They held the big public hearing for the proposed inflatable dam, and the dam done got it’s pee-pee slapped.

Excellent.

The question is, will some back room meeting go down, despite our Sunshine Laws, and the dam ultimately gets built despite our objections?

Probably.

The thing is, while the fight may not be over just yet, we did what we had to do. We fought the good fight. However some of us managed to get involved, we did our civil duty and did just that. And if we end up losing this particular battle, I will not put a gun in my mouth, stalk anyone of any great importance, or get to beating the puppies any more than I already do. Unlike the increasingly embittered and always embattled folks planning yet another useless demonstration out there in the leftfield bleachers, I can lose gracefully. You see, Al Gore’s dementia has not rubbed off on me. And apparently, I stand pretty much alone in that respect.

How’s this for a misleading, if not totally dishonest headline coming from Paul Kanjorski’s minions at The Citizens’ Voice?

What do they call that? Ink-on-paper? Or is it, hog’s swill-on-paper journalism?

Grab your Tandy calculators, kiddies. Let’s see, here. 21 people speaking out against the proposed dam divided by 26 total speakers equals 80.7%. In other words, at last night’s hearing, the dam got an 81% thumbs down from the populace, while it received a 19% approval rating from a mayor, a councilman, a chamber member, Uncle Paul Kanjo’s personal assistant and a self-serving college rowing team. And if you exclude the elected and the appointed from the decidedly one-sided mix--you get an approval rating hovering right around where a thermometer would when frost forms in one’s mustache.

Our community is divided over the debatable dam? Yeah! And Times-Shamrock can kiss my skinny white ass is that’s what they consider accurate reporting. They couldn’t bring themselves to print the truth of the matter if it’d embarrass the good congressman-for-life in a traditionally one-party county.

And where was Uncle Paul, anyway? If this issue is so near and dear to his heart, and so god damned vitally important to the area’s future economic development, then why wasn’t he there to make his less than compelling case in person? If I had to venture a guess, I’d say he skipped his personal version of The Little Big Horn completely by design. Smart incumbent, hayna?

From The Times Leader:

There you go! Accuracy in reporting!

Isn’t that neat?

Judging from the video shown on WBRE, at least from my vantage point, Vodd Tonderheid seemed somewhat annoyed by the insolence of the silly downtrodden masses. He really did. And quite frankly, my longest finger jumped right up in the air as a direct result of his frustration. I hate when that happens. Silly, silly finger.

I found the following comments from Luzerne County Commissioner Todd Vonderheid posted at WBRE’s Web site.

"I think 15 years is long enough. We`ve studied it to death. We studied the issues that have concerned people raised and now it`s time to move forward."

No, Todd. The problem is, you have not thoroughly studied the issues. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that the dam’s meager handful of proponents have very little clue as to what they’re talking about.

If fecal matter and it’s foamy byproducts can cling to a boat and it’s assorted gear before a river is dammed, what the hell should we expect after it’s dammed? We’ve got a bunch of budding golf pros telling us what it’s like, or going to be like, on the river. So, if I need some good, sound advice on how best to approach hitting a curveball, should I approach a hockey player? If I need tips on prolonged bouts of sobriety, should I pull up a stool at the corner bar? Fish can’t pass through the condom of a dam, but pre-dam stagnated sh*t will?

Sorry there, Todd. But you have to stick with stuff you’re good at just as soon as you figure out what it is. Good luck.

Oh, and we wouldn’t want to forget Chia Pet, the man who knows everything and stands for nothing, except legalizing practically everything. Thank Allah that the mentally denuded and demented ’60s generation is soon to be dearly departed. By far, America’s worse generation. Drugs, sex, rock ‘n’ roll, more drugs, alcohol, STDs, still more drugs and a flower in the hair, a tie-died T shirt and a good chant at a rent-a-mob protest commie phlegm offered as enlightened group-think. And even more drugs!

Chia Pet, aka Kevin Lynn of WILK, said the proponents of the dam were all elected officials and businessmen, while the opponents were but mere residents. So, in so many words, us common serf folk just ain’t on the same intelligence level with those important folk who can get certain ass-kissing folks out of DUI jams, so I guess the inference is that we’re a bunch of knuckle-draggers. Right, Chia?

The infuriating arrogance of this underachieving ass-kisser of local politicos is enough to make you want to punch out his kitty and rape him. I know, I know. Speak for yourself. Gotcha.

Follow him, here. When he speaks, the world should stop on it’s axis and take note. Oh, but when we speak, the drool puddles so freaking fast beneath us, Paul Kanjorski wants to try to dam it. As far as I’m concerned, he’s just another blowhard who has never been on the river, save maybe once. But professes to know all that there is to know about it.

You know, he’s a prevaricator.

And what’s up with today’s editorial from the Voice?

Who wrote that twaddle, Chia Kev?

The congressman already has a request in for $5.1 million, which would make it possible to get rid of one third of the pollution in the river.

Um…either they start doing some fact-checking, or they admit that misrepresenting the facts for public consumption is their forte.

First of all, $5.1 million won’t even make a dent in the nonstop pollution flow into that river. One third? And, secondly, with more and more oil-rich countries lining up to economically bankrupt our country while we’re waging military conflicts in two stoned-aged countries and considering yet a third, I guess the trolls at the Voice are assuming that fedrule pork is going to be busting that stupid dam at it’s seams real steady like.

And Edwardsville Borough Councilman John Sedeski said his community could develop a creek that runs into the river into a boat launch.

Yeah, that’ll happen! This is the very same borough that didn’t want to be home to a Wegman’s, but they are interested in launching boats from their less than booming Podunk that can barely afford basic services as it is?

Yeah!

Opposition to the dam was expressed in terms of the impact on fish and wildlife, water quality and cost to the taxpayers. A fish commission spokesperson said dams negatively impact on migratory fish. And citizens expressed concern about the costs. These are legitimate concerns. They should be evaluated as the project moves forward. But the project should definitely move forward. If it doesn’t the community will lose $14 million in federal funding.

That’s the local paper telling the politicos to ignore the will of the people. They came, they complained, now tell them to shut the fu>k up and pay their fu>king taxes, if they know what’s good for them.

This would attract 400,000 visitors to the city and generate $70 million in tourism dollars each year, said a representative from Congressman Kanjorski’s office.

The dam would be inflated for 140 days, from May to October. Do the math. Using Uncle Paul’s numbers, that dam would attract 3,000 visitors a day? And that includes work days. What if we divided the projected number of visitors by weekends only? It would somehow attract 16,000 visitors or somewhere thereabouts on the weekends? Call me short-sighted, but I’m here to tell you that ain’t happenin’.

It‘ll result in generating “…$70 million in tourism dollars each year?” $70 million? How so? By selling rubber human waste replicas with the words “I survived Lake Kanjorski” emblazoned on them? We’ll rake in $70 million from suckers who will gleefully travel to Wilkes-Barre to cavort in poop and brown foam, while having lunch on the orange-stained shoreline? That is patently absurd.

Take another look at the Joe Leonardi campaign video. That was filmed on the banks of a free-flowing Susquehanna. Free-flowing, mind you. What’s it going to be like when we place a rubber condom in front of the fecal matter?

Look, cleaning the river isn’t nearly as quick, easy or affordable as they are making it out to be. So, while we’re conspiring to clean it, why dam it? Why dam a polluted river, while Pennsylvania leads the nation in the removal of dams? All over this state and country, people have come to realize that dams degrade rivers. But only in the Wyoming Valley is the baseless argument being made that damming a river will ultimately lead to it’s being cleaned.

Like I said, fighting the good fight for the sake of one’s community is all that can be asked of any average resident. And as far as I’m concerned, I did my civic duty.

By the way, if the dam is approved, the yearly RiverFest event held in this valley where hundreds of novices paddle 18-plus miles on the river with watchful river enthusiasts (rats) will be no more. The folks who have actually drawn people to the river will be put out of business by Paul Kanjorski’s $14 million la-la land fairy tale. But have no fear, according to him, he knows how best to draw people to our river.

And his $9 million water-jet technology grant resulted in how many high-paying jobs?

CYA