So, not even a week in, and already this blog has had just shy of 400 pageviews. I'd say people are hungry for another outlet/source of information, wouldn't you?
I've also had a couple of "private" messages, and had to reject a few would-be postings. This will not turn into a place for meth trolls, Max trolls, or people who work the word "teabagger" into every other sentence. I mean, it's one thing to post long, rambling, incoherent garbage. And it's another thing to be up in the middle of the night posting on blogs. But when you're up in the middle of the night, posting long, rambling, incoherent garbage on blogs...Well, that particular combo sort of undercuts both your credibility and desirability, you know?
On a related note: Sorry BBC, but this is also not the place to invite people to fondle you. Sure, we're fond of you, but fondle is different. You know?
So let's keep it fairly reality-based, fairly informative, and spread the nasty word about the nasty people in a productive way. Sure, they're pond slime - that's why it'll be so fun to take them down. right?
Stay tuned...
And you plan to "take them down" ... how?
ReplyDeleteFor all the talk of corruption at the City and County level I've never heard anyone offer any concrete, tangible proof. Oh, sure, you get a lot of rumor and innuendo, but no proof.
This is a very small town and these people aren't exactly geniuses. But if they're so corrupt - and so obviously corrupt - why hasn't anything come to light? Is Karen Rogers that powerful? Does she have deep, dark secrets on key people? ("I will reveal your penchant for wearing leiderhosen, Dan Di Guilio. Do my bidding now!" "Yes, Karen! I cringe in utter servility before you!")
So again I ask: lacking any concrete proof, you plan to "take them down" how?
Spoken like a real Port Angelean! Sit down, give up, and ask no questions of your betters.
DeleteThere isn't one answer to your question. The crooked swine that have run Clallam County for all these years could fall any number of ways.
DeleteOne very simple way is through good old fashioned exposure. Who can say what information will turn up here (or elsewhere) that can be further transmitted to more members of the public. Removing the cover roaches hide under will often make them scurry away.
Related to that is the notion that more informed voters will (potentially) stop voting the crooks and their enablers into office, which would also be a change for the better. In an area with a small population like this one, it's not uncommon for elections to be decided by less than 100 votes. That's a pretty workable margin from the voter education angle.
Of course, the best of all possible worlds would be to turn up enough dirt to see the guilty parties charged with - and hopefully convicted of - criminal charges. NO ONE who has been around and observed Clallam County politics seriously doubts there is deep, deep corruption here. Many forms of this corruption are illegal. So here's hoping.
And, if nothing else, this is a good forum to give a little bullying back to those who have spent so many years bullying others. Speaking truth to power is worthwhile in and of itself. Then let the bullies and criminals try to kick against the pricks, and see how they like it.
Sounds to me like the person who asked the question (Hi, Karen!) is kind of interested/afraid of the free flow of information.
DeleteAs for concrete proof, it's not necessary. Lots of elections are decided on rumors and unofficial knowledge. So just getting the word out in any way about who and what some of these people (and their underlings) are could be extremely helpful.
Sorry, Karen! I think you're done here.
There's no real news in the PDN. The hacks there wouldn't allow anything that might actually be useful to the community get in there. KONP? They're just as bad. So we're left with face to face talks and online communications like this. It's not ideal, but it's what we have. Thanks for trying to keep things civil and fact-based.
ReplyDeleteNot that we've gotten into the real details I'm hoping we'll uncover, yet. Too bad we can't pony up the money to get some of those "in depth" background checks they advertise. With that, then we'd have all the places they lived, phone numbers, schools they attended and any court stuff they've been involved in. That info is "out there". With that, we would have a treasure trove of specifics to use as a base to research from. Newspaper articles in towns they lived in before here, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnother often useful research tool is the assessors records. Lots of city funny business involves real estate, which is why you see so many real estate people in local politics. Most are smart enough not to have their names directly connected to the exchanges and bennies derived from special favors and treatment, but the gain is there, somewhere, somehow. It can be time consuming to link dates of transactions to agenda items, and trace the names on deeds, but is can be very revealing.
I'm glad to see people are tuning in here. Not surprised, but glad. There's a real desire for a freer flow of Especially TRUE information.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the fact that the ACLU is on Rick Porter's back. I had no idea before today. Porter's a creep and a zealot. I'd love to see the back of him, but he obviously loves playing god too much to leave.
ReplyDeleteToday's your last chance, kids, to see a movie in Port Angeles. Thanks to the brilliant leadership and wise stewardship of our elected officials, we have perhaps the most distraught and dying downtown in the state. Now we'll have one more prominent empty storefront to deal with, to go along with all the others.
ReplyDeleteLet's all go to the lobby, let's all go to the lobby...And buy a ticket out of Port Angeles.
Yeah, really. Like someone mentioned elsewhere, Mania and Cronaur tried to save the Lincoln years ago, but got no support from the local business "leaders". Now we're a town without a movie theater. I guess you can just walk north a couple more blocks and settle in and watch the Nippon smokestacks from the new multi-million dollar sidewalk instead.
DeleteAs I drove by that stack of logs downtown that are on their way to China, I was reminded of the Pen Ply debacle. And, of Grant Munro.
ReplyDeleteAs we remember, Grant Munro was on the City Council during those great ole days with Karen Rogers, Larry Williams and other fun and witty folk. Grant, along with others, was an "investor" in the Pen Ply project that sucked up -- how much-- taxpayers money before going belly up. Did the "investors" get their expected returns before the books were closed?
Of course, as we see, Grant negotiated to be able to keep his "Logs for China" venture going, while the taxpayers were not paid back for the monies lent to his former company on the same site, Pen Ply. Millions, wasn't it?
When there was some discussion about the "investors" paying back the local taxpayers, Grant was quoted as saying "They can pound sand".
Yes, obviously a thoughtful and caring former public servant.
Ah, yes. Grant Munro. Mr. Charm and Compassion. Thanks for the reminder of yet another name to look into.
DeleteI've noticed something and I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced the same thing.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I open a link to a PDN story, the comments attached never open up the first try. I have to click refesh,and open it again, then the comments come up. This has been going on for at least a couple of weeks.
I assume that this is intentional, and it's a way for the PDN to up their number of page hits, and then charge advertisers more because of the "huge" number of readers they have. (HA!)
Anyone else noticed/experienced this?
Since the PDN can't attract readers/viewers through the quality of their "reporting," it makes sense they'd try to game their own system somehow. I'd noticed this glitch happening, too, but didn't give it much thought until now. Thanks.
DeleteThe comments don't work with Windows 8. especially if you have that Bing bug. (You have to totally disable Bing, and then use some utilities to scrub your machine...) Meanwhile, the problem with the PDN comments is that they seem to update a story to delete the comments when there are some heated ones. Anything that is far outside their "agenda" get deleted.
ReplyDelete