No Cable TV

We wonder if "Banner Reader" (the name used by the person who posted the above tirade) has opinions on other Vienna issues? How about the historic district? Do you think the district is constitutional as written and enforced? Do you think Town Council and Town Staff have behaved appropriately in the situation or have they had some ax to grind?

This guy is something. I didn't think there was anyone in Vienna that stupid. He is saying that the residents of Vienna are not as astute as those in Falls Church, Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Herndon all who have cable broadcast of meetings. Hey, maybe he is right. But exclude the nine hundred who voted on 1 May.

I don't know anything about the historic district. All I know is that some real estate people built a freaking huge mansion on a corner over that way. I like the house and landscaping. Also, there's a house with a sportcourt. That was cool in the '80's. I also have a friend who lives over there. I'm pretty sure she's here and uses the name "vienna mommy." :shrug

Thanks for the shout out though.

"collosal waste of money"? "70 trillion dollars"? Well, it will take even Maude et al a long time to spend that much on anything including the Town Green. However, I'm sure the Town Green costs will reach that figure very, very much before the cost of televised Town meetings will do so.

"I don't know anything about the historic district."

You seemed pretty familiar with all that is Vienna. You knew all about an election sign hanging over 123 - that showed something. You have no opinion as to whether the district is constitutional or not?

You seemed pretty familiar with all that is Vienna. You have no opinion as to whether the district is constitutional or not?

Ummmm, I was pretty familiar with the gigantic banner in the middle of Maple Avenue. That's it.

Like I said, I don't know anything about the Historic District. I don't know what it is, where it is (other than over there by Windover) or what it's supposed to do. I don't really care, though.

Ok. Would you care to explain why cable TV for Vienna, the last jurisdiction in the area without it, would be a waste? You make it seem like Vienna has something to hide. Do you know of reasons why Vienna Council and Staff would not want to televise meetings?

this banner guy is either taking robinsons money or has one of those cole swetheart deals!! NO one says such dumb stuff for no reason!!

So, money the town has already received for years for the express use for cable broadcasting their meetings by charter with Cox is your idea of a colossal waste of money?

Why don't we just cut off the water the TOV supplies its citizens for use, and take that money and invest it in whatever hair-brained idea you have, Mr. Banner Reader. Frankly, I am surprised you can read, you should be called Banner gazer, for all the sense you make.

Someone needs to throw this guy a life line before he dies in his own stupidity.

Ok. Would you care to explain why cable TV for Vienna, the last jurisdiction in the area without it, would be a waste? You make it seem like Vienna has something to hide. Do you know of reasons why Vienna Council and Staff would not want to televise meetings?

It costs money. The meetings are open. You can go and see exactly what would be on TV if it was televised, right? Right. So how is not televising them "hiding something?" It's not like they're having meetings where the agenda is "how to screw people who are agoraphobic or who can't get to the council meetings because they can't drive or whatever so we can really put one over on them since they can't be here and they'll never know what we said because it's not on TV and oh yeah they don't have internet access either so they won't be able to read the minutes hahaha we'll rule the world with an iron fist because they were the only ones standing in our way (the non-driving non-interweb surfing agoraphobics)." Or maybe they do have that on the agenda. I don't go to the meetings, so I don't know.

I guess if you really really care about it, you could get a petition together that shows a bunch of signatures that say something like, "If the town televised council meetings, that would be valuable, and we would watch them." On second thought, people will sign anything (speaking of which, I once saw a funny Penn Jillette skit where he got tree-huggers at a mass love-the-earth thing to sign a petition banning Dihydrogen Monoxide. It was f-ing hysterical) so maybe that's not a good indication of who would watch it. But petitions are cool and look important so you should do it anyway. Anyhoo ....

Somehow show that a lot of people would probably watch it. I don't think they would. And if they don't, there's no benefit to justify the cost. I'm not an economist, so I'm making that up. But it sounds right to me.

Do you think enough people would watch to justify what it would cost? Hell, how much would it cost? I don't even know. How many have to watch to justify it? You guys are the ones who get all pissed off about money, right? Wouldn't putting it on television for 4 people to watch be flushing the money down the toilet?

How did a banner turn into this? PROJECT RITALIN.

So, money the town has already received for years for the express use for cable broadcasting their meetings by charter with Cox is your idea of a colossal waste of money? Why don't we just cut off the water the TOV supplies its citizens for use, and take that money and invest it in whatever hair-brained idea you have, Mr. Banner Reader. Frankly, I am surprised you can read, you should be called Banner gazer, for all the sense you make. Someone needs to throw this guy a life line before he dies in his own stupidity.

My, you're a pleasant fellow/gal! Man, who pissed in YOUR wheaties?

I didn't know the town got money from Cox for that. I don't know anything about it. I guess if it's free, then what the hell.

Is it free then?

The Town doesn't record accurate minutes as you probably know. At work sessions, they report what they want (i.e. a few years ago they left out of the minutes the Council member or Staff member who proposed banning videotaping of meetings). For the written Council minutes, they edit it to what they deem is the interpretation of what actually happened. You do understand our minutes are not verbatim?

So once again, everyone else with a pulse gets their meetings videotaped, but Vienna hides in the shadows. "Banner Reader" you seem to be working for someone. You are clearly not just some average Vienna citizen with a viewpoint.

"The meetings are open. You can go and see exactly what would be on TV if it was televised, right?"

who are you associated with? are you a vienna council member? what is your association with vienna government?

Now that the election is over, this site seems to be melting down into useless name-calling. can we identify some things we'd like to accomplish & then figure out how to accomplish them?

So once again, everyone else with a pulse gets their meetings videotaped, but Vienna hides in the shadows. "Banner Reader" you seem to be working for someone. You are clearly not just some average Vienna citizen with a viewpoint.

I have a job for sure. It's not even in Vienna though.

Minutes aren't usually verbatim. That's the nature of minutes (I deal with a lot of Board minutes in my job). I have no idea whether the minutes of the council meetings are accurate. Like I said, I don't go to the meetings because I don't want to and I don't care.

But they are open meetings, right?

Dang, y'all are getting pretty encyclopedia brownish here. What's up with that?

Have you registered how many times "Banner Reader" said: I don't know. But I'll bet he voted for Maud.

I'm back.
If town meetings were televised "Banner Reader" could turn off his cartoons and be amused another way.

What do you do in your job "Banner Reader" that has you dealing w/ minutes? Why are inaccurate minutes ok?

I'm interested in knowing more background on the meeting broadcast issue. It does surprise me that Vienna doesn't have a channel when you see the other jurisdictions that do. My understanding is that cable licensing is set up to mandate such local public access channels. Was Vienna grandfathered in as part of Fairfax County's Channel 10? If the town is getting licensing fees, then that money should definitely be committed to supporting such taping and broadcasts.

To the people who think that no one would watch - that's not the point. Cameras tend to encourage honesty and civility in such an environment. Who knows who is monitoring or recording once those cameras are on?

BTW - who was rolling tape at the debate last week? There were at least three cameras there.

Have you registered how many times "Banner Reader" said: I don't know. But I'll bet he voted for Maud.

Have you counted how many times I've said "I don't care," as well, Einstein?

I'll be real clear about your historic district:

I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR HISTORIC DISTRICT AND I DON'T REALLY CARE TO, BECAUSE I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT HISTORIC DISTRICTS.

Hey, I said "I don't know" again. Whaddya know!

To the other guy, I didn't say that inaccurate minutes are okay. You guys don't read too good, do you? I said they usually aren't verbatim. That would be called a "transcript."

At least when I don't know what the hell I'm talking about, I just own up to it. Let me guess: you're one of the ones that didn't see the gigantic banner as you drove under it 20 times every day, right?

Now, to CSPAN. Dude, it's an issue I really couldn't care less about; if I could care less, I would. What I really care about is the shockingly sorry state of eye care in Vienna.

Banner Reader, do I have to repeat myself.

If you didn't care you would not be commenting here. You do care but you disagree with some of the ideas expounded on this site.