"Decision expected soon in Wal-Mart appeal"

It seems to be that "Baghdad Chris" Lupke would be the last person in the world you would want as a "spokesperson." The preening, self-important, shrill, know-it-all Lupke's ad hominem attacks continually serve to alienate PARD in the community even further.

Just who are those people that "blindly support" Wal-Mart, Lu Laoshi? The beloved mayor of Pullman who, when he fell ill recently, had a hospital room full of flowers? The democratically-elected members of the Pullman City Council who recently announced their intention to pass a resolution of support for Wal-Mart? How about Pullman's business leaders like Fritz Hughes and Tom Handy? It's no wonder that local business owners like Leslie O'Dell don't want to be associated with PARD's "Think Pullman First" campaign.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

A panel of judges is expected to soon decide the fate of a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Pullman.

The three-judge panel has six months from the time a case is heard to render a decision, said Renee Townsley, Washington Division III Court of Appeals Clerk. She added that state law requires appellant judges to wrap up all uncompleted matters in that time frame or risk a delayed salary check.

Oral arguments concluded Dec. 19 in the appeal brought by the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development, which has long opposed a super center on Bishop Boulevard. June 19 will mark six months since the hearing took place in a Spokane courtroom.

PARD spokesman Chris Lupke said the group holds out hope that the judges will take its side.

"Obviously, the fact that they've taken this long shows that they're taking the case extremely seriously and it's a lot more complicated than those who blindly support Wal-Mart would have you believe," he said.

Wal-Mart announced plans to build on Bishop Boulevard in October 2004 and a site plan for the store was later approved by Pullman Public Works Director Mark Workman. PARD appealed the city's approval of the company's environmental checklist and site plan on the grounds that the store would affect stormwater runoff and traffic, and would negatively affect Pullman's economy.

Because state law allows only one public hearing on a proposed development, Spokane attorney John Montgomery - who acted as Pullman's hearing examiner - was called to oversee PARD's initial appeal. Montgomery compiled a findings of fact document from Wal-Mart, Pullman and PARD, and concluded Wal-Mart's site plan and environmental checklist was sufficient. Montgomery's decision was upheld by Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier, and PARD's appeal was dismissed.

PARD then took the case to the Division III Court of Appeals.

Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson said the city eagerly awaits a final opinion.

"All I can say is that we can't wait for this to be resolved," he said. "From our standpoint, we believe we did the right thing in the first place."

Johnson said other retail projects around Bishop Boulevard are being held up until a decision is rendered.

"We desperately need the additional retail," he said.

Jennifer Holder, Washington Wal-Mart public affairs manager, said the company is waiting for a court decision before moving forward with any construction.

"(Wal-Mart is) not going to construct anything until the case is over," she said.

Pullman Planning Director Pete Dickinson said the city has not yet received the necessary documents that would allow Wal-Mart to begin construction.

"But the city is in a position to issue those permits at any time," he said.

Lupke said PARD has waited several years, and can patiently await a final outcome.

"They're going to decide when they decide," he said.

Technorati Tags: wal-mart walmart

The Rantings of an Arrogant and Contemptuous Jerk

Your blood will boil when you read what elitist WSU archictecture prof Ayad Rahmani wrote in an op-ed that appeared in the October 27, 2007 issue of WSU Today. Some quotes:

WSU’s claims to “world-class” status, while true, ultimately ring hollow because the reality finds no match with those statements. World-class ambitions cannot be met with low-class ideas. High-class faculty will refuse to live in scattered and inconsequential buildings. [And after all, it's only the "high-class" faculty that matter in this town. The rest of us are just low-class. Oh my God. -tf]

The new housing stock in Pullman sadly represents the worst of the effects of a market economy; it has neither respect for art or the environment — or for that matter the fact that within a short walk there is an architecture school with graduates who have gone on to change the world. [So what's stopping them for developing houses with respect for "art and the enivonment?"? Oh yeah, money. It's much easier to tell someone else how to spend theirs. - tf]

Rather than taking clues from cities such as Portland and Seattle — whose architects and developers have joined forces to create a denser and more community friendly environment [and that obsession with "density and community friendly environment" has added $200,000 to the average price of a Seattle home - tf] — Pullman developers have made more suburbs. These offensive McMansions, with garages looking onto the streets, use materials and planning that are highly wasteful and unsustainable. [You mean like wood, which is a renewable crop? Concrete? Seems to me there is a virtually infinite supply of sand and gravel. Vinyl, which can be recycled? What's wasteful and unsustainable? - tf]

Rather than building inward and promoting walking and bicycling, these suburbs force those who live in them to use their cars. And rather than building with materials that have a low-carbon footprint and reflect an inventive approach to scarcity, these same suburbs persist with a cookie-cutter mentality. [So why did Pullman just get nationally recognized as a "pedestrian-oriented" city? And where in the hell are we going to build "inward" in Pullman??????? College Hill?? Downtown?? There's no room left but at the periphery of town. But in any case, there is no "suburb" in town that is more than two miles from the WSU campus. What a joke to call that "sprawl." And that "cookie-cutter mentality" is otherwise known as "affordable family housing." How dare you insult my home as "cookie-cutter" when that is all I can afford, you snobby asshole. - tf]

The university also cannot rely on the town to resolve this problem; the town is too bogged down in trying to increase tax revenues to worry about the role of architecture in improving matters. The university must lead the way in not only improving its own grounds but in transforming the town. [Oh sure. The poor townies are so plebeian wanting to pay the bills for parks, police, fire and emergency services, schools, etc., etc. Let the highly-educated solons take over. I have read some elitist and snobby crap before, but this takes the cake. - tf]

The Homophobic Nazi Suicide Bomber

Below is my letter to the editor published in today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News about Chris Lupke mistakenly identifying me as an anonymous commenter on Dnews.com and accusing me of making "homophobic jokes" and being "fascinated" with Nazis.

I know several of you here disagree with my philosophy. But for those of you that endorse anonymous/unmoderated comments at Dnews.com as a way of instantly responding to news stories/opinion, protecting "whistleblowers," or making arguments based on merit not the person, I ask you two simple questions: Is it your name and reputation being affected by these online comments? Does your family have to answer questions about things you did not say?

At what point does the First Amendment become a letter of marque to go after your enemies with no consequences? A newspaper is not a blog. Everyone in the community reads it. They don't go there expecting to read personal attacks, lies, and unsubstantiated claims (or maybe they do, possibly explaining why Nathan Alford insists on keeping the comments turned on.) People go to a newspaper website expecting the truth, in the form of news.

If Chris Lupke hates me so much, as he obviously does, then why doesn't he start his own blog? www.tomforbesistheantichrist.com. The answer is that he won't. He's getting a free ride without putting in any work other than thinking up some pithy putdown. It's much more effective to lob grenades at me at a website he knows gets thousands of hits a day to inflict maximum damage on me. And I pay money every month for this privilege.

Rather than "encouraging a constructive community dialogue," these comments chill it considerably. Most people do not have the thick skin that I do. And what can I do to get my good name back? The onus is all on me to go after Lupke by putting down thousands on a retainer for an attorney. The Daily News provides this platform for Lupke and then just says "sucks to be you buddy." It doesn't matter to them how untrue or damaging any of his garbage is.

Let me give you some examples of this "constructive dialogue" that Lupke and his toadie Matthew Root have indulged in, all in response to a story that did not concern me in response to a commenter who is not me:

tj -- calling yourself "reasonable and responsible" should elicit guffaws from even the most dotrinaire of observants. Your "reason" reminds me more of that employed by the nazis for whom you hold such a prurient fascination, as illustrated by your obsessive discussion of them on these pages.

Yes, Tom, we all know about your habitual resorting to name calling when you've run out of cogent responses (which is pretty quick). I think the only one "raging" is you. Even your sidekick Lobo seems embarrassed by you at times, though not enough in my opinion. When people disagree with you, you panic, call them names, threaten their tenured status. You're not much of a neighbor and you really seem to hate collegetowns. If you're unhappy here, consider moving. Just a suggestion. I won't resort to calling for you to be run out of town, as you have us -- in a fit of rage.

Yes, you always claim to speak for "the rest of us" (another fallacy), but your pathetic attempt at garnering a pro-Wal-Mart petition resulted in fewer signatories than we gathered in any one hour of gathering signatures locally. You may have forgotten, but we gathered OVER TEN THOUSAND asking Wal-Mart not to build. All locally. [This comment appears to have been deleted from the Daily News website, making Alford's claim to me that Dnews.com is an "unmoderated forum" de facto (and likely de jure) untrue. But any reasonably intelligent onlooker can tell from Lupke's non-deleted comments that he is referring specifically to me.]

Hi Chris, yes he resorts to name calling again; its all he’s got. I suggest we just let him ride the bomb to his own self-destruction, like his fake namesake. I find it funny that the fictional T J Kong was a suicide bomber.

I also basically agree with you about tj. I knew he would be a waste of time the first time I heard of him trying to claim I'm related to some guy named Chad Lupke and that therefore I'm not a permanent resident of Pullman. He has a small palette of rhetorical techniques that consist mainly of blathering his point of view (fine, who cares); if that doesn't work, insulting his interlocutors with vicious, slanderous names; lies about other people in the community; threats such as running people out of town; and rather pathetic attempts at self-arrogation mixed with a real envy of the academic life. I'm not sure what trauma occurred in his academic life, but it clearly left him scarred. In all his blather, I have never once gotten the impression that he wanted to persuade his adversaries of anything and am confident he never has.

It is remarkable, though, that in his frustration his only recourse is a homophobic joke. What was it last week -- nooses? Disgusting. Never ends.

tj -- your lies never end. I never said I hated you and, as a Christian, I don't. That doesn't mean I approve of your unsavory tactics. But there is hope for everyone. Even Lee Atwater, for example, who is the modern inventor of the style of character assasination and dirty tricks methods you employ, repented on his death bed, writing many apologies to those whom he verbally assaulted. I therefore hold out hope that anyone can reflect on the rotten things they inflict on others and change. I would hope they would come sooner than they did for Atwater.

My wife's friends and co-workers read this bullshit and she has to deal with it. Think about if you would want your family to be subjected to that.

Here is my letter:

Daily News publisher Nathan Alford insists on running an anonymous, unmoderated online forum, despite the legal and moral risks this poses.

Authors of letters to the editor and opinion page columnists are required to divulge their identities before being published. Why should online commenters be held to a different standard? Libel laws apply equally to online editions as to print ones.

Even though there are numerous blogs and message boards not owned by newspapers that allow anonymous, unmoderated comments, that doesn't mean our community newspaper should. Newspapers, especially in small towns, have a special responsibility to their readers to encourage constructive discussion and debate. MIT Professor of Sociology of Science Dr. Sherry Turkle has conducted research into "identity and multiplicity" online and postulated that the quality of online forums is inversely proportional to the anonymity of its participants.

Several months ago, the Daily News took steps to eliminate "sock puppet" accounts. While a good first step, the anonymity and unmoderated nature of the online comments still allows for reprehensible, irresponsible, and destructive comments. For example, in responding to recent posts from a regular commenter known as "tjkong," Chris Lupke mistakenly assumed that it was me and leveled accusations that I made a "homophobic joke" and showed a "prurient fascination" with Nazis. It is Lupke's constitutional right to have an opinion about my public stance on various issues (as I do about him). However, he is not entitled to associate me with controversial comments that I did not make without prior and incontrovertible evidence concerning my identity. The Daily News refused to delete those comments.

I encourage you to contact Nathan Alford (alford@dnews.com) and urge him to restore decency to our community newspaper and hold it to a higher standard by eliminating the anonymous unmoderated online comments.

Tom Forbes, Pullman

Technorati Tags: wal-mart walmart

Anything You Don't Say Can and Will Be Used Against You

If you are contemplating taking a public stand on a controversial issue, take my advice: Don't. The local media-academic complex will knock you down.

For example, our "community paper," the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, has abrogated its moral and legal responsibilities, turning the comments section in the online version of the newspaper into a fetid cesspool of libel, lies, gossip, rumor, and innuendo.

This is an e-mail exchange between Daily News publisher Nathan Alford and myself:

Date: Friday, March 21, 2008 11:03 AM
From: Nathan Alford
To: Tom Forbes
Subject: Re: Libelous Comment
Size: 4 KB

Tom,

Your note was received. Thank you.

You and I have visited about the positives and negatives of unmoderated public forums on the Web. One negative is that often times those engaged in public debate get poked, or become the subject of loose and unpleasant accusations.

Remember, we're not editing or filtering these comments. We view each individual as responsible for their comments. That's per our written policy, "Individuals posting libelous statements may be held individually responsible."

In this case, it sounds like that's Chris Lupke. I'd encourage you to discuss the matter further with Chris.

Regards, Nathan.

Tom Forbes wrote:

Nathan,

Chris Lupke has left a comment on the Daily News website that states:

"It is remarkable, though, that in his frustration his only recourse is a homophobic joke. What was it last week -- nooses? Disgusting. Never ends."

If you read the entire comment thread on the "TOWN CRIER III: Lessons from the Hawkins development settlement" column, you will see that Lupke mistakenly labels the "tjkong" commentor as me. He has done this on numerous occasions and in the past I have ignored it. But this time, claiming that I am "homophobic" or tell "homophobic" jokes is libelous and injurious to my reputation (much less the Nazi allegations he also made.) I warned you about the dangers of anonymous
commenting when we had lunch several months ago. I continue to urge you to associate real names with online commentors. If you take this measure, this type of behavior will stop. This has nothing to do with either a "constructive community dialog" or the First Amendment.

I demand the "homophobic" comment be immediately deleted and Mr. Lupke notified that I am not "tjkong" and that his comments about me are way out of line. If this is not done right away, I will have no choice but to seek legal remedies to protect my name and standing in the community.

I await your prompt reply.

Best regards,

Tom Forbes

--
*Nathan H. Alford*
Moscow-Pullman Daily News Editor & Publisher
(208) 882-5561 ext. 247
alford@dnews.com

Visit us on the web at:
DNews.com NWmarket.com
lmtribune.com

Alford's logic might apply if I had been involved in the discusssion online at Dnews.com, but I HAVE NOT BEEN. The column in question and all of the previous comments had nothing to do with me, and yet Lupke manages to drag me into it anyway. So Lupke is now free to continue to claim that I am someone that I am not and libel me with accusations of making "homophobic jokes" and a "prurient fascination" with Nazis.

I certainly intend to bring this matter to Lupke's attention, but not before making a public records request to see if he used his WSU account to post these comments.

And the Daily News' defense of unmoderated comments will not hold water, in my opinion, when subscribers have to pay with a credit card to access the online edition and when the identity of every poster is known to them.

I encourage you to drop Nathan Alford a line and let him know how you feel.

Pullman Enemy #1

KLEW TV has more on the Moscow Civic Association forum on the Hawkins water deal, and you won't believe what Tri-State owner Gerard Connelly had to say.

Connelly said he supports the "pro-business" makeup of the new council, but said there's a difference between economic expansion and retail displacement. He used the proposed Wal-Mart supercenter in Pullman as an example.

"Currently, in Pullman, they think that when Wal-Mart opens a 100,000 square-foot grocery store there that people are going to eat more food. They're not," he said. "Nationally, when Wal-Mart opens up a 100,000 square-foot grocery store, two grocery stores in that market go out of business. Nationally, for every two people that Wal-Mart employs when they open up, three people lose their jobs. That's not a matter of philosophy, it's a matter of record."

Bullshit. "That whole 2 stores closing for each Wal-Mart and 2 Wal-Mart employees for 3 losing their jobs" argument is a bunch of weak, unsupported lies right off the Wake-Up Wal-Mart website. If Safeway was so concerned about Wal-Mart closing them down, why in the hell did they just do a very expensive remodel of their Pullman store? And there are only two grocery stores in Pullman to begin with. Does anyone seriously believe that Wal-Mart would shut both of them down and leave only one grocery store in a city of 27,000 people? That's ridiculous.

Again, I know Connelly has been too successful in business to believe that we think that "when Wal-Mart opens a 100,000 square-foot grocery store there that people are going to eat more food." What we believe is that THOUSANDS OF PULLMAN RESIDENTS THAT CURRENTLY SHOP AT WAL-MART AND WINCO IN MOSCOW FOR BUDGET GOODS AND GROCERIES WILL START SHOPPING AT WAL-MART IN PULLMAN INSTEAD. Certainly all the Pullman developers believe that, as evidenced by new and planned construction in and around Bishop Blvd. Connelly knows that. That's why he is only against a Pullman Wal-Mart, not a Moscow one.

Then Connelly mentioned SEL:

Connelly said Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman is a good example of economic development, because SEL continues to adds jobs without displacing any current businesses

HELLO, GERARD????!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE RIGHT. SEL HAS ADDED JOBS AND PEOPLE TO THE AREA. IT HAS BROUGHT SOME 1,100 JOBS TO THE PALOUSE. MANY OF THOSE EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE NEW TO THE PALOUSE, ABOUT HALF OF WHOM HAVE LOCATED IN PULLMAN, LIKE MYSELF. WE'RE NOT GOING TO EAT MORE FOOD. THERE ARE MORE MOUTHS TO FEED. DO YOU NOT GET THAT???? DID NO ONE PICKUP ON THIS PIECE OF ILLOGIC??? And SEL does cause business displacement, just not in Pullman. Every company that buys SEL relays costs some other relay maker a sale. Eventually, that might result in that other company having to lay off employees or even close. That is the nature of business. There are winners and there are losers. Unbelievable.

And WTF is Connelly doing going off on Pullman and Wal-Mart at a forum ostensibly about the Moscow City Council's decision to sell water to a developer in Whitman County. Neither Pullman and Wal-Mart fit into that equation at all.

I've always disagreed with attempts at boycotting local businesses to express dissatisfaction with the owner, but I'm starting to consider it.

Say What?

More hilarity courtesy of the online comments at Dnews.com:

lupke wrote: on 3/2/2008 10:19 am:
Note that neither the two hiding behind fake names -- tjkong and Lobo -- don't live in Moscow or Idaho yet they feel compelled to blather on about political issues of which they are not a part. Too bad they don't have the integrity to stay out of other state's/communities political situations when they have crowed so loudly and so many times about non-residents' comments on politics in Pullman and Whitman county. Ah, integrity! Where art thou now, fair integrity!

lupke wrote on 3/4/2008 1:09 pm:
I normally don't agree with O'Neal and often find his editorials to be nasty and mean-spirited themselves, causing one to wonder whether or not there is hypocrisy in what he says above. And his usual style is to set up a straw man to knock down. Not so hard to do. But I do agree with this:

"Moscow and Pullman are intimately connected. People who work in Pullman live in Moscow, and vice versa. Shoppers smuggle (sic) goods across the state line. The universities cooperate. The economic, social and cultural fortunes of Moscow and Pullman are symbiotically linked, and enhanced."

In fact, in that light, one Wal-Mart would be enough for our community. If Pullman had a Target and/or Costco, we could truly have a symbiotic relationship with Moscow and all talk of "leakage" would dissipate in the breeze. Thanks for pointing that out, Michael.

Happy New Years To All The Assholes of the World!

With a bonus Keith Olbermann. Double bonus Olbermann.

The Idiots Took the Bait

I had prayed that someone from PARD would be foolish enough to publicly attack Radio Shack owner Dale Hammerly by name, in addition to the cowardly, anonymous attacks they have made on the Daily News website. Now everyone can see how they really feel about "local business." It's all about Wal-Mart hatred, not "Mom and Pop." I can only imagine the torrent of anti-PARD letters this is going to set off.

And I should have known it would be the supremely arrogant and ever loquacious Chris Lupke. Nice move, Poindexter. But you might as well enjoy it while it lasts. And I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Jack McCullough, and Attorneys Fees followed with him. From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Market has spoken with its silence

One of the nicest things about Pullman is that it preserves the small-town appeal lost to most of America these days. It's a place where the person at the bank who decides whether I get a loan, the person who cuts my hair, who bags my groceries, who sold me my truck, and who sold me my home all know me by my first name.

It came as an unpleasant surprise, therefore, that Dale Hammerly, in whose RadioShack I've made many purchases (and hope to continue to), would write so churlish a letter (Opinion, Nov. 16), wondering aloud why the "silent majority" in Pullman were not outraged over the prolonged wait for a gigantic Wal-Mart Supercenter to grace our horizon on Bishop Boulevard.

I believe I can answer his question regarding this deafening silence: Most Pullmanites have little appetite for such a superfluous addition to the retail landscape, and many recognize Wal-Mart's real and well-documented harms to communities like ours.

Leaving aside the litany of self-contradictions pervading Hammerly's letter (that Wal-Mart is free-market when it predicates its reputed cheap prices on the backs of a work force in part reliant on government-subsidized health insurance, that it will increase local tax revenues when we taxpayers are footing the bill for this subsidy, that the free market somehow magically granted China the MFN status necessary for Wal-Mart to establish its sweatshops abroad, and that big-box retail duplicated in Pullman would form a regional magnet), I was most taken aback by Hammerly's ungracious call for those who recognize Wal-Mart's inhumanity to "pack up and ship out." That could be bad for business, for if all who disdain Wal-Mart were to "ship out" of Pullman there would scarcely be enough of us left to shop at your store.

Christopher Lupke, Pullman

Technorati Tags: wal-mart walmart

"Their own little pathetic White Trash world"

The blog "Alan Gregory's Conservation News" linked to an op-ed piece attacking Idaho Gov. Otter's proposal to reinstate public hunting of gray wolves to reduce the wolf population that Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki posted on Ted Williams Blog at Fly Rod and Reel Online in February. The same column also appeared in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Chuck dropped by Alan Gregory's blog and left some very illuminating comments.

Al Gore may have invented the Internet, but the always modest Pezeshki claims his book "Wild to the Last," published by WSU Press, led to President Clinton's Roadless Initiative:

Hi Alan,

We pretty much stopped them in their tracks. That book and the events in it were the lead-in to Clinton’s Roadless Initiative. The landslides in Idaho, and the associated pix, were the belly-punch in the stomach that the USFS got that led to the roadbuilding moratorium, which then led to Clinton’s rulemaking.

Of course we didn’t know it at the time. We were just hauling ourselves out of bed every day, determined to fuck with the machine.

And so we did!

Best,

Chuck

Yeah!!!! Stick it to the man, Chuck!!!! You pathetic Abbie Hoffman wannabe.

So how does Chuckie regard Idaho (and likely the rest of us great unwashed):

The point still stands– the Idaho State Legislature and the Governor operate as if they’re in their own little pathetic White Trash world.

"I've pretty much lost sympathy for most of the working people on the Palouse"

For those of you who doubt that professors are elitist snobs, I submit as Exhibit A the arrogant, bitter, socialistic rantings of Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki. If you don't have access to the online version of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Chuckie is posting comments on Dnews.com bitching about the Saturday article that reported poor ol' impoverished WSU profs only make on average $92,000 a year.

Pezeshki's comments are some of the most amusing pieces of left-wing intelligentsia fluffery I've read yet and pull back the curtain on how our faculty libs really feel about the issues. His comments demonstrate quite well why we have no reason to ever fear the campus moonbats getting into political power locally.

One thing that really has to change if the relationship between the towns and the universities is to improve is that the towns need to stop HATING the professors that have chosen to come here for their rank and salary. These professors drive the quality of life in our cities, and their taxes pay for many things that people with lower salaries cannot. The universities also profoundly boost the average income in the area.

Mind you, Chuck's happy with his salary. He's just pissed off there's not more genuflecting to our Ph.D. betters like him. And he wonders why people "hate" professors? Chuck forgets one very important point: IT IS THE "FILTHY WORKING CLASS" HE DESPISES SO MUCH THAT PAYS HIS DAMN SALARY AND FOR ALL OF HIS TRIPS TO LONDON, VIENNA, ET. AL. WITH THEIR TAXES! YOU DON'T LIKE SUCKING OFF THE GOVERNMENT TEAT? THEN GO GET A JOB IN THE REAL WORLD WHERE YOU HAVE TO MAKE A PROFIT AND PRODUCE RESULTS, RATHER THAN FLINGING DISDAIN FOR THOSE WITH NO LETTERS AFTER THEIR NAME LIKE YOU!!

Sorry, A G. You get no sympathy from me-- and I've gotten to the point where I've pretty much lost sympathy for most of the working people on the Palouse as well.

If you poll most of the professors on campus, they are for higher taxes, which would predominantly affect the rich. Most of the professors are for socialized medicine, which would profoundly help the working poor and lower middle class in the area. Most professors would be for some form of low-rent, subsidized housing in the area. The one thing that the professors are mostly against is sprawl, and loss of community character, because that's the one draw we have going here.

But it's the working classes that are convinced that these things are the enemy. So be it.

I agree that people ought to be appreciative of the good fortune they have. But it's that doggone MARKET I keep hearing about from the lower-middle class that votes for Republicans that's supposed to raise them up and bring us down. It just doesn't seem to be working that way, though.

I've never seen a more dysfunctional, irrational culture in a 1st World country than what's on the Palouse. Keep voting against your interests, and alienating your intellectual and real allies. It's really worked great so far, hasn't it? Your children are being sent to war, your paycheck is dropping, and I can tell you from where the currency rate sits, the bottom is about to drop out from underneath the dollar, making those 'Guaranteed Low Walmart Prices' a thing of sunny memory.

I'm not happy about any of this. And having run for office to try to stop this, I've put my money where my mouth is. But it's exhausting, personally, the level of acrimony from the community. Myself, as well as others-- the ones that would really be interested in sharing community leadership, are really at the point of almost checking out.

Just remember, when the Gods want to punish you, they grant you your wishes.

Best,

Chuck

Are the arrogant, know-it-all, meddling, elitist, communist professors really going to check out of the Palouse? From your lips to God's ears, Chuck.

"Upcoming elections - whither shall we go?"

Pullman resident and globetrotting professor Chuck Pezeshki weighed in on the Moscow City Council elections (?) in his column in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News yesterday. (Isn't it funny how all the local libs, even ones that don't live in Moscow, are coming out of the woodwork to attack the Greater Moscow Alliance and its candidiates? They're afraid that their little Walden experiment in Moscow is about to come to an end.)

Normally, Chuck's arrogant rantings make my eyes hurt to read. But he actually made some fairly rational points today. For example, it is true that local politicians affect our day-to-day lives much more than those in Washington, DC. I made that same point to a group of UI students last week.

I'm also glad Chuck freely admits to shopping at Wal-Mart and dismisses the silly fear that Wal-Mart will somehow "destroy" downtown Moscow and Pullman.

However, I must take exception to Pezeshki's assertion that we don't need to lay down another huge piece of asphalt to replace what we already have." Pullman residents shopping at Wal-Mart and WinCo in Moscow hurts Pullman taxpayers and it hurts Pullman businesses. One of the reasons that people own a house "that they cannot pay the mortgage on" is because all the tax burden in Pullman is on home owners. Studies have shown that Pullman is underretailed in every category except restaurants and that as a result, Pullman and Whitman County lose $150 million a year in taxable sales to neighboring communities.

Like Pezeshki, I don't think everything needs to be duplicated in both cities, but each has to be self-sufficient, whether that means Wal-Mart or WinCo or whatever, before we can talk of cooperation. I know iberals are all about equivalent outcomes and therefore fear it, but competition is a good thing.

I don't have time to get into Chuck's theories on nationalized healthcare and how the economic salvation of the Palouse lies in more professors and more bike paths. Speaking of professors, Chuck has commented on the Daily News web site:

Honestly, the anti-intellectualism present in the two towns, whose bread and butter is vastly created by those with big degrees is overwhelming sometimes. You want to know what Moscow and Pullman would look like without the universities? Drive north to Tensed.

I guess he's hurt we don't fall down and worship Ph.D.s It's actually not anti-intellectualism anyway. It's anti-arrogantassholism.

Moscow's City Council elections are hotly contested this year. Good. Residents are waking up to the fact that local issues affect them far more on a day-to-day basis than who is president. It gives me hope that we can regenerate our democracy.

There are a couple of big issues. First, people have been debating the idea of development, arguing that since the Moscow Wal-Mart Supercenter has effectively been killed for the time being, the Moscow City Council is anti-development.

For me, the whole super-center concept is a real nonstarter. I can't see how a super center (or two) adds anything to the combined communities of Pullman or Moscow. We have a Wal-Mart. I shop there. The merchandise and prices are identical to the dozens of Wal-Marts, including super centers, that I have visited, other than the fact you cannot get your hair cut or do your banking there. Even the drive time from Pullman is only marginally longer for many of us on the north side of town than if we had a Wal-Mart on Bishop Boulevard. Why lay down another huge piece of asphalt in either community to replace what we already have?

With regard to a budget grocery store, we have WinCo. I shop there. Like the Moscow Wal-Mart, I like the people that work there. Shopping at either store is not a boutique experience, but both sets of employees have always been friendly to me.

As do the proponents of the various super centers, I do not believe that Wal-Mart will displace downtown business in either town. Both Pullman and Moscow have turned their downtowns into coffee shops and boutique marketplaces. For economic development, that's a good thing. Livable, lively downtowns that serve as entertainment districts are what attract the people who create growth. These people, labeled by author Richard Florida as the "Creative Class," are the individuals who are starting the businesses that will thrive through the 21st century.

People arguing that the Moscow City Council is anti-business are off-base. People arguing that we need to bring industry to Moscow, with all that implies as far as pollution and water consumption, are living 50 years in the past. The day of creating high-paying blue-collar jobs by siting a manufacturing facility in a community are gone. In today's world, if you want growth, build a livable city where people can walk, instead of drive. Build a community with bike paths, instead of cookie-cutter subdivisions. Complete large-scale, unique amenities like the Latah Trail that set us apart from other small communities. If jobs that provide health care for employees is the real issue, lobby for a national health-care plan, because the industrial infrastructure that used to provide those kinds of jobs is gone forever.

And instead of spending time attacking the people who work at the universities, arguing that they are overpaid, when by national standards they are not, prize those high-paying jobs, and help in lobbying efforts in both state capitals for pay raises for faculty and staff. Some perspective - for every dollar that taxpayers put into Washington State University, WSU researchers, professors, and staff generate seven. And some of those seven dollars circulate in this community.

Secondly, the City Council should can the so-called "boardinghouse ordinance." One of the key things that makes Moscow great is that growth is clustered in neighborhoods close to the city center. Anything that jeopardizes families wanting to live close to the city center should be disallowed. The main beneficiaries of any boardinghouse ordinance are people who live beyond their means, owning a house that they cannot pay the mortgage on. A word to the current City Council - in this part of the world, conditional use permits turn into permanent use permits pretty quickly. Anyone doubting this should look at such permits for uses on national forests. Though it is against the letter of the law, such permits are bought and sold with various businesses all the time. Expecting anything different with boardinghouse permits is foolishness.

Finally, both city councils need to kill the competitive talk between our two cities. The fate of Moscow and Pullman are intertwined. Let's talk more about cooperation instead of duplication of services. Both communities depend on each other.

"Ecology decision may hinder Hawkins' plans"

Several interesting points in this article from today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

1. It appears the Department of Ecology may screw Whitman County on stormwater the way they screwed Pullman. I'd love to know where Ecology gets its baseline data on flow in Paradise Creek from. That creek would run dry in the summer if not for the effluent from Moscow's sewage treatment plant. But Ecology apparently wants gallon for gallon replaced and treated in Paradise Creek from Hawkins stormwater catchment basins. This could reportedly be a deal-breaker for the Hawkins Companies, who have thus far been more patient than anyone could have expected. Whitman County might have to call in some favors in Olympia to get this corrected. The next week will tell. Let's pray Hawkins doesn't back out.

2. King Solomon can vow to fight on all he wants, but I have been told by informed sources that the Washington State Attorney General has written a letter that says out-of-state entities cannot appeal Department of Ecology decisions. The Sierra Club is one of the protestors, and being a national organization, could possibly appeal. Solomon could also use some dupes in Washington, such as CELP and Scotty Cornelius, I suppose. But that won't stop construction. Only someone immediately affected by water withdrawals can do that. At worst, there would be an appeal that would be heard when the mall was almost completed, like with the WSU golf course. I especially like how the primadonna proclaims that Moscow will "likely" file an appeal and in the very next paragraph and in the very next paragraph Linda Pall says Moscow is done with appeals. Ouch!! Why doesn't the King just run for office himself? Oh wait, he did, and the voters of Latah County kicked his ass out of office.

3. It looks like the liberal junta in Moscow, facing a tough reelection battle next month, is giving up on the Cold War with Whitman County (for now.) Councilwoman Linda Pall offered up an olive branch the way Councilman Aaron Ament did last week.

State only approves three of four proposed water-right transfers requested by Boise-based development company

The Washington State Department of Ecology's decision to approve three of four water-right transfers requested by Hawkins Companies has Whitman County officials concerned the plans for a 700,000-square-foot shopping facility on the Pullman-Moscow Highway will fall through.

Whitman County Commissioner Jerry Finch said without the approval of all four water rights, the development may be stalled or scrapped altogether.

"Obviously, my initial response is I am disappointed with the ruling," Finch said. "We need all four pieces for the jigsaw puzzle to work."

According to an Ecology news release issued Monday, the department affirmed the Whitman County Water Conservancy Board's approval of the water-right transfers proposed from two wells north of Pullman, along with the transfer of water from a well three miles north of LaCrosse to the city of Colton.

However, Ecology reversed the water conservancy board's decision to approve a surface-water diversion from the South Fork of the Palouse River because the required plan to "mitigate," or make up for, impacts to Paradise Creek is inadequate, according to the release.

It's unclear how the decision affects Hawkins' plans to build the Lowe's-anchored shopping facility in Whitman County, just across the state line from Idaho. Jeff DeVoe, spokesman for the Boise-based development company, said today Hawkins plans to release a written statement on Ecology's decision. He declined further comment.

Finch said he had been confident Ecology would approve all four transfers considering the thorough and complete job done by the county's conservancy board.

He said the county will have to wait on Hawkins to make the next move. It can either appeal the decision, scale back its plans or cancel the project.

"It is up to Hawkins now," Finch said. "I think we can work through it, but I don't know if Hawkins will want to pursue it or if they will decide their energy can be used best elsewhere."

Keith Stoffel, a section manager at Ecology, wrote in a ruling letter to Hawkins that the diversion was denied because of issues with wastewater and the conservancy board's decision to allow year-round use in "unavoidable circumstances," which "would negatively impact Paradise Creek."

Hawkins planned only to use the South Fork of the Palouse River water right from January to May and from September to December, unless circumstances required the use of the water right from June to August.

Ecology's decisions can be appealed to the state's Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.

Mark Solomon, a local activist, said conservation groups and Moscow will review the decisions and "likely" file an appeal if Hawkins elects to move forward with the development. Solomon and the city of Moscow filed protests with the conservancy board and Ecology in April over the proposed water-rights transfers.

"I think it is highly likely the protest groups will appeal the failure of Ecology to look at the determination," Solomon said today.

Solomon said the appeal process can be lengthy and costly, but the groups will continue to fight the proposed development because of its effect on the area's water supply.

"There's always a (monetary) limit, but we will do what we can to the best of our abilities," Solomon said.

Moscow City Councilwoman Linda Pall indicated the city had exhausted its resources and was more willing to accept the results.

"It sounds like it's a done deal," she said.

Pall said she would like to see Moscow cooperate with Whitman County in the development of a regional land-use plan that would create "clustered development" while retaining views and special places.

"Development can take place as well if a have a real plan for clustering that development," Pall said.

Moscow City Councilman John Weber said the decision should bring the city's growth back into the public forum.

"I would think this is going to bring the growth issue of Moscow back into the forefront of discussion," Weber said. "I think it's time for the city of Moscow to take a good hard look at growth issues and our position."

Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Civil Discourse Bridges the "Town-Gown" Divide

New WSU President Elson Floyd will be absolutely thrilled when he reads former WSU Faculty Senate president Chuck Pezeshki's comments on the Moscow-Pullman Daily News website today.

There's not much I can say to change most of the conservatives in this neck of the woods' minds about what they read. I hate blanket statements about local people in the community, but quite frankly, many are strongly anti-intellectual and resentful of the universities. Not that the universities or professors have helped make the situation better-- but I believe that a good part of this is because most people in the region are wildly ignorant about who actually butters their bread. Most people believe that Latah and Whitman County run on agriculture, but the fact is that the percentage of income, and percentage of workforce involved is miniscule (3% for Latah, 1.6% for Whitman). The universities provide for the living, and also agricultural community support, for all of Latah and Whitman County. Those facts come out of the US Census data.

Chuckie Sandiego was defending a column of his that appeared today in which he bashed Gen. Petraeus and President Bush again like the mindless kneejerk moonbat that he is.

If you have a subscription to Dnews.com, check out Pezeshki's comments. Arrogant doesn't do them justice. It's megalomaniacal hubris.

But in any case, thanks Chuck, for confirming what we already knew about professors and so eloquently demonstrating why us non-PhD hayseeds are so "anti-intellectual" and "anti-university."