A Peek Inside the Moonbat Cave

An article titled "Moscow residents concerned about renewal plans" in Friday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News gave us a little peek inside the minds of the no-growth moonbats.

"Smart growth" is generally defined as being "town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses." The City of Moscow has hired Kendig-Keast, a Texas consulting firm, to incorporate "smart growth" as part of Moscow's comprehensive plan rewrite.

Kendig-Keast proposed two plans for downtown Moscow near the grain silos on Jackson Street. According to the Daily News:

The development would be anchored by a multiplex theatre and a bookstore. Each also would have a parking structure, one with a parking garage, the other with an underground parking area.

Both plans also include residential units along Jackson Street, although they differed in the type of residential units, with one plan calling for lower-density housing and the second for high-density housing consisting of three- to four-story buildings.

Certainly in line with the "smart growth" philosophy. "But wait!," cried Moscow's moonbats.

Bob Green, owner of BookPeople in downtown Moscow, said the plans did not include anything that would set Moscow apart from other cities.

"I think we are missing an opportunity and we need to think innovative," Green said. "We are being bound by the 20th century when we are in the 21st."

What exactly does Green have in mind, cities in the sky a la The Jetsons?

Betsy Dickow, an employee at BookPeople, agreed with Green that the proposed development was not unique and could be found at "anywhere, U.S.A."

"It is a unique town and it needs to remain unique," Dickow said. "This could come out of any design textbook. (The designers) are working from their perspective - which is big-city."

Interesting that someone in the book business talks about "uniqueness." Books, after all, are published by the millions. I'll tell you what is not unique about Moscow: The funky bookstore run by the leftist old hippie. Go to ANY college town in America and you can find one or more of those. My God, every town is unique in its own way.

Another thing that would be unique about Moscow is for a bunch of self-important liberals with no knowledge of business or economics to FINALLY LEAVE all the design solutions to the people who actually have the money to invest and the expertise.

Swanson also expressed concerns about bringing in a multiplex theater and a new bookstore since neither are currently a need for the city. She thought it would be detrimental to already existing businesses.

"In Moscow, if something new comes in, something old goes out," she said.

Yes, B.J., Charles Darwin called that evolution. Adam Smith called it capitalism. If something old didn't go out and something new come in, mankind would still be huddled in caves in the Neander Valley of Germany. Hard to believe Swanson is the vice-president of a bank.

Lane Kendig is going to quickly learn that he has taken on a bunch of crackpots as his client, just as that Kentucky company that was trying to sell the "New Cities" concept learned. The moonbats running Moscow don't want any kind of growth, "smart" or not. And that's very good news for us here in Pullman and Whitman County.