This is my city

This is your city

This is our city now

Well I’m back in the land of second chances

And rock ‘n’ roll shows where nobody dances
Back in the land of chicken and chips
Mars Bars and roadside tips

And if you don’t like it

Then that’s too bad

OK, so it was presidential candidate George Romney. And it was in 1968.

The father of Mitt was flown to Olympia Airport courtesy of a Weyerhaeuser Company plane and taken to the Tyee Motor Inn to address Thurston and Mason County Republicans as part of his presidential campaign and also as a fundraiser for the local party. The date was Feb. 24, 1968.

The legendary Tyee used to sit about where the extreme northern end of Fred Meyer is today in Tumwater.

Anyway, for the press, Romney spoke in platitudes about the war in Vietnam and crime in America. I remember one of the rich kids in school brought snapshots his father had taken of the event. Back then, before the Republicans became the Party of Populist Christians and Corporate Rich White Men, it was the simply the Party of Corporate Rich White Men. Many of the future "Reagan Democrats" were supporting segregationist and states' rights supporter George Wallace's third party bid in 1968. In school, when we split up by party in mock conventions, the Republican kids, with their neatly parted hair and new clothes, would politely sit and manage their meetings in an orderly fashion. They were in the minority. The rest of us kids, acting as Democrats, fought and bickered as we wiped our noses with the sleeves of our hand-me-down clothes. Not unlike our adult counterparts.

George Romney had made his name as the boss of the American Motors Corporation and the success of a throw-away car us old guys remember called the Rambler. There is a reason you don't see many of them on the road any more. But it was affordable. And Romney used his fame to get elected Governor of Michigan, which was the office he was holding in 1968 when he visited Tumwater.

I just heard on KUOWs local news segment that the Benroya Co is not going to buy the brewery because the building is in a flood plain.

Hmmm????

Here's the Olympian coverage:

http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/155063.html

1.  "Darby, who is vice president of member services for the Thurston County Chamber, is left with a dark cloud hanging over his head. It’s not likely that Darby violated any law, but his actions demonstrate — again — how public perception is everything. Perception is reality, and if the public perceives a shady deal, that image will be difficult for Darby to shake. This incident demonstrates — again — why public officials must be beyond reproach every step of the way. Any ambiguity or misstep can be interpreted as unsavory conduct."

2.  "We have said it before and we’ll say it again: In the conduct of public affairs, the appearance of fairness is of upmost importance. Conflicts between official duties and private lives are a reality. What’s important is that officials declare those conflicts openly and honestly early in the process, then back completely away from any official interaction or decision."

These two quotes were extracted from The Olympian's editorial on John Darby, Lacey Councilperson, that is building a home in an area that is being considered for annexation by Lacey.  If said area is annexed, then Darby wouldn't have to relinquish his seat on the council.

I'd like to take a look at these quotes from a different perspective.

First, I'm wondering what Darby's position and employer have to do with this issue.  Apparently, The Olympian has a tough time keeping a person's work and their political issues seperate.  I know John Darby and we are political opposites and yet, I take no delight in seeing this man's career be hung out, based on a POSSIBLE political move (there is no verifiable proof that Darby purposefully did wrong).  Regardless of what Darby does politically, it has nothing to do with his execution of his full time career.

So, I am pretty sure that being a good patriotic citizen means patronizing local (all American) businesses in favor of behemoth multinational corporations that dress themselves in the stars and stripes while Headquartered on the shores of Barbados. I think I would exchange my money for goods and services here in my community instead of Exploit-all-Mart or Decapa-hella-Burton.

So Independence day came along and I was expected to buy paper tubes packed with gunpowder and to ignite them in the wee hours. This activity would have had the added benefit of traumatizing all the cats and dogs within earshot and fouling the air with sulfur and Nitric compounds which is also excellent for creating acid rain.

So here is the central thought: If I buy festive explosives; where, pray-tell do I purchase them? From the "All-Kinda-Bomb-Bros" in the parking lot of every local mega Church and chain grocery store? Or, perhaps I could buy the illegal wares from the Rez . . . Where their rockets and explosives are tipped with testosterone! Ohh, I just can't decide. Local, which is not really local. Or not local, but helping our Native brothers. Hmmm, Oh conundrum! Wait a minute! Don't they all get their neighborhood napalm from one source?!