Part 2 of a crap trap

My response: Alright then. I guess I've worked tirelessly for
PACleanSweep since July because I want to sustain the status quo?

Apples and Oranges. But really, Apple Seeds to Apple Pie.

You want to get a free ride with what you did in the past? What you did in the past has nothing to do with what you are doing today. You can't rest on your laurels.

many people have raised the notion that Diamond's candidacy is controversial.

I don't buy that notion, for the reasons I mentioned. That is the crap trap. Because a lot of folks don't vote -- that does not mean that the best thing to do is not vote.

To me, (a repeat), the fact that Diamond is a candidate boils down to a decision of the individual, Diamond himself. I can't tell him what to do. You can't tell him what to do. If you want to say otherwise, you stand for less personal freedom. Diamond's decision to be a candidate or not should have nothing to do with you as his master. Diamond, nor anyone else, should NOT be a slave to anyone else.

The "controversial elements" of the Diamond effort should be (and could be) the CAMPAIGN, not being a candidate. There is no controversy to run or not to run. But I hope there is a lot of controversial aspects on what he says, how he says it, what messages people hear, and how this all unfolds with voters, media, supporters and other candidates. That is the "sustained conversations of the campaign" -- and that will rub people all different ways. That's the message and that's the essence of the interactions among politics. That's where the controversial elements MUST reside.

The BISHOP of the Pittsburgh Diocese could choose to run for PA Governor -- and that won't be a 'controversial decision.' He would be permitted to run for public office if he so chooses. If the Bishop shows up to a political TV debate and brings altar boys and the tall red Bishop's hat -- well, then comes a "controversial" moment.

Thanks for the spelling tips, BTW. I was in the middle of a lot of Earth Day fun and didn't touch up the typos until now.

Everyone has a right to be concerned. Everyone has a right to vote with their feet and leave organizations. Fine. But, you fail when you make a concern about the future into a threat. This goes to the core RIGHT -- the DIAMOND decision wasn't theirs to MAKE. To stay or leave is up to them.

I'm glad Diamond chooses to run his campaign with a 'my way or highway' approach. He should. It is his right, again. You are foolish to project otherwise onto him.

The board can be delicate now (OMG) -- after it shattered its good will. They (and posts like yours) screwed up and lost valued time and relationships. They over-reacted and injected more poison into the landscape than we'll ever be able to measure, today and for years to come.

Our opponents can now make the case that Diamond used PACleanSweep to promote himself have a valid point. Handling the matter DELICATELY was the RESPONSIBILITY of the Board of Directors.

Opponents always can make some valid points. You can't play only defense and win. You get points, they get points -- the winner is the one with the most points. The goal isn't to NEVER give the opponent a valid point. In football, you don't PUNT on first down. In hockey, you don't put all your players out there in the crease as GOALKEEPERS.

So, if Diamond did this Clean Sweep efforts to promote himself -- is that like the Governor going around the state to promote himself by giving away money (WAMS) on 4-foot cardboard checks? Of course there are valid points to be made on all sides. I'd say Diamond's self promotion is about 1,000 less than the acts of Rendell who spends money from the Commonwealth's taxpayers.

Likewise, if the Bishop runs for Governor, are people going to say he served the church as a way to promote himself too? Ask what's the real score?

The counter to my claim of "do-little board" being "I don't know cause I wasn't there" -- so I'm ignorant just proves me right again. Committed activists are not invisible. And, even if I have a blind spot, your counter should be more than a time card with 1,000 hours logged. And, you go back to the outset in that you want a free pass for past efforts for putting a turd into the well just now. This is today.

The next chapter isn't about a re-hash of the past chapter. You worked, fine. That's water over the dam. That's gone now. What is "fresh" is your repeat of a "crook" sling.

The student in class who got an "F" today can't go to the teacher and say, "I want an A on this paper because I got an A last month." Today's trash talk (without clear reasoning, IMHO) should NOT be ignored because of last month's good deeds. Deal with the time line of past, present and future. Otherwise, you're fooling yourself and your experiences and expectations are going to be at odds with many various forces.

This is a big state. You don't need to get along with everyone. There are saints and sinners -- and plenty of folks in the middle. Life is short. You can't please everyone. Fine....

Here is my take home advice: Live in the present. If we all lived in the present, we'd all be better off.

I hope you had a good day stuffing envelopes and picking up trash being that it is Earth Day and lots of folks were doing lots of things out and about today.