Informed but opinionated commentary and analysis on urban transportation topics from the Secret Worldwide Transit Cabal. Names have been omitted to protect the guilty.
Our Mission: Monkeywrench the Anti-Transit Forces
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Saturday, February 15, 2003
The Anti-Urban, Anti-Transit "Axis of Weasels"
"It is the unfortunate destiny of the ridiculous to be subject to ridicule."
James Howard Kunstler
"Truth passes through three phases: 1) It is ridiculed. 2) It is violently opposed. 3) It is accepted as self-evident." Albert Schopenhouer. In the United States, rail is currently passing through Phase Two.
From the Cabalmaster:
Recently large numbers of so-called "warbloggers" have taken to calling Germany, Belgium, and France the "axis of weasels" due to their opposition to the pending U.S. war against Iraq, a play on George W. Bush's "axis of evil." (Maverick British leftist Christopher Hitchens points out that France and Germany have had extensive business dealings with Iraq; on the other hand, the public in those countries oppose a new Middle East war by 80%-90% margins, but that's an off topic blog...)
Well, there is another "axis of weasels" that we wise-guy Transit Cabalists have identified: A pretty complete list of the Antiurban, Antitransit Axis of Weasels is posted at www.ti.org/amdream.html. This list is as follows, excluding government representatives, consultants we know don't agree with the anti-urban agenda, and Andres Duany, invited to provide entertainment and counterpoint to "King of the Weasels" Wendell Cox:
Rob Atkinson, Progressive Policy Institute
Mark Benson, APCO
Scott Bullock, Institute for Justice
Jon Caldara, Independence Institute
Pat Callahan, American Association of Small Property Owners
Kathleen Calongne, traffic calming activist
John Charles, Cascade Policy Institute
Jim Claus, International Sign Association
Michael Cunneen, transportation consultant
Wendell Cox, publicpurpose.com
Bill Eager, TDA Inc., transportation consultant, Seattle, WA
William Fischel, Dartmouth College
Kemper Freeman, Bellevue Square, Bellevue, WA
Gary Garczynski, president of the National Association of Home Builders
Peter Gordon, University of Southern California
Steve Hayward, American Enterprise Institute
Jay Heiler, APCO
Randall Holcombe, Florida State University
Dave Hunnicutt, Oregonians in Action
Sam Kazman, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Ben Lieberman, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Stephan Louis, Alternatives to Light-Rail Transit, Cincinnati
Nancie Marzulla, Defenders of Property Rights
Gerard Mildner, Portland State University Center for Urban Studies
Robert Nelson, University of Maryland
Ken Orski, Innovation Briefs
Randal O'Toole, Thoreau Institute
Nick Parker, Political Economy Research Center
Richard Parsons, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, Maryland
Alan Pisarski, author of Commuting in America
Robert Poole, Reason Foundation
Ken Reid, Rapid Transit Action Committee, Virginia
Thomas Rubin, transit consultant
Peter Samuel, Tollroads Newsletter
Joel Schwartz, air pollution consultant
Jane Shaw, Political Economy Research Center
Sam Staley, Buckeye Institute
David Strom, Taxpayers League of Minnesota
Michelle Thaxton, South Carolina Landowners' Association
Ron Utt, Heritage Foundation
Bridgett Wagner, Heritage Foundation
Funding Sources
American Association of Small Property Owners
Buckeye Institute
Cascade Policy Institute
Heartland Institute
Heritage Foundation
Home Builders Association of Central Arizona
IndividualLiberty.org
Oregonians in Action
PERC - The Center for Free Market Environmentalism
Reason Foundation
Steven DeCarlow
Taxpayers League of Minnesota
Tennessee Road Builders Association
Thoreau Institute
"Thanks also to the Charlotte and Walter Kohler Charitable Trust
and the Sarah Scaife Foundation for making the conference possible." (e.g., far right wing foundations).
It will be interesting to see if this "Meeting of the Axis of Weasels" get more attendees than speakers. The Secret Worldwide Transit Cabal is predicting somewhere between 150 and 200 conference attendees in addition to the speakers and sponsors.
posted by The Cabalmaster, Master of All Transit-dom 2/15/2003 11:17:00 AM
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