Fitting date for the meeting. Meeting topic next month, Taken for a ride on the spending train.

Interesting to note there are grad students out there being taught to assemble people for a meeting to tell them what they want. Education = propaganda.

I have gone to many meetings in Milwaukie over the years and if you tell them what you want and if your opinion is not what they are looking for, those opinions always seem to get lost.

Then they mysteriously come up with the conclusion, they wanted before they had the meeting, with the input of the little people.

I always like the part were we get to play with crayons and rounded over scissors and they treat us like children, that just don't understand and much as they do.
Because they all went to planning school!

Native, I know exactly what you mean. This is the standard for requesting public input; a purpose driven agenda to convince the public to accept a particular idea. In fact, most of the pre-planning for such meetings are simply an exercise in how to drive home talking points to sell an idea, and how to successfully beat down any dissention. “Resistance is futile” and other such defeatist terms were coined to describe those poor brave souls who would attend such meetings hoping to change the outcome. And if you should happen to gain any ground with an opposite point of view there expect to be called out for being “closed minded” or “resistant to change”. This is the reason I hate to see blogs like this one take a hiatus. It takes a long time to get on top of it all, and to create a place to express those other viewpoints to a larger audience.

Formula:
- At some point place the people at separate tables.
- Keep them busy with those crayons and rounded scissors
and/or discussing their plans.
- Make sure at each table is one who agrees with the agenda to steer the discussion and come up with a consensus agreeing.
- Do the report, all favorable to the agenda.

If one should step out of line, or ask questions challenging, they know how to "handle" that too.

This is why we the people need to stop going to their "keep busy" meetings and have our own meetings to decide what to do with a city who doesn't listen and has made our city a less desirable place in which to live.

No, you go to their silly meetings and confound their plans. When the facilitator tries to steer things back to the "approved" solutions don't go along. Make sure the innocents in the crowd understand that the government lackeys do not care about public input.

Tankfixer my exact sentiments. I decided two years ago to quit bitching and start to try to fix or change some of this BS. It has been a great experience and a real eye opener sometimes.
I have always enjoyed attending a Gatsby or BlueManure / Murky love fest and axeting that one question they aren't ready for, the looks are priceless. Moving the agenda locally is almost as much fun.