Coyote on HuffPost Live Discussing Parks
Here is a link to the panel discussion. I don't come in until almost 7 minutes in, but then I get a lot of innings after that. For those who post the inevitable "you look nothing like I thought you would" comments, please post what you thought I looked like. I am always curious. What mental image am I projecting that I get this comment so often when my picture gets posted somewhere?
bigmaq1980:
Actually, you fit the "voice" I read....look, demeanor, etc. Nice to put a face to a "voice".
As an aside, any way to maximize the screen size of that video? HuffPo does not seem to have the usual control button for that like there is for youtube videos.
January 22, 2013, 10:44 pmLarryGross:
I must have seen your pix somewhere before. Your views sound more reasonable on that interview.
January 23, 2013, 4:04 amJens Fiederer:
Based on the cartoon, one expects you to be hairier and scrawnier
January 23, 2013, 5:40 amEric Hammer:
I think I might have actually imagined you as a coyote. Now that I know what you look like though, I can no longer remember anything else.
January 23, 2013, 10:57 amLarryGross:
listening to the video.. I was struck by the characterization of "privatization" vs public-private partnership and the implications of contracting out rest room cleaning and gate tending as separate contracts vs All-in-one contract that includes collecting (and keeping) entrance fees.
We've toured a good part of the country and have stayed at hundred if not thousands of campgrounds ranging from very basic primitive sites ranging to full-blown resorts and more than anything else - I feel that campgrounds (as opposed to just entrance fees) - campgrounds and all they provide - need to be fully paid for by the people that want them and use them.
second, the most reliable commercial campgrounds are those that have standards - usually franchise standards.
the primary difference between commercial and public campgrounds is the venue. Commercial campgrounds are lean and mean on the landscape visuals.. many suck but they do provide the infrastructure necessary for most folks but more toward the big rigs and less towards tenters.
the public camprounds tend to have the landscape visuals and related and accommodate tenters and car campers better and the big rigs... sometimes... with 50 amp service but less so with onsite sewer - usually a dump station.
I don't think "privatizing" the parks is a good thing myself. Warren talked about infrastructure but that's the big conundrum between private and public parks. Few private campgrounds, for instance, can afford the extensive road networks you often see in public parks. Water/sewer is another area that is problematical for private campgrounds and public campgrounds to a certain extent as most public campgrounds are "powered" most often by "package" sewer treatment facilities which are a big ticket item for private campgrounds. Potable water that meets safety standards is another. Water from wells that is not treated is usually not considered safe by most govt campgrounds whereas it's a bit more murky with private campgrounds.
January 23, 2013, 11:16 amJeff:
Nice compartmentalization. You succeeded in staying on message. I am not certain that I could have resisted those sneaky lures into discussions on the morality of capitalism, on deficit spending, or on global warming.
January 23, 2013, 12:34 pmobloodyhell:
Well, I've already seen pix of you, so you looked pretty much as I expected. You did sound like you had a head cold, though.
I notice the silly argument that you missed was that "people have already paid for them through taxes". No, not really. People have paid for them to EXIST through their taxes. Actually USING them is an additional burden on their operation that the people who DON'T use them should not be expected to shoulder.
Some people like camping. Me, if I never camped another day in my life, I'd not feel I'd lost anything. I have no problem with my paying for the OPPORTUNITY to use them, but if I don't, then why should I pay *extra* taxes so others can make use of the parks themselves? Why should I, as a taxpayer, subsidize someone else's actual USE of the parks?
January 25, 2013, 7:15 amBill Drissel:
You looked about like I expected. You talked like the only grown-up in the network ... all the others took for granted that Easter Bunny was going to fund all the things they wanted ... great focus on THIS is necessary for the kind of park people want ... our company can provide THIS cheaper. Therefore the funds allocated by the govt can do more things.
January 27, 2013, 7:55 pmRegards,
Bill Drissel
Grand Prairie, TX