger for a good three quarters of a month is simply a terrifying prospect to a teenager. At first the skin turned a grayish white and although it never bled it had in three days turned a dark coffee color. In short I was sure it was going to have to come off. Visions of living my life as a shopteacher were in full technicolor dreams at night.
My friends encouraged me to work through this tragedy in the usual fashion, "Geezus, it was only a blackcat!" and "You fu*%ing wuss" were the soft words that comforted me in my time of need. I was never sure if they were saying that in order to keep me from outing them in what would be a tearful confession of teenage delinquency at the emergency room, or if it was true that "nobody ever got their finger blown off by a blackcat."
This memory came to me last night while visiting a friend on the other side of town, 3rd ward I believe, we were amazed at the relative silence.
As far as I can see there has been no fireworks in my small neighborhood this year. Generally I have heard the loud report of firecrackers beginning in mid June. I don't really mind not being woken up in the middle of the night to an audio history of the fall of Saigon, but I am curious.
What could possibly be the reason for such a quiet 4th of July weekend?
Has anybody else noticed this?

Update: 07/05/06
Last night was loud as hell!
Congratulations, United States of America!
You kept me awake till 1 am!
I hope you are proud!
I know I am. ;)