Very OT - Jack-booted storm troopers

[Rich S.]

Sorry about this - I just had to get it out.

Yesterday was the first meaningful snow we have had in the Puget Sound area
for quite a few years. Kids have grown up without knowing for whatinthehell
a sled was used. Lord, did it come down! Large chunks of the working class
stayed home to avoid playing bumper cars, to tend their kids (since many
schools were closed), and just to enjoy a taste of winter.

One of the steep, long hills in Seattle was closed to auto traffic early in
the storm. Before long, several hundred people had brought out their sleds,
saucers, inner tubes and snowboards and turned Queen Anne Avenue into a good
old-fashioned sledding hill and half-mile long block party. As may be
expected, after a few hours a sled veered off the hill and went splat into
something or other. One of the riders broke her arm and the Aid Car was
called.

You guessed it. The next thing to happen was the arrival of the Seattle
Police. The news reports went something like, "The unruly crowd was
dispersed by the heroic actions of the outnumbered police". "Several people
resisted but were subdued and booked for failure to comply with lawful
orders." This was accompanied by video of a citizen apparently (and loudly)
asking an officer what authority he had to run citizens off a closed street,
whereupon this heretic was taken down, handcuffed, frisked and shoved into a
patrol car.

And then they wonder why the city government, bureaucracy, and police are
despised by many residents. I moved out when I was told the city had denied
a permit to hold a parade in honor of the returning Gulf War troops.
Instead, a permit was issued for the annual Gay Parade. The Mayor and Chief
of Police joined the celebration and marched along.

Rich S.

[C J Campbell]

People were allowed to sled all day on Queen Anne hill. Although the road
was closed, it crossed several cross streets, some of them very busy.
Although there are stoplights at each of these intersections, it is obvious
that sledders, skiers, snowboarders, snowmobiles, and all the rest were not
going to pay the slightest attention to them. Several sledders were nearly
hit by cars on Mercer Way. The police closed down the sledding at dusk,
believing that it was too dangerous for the winter recreation activity to
continue at night.

As is typical in Seattle, when the police tried to close down the hill, the
crowd started to riot. No doubt Rich S. would have been the first to try to
sue the city if he had gotten run over by a car in the dark.

[nafod40]

C J Campbell wrote:
>
> As is typical in Seattle, when the police tried to close down the hill, the
> crowd started to riot. No doubt Rich S. would have been the first to try to
> sue the city if he had gotten run over by a car in the dark.

I wonder who the driver would have been...

[RU ok]

"C J Campbell" quacked:

>People were allowed to sled all day on Queen Anne hill. Although the road
>was closed, it crossed several cross streets, some of them very busy.
>Although there are stoplights at each of these intersections, it is obvious
>that sledders, skiers, snowboarders, snowmobiles, and all the rest were not
>going to pay the slightest attention to them. Several sledders were nearly
>hit by cars on Mercer Way. The police closed down the sledding at dusk,
>believing that it was too dangerous for the winter recreation activity to
>continue at night.
>
>As is typical in Seattle, when the police tried to close down the hill, the
>crowd started to riot. No doubt Rich S. would have been the first to try to
>sue the city if he had gotten run over by a car in the dark.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thank you for the flip side of the 'Rich" report.

However, you snide comment/cheap shot about what Rich
would or wouldn't do is totally uncalled for and most unworthy.


Barnyard BOb - netiquette police wannabee

[Rich S.]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
> People were allowed to sled all day on Queen Anne hill. Although the road
> was closed, it crossed several cross streets, some of them very busy.
> Although there are stoplights at each of these intersections, it is
obvious
> that sledders, skiers, snowboarders, snowmobiles, and all the rest were
not
> going to pay the slightest attention to them. Several sledders were nearly
> hit by cars on Mercer Way. The police closed down the sledding at dusk,
> believing that it was too dangerous for the winter recreation activity to
> continue at night.
>
> As is typical in Seattle, when the police tried to close down the hill,
the
> crowd started to riot. No doubt Rich S. would have been the first to try
to
> sue the city if he had gotten run over by a car in the dark.

1. My comments were directly in response to the TV coverage - I wasn't
there.
2. I am referring to the three-block area between Valley Street and Prospect
Street. There is but one intersection at Aloha Street and it is far from
busy. Mercer Street is several blocks away and is a major thoroughfare.
Anybody sledding there is an idiot.
3. I saw the tape of the police rousting the sledders well before dusk.
4. It should be typical everywhere to resist illegal government actions. If
the street is closed to traffic, the cops have no business running people
off.
5. You have no idea of what I would do under any circumstances. Are you
making a statement of fact, O self-proclaimed world famous flight
instructor?

Rich S.

[C J Campbell]

"nafod40" > wrote in message
...
| C J Campbell wrote:
| >
| > As is typical in Seattle, when the police tried to close down the hill,
the
| > crowd started to riot. No doubt Rich S. would have been the first to try
to
| > sue the city if he had gotten run over by a car in the dark.
|
| I wonder who the driver would have been...

Anybody with any sense at all left the Peoples' Republic of Seattle a long
time ago. The entire population now consists of Congressman James "Baghdad
Jim" McDermott's supporters and those who are outraged by anything involving
the Seattle Police or Fire Department, including rescuing women who are
being raped, putting out fires, etc. Seriously, Seattle residents have been
known to riot simply because police have attempted to halt these crimes
while in progress. The mob asserted a right to rape women during Mardi Gras,
for example.

Frankly, I think the police and firefighters should just go on strike and
let the damned place burn to the ground.

[C J Campbell]

"Rich S." > wrote in message
...
|
| 1. My comments were directly in response to the TV coverage - I wasn't
| there.

I saw the same TV coverage. What I got out of it was that Seattleites, as
usual, were behaving like lunatics.

| 2. I am referring to the three-block area between Valley Street and
Prospect
| Street. There is but one intersection at Aloha Street and it is far from
| busy. Mercer Street is several blocks away and is a major thoroughfare.
| Anybody sledding there is an idiot.

If you watched the TV coverage then you know that the sledders were going
far beyond the three block area and crossing Mercer Street.

| 3. I saw the tape of the police rousting the sledders well before dusk.

It was dusk. It looked lighter on TV because the cameras have automatic
exposure adjustment. Sunset this time of year is 4:30, about the time that
police closed the area.

| 4. It should be typical everywhere to resist illegal government actions.
If
| the street is closed to traffic, the cops have no business running people
| off.

The city has every duty and right to mitigate dangerous situations. The city
issued a lawful order.

| 5. You have no idea of what I would do under any circumstances. Are you
| making a statement of fact, O self-proclaimed world famous flight
| instructor?

I am not only world famous, but omniscient. I know things about you that
even you do not know. :-)

[Rich S.]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
>
> The city has every duty and right to mitigate dangerous situations. The
city
> issued a lawful order.

To quote Bill the Cat. "Pppphhhhhhwwwwwttttttt !"

Rich S.

[C J Campbell]

"Rich S." > wrote in message
...
| "C J Campbell" > wrote in message
| ...
| >
| > The city has every duty and right to mitigate dangerous situations. The
| city
| > issued a lawful order.
|
| To quote Bill the Cat. "Pppphhhhhhwwwwwttttttt !"
|

Don't do that! Now you have clean your computer screen.

I'd rather fly with you than argue with you any day. Tell you what. Call
PAVCO at 800-645-3563 and put yourself on my schedule and N7277M any time
we are free. We'll go flying, my treat. If I get real ambitious, I'll even
make up some sort of " I Flew With the World Famous Flight Instructor"
certificate for you, suitable for framing.

[Rich S.]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
>
> Don't do that! Now you have clean your computer screen.
>
> I'd rather fly with you than argue with you any day. Tell you what. Call
> PAVCO at 800-645-3563 and put yourself on my schedule and N7277M any time
> we are free. We'll go flying, my treat. If I get real ambitious, I'll even
> make up some sort of " I Flew With the World Famous Flight Instructor"
> certificate for you, suitable for framing.
>

Now you've done it! Gone and spoiled a perfectly good argument - and just
when I was starting to wax eloquent, too.

Ok - but only if you'll risk life and limb for a ride in the Emeraude. I
promise to not push you out (canopy won't open in flight).

Rich "Oh waa!" S.

[C J Campbell]

"Rich S." > wrote in message news:dvCdnbA-|
| Ok - but only if you'll risk life and limb for a ride in the Emeraude. I
| promise to not push you out (canopy won't open in flight).
|

I guess I get the better part of the deal, then.

[Bob Kuykendall]

Earlier, "C J Campbell" > wrote:

> ...when the police tried to close
> down the hill, the crowd started
> to riot...

Readers of _Sons of the Profit_ will recognize that as a longstanding
Seattle tradition.

[C J Campbell]

"Bob Kuykendall" > wrote in message
om...
| Earlier, "C J Campbell" > wrote:
|
| > ...when the police tried to close
| > down the hill, the crowd started
| > to riot...
|
| Readers of _Sons of the Profit_ will recognize that as a longstanding
| Seattle tradition.

Bill Speidel, founder of Seattle Underground tours and author of "Sons of
the Profits" and several other books about the area, would no doubt have an
especially sharp quill for the modern Seattleite.

I liked the Underground Tour much better back in the old days when you had
to carry your own flashlight and the guides were less politically correct.
Crawling around through filthy, dark tunnels with rats scurrying everywhere
(especially at night) somehow seemed to more of a reflection of what Seattle
history was all about. Speidel often conducted the tours himself, hawking
his autographed books at the end.

[Morgans]

"Rich S." > wrote in message
...
> Sorry about this - I just had to get it out.
>
> Yesterday was the first meaningful snow we have had in the Puget Sound
area
> for quite a few years. Kids have grown up without knowing for
whatinthehell
> a sled was used. Lord, did it come down! Large chunks of the working class
> stayed home to avoid playing bumper cars, to tend their kids (since many
> schools were closed), and just to enjoy a taste of winter.
>
> One of the steep, long hills in Seattle was closed to auto traffic early
in
> the storm. Before long, several hundred people had brought out their
sleds,
> saucers, inner tubes and snowboards and turned Queen Anne Avenue into a
good
> old-fashioned sledding hill and half-mile long block party. As may be
> expected, after a few hours a sled veered off the hill and went splat into
> something or other. One of the riders broke her arm and the Aid Car was
> called.
>
> You guessed it. The next thing to happen was the arrival of the Seattle
> Police. The news reports went something like, "The unruly crowd was
> dispersed by the heroic actions of the outnumbered police". "Several
people
> resisted but were subdued and booked for failure to comply with lawful
> orders."

Sounds like the fun police are hard at work out there.

Regrets.
--
Jim in NC

[Rich S.]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
>
> I liked the Underground Tour much better back in the old days when you had
> to carry your own flashlight and the guides were less politically correct.
> Crawling around through filthy, dark tunnels with rats scurrying
everywhere
> (especially at night) somehow seemed to more of a reflection of what
Seattle
> history was all about. Speidel often conducted the tours himself, hawking
> his autographed books at the end.

In my experience, the "catacombs" were seen through the eyes of a rookie
firefighter, flashlight in hand, following his Lieutenant through the
mysterious passageways. A few years later, "Night Hotel" inspections in
Chinatown revealed gambling parlors, opium dens, and "Pleasure Houses". A
wise inspector bypassed these and spent his time making sure the exits were
unlocked in the flophouses and missions.

There is a lot of history in the Emerald City.

Rich S.

[pacplyer]

Good post Rich,



"Rich S." > wrote <snip>

This was accompanied by video of a citizen apparently (and loudly)
> asking an officer what authority he had to run citizens off a closed street,
> whereupon this heretic was taken down, handcuffed, frisked and shoved into a
> patrol car.
>

This is no big deal, this is what happens to me everyday at RAH!

Keep rolling them on with power,

pacplyer

[John Ousterhout]

On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 12:51:01 -0800, "Rich S."
> wrote:

>"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> Don't do that! Now you have clean your computer screen.
>>
>> I'd rather fly with you than argue with you any day. Tell you what. Call
>> PAVCO at 800-645-3563 and put yourself on my schedule and N7277M any time
>> we are free. We'll go flying, my treat. If I get real ambitious, I'll even
>> make up some sort of " I Flew With the World Famous Flight Instructor"
>> certificate for you, suitable for framing.
>>
>
>Now you've done it! Gone and spoiled a perfectly good argument - and just
>when I was starting to wax eloquent, too.
>
>Ok - but only if you'll risk life and limb for a ride in the Emeraude. I
>promise to not push you out (canopy won't open in flight).

Damn it Rich and C.J., Don't either of you know the unwritten Usenet
rules?

Once an argument has started it *MUST* escalate into a flame war, in
which it is *REQUIRED* that one of the parties make derogatory
personal remarks about the other, after which it is *MANDATORY* that
the other compare the first to Hitler or a Nazi. At which point one
of many NetCops is *COMPELLED* to try to invoke Godwin's Law.
Following that, of course, are the *OBLIGATORY* postings of Godwin's
Law corollaries.

Acting civil is going to spoil the reputation of this newsgroup.

- John Ousterhout.-

[Rich S.]

"John Ousterhout" >
wrote in message ...
>
> Damn it Rich and C.J., Don't either of you know the unwritten Usenet
> rules?
>
> Once an argument has started it *MUST* escalate into a flame war, in
> which it is *REQUIRED* that one of the parties make derogatory
> personal remarks about the other, after which it is *MANDATORY* that
> the other compare the first to Hitler or a Nazi. At which point one
> of many NetCops is *COMPELLED* to try to invoke Godwin's Law.
> Following that, of course, are the *OBLIGATORY* postings of Godwin's
> Law corollaries.
>
> Acting civil is going to spoil the reputation of this newsgroup.

So - sue my a$$, you **&*&^%^% brown-shirted hippie!

And have a good day.

Rich S.

[C J Campbell]

"John Ousterhout" >
wrote in
|
| Damn it Rich and C.J., Don't either of you know the unwritten Usenet
| rules?
|
| Once an argument has started it *MUST* escalate into a flame war, in
| which it is *REQUIRED* that one of the parties make derogatory
| personal remarks about the other, after which it is *MANDATORY* that
| the other compare the first to Hitler or a Nazi. At which point one
| of many NetCops is *COMPELLED* to try to invoke Godwin's Law.
| Following that, of course, are the *OBLIGATORY* postings of Godwin's
| Law corollaries.
|
| Acting civil is going to spoil the reputation of this newsgroup.
|

Well, if you insist, you stinkin' net Nazi. :-)

[B2431]

>From: John Ousterhout

>Date: 1/8/2004 10:22 PM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: >
>
>On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 12:51:01 -0800, "Rich S."
> wrote:
>
>>"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
>>>
>>> Don't do that! Now you have clean your computer screen.
>>>
>>> I'd rather fly with you than argue with you any day. Tell you what. Call
>>> PAVCO at 800-645-3563 and put yourself on my schedule and N7277M any time
>>> we are free. We'll go flying, my treat. If I get real ambitious, I'll even
>>> make up some sort of " I Flew With the World Famous Flight Instructor"
>>> certificate for you, suitable for framing.
>>>
>>
>>Now you've done it! Gone and spoiled a perfectly good argument - and just
>>when I was starting to wax eloquent, too.
>>
>>Ok - but only if you'll risk life and limb for a ride in the Emeraude. I
>>promise to not push you out (canopy won't open in flight).
>
>Damn it Rich and C.J., Don't either of you know the unwritten Usenet
>rules?
>
>Once an argument has started it *MUST* escalate into a flame war, in
>which it is *REQUIRED* that one of the parties make derogatory
>personal remarks about the other, after which it is *MANDATORY* that
>the other compare the first to Hitler or a Nazi. At which point one
>of many NetCops is *COMPELLED* to try to invoke Godwin's Law.
>Following that, of course, are the *OBLIGATORY* postings of Godwin's
>Law corollaries.
>
>Acting civil is going to spoil the reputation of this newsgroup.
>
>- John Ousterhout.-
>
You forgat the part about degenerating to blatant sarcasm.

Or was that starting a string of puns?

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired

[nafod40]

John Ousterhout wrote:
> Damn it Rich and C.J., Don't either of you know the unwritten Usenet
> rules?
>
> Once an argument has started it *MUST* escalate into a flame war, in
> which it is *REQUIRED* that one of the parties make derogatory
> personal remarks about the other, after which it is *MANDATORY* that
> the other compare the first to Hitler or a Nazi. At which point one
> of many NetCops is *COMPELLED* to try to invoke Godwin's Law.
> Following that, of course, are the *OBLIGATORY* postings of Godwin's
> Law corollaries.
>
> Acting civil is going to spoil the reputation of this newsgroup.
>
> - John Ousterhout.-

This newsgroup has cooled the universe a few degrees with its entropy
generation on more than one occasion. Could be dangerous to encourage them.