Bitch in Heat

Van Wolfie’s meddling reminds me of that Soros guy.

I'd love to see the day that public servants don't make a career of politics, and that they campaign from an even board. It would be a good test of their money management skills if all candidates were allowed a 10K limit for their campaigns. No ups, no downs, no extras.

Nick, you're just hurt because VanW won't talk to you. And why should he? You've already determined he's a bad guy. His own money, legally spent, freedom of speech, etc. etc. etc.

azuresees, while your sentiments are laudable they fly in the face of our fading republics' history. As inconvenient as it is, political campaigns have always been a function of money, rumor, accusations, some truth and a lot of media...one way or the other.

How a man spends his money is his business...unless he spends it on a cause you don't support. In that case, as the Poodle believes, the old Russian saying comes into play, "what's mine is mine...yours is negotiable".

To tell the truth I really prefer the Venezuela model of chavez/poodle - here are the ONLY people you WILL vote for...or better yet just stay home and I'll handle it from here.

As for that nefarious, diabolical, and oh so evil “criminal” Wolfswinkel; I can only say...Go For It Van! It's your money. As for the Poodle, keep writing because as we all know – the pen is mightier than the dollar. This is fun.

I find it curious that Wendy McCaw's newspaper has barely reported on Randall Van Wolfswinkel's extensive efforts to get his slate elected and has let Travis Armstrong fawn all over him as Santa Barbara's "savior" who is being vilified by the other media. And the News-Press is endorsing two on Van Wolfswinkel's slate: Dale Francisco and Frank Hotchkiss. I wonder if McCaw is expecting a payback.

Thank goodness the Poodle has the guts to bark back at the PAC of curs that Randall Van Wolfswinkel has imported in his effort to dominate this election from his lair in Big D. Let's hope the voters are smart enough to yank his chain and give him and his minions something to chew on concerning civil politics in this little city.

It's truly a shame that some good local folks got roped into this snarling mess, and that Randall - who probably means well (there are no bad dogs, after all) - has bitten his own tail with this clumsy power play, and caused others to lose credibility.

While the (G.W.) Bush-league hard-ball methods might win elsewhere, the more mature Reagan-friendly Santa Barbara still retains its sense of independence and enough gumption to say no thanks to pit-bull tactics, especially when led by someone who acts like a big dog yet hides under the porch snarling and spitting up checks.

That said, the mysterious Mr. Van W.'s got every right to spend his money however he wants to. That ultimately helps the economy. Candidates can choose whether to accept his kind of support or to stand up against negative campaigning and reject it outright. That informs us about their principles. And we voters have the right to decide whether or not we want Tuesday to be the end of an unusual interval of developer-brained sleazeball politics, or only the beginning. That choice will set the tone for our city's next phase, and who ends up in City Hall and who in the doghouse.

I also heard Michael Self refer to "Alice Keck Park," like the woman's name is Alice Keck and here's her park. Her name is Alice Keck Park, and the proper name of the park is Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. This is a small point, but it shows Self is not in touch with Santa Barbara important details, and I bet she's never smoked a doobie in that park either. About her radio comments, was she lying about the police union? Maybe she just didn't know, which is worse. No vote for Self.

The Poodle is right. "We’re a living, breathing city" and the best way to keep it that way is to destroy it. Don't you want Santa Barbara to conform to every other overbuilt City? So vote no on B and kill Santa Barbara. How we hate being different.

Thanks Mr. Welsh for lifting the rocks and exposing these snakes. Many of these candidates such as Francisco, Self and Hotchkiss have shown themselves so disingenuously wrong on so many evidentary facts- they could only have gotten this far with a puppet master.

I would say that the medium of the Internet's blogeshpere probably has more power per spreading the word than Von Wolfswinkle's money.

Congratulations. You must be feeling better!
Municipal mummification; how wonderful

Does anyone remember the era of politics under the aegis of such people as Don Macgillivray(spelling mine)? This was the era when the Crosstown Freeway was the talk of the circuit and Pearl Chase was a liberal leader. Things have certainly changed; this was probably before Van Swindle was out of diapers!

macatack5, over the past few month's I have watched a number of people defame Mr. Vanswinkle. Using such cute terms as "Van Swindle". Now I do not personally know this man nor do I know if he is or isn't a bad person. But of all the attacks on this person yours tend to cross the line. Yes, politics brings out the worst and the best in people, but the discourse can be handled better than throwing out defamatory language. And he has entered the "political fray" by openly supporting a major candidate...but that does mean that you can call him a criminal. Beat him with a thoughtful argument and at the voting booth. Not by hiding behind macatack5 (anonymous profile).

Defamation victims can see the destruction of their business reputation; their personal privacy; their relationships. This is caused by the toxic combination of two harsh truths: (a) anonymous speech tends to bring out the worst in people and (b) people reading this garbage tend to believe that where there is smoke, there is fire.

The law provides a number of ways to address cyber bullying and Internet defamation. For example, if the particular facts present themselves, one might bring a lawsuit for:

the intentional infliction of emotional distress
libel
interference with contract
interference with prospective economic advantage
unfair trade practices
violation of contractual confidentiality provisions
invasion of privacy / right of publicity
copyright infringement

In addition, there are computer-based, forensic techniques that can identify who is posting the harmful material and from where. Suffice it to say that people who make such postings are not as anonymous as they might think.

Of course we are all committed to defending the First Amendment constitutional right to anonymous speech. However, in appropriate cases, when that speech crosses the line and enters the arena of wrongful misconduct, people should restrain themselves and just address the facts.

So make your points about this man but cut out the defamation. Your argument will be better received and far more mature. Daniel Petry - notice I always use my full name.

I was there and I saw it. In some ways, I realized that history was being made: like the Titanic, like the Hindenburg, like the Giant in "Jack and the Bean Stalk." Alas, the mighty fall. It will be topic for at least two generations. And most importantly of all, I was there to see it. And I was the only one. Ah, destiny.

It seemed like and ordinary Fall day. No one would have suspected. It looked like ordinary water. However, as the water arched out of the pail and splashed all over him, his last words were, "I'm melting, melting. Ohhhhh, what a world, what a world. Who would have thought that some little girl (Marty) like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness. ...

After Travis had completely melted away, I heard a chorus of little furry angels singing at the top of their celestial lungs:

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old bitch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch isn't read.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed
Wake up, the Wicked Witch isn't read. He's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know d
Travis Armstrong isn't read!

Your point? Or have the drugs set in. Daniel Petry