Lancaster Mayor Wants To Broadcast Bird Songs

January 27, 2011 2:34 PM

(credit: AP)

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LANCASTER (AP) — It may sound like a bird-brained idea, but the mayor of Lancaster wants to brighten up the Mojave Desert city by broadcasting recorded bird songs.

R. Rex Parris proposed the idea during his State of the City talk on Monday.

The Antelope Valley Press says Parris wants to play the bird chatter from loudspeakers on Lancaster Boulevard. The mayor says there’s science to show that listening to birdsong makes people happier.

On other topics, the mayor says Lancaster must continue its drive to become a research capital for solar and alternative energy.

Parris is known for his flamboyant ideas. He got a law passed giving the city the right to castrate pit bulls, ordered city officials to learn Mandarin in a bid to woo Chinese business, and riled some people by saying he was growing Lancaster into a Christian community.

Lancaster Mayor Wants To Broadcast Bird Songs

RickG

This from the guy who wants to apply the Bill of Rights & the Constitution of the US selectively to citizens depending on what he thinks fo you.. & he’s on record saying so on national TV

desert

Do like wash DC…..they broadcast daily the songs of “Ding Bats” and Gooney Birds!!!

us3south

LMAO, desert!
VOTEemOUT

This Ding Bat Mayor is an ambulance-chasing plaintiff’s attorney. He sure knows how to spend the taxpayers money.
The redevelopment area (tax money) has been loaded with senior citizen housing and the bird noise in proposed for the new BLVD which has been remodeled from a four lane street to a two lane street (using tax money) which the mayor thinks will bring in more sales tax dollars. The traffic engineers are already looking for ways to mend the problems and the “investment” will never return the cost. No wonder residents go to neighboring Palmdale to spend their money.
…..but what can you expect from a “bird-brain” mayor and his lemming city council.
Come back in five years and see if the desert has reclaimed the BLVD, and if the birds are still singing.
Happy Boy

THE BIRD SONGS WILL BE PLAYED LOUD TO DROWN OUT THE GUN FIRE AND SCREEMS OF PEOPLE BEING ATTACKED.

I hope they are careful about what songs the birds are singing.

Swinging for the Fences

He’s protecting the citizens. That’s his job. And…
This guy is thinking out of the box.

You don’t like it?
Vote with your feet and get the hell out!

We don’t need your kind of Cowards in this country…
This land was made by and for the people who would be audacious!
(look it up)
Sure, They often fail forward, but they go for it just the same.
Not like you, you mamby pamby pencil neck geek!
In other words LOSERS NEED NOT APPLY.

Thats all. Cheers and Good Luck

MadCharles

First Responders are everywhere
sanity

well that was just a stupid comment
Bob Devine

He would make more people happy if he reduced their taxes!
Jadams76

You, sir, are a bird brain. Pay for it with with your own funds-not ours. THAT would make us happy.
T. Alan

Not only is he thinking out of the box….he’s out of left, center and right field.
Coltster

What the h*ll are you babbling about? Protecting the citizens from what? Not only is this a waste of tax dollars, it is a stupid idea.

Unless these so called birds are broadcast VERY loud, they won’t even be heard. Then there is the issue about subliminal conditioning. After so long a time, people won’t even notice the noise because they are too use to the sound.

FYI: The study done on bird sounds was done in a controlled environment and not on a busy blvd. The mayor is a crackpot.
Renelda Moorehead

I like “SWINGING FOR THE FENCES.” This mayor is an anomaly because
he is creative, innovative, and cares about business and the citizenry.
Ann

Yeah, hey, that’s right! While we endure the “winners” and their products knocking out species after species when need some “audacious (look it up)” and outspoken idiots to construct our virtual, artificial environment, because before long we just won’t have a real, natural environment at all.

Mike Cook

This mayor wants to woo the Chinese? Not so. Take a look into the history of Lancaster and you will find that the previous City Manager was doing real estate business in China under his and a few other members of the city’s employees and using the redevelopment agency to do it. Of course this is a conflict of interest and no one really has the ability to check such actions unde the radar. But if you follow the legal paperwork you will see it is so. This small group has been using the City of Lancaster to do their personal business right under the nois of it’s citizens for years just as in Bell California. Think they’ll ever get caught?

ebo

OMG! growing a Christian community?!? -you mean with white people, an everything!! what’s the world coming to…

Brian J.

Yeah! Because everyone knows blacks and hispanics hate God!

Kevin Stowell

You know that’s not true–Regressives just encourage them to so they will worship government.
King David

A white guy once told me that god hates gays but loves hispanics. I’m not sure about god but I definitely believe in hispanics.
Ann

King David (January 29, 2011) very beautiful comment. And, I agree with you: ” I’m not sure about god but I definitely believe in Hispanics.” … Some Christians, as we’ve found out, can be quite hateful, so they take it out on God: “Well, God says … “.

G

sounds just like the World State from Brave New World, if it can affect the brain enough to influence your emotions it kind of makes you wonder what else it can do, very dangerous in my opinion.

Bracing for Impact

Do some research on the brain, It’s pretty interesting. Everything around us affects us, even when we don’t consciously notice it. For instance, just being around and seeing the color blue makes you less likely to commit suicide. The government has always been interested in our brains as well. Thanks to the Freedom of information act, the public has access to certain old, declassified CIA projects like MK Ultra where they tested LSD on subjects in social settings (without their knowledge of course) in the name of researching mind control techniques. There are even some where they used Microwaves to transmit numbers (1-10) into peoples heads from across the room. If I remember correctly this was done in the 50′s or 60′s, well before we had even floppy discs. Oh, and of course something like that would rile people up, we live in the land of the free where a saddening amount of people don’t approve of their public officials, but they weren’t too concerned about it when the time to go vote or at least even register to (let alone do enough in-depth research into current issues to actually form their own opinions).

Frank

Mayor Parris is trying or is already a dictator. Next step horse manure on Metrolink?
scvmsp

What is in the water up in Lancaster? You people elected this idiot!
fedup

How much is this going to cost the taxpayers? California is under crushing debt, and this fool wants to spend money on things like this? Bird noises wouldn’t make me feel happier about paying even more.
Aunt Bee

“No matter how cynical you become, it’s never enough to keep up.” ~ Lily Tomlin

http://911essentials.com

kentex1146

An awesome quote. It applies to many things but it can be used daily to describe our feelings toward the lunatics in all leves of government.

tom

Freak.
Me

This is just one step closer to 1984 with telescreens and loudspeakers… not really. I doubt that this is where it is going, but considering the connections it is eerie. *Twilight Zone music*
bourneidenity

dopey.
Joe Public

Sounds like he is idiot enough to run for Congress or even teh Presidency
Wayne

If they are interested in birds they should check out “The Mystery at the Birdfeeder” on Amazon.com. Lots of photographs of birds and a cute story line for kids. Adults love the photographs; kids and teachers love the story and the photographs. There’s also a website with more info.
Grant Smith

Where does one begin… First of all this will cost taxpayer dollars to implement. Secondly, there are studies which claim to prove just about everything. Thirdly, there is likely some homeless dude teetering on the edge who will go postal after a few days of repeating birdsongs prevent him from sleeping. Other than that it seems like a wonderful idea, although I’m from Canada so it’s really none of my business

Homer

Ha Ha ha , Love it!!!
marc

It is true. I know of resorts and night clubs in the South mostly that play recorded bird song in trees outside at bar closing time…the sound makes people think dawn is approaching and it’s time to go home and rest.. Works like nothing else to calm and control people at 3 or 4 am. It has definite effect on humans, and no, I would not have believed it before either. But it makes perfect sense since various sounds make us feel one way or the other. Think: ocean waves, children laughing and playing; dogs barking; church bells, etc.

Harry -n- Raleigh

Bird songs…. hmmm… it just won’t seem real though unless they sprinkle the sidewalks, etc. with some bird dookey here and there….
Melvin

Complete waste of tax payers money. Impeach the imbecile for public incompetence.
jim conch

You gotta be kidding!
Barry Bin Inhalin

A galactically stupid idea and the waste of tax dollars stupefying given our current state.
sean patriot

no
sean patriot

no,

see how easy that was
sean patriot

Hey California, you’re broke and we dont care if you feeeeeel good. liberals lol

Matt R.

If I may butt in here Mr. Patriot, Mr. Parris is not a liberal. He is a self proclaimed strong conservative and religious man.

Do not try to lump this man with us. We at least have the sense that bird songs are not going to solve our problems.

I live in Lancaster and I am actually planning on running against him in the future.

He has really done nothing for the residents of the city. Schools are still horrible, crime is reportedly down, but I must disagree, reports also say it is has not wavered, gangs still own many neighborhoods in the city, and he is proposing to pay tens of thousands of dollars a month for a drone to fly over the city to catch crime in action. Invasion of my privacy? Apparently not to him.

I say again Mr. Patriot, Mayor Parris is not from my party. He is a…republican.

TangentToWhat

Don’t forget the soma gas.
lcky9

OK where I live we have BIRDS chattering.. let me tell you it DOESN’T make people happier..epically when they start chattering at 4 A.M… and what gives this idiot city the right to castrate someones bull?? they should castrate the Politicians.. How about a lot less science and a little more common sense..

lwest

Hahahaha!!! Love your comment!!!!!
kvasir

we have a bird tree (manhattan downtown) and whenever you walk the dog, go to work, etc etc etc you hear the cheerful chatter of the birds and feel good. there is no hope for some of you on this site. you are the losers.

Anger is a gift

Eat zombies … Eat!
lwest

They have bird noise in stairwells at an outlet mall here in Japan. Just made me cover my head.
Castrating pit bulls? Fine… ok if they’re aggressive buggers.
Ordering city officials to learn Mandarin to woo Chinese business, tho’? Offering to reimburse participants for successful completion is better.
Lastly, only God can change Lancaster into a Christian community. Not man. Good for him that be is aware it’s needed tho’
spotted owl

alll those bird calls should really flood the area with raptors and other predators, besides the govt. womderful. think i’ll stay in Idaho where we have enough predators, govt and otherwise