Post by Pat on Jan 14, 2009 22:48:06 GMT -6
In a move that would doubtless make Joseph Goebbels proud, the city of Myrtle Beach in alliance with the MB Chamber of Commerce have launch a new web and print blitz proclaiming the spring and fall bike rallies deader than capitalism. The new site at myrtlebeachbikerinfo.com is poorly named since much of the so-called information provided is both misleading and subject to debate. The core message is that the City of Myrtle Beach is canceling the spring and fall rallies. This is a somewhat interesting assertion considering that they don't sponsor them in the first place. Mayor Rhodes and the city council may wish to visit the Heritage Foundation and order their very own free copy of the U.S. Constitution (www.askheritage.org/Premium.aspx). We would call their attention specifically to the First Amendment to the US Constitution that states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The Mayor and the council can no more "cancel" the rallies than they can cancel Christmas. What they CAN do, and have made very clear, is declare in no uncertain terms that they do not desire the patronage of attendees within the city limits, and we are confident this years participants will be more than happy to (as our new President has advised us to do) spread the wealth around in greater Horry County instead. A few items on the 4th Reich's website are particularly interesting. It has been noted that the incident that kicked off their righteous fury at tourists was the unfortunate murder of a Coastal Carolina University Student during Bikefest. The fact that this had nothing whatsoever to do with the rally does not phase the Mayor. Indeed, they continue to assert that a primary motivation for their actions is the increased crime supposedly associated with the events. They seem impervious to the documented facts (as presented continuously on this very site) that the overwhelming majority of violent crime in the MB area is committed by locals and that the Myrtle Beach area is one of the most dangerous places in the country year round. Rather than look in the mirror and face their own failings, they want to divert the attention of their constituents and point the finger at a convenient scapegoat. That is the usual way corruption and ineptitude endures. I wonder if next we will see Mayor Rhodes quoting Tennyson poems during council meetings?
As to the new ordinances, everyone is well advised to check out the site and review them in their current incarnation. While requests for preliminary injunctions against their enactment have been denied by the courts, no decision has been reached on their underlying legality and the challenges continue to be adjudicated. In the mean time, it is more important than ever that we stand up for our rights as US citizens and declare in no uncertain terms that this is not the former Soviet Union, we do not need to show our papers to walk down a public sidewalk, and we will not allow the unalienable rights provided to us by our Creator to be trampled upon by petty despots and home spun tyrants. (Note to Mayor Rhodes: Please read the Declaration of Independence) How many times have I heard people complain about the loss of essential freedoms owing to passage of the Patriot Act, notwithstanding not a single documented case of such. And yet here we have a direct assault on the freedom of peaceable assembly by the Mayor in your own back yard, supported no doubt by the very same people who think the NSA is listening in on their phone conversations. I don't know how this will all play out as the clock ticks down to this year's Horry County Rally, but I suspect rally participants are made of sterner stuff than the local vocal minority realizes and will not allow them to spit upon the freedoms so many have died to protect.
The hubris, hypocrisy, and arrogance of the Mayor and his cronies are truly breathtaking. The residents of Myrtle Beach need to decide if they want to be a tourist destination or not. If so, you don't get to choose who visits anymore than any public accommodation can choose to keep out "those people." If you want to become a gated retirement community, fine. That is your right. But in that case the gates need to swing shut on everyone. What part of equal protection under the law is so difficult to understand? The Jim Crow laws went down the drain with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Maybe the mayor is still yearning for the good old days?
But, maybe that is just me.
The Mayor and the council can no more "cancel" the rallies than they can cancel Christmas. What they CAN do, and have made very clear, is declare in no uncertain terms that they do not desire the patronage of attendees within the city limits, and we are confident this years participants will be more than happy to (as our new President has advised us to do) spread the wealth around in greater Horry County instead. A few items on the 4th Reich's website are particularly interesting. It has been noted that the incident that kicked off their righteous fury at tourists was the unfortunate murder of a Coastal Carolina University Student during Bikefest. The fact that this had nothing whatsoever to do with the rally does not phase the Mayor. Indeed, they continue to assert that a primary motivation for their actions is the increased crime supposedly associated with the events. They seem impervious to the documented facts (as presented continuously on this very site) that the overwhelming majority of violent crime in the MB area is committed by locals and that the Myrtle Beach area is one of the most dangerous places in the country year round. Rather than look in the mirror and face their own failings, they want to divert the attention of their constituents and point the finger at a convenient scapegoat. That is the usual way corruption and ineptitude endures. I wonder if next we will see Mayor Rhodes quoting Tennyson poems during council meetings?
As to the new ordinances, everyone is well advised to check out the site and review them in their current incarnation. While requests for preliminary injunctions against their enactment have been denied by the courts, no decision has been reached on their underlying legality and the challenges continue to be adjudicated. In the mean time, it is more important than ever that we stand up for our rights as US citizens and declare in no uncertain terms that this is not the former Soviet Union, we do not need to show our papers to walk down a public sidewalk, and we will not allow the unalienable rights provided to us by our Creator to be trampled upon by petty despots and home spun tyrants. (Note to Mayor Rhodes: Please read the Declaration of Independence) How many times have I heard people complain about the loss of essential freedoms owing to passage of the Patriot Act, notwithstanding not a single documented case of such. And yet here we have a direct assault on the freedom of peaceable assembly by the Mayor in your own back yard, supported no doubt by the very same people who think the NSA is listening in on their phone conversations. I don't know how this will all play out as the clock ticks down to this year's Horry County Rally, but I suspect rally participants are made of sterner stuff than the local vocal minority realizes and will not allow them to spit upon the freedoms so many have died to protect.
The hubris, hypocrisy, and arrogance of the Mayor and his cronies are truly breathtaking. The residents of Myrtle Beach need to decide if they want to be a tourist destination or not. If so, you don't get to choose who visits anymore than any public accommodation can choose to keep out "those people." If you want to become a gated retirement community, fine. That is your right. But in that case the gates need to swing shut on everyone. What part of equal protection under the law is so difficult to understand? The Jim Crow laws went down the drain with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Maybe the mayor is still yearning for the good old days?
But, maybe that is just me.