Where to begin?
Well, I guess I'll just begin at the top - as in, the top of the PDN's homepage, which features a big ol' drop down ad urging readers to "Re-Elect Jim McEntire (R) - An effective, proven leader. Always putting you first!"
You gotta love that exclamation point at the end. It never hurts to put a little extra oomph into a lie, right Dim Jim? Frankly, I think the two sentences cancel each other out. I mean, yes, Dim King Jim has been an effective, proven leader - but only when it comes to putting himself first. Oops! I meant to say first!
Then, there's the news (which I'd already heard) about Dan Bateham - officially - jumping back into his own campaign for City Council. As you doubtlessly recall, Bateham signed up to run, then withdrew (nearly four months after the deadline to do so) without offering any sort of explanation. Then he talked a lot about how he'd serve if elected, but he wasn't running, even though he would be on the ballot. It was all messed up, message-wise.
And now, for whatever reason, Bateham is - officially - back. He says, "I'm in it for the people, and I'm in it to win." Which, frankly, is about as believable as Dim King Jim's slogan. If you're in it for the people, and you're in it to win, then you, uh, you know, don't drop out of the race. You might also do things like run a campaign, and show up at debates. You know, things that serious, credible candidates do.
PLEASE NOTE: None of this is intended to be a defense of, or advocacy for, the moronic Cherie Kidd, who is Bateham's on-again, off-again target. Cherie is a true-blue, 100% idiot and embarrassment. She makes Pat Downie look like Albert Einstein. The notion of getting rid of Cherie Kidd is both highly attractive and sensible. But...I'm just not sure that switching to a will he or won't he, can't commit guy like Bateham will be an actual improvement, governing-wise. It'd be a change, sure, but would it be a change for the better?
And speaking of the City Council...Don't forget their upcoming (Thursday) "forum" on fluoridation. It's sure to be a fair and balanced decision-making process. You betcha.
Finally, speaking of fair, or rather, air fares...Golly jeepers, there's a new airline a-comin' to town! They'll be flying five nine-seat flights a day. To hear the Port Commissioners talk, you'd think this was just about the swellest, peachiest news for months.
But, uh, the projections are that it will take three years for the flights to "go into profitability." And all of the incentives (giveaways and gimmicks) for those five daily flights between Port Angeles and Seattle will total around $400,000 a year. That's a whole lot of "incentives." (Is that a synonym for "bribe" now?) When you have to juice the engine that much, I have great doubts that it can or will actually run on its own.
So, let's see which lasts longer: The new air service, or the moldy mattress. Start your timers...Now!
These new airplane folks are gonna laugh all the way to the bank with those "incentives." Suck those up for a few years, then see ya! It's Pen Ply in the sky.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? Mr. Bateham, you make Peter Ripley look like a viable candidate. Sadly, your indecisive wafflings and mysterious comings and goings also make Cherie Kidd look good, or at least somewhat stable. I don't know what's motivating you to do all this, but I personally don't believe it's the "good of the people."
ReplyDeleteActually,you are mistaken. He really does have the best interest of the people in his heart. But Cherie Kidd is so underhanded that he decided to play the game from HIS angle. She is her own worst enemy,and he KNOWS that. Give Dan a chance,please. I mean really....how can things be any worse???? Are you HAPPY with the way things have been for HOW LONG now??? It's time for a change! It is BAD when people are in office for SOOO long,like she has been.Just look at Congress!!!! It becomes a MAFIA after awhile......
DeleteHis was a brilliant move. Drop out get press. Come back when people had their ballots in hand, and getting way more press. He got more ink than the other candidates, including Cherie.
DeletePerhaps he's just a sly old fox?
If you listen to the radio interview, sounds like he had Ms. Priss on the ropes.
The Navy has free airport privileges for touch and go landing practice. Yesterday between 11:00 and 11:20 a.m. they were using the airport and the roar was deafening.
ReplyDeleteGee. There was not enough ridership to keep the previous 3 companies financially viable, and each eventually left town. But things are different, now?
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see how much money Kenmore was given in "incentives" to stay in Port Angeles, before they packed it in.
Over the 3 years Seaport is to be given subsidies to operate out of Fairchild, will the taxpayers be giving them a total of $1 million ? Who could pass that up? They'll give you money, knowing you won't turn a profit? What kind of incentive is that? You'll get a million, just for showing up.
Oh, sure. $49 one way is competitive with the existing bus service to Seatac. I'm sure the bus guys are thrilled that local government is spending all this money to create a direct competition to their specific business! How much money was offered to the bus guys to help them increase their number of runs to Seatac every day? Or, have they found that there is not enough ridership to justify more than two runs a day? Hmmmm.
And, daily runs by Seaport from Port Angeles to Moses Lake? Who knew that was such a desirable destination? How have we done without, for so long?
So let's see...
ReplyDeleteWhat if they spent $400,000 a year, for three years, on things that would actually make this a more attractive, desirable place to visit? That'd be over a million bucks spent. That could buy a lot of beautification and improvements.
Might that not make it more likely that an airline would want to service Port Angeles without having to be bribed to do so?
Just sayin'...
Strange with Bateham. I think he means well, so that is the plus. We all know about Cherie.
ReplyDeleteI used to support her, thinking her positive attitude was good enough. Not anymore.
I'll take my chances with Bateham. Really, how could he do any worse than Cherie?
Here's a "worse than" scenario... One with precedent even! Bateham gets elected. Everyone gets their hopes up. Bateham then drops out, as he has before, leaving the council seat open. The city council then, as they have before, brings back an old member of the city council without going through the necessary steps to appoint a new member. Bam! From getting our hopes up right back to having Cherie Kidd in office, cackling all the while.
DeleteMaybe that won't happen, but this whole thing seems like it's heading for disaster.
if that happened, Dan dropping out, then, the person coming in 2nd in the position 5 race could take that spot. Two new faces. Would be perfect.
DeleteI know Dan,and that is NOT his way. There was a REASON he did things the way he did. He isn't going to drop out. He will stand up FOR THE PEOPLE. Have faith,please. He is listening to THE PEOPLE. Sometimes you have to be SMARTER than the UNDERHANDED SHITHEADS that THINK they know it all.....AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT CHERIE KIDD IS....A SHIT HEAD.
DeleteYep. I mean, Larry Little served two days on the City Council before bailing. In a way, Bateham has already beaten that record, by dropping out of his own campaign. And yep, IF he got elected, and then IF he quit the City Council, they would get to pick his replacement. Think they'd make a wise choice?
DeleteOh, and Anonymous 1:45 AM...In my book, you're already kind of suspect for posting in the middle of the damn night. But it really doesn't make your case any stronger when you USE TOO MANY ALL CAPS WORDS. YOU JUST LOOK LIKE A SHOUTING LOON.
Just so you know...
WHAT? I CANNOT HEAR YOU, SPEAK UP. Type louder!!
DeleteAt least they aren't trying to copy e e cummings:
"the most wasted of all days is one without laughter"
I wouldn't count too much on "new faces" if Bateham quits after being elected. Remember former mayor Richard Hendricks who was defeated at the polls after that would "I want to shut off your water!" campaign. He managed to squirm his way back onto the city council after someone dropped out, can't remember who. As I remember he bypassed the proper procedure for selecting a new candidate. Because he was "obviously the most qualified candidate" or some such bullshit. And he was a LOT worse than Kidd. Kidd may be clueless, but that man was pure evil.
DeleteI don't care why Dan dropped out or came back.
ReplyDeleteI'd wager he was baited by Cherie into coming back, though. She couldn't stay quiet about it, and instead of the "smart move" (to never mention having an opponent) she just kept yammering. It amounted to personal attacks.
Clearly Dan is human. But, Cherie is a harpy.
The Greeks and Roman's described it perfectly: A harpy -- a female monster in the form of a bird with a human face.
AS Virginia Woolf said, (about Clarissa Dalloway) "....a leering, sneering obscene little harpy..."
Gena Showalter (writer, popular author, many books) said about harpy women "Their mother had always stressed the importance of taking care of yourself first, your family second, and everyone else not at all...."
That sums it up, doesn't it?
Eight years is enough, isn't it?
Clearly, I'm fed up enough to forgive the faux pas. Go Dan...
Thank you. Dan is a great man,and you will be happy with your choice. Cherie is such a selfish,self centered HARPY! YES SHE IS.
DeleteOh, and to add to the craziness that is Clallam County, we all are wondering who is behind the colorful mailers we're getting in the mail from the pro fluoridation group "Keep Port Angeles Healthy".
ReplyDeleteAmong those "endorsing" on the groups website is Karen Rogers.
And, Shelia Miller. Is this our former DCD?
http://keeppahealthy.org/endorsements/
Also interesting is to pick a name that doesn't have letters after it, and google search it. The few I did all came up with "dental" somewhere, or had something to do with real estate.
I voted for Bateman only to cut down on Kidd's margin of victory. I don't know what's going on with him but anyone is better than Kidd and her potential to become Mayor yet again.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the mattress is still exactly where it has been at the Air Crest dive.
ReplyDeleteWhew! That's a relief!
DeleteI'm voting for the moldy mattress!
DeleteHey! I like that! They ran Mr. Floatie for mayor of Victoria a couple years back. If they can have a 7 foot tall turd run for mayor, the moldy mattress is perfect for Port Angeles.
Delete" Shit" for Victoria, and "I don't give a shit" for Port Angeles.
I see "Mr. Mattress" waving at visitors on the sidewalk of the Red Lion, the Air Crest or the Holiday Lodge, or even attempting to check in.
DeleteHmmmm. Maybe a way to get/shame the hotel owners into fixing up their slums?!
DeleteMr. Matress would look stunning with Ms. Discarded Needle!
DeleteI've been thinking about what it would take to make the costumes. Use an actual stained and really gross mattress (Hey, there is still one over at the Air Crest!) .. hollow it out, put it all on a backpack frame.. and yer good ta go!
DeleteThen call up Komo, Kiro and the others. They would LOVE to have a protest like that to broadcast.
Anonymous 8:23 AM...I can see the headlines your idea would generate: FOOTAGE OF GERMY MATTRESS GOES VIRAL.
DeleteHalloween is just a week away, folks...
I hear Dan DiGuilio is going to endorse the mattress Monday. Now that he's leaving office, I guess he's feeling freer to speak up.
DeleteBy the way...To whomever sent in the comments on Cherie Kidd's re-election campaign that were centered around an "old joke" about rape...Well, I just didn't want to post "humorous" comments about rape, y'know?
ReplyDeleteYou may have noticed it was not really about "rape."
ReplyDeleteYes, I got the point. But the way it was phrased...It just veered a little too close to being offensive. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but...You're free to submit it in a form that isn't so...
DeleteSomeone needs to post a picture of the window of the Port Angeles Republicans. Talk about loons.
ReplyDeleteThere were three uniformed PA police officers at the Great Fluoride Debate last night. Wonder how many businesses got burgled during that time. BTW the crowd was as somber as a Sunday School class. Not long ago the chief of police said there is usually only 3 on duty any given night. All of them were at city hall. Great time for a crime wave. WTF
ReplyDeleteSeaport will be flying five nine seat flights out of Port Angeles starting in March. At least one of those flights is going to Moses Lake. I guess their research shows that at least 5 people a day want to fly to Moses Lake.?? Okay.
ReplyDeleteSo, that means about 40 people a day are going to Seatac, or from Seatac to here. If they sell out each seat on each flight.
Compare that to the number of people the Coho brings to Port Angeles. 400,000 a year. Roughly a 1,000 a day.
But the people the Coho bring to Port Angeles get virtually no attention from the economic development folks. No, the local leadership happily give away $400,000 a year away to an air service that 3 other (at least) companies spanning decades have shown is not profitable. At what point do the previous failures count?
If this were any other situation, it just wouldn't happen. The brakes fail on your car three times, despite everything you do, and you're going to take the family out for a spin ? You get a severe reaction to eating blowfish that sends you to the hospital 3 times in a row, but you go back for a 4th serving?
What planet are these people living on?