Several flew over the cuckoo's nest

Yikes. Some wing nut over at wing nut central, NorthCoastOregon.com, thinks I'm using pseudonyms such as CDG (which stands for what, I wonder?) and posting "LIES" (what lies?) all over the Internet. Like I have the time to bother with such nonsense, much less the inclination.

Patrick McGee has been accused of the same silliness. I bet he's as baffled as I am. By the way, Pat, thanks for the kind words in my defense.

So here you have it for the record: I'm not CDG. My opinions are right out there in the open, and always have been.

I am against LNG for more reasons than are worth articulating yet again, so I'll just re-state one, for the moment: It is simply idiotic to put LNG tanks in an active subduction zone.

Three county commissioners need to be recalled before they can do any more damage by pandering to outside interests and ignoring their constituents. That may or may not happen. We'll see about two of them tonight.

Once again, for clarity, since some seem to be a bit dense on this particular issue: These are solely my opinions. I do not represent anyone or anything but myself.

Wing nuts: Don't bother to post any of your loony, vicious "Anonymous" comments and rants. I won't publish them on my blog - you're not going to get an audience for your hate-mongering here. Go shit in your own cuckoo's nest.

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site

Ship of ...

I was away for a week, so I missed the letter to the editor sent by the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce Board, and the Seaside Chamber Board, against the recall of Commissioners Samuelson, Roberts and Hazen.

Nobody says it out loud, it seems, but being against the recall is the same as being for LNG. These commissioners are being recalled because they refuse to listen to the voters who put them in office, and are pushing forward to have LNG terminals built on the Columbia River, which is against the will of the people (as shown in the pipeline referendum).

What I can't figure out is: No. 1, why the hell do the Chambers of Commerce think they have the right to try to tell people what to do in regard to local political decisions; and No. 2, are the chamber boards really that stupid, or have they been bought?

I mean, aside from the obvious idiocy of putting LNG tanks anywhere near a major subduction zone, LNG on the river would destroy the tourist industry in this area, and Astoria businesses (and members of the chamber) are increasingly dependent on tourism. I suppose Seaside doesn't care, because the LNG tanks won't be visible from there if they are built.

I, for one, would like to know which businesses support the chamber boards' stance against the recall, so I can be sure to not shop at their establishments again. And so much for my thoughts of joining the chamber - they don't represent what I want for the future any more than the commissioners under recall do.

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site

Sold Down the River

Our Clatsop County Commissioners' move to sell their constituents down the river with the 4-1 decision in favor of NorthernStar's Bradwood Landing LNG project, and a letter about the situation by Ned Heavenrich, inspired Marc Auerbach to create the new, more accurate Clatsop County Seal, above.

The dead salmon, dollar signs and "For Sale" sign say it all, but the LNG tanks are a nice touch, too.

A pal of mine mentioned that the other day she saw one of the county commissioners recently, at a local restaurant, writing with a Bradwood Landing pen. The commissioner was utterly oblivious to what people would think, and I'd wager my friend wasn't the only one who noticed.

Incidents like that, and all of the ex parte conversations witnessed by many ... Gee whizzikers and oh my golly, do you think there's a whole lot more to the county commissioners/NorthernStar connection than meets the eye? Surely I'm not the only one who wonders why there isn't an official, and thorough, investigation.

Something smells mighty bad in Clatsop County, and it ain't the fish.

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site

Total Recall?

Well, I had to laugh at Patrick McGee's portrayal of the latest in-fighting amongst the beleaguered Clatsop County Commissioners on northcoastoregon.com (click on "Take a Look" near the top of the page):

North Coast Oregon

And I also got a huge chuckle out of Sam Patrick giving the finger during a recent commission meeting. Okay, okay, it's juvenile, but sometimes The Finger can say more than volumes of bullshit. Speaking of which, I believe he used the word "bullshit" too, and I suspect it was apt.

He was a good boy and publicly apologized. I hope he didn't mean it.

However, the majority of the Clatsop County Commissioners have become a joke, and nobody with two brain cells to rub together is laughing. I seriously doubt that when they were elected that most people had a clue what kind of power this group would have over the LNG issue. Or, that they would be so completely clueless and so brazenly ignore their constituents.

Hell, I'm still having trouble believing the majority of the commissioners aren't hanging their heads in shame for trying to sell us out to LNG interests. I have no idea how they can even look at themselves in the mirror every morning, much less face their families, friends, neighbors and constituents.

So hey, I'm all for recalling Richard Lee. Especially if it will give the renegade commissioners the wake-up call they so sorely need, i.e. clean up your act, or your asses are outta here.

In fact, when I saw the petition guys in front of the Liberty Theater today, I made a special trip around the block so I could find a parking space and sign it. I hope everyone else in his district does, too.

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site

Vote for Astoria

Okay, the Astoria May 15 elections are upon us. At stake are the fate of the Clatsop Community College and the makeup of the Port of Astoria Commissioners.

Of course, my bone of contention is the LNG issue. Naturally, I am only interestd in voting for people who are firmly and unequivocably AGAINST any LNG on the Columbia River. And the issue is being utterly ignored in this port race ... you know, the brontosaurus in the living room that's crapping on the floor and eating the wallpaper. Everyone sees it, hears it, and smells it, but nobody talks about it.

So I voted by inference. For example, I know Peter Huhtala is anti-LNG from his running for the port commission last time around. He endorsed Kathy Sanders in a letter to the editor at the Daily Astorian. So okay, that's good enough for me, I voted for her even though he didn't say a goddam thing about LNG in his letter.

I already know about Patrick McGee ... he's written lots of letters to the editor about LNG, and I KNOW where he stands. And I'm right there with him. He got my vote without even a nanosecond of hesitation.

The Bill Hunsinger/Jim Bergeron boondoggle ... what can I say? Bergeron is old guard, and he's automatically on my shit list just for that. But Hunsinger? He came into my tent hustling votes while I was vending my photos at a cruise ship down on the docks. I asked him FLAT OUT what his position was on LNG.

He gave me some utter crapola about "we have to know more before we can make a decision." Huh? Gee, what more is needed to know besides eyesore tanks destroying the view, total disruption of river traffic and behemoth floating terrorist targets trundling up and down the river with armed guards? It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that LNG is some seriously bad and ugly shit.

He did admit though, that MAYBE putting LNG tanks on the Skipanon Peninsula isn't such a good idea. Do tell.

Okay, okay, I admit it, I did vote for him. But it was ever so reluctantly, and amounted to the choice of what may or may not be the lesser of two evils.

And off the subject of the election, but on the subject of LNG, I was very amused to find that Mary Louise Flavel rented office space to the cheery Bradwood Landing folks who want to bring us better living through gas pipelines and habitat destruction. I just KNOW she's giggling all the way to the bank, and probably happily dreaming of Astoria being blown up in a firestorm.

Anyway, back to the election ... that goddam college bond. Some people just don't know when no means NO. This bond is the hustle from hell. That's some prime real estate up on that hill - maybe the best in town. Sure would be a tasty treat for some greedy developer, wouldn't it? So if the college would just get the hell out of there so everyone can cash in, everything would be just peachy, wouldn't it?

One word succinctly describes the Clatsop Community College bond: bullshit.

I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. They want us all to cough up our hard-earned money for 21 years (and ??? more) to pay off a bond to put a college in a tsunami zone. Oh please!!

So it's another no-brainer for the CCC bond: Just fix the damn thing already, and shut the hell up.

Our ballots are signed and mailed. Are yours?

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site