Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels gives himself a "B" for his "response" to the snow, the Times reports.
Allowing a city of 500,000+ people to be all but shut down for an entire week (by design!) earns a B only in the sort of school where the students arrive in a short bus and everyone is told that they are above average.
79% of the respondents to the Times accompanying poll give Nickels a D or an F.
Some free and friendly political advice to Mayor Nickels: If you want the voters to give you a non-failing grade in November, perhaps instead of fantasizing about protecting the planet from speculative future climate change, you might want to do more to prepare our city for the climate that we actually have today.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 24, 2008 05:02 PM | Email ThisTotal falure. Even a cook who comes from a place that never has snow could conclude that they should have handles this problem with the salt of the earth.
Shut down the whole city's economy and completely impair public safety infrastructure, endangering countless lives.
The only thing that should be "by design" is someone ousting his lard ass out of office. Then they should tax him for all his lard. Just desserts for him.
Posted by: IhateGregNickels on December 24, 2008 05:06 PMPreparers of Christmas dinners to grocery stores;
The same preparers back home with six big bags;
Ladies in labor to hospitals;
Workers to their jobs;
Travellers to the airport, with baggage;
Et cetera, fill in your own blanks.
It can't, without far more street clearing than said Mayor will grudgingly provide.
His decision has seriously hurt Christmas merchandise sales, damaged plenty of autos struggling to go where no buses will operate, and in thousands of other ways seriously upset the daily business, commerce and social activities of the citizens of Seattle - for nearly a week. Other cities in these circumstances are prepared for snow - Seattle isn't.
Think twice the next time this lordly decider runs for public office.
The truth is, all other surrounding municipalities had better road maintenance than Seattle and unincorporated King County, with less money thrown at it. Tacoma was way better and their road maintenance deserves a "B" grade.
Posted by: KS on December 24, 2008 05:57 PMThey could plow, sand, and perhaps salt the hills on the main routes.
Apparently you haven't been paying attention. Seattle uses rubber-bladed snowplows (which just pack the snow down and smooth it over, rather than move it) and refuses to use salt. Meaning that the two most effective means you mention simply are off the table.
I take it you'll join the chorus calling Sims and Nickels a pair of dolts dealing with the snowstorm?
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on December 24, 2008 06:30 PMI went to work everyday this week, and even logged some overtime. I wonder if our local 'conservatives' can equal that record of self-sufficiency?
Posted by: tensor on December 24, 2008 06:35 PMNot only did I work every day this week I wasn't on a plane, I did it from home thereby sparing Mother Earth extra CO2 emissions...
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on December 24, 2008 07:03 PMok, maybe do it via road salt, 1 or 2x a year..
Posted by: righton on December 24, 2008 07:06 PMMore importantly is the inability of emergency response because of this.
Posted by: Palouse on December 24, 2008 07:14 PMMeanwhile, Short Bus "Bagman" Nickels, you were, as usual, an epic fail. You are a no go, and you do not pass this station.
Posted by: Hinton on December 24, 2008 07:43 PMInstead the buses had chains on, which slid with the bus on the icy spots, vibrated the bolts lose on the snow-free freeway (not a Seattle obligation), and broke off regularly, causing buses to run behind schedule as they stopped to fix them.
How much gas was wasted sitting in traffic or spinning wheels on the icy streets? I bet we accelerated the demise of the world by at least a week or two.
Posted by: janet s on December 24, 2008 08:10 PMSPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT IN YO FACE
I hope that Nickels will be out on his fat arse, but he'll just be replaced with another arseclown liberal who will continue doing the same demented liberal bullshit. Seattle is hopeless. Not much better on the Eastside where we only have slightly fewer demented liberals.
Posted by: Crusader on December 24, 2008 11:17 PMI'm sure there are plenty of folks that'd be delighted to see him go. Alternatively, how do we get him nominated as Ambassador to Syria?
Posted by: gc on December 24, 2008 11:38 PMhttp://www.seattle.gov/mayor/about/precedingmayors.htm
Mayors are Recalled
Seattle citizens have used the power of the recall to remove two mayors from office.
Republican Hiram C. Gill was recalled at the election of February 2, 1911, after serving only one year. Gill was a supporter of permissive “open town” policies. The recall effort began after the construction of a 500 room brothel on Beacon Hill . Gill was recalled three months after women gained the right to vote -- 20,000 of the 23,000 registered women voters turned out for the recall election. Gill was subsequently reelected to a second term in 1914 and a third term in 1916 as a proponent of restrictive “closed town” policies.
Frank Edwards was recalled in July 1931, one year into his second term as mayor after he dismissed popular City Light Superintendent J.D. Ross.
Posted by: Crusader on December 25, 2008 12:03 AMHe was born with original sin because he exhales CO2, he is considered unatural because he builds a great technical civilization, he is considered arrogant because he is the most successful large animal on earth and he is considered dangerous because he use the minerals of the earth to make his life vastly more comfortable, enjoyable and longer.
With this set of core beliefs it is not hard to see why Greg Nickels would rather see Seattle be covered in a layer of ice than have a bit more salt run into Puget Sound.
Obama is stocking his Administration with like minded environmental zealots that think that there are too many people on this earth. How far will Obama allow them to go in order to rectify this "problem"? Stay tuned.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/12/022385.php
Posted by: Bill K. on December 25, 2008 12:13 AMI'd give it a "B" for Putz.
keep voting them back in, libbies!
This laughingstock "world class city" keeps insisting on proving its dysfunctional status.
maybe we need a new levy? (only hope-n-change will surely tell)
As for the 28 snowplows, unless you put steel blade tips on them, you are doing nothing but wasting fuel and heating mother earth with more greenhouse gasses.
Posted by: Moondoggie on December 25, 2008 09:23 AMRECALL NIPPLES!
Get the petition going and let the Court decide if he passed...or was grossly negligent.
Obama's staff audits his staff's contacts with Blagojecich and finds themselves beyond question.
I wish I got to grade my own performance at work like these guys do.
Posted by: KW64 on December 25, 2008 10:09 AMBut how many complainers are Seattleites and how many of those will remember this event during the August primary and the November general election?
Let's not rubber tip the mayoral election next November!
Posted by: LCRW on December 25, 2008 10:30 AMIn an effort to spread a little Christmas cheer and chuckles:
If y'all haven't seen this yet, ya gotta make the trip:
Anthony Watts had a pointer up on his wattsupwiththat.com, or you can go direct to YouTube for the video, courtesty of Minnesotans for Global Warming. It's worth clicking on ''high quality'', if you have the bandwidth:
''The 12 Days Of Global Warming''; that starts out with ''On the First Day of Global Warming Al Gore Gave to Me'', and then goes thru all ''12 days''. It's hilarious..... and then again maybe not. But go for the chuckles for today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmPSUMBrJoI
Well, I'm one of them, and ve haff vays off causing memory recall in even the bleatingest urban intellectual.
The Photographic Brigade has been out among the 'public throughfares' of Seattle since last Thursday, documenting all the dented fenders, prostrate pedestrians, dangling buses, closed streets, weeping frustrated passengers 'waiting for the Metro'(which isn't coming this week), and closed businesses.
Those photos will make splendid campaign images for use by any and all of Mayor Nickels's opponents next fall. Ho ho ho, and merry Christmas to all.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on December 25, 2008 10:52 AMOh, by the way Sheng Dan Kuai Le (Merry Christmas)!
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on December 25, 2008 11:38 AMThe Special Olympics bob sled team of the Northwest.
Seattle is getting exactly what it deserves.
Posted by: Andy on December 25, 2008 12:29 PMLooks like it's time to close the comments, eh? Oh, that's right, wishing death by starvation on an entire city is not uncivil; mocking chest-thumping wingnuts for their whining is. (As if any of the food stores would have been open on Christmas anyway!) And you wonder why you can't get sensible people to agree with your self-proclaimed "moral standards"!
When Sea-Tac gets fully operational again, y'all will be taking one-way flights to northern Mississippi or Alabama or somewhere that red-state policies have turned into your idea of paradise, right?
Posted by: tensor on December 25, 2008 12:51 PMCompletely spot on.
We should revolt against this "nanny knows better than the citizens" government.
Posted by: GregNickelsGetOut on December 25, 2008 12:55 PMBet the libs like Tensor well be asking for a tax hike to make up for it.
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 25, 2008 02:10 PMCouldn't agree more. Glad I moved up to Snohomish where they at least have a clue about such things.
Posted by: Rick D. on December 25, 2008 02:30 PMCompare the freeways here to the other side! Ruts here, noisy.
Posted by: keb on December 25, 2008 02:30 PMAlbertson's by my house is open 9-5.
Facts are stubborn things.
Sheesh, Spokane this week was "paralyzed" by snow. Ya think maybe Spokane is more used to snow? Uh, yeah.
Watch the national news any night when a big snowstorm hits places like Denver, Detroit, Chicago, or Boston. Airports are shut down, no one goes anywhere, the schools and stores are closed. Why, just like Seattle.
Listen to people from those places and they act like bad weather never affects them. It's nonsense.
Seattle is also one of the hilliest cities in the country.
Believe me I'm no fan of Mayor Nickels but I think we also have a city filled with whiners who ought to be grown up enough to cope with the rare big snow here instead of blaming the government.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on December 25, 2008 02:40 PMBellevue and Kirkland were much easier to navigate, so I did nearly all of my Christmas shopping over here. I will bet the merchants liked that outcome.
Posted by: iconoclast on December 25, 2008 02:46 PMFacts are stubborn things.
The QFC here closes each Christmas. Does your Alberston's have food in it, or is our well-wisher stubbornly wrong?
Posted by: tensor on December 25, 2008 02:55 PMThank god Safeway on hwy 99 was able to get their trucks in.
Facts are stubborn things.
_______________________
Yeah, like the earth warming. LOL
But don't fret. Before the bus route on the west side of Magnolia was plowed* a street to the west of that was cleared. Now I'm probably a paranoid conspiracy theorist but it just happens the street that was plowed* first leads to King County Councilman Larry Phillips' domicile as it does to former Justice Bobbe Bridge's abode - not to mention other nabobs' dwellings in the area. Luck of the draw -- obviously.
* Using the now World Class Seattle Tupperware plow.
Well, in Justice Bobbye "Bumpercars in Ballard" Bridges' defense, her weekly supply of bourbon needed to be supplied via FedEx. Thus, the explanation for the clear path to her abode.
Posted by: Rick D. on December 25, 2008 05:11 PMAppoint of a "Blue Ribbon" panel to study the Freeze of '08.
Said panel hiring consultants.
Community groups being commissioned to provide input. The groups will be comprised of 95% appointees and 5% volunteers.
Findings will include:
Private companies cannot be hired to assist due to union contracts with city and county employees.
Use of salt will be studied further.
Special funding is needed to send the Mayor, County Executive, City Council, County Council, vast and varied managers, superintendents and union officers to Scandinavia, Moscow, the Antarctic and Patagonia to study snow and ice response.
In the end it will be concluded the general funds of Seattle, King County and Metro were and will be insufficient to address the Freeze. Special snow and ice response tax levies will be on the next ballot. They'll pass by over 70%.
Don't you know it Morton Salt. If there's one thing government is good at it is reassuring the public that they know what they are doing by appointing a "blue ribbon panel" or a "commission" or forming a "coalition".
Government has an amazing capacity to waste money studying problems that perfectly good companies already have solutions to.
Businesses aren't much better either. Anyone who has ever been in middle management or higher knows the dread of endless "meetings".
Once we solved problems over a drink and lunch. Now it's panels, commissions, and meetings.
We've sure come a long way, haven't we?
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on December 25, 2008 05:37 PMYour starvation is the end result of your stupid choices for leaders. You believe in Darwin don't you? Survival of the fitest and guess what lib Tensor - that ain't Seattle!
What is the dumb asses excuse for not salting the streets? C'mon now, you got to have an excuse for that too. And what of the millions that the liberals spent on automated toilets? Hmm. What excuse have you for that?
Posted by: Dumb Liberal Andrew on December 26, 2008 12:32 AMhttp://www.plowsunlimited.com/heavyplows.htm
IF instead of wasting money in $300,000 automated crack houses, the liberals could have bought over 3,000 snow plows to attach to EXISTING city vehicles. Hell they could have bought 500 new complete snow plow rigs. But that won't happen as long as dumb asses like Andrew the liberal are voting for liberals.
Like I said, survival of the fittest. Starve you liberals!
Posted by: Liberal Andrew on December 26, 2008 12:38 AMSand on roads worse than salt, scientists say
Nickels and the other environuts here are completely wrong. Nickels and his fellow dolts in office chose what they felt was right versus looking at the actual science, and factoring in the effects on PEOPLE - the ones who elect and pay for his fat-ass to scurry around...
Of course, we're to believe scientists when they talk about Global Warming, but not when they talk about salt versus sand in the streams, right?
Oh well... I guess that's par for the course! Meanwhile, my freshly plowed cul-de-sac here in Edmonds was great, I had NO problem getting around yesterday with my car, no chains or studs at all - just front wheel drive. Thank you, City of Edmonds, for doing a STELLAR job on cleaning the roads and keeping them passable for even normal vehicles (not just those evil SUVs and 4x4s that Nickels hates).
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on December 26, 2008 07:42 AMHey, when is that warming thing suppose to start?
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 26, 2008 01:32 PMWSDOT did a far better job of snow removal on the highways that they maintained. One caveat; This should not detract from the hard work that City crews put into the snow clearing that they did.
Posted by: KS on December 26, 2008 02:20 PMDon't feel bad. The public works here in Mukilteo (small town) are working their butts off. But this is too much snow for them. They haven't been down my street since last Friday. 0-:
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 26, 2008 02:23 PMJust for a diversion here's yours truly talking about his sledding experiences a couple days ago: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/lakecity/archives/157947.asp
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on December 26, 2008 03:17 PManyone know how much that is, ? big $$ that piss you off, or trivial that is just silly.??
Posted by: righton on December 26, 2008 03:35 PMNickels' handling of the snow IS the cluster you describe, but leave the special ed comparison out of the discussion -- unless you are equating Nickels snow performance to be on par with the gross incompetence, gross negligence and huge ongoing cluster F by the school districts and our state dept of ed (OSPI) with what we know to be the excuse passing for special ed in this state.
Posted by: School Marm on December 26, 2008 03:36 PMNo one is saying that. So let's dump that little straw man now shall we?
"So what grade do the wing nuts give Bush? How about his SEC? Justice (sic) Department? The Fed?"
What does that have to do with snow in Seattle?
"Our federal treasury is being robbed for trillion by Bush's buddies, and you wanna complain cuz one of Seattle's half a dozen snow plows didn't go down your street."
Well apparently some of Obama's buddies are getting money too. And remember, Obama voted for the $700 billion give away. Is that enough to buy a senate seat in Illinois? I'd think being a rat and all, you'd have the price on that seat. Apparently the Gov of New York is a little smarter on his graft. Is Caroline Kennedy really that good at felacio to get a New York senate seat? Hey let's ask Elliot Spitzer, the old disgraced Democrat gov of New York, he's probably and expert in high end sex acts.
Now enough of your deflection dumb little liberal. You voted for the stupid mayor, now live with your decision. No gas, no food. Hey, once you starve to death you won't exhale any more CO2. No more global warming!
They are content to hang out with their bong for a solid week getting baked and so long as their supply of beer, pot and cigarettes holds out - or are within walking distance, their worldly wants are met.
For those of us that have things we would like to get done or people we want to visit over Christmas this mess can be totally frustrating.
It doesn't affect my mobility because we have a Grand Cherokee and a FX4 F-150 with studs on all four.
I can prosecute my planned activities, this only further burns their ass to a crisp. It isn't fair is what I heard the other day - followed by "they should restrict the roads to only public safety vehicles and to buses."
Why pray do tell me, should I, who have invested in vehicles and equipment that allows me to cross the passes and hunt all winter long not benefit from it when the roads suck around here.
Oh, OK because it isn't fair that I can load up the family and travel around the State taking in the beauty of the season while others cannot go a mile to pick up a pack of Presto Logs and sit in front of a nice fire. I am able to visit Hood Canal and take in the beauty of the season and then come home and relax in front of the fire.
What the hell, I suppose I shouldn't be allowed to go out to the wood shed and load up my stove because that isn't fair either.
Get stuffed is my response.
By the way, the ashes from your fire place are A#1 for a slip resistant coating on the packed snow and ice on your walkways, just remember "no cleats in the clubhouse" unless you want your carpets ruined. The ash will hose off in a jiffy as soon as it thaws.
Posted by: JDH on December 26, 2008 06:25 PMI've said it over and over again. Leftists are not happy unless they are angry.
Would a reasonable person turn a thread about how Seattle dealt with a snowstorm into a rant about the Bush Administration?
Oh sorry, I forgot. We're on the internet.
Are you suggesting perhaps that leftism is ROPO (the religion of perpetual outrage)? BTW, I know it is off topic, but since our lib friend mentioned it, what about the roles of Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, and the heads of fanny and freddie? What grade would he give them...A+, I'm sure!
Posted by: Fed Up on December 26, 2008 06:52 PMHeck most of them wouldn't know what a splitting maul is!
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on December 26, 2008 06:57 PMOh man Fed Up did you come up with something priceless? Could it be more apt?
"The Religion of Perpetual Outrage" (ROPO).
It exactly describes most leftists. It's what they are.
They have metal sticking out of their noses but have no clue the metal came from a mine somewhere. Oh no, they would be opposed to that.
You couldn't get this kind of ignorance without the left's constant brainwashing machine which we otherwise know as public schools.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon on December 26, 2008 07:46 PMTruth. You are why the Republican party is held in such disdain by so many people, but go ahead and reply again calling me a liberal, since that's the only thing your tiny little weak mind can come up with if you're confronted with something you disagree with.
Rational human being: "Umm, sir, I think you gave me the wrong change for my fast food"
Daniel from SP: "NUH HUH YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A LIBERAL SO I'M RIGHT LOLOLOL"
Yes, tensor, the Albertson's close to my house sells food. That's why they call it a grocery store.
*Sigh*. I wasn't asking if Alberston's sells food generally; I was responding to Mr. Happy Genocide @21, who claimed that Seattle's grocery stores were running out of food. Since my local store is always closed on Christmas anyway (it's a plot by us atheist white devils to waterboard Kwanzaa, or something), I was asking for you to verify Mr. G's claim. For some reason, you guys really seem to resist having your claims checked against reality -- why do you suppose that is?
Another commenter, also slobbering over his keyboard at the very thought of children starving to death, gives us this gem of collective responsibility:
You voted for the stupid mayor, now live with your decision. No gas, no food. Hey, once you starve to death...
The proprietor of this blog resides in Seattle; should he relish the thought of watching his family starve, because his neighbors voted for Mayor Nickels?
Burp,
Posted by: tensor on December 27, 2008 08:36 AMSeattle is the butt of a joke on a national scale (as it should be). The overpaid, mindless, latte sipping, over priced "con-dough" owning Seattleites mindlessly vote for these loosers time and time again. You get the government you deserve.
My favorite part of Seattle is watching it descend in my rearview mirror as I drive my SUV away. My only regret is that these people tip the statewide leadership into the same stupid direction.
Posted by: Jimster on December 27, 2008 10:00 AMOur only regret is that you keep coming back, and voting in our state's elections. Don't let the bridge over the Columbia slow you down!
Posted by: tensor on December 28, 2008 01:47 AMI hope at least you would condemn the obvious hate speech of gop not... Talk like that is supposed to not be tolerated by those on the Left; is that not the case?
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on December 28, 2008 06:29 PMShow us where you condemned other commenters wishing starvation upon *all* the children of Seattle.
(Hint: the NASCAR reference shows somewhat less than serious intent. Not funny, but not serious, either.)
Posted by: tensor on December 28, 2008 11:49 PMIs that a reference to the "poll" on their website?! If so, I'm disappointed by your astounding ignorance or deceitfulness, whichever the case may be.
Occasionally I'll see a shoddy newspaper reference an internet survey as a poll, but in general, any remotely credible journalist recognizes the difference between a web survey and a statistically valid poll based on random sampling. The former is completely bogus, providing absolutely zero information because there is no control over the sample population. The latter is a useful source of information if conducted properly.
Please get it straight next time.
Posted by: eristalis on December 29, 2008 10:14 AM