|
Tue, Jan 15, 2008 - the new Northwest Citizen website is now up and running. It replaces this site. This is now the Old NwCitizen website. New site is at: www.nwcitizen.com Just a couple days more and we should be able to turn on the new NwCitizen website. Programming continues and what free time I have is going into the look and feel of the site. With the Bellingham Herald crumbling before our eyes these days, it is an opportunity for weekly tabloids and online news and opinion sites to come into their own. I mean, the Herald just took a fifth of their paper and made it into a free weekly tabloid. I have much more to say about this and will on the new site. Now, if our several weekly tabloids only had the sense to combine into one publication, they could challenge the Herald. But personal animosities run too deep for that to happen and most of them continue to lose money. More on that on the new site also. Soon. Real soon. The Packers. The snow was fun but did not give Green Bay any advantage last Saturday. I read that was the first time Farve had played in the snow after 17 years there. Normally January is too cold for much snow. And the Pack have not played much in January the past ten years. Much less at home. These are heady days for my hometown. The weather forecast for the game with the Giants next Sunday is more typical for January. No snow and the temperature near zero - and probably below before the end of the game. I remember one January - I think 1960 - when the night temps went to 35 below and it warmed up to 10 below by early afternoons - and this went on for over a week. One of several reasons I moved. The Packers Giants game will probably be a running game as the oblong spheroid will be frozen and slippery. Looking beyond next Sunday's game, can anyone arrange a date for Brady with Simpson? OK, we are running on the new server. And the design and programming are going well. I have cautious hope the transformed site will be running by early next week. One addition will be comments. I have wanted to open this site to comments for a year now but also wanted some other new features on the site that have taken time to plan. I think you will see some features that you have not seen elsewhere. And I hope they make this site more useful for you and all citizens in our area. Just a few fun light comments this evening. Solar Cycle 24 has now begun - after a false start a month ago. Sunspot 981, of the last few days, proved to have negative polarity and was in a high latitude - and NOAA has now said it is the beginning of the new cycle. While to some this may seem a very obscure trivial event, the solar sunspot cycle is extremely important to our climate and our growing communications. It is the beginning of the Solar spring. Clinton, McCain, Obama, Huckabee - we have a presidential race. This is good for Democracy. Edwards and Romney are still viable with VP possibilities. Obama - Edwards is my guess for their ticket. I'm for Obama but am very glad Clinton is doing so well in New Hampshire. Our news media has acted like the cheap bullies they are and kicked her for this past week when they thought her down. And McCain, as much as I think him wrong for the country, is the only genuine guy on the Republican side. Glad to see him win. And a personal note. I've never considered this a blog as I've not used it as a place to reflect on my personal journey through life or to comment about myself. I think those practices are great and I enjoy what Sam Taylor and John Watts post about their own changing situations. But I do have one for this evening and plan to post more in the future on the new site. Lambeau Field. Playing on it. The Seahawks get to play there this Saturday and the temperature will be a very mild 20 degrees. Whew. It could be 10 below zero mid January. I grew up in Green Bay. I've watched many Packer games there. And more than that, I was a very lucky young guy. I knew Lombardi and more interesting is he knew me. I was that kid. A photographer on the staff of the Green Bay Press Gazette as a news photographer from 1960 through 1962. As such, I got to photograph Packer practices from on the field and the home games from along the sidelines. And watch and listen to Lombardi run practices and games. The experience gave me many personal Lombardi memories and some lessons that have been useful in my own life. I look forward to watching the game on Saturday. Oh, and playing on Lambeau Field? Back in the late summer of 1957, a few of us teenagers climbed over the fence one afternoon and played touch football there. With security today I doubt any kids could do that. Ahh, but what memories. Joel Ungrodt, Donny Crabb, Joel Gordon and I don't remember who else. So that is my personal note. Some day I will write of some of the Lombardi experiences. And some other Packer stories. Yes, I'll be for Green Bay this weekend. Go Pack. This website will be static for a couple days as we prepare for transforming it. We will be back with a new look and action. Hopefully very soon. Barack Obama gave an inspired victory speech last night in Iowa. You can watch and listen to the podcast on Talking Points Memo. It is less than 14 minutes long. Quite impressive. A liberal talk radio station in Whatcom County? I've now heard the rumor twice. Could it finally be happening? You know, when conservative radio owners try to construct a liberal program it rarely works. Usually harsh and excited and outraged - and all the things conservatives think liberals are. But if we had a station with management of, by and for liberals - well.... Anyway if you know more, email me. Meanwhile, we are starting the programing to change this website dramatically over the next couple weeks - or less. Not a rumor. ;) Barack Obama is beginning to sound like the president we need and is beginning to show that he is a progressive that can be elected. I have favored Dennis Kucinich and was delighted that he yesterday asked his supporters in Iowa to support Obama in the second round of voting. Kucinich is not electable. But he is for all the right things, in my opinion. Barack is the next best progressive candidate. The more I read about him and listen to his speeches, the more he seems better than any other Democrat or Republican. Now, if only some progressive - some Independent - person would run against our local Democrat Rick Larsen for Congress. I think a majority of Whatcom County Democrats would vote for a quality progressive Independent. They would not support a progressive Republican and neither would I - because we need to keep the Republicans in the minority in Congress. An Independent could support the majority Democratic control of Congress. To answer the obvious, there is no way any Democratic progressive candidate can win the primary over Larsen. The only way to get this empty suit out of office is with an Independent. Anyone out there?? To Top of page |
 NwCitizen began in September 1995. Posts by John Servais unless other credit. Local blogs Local news media online National Progressive National - news & opinion International News War Casualties
Voting Reform - lets make democracy work - better. DNA testing to free innocents State Legislature Whatcom - other sites Current Issues Bellingham Library Community - govt & citizens Fairhaven - Historic District Page of old Links - kept as possibly useful to some.
Inactive sites - may come back Email the Editor John Servais at: editor@nwcitizen.us Email contributing writer Tip Johnson at: tip@nwcitizen.us To Top of page |
