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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

New Rules

Months and months ago, this blogsite was taken over by a bunch of potty-mouths. The options I had then were to shut down the entire comment section or have the whole thing shifted to where people wishing to comment had to set up an account. For some reason, that seemed to get rid of the more sophomoric potty-mouths. I also had to dump some of the stupider comments, something I am loath to do because a lot of you folks seem to enjoy raging at one another and at me. Any whiff of restricting your comments or editing them is immediately met with shreiking cries of CENSORSHIP!!! (Oddly, some of the worse offenders are the ones screaming Free Speech the loudest.)

With the upcoming 218 vote, a concern was voiced at the BOS that many people were afraid of retaliation from their fellow citizens and/or the Waterboard for their vote, since the vote is a public record.

Interestingly, of all the folks who commented on this blog site, only one crossed the line and made a clear (if stupid) threat of retaliation for an assessment vote. Yep, long time commentor, 4Crapkiller. No surprise there.

So, new rules. 4Crapkiller's 86ed from commenting here. So will anyone else who makes retaliatory threats against voters. Starting today, I'll be using the little garbage can icon for any postings containing voter threats. If you don't like my new rules, please feel free to go comment on the Tribune site. Or any other web sites.

What I and everyone in this community want is a clean process and a clean vote. Interestingly, I got a real sense from the commentors on this site, even the most angry and rabid, that there was indeed a line past which they were unwilling to go. Threatening retaliation for a vote was that line. Until 9:31 PM. September 23, 2007.

Too bad.

8 comments:

Shark Inlet said...

Ann,

I can completely respect your decision, but unless you had communicated your new rules to Crapkiller beforehand, it would seem that your banning her from participation would seem a violation of due process, something that typically you are very opposed to.

I would encourage you to reconsider this choice of yours ... especially because she could always choose another screenname and continue posting. The continuity would be worth it.

Thanks for stepping up and confronting those who would be way out of line with their foul language!

Crapkiller ... if you're reading this all the best to you in your travels and e-mail, drop me a line at sharkinlet@gmail.com sometime.

Ron said...

What are we doing here? Doesn't this all seem silly... it does to me. I mean from the comments section controversy, to AB 2701, to the 218 vote, to the TAC -- ALL of it seems so silly to me, because it is ALL due to a just handful of people that developed an embarrassing, illegal downtown sewer plant, and they simply will not go away.

They were recalled, and the handful will not go away.

The vast majority of Los Osos residents really, really, really do not want an industrial sewer plant in the middle of their beautiful coastal town, and the handful will not go away.

Tri-W's development permit expired, and the handful will not go away.

Official documents show that the Tri-W project is illegal -- it CAN'T be built -- and the handful will not go away.

Why won't they go away? Do they really want a sewer plant in the middle of town THAT bad? I mean, who does that? Well, other than the people responsible for that embarrassing, very expensive, illegal sewer plant, like Gordon Hensley, Richard LeGros, Pandora Nash-Karner, Bob Semonsen... and that's when I start having a hard time coming up with other names. I guess I could throw in Joyce Albright here, but she wasn't responsible for Tri-W, so, I have no idea what she's doing... other than f-ing up and listening to Nash-Karner. BIG mistake.

So we're looking at what... under ten people -- that are all responsible for developing Tri-W -- that want a sewer plant in the middle of Los Osos so badly that they are willing to go through all of this? Saturating comments sections, pushing legislation through, suing everyone in sight, demanding fines, dissolving things, launching "vicious" attacks (that "vicious" word comes from Gail McPherson during a recent appearance on Congalton's show when Dave asked her why people were pressuring the Trib to write that fluffy "hit piece" on her a few weeks back, and McPherson said, "These people are vicious." I think that word is very appropriate when it comes to describing that handful of people)... it's all so ridiculous.

All Los Osos had to to do this entire time was pick an appropriate collection system and build an amphitheater-less sewer plant out of town. That is freaking it! But that handful of unfortunately influential, very vocal people just won't let go of their colossal mistake of forcing their second sewer plant in at Tri-W by playing "bait and switchy" with the California Coastal Commission over a three year span, after their first "better, cheaper, faster" sewer plant at Tri-W -- the one that got the handful elected and the CSD formed in the first place -- failed, after chasing it over a two year span.

Uh-oh, wait a sec, something just occurred to me (o.k., it didn't JUST occur to me)... let's see here... it is illegal to build a sewer plant at the Tri-W site, they lied to the Coastal Commission in order to get their second sewer plant built at the Tri-W location and cover-up the fact that their first project failed, those lies cost California taxpayers millions upon millions of dollars over the past seven years... ah, yes, NOW it's becoming VERY clear to me why that handful simply will not go away.

But they certainly do one thing that I love... they make for a hell of a story. So, bless their tiny, vicious, bitter, little hearts.

Unknown said...

Pure spin Ron and I'm afraid you are to stupid to recognize that what you just said was 180 degrees from reality... Those opposed to ANY sewer are the cause of the real problem and you help perpetuate their lies and delay... If millions of California dollars are being wasted, you need look no further than the post-recall LOCSD!!! Tell us Ron, why did they have to lie about having some mythical sewer and the property to put it on??? Why the lies Ron???

I really don't care where the sewer eventually goes, but I sure would love to see YOU Ron, paying a portion, about $10,000 worth of portion!!!

Churadogs said...

Shark Inlet said...
Ann,

I can completely respect your decision, but unless you had communicated your new rules to Crapkiller beforehand, it would seem that your banning her from participation would seem a violation of due process, something that typically you are very opposed to.

I would encourage you to reconsider this choice of yours ... especially because she could always choose another screenname and continue posting. The continuity would be worth it.

Thanks for stepping up and confronting those who would be way out of line with their foul language!

Crapkiller ... if you're reading this all the best to you in your travels and e-mail, drop me a line at sharkinlet@gmail.com sometime.

6:40 AM, September 25, 2007"

Point taken. Let me think about it. Maybe I'll re-post Now (modified) new rules: i.e. Anybody crossing the line and threatening retaliation for any assessment ballot will be 86'd and dumped.

As for 4crapkiller just choosing a new screen name and continuing posting. That would be dishonest in the extreme wouldn't it? Are you suggesting 4crapkiller is dishonest? If so, that also raises a question: Why NOT 86 totally fraudlent, dishonest posters just for the heck of it? Uh, right, that would probably eliminate most of the people who anonymously post here now, wouldn't it?

Well, I'll think on this a bit and on Ron's comments. He's right: The Sewer Jihadis are a tiny minority, but knowing what a handful of people did to this community behind the scenes, I really don't want to see that repeated here.

Meantime, to the rest of you "anonymous" posters out there. If you don't want to screw this election up, for heaven's sake, get a grip here.

Richard LeGros said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shark Inlet said...

Ann,

By "sewer jihadis" do you mean the extreme element on both sides who are unwilling to compromise one bit?

I would hope so because good arguments can be made (see Ron's and Mike's) for jihadis being in each camp. Heck, maybe you and I are two of them!

Shark Inlet said...

Ron,

Even if you take on history is valid ... what if the County chooses now to pursue TriW because it ends up being cheaper and quicker than other sites?

Do you contend that such an argument for the infeasibility of other sites wouldn't be sufficient for the CCC to allow a County developed plan for a TriW WWTF?

Do you have any quotes or expert opinion to back up your answer?

Shark Inlet said...

Ron,

Your "take", as it is presented today, is more chock-full-o-hate than normal. Did someone piss in your Cheerios?

If so, now you know why some of us in Los Osos are so angry at the likes of the vicious and bitter folks who fought TriW so long and so hard that it's costs ballooned into $205/month. Those same bitter and vicious people later chose to lie to the public during the recall campaign. We were told that voting for the recall would save us money and that there was a plan that was to save us over $100/month.

Here's a good question for you and your independent journalism kick ... why haven't you covered the absolutely delicious story about how CCLO, LOTTF, McPherson and the recall candidates never had financially sound plan to move the sewer out of town but that instead they intended to misuse state money for purposes it was never legally intended for?


Heck, the story seems to have every element you love when you criticize the Solutions Group folks ... delay, bait-n-switch, an unwillingness to work with permitting agencies, an unwillingness to face facts ... what's the problem? Are you incapable of seeing the irony here, the repetition of history, the misrepresentation of our community values?