Several people have made similar comments to me recently.
They feel that government at the local and national levels has become too active. In Texas local governments are only allowed to do those things that the laws specifically authorize them to do. They don’t seem to care though.
Now it seems that their attitude is aggressive. Their government is in charge. Citizens should do what they are told.
We will never be able to write laws that are specific enough to stop that kind of thinking. Those that want to game the system will always be able to find a loophole that they can use.
What we need is people in government who know how to do the right thing. Not the right thing in their arrogant view, but the right thing according to the will of the people.
Local governments in Texas must be authorized by law before they can conduct a specific activity. Our national government should only do those things that are specifically allowed by our Constitution.
Shortly after we adopted that document the people saw the government doing things that the people thought was prohibited already. The 9th and 10th amendments were clear language designed to inhibit growing government.
Unfortunately those amendments have long since been eviscerated. What we should learn from this is that we cannot legislate morality.
Our hope lies in demanding the right conduct from our governments and the people who work in them. It would help if shame could become an element of our fiber again.
You know that I often refer to our national government as the feral government. While we strive to reign them in we should recognize the growing problem locally and tell our local people how we think.
Our recent election was a good start. Now we must be vigilant as Cato says. We should watch their activities and provide input to help them govern properly.
We deserve better
Brusus
elpasospeak 
We all need to be ankle bitters. These people work for us.
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Well said. For the past 6 or so years, I’ve been thinking the same thing. What do we elect representatives for? Social engineering? To push their own agenda? I think not. Local government is supposed to “make sure the trash gets picked up,” i.e. tend to the nuts and bolts of city responsibilities — making sure codes are enforced, for example. The best government is one that stays out of the way so legitimate business can prosper. The former city council (how nice to be able to say “former”) felt it was their God-given right to direct others’ lives. The day I heard Steve Ortega say, “The people of El Paso are lucky to have Susie, Beto and me on Council because we have educations from great schools.” Ha, some luck. And the day Beto said in 2007, “We’ve go to tear down this God-awful building” referring to City Hall. If your house needs repairs you don’t tear it down. And the day Beto verbally attacked a priest in front of Council as if Beto himself were morally superior. I look forward to some more mature behavior and reasonable decisions from Council.
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Speaking of picking up the trash, if we truly want to improve the quality of life in El Paso and make it a place where others want to live and work, we could start by simply making it cleaner. That doesn’t require hundreds of millions of dollars and it would instill a lot more pride than any amount of billboards with false slogans. What good does it do to create more parks and public spaces if people trash them and the city fails to maintain them? I’m tired of people using the desert winds as an excuse for all the trash. The wind wouldn’t have anything to blow if we didn’t first throw it on the ground.
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