Wednesday Morning Tidbits

By Curmudgeon

Two interesting items in this morning's Standard-Examiner:

First, a good editorial on mudslinging, focusing mostly on Mr. Brown's unfortunate and intemperate tirade at last weeks Council meeting.

Less fortunate, a story about an Ogden businessman named David Pieser who has written to the head of Amer Sports [who I understand recently moved to Ogden] threatening to organize a boycott against Amer and its products if its North American Division head continues to support [as he says he does] "the concept" of the gondola.

I do not know Mr. Pieser and I share his concerns about the Mayor's risky gondola/gondola plan. But I think his attempt to coerce Amer Sports North American Division head, Mr. Mike Dowse, to abandon his tepid pro-gondola stance [note he endorsed not the Mayor's scheme for a flatland gondola and sale of the Mt. Ogden Parklands; he endorsed only "the concept of the gondola" -- which could easily include support of only a privately owned and operated gondola from the head of 36th Street to Malan's Basin should the city [wisely] endorse that].

Mr. Pieser's boycott plan is, I think, unfortunate in two ways: (a) first, Mr. Dowse is now an Ogdenite [welcome, Mr. Dowse. I think you'll like it here. I do.] and so he has, by right of moving here, now the same right to enter the public discussion of the various gondola plans as I do. Or Mr. Pieser does. And without having his business threatened because he might not agree with me [or Mr. Pieser] on what is best to be done. And (b) no boycott Ogdenites might organize could, I think, possibly so affect Amer's sales as to have a hope of succeeding.

Mr. Dowse is now one of us, fully entitled to enter the lists on matters of public discussion on any side he chooses. Welcome aboard, Mr. Dowse, and if you'd like to sit down over a cup of coffee [or some Roosters microbrew perhaps] some afternoon and discuss "the concept of the gondola" and what you mean by that, and what the gondola might mean for Ogden's residents, of which you are now one.... well, I'm buying.

I was happy about one thing the Pieser article did, though. It makes it clear that not all Ogden businessmen are in the Gondolistas' camp. But I think it's wrong to threaten a man's business for his personal stands on public issues as a citizen of Ogden. As wrong, and for the same reason, as say a Mayor threatening the job of a city employee who disagrees with him on a matter of public policy.

Ed. Note: Among other things, Mr. Pieser mentions the possibility of establishing a blog, to inform the lumpencitizens of Emerald City of the defects in the landgrab/gondola scheme. What a great idea, we say. We wonder why somebody hasn't thought of that before? ;-)