“New normal” can be a real turkey
Dealing with mask mania—which is still ongoing—is so draining that it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted a new entry in this series. It’s like dealing with the same sixth grade bullies for 30 years. It wears you out. Every drop of energy you have is spent. We need to take a break from masks and focus on other aspects of the “new normal.”
New Mexico has Los Alamos. Massachusetts has Brookline. Both towns took lockdown culture to an extreme. They thought it would show the rest of the world how “educated” they were. WBZ-TV in Boston reports that Brookline is now the site of a particularly gnawing COVID-inspired scam.
The U.S. government provided pandemic relief money to communities all over the country. In my opinion, that’s all well and good, but real problems arise when the dough is squandered on ridiculous projects. Brookline is using its COVID relief money to place 10 fiberglass statues of turkeys around town.
I support public art, but Brookline must be mighty wealthy to be able to spend relief money on turkey statues instead of things actually related to COVID. Other towns might spend it on healthcare or fixing the school system that COVID town criers ruined. But not Brookline—a place that had a mask mandate as late as June 2022 and only lifted it because golf’s U.S. Open was coming to town. Brookline has gained such a reputation that WBZ-FM radio (not affiliated with WBZ-TV) reportedly launched a weekly show based entirely on emergency police calls by Brookline residents.
Wait! There’s more! One of the most popular recreation sites in Cincinnati has been the Coney Island amusement park. Recently, however, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra announced it was buying the site, closing the park, and tearing down its huge swimming pool to build a concert venue. Nobody wanted a new concert venue, because the area already has plenty, and many of them aren’t used much. The closing of Coney Island has inspired much outcry.
After this deal was announced, local business “leaders” urged the state of Ohio to give Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra $20 million in free taxpayer money to pay for this project—with no strings attached. This was absurd on its face. Officials then announced they would pay for it from pandemic relief funds.
This is a project that very few people support, even if no taxpayer money is wasted on it. Taxpayers being robbed for it is like being forced to build your own coffin. Now it’s taking place under the guise of COVID relief.
Our rulers love the constant state of pandemic, because not only can they try to lock us down but they also line their own bloated coffers.