PLLLEEEEEZE all the white people stop the argument about “legal” or “illegal” aliens.

It’s EMBARRASSING.

Most of the “illegal” aliens are part native peoples.  Their ancestors were on this continent a lot longer than ours.

My first white ancestors got here in 1632.  We were totally illegal.  We stole everything in sight.  Later on, we set up that Ellis Island thing and convinced the rest of you gullible newbies that you had to go through us to be “legal.”  You might as well have gotten passports from the mafia.  My later ancestors fell for the legal/illegal thing, too.  But then, the early thieves were English and the later applicants weren’t.  The English can always fool the Swedes, or, in my case, the Germans.

And please stop arguing about legal/illegal in the local papers.  Or claiming you’ve been here for 3 years longer than the other white guy.  I can just hear the Makah and Quilleute laughing their butts off at us.  Rueful laughter, but laughter all the same.  Jeeze, I have to pass these people in the mini-marts.

Stop making us look like bigger idiots than we already are.

“That airport is more than just a ribbon of fragile asphalt.”

Robert McChesney, executive director with the Port Angeles Port Authority, made that statement when he addressed the noon speaker meeting of the Clallam Bay/Sekiu Chamber of Commerce, held in the Sekiu Community Center, Wednesday, March 11.

He was referring to the Sekiu Municipal Airport, a small landing strip that provides fixed-wing and helicopter access for emergency flights, Gary Fernandes’s flight service, and fly-ins by government officials with business in Neah Bay, as well as Clallam Bay Correctional Facility personnel.

Also present was the new editor for the Forks Forum, Chris Cook, who introduced himself to the chamber. His background, from an isolated community in Hawaii, made him feel right at home in the West End.

McChesney said that most Port Authority activities are concentrated in central Clallam County. The Port Authority is advocating for a bioenergy project in Forks. It maintains the eastern part of the Boat Haven Marina reconstruction, which should begin in June to the tune of 7 million dollars. The Authority was involved in mediation with the Elwah Tribe over the Port Angeles graving yard. Its strategic projects menu covers sixty million dollars.

McChesney stated that the Sekiu airport loses funds consistently, at a rate of about $50,000 over five years. This is manageable, but the Port Authority has not figured out a way to make improvements. The airport, originally built and maintained by Arlen Olsen, of Olsen’s Resort in Sekiu, suffers from surface drainage problems. McChesney said preliminary engineer studies said this problem could not be rectified without a new subsurface bed and drainage restructure.

Olsen has said he could donate equipment and time if the Port could supply materials.

McChesney said that the Port had always cooperated to maintain the airport. There had been a discussion about chip-sealing the surface, which remains brittle due to subsurface instability and a hydrology that undermines the subgrade and needs to be re-directed.

“You can’t just put in a ditch around the airport,” said McChesney.

He emphasized that the Port needed to find out what it was in for, including requirements by the Department of Ecology.

The Federal Aviation Association will not fund maintenance for the airport, leaving it up to Washington State. The Port Angeles Port Authority loses up to a quarter million dollars per year for improvements, but this is funded by the FAA.

Pat Ness, chamber member, suggested partnering with private developers to put in ground leases for hangars. World-class fishing boats, that usually arrive behind vehicles after being towed from Bellingham or Seattle, could be stored locally. The airport could handle up to sixty such boat hangars.

“The Port acquired the property,” said McChesney. “We’re not sure how. But we wouldn’t simply sell it. We’re not going to profiteer from the airport.”

Chamber member Martin Brand said that the strongest reasons for maintaining the airport were homeland security and emergencies. Chamber member Pat Ness and Advisory Committee member Patti Adler both stressed that, in a major emergency, air flights, both fixed-wing and helicopter, would be the West End’s only means of maintaining vital links to the outside world.

“It’s life or death for us,” stressed Adler. “This area is in a critical situation. We just need one major disaster and we’d be in trouble.”

Ness pointed out that according to Jeff Rob, Port accountant, the airport requires $34,000 to operate, of which the Port receives $15,000 yearly in rental, and $13,000 in taxes, leaving a red balance of only $6,000.

“We can look for this money and we’d be happy to,” said Ness. “But we need real figures.”

The Chamber recently finished a grant to the Clallam County Economic Development Council to fund a program director for West End tourism, a position that would include locating and applying for more funds by a paid employee. The position is vital, since chamber members act as volunteers, and can’t take much time from their own jobs as business owners to put in full time employment finding grants. The entire chamber worked to bring in the grant well under deadline.

The Sekiu Fly-in, scheduled for the Memorial Day Weekend, brings in small planes from the west coast for an event luncheon. Ness joked that now the chamber is worried that the planes will come.

“You’re behind the eight ball,” said McChesney. “You have growing tourism and a declining airport.”

“The Port isn’t going to shut that airport down,” he said. “We’re not walking away from it.”

Ness said that the airport was not zoned as commercial, and that before any industry is approached to occupy the land, the airport be zoned for industrial use. This would preclude difficulties during future negotiations with companies.

Adler pointed out that box-store development was not a consideration or a worry, since it is not allowed by the State of Washington.

Some trees at the end of the airport block direct flight access, but chamber members agreed that could be rectified by judicious pruning or removal of select trees, after obtaining permission from private property owners.

Chris Cook, the Forks Forum’s new editor, introduced himself by describing his background in journalism in Hawaii and Idaho. He was accompanied by Jenine Howell, the Forum’s business manager, who was a great help during the paper’s difficult three months without an editor.

Cook remembers growing up on Kuwaii, in a climate that, while warmer, was even wetter than the West End, getting 460 inches of rain a year. Further in the mountains, at 5000 feet, the cooler air made the climate much more like Forks.

“I think of Clallam Bay being like the lee side of the island,” said Cook. “Forks is like the windward side. They’re like sister towns.”

Cook grew up around native Hawaiians, whose independence and interest in their own rich culture reminds him of West End tribes. As an islander, he understood the local concern for air contact.

An ardent surfer, Cook said that the area around Clallam Bay’s Slip Point reminded him of the southern tip of New Zealand’s South Island.

“I want to tell my Hawaiian friends, don’t go to New Zealand – come out here!” said Cook.

Cook, who has worked with the film industry, said that the West End’s resemblance to the verdant tropics could be a lure to film projects.

“Try to protect what you have,” he said, referring to the West End’s magnificent natural resources.

Pat Ness said Cook would just have to come back to the tourism committee meetings and brainstorm.

Kathleen Haney, president of the West End Youth and Community Club, provided an excellent chicken dinner, for a $7.00 donation to cover costs.

“Values at home, facts at school.”   A throw-away line in a political email received this morning.

This should be THE rallying cry of ALL campaigns to make families take responsibility for their own children. Religion in school, no sex education, control of the sex lives or book or movie content by or for consenting adults — it’s ALL about families refusing to act like the parents and forcing the rest of society to take over the role of parents.

These parents should realize that if they insist on treating their children as wards of society — then society may very well decide that the parents themselves have given away their own rights to raise their own children.  The parents themselves are abrogating their rights as parents. 

“It takes a village” has become an excuse by parents who don’t want to be in charge of their own kids.  The rest of us are supposed to watch their kids’ morals, religious choices, even what they read or whom they fall in love with.  Since when is that our business?  If the parents had been doing their job properly, the teachers could be teaching math and science and art and civics (remember those?) instead of worrying about whether or not Little Johnny is drooling over the latest Kill-Count video game.   All we ever hear is “A child may see this,” “A child may do that.”  Where the hell are the parents of these children?  Who paid for that computer or library or bookstore?  The kids?  Why do the rest of us have to put up with laws that control us as though we’re children — when the parents don’t seem to want to be there for their kids in the first place?  What kind of parents are these?

We’re all getting sick and tired of parenting kids we never chose to bear ourselves, and parenting them by proxy according to rules that the parents who ignored them in the first place insist on our following.  Talk about an issue of Choice.  If we have to do it, we may be forced to get tough — and the parents don’t have to worry their little pointed heads about taking care of their own kids any more.

“It takes a village” could well become “The village takes OVER.”

And since the village really doesn’t want to, that may not be a pretty picture.

D

Has anybody heard the language change over the shooting at Virginia Tech since this morning?

First it was The Worst Mass Shooting in US History. 

It’s gone through several changes, and now it’s the Worst Mass Shooting in MODERN US History.

I guess somebody started counting all the dead Indians.

I’m waiting for someone to add that it was the Worst Mass Shooting in Modern US History ON THIS CONTINENT.

(Someone near and dear said it was The Worst Mass Shooting in US History BY AN AMATEUR.  As an ex-doorgunner, he sometimes gets a little snarky about newbies butting into professional status.)

The War Czar.

I didn’t hear the details but I heard it in passing on the radio.  I don’t know whether to lie down screaming with laughter, or just screaming.

 Just got back from a sci-fi convention, Norwescon

Women in the Military panel rather had my mouth falling open — the first thing that happened was “No politics!”  Which, to a Vietnam era vet like myself — where people threw off uniforms to go on off-duty protest marches — was a bit staggering and shocking.  Then I recognized the syndrome, from my own study of history:  professional-cadre apolilitical tradition.  The past in action!  Opened up HUGE answers to why and how our military thinks the way it does now.  The General Staff of the WWII German army decided that they would be so apolitical the soldiers wouldn’t even have the vote.  Rommel had to discuss his wife’s vote with her (catch a guy being so magnanimous as Fr. Rommel!).

I’m always totally amazed how people say, “They taught us to shoot, but didn’t emphasise what we’d be shooting at.”  It took me about three hours to catch my breath after than one, or I would have blurted out, “What did you think you would be shooting at — ELEPHANTS!!!???” I was quite boggled.

But these were children — they were all soft and pretty and big-eyed; no wonder their parents still think of them as their “kids,” regardless of what they’ve gone through. 

We must remember the human brain does not fully develop until 25 years out of the womb.  It’s why they take youngsters for the military.  I don’t think most of them can actually visualize anything at 18 or 19.  I could when I was in the army, but I’ve always been the class weirdo, and had been practicing combining words and pictures at the same time for quite a while, by then.

One of them — lovely girl, big and dark — said she joined the military because she “wanted to be like me.”  She’d obviously never read any of my books.  I make huge fun of the military — it’s wonderful grist for comedy.  The goofiness, short-sightedness, the narrow vision, the pure cloud-cuckoo-land isolation from other people, the in-jokes, the massive use of alcohol — who couldn’t write about it for years?  I wasn’t even in combat, and I have loads of nuttiness to report.

I am waiting for the first Iraq returnees to chew through the madness and semi-recover some drop of sanity and turn out his or her first Catch 22.  No, wait — they’re already doing that on blogs and web-comics.  And the first movie that isn’t a remake of Kelly’s Heroes (a huge hit with Vietnam vets) or some WWII propaganda flick is going to be huge.

I hope it scares the crap out of everybody.  Better than Fox news, anyway.

Tracked down the “Spitting on veterans” business.  Never made any sense to me.  I don’t remember anybody doing it, and can’t see why anybody like me would do it.  I might think veterans are not the brightest bulb in the box, or simple victims, but spitting on them or anybody else for their weaknesses isn’t cricket, no matter what I may think of what they may have done. 

Stiffed, by Susan Faludi discovered the origins of the rumor.  Vietnam-era veterans were far more political than the troops today.  First of all, they were mostly draftees.  Professional cadres, as we have today, consider it part of their job to be apolitical.  The German pre-WWII Heer took it as far as not being allowed to vote.  The Vietnam boys were always ready for protest, whether off-duty in their own era, or marching against the Iraq war today.

The people who spit on them were WWII veterans, who either considered them losers if parading with their units, or traitors, if protesting.  No matter how they suffered in a war — probably because of their suffering — soldiers support the war they were in.  Even today, Korean war veterans are appalled that anyone would negotiate with a Korean government, as though talking to what is perceived as the archetypal Monster betrays their own efforts as archetypal Heroes.  Women, of course, know that any male can be either Hero or Monster.  If we just talk to the Beast, the very thin skin that covers the Hero may sluff off.  It does no good, for us, to fights Beasts; that way lies dead women.

When we consider that most of the victims of all wars are and have always been women — maybe we should be doing more spitting on ALL the beasts.