Sunday, December 9, 2012

A Quietly Cherished Error

Rumor has it that the Council signed the CAOs without reading the final text. Rumor has it that now -- after having signed, filed, and posted the CAOs -- some members of the Council are claiming that there are "errors" in the final version. Rumor has it that some Council members are claiming that the version they signed didn't include the changes that they approved.

Then why did they sign them?

Rumor has it that the Prosecuting Attorney advised that they can simply take the existing signature page for each CAO and staple it to a new "corrected" version of the CAOs. Rumor has it that is exactly what the Council is going to do ... quietly ... without making a fuss.

Does any of that seem crazy to anyone else?  Can a member of the Council pick any old ordinance and claim that it's not the right version, and then work behind the scenes to "correct" it after-the-fact and simply attach the existing signature page to the "corrected" version?

Wow! And remember, this Council is already being sued for meeting behind the scenes.

Some readers may recognize the title of this blogpost as part of a quotation by Philip Stanhope found in Letters to His Son, which in my opinion, serves as a fitting summary for the entire CAO process, right down to the current signature fiasco:  "Quietly cherished error, instead of seeking for truth."

28 comments:

  1. If this can/or has been verified, can Sandy Mackie send the Council a letter putting them on notice regarding consequences unless of course Randy has found a law authorizing cutting and pasting on legal documents?

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  2. Oh pleeze. I think some Council members have already found out that continuing to live here after their participation in this flightless turkey bird, may be a bit troubling.

    "Well, I did sign it, but I had changes that were not included." Yes, I signed it, but, you know, staff changed it a whole lot." "I'm not sure what I signed was what I agreed to."

    Total smack. Don't serve em...shun them.

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  3. Minor error of omission or utter disregard of clear direction?

    We have seen plenty of the latter, to the point of blatant insubordination on the part of senior planners.

    As to the former, to paraphrase Professor Henry Higgins "By law she should be taken out and hung,
    For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue."

    Who cares? Their signatures are as worthless as the cheap suit crap they signed.

    Shun them. Shun their handlers, those shriveled trolls working the Mean Green Machine, pulling the levers behind the screen.

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  4. I, too, have been hearing rumblings that some bargained for changes mysteriously did not make it into the final draft.

    I usually do not like to spread rumors, but since every one about the CAO process has come true in the past, I can only conclude that it would be a dereliction of my duties as a citizen not to spread this one.

    Did you know that now in SJC: Decorative lighting shall be limited to incandescent lamps with a maximum of 25 watts per bulb and 500 watts overall. CAO Wetlands section 18.60.170.

    So no LED's. And you can only have 20 bulbs if they are the fat 25 watt ones.

    I am pretty sure that this is how Hanukkah got started.

    Shalom Ya'll,

    Nick Power

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  5. Incandescent?

    I thought we were ordered to use Eco-Green-Sustaino-Energy-Efficient toxic mercury florescent gizmos assembled by Chinese slave labor?

    This must have been one of those CAO sections that got missed in the edits.

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  6. A classic!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-05TLiiLU

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  7. Do you thnk the FOSJ has the "_alls" to drive around and turn in addresses of houses which are violating the "25 bulb" rule? I actually hope they try this!

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  8. Dear Editor,

    I am shocked at the flagrant lawlessness exhibited in this county.

    San Juan County Code section 18.60.170 clearly reads in relevant part: "Decorative lighting shall be limited to incandescent lamps with a maximum of 25 watts per bulb and 500 watts overall."

    A quick drive around the the island revealed hundreds of flagrant violations of this ordinance.

    The County Council's verbatim reiteration of this language in the recently passed Critical Areas Ordinance must indicate a strong public policy in the maintenance of this law.

    Any student of history will tell you that there is a clear connection between the stringing together of multiple strings of Christmas lights and complete anarchy.

    I urge the County to enforce this explicit regulation and suffer the righteous wrath of Cindy-Lou Who*.

    Yours,

    Nicholas Power

    *

    Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee.
    "And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!"

    And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove
    When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
    He tuned around fast, and he saw a small Who!
    Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two.

    The Grinch had been caught by this tiny Who daughter
    Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water.
    She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why,
    "Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?"

    But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
    He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
    "Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied,
    "There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.
    "So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
    "I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."

    And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head
    And he got her a drink and he sent her to bed.
    And when Cindy-Lou Who went to bed with her cup,
    He went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!

    Then the last thing he took
    Was the log for their fire!
    Then he went up the chimney, himself, the old liar.
    On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire.

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  9. "We have to pass the bill to find out what's in the bill".

    Unfortunately, that seems hard to do at the moment. From the county website http://sanjuanco.com/cao/ordinances.aspx if you click on Wetland Regulations, you get:
    "404 - File or directory not found"

    Maybe they are adding some more exciting surprises for us!

    What fun! I'll check back after I take down the 2 strings of lights we put up yesterday for the grandson's pleasure. We surely don't want the Bulb Cops knocking on the door and upsetting the little ones.

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  10. There is ALWAYS the 2nd Amendment! No but seriously there should be a complaint filed and an investigation in the Alleged misrepresentation of facts! Mr Gaylord should seek retirement options before he finds himself the center of a debate over whether criminal charges might be brought against him! You are NOT the LAW Mr Gaylord! You do not make changes at you whim!

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  11. Per Nick: "Any student of history will tell you that there is a clear connection between the stringing together of multiple strings of Christmas lights and complete anarchy."

    Not at all. Just swear off of that subsidized REA power system you have, and you can put up all the damn lights you want.

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  12. I wonder how much juice those casinos suck down. Turn off the baubles and pin ball machines, then we'll talk.

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  13. Randy is the law. He reports to no one. As county coroner he can decide if you commited suicide and if there will be an investigation. Think about that the next time your walking alone in the dark.

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  14. Hold on Mr. Kit: You're treading on actual sacred ground not the phony sacred ground your partisans have destroyed.

    OPALCO is owned by us all. It has an elected board that works for us all. It is a well run, so well run in fact that even with rates that would make PG&E officials blush with their guilt, OPALCO is writing their rate payers, (their members), dividend checks.

    If there was any way for OPALCO to take over County "government" and run it the way our utility is run, believe me it would happen in the blink of an eye.

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  15. So our brothers, the tribes, don't have to comply with the the EPA, the SEPA, the GMA or the SMP, right? Did they process permits for the Casino, the Outlet Mall, the Cabelas, the Costco, and so on?

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  16. Your power cable was laid by BPA in 1951. The dams were built by the federal government. It's called "Lake Roosevelt" not "Lake Jay Gould," you know. This infrastructure was paid for by the taxpayers throughout the nation. You, very simply, did not build it. Both programs are socialism pure and simple (and excellent examples of how government programs cause the worst environmental damage, by the way). Give it up, generate your own power, and then talk to me.

    I am sorry that you feel the need to attack me with anti-Indian rhetoric. I will say though, that most real business people on the mainland admire the retail and commercial development at Tulalip. This is a mainstay of the north Snohomish County economy, providing living wage employment for many local citizens as well as tribal members. I am not sure you understand where your retail goods come from, if I may say so. I'm not sure you understand where your electric power comes from either.

    When I retire soon from Tulalip, I suppose that you will have to find a different basis to attack me from. I'm sure you will find something.

    Oh, and please have the guts to use your own name. It just makes you look worse to hide behind anonymity, really. I deserve the right to shun you, after all, or at least to wish that you would burn in Hell.

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  17. I am in complete agreement that government programs generally cause the worst environmental damage. The dam-building era of Floyd Dominy and BuRec reengineered America's waterways and caused massive environmental change/damage. The New Deal programs may have helped keep people employed during the Depression, but the dams on the Columbia changed it forever, and not for the better. If you want to see some of the worst pollution in the country, you'd be hard-pressed to find better examples than government reservations such as Hanford, Savannah River, and Oak Ridge.

    I agree completely.

    I wish folks wouldn't resort to ethnic rhetoric here, but I think the point that folks are in-artfully expressing is their distaste of tribal governments, not Indians.

    Governments, and socialist forms of government as you have stated, cause the worst environmental destruction, I don't think the tribal governments (or any government) should get a free pass just because they are tribal (or any other group). All governments are capable of hypocrisy, environmental harm, socialist-inspired damage as much as any other. The tribal governments certainly have their fair share of those issues. While all tribes differ, it seems to me that many tribal governments are models of the New Deal/socialist forms of government that you admit brought about some of the worst environmental damage this country has ever seen.

    Do the Tulalip generate their own power?

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  18. And speaking of "anti" speech, I don't want anyone, no matter how much they may disagree with me to "burn in Hell."

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  19. I just sent the following email to the Director of Tulalip's Natural Resouces Department via email.

    Dear Mr. Fryberg,

    I write because of this morning's comments by Kit Rawson's comment left on the website The Trojan Heron and I fear that such may damage the efforts of the Tulalip Tribes Natural Resource Department.

    Be advised that Mr. Rawson posted the following at 9:20 AM:

    Your power cable was laid by BPA in 1951. The dams were built by the federal government. It's called "Lake Roosevelt" not "Lake Jay Gould," you know. This infrastructure was paid for by the taxpayers throughout the nation. You, very simply, did not build it. Both programs are socialism pure and simple (and excellent examples of how government programs cause the worst environmental damage, by the way). Give it up, generate your own power, and then talk to me.

    I am sorry that you feel the need to attack me with anti-Indian rhetoric. I will say though, that most real business people on the mainland admire the retail and commercial development at Tulalip. This is a mainstay of the north Snohomish County economy, providing living wage employment for many local citizens as well as tribal members. I am not sure you understand where your retail goods come from, if I may say so. I'm not sure you understand where your electric power comes from either.

    When I retire soon from Tulalip, I suppose that you will have to find a different basis to attack me from. I'm sure you will find something.

    Oh, and please have the guts to use your own name. It just makes you look worse to hide behind anonymity, really. I deserve the right to shun you, after all, or at least to wish that you would burn in Hell.

    While I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Rawson that public utilities have posed some of the most vexing problems concerning cost apportionment and environmental degradation, I feel it is a disservice to both the Tulalip Tribes, and the public at large, to voice in this most despicable way his sentiments to others who do not share his viewpoint.

    I look forward to your speedy resolution of this matter and Mr. Rawson's unwavering apology.

    Yours,

    Nick Power

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  20. It's the standard Kit Rawson formula for an essay or "dialogue."

    Step 1 - Allege that your adversary has engaged in some form of anti-social or undesirable behavior, no matter how undeserved.

    Step 2 - Appear to take the high road by offering praise to/for whatever group Kit is representing at the time, no matter how undeserved.

    Step 3 - End with a really vicious insult having just a touch of cuteness. Nearly every Kit encounter ends with a thought-terminating cliche that he feels wins it for him.

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  21. Another Kit Rawson WatcherDecember 11, 2012 at 10:32 AM

    Oh yeah. Kit is very well practiced at that formula. He's made a career of it. Steps 1 and 2 are only there as a set-up for Step 3. Step 3 always is the main message.

    Steps 1 and 2 justify Step 3, and Kit is so good at it by now, that I almost find myself buying into it sometimes. "Gee, well maybe I should burn in hell. Maybe we all should."

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  22. Wow. You guys are truly amazing.

    My "burn in hell" and "shun" comments were taken directly from anonymous comments on this blog. I would still like to know the identity of the person saying those things.

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  23. Kit,

    For all I know, those comments could be yours (or mine -- though I assure you they are not).

    Feel free to discount anonymous comments, most do -- I know I do.

    But if you are going to sign it, ya gotta own it. Cuz thems the rules.

    So either man up and apologize or quit your nattering about people not owning up for what they have said, cause you are just as bad as they.

    Calling it like I see it.

    Nick Power

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  24. "Man up?"

    Anyway, I have no problem apologizing. I was clearly inarticulate. What I meant, and should have said more directly, was that if the persons or people who wished that FOSJ and the Council would "burn in Hell" as well as the frequent comments that the the council members should be "shunned" would identify themselves, then I could do the same for them as they are doing for the FOSJ and the council. That's all. I do apologize that these were written in a way that caused people to think the wishes were directed at them. Please rest assured that I do not wish these things to any reader of this blog.

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  25. Thanks Kit. I hope you stick around and provide your perspective.

    Cheers,

    Nick

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  26. Gosh Kit, you want to know the names of the anonymous folks nipping at your heels? Understandable. Of course you do.

    How about all the secret decisions you have been involved in during your long MRC tenure, behind closed doors, anonymously, with who knows who? We'd love to know. But we never will.

    There is plenty of respect for elders and ancestors. ECK is correct, the complaints are about corrupt tribal government not the tribes. Way too many tribal councils all over the country seem to take the fast path to graft and it is an old sad story.

    But it seems to me you have made your career and reputation by trying to become what's sometimes referred to as a Washington Redskin. You're just a member of the lost White Guy Wannabe tribe, trying to take on genuine tribal issues as your own as cover for your fairly cheap and blatant power games and generally rude behavior on the local scene.

    I especially enjoyed your amazingly rude and clueless performance at the Grange some years back trying to bowdlerize about 100 islanders who had never heard of your MRC driven fever dream to establish a Grand Marine Protection Zone. You nearly got carried out in a stretcher if I recall.

    I am glad to hear that you are retiring. Please leave the MRC, the County and our communities alone.

    But, I am anonymous so don't pay attention to me. Sometimes we go by handles, good buddy. Big 10-4 Eleanore. Nom de gurerre. Paul Hewson goes by Bono. Pen names. American as apple pie. Abagail Van Buren was actually two people, mother and daughter with different names.

    Gotta problem with that? It is one of the First Amendment protections that enables truth telling without fear.

    I am so sorry that in the San Juan islands this has become necessary. You are one of the people who have helped create those conditions, from your pursuit of secrecy in the public arena.

    It sounds like you may be retiring soon. So thanks for your years of full time paid and tireless service monkey-wrenching local affairs on behalf of your employer.

    Please close the door on your way out.

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  27. Give it a true perspective. The "Shun them" was picked up from some comment several weeks ago. I agree with many others that such action is justified in small town terms and deserving for some elected officials. They earned that animosity.

    The BIHell came from a person who just discovered the assessor had given them something like a 460 thousand loss in land value. Can you blame someone for getting explosive, would you not?

    I also agree with that person that it is all relative. The 460 thousand dollars to him or her I'm sure means the same to them as my 27 thousand dollar loss means to me.

    So is the TH stepping on toes? It sure is and it is long past time for that to happen and the conflicted and hypocritical don't like it.

    Just sign me: A girl just wants to have fun. I can't figure out how you people do those clever signers.

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  28. Corrupt. Council. Corrupt. Council. Corrupt. Council.
    Inept Council. Inept Council.
    Out of control Council. Council. Corrupt. Council.
    Terrible Inpept PA.
    Shameful County. Ignorant Public.
    No LEDs? Incandescents Are Obsolete. Bah Humbug this ignorant Council. May they all receive a pound of Coal in their Stockings. All of them. Thank goodness the Council is FIRED! by the People of San Juan! Next? Bring it on.. we'll can the next ones too. Scofflaws. Council created fiscal cliff. Spendy Pratt. It's all ImPrattical. Who cares? Not Pratt. Not Sleepy. Not Fralick. Not Jaimie. Not Patty. We're screwed. It ain't paradise; its paradoom.

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