Fort Worth Sheep Lemmings Fall For Trinity River Vision Propaganda

So, on Saturday, the voters who voted in Wichita Falls voted to not pass all but one of seven propositions. Well detailed, well planned propositions, a couple of which needed to pass in order to secure matching funds far in excess of the bond amount in the failed propositions.

Meanwhile in another town in Texas, Fort Worth, something like 3% of the eligible voters actually voted and actually passed several bond proposals.

With even Boondoggle Cheerleader, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, making note of the fact few Fort Worth voters, because fewer were allowed to vote in it, than the other proposals, voted to approve a $250,000,000 bond for imaginary flood control and drainage. When the quarter billion bucks are actually a fund infusion into the long floundering Trinity River Vision, which, after almost two decades of dawdling along, has morphed into being America's Biggest Boondoggle.

And, in reaction to what local wags have taken to calling the Pirate Island Bond, the lead Pirate, Fort Worth Congresswoman. Kay Granger, is touting this bond approval as indicating the voters having finally approved, via voting, of the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, more commonly known, as we already indicated, as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

So, this corrupt woman who has financially benefited in multiple ways from this eminent domain abusing boondoggle thinks less than 3% of voters approving of a ballot measure described as being for Flood Control and Drainage, with no mention of the Trinity River Vision, Panther Island or Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats, that this approval means the voters of Fort Worth have now approved of that which has become America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Methinks not.

This quarter billion bucks is not going to rescue this ill-conceived, ineptly implemented project, originally touted, long ago, as a vitally needed flood control and economic development scheme.

So vitally needed, the project has been limping along almost since the beginning of this century, with the current project completion supposedly being in 2028.

Yeah, really vitally needed.

So vitally not needed that until last Saturday no voters had been allowed to vote on this project. And, in reality, still have not been allowed to vote on this project.

This bond measure of which a few Fort Worth voters approved was misrepresented by an incredibly idiotic propaganda campaign designed to scare the ignorant with visions of an impending flood of biblical proportions if this proposition was not approved, with that approval supposedly allowing the removal of levees which have kept downtown Fort Worth flood free for well over half a century. The idiotic propaganda claimed if this bond proposal was not approved those levees would have to be raised, you know, because Fort Worth's population has grown so much since the levees were installed.

Like I said, idiotic nonsense.

And yet a majority of the few who voted, voted yes.

Idiots.

Utter Idiots.

Utter, ignorant idiotic fools, apparently.

Utterly ignorant idiotic fools willing to be mindless sheep.

No one knows the price tag for the parts of this project yet to be designed. Like the ditch to go under the three simple little bridges being slowly built over dry land.

Or the flood diversion dam mechanism which will supposedly divert a flooding Trinity River into that ditch, speeding the flow of water towards Arlington and beyond.

Or how much it will cost to clean up all the underground pollution, some of which recently seeped to the surface, sickening workers. The pollution aspect of this boondoggle is only gonna get worse.

And the price tag is only gonna go up.

And in the end, the voters of Fort Worth will get exactly what their inept idiotic ignorance deserves.

Or, maybe there is still time for common sense to prevail, and some clear thinking adult to ride to the rescue and lead Fort Worth from its current path of continuing to be an embarrassing American backwards backwater.

With Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats in a polluted river at an imaginary music venue with an imaginary pavilion on an imaginary island.

With world class outhouses....

Not Protesting Price Is Right At Arizona McDonald's On Cinco De Mayo

You are possibly guessing that that which you are seeing here is some sort of protester protesting the bizarre results from yesterday's Texas voting activity, protesting by hanging some sort of protest sign from a Texas McDonald's.

Well, you would be wrong to think this is a protesting protester.

Or that this was taking place in Texas.

This protester was not protesting anything. He was trying to hang a banner from the roof of the McDonald's at the intersection of Dobson and Warner in Chandler, Arizona, with that banner celebrating the re-opening after the re-modeling of one of my favorite brother-in-law's dozens of Arizona McDonald's.

Mom directed me to this location mid-day on Cinco de Mayo.

Inside the re-opened McDonald's I was unable to find my faovorite brother-in-law. Or see my favorite brother, who I later learned was there at the same time mom and I were.

But I did see the McDonald-ite you see here. You probably recognize him if you are a fan of Price is Right. In March there were watch parties in Arizona to watch this particular McDonald-ite, John, and his current wife, Ricky, have fun with Drew Carey whilst guessing what various products, like cars, cost.

On Tuesday my favorite brother-in-law's favorite first wife, my favorite sister Jackie, is taking me and mom to one of the Maricopa McDonald's to see Penny, and possibly John.

Way back in February I saw the Price is Right John, with Penny, at that Maricopa McDonald's. At that point in time he could not reveal the results of his Price is Right appearance. He was able to reveal the details of the process which ended with his face time with Drew Carey.

I am looking forward to a fish burger on Tuesday. It does not take much to give me something to look forward to...

Vote NO To The Criminally Fraudulent Fort Worth Boondoggle Way

Tomorrow an election in Fort Worth, Texas gives the few voters allowed to do so the first chance in almost two decades to actually vote on a bizarre, corruptly implemented public works project the public til tomorrow has never approved of via the time honored American way of the people saying yes via a ballot.

But, that is not the Fort Worth Way of operating in a town where a long entrenched good old boy and girl network runs the town like some sort of anachronistic throwback from long ago America.

On tomorrow's Fort Wort ballot the Tarrant Regional Water District is asking those allowed to vote to vote to approve a quarter billion buck bond. The ballot fraudulently describes the bond as being for flood control and drainage.

Flood control in an area of downtown Fort Worth where the Trinity River has not flooded for well over a half century due to being protected by levees long ago installed.

And now I find that the TRWD propaganda purveyors have mailed a scare tactic piece of perversity full of lies and ridiculous claims, apparently assuming, (sadly possibly accurately), that those Fort Worth voters allowed to vote are mindless, ignorant, ill-informed, illogical, clueless sheep with zero memory retention or ability to tell right from wrong or legitimate from criminal fraud.

The TRWD Trinity River Vision propaganda is claiming this quarter billion dollar addition to the already bloated 'project' is needed to protect downtown Fort Worth from a catastrophic flood, you know, because the population of the town has grown so much since those levees were built. You know, levees which the Trinity River has never gotten close to topping in a flood.

The propaganda claims if the voters do not approve this bond why there will be no option but to increase the height of those levees, in order to prevent the type flood which has never occurred.

To enhance flood protection the Trinity River Vision Central City Uptown Panther Island District wants to remove those levees which have long prevented flooding, and replace the levees with a flood diversion channel.

Because, you know, a big new cement lined ditch will afford much better flood protection than long installed levees built along the actual river.

If this "new" flood control method is so good and so important and so vitally needed why has this project dawdled along in slow motion for almost two decades with little to show for the effort?

Beginning in 2014 the Trinity River Vision, which is now known as America's Biggest Boondoggle, began construction of three simple little bridges, built over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Those three simple bridges came with an astonishing four year construction timeline. Longer than it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge and many other actual feats of complicated engineering.

And now, four years after starting that bridge construction with a big money wasting TNT exploding celebration no bridge exists. Some concrete forms have been poured.

And yet this bizarre propaganda mailer in support of this funding subterfuge brings up those pathetic, pitiful bridges and repeats the ridiculous propaganda that the bridges are being built over dry land in order to save money, as if doing so is by some sort of fiscally responsible design.

Which is a lie.

The bridges are being built over dry land because the funding to dig the ditch to go under the bridges does not exist. The design of the ditch has not been completed. The cost of digging the ditch has not been calculated. The added costs caused by having to dig the ditch under bridges absurdly built over dry land has not been calculated. The design of the water diversion dam which will divert a flooding Trinity into that ditch has not been done, or the estimated cost determined.

And yet these idiots, foisting this on Fort Worth, spew nonsense as if this is not an embarrassing disaster for Fort Worth with no end in sight.

Unless those few allowed to do so say NO tomorrow on that likely criminally fraudulent ballot.

Bonds Being Played The Fort Worth vs. Wichita Falls Way

In about an hour I go on the long five mile trek north to the Hooterville, I mean, Wichita Falls airport to get on a plane to fly east so I can fly west to Arizona.

I refer to the local airport with that Hooterville name because I was amused last week to see an opinion piece in the local Wichita Falls newspaper referring to the local airport as such.

Hooterville, if it has an airport, its one plane would likely have be a single engine WW1 vintage plane, not the super modern super small jet I fly to DFW.

So, prior to flying I took a walk on the Circle Trail this morning along with dozens of fellow walkers, bladers and bikers.

In front of the Endurance House sporting equipment store, which one quickly comes to when one walks south from my abode on the Circle Trail, I saw that which you see above, a sign suggesting voters VOTE YES for a Better Wichita Falls.

I already did so, yesterday.

I will be in Arizona on May 5 when we find out if Wichita Falls voters did the smart thing and voted to approve what seems to me to be well planned plans for the Wichita Falls future.

Meanwhile in Fort Worth some voters will be allowed to vote in the May 5 vote, saying YES or NO to a fraudulently worded ballot measure trying to trick those few voters into voting YES for a quarter billion buck bond for imaginary flood control and drainage issues, when the money is actually an attempt to rescue the Trinity River Vision from its current status as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

This morning I saw that former Tarrant Regional Water District Board Director, Mary Kelleher, had eloquently opined on her blog about this latest election fraud being perpetrated by the perpetrators behind most of the shenanigans which have long kept Fort Worth an American backwards backwater full of corruption of various sorts.

Absurd nepotism. Justices of the Peace booted for rigging their own elections, eminent domain abuse. That type thing.

Mary Kelleher opines about some of this corruption in Fort Worth Bonds....We Are Being Played the Fort Worth Way!

I do not understand how the results, either YES or NO, of this Fort Worth vote would not be considered fraudulent, due to the fraudulent wording on the ballot.

But, like Mary says, it's the Fort Worth Way.

So bizarre...

Biking With Goslings After Sikes Senter Voting Before Flying To Arizona

A couple days ago I blogged about Wichita Falls Sikes Lake Primrose Duck & Litter Exhibit in which I mentioned seeing some Sikes Lake litter littering up a small section of Sikes Lake.

And that I expected that litter to be gone when next I rolled my wheels by that location, because de-littering litter seems to be the Wichita Falls norm, unlike my previous Texas location.

Today that prediction proved accurate. The littered location you see if you click the above link is now cleaned up, with a white swan, or swan-like bird, floating by, whilst another white bird rests on the nest of leaves washed up against the concrete wall.

And no litter visible to my eye.

And then a short distance later I saw this Sikes Lake scene.

A few days ago I came upon a flock of five goslings floating on Sikes Lake with parental supervision.

Today I came upon a flock of nine or ten goslings being land lubbers grubbing for food, whilst being gosling-sitted by a full size goose, who I assumed to be a parental unit, likely the mother.

To the right, out of the photo, what appeared to be a male goose honked aggressively non-stop whilst I took pictures. I am fairly certain that goose would have goosed me if I got too close for his comfort.

Prior to rolling my wheels to my favorite Wichita Falls goose habitat I rolled my mechanized wheels to Sikes Senter to early vote YES on all seven of the bond proposals the May 5 ballot.

After voting I rolled my mechanized wheels a few miles further north to the Wichita Falls Public Library to stock up on reading material to take with me to Arizona when I fly out of Texas tomorrow.

Oh, I must explain to those who might wonder what Sikes Senter is. It is a mall, which for non-clever reasons not fathomable to me someone thought it alliteratively clever to name the town's mall with an "S" instead of a "C".

Sikes Center would be so much better, name-wise. The mall itself is a bit outdated. Built back, I think, in the 1970s. The interior, where one early votes, looks as if it has been upgraded. The outside, not so much.

Way back in the 1970s the town I lived in before moving to Texas, Mount Vernon, Washington, built two malls of the Sikes Senter sort. The first one on the north side of College Way. The second on the south side of College Way. One called the Mount Vernon Mall, the other the Skagit Mall.

Those malls lasted a couple decades before both were demolished and replaced with more modern strip mall type business venues, whilst a way more modern mall was built in the next town north, Burlington.

Burlington was the town I grew up in. The new mall in Burlington was named Cascade Mall. Burlington was/is a small town, population around 5,000 back in the 70s, a little bigger now. Mount Vernon population was and is around 30,000.

Due to the big changes in the retail industry, brought about my things like Amazon, the Cascade Mall in Burlington is gradually closing, having lost most of its tenants.

In addition to the Cascade Mall, stores like Costco, Pacific Edge Outlet Center, Fred Meyers, Target, K-Mart and even a Krispy Kreme opened in little Burlington. The town became a sort of shopping mecca, swelling the town's population with shoppers, many of them Canadians.

But, nothing ever remains the same in dynamic fast growing, fast changing parts of America and the planet....

Spencer Jack Shows Fort Worth Real Islands While Ditch Digging

Incoming this morning from my Favorite Nephew Jason and Favorite Great Nephew Spencer Jack...

FUD,

Today’s PNW heat wave resulted in FNSJ suggesting that we travel to Washington’s first state park to seek marine air for cooling.

FNSJ really wanted to engineer a stream route on this beach.  

It was a good idea.  We are both slightly sun burnt though, as we have had only cloudy days in recent memory.

This is his fourth, perhaps fifth Spring as a stream engineer at this exact location.

He has mastered the science of diverting water.  

I see a potential career as an Army Corps Engineer in Spencer’s future.

Thought you’d enjoy the pictures.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to roast here in the valley.

Fans are ready.  

FNJ & FNSJ

They have been having themselves a record breaking heat wave up northwest in my old home zone. Meanwhile at my location in the South, I have yet this year felt HOT enough to turn on my air conditioning. I have turned on one of my ceiling fans a couple times this year.

Let's take a look at some more of the photos of Spencer Jack being an Army Corps of Engineer flood channel builder at Washington's first state park.

When I read that Spencer Jack had taken his dad to Washington's first state park in order to escape the heat and have some beach fun, I did not remember which state park was Washington's first. Deception Pass State Park? I Googled Washington State Parks to find it taking a few link clicks to finally learn which state park was Washington's first.

The scenery in the photos of Spencer Jack digging a creek channel did not look like Deception Pass to me. I do not recollect any sandy beaches on any of the Deception Pass State Park beaches. The Deception Pass beaches are rocky beaches, covered with little pebbles.

I went to the state's Washington State Park website's History page figuring that surely would tell me which Washington State Park was the state's first. Nope, no luck there.

From Wikipedia's Washington State Park's page there was a link to another Wikipedia page listing all Washington's State Parks.

On that list of Washington's State Parks I saw another suspect within easy driving distance of Spencer Jack's Mount Vernon home location.

Larrabee State Park.

And that was it. Washington's first state park was Larrabee State Park.

This sort of surprises me. Larrabee is an incredible location. But I would think that way back when it became a state park in 1923, the Larrabee location would have been quite an adventure to drive to. Even well over 100 years later the drive to Larrabee, called Chuckanut Drive, is one adventurous road, full of tight corners high above steep cliffs.

But, maybe back when the Larrabee became a park the Interurban already existed, that being a train which connected Mount Vernon in the south to Bellingham north of Larrabee. The rail bed of that long abandoned Interurban still exists, currently as a fun trail to hike and bike, taking one all the way from Larrabee to the Alaskan Ferry Terminal in Bellingham.

If I remember right the last time I biked the Interurban from Larrabee to Bellingham was with Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey.

Trying to find out which state park was Washington's first I learned a thing or two in addition to that bit of information. Such as what the word "Chuckanut" means. I've heard that name all my life and never thought to wonder what it meant, beyond assuming it was a Native American word.

The Wikipedia article about the Chuckanut Mountains educated me as to the meaning of the Chuckanut word and also includes the Larrabee being the state's first state park info...

The Chuckanut Mountains (from "Chuckanut", a native word for "Long beach far from a narrow entrance", or Chuckanuts, are located on the northern Washington state coast of the Salish Sea, just south of Bellingham, Washington. Being a part of the Cascade Range, they are the only place where the Cascades come west down to meet the sea. The Chuckanuts are considered to be a part of the Puget Lowland Forest Ecoregion. The range contains Larrabee State Park, the first State Park to be designated in Washington (1923).

The article about the Chuckanut Mountains lists all the mountains considered to be Chuckanuts. One can drive to the summit of several of them. Or mountain bike on the mountain's logging roads. I do not think there is any location within hundreds of miles of where I currently am located where one can go from playing on a beach to climbing a mountain.

Well, there is the shores of Lake Wichita and the trails to the summit of Mount Wichita.

For anyone who may be reading this who is located in the landlocked Texas town called Fort Worth. In the photos above those outcroppings of land you see rising out of the water behind Spencer Jack? Those are what are known as islands.

Islands are chunks of land surrounded by a large body of water. The water can be either the saltwater or fresh water variety. As in the island can be surrounded by the saltwater of an ocean, sea, bay or sound. Or a lake.

Digging a cement lined ditch and filling this ditch with polluted river water does not an island make. Thinking such makes anyone thinking such appear to be either foolish, or ignorant, or both. Building three simple little bridges over dry land to connect a town's mainland to an imaginary non-island and thinking this makes sense to so, also makes one appear to be either foolish, or ignorant, or both.

Vote NO on May 5 if you are among the few allowed to do so in Fort Worth, to put an end to the Panther Island madness.

And if you want to get an idea of what it is like to drive on Chuckanut Drive to Larrabee State Park, watch the video below...

Miss Tess Takes Me Home To Skagit Valley Tulips

I saw that which you see here, this morning, on Facebook, via Miss Tessie Sakuma.

Miss Tessie's comment is "We lived right near there. Our whole area was beautiful."

The caption below the tulips...

"Only in Washington".

And...

"An abundance of colorful tulips in Mount Vernon. I can almost smell the sweet air".

When Tessie says she lived right near there, that is sort of accurate. The precise Tessie location was a bit to the northwest from the location in this photo, with most of the Sakuma Farms Empire being located on the Skagit Flats on the other side of the Skagit River from this location.

Mount Vernon was the town I lived in prior to moving to Texas.

That mountain in the background is known as Mount Baker. Mount Baker is a volcano. I was able to see Mount Baker from my kitchen windows at my Mount Vernon location.

I can not see the Mount Wichita pseudo volcano from my current kitchen window. Or any other mountain.

A few days ago I saw an article on CNN about America's scenic wonders that Americans might not know about. I scrolled through the 25 examples of such, some of which I had been to. And then a click popped a familiar sight into view which I had seen multiple times over multiple decades. That being the Skagit Valley Tulips.

Currently I believe the month long Skagit Valley Tulip Festival will soon be underway, or maybe already is underway.

The Tulip Festival draws around a million tourists to the valley, creating a bit of a traffic nightmare at many locations in the valley. The traffic jams have improved over the years with better control of the vehicle flow, bus tours, toads turned into one-way traffic flows, helicopters overhead to monitor and spreading the attractions to various locations on the Skagit Flats, such as Tulip Town.

This morning I am driving to the D/FW Metroplex. On the way there I do not expect to see any tulip fields. I may see some wildflowers. For sure I won't be seeing any mountains or volcanoes...

Biking Smooth Red Brick Wichita Falls Speedway

Today I went on a long rolling of my bike's wheels. Twice around Sikes Lake, through the MSU campus, north on various roads til eventually reaching Hamilton Park and the Circle Trail return to my starting location.

The furthest north part of today's trek was on a road called Speedway. I don't remember if this is Speedway Road, or Speedway Drive, or Speedway Avenue, or what.

I suppose I could look at a map and find out, but finding out whether Speedway is a road or a drive, or an avenue, or something else seems un-important right now.

Okay, I shall go find out the precise name of this Speedway.

All right. Speedway Avenue is the winning name.

So, that is Speedway Avenue you see my bike parked on above.

Note the red color of this avenue.

This section of Speedway Avenue is made of red brick. There are several roads in Wichita Falls with sections make up of red brick.

No big deal, you are thinking. And I agree.

Except early on in my time in Texas, before I learned that being perplexed by various things in Fort Worth was going to be a chronic condition, I was bum puzzled by this road called Camp Bowie Boulevard, in Fort Worth.

A long section of Camp Boulevard is made of red brick. At the time of my first exposure to this red brick road I was appalled by the bone jarring bumpy experience of driving on it. This has since been somewhat made smoother.

When I verbalized to Fort Worth locals my being appalled at this bizarre bumpy red brick road I was told that this road was unique, one of a kind, of special historic significance.

I remember this as being the first time I wondered do these people ever visit any other parts of America? Because a red brick road did not seem at all unique to me. Other than the fact the Fort Worth version was in the worst shape I'd ever seen such a road.

I thought, at the time, maybe the Fort Worth red brick road is the only one in Texas, hence the Fort Worth locals thinking it to be something special.

And then I attended the Ennis Polka Festival and Parade, where I  saw that the Texas town of Ennis had a well maintained, not jarringly bumpy, red brick road.

Since Ennis I have seen many a red brick road in Texas towns, including the one I was rolling my bike on today...

Wichita Falls Sikes Lake Primrose Duck & Litter Exhibit

Bike riding today eventually took me to Sikes Lake where I saw that which you see here.

I must say, that which you see here has been a rare sight to see in Wichita Falls.

I refer not to the ducks or the pink primroses.

I refer to the litter collection washed up against the concrete structure which crosses Sikes Lake, the purpose of which I do not know.

A litter collection of this sort was a frequent sight in my former Fort Worth location, particularly when the Trinity River was in flood mode.

Heavy rain flushes litter into the creek and storm drains which send water to Sikes Lake. I have seen one extreme littering example of this, with so much litter it made the local news. I recollect getting interviewed about the subject by a TV news lady. She stopped me whilst I was on my bike, asked what I thought about the litter, to which I told her that it was cleaned up almost as soon as it arrived.

I did not understand why she was asking me this, so I pointed out the fact that I was seeing no litter.

Apparently that TV news station had received calls complaining about the flood of litter. I recollect telling the TV news lady that I had been impressed with how litter-free Wichita Falls is compared to my previous Texas location, and that I had no clue as to the reason for the difference.

Maybe the litter difference between the two towns is caused by the same phenomenon which causes Fort Worth to have so many streets without sidewalks, parks without running or modern restrooms, but plenty of outhouses and which serves as host to America's Biggest Boondoggle, which has sort of become litter on a grand scale...

Finding Sunday Dry Blue Spot Above Mount Wichita

What with Saturday's torrents of precipitation precipitating in copious amounts I figured a day after the deluge wheel rolling on the Circle Trail along Holliday Creek would see the creek roaring running rapids in flood mode.

And that by the time the Lake Wichita Dam spillway came in to view I expected to see water spilling over the spillway.

Instead on this Sunday after yesterday's extreme drippage one would think not a drop of rain dropped the day before, with Holliday Creek barely moving any water and the Lake Wichita Dam spillway bone dry.

The sky condition predictors had predicted limited clouds and mostly clear sky for today at my location on the planet. However, the clouds seem reluctant to leave, as witnessed by the photo documentation of what the sky above Mount Wichita looks like today, with a tiny spot of blue managing to peak through the dark threatening looking clouds.

This is now the third Wichita Falls North Texas weekend in a row where winter has rudely made a return visit, thought this weekend's visit was delivered without freezing.

On Wednesday I make my monthly return trek to the Dallas/Fort Worth zone. Rain and wind is in the forecast for that day. On Saturday I return to D/FW via the flying method, to get on a plane to fly to Phoenix.

I am hoping Arizona is warmer than what I have been feeling in Texas. I suspect it will be. And that day after day, for several days, I will be having myself a morning swim with the Ladies of Sun Lakes Swimming Club...