Lordy. No one asked us...but...that has never stopped us either!!! Ok PhillyFuture, ready or not....
Cheers: to the members of the Save Ardmore Coalition and our beloved businesses. We rock (and we’re nice people). We began the year as almost strangers, and forged a new path that was really tough at times. We're more of a family than some real, traditional families!
Cheers: TO EVERY CITIZEN IN THIS COUNTRY FIGHTING EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE!
Cheers: to the blogging community and PhillyFuture - thank you for making us welcome
Jeers: to those who would tear blogs down. But hey, we think they’re just jealous of wit and acumen online.
Cheers: to our webmasters past and present at our website www.saveardmorecoalition.org - you made magic happen from our baby steps forward!
Cheers: to our local papers Main Line Life and Main Line Times for being FABULOUS to a little grassroots start up - honorable mention to the Suburban and Wayne Times because sometimes they covered us.....their neck of the woods is pretty busy in its own right.
Cheers: to the International magazine, The Economist for believing in us...US News & World Report, and Philly Mag for also giving us a voice.
Cheers: to Michael Smerconish for giving us time all of the time on his show (or to be more specific, Scott Mahan), and cheers to all the other reporters and local TV stations who covered us (ummm- everyone- KYW,WPVI,WCAU,FOX29,CN8)
Cheers: to Tony Roberts at Main Line Life for often besting the boss with his editorials - our favorites? His take on the election season and the holiday wish list.
Cheers: to reporters Cheryl Allison, Diane Mastrull, Jeff Price, Richard Ilgenfritz. They are awesome!
Cheers: to Brett Schaeffer at Main Line Times. Like Tom Murray at the competing Main Line Life, as an editor, he provoked us and challenged us all to think. And no one owns these editors - they are their own voices .....always.
Cheers: to Tom Murray and Main Line Life and the people out there who made us the NUMBER ONE STORY OF THE YEAR FOR 2005!!
Jeers: to those folks who called us “mean spirited” for exercising our inalienable rights and protesting eminent domain
Cheers: to our super heroes at the INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE (WWW.IJ.ORG) AND CASTLE COALITION (WWW.CASTLECOALITION.ORG) - with them, the little guys stand a chance in this country.
Jeers: to the phrase “smart growth”. It is a phrase coined by spin doctors to justify ridiculous development projects..it is right up there with phrases like “areas in need of revitalization” to describe areas that aren’t blighted.
Cheers: to historic preservationists everywhere...and the Philadelphia region has some of the best
Jeers: to people who have other people write their bylines and three minutes of fame, among other things. They gave new meaning to look who’s talking now....
Cheers: to every citizen in Lower Merion who had the courage of their convictions to get up and speak at public meetings on any topic- it takes guts.
Jeers: to those who did not like, nor listen politely, or sometimes at all, to what citizens had to say.
Cheers: to the electorate for making Lower Merion’s off year election a year to remember and playing a part in a history making and very defining election season- it is was the year to just say no to politics as usual - a trend for the future
Jeers: to those who just vote the way they are told, instead of what their hearts are telling them
Cheers: to PACleanSweep - not only is that sheep a catchy little guy, but taxpayers are not sheep is a stroke of brilliance.....
Jeers: to the PA politicians and their pay raises that we pay for that are more than any of us will ever see in a lifetime
Cheers: to folks like State Rep Greg Vitali for constantly being a bigger person and a politician who always acts in the best interests of their plurality. We need more Greg Vitalis in Harrisburg.
Jeers: to our governor for being a lousy correspondent and not getting back to the little people of Ardmore who are still waiting for the promised contact and reply letters and return phone calls since August. You shouldn’t need incentive to help the people who voted you into office.
Cheers and Jeers: to State Senator Connie Williams and State Rep. Daylin Leach. They took a LOT of grief and were always pleasant...however, it shouldn’t have taken them as long as they did to get involved in Ardmore.
Jeers: to US Senator Rick Santorum for his asinine book, home schooling funded by others. Sir, stop trying to shove your personal beliefs down our collective throats. And by the way, working moms should be rewarded, not criticized.
Cheers: to US Senator Arlen Specter for his courageous personal battle with cancer, and being an interesting cat who is his own man more often than many others in his position. But Arlen - the T.O. debacle was really a dumb ass thing.
Cheers AND Jeers: to Congressman Jim Gerlach - he places us in a conundrum, and his butt must be sore at times from riding that fence. Here is a guy who is basically a good guy who does care about his constituency...he just needs to not be afraid to get involved from jump in issues like eminent domain.
Jeers: to Lower Merion for not adding the final punctuation to eminent domain in Ardmore during 2005 and just ending it. Admit it Lower Merion: the people don’t want eminent domain - nor do they necessarily want an overabundance of condos, MUST development, gold plated pools, platinum sided high schools, and so on and so on....
Cheers: to the new commissioners in Lower Merion about to take office. They played a part in history around here, and are pretty cool individuals!!!Remember folks, we’ll be watching and waiting once you take office.
Jeers: to FEMA for not doing better by Katrina victims
Cheers: to the sheer magnitude and resiliency of the human spirit when dealing with disasters like Katrina.
Jeers: to Philly for thinking slots will be a universal band-aid to repair Philly’s coffers...it might just open up a new can of worms no one wants
Jeers: to Knight Ridder - how’s about saving our papers instead of peddling them like tear down buildings? We have a lot of fabulous writers at the Inquire and Daily News. They deserve better, as do the folks who buy your papers. Sheesh.
Cheers: to the community activists like Rosemary Cubas and Suzett Kelo, who became activists because they knew wrongs must be righted. Ladies, we applaud and admire you.
Cheers: to every single person out there who has supported the Save Ardmore Coalition. Thank you
Final Cheers: to the new year. May 2006 be a very good year.
