Jeff Ackerman: Common Sense has died; no services scheduled (too few mourners)

"Someone sent me a little missive out of London mourning the death of Common Sense.

"It was sad to hear, as citizens and government leaders today debate issues whose solutions would be obvious if Common Sense still had a pulse. It didn't say exactly when Common Sense kicked the bucket, or get into much detail on the cause of death. I'm guessing he died from loneliness and that his death was excruciatingly painful. We all need social interaction to help feed our spirit and nobody seemed to be paying much attention to Common Sense.

"We need look no further than Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to see evidence of neglect and abuse of Common Sense.

"In his absence, our government leaders have felt compelled to pass laws that would otherwise be obvious if Common Sense were still around. He would know without being told, for example, that you shouldn't stand on an oven door to reach for a box of cereal, or that it would be a great idea to wear a helmet if you drive a motorcycle 100 miles an hour in a forest.

"I'm guessing he'd also suggest that you shouldn't text the passenger in the back seat while driving on the Coastal Highway, or across the Bay Bridge in fog. And he'd remind us that before the invention of soy milk there were actually cows, with udders that squirted milk if you gave them a proper tug. Many people — called farmers, according to history books — actually drank that milk and grew strong enough to change a wagon wheel with their bare hands.

"Just as he probably would have questioned the wisdom of the city of Grass Valley spending $57,000 and counting with a Colorado-based consultant to build a website designed to bring tourists to Grass Valley. Despite a “Be Local, Buy Local” campaign (sounds really cool on a window sticker), the city never even considered contracting with one of several Nevada County web designers who probably would have loved to have a $57,000 contract that would have allowed them to continue to “Be Local, Buy Local.”

"Marketing people love to tell us how far a dollar circulates through the economy when it is spent here. Too bad that $57,000 of Grass Valley's money will stimulate Colorado's economy instead.

"That new website (www.gograssvalley.com) will need to generate almost a million in retail sales right off the bat to recover the $57,000 in sales taxes that flew to Colorado. And with a dozen other local websites all competing for the same tourist, good luck with that.

The rest of Jeff's article is here.