Adam Says: Karl Rove?

Am I the only one who lost every last bit of respect for the republican party when they read Karl Rove's pot shot at Richmond? You pretty much know that when someone starts a statement with "I mean no disrespect..." the statement is going to be the most disrespectful thing you have ever heard.

I mean I am not upset that he said that Richmond was a small City... because it is... we ain't New York or Chicago... but to compare us to suburban municipalities of big cities like San Diego, Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas was just too much for me. I have been out to those places... and the Big Cities are are wonderful, but places like Messa are little more than strip malls and McMansion Subdivisions for the Hummer H3 set. I could go on and on about the rich History of Richmond and the fact that it actually has its own economy and does not feed off of some larger City like a leech, but everyone has done that already. So let me ask you this KARL (or shall we call you Darth?); do you think all of America should be mowed down and transformed into mile upon mile of asphalt parking lots, GAP stores, Starbucks and gated communities? Do you think the value of a community is measured in the number of TGI Fridays it house within a ten mile radius? Obviously you don't see any value in small cities.

Anyone who has made a move into Richmond in the last year can tell you that the growth of Suburban sprawl is disturbing at best... Shortpump, Chester, Brandermill, Midlothian, all of Staples Mill Road! No longer are these sleepy towns or rolling farm lands... now they are a collection of cookie cutter commerce littering the country side and leaving abandon strip malls in their wake. Look at Broad Street, Look at Cloverleaf Mall, Shoot look at all of Petersburg these are the victims of corporate consumerism... so Karl (Darth Vader) Rove you can have your Chula Vistas and Mesas, and ten years from now when Middle Aged Parents are telling their teens they shouldn't be caught in Messa after dark because its not safe to be in that kind of place (read URBAN and run down) at night, I will laugh... well maybe just giggle as I double check that my car is locked as I head over to YMCA for a late night jog.