"Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government."
Hugo Black, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
It goes without saying that a free press and a free society go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other.
Right now, we're living in a period of illusion - the illusion of all-knowing connectivity. With the birth of the internet, many people have come to believe that there is more free flowing information than ever before in human history. And that is true - to a point.
But there is also a great deal of misinformation flowing freely. All of our various forms of electronic communication do indeed open up new channels for the free exchange of ideas from person to person. On the other hand, these same mediums also offer new, sweeping ways to obscure, distort and otherwise channel people away from accurate information.
So let's discus the situation in Port Angeles and Clallam County. What are our options for obtaining information? Are they unbiased? Are they accurate?
I'll focus here on our printed media, so things like KONP will not really fit into this discussion right now. (Yes, they have a website with little written reports on it, but I suspect that very few people ever go there. Plus, Dick Goodman, who writes most of what goes on their website is ill-tempered, nearly illiterate, and lets his ideology show in everything.)
First up is, of course, the Peninsula Daily News. Would you perhaps agree with me that the PDN is not exactly a standard-bearer for truth and/or accuracy in reporting? I thought so. It is the intent of starting this discussion to try to find insights into their operation that might - might - identify ways to, if nothing else, shame them into actually doing their job well, and serving the community. Now, let's examine some of the key players there.
Your call is important to me. How about if I get back to you...never. Is never good for you?
Publisher John Brewer seems to be employed to take vacations. Seriously, almost every time I've called the PDN wanting to talk to him about something, he's (supposedly) out of town. Hawaii is frequently cited. When you do get him, he's always anxious to pass the buck - or complaint - along to someone else to handle. In public, he seems to like to alternate between being the back-slapping happy fellow, or the gruff, serious "journalism" type. In either role he is laughable, as is his paper and his extremely hands-off stewardship of same. Other than that he lives in a huge house and is generally unavailable, I have no idea what supposedly qualifies this guy to run a newspaper. What can you tell us about John Brewer? Does he care? Has he no shame? Is he familiar with the notion of journalistic ethics?
Executive Editor Rex Wilson seems to be more consistent than John Brewer. Rex always seems to be angry, and always is unpleasant. No matter the subject, no matter the time of day, Rex presents as the Angry Man. Now, perhaps this is due to working at the PDN, which is sure to be a soul-killing experience. But really, it might be nice, if only for a little contrast, if Rex could be a wee bit courteous or professional every so often. Anyway, what can you tell us about Rex Wilson? Why is he so pissed off all the time? Does he realize that people he talks to are actually customers of his rag?
Managing Editor Leah Leach is kind of like a female Rex Wilson. Her motto seems to be "Misery loves company." Again, what gives? What can you tell us about Leah Leach? Is she being forced to work at the PDN against her will?
Now we come to someone who doesn't appear on the PDN's masthead or editorial command and control column, but who has a great deal of (malicious) influence on the content of the paper nonetheless. Of course I am talking about Paul Gottlieb, our own local Gollum. At the paper, Paul is primarily in charge of writing incredibly skewed and one-sided "news" stories towing the local party line, and doing everything he can to keep letters to the editor that do not tow the party line out of the paper. Want to say that Obama is a Socialist Kenyan socialite baby killer? Come on in! Want to express your concern that Nippon has too much influence over local politics? Be prepared for lots of questions about your sources and "citations." I know I'm not alone in my experience of having Paul trying to get me to rewrite my own letter to say what he wants it to say.
Extreme close-up of a cancer cell.
In his free time, Paul has had some very public substance abuse issues (and arrests). He's also run someone over. There are even those who say he's had "improper relations" with young PDN employees he was supposed to be supervising. Yet Paul is set up as the moral arbiter of all things right and proper in letters to the editor. Given his many, many public failings and problems, it is a thing of wonder that Gottlieb is still employed by the PDN. Yes, he's a dependable hitman who can churn out hit pieces, but really...Don't they realize that to the vast majority of readers he has absolutely ZERO credibility? What can you tell us about Paul Gottlieb? How does he keep his job? Does he have John Brewer's dark little soul in a box?
Rather obviously, the PDN as a printed medium suffers from a great deal of restraint - which is to say censorship. Which is to further say, they report very selectively about what actually goes on here. You are lucky if a story contains even 25% of what actually happened. For example, want to know what was really said at these recent "Port Angeles United" meetings? Good luck finding anything about it in the PDN. This restricted flow of information is extremely harmful to a community.
Liberals libeling liberals for lunatics? Huh?
On the other end of the spectrum, we have Tom Harper's blog. While it once may have been a source (however intermittent) of some good and accurate information, it has sadly degenerated into the equivalent of a gossip column. There's apparently no moderation, no attempt to weed out painfully obvious lies, and, despite Tom's professed liberal views, leans towards the right-wing party line more often than not. (For the record: I come at politics from a proud and informed liberal viewpoint on most issues. But I do not moderate comments based on political views; I do moderate comments that are libelous, clearly untrue, bigoted, or just plain crazy and add nothing to the discussion.) I know a lot of people have become disgusted with what Tom Harper's blog has devolved into. This blog is intended to be a more reasonable, more factual, and more measured forum for the community to come to.
There is also the other newcomer on the scene, the Port O Call. It remains to be seen what if any impact it will have on things in Clallam County. Yes, they have some good reporting - you'll find coverage of the "Port Angeles United" meetings there - but it only comes out once a month. I fear that when it comes in the mail, most people just throw it away. And they don't seem to be able to get people to comment or participate much on their website. Still, the fact - and it seems to be a fact - that "someone" was calling their advertisers to lean on them to become ex-advertisers is a good sign. If the hornets are buzzing, you must have poked their nest somehow.
Of course, there are also, technically, newspapers in Sequim and Forks, but being that they are all under the same umbrella as the PDN, it didn't seem necessary to delve into them here. But if you want to make them part of the discussion, have at it.
Gottlieb! What a piece of work. What a piece of shit! I finally cancelled my subscription to the PDN because he made me so sick. Anyone employing him as a reporter is nuts. I used to check Tom Harper's blog too, but like you say, it just went way downhill. Here's hoping for this blog and Port o Call. NPR only goes so far!
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to include the Scott's World website. Now THERE's a source for local information. ;)
ReplyDeleteIf the Twilight Zone is local, then yes.
DeleteScott's added horoscopes to his website. Seems kind of, you know, touchy-feely liberalish. Hmmm...
DeleteYou've hit the nail on the head. All our corrupt and moronic politicians are absolutely aided and abetted by the complicit local press.
ReplyDeleteThere is SO MUCH that goes on here that never even comes close to making it into the paper, all of which affects the lives of local residents. But as so many have pointed out here, the order of the day is ignore reality, and, when it does intrude, deny it exists.
Whatever form the criminal conspiracy here takes, people at the paper are absolutely in on it. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and even a bad newspaper would get things right some of the time. The fact that the Daily News so uniformly gets things wrong, or doesn't print them at all, speaks to an organization that is bought and paid for. The only questions are how many are bought off, and who are they?
Some thoughts on your column:
ReplyDeleteOne is that you've identified the answer to your own question, as pointed out by a commenter. Why does the PDN do what they do? Because they are a tool of the local political system, full stop. They are there to distort reality and disenfranchise voters, because both make the political system easier to control and manipulate.
An example: Remember a few years back when the city bought some new chairs? The PDN ran an article about this - a run of the mill furniture purchase. This had some predictable effects. One was that the comments were all negative - spendthrift government, blah blah blah. The usual. Another was that the "conversation" around this quickly distorted the facts. Less than $3000 spent on chairs quickly mutated to become $30,000 or more. Which only fueled MORE negative comments, and more distrust of local government.
Meanwhile, the PDN reports things that are clearly, obviously inaccurate or untrue with a straight face. Rainbarrels cost $400 apiece? They could have fact checked that by calling Thurman's - but didn't. So projects like the CSO behemoth just get a pass, and the citizens get screwed. Why? Because the big, wasteful projects are paying off for a few connected people, and that's all that matters.
And, as pointed out, they can't even complain via a letter to the editor without making it past Paul Gottlieb.
So, yes, it would seem obvious that someone (or someones) at or near the top of the PDN food chain is in on all the dirty dealings in town.
As for your desire to somehow get them to do the right thing - report the facts - I don't know. Many of us have simply cancelled our subscriptions. I think the only way to really, effectively try to address their behavior is to do what they tried to do to Port O Call: Go after the advertisers. But since the PDN is seen as the only game in town, that's a tough road. But it's the advertisers who keep the PDN going. The more of them you could peel off, the more the PDN would feel the pressure.
If you got such a boycott going, you'd want to have a few clear demands in place. Like fire Gottlieb, print ALL letters to the editor, etc. You can't just say "do right!" But I think a lot of us would be behind an advertiser boycott.
Again, well stated CK.
ReplyDeleteYes, Gottlieb, Wilson, etc are more than unpleasant, and lack credibility. Yes, the reporting is so skewed. I canceled my subscription many years ago after the umpteenth time of having attended a community meeting, reading the account of it in the mornings' paper, and seeing so little that actually happened, reported.
The corruption? I think it is pretty simple. Look who buys the most ad space. Look who dominates the local political scene. The real estate folks.
Who has the most to gain by most of the actions taking place in city hall, or the county center? Re-zonings? Road improvements? Improvements to needed infrastructure? Taxing policies? Water rights? Land use policies?
So, who does the PDN REALLY have to keep happy?
As for the "ad space". The rate card is nuts. It is based on the concept that every newspaper has three readers. Really! Meanwhile, the ads for small businesses are exceptionally high, while the "same old boys" get reduced rates, and can afford to print regularly. The paper serves a very few.
DeleteIf the ad rates are really that removed from reality - which I have no doubt they are, mind you - then shouldn't that make it that much easier to start a campaign to get their advertisers to stop advertising in the PDN? Pitch it to them as a sure-fire money-saver.
DeleteI'd be happy to boycott the businesses that advertise in the PDN, but since I don't read it, I don't know who they are. This might be a situation lots of people who are critical of the paper find themselves in.
DeleteAuto dealers, real estate "moguls" and...that is about it, from what I can tell. No one else can afford to advertise.
DeleteMost businesses don't even think of advertising, no matter what you do (classified, display) the bill ends up being about $180.00-$200.00 -- way too steep for most small businesses, and after a few times of running an ad, you come to the same conclusion: might as well flush the money down the toilet. To run an ad more frequently, the individual ad is cheaper, but you end up with a thousand dollar bill. Given that commercial rents are way too high (greedy bastards) and the utility rates are much higher for businesses, who can afford this? (Long-time ad placers get some other, special deal,which no one will talk about.) Meanwhile, the metrics the PDN is using are from 2004, a decade old. They claim the newspaper has 13,200 readers during the week and 15,452 on Sunday (but somehow claim that 31,896 people are the "actual readers"...with nothing offered on how this may be...online? People reading other people's newspapers? Average family size? Are they including puppy training and bird cage lining readership? And this mystery readership is claimed to rise to 37,000 on Sunday.) http://issuu.com/peninsuladailynews/docs/pdnrates2013?e=1313114/2663280
DeleteThe stories I've heard about ad rates are crazy. It sounds totally inconsistent, other than that they are greatly inflated. The only person I know of who was actually fired from the PDN was Richard Stephens, who worked in the ad department. So I guess people DO get fired from there, even if they aren't the ones doing editorial or factual harm to the community.
DeleteNo idea why my ID came up as Skyline Nursery as I have been out of business for years. That said, I still remain politically active and mourn for the demise of our two local newspapers. I agree with all that was posted in the column with one exception. KONP may not be my cup of tea and I have not followed any of the website content, but on an INTERVIEW basis Todd Orloff has been Great.
DeleteIt is important to stress the positive as well as the negative.. Wish Sheila Sandeford was edtitor but that goes back decades ago. The PDN actually was a good newspaper until about the oil spin/oops oil spill. Even the Gazette (Jimmy Come Lately) had balanced right wing/left wing .commentators.
POC. A young fledgling trying to do its best and even there I found one reporting to be bizarre - 'The Pesky Roark Miller" article. Nope, not perfect but a hell of a lot better than the bought up newspapers we now have. Not even good enough for birdcage litter. POC seems to have had (10/21) some internet malfunction and was not available for the last few hours. Hope the Canucks didn't take them out.
Herb
Cancer cell. PERFECT.
ReplyDeleteTo call Paul Gottlieb a cancer cell is an insult to cancer cells everywhere. They can't help what they are; Gottlieb made the choice to be a scumbag.
DeleteSince this forum is moderated, you probably wouldn't let be post what I really think of Paul Gottlieb. Let me just say that I would describe him as something closely associated with a dog's hindquarters. Something you'd scrape off of your shoe. I think that gets the idea across without using profanity.
DeleteSnotlieb. Clotlieb. Palsy Paul. We have many names for Mr. Gottlieb in our home. All intended with total respect, of course.
DeleteI have always enjoyed writing letters to the editor and going through whatever hoops Paul Gottlieb puts up to get them published. To me it is worth it. Why? Because I get great enjoyment from knowing that for all his efforts, he is still allowing my letters to be published - and I always use a made up name. It's the one fact he never checks.
DeleteGottlieb is totally lacking in any sense of balance, ethics, a moral compass of any sort. He does not reveal, he conceals. I don't know of a single person who has anything but disdain for him and his so-called journalism.
DeleteThis is the bind Gottlieb finds himself in. He did wrong, and became beholden to John Brewer and the PDN for not firing him. He became their chief hit piece producer, scraping the depths to do the paper's dirty work. As he did this, of course, he acquired enemies, and lost whatever friends he may have had. So now he's in a toxic death spiral of having no life, no friends, and counting on the abusive people at the PDN for what little human contact he gets. Other than that, no one wants to have anything to do with him anymore, not even his closet queen friend, Andrew May. He's poison, persona non grata. You could almost feel sorry for him, if not for the fact that he's so incredibly slimy and unethical. Ask anyone who works at the PDN when they're away from the office. Gottlieb is like a ghost there. They don't like him, but they can't get rid of him.
DeleteIn my experience, we all know there are people here who have more power to do harm, but no one is as deeply disliked as Paul Gottlieb. And yes, that would seem to go for his co-workers at the PDN as well.
DeleteWhy does PDN have this select handful of people who have no real purpose (can't write, write blather, or slant things) and are miserable people but they just stay and stay and stay?
DeleteThere is only ONE notable writer on the paper, and he's in Port Townsend. All the rest...eh, whatever.
Paul Gottlieb can do the town, heck the whole peninsula, a favor by dropping dead. That shouldn't be so hard; he looks like he's more than halfway there already.
DeleteI see Paul out drinking sometimes. He always looks so pathetic, so awkward and alone. If you ever get a chance to see him dance, don't miss it. The guy's got no friends but his smoke and drink.
DeleteBefore this thread peters out completely, let me say one last time what a complete waste of space Paul Gottlieb is. He is a leech on a scab on a turd in an ocean of pus. He is disgusting, and worthless. He should have his throat filled with all the lies and deceptions he has ever written, and choke to death on them.
DeletePaul Gottlieb is a soulless, friendless would-be assassin. I truly wonder how people like that sleep at night, how they justify their actions. He knows he's doing wrong, he knows he's being used. But he's too weak and too afraid to say no. I'd say he's pathetic, but I don't want to imply that he's Sympathetic.
DeleteIt's common knowledge that Paul Gottlieb and Andrew May are big-time cocaine buddies. We all also know that Andrew May and Terry Neske are big-time drinking buddies. It is also fairly well known that these binges on various substances often end up with the various parties involved in bed together, and with poor unsuspecting men from Craigslist.
DeleteNeedless to say, given the players involved, this is a disgusting thing to contemplate. I feel sorry for the suckers they find on Craigslist.
The local media on all fronts has been a great disappointment to me since moving here a couple of years ago. Both the newspaper and the local blogs seem stuck in the dark ages. Hopefully things will change for the better if some pressure is applied.
ReplyDeleteThere's another good example of how the PDN doesn't help the community in today's paper. The article about the state capitol contains information crucial to Port Angeles in it - but it's buried at the end of the article.
ReplyDeleteThe state has failed to pass a supplemental budget, which means the $5 million the city was counting on to help pay for the garbage bluff is not going to happen. THIS MEANS THAT THE $5 MILLION WILL HAVE TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. That somewhere else is likely to be the ratepayers of Port Angeles in one way or another. THIS IS A BIG DEAL.
But the PDN buries it. After all, what does another few million of debt incurred matter? Why get people worked up? Everything's fine, just fine, right?
I only had to deal with Paul Gottlieb once, and that was enough. Yes, he's creepy, but also, like you say of Dick Goodman, his agenda is so obvious. He may as well just tell people "Please rewrite your letter so as to give no offense to our sensitive right-wing advertisers and readers." A free exchange of ideas it is not. Creep. Ick.
ReplyDeleteMaking money on selling ads is what motivates the PDN the most. Brewer & crew definitely want to avoid ruffling the feathers of their bigger advertising customers, and so they skew the news.
ReplyDeleteThe PDN wants not to avoid offending realtors, Howie Ruddell, and other insiders or friends of insiders who could provide big advertising revenue.
Just about the only way to get a topic covered in the PDN is to make it so obvious a story (such as one that attracts TV news crews from Seattle) that the newspaper would have to report on it. People picketing outside city hall with large legible signs (ones that would be clear to read in photographs) could be an example. Even if the PDN story omits relevant details, the signs could speak for themselves.
Oh, how I'd love to see some picketers at City Hall! It always makes the City Council SO nervous. Maybe it triggers a rare moment of being aware of how THEY KEEP SCREWING UP.
DeleteI don't think anything short of federal indictments would wake up the braindead bunch in city hall. They all flatlined long ago, and keep going on pure baseless ego.
DeleteTom Harper tries to present himself as a good, liberal Democratic type, but he also had a Sandy Long sign in his window as I recall, and went along with the Democratic undermining of their own candidate. Neither of those are very liberal or progressive things to do.
ReplyDeleteThe PDN speaks for itself. A pathetic rag. Maybe Port O Call will amount to something.
Sandy Long is about as liberal as Peter Ripley, and had about as much chance of getting elected. Really. It was THAT obvious. I'm still amazed that anyone thought she was some free-thinking progressive or that she could ever win. I don't know what kind of southern fried pixie dust the Harpers and Alan Turner were smoking, but boy, did they back a nut.
DeleteHarper's blog has become nothing but a hangout for trolls and late night nutjobs. While the PDN tries to withhold actual information, Tom Harper doesn't use any discretion at all. Any screwy thing you wanna say, no matter how illogical or slanderous, seems to be fair game. Neither one of them does the community any good.
DeleteI don't believe that Tom Harper is anything but a well-to-do Californian transplant who likes to dabble in politics without having an actual clue of what he's talking about. He's divorced from reality, well insulated with more money than sense. His support of Sandy Longshot was just one of many examples of his poor judgment. He takes rent money from the Democrats then spreads lies about their candidate? That's twisted on both ends. But so long as he gets his rent money, I guess he's okay with that.
DeletePeople like Tom Harper are why we're going to end up with three Republican county commissioners and in even more of a world of hurt than we already are. I see no difference between his hate-filled blog and the ones run by Peter Ripley and Scott Collins. They're all crazy and clueless.
I have to insert myself again, and ask that you use some discretion when commenting here. If you have issues with Tom Harper's blog, that's fine. But making comments about his wife's weight doesn't add anything to the discussion.
DeleteI (reluctantly) decided to allow some somewhat similar comments about Barb Frederick on a previous post, because they were, in some way, germane to the conversation and to the point that the poster was trying to make. But the comments I've rejected about Catherine Harper's weight were just meant to be mean, and didn't really have a point beyond that.
It's the standard line, people. Please try to avoid comments that are sexist, racist, homophobic, etc., etc. Rise above.
I don't give a damn about Tom Harper's wife, but I do still get angry whenever I think of how harmful his blog has been to political progress in Port Angeles.
DeleteWe had probably the best City Council member we had ever had when Max Mania was there, and Tom Harper essentially turned his blog into a forum to attack Max. Tom claimed to support everything Max stood for - liberal, pro-environment, pro-gay rights, an advocate for open government - but ran his blog like a far-right hate machine. It made no sense at all.
Then when Dale Holiday ran for County Commissioner, we had the opportunity to have the most qualified Commissioner ever. Like Max, she was smart, honest, progressive, etc. And once again, Harper turned his blog into a smear and destroy factory aimed at Dale. No racist, hateful posting was too much for him. It was truly disgusting.
I won't pretend to know what motivates Tom Harper to attack people whose politics he claims to support. I don't know if he fell for the lies coming out of Matthew Randazzo. I don't know if he is secretly a conservative. I don't know if he did it all because he really is that stupid. All I know is that I don't trust him, and I don't know many in the local progressive political scene who do.
Thanks to hacks like him, we are still stuck with Mike Chapman, and as someone else pointed out, could be looking at having three Republican Commissioners if Doherty retires. I expect nothing more than attacks and lies from the PDN and KONP. That's what they do. But to have the exact same attacks coming from someone supposedly on your side is insane. And thanks to all those attacks, two smart, honest and caring people were driven out of our community, which was a loss to us all.
Now, I have to get going to a meeting. You know, trying to stay involved and working to make this a better community. The sort of thing Tom Harper has been working against for whatever reason.
I disagree with your assessment of Tom. I'm probably wrong, and maybe he has some big agenda which he manipulates via his blog. But I don't think so.
DeleteYes, all kinds of nasty and untrue things were posted on his blog, and the topic of moderation came up more than once. Tom's position, as stated over and over, was to have a forum where people could express THEIR opinions. More than once he did interject his own views on a topic, which was critical of some posters. Oh well.
I'm not big on conspiracies. Why? Because I've been involved in "change" efforts for most of my life, and I've seen over and over how hard it is to get a group of people to get together, and work on much of anything!
Look at the supposed "Port Angeles United", who are spending months now, meeting, trying to figure out what THEY actually agree on, and what they actually are going to try to do. From the article in todays' PDN ( yes, taken with huge amounts of skepticism), it looks like they are evolving into doing more of what they already have been doing.
Doing what they already have been doing has gotten to town to the place it is now, which has caused the current "emergency". Now, PA United plans to find ways to do that more efficiently.
So, even with personal gain and self interest as the motivation for joint action, people are hard pressed to actually work together effectively.
Can we all agree that, historically and currently, Clallam County government is a good ol’ boys club? I think that much is crystal clear. With that in mind, having Dr. Dale Holiday, a highly educated black woman run for County Commissioner clearly scared the hell out of those good ol’ boys, and they mobilized everything they could to stop her from succeeding.
DeleteWhat they did was old school machine politics. Usually those methods were used by one political party or another, but here in Clallam County they don’t serve one party or another so much as they are used to simply maintain the dysfunctional status quo.
The fact that they felt they had to use so many underhanded and sleazy tactics against Dale only goes to show that they knew she was a legitimate threat, and that she would have broad appeal in a general election. If she’d made it past the primary, it’s highly likely that she would have defeated Chapman.
So the defenders of the corrupt status quo went to work, and Chapman’s friends (like Steve Tharinger) and their cronies (like Matthew Randazzo) began the campaign of lies and whispers meant to undermine Dale. Obvious vote splitters were either found or encouraged to enter the race. Anyone with any sense could have told you that Patty Morris and Sandy Long had almost zero chance of making it past the primary, and even less of winning the general election if they did. But there they were.
All the dirty dealings that followed were so obvious, so ham-handed, and yet so destructively effective. When you’ve got the vice chair of the local Democratic Party (Jack Slowriver) sending out an attack email against the Democratic candidate, it’s clear something underhanded is going on. When that person is not called to task by the chair (Matthew Randazzo), but is actually outdone by his underhanded actions, the poison in the system is painfully obvious. They attacked Dale, who stood up for herself, as she should have. They then cynically did their best to paint her as an “angry black woman” who was somehow less fit for office than the compromised incumbent. The ferocity directed against Dale from within her own party was remarkable.
Of course, the PDN was all too happy to go along with this search and destroy mission. And as has been pointed out here, Tom Harper was also seemingly a willing participant in this race-based smear campaign.
As a side note, let’s be clear: No one ever thought that Maggie Roth was ever going to win the general election – she just couldn’t. But she was one of the three people who could make it through the primary, along with Mike Chapman and Dale Holiday. Chapman’s people knew Maggie would be easy pickings in the general election; that’s why they worked so hard to make sure she got there. With the vote splitters Long and Morris in the race, things worked out just like Mike and his puppetmasters wanted them to.
So Dale didn’t make it past the primary. The Democratic Party lost a great deal of credibility. The status quo was maintained for the good ol’ boys. Dale and Max – sensibly – decided to stop beating their heads against the wall here. And Mike Chapman’s campaign manager, Paul Martin, ran Lee Whetham’s campaign for City Council. The same people involved with all the dirty dealings are still in office, still in charge. And here we are, living in a corrupt, racist good ol’ boy nightmare or paradise (depending on your perspective) that wouldn’t be out of place in the deep south before the Civil Rights movement.
The same do-nothing, corrupt good ol’ boys in charge. The same old terrible economy. The same deep distrust (well earned) of our local political system. We’re stuck in a downward spiral, and the people in charge don’t care.
Is it any wonder people are leaving? Is it any wonder businesses are closing or moving away? Look at what has happened. Look at what is continuing to happen. Unless you’re one of the lucky crooks at the top, none of this is good for you. None of it.
Whether he intends it that way or not, Tom Harper's blog is just as dispiriting to those of us working for positive change here as the PDN is. I used to check it regularly, but it got to be too depressing, seeing the same old comments again and again from the same old lunatics.
DeleteFrom what I've observed of the Harpers, they seem to be kind of socially isolated or awkward. When Randazzo came along with his practiced schmoozing, they may have just fallen for it, especially since there was rent money for them attached.
DeleteMy experience with Tom's blog is that 90% of the time it's like reading all the crackpot comments on the PDN site compiled, without even the benefit of having the whole article attached. No thanks. Life is too short.
The other end of this are the people who only vote for someone because: "went to school with them" "seems nice enough" "goes to our church" Will also vote AGAINST someone else because "not from here" "who do they think they are with an education" "don't like the way they look" or "the PDN doesn't like them".
Delete"Fat Barbie" regarding Barb of PADA is what a lot of people call her behind her back (it's also her initials transposed). Not because of her WEIGHT but because she has about as much depth and insight as a Mattel toy (and no, not "gee, she's swell"). She is grating with the constant cheery "everything is so wonderful" cheerleading, with absolutely no action,nothing creative, or interesting. She has firmly planted herself as the DIRECTOR. The board has changed, several times, major changes, but nothing changes with the PADA...why? She doesn't even do a good job at administrating the budget is always a mess, and she has (in the past) "forgotten" to keep the corporation intact (allowed it to lapse). The fact that she plays favorites with some businesses, and is downright nasty to others, while maintaining she knows ALL ABOUT business because her parents were in business, once. Or some kind of blather like that. But she can't research anything, doesn't keep up, and tends to speak out her ample rear instead of even TRYING to be informed. Under her lengthy tenure I'm shocked there are ANY businesses left downtown.
DeleteGet rid of Russ. Get rid of Barb. Get the city to relax the rules made by an ever-anti-business Cutler and start doing downtown events, again. What happened to the downtown art happenings (where First street was closed off, and there were blocks of art booths set up)? What happened to having the farmers market downtown? (Yeah, yeah, dirty politics I know the story well) What happened to having car shows closing off First Street? What happened to the Founder's Days parades (where all the other small towns -- from as far away as Poulsbo would send floats)? What happened? Cutler happened, and he didn't like the street closed...moved everything to the PIER,which doesn't benefit small town health. It's too far away, too cold, to windy -- even on the nicest days. Then, what happened to inventive, fun, interesting events for people to travel here, and to get people OUT OF THEIR HOUSES and downtown? Barb and Russ happened. Two people who couldn't imagine their way out of a paper bag if one end of the bag was open. We need a shake up. We need the lazy to go,now.
DeleteWhether or not Tom Harper is a willing tool or an unwitting fool, he has clearly done harm to causes he supposedly champions. His blog is no different than the PDN: A cesspool of malicious rumors and race-baiting BS that feeds cynicism, impedes political progress, and, like watching Fox News, makes people LESS informed, not MORE informed.
DeleteI appreciate that this blog is, or at least seems to be, moderated, CK. Please continue with that. I know that the language gets a little rough at times, but thus far it hasn't gone straight into the gutter like a drunken sailor.
The previous posters have pretty much summed up my thoughts about "Port Angeles Online." It's even less informative and more hateful than the PDN comments section.
DeleteYou know, it is possible to have a community forum (like this one) where everyone can participate, without it turning into a free for all race to the bottom. If Tom doesn't care enough to simply do a little moderation of the many vile comments that he lets through, it's hard to believe he gives a damn about the town or the people in it.
Some people will do anything for a little rent money.
DeleteAnonymous March 18, 2014 at 11:40 AM hit it right on the head. From the interactions I've had with Tom Harper, he doesn't seem like the brightest or most sophisticated guy in the world. And Matthew Randazzo is very good with the BS. Put the two together and you've got a situation where Tom obviously was convinced that the best way to move local lefty politics forward was to attack local politicians on the left. This is, uh, counterintuitive to say the least. Incredibly stupid to say the truth.
DeleteI can't help but wonder if Tom has buyers remorse about Randazzo like so many others now have? Even his chum John Brewer, a known slimeball himself, has dropped Randazzo like a warm turd.
The last comment I saw on Tom Harper's blog summed it up: It's all Agenda 21, apparently.
DeleteThanks for creating a place less attractive to the tinfoil hat crowd. It's important for the grown ups to have a place to go.
Agenda 21 coming to a town near you. The problem is, even Agenda 21 doesn't want us.
DeleteTom's blog seems par for the course for Port Angeles. It did fine when there were no other alternatives. But when an alternative comes along, they can't handle anything that even resembles competition. Think Edna and the Framer's Market. Think the guy who owns the Oak St. property and his hotel ban. Think just about every paranoid and fearful move the PADA makes. All cut from the same cloth.
DeleteAnd all that is why it's gotten kind of lonely over on Tom's blog. Just him and a few trolls left.
DeleteYou mean, you don't think it's a valuable "community service" for Tom and BBC to talk about repairing lawn mowers? I think it just adds so much to our town...
DeleteTom Harper adds to our town like a dog with weak bowels "adds" to the sidewalk.
DeleteTom Harper might be of better service to the community if he could haul his whiny, fat ass out of bed before 10am when real people are out in the workday world. The fact that he's a privileged, wealthy Californian transplant shows through his lazy, out of touch blog. He and his wife sit up in their wealthier than thou condo and think they know what the real people of this town have to deal with.
DeleteMust be nice to not have to work, or make a living in any way, or get out bed if you don't want to, Tom. Most of us here don't have that luxury. We're struggling to just make it in a rough economy - one that locally has been damaged by people just as dim and out of touch as you are.
When you look at the nothing topics he posts, the lack of any writing of his own, and the few, pathetic comments that trickle in, I don't know why Tom Harper doesn't give it up and get a new hobby. He knows he's been outclassed by you, CK, and that he can't compete. So why not just give it up?
DeleteRiddle me this:
DeleteHow many functioning brain cells does Tom Harper have?
As few as the few remaining hairs on his head? Or as many as the many pounds his wife weighs?
Ha! It's a trick question! We all know Tom Harper has no functioning brain cells.
"John Brewer, AP Bureau Chief for Seattle and Los Angeles. Former New York Times employee and an influential leader. " http://pencol.edu/divisions/humanities/journalism
ReplyDeleteIn the book "Bitter Medicine: Two Doctors, Two Deaths, And a Small Town's Search for Justice by Carlton Smith John Brewer was described as: "...John Brewer, the newly named editor and publisher of the local newspaper, the Peninsula Daily News. Brewer was a veteran newspaperman who had previously headed the Associated Press bureaus in Seattle and Los Angeles and has also worked for the AP in New York City. Later, he had headed the New York Times news service, which provided stories to newspapers across the country. When the Times decided to reorganize its news service, Brewere, a resident of Peekskill, New York, found himself remaindered -- in other words laid off. Over the years, Brewer had maintained a casual friendship with the editor and publisher of the Peninsula Daily News, Frank Ducheschi; they'd gotten to know one another years before when Brewer ran the AP's Seattle Bureau. In those times Brewer had come to the Olympic Peninsula dn Port Angeles on various stories. "This town always had news," Brewer was to say later. "Always had news. When I was in Seattle, I used to remark that Port Angeles had the wildest stories in the world." He could still remember when FBI agents had arrested the fugitive spy, Christopher Boyce, of The Falcon and the Snowman fame, in a Port Angeles fast-food-drive in."
The fact that he came from (mostly) a background in the Associated Press, it figures. The AP is known for miserable pay, variable management, disregard for personal lives and human needs. The New York Times works by keeping everyone paranoid and fearful of being fired every minute of every day. Figures he brought that culture here.
Port o Call already is changing things here, in that the writers are not beholden to Piling and crew, and, it is mailed to people, whether they subscribe or not. From what I've heard, Dale is getting a lot of good feedback from people saying things like " Finally, somebody is telling the truth".
ReplyDeleteNow, will it continue to rock the boat? We'll see.
What I'm watching to see is if there are more none-too-subtle attacks on Port O Call, or even on this blog. Watch your back, CK. The people here are greedy, desperate, and stupid enough to do just about anything.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt some of the same people who -- early on -- showed up on the "other PA blog" will rear their greasy little heads and start mouthing off. There are trolls that live in city-hall, no doubt.
DeleteEver been any Mayor Trolls here? Ya think?
DeleteKaren Rogers can read???
Delete..I think the bigger question is can she use a computer?
DeleteBreaking news on the PDN website..."State Auditor: Port Angeles recreation coordinator misappropriated more than $40,000"
ReplyDelete"Amber L. Mozingo, who was 40 in October, has not been arrested or charged in the alleged fraud.
The case was forwarded to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for consideration of formal charges last October.
The matter is still pending, and there has been no reimbursement to the city by Mozingo."
Amber Steim hits and kills her first victim with her car, but isn't even given a field sobriety test on the scene. Apparently, at the time she was sleeping with a PA police officer, and so she got a pass.
Now Amber Mozingo steals $40,000 from the city, but isn't arrested or charged. So she gets a pass. Was she sleeping with someone?
Now, when Paul Gottlieb hit a pedestrian with his car, and didn't get a field sobriety test, or get charged...It's just too disgusting to consider. But the question of WHY NOT still lingers.
As someone else pointed out...The Daily News is playing up the Amber Mozingo thing now, which, at worst, "cost" the city $40,000 for afterschool services it was providing already. I'm not saying what Mozingo did wasn't theft, but it's akin to someone riding a bus without paying. The bus was still going to do its route, and it didn't cost the bus company any more to have that one non-paying passenger.
DeleteBut compare that to the failure of our state reps to pass a supplemental budget, an item that was buried in just one article previously. That failure will potentially have enormous consequences for residents of Port Angeles, who will have to pony up the now missing five million dollars for the landfill bluff somehow.
Ah, but you see, the Mozingo story has just enough dollar signs attached to it to get people angry and pissed off at local government. It's that kind of disenfranchised mentality that the PDN wants to foster. But the five million dollar story, well, that would be too scary and too much of a heads up for locals to really play up. It's the kind of thing that has too much of a depressive effect on people and economies, so it gets buried, even though it's more important in the long run.
This is just one example of how our local "news" outlets massage the information we get to suit their needs, not ours.
It's kind of funny in a way. The more the PDN is in denial about how bad it is here, the worse it gets here. The worse it gets here, the harder it is for businesses to make it. And the fewer businesses there are, the fewer potential PDN advertisers there are. They cut their own throat a little bit more with every word.
DeleteThis is more business as usual. A decade ago, I signed my kids up for summer lessons, and had to cancel because plans changed. My check had been cashed, but guess what "no refunds" because the city didn't have any record of it. I brought in cancelled checks, and was told (finally) a refund would be coming. It NEVER CAME. After that the wagons were circled, and there was a reorg of the city departments, and I was told "all records were lost". I think the department has been corrupt for a long, long time. Hell, the city has been corrupt for a long time. It's clearly the culture.
DeleteProbably didn't need a field sobriety test because it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary for him to be under the influence. Why waste the time and money? The guy looks like a tippler, doesn't he?
DeleteWe need sources of information that inform, not just seek to destroy. Sources that will tell us the good and the bad, with some associated level of detail. Right now we're dealing with having sources (PDN, Harper's blog, KONP, etc.) that only know how to destroy. This, not surprisingly, has helped produced a great deal of destruction and mistrust and deep cynicism.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they "seek to destroy" but instead, slant and obscure with half-truths, outright lies, and leaving out key facts. The problem is that without a free press, and free exchange of ideas, people assume the worst. In this case, the reality is probably even worse than we've imagined. The amount of shady deals that have permeated this town, broken down it's infrastructure, and lined a few (very few) pockets has hurt every one of us. There are meetings in this town that violate Washington State "sunshine laws". (Sunshine Laws are crucial to assuring government accountability and transparency. In Washington State, those laws provide for open public records and open public meetings. Washington state has had them on the books for 40 years.) We have no checks and balances up here...the newspapers don't report, the investigative journalists don't investigate, the judges are complacent, the citizens uninformed. The mistrust is well placed, and the deep cynicism from experience.
DeleteYou're spot on with the sunshine/open meeting law violations. The problem is getting anyone at the state level to care or respond to complaints of such things. They have received complaints from Clallam County about these violations, but nothing ever really happens. The concerns of the public just get blown off.
DeleteLook at all the BS the Port has done lately - and blatantly - behind closed doors.
Anon 6:57am.... are you saying you NEED someone to tell you what to think? You have that.
ReplyDeleteTelling us is all fine, but what we need is a way that we can connect, organize, and finally change what has been business as usual for far too long.
Here's an idea: Whenever one of these buffoons from the PDN makes an appearance anywhere - the COC, the PABA, etc. - go and challenge them to do a better job at both reporting accurately, and at representing the community.
ReplyDeleteHell, I'd even ask why Gottlieb still has a job there, given all we know about him. Put them on the spot for once. It's an idea.
(Then wait to see how they - don't - cover it themselves...)
Aren't they always trying to pimp themselves out as public speakers to groups like that? They have it on the website all the time. Funny how no one ever seems to take them up on it.
DeleteMaybe they all know that nothing of note would be said? Or even could be?
They'd get more bookings if someone learned how to twist balloons.
DeleteThey'd get more bookings if they did janitorial work after their speech. Spout and Clean.
DeletePDN could offer their services to distort the news, the musical...
Delete..if only one of them could juggle, I'd hire them at my kid's birthday party. They could continue their "clown" act, in a more honest way. (I hope I'm not insulting any real clowns. If so, sorry.)
DeleteYou'd let Paul Gottlieb near your kids? Ew!
DeleteI have some kitty boxes that need cleaning, maybe that would be better? Lecture me about the PDN, and sift the litter. That would be good.
DeleteDoes anyone know anything about the company that bought the PDN (and every other local rag)? I hear talk that they're a bit of a nasty bunch, but don't know any details.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the nasty part kind of supports what the Port O Call advertisers say they got - heavy calls from Canada. Stuff like that seems so cliché and corny, but I know it does happen...Did it really happen here? Any word from the POC? Details? Follow up?
They were bought by Sound Publishing,that has gobbled up 38 newspapers in Washington state. It is owned by Black Press Group Ltd. is a Canadian privately owned publisher of prominent daily newspapers in Hawaii and Ohio, United States, and numerous weekly newspapers in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, as well as Washington (At last count there were 120 newspapers in all. Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Press) It was founded in 1975 by David Holmes Black, and the headquarters are in Victoria. I think the guy is mostly benign as far as publishers go. He just likes to collect dead tree media, or so it appears.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Tom is a little peevish about being called on his own shit.
ReplyDeletepeevish? Downright snippity.
DeleteUm, Tom, do you realize that by calling someone who choses to remain anonymous a "gutless ball-less coward" that you've just insulted probably 99% of the people who have ever posted - mostly anonymously - on your blog? Did you think of that?
DeleteOh, I didn't think so. And that lack of thought is what makes your blog such a wallow in the gutter.
The sad thing is...Tom probably doesn't even know how his juvenile, borderline sexist/homophobic response is exactly the kind of thing that drove people away from his blog. And to criticize people for posting anonymously is pretty lame, too. Everyone's doing it, Tom. Get with the program.
DeleteTantrums are annoying in children. In adults they are just embarrassing. Grow up, Tom. If you can't take the heat, stay the hell off of the blogosphere.
DeleteTom is the myspace of Port Angeles. He had his chance, for years, and never turned the corner. Oh well.
DeleteIf Tom Harper, BBC and the troll want to hang out, do they really need to do it online? Off topic and offline, boys.
DeleteAnonymous 11:47AM: Bullseye. Tom let his blog get like a computer full of viruses. The lack of care or attention shows, and has for a long time. Trolls and tweakers do not an intelligent or informed conversation make. If you want to let them participate, fine. But when you create an environment that is suitable only for such creatures, you're on the way down. In all things moderation, including blog commentary. Carry on, CK.
DeleteAnd now Tom is reduced to posting lame "April Fools" jokes as the content on his blog. That's not really something that does anything for anyone, other than apparently amusing Tom.
DeleteChecked Tom Harper's blog today. In response to a pathetic one sentence "topic," he's gotten four responses - all of them off topic (such as it is), and three of them about repairing some old fool's lawnmower. What a great community resource his blog is...
DeleteTom's throwing another temper tantrum today, pissed off that people are reading this blog (and, I guess, not his). His immaturity is really unseemly for someone his age. Grow up, Tom. Really. Your mommy isn't going to come and make your boo boo go away.
DeleteAll Tom Harper has to offer from the last couple of days are hateful, rambling comments bashing trans people and Esprit. Way to go, Tom. Thanks for helping to stoke the fires of hatred, and for putting the worst face Port Angeles has to offer out there for all the world to see. You're a real credit to your community - or at least to the BIGOTS in the community.
DeleteAnd still more hateful insults directed at people attending Esprit on Tom Harper's blog...It's been clear for quite a while that Tom isn't a liberal, but it wasn't clear until now just how homophobic and bigoted he is. I mean, why else would he post so much hate speech on his blog? Ugly, ugly, ugly.
DeleteMore libelous hyperventilating from Tom Harper at his blog . He's STILL obsessed with trying to trash Max Mania for some reason. It's pretty weird and pathetic, given that it's a year since Max moved away. Get over it, Tom! You're making a spectacle of yourself. Find someone new to blame for your woes.
DeleteYou'd be hyperventilating too if you were married to Tom Harper's obese, fishmonger of a wife. No wonder he's up late, stewing away on the computer. It beats cuddling up in bed with a beached whale.
DeleteYou know how many times in the last, say, five years I've seen Tom Harper at a City Council meeting? None. County Commissioner's meeting? None. Port Commissioner's meeting? None. In fact, I've never seen Tom Harper, or his wife, off of the block that they live on, now that I think about it.
DeleteAnd yet...Tom likes to hold himself out as someone "in the know," when he is so removed from what is really happening in this town. He seems to read the PDN when he crawls out of bed in the late morning, and then thinks he's well informed. He obviously likes to think of himself as being so politically astute, but, he's really just a sad, weird pretender.
What a joke.
Tom Harper's passive-aggressive obsession with Max is really weird. It just goes on and on. Max left town, what, a year ago? And yet Harper won't let go. Max moved on with his life, but Tom Harper clearly has no life at all.
DeleteBest lunchtime reading ever. Thanks! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI know I didn't really dwell on KONP here, but I wanted to post this subject appropriate (depressing) and incredibly badly written update from their website this morning:
ReplyDelete"Demographic data paints county economic, population picture
March 21st, 2014 - 5:29am
(Port Angeles) – Recently released data shows Clallam County has 28-hundred fewer jobs last year compared to the year 2000.
The county had about 750 more jobs last year than in 1990.
The data shows the biggest drop since 1990 in manufacturing, where the county shed more than half the jobs.
Similar drops have occurred in forestry, transportation, and construction.
The biggest growth has been in health and social services and government jobs. Since 1990, Clallam County has seen both those sectors nearly double the number of employment.
During the same period, data show the county's population has grown by nearly 30 percent. Most of that from people over 65 as that segment of the population has more than doubled over the last 23 years."
This one little article encapsulates so much of what is wrong here. A declining economy that has been unable to adjust to social and economic changes. The explosive growth of social services and people over 65 - both of which greatly represent non-working members of the local population. And, yes, the terrible, terrible writing that passes as "reporting" here, and that helps obscure when it should be informing.
As a final note of irony, the flashing banner ad above this story on the KONP website is a come on to get you to advertise on their site. The ad's tagline is, "Is your website missing something?" In the case of KONP, I'd say yes.
If you google the PDN or Peninsula Daily News, their actual home website pretty much always comes up first. The thing that seems to come up next 90% of the time? Their obituaries. In Port Angeles, the most popular news is people dying.
DeleteI guess it's true that Port Angeles is God's waiting room.
Whew! So, what actually is that article trying to say?
DeleteAmazing. And, Dick gets paid for that?
He gets paid in pure vitriol. Keeps him going better than Geritol.
Delete