Ban it all!
I would like to share my displeasure with the City Council planning to go along with some folks to ban leaf blowers in the city of Sonoma. Thank God I don’t live in the city limits.
Isn’t it funny that I live in Temelec at the age of 72 and I’m one of the young ones. It’s actually funnier that no one has complained about any leaf blowers in the 10 years I have lived in the community.
I am well aware that being a Conservative in a town that borders on Socialism ideas makes me unpopular. However, why is it that Liberals always want to ban almost everything that they disagree with? What is so liberal about that? How about chain saws? What is next? Weed whackers? How about lawnmowers? This is becoming nuts. For all you people who wanted this, I say that you are racists. Why do I say this? Well, most of the gardeners and landscaping companies are either owned by, or employ Hispanics. Did anybody think about that? To top it off, Rachael Hundley, one of the council members wants to allow the city workers to use blowers to clean up the Square. What’s the matter Rachael, would it cost the town too much money to follow your rules? What about the homeowners that don’t mind leaf blowers? They must now pay more for the gardening services.
In my opinion the City Council is going way too far with this. Maybe this job is going to your heads and you have this huge power trip. As I have said before, let the free market take care of this. Over-regulation affects everyone. Gary Edwards and Mayor Cook got it right. Let the neighbors work it out between each other. Maybe we should get a petition up and ban meat, because many people don’t eat meat. Lets put a moratorium on Mexican food that does not have Kale in it. Lets ban Harleys in the Square because they make noise. I’ve got it — lets ban fertilizer because it stinks. How about toilet paper? Oh we can’t do that because most of you are full of crap.
Stan Pappas, Sonoma Valley
3 thoughts on “Ban it all!”
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Stan,
This letter is, I’m sorry to say, rooted in way more judgement…and dare I say it, crap…. that anyone who votes to ban leaf blowers could ever hope to compete with. “Racist”? Really? This is amateur debate tactics at its worst—-“I don’t agree with a particular position, but I have no real argument, so I will distract with a completely absurd claim that hopefully makes my opponents look bad”.
Look. Conservative/liberal/socialist (that’s a nice little remnant from Cold War Era America, Stan)/Republican/Democrat. It’s completely irrelevant. What are the reasons that one would be against leaf blowing? Noise? Pollution? The fact that pushing a leaf around with a burst of dirty air neither rids the area of said leaf nor cleans the area up? The damage caused by leaf blowers far outweighs any possible benefit. A leaf blower running for one hour emits as many hydrocarbons and other pollutants into the atmosphere as a car driven at 55 mph for 110 miles.
Not to mention the noise that it creates. The only argument that anyone could ever make that would hold one ounce of merit would be that they save time. But is one person’s time saved more important than the time stolen from the rest of us, as we cover our noses and ears?
I will match your snarkiness with mine: Isn’t it possible that your elderly neighbors have never complained about the noise of the community leaf blowers simply because they can’t hear them?
This is the same geezer who followed me outside after a council meeting screaming, “Go back where you came from! We don’t want your kind around here!” He is, to put it kindly, without reason.
Everyone who lives in the City can agree with Mr. Pappas when he says: “Thank God I don’t live in the City limits.” The only people more thankful for that than Stanley is everyone who does live in the City limits.
The second part everyone can concede is that Stanley hasn’t heard any complaints about leaf blowers in Temelec in the 10 years he has lived there. As Stanley notes, he’s 72 and “one of the young ones” in Temelec and, bless their hearts, most of them can’t hear a frog fart anymore.
That Stanley’s hearing is going is clear from the fact that he really thinks he can sing like Frank Sinatra, when he actually sounds a lot like a leaf blower a pint low on oil.
But those living outside the City who want a say in what goes on inside the City are invited to move into the City ASAP where they can vote and pay taxes like the rest of us Socialists. Until they do, their opinions are just like a leaf blower: A lot of hot air and noise, blowing crap.